A pediatric regimen for adolescents and young adults with Philadelphia chromosome‐negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia: Results of the ALLRE08 PETHEMA trial

Background: Pediatric-based or -inspired trials have improved the prognosis of adolescents and young adults (AYA) with Philadelphia chromosome-negative (Ph-neg) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Methods: This study reports the results of treatment of the ALLRE08 trial, a full pediatric trial for AYA aged 15-30 years with standard-risk (SR) ALL. Results: From 2008 to 2018, 89 patients (38 adolescents [15-18 years] and 51 young adults [YA, 19-30 years], median age: 20 [15-29] years) were enrolled in the ALLRE08 trial. The complete response (CR) was 95%. Twenty-two patients were transferred to a high-risk (HR) protocol because of poor marrow response on day 14 (n = 20) or high-level of end-induction minimal residual response (MRD ≥ 0.25%, n = 2). Cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) at 5 years was 35% (95%CI: 23%-47%), with significant differences between adolescents and YA: 13% (4%-28%) vs 52% (34%-67%), P = .012. No treatment-related mortality was observed in 66/66 patients following the ALLRE08 trial vs 3/23 patients moved to a HR trial. The estimated 5-year overall survival (OS) was 74% (95%CI: 63%-85%), with significantly higher rates for adolescents vs YA: 87% (95%CI: 74%-100%) vs 63% (46%-80%), P = .021. Although CIR or OS were lower in patients who were transferred to a HR trial, the differences were not statistically significant (CIR: 34% [21%-47%] vs 37% [14%-61%]; OS: 78% [66%-90%] vs 61% [31%;91%]). Conclusion: A full pediatric trial is feasible and effective for AYA with Ph-neg, SR-ALL, with better results for adolescents than for YA. Outcome of patients with poor early response rescued with a HR trial was not significantly inferior

Incidence, risk factors, and outcomes of second neoplasms in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia:the PETHEMA-PALG experience

The most important challenges in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is preventing early death and reducing long-term events, such as second neoplasms (s-NPLs). We performed a retrospective analysis of 2670 unselected APL patients, treated with PETHEMA “chemotherapy based” and “chemotherapy free” protocols. Only de novo APL patients who achieved complete remission (CR) and completed the three consolidation cycles were enrolled into the analysis. Out of 2670 APL patients, there were 118 (4.4%) who developed s-NPLs with the median latency period (between first CR and diagnosis of s-NPL) of 48.0 months (range 2.8–231.1): 43.3 (range: 2.8–113.9) for s-MDS/AML and 61.7 (range: 7.1–231.1) for solid tumour. The 5-year CI of all s-NPLs was of 4.43% and 10 years of 7.92%. Among s-NPLs, there were 58 cases of s-MDS/AML, 3 cases of other hematological neoplasms, 57 solid tumours and 1 non-identified neoplasm. The most frequent solid tumour was colorectal, lung and breast cancer. Overall, the 2-year OS from diagnosis of s-NPLs was 40.6%, with a median OS of 11.1 months. Multivariate analysis identified age of 35 years (hazard ratio = 0.2584; p &lt; 0.0001) as an independent prognostic factor for s-NPLs. There were no significant differences in CI of s-NPLs at 5 years between chemotherapy-based vs chemotherapy-free regimens (hazard ratio = 1.09; p = 0.932). Larger series with longer follow-up are required to confirm the potential impact of ATO+ATRA regimens to reduce the incidence of s-NPLs after front-line therapy for APL.</p

A pediatric regimen for adolescents and young adults with Philadelphia chromosome-negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia : Results of the ALLRE08 PETHEMA trial

Altres ajuts: Supported in part by grants from Fundació La Caixa and CIBERONC (JMHR and AO).Pediatric-based or -inspired trials have improved the prognosis of adolescents and young adults (AYA) with Philadelphia chromosome-negative (Ph-neg) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). This study reports the results of treatment of the ALLRE08 trial, a full pediatric trial for AYA aged 15-30 years with standard-risk (SR) ALL. From 2008 to 2018, 89 patients (38 adolescents [15-18 years] and 51 young adults [YA, 19-30 years], median age: 20 [15-29] years) were enrolled in the ALLRE08 trial. The complete response (CR) was 95%. Twenty-two patients were transferred to a high-risk (HR) protocol because of poor marrow response on day 14 (n = 20) or high-level of end-induction minimal residual response (MRD ≥ 0.25%, n = 2). Cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) at 5 years was 35% (95%CI: 23%-47%), with significant differences between adolescents and YA: 13% (4%-28%) vs 52% (34%-67%), P = .012. No treatment-related mortality was observed in 66/66 patients following the ALLRE08 trial vs 3/23 patients moved to a HR trial. The estimated 5-year overall survival (OS) was 74% (95%CI: 63%-85%), with significantly higher rates for adolescents vs YA: 87% (95%CI: 74%-100%) vs 63% (46%-80%), P = .021. Although CIR or OS were lower in patients who were transferred to a HR trial, the differences were not statistically significant (CIR: 34% [21%-47%] vs 37% [14%-61%]; OS: 78% [66%-90%] vs 61% [31%;91%]). A full pediatric trial is feasible and effective for AYA with Ph-neg, SR-ALL, with better results for adolescents than for YA. Outcome of patients with poor early response rescued with a HR trial was not significantly inferior. A full pediatric trial is feasible and effective for adolescent and young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, with better results for adolescents than for young adults. The outcome of patients showing poor early response was not significantly inferior than that observed for good responders after being transferred to a high-risk trial

