Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) refractory to covalent BTK and BCL2 inhibitors have a new unmet clinical need. Standard treatment options are able to obtain only limited and ...short-lasting disease control associated with reduced overall survival, and thus these patients have become ideal candidates for enrollment in clinical trials. Favorable results have been obtained with the use of noncovalent BTK inhibitors (roughly 70% overall response rate regardless of the actual resistance or intolerance to previous covalent BTK inhibitors) and anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy (with complete responses in up to 45% of cases and an undetectable measurable residual disease rate of 65% in the bone marrow). These 2 approaches should be considered valid options in this setting, although not yet approved. For young fit patients achieving remissions with salvage treatments, the option of allogeneic stem cell transplantation should be discussed as the outcome appears to be unaffected by number and type of previous targeted agents. Novel treatment strategies interfering with different mechanisms of CLL cell survival and proliferation are warranted, including small molecules with novel targets (eg, CDK9, MCL1, ERK inhibitors), CAR T cells targeting different antigens, CAR natural killer cells, or bispecific antibodies.
Abstract The BCL2 family members play a central role in regulating programmed cell death (apoptosis) and arbitrating the cellular fate through an accurate balance between pro-apoptotic (BAX, BAK, and ...BH3-only proteins) and pro-survival (BCL2 and its closest homologues, BCLXL, BCLW and MCL-1) factors. Deregulation of BCL2 family proteins contributes to programmed cell death evasion, that is a hallmark of human cancers and it is often related to (chemo)therapy resistance. High BCL2 levels have been detected in most human lymphoid malignancies, not limited to follicular lymphoma (where the role of BCL2 overexpression is driven by the t14;18 translocation) but also B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and multiple myeloma. For all these reasons, the opportunity to induce apoptosis by targeting BCL2 proteins is considered a potentially promising therapeutic approach in hematological malignancies. BCL2 family inhibition strategies currently explored in phase 1, 2 and 3 clinical trials are essentially two: (1) the use of antisense-based strategies to knockdown BCL2 or BCLXL expression (e.g. oblimersen) or (2) the use of synthetic BH3 mimetics i.e. small molecules binding to anti-apoptotic inhibitors thereby allowing the pro-apoptotic activity of BH3-only molecules (e.g. obatoclax, AT-101, ABT-737 and its derivatives ABT-263 and ABT-199). Several of these drugs demonstrated relevant clinical activity as single-agent or in combination therapy, with the most significant drawbacks in clinical use being represented by challenging pharmacokinetic profile (e.g. iv administration, high-levels of plasma proteins binding) and on-target side effects (e.g. gastrointestinal toxicity and thrombocytopenia). Further clinical development of the current compounds (e.g. ABT-199), showing high efficacy but devoid of the most threatening drug-related toxicities, is eagerly awaited. Hopefully, in the next future, BCL2 inhibitors (alone or in combination with immuno- and/or chemo-therapeutic agents) will represent target-specific drugs expanding our therapeutic armamentarium in the fight against hematologic malignancies.
Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) have an increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease and mortality. The goal of this study was to determine the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccine in patients ...with CLL. We evaluated humoral immune responses to the BNT162b2 messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccine in patients with CLL and compared responses with those obtained in age-matched healthy control subjects. Patients received 2 vaccine doses, 21 days apart, and antibody titers were measured by using the Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S assay after administration of the second dose. In a total of 167 patients with CLL, the antibody response rate was 39.5%. A comparison between 52 patients with CLL and 52 sex- and aged-matched healthy control subjects revealed a significantly reduced response rate among patients (52% vs 100%, respectively; adjusted odds ratio, 0.010; 95% confidence interval, 0.001-0.162; P < .001). The response rate was highest in patients who obtained clinical remission after treatment (79.2%), followed by 55.2% in treatment-naive patients and 16.0% in patients under treatment at the time of vaccination. In patients treated with either Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors or venetoclax ± anti-CD20 antibody, response rates were considerably low (16.0% and 13.6%). None of the patients exposed to anti-CD20 antibodies <12 months before vaccination responded. In a multivariate analysis, the independent predictors of response were younger age, female sex, lack of currently active treatment, immunoglobulin G levels ≥550 mg/dL, and immunoglobulin M levels ≥40 mg/dL. In conclusion, antibody-mediated response to the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in patients with CLL is markedly impaired and affected by disease activity and treatment. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT04746092.
