Paradigms and Controversies in the Treatment of HIV-Related Burkitt Lymphoma

Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is a very aggressive subtype of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that occurs with higher frequency in patients with HIV/AIDS. Patients with HIV-related BL (HIV-BL) are usually treated with high-intensity, multi-agent chemotherapy regimens. The addition of the monoclonal antibody Rituximab to chemotherapy has also been studied in this setting. The potential risks and benefits of commonly used regimens are reviewed herein, along with a discussion of controversial issues in the practical management of HIV-BL, including concurrent anti-retroviral therapy, treatment of relapsed and/or refractory disease, and the role of stem cell transplantation

Phase I/II clinical trial of temsirolimus and lenalidomide in patients with relapsed and refractory lymphomas

The PI3K/Akt/mTOR (PAM) axis is constitutively activated in multiple lymphoma subtypes and is a promising therapeutic target. The mTOR inhibitor temsirolimus (TEM) and the immunomodulatory agent lenalidomide (LEN) have overlapping effects within the PAM axis with synergistic potential. This multicenter phase I/II study evaluated combination therapy with TEM/LEN in patients with relapsed and refractory lymphomas. Primary endpoints of the phase II study were rates of complete (CR) and overall response (ORR). There were 18 patients in the phase I dose-finding study, and TEM 25 mg weekly and LEN 20 mg on day 1 through day 21 every 28 days was established as the recommended phase II dose. An additional 93 patients were enrolled in the phase II component with three cohorts: diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL, n=39), follicular lymphoma (FL, n=15), and an exploratory cohort of other lymphoma histologies with classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) comprising the majority (n=39 total, n=20 with cHL). Patients were heavily pretreated with a median of four (range, 1-14) prior therapies and one-third with relapse following autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT); patients with cHL had a median of six prior therapies. The FL cohort was closed prematurely due to slow accrual. ORR were 26% (13% CR) and 64% (18% CR) for the DLBCL and exploratory cohorts, respectively. ORR for cHL patients in the exploratory cohort, most of whom had relapsed after both brentuximab vedotin and ASCT, was 80% (35% CR). Eight cHL patients (40%) proceeded to allogeneic transplantation after TEM/LEN therapy. Grade ≥3 hematologic adverse events (AE) were common. Three grade 5 AE occurred. Combination therapy with TEM/LEN was feasible and demonstrated encouraging activity in heavily-pretreated lymphomas, particularly in relapsed/refractory cHL (clinicaltrials gov. Identifier: NCT01076543)

Exploring new physics frontiers through numerical relativity

The demand to obtain answers to highly complex problems within strong-field gravity has been met with significant progress in the numerical solution of Einstein's equations - along with some spectacular results - in various setups. We review techniques for solving Einstein's equations in generic spacetimes, focusing on fully nonlinear evolutions but also on how to benchmark those results with perturbative approaches. The results address problems in high-energy physics, holography, mathematical physics, fundamental physics, astrophysics and cosmology

Retrospective Analysis of Lymphomas in the Setting of Autoimmune Disease and the Impact of Immunosuppression

Abstract Introduction: Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) encompasses a heterogeneous array of cases of lymphoma/lymphoma-like conditions arising in the setting of immunosuppression (IS) for prior organ or marrow transplant. Such pts face heightened risk of toxicity from exposure to cytotoxic chemotherapy, and may be best treated in the frontline with reduction of IS (RI) and anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody treatment (Trappe, 2012). Autoimmune (AI) disease has been associated with an increased risk of developing lymphoma; however, the relative impact of baseline clinical features, including prior IS, is unknown. Methods: We conducted a multicenter, retrospective analysis of adult pts with pre-existing AI conditions who were diagnosed with lymphoma since 1997. Baseline clinical features at diagnosis of lymphoid malignancy, including International Prognostic Index (IPI) risk factors; underlying AI disease; duration and type of IS; EBV status (by EBER in-situ hybridization); and primary therapy received (RI, rituximab [R] monotherapy, chemotherapy [+/- R]); were collected. Survival analyses were performed using Kaplan-Meier method. We then focused on those who had A) received IS other than corticosteroids (CS) alone; and B) those diagnosed with DLBCL. Those variables found to have significant correlation with OS by univariate analyses (UVA) were used to construct Cox proportional hazards model (multivariate analysis [MVA]) in order to determine which might have the strongest association with OS. Lastly, we sought to evaluate a potential role for RI and/or R as frontline therapy for those with DLBCL. Results: A total of 130 pts were included (Table 1). The most frequent AI disease was rheumatoid arthritis and for all cases, 76% had documented exposure to IS, for a median duration of 4.5 years (range 0.17-57 years) prior to diagnosis of lymphoma. The most common histologic subtype was DLBCL (52%). EBV status was reported for only 34% of pts, but was positive in 68% (25/37), all of whom had received prior exposure to IS beyond CS, and 80% of whom (20/25) were diagnosed with DLBCL. EBV status was infrequently tested in pts not previously exposed to IS (3/31). At a median follow-up of 61 months for the entire cohort, 2-year PFS and OS were 79% and 91%, respectively (Figure 1, Panel A). By UVA, age>60; PS>1; LDH> upper limit of normal (ULN); DLBCL (vs all other histologies); underlying rheumatoid arthritis (RA; vs all other AI diseases); and prior exposure to IS, each correlated with inferior OS (Table 1). By MVA, PS>1 and prior IS maintained significance (p1 (p 0.002) and prior IS (p 0.010) maintain significance (data not shown). Among 67 pts with DLBCL, median age was 61 (range 26-90), 60% had advanced stage disease, and 32% had IPI of 4 or 5. At a median follow-up of 32 months, the 2-year PFS and OS were 82% and 84%, respectively. There were no differences in frequency of any IPI factors between patients exposed to prior IS (n=53) and those who were naïve to prior IS (n=14). For those not exposed to prior IS, the 2-year OS was 100%, compared to 80% in those who received prior IS (p 0.24); corresponding 2-year PFS were 92% and 79%, respectively (p 0.41). Age>60 and PS>1 were associated with an inferior OS but use of IS was not associated with outcome (Table 2). The 2 year OS for those treated with R plus CHOP(like) chemotherapy, CHOP(like) chemotherapy (without R), R alone (+/- RI), and with RI alone were 92%, 75%, 90%, and 67%, respectively (Figure 1, Panel B; log-rank p value 0.55). Patients who received CHOP-like therapy +/- R, as compared to R and/or RI were more likely to be naïve to IS therapy (15/46 vs 0/22, p = 0.003) and have 2 or more EN sites of disease (15/46 vs 2/22, =0.041). These differences notwithstanding, the 2-year PFS for the two groups were 86% and 74% (p 0.16), and 2-year OS for the two groups were 88% and 82%, respectively (Figure 1, Panel C; p 0.91). Conclusions: Pts with immunosuppression-related lymphoma have high rates of 2-year OS and in DLBCL, IS does not appear to be associated with an inferior outcome. Similar to evolving treatment paradigms in PTLD, rituximab monotherapy and other cytotoxic chemotherapy-free regimens as well as risk-adapted approaches may warrant further evaluation in IS-related DLBCL. Disclosures Petrich: Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding. Barta:Seattle Genetics: Research Funding. Feldman:Celgene: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Pharmacyclics/JNJ: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Seattle Genetics: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Savage:Seattle Genetics: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; BMS: Honoraria; Infinity: Honoraria; Roche: Other: Institutional research funding