Outcomes for patients with hematologic malignancy infected with COVID-19 have not been aggregated. The objective of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the ...risk of death and other important outcomes for these patients. We searched PubMed and EMBASE up to 20 August 2020 to identify reports of patients with hematologic malignancy and COVID-19. The primary outcome was a pooled mortality estimate, considering all patients and only hospitalized patients. Secondary outcomes included risk of intensive care unit admission and ventilation in hospitalized patients. Subgroup analyses included mortality stratified by age, treatment status, and malignancy subtype. Pooled prevalence, risk ratios (RRs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using a random-effects model. Thirty-four adult and 5 pediatric studies (3377 patients) from Asia, Europe, and North America were included (14 of 34 adult studies included only hospitalized patients). Risk of death among adult patients was 34% (95% CI, 28-39; N = 3240) in this sample of predominantly hospitalized patients. Patients aged ≥60 years had a significantly higher risk of death than patients <60 years (RR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.45-2.27; N = 1169). The risk of death in pediatric patients was 4% (95% CI, 1-9; N = 102). RR of death comparing patients with recent systemic anticancer therapy to no treatment was 1.17 (95% CI, 0.83-1.64; N = 736). Adult patients with hematologic malignancy and COVID-19, especially hospitalized patients, have a high risk of dying. Patients ≥60 years have significantly higher mortality; pediatric patients appear to be relatively spared. Recent cancer treatment does not appear to significantly increase the risk of death.
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia Scarfò, Lydia; Ferreri, Andrés J.M; Ghia, Paolo
Critical reviews in oncology/hematology,
08/2016, Letnik:
104
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Abstract Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is the most common leukaemia among the adults in the Western World. CLL (and the corresponding nodal entity small lymphocytic lymphoma, SLL) is classified ...as a lymphoproliferative disorder characterised by the relentless accumulation of mature B-lymphocytes showing a peculiar immunophenotype in the peripheral blood, bone marrow, lymph nodes and spleen. CLL clinical course is very heterogeneous: the majority of patients follow an indolent clinical course with no or delayed treatment need and with a prolonged survival, while others experience aggressive disease requiring early treatment followed by frequent relapses. In the last decade, the improved understanding of CLL pathogenesis shed light on premalignant conditions (i.e., monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis, MBL), defined new prognostic and predictive markers, improving patient stratification, but also broadened the therapeutic armamentarium with novel agents, targeting fundamental signaling pathways.
This review provides guidance in the rapidly changing scenario of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) treatment. New studies as well as updates of other seminal ones have been recently presented and ...are likely to change the management of patients with CLL in everyday clinical practice.
Kinase inhibitors (e.g. ibrutinib and idelalisib) have transformed the treatment paradigm in CLL in both front-line and relapsed/refractory patients. Longer follow-up data are now available supporting the safety of ibrutinib and the continuous administration required per current label. Novel studies show the superiority of the drug alone or in combination with monoclonal antibodies compared with standard chemoimmunotherapy. The combination of venetoclax and obinutuzumab (treatment-naïve, only in United States) or rituximab (relapsed/refractory) has granted approval from the regulatory authorities in United States and Europe, based on phase 3 randomized studies. These novel chemo-free combinations allow for fixed-duration treatment and undetectable minimal residual disease. Novel targeted strategies including second and third generation BTK and PI3K inhibitors are currently under investigation and promise to further improve the CLL treatment armamentarium. The chimeric-antigen receptor (CAR) T cells are coming to the stage with promising efficacy and new challenges.
A bright chemo-free era for CLL patients is just around the corner. A deep knowledge of currently available evidences is key to tailor treatment choice and optimize long-term tolerability and disease control. Fixed-duration combinations are investigated to allow treatment holidays and avoid the emergence of resistant clones under the selective pressure of continuous treatment.
Cell-autonomous B-cell receptor (BcR)-mediated signalling is a hallmark feature of the neoplastic B lymphocytes in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). Here we elucidate the structural basis of ...autonomous activation of CLL B cells, showing that BcR immunoglobulins initiate intracellular signalling through homotypic interactions between epitopes that are specific for each subgroup of patients with homogeneous clinicobiological profiles. The molecular details of the BcR-BcR interactions apparently dictate the clinical course of disease, with stronger affinities and longer half-lives in indolent cases, and weaker, short-lived contacts mediating the aggressive ones. The diversity of homotypic BcR contacts leading to cell-autonomous signalling reconciles the existence of a shared pathogenic mechanism with the biological and clinical heterogeneity of CLL and offers opportunities for innovative treatment strategies.
Olaptesed pegol (NOX-A12) is a pegylated structured L-oligoribonucleotide that binds and neutralizes CXCL12, a chemokine tightly regulating the life cycle of chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells. The ...resulting inhibition of CXCR4 and CXCR7 signaling reduces the protective activity of the bone marrow and lymph node microenvironment. CXCL12 inhibition mobilizes chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells into the circulation and prevents their homing into the protective niches. In this phase I/II study, 28 patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia were treated with olaptesed pegol in combination with bendamustine and rituximab. Combination treatment was preceded by single escalating pilot doses of olaptesed pegol in the first ten patients for evaluation of safety and pharmacokinetics. Peak concentrations and systemic exposure of olaptesed pegol were dose-linear; plasma elimination was monophasic with a 53.2 h half-life. A rapid increase in circulating chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells was observed already 1 h after administration of olaptesed pegol and lasted for at least 72 h. Single-agent treatment was well tolerated and no dose-limiting toxicity was observed. The combination regimen yielded an overall response rate of 86%, with 11% of patients achieving a complete response and 75% a partial response. Notably, all ten high-risk patients, including four with a 17p deletion, responded to treatment. The median progression-free survival was 15.4 (95% confidence interval: 12.2, 26.2) months while the median overall survival was not reached with >80% of patients alive after a median follow-up of 28 months. Olaptesed pegol was well tolerated and did not result in additional toxicity when combined with bendamustine and rituximab (
). Further clinical development of this novel CXCL12 inhibitor is thus warranted.
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) co‐evolves with its own microenvironment where inflammatory stimuli including toll‐like receptors (TLR) signaling can protect CLL cells from spontaneous and ...drug‐induced apoptosis by upregulating IκBζ, an atypical co‐transcription factor. To dissect IκBζ‐centered signaling pathways, we performed a gene expression profile of primary leukemic cells expressing either high or low levels of IκBζ after stimulation, highlighting that IκBζ is not only an inflammatory gene but it may control metabolic rewiring of malignant cells thus pointing to a novel potential opportunity for therapy. We exploited the capacity of the dimethyl itaconate (DI), an anti‐inflammatory electrophilic synthetic derivative of the metabolite Itaconate, to target IκBζ. CLL cells, murine leukemic splenocytes, and leukocytes from healthy donors were treated in vitro with DI that abolished metabolic activation and reduced cell viability of leukemic cells only, even in the presence of robust TLR prestimulation. RNA sequencing highlighted that in addition to the expected electrophilic stress signature observed after DI treatment, novel pathways emerged including the downregulation of distinct MHC class II complex genes. In conclusion, DI not only abrogated the proinflammatory effects of TLR stimulation but also targeted a specific metabolic vulnerability in CLL cells.
Dimethyl itaconate is an anti‐inflammatory electrophilic synthetic derivative of the metabolite itaconate. In chronic lymphocytic leukemia, inflammatory stimuli triggered by toll‐like receptors protect malignant B cells from cell death‐inducing IκBζ. Treating leukemic cells with dimethyl itaconate inhibited inflammatory pathways while at the same time inducing electrophilic stress and apotosis.
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