Impact of measurable residual disease by decentralized flow cytometry: a PETHEMA real-world study in 1076 patients with acute myeloid leukemia

The role of decentralized assessment of measurable residual disease (MRD) for risk stratification in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains largely unknown, and so it does which methodological aspects are critical to empower the evaluation of MRD with prognostic significance, particularly if using multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC). We analyzed 1076 AML patients in first remission after induction chemotherapy, in whom MRD was evaluated by MFC in local laboratories of 60 Hospitals participating in the PETHEMA registry. We also conducted a survey on technical aspects of MRD testing to determine the impact of methodological heterogeneity in the prognostic value of MFC. Our results confirmed the recommended cutoff of 0.1% to discriminate patients with significantly different cumulative-incidence of relapse (-CIR- HR:0.71, P < 0.001) and overall survival (HR: 0.73, P = 0.001), but uncovered the limited prognostic value of MFC based MRD in multivariate and recursive partitioning models including other clinical, genetic and treatment related factors. Virtually all aspects related with methodological, interpretation, and reporting of MFC based MRD testing impacted in its ability to discriminate patients with different CIR. Thus, this study demonstrated that “real-world” assessment of MRD using MFC is prognostic in patients at first remission, and urges greater standardization for improved risk-stratification toward clinical decisions in AML.This study was supported by the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red – Área de Oncología - del Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBERONC; CB16/12/00369, CB16/12/00233, CB16/12/00284 and CB16/12/00400), Instituto de Salud Carlos III/Subdirección General de Investigación Sanitaria (FIS No. PI16/01661, PI16/00517 and PI18/01946), Gerencia Regional de Salud de CyL (GRS 1346/A/16) and the Plan de Investigación de la Universidad de Navarra (PIUNA 2014-18). This study was supported internationally by the Cancer Research UK, FCAECC and AIRC under the Accelerator Award Program EDITOR

Efficacy and safety of native versus pegylated Escherichia coli asparaginase for treatment of adults with high-risk, Philadelphia chromosome-negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Native or pegylated (PEG) asparaginase (ASP) are commonly used in treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), but have been scarcely compared in the same trial in adult patients. Native vs. PEG-ASP administered according to availability in each center were prospectively evaluated in adults with high-risk ALL. Ninety-one patients received native ASP and 35 PEG-ASP in induction. No significant differences were observed in complete remission, minimal residual disease levels after induction and after consolidation, disease-free survival, and overall survival. No significant differences in grades 3–4 toxicity were observed in the induction period, although a trend for higher hepatic toxicity was observed in patients receiving PEG-ASP. In this trial the type of ASP did not influence patient response and outcome.Supported in part with the grants PI10/01417 from Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias and RD12/0036/0029 from RTICC, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 2014 SGR225(GRE), CERCA Program, Generalitat de Catalunya, Spain, and a funding from ‘La Caixa’ Foundation

Impact of FLT3–ITD Mutation Status and Its Ratio in a Cohort of 2901 Patients Undergoing Upfront Intensive Chemotherapy: A PETHEMA Registry Study

FLT3–ITD results in a poor prognosis in terms of overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, the prognostic usefulness of the allelic ratio (AR) to select post-remission therapy remains controversial. Our study focuses on the prognostic impact of FLT3–ITD and its ratio in a series of 2901 adult patients treated intensively in the pre-FLT3 inhibitor era and reported in the PETHEMA registry. A total of 579 of these patients (20%) harbored FLT3–ITD mutations. In multivariate analyses, patients with an FLT3–ITD allele ratio (AR) of >0.5 showed a lower complete remission (CR rate) and OS (HR 1.47, p = 0.009), while AR > 0.8 was associated with poorer RFS (HR 2.1; p 0.5). Using the maximally selected log-rank statistics, we established an optimal cutoff of FLT3–ITD AR of 0.44 for OS, and 0.8 for RFS. We analyzed the OS and RFS according to FLT3–ITD status in all patients, and we found that the group of FLT3–ITD-positive patients with AR 0.44, allo-HSCT was superior to auto-HSCT in terms of OS and RFS. This study provides more evidence for a better characterization of patients with AML harboring FLT3–ITD mutations.Depto. de MedicinaFac. de MedicinaTRUEInstituto de Salud Carlos IIIFundación CRIS Contra el CáncerInstituto de Investigación Hospital 12 de OctubreUnión Europeapu

Characteristics and outcomes of adult patients in the PETHEMA registry with relapsed or refractory FLT3-ITD mutation-positive acute myeloid leukemia

This retrospective study investigated outcomes of 404 patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3)-internal tandem duplication (ITD) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) enrolled in the PETHEMA registry, pre-approval of tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Most patients (63%) had received first-line intensive therapy with 3 + 7. Subsequently, patients received salvage with intensive therapy (n = 261), non-intensive therapy (n = 63) or supportive care only (n = 80). Active salvage therapy (i.e., intensive or non-intensive therapy) resulted in a complete remission (CR) or CR without hematological recovery (CRi) rate of 42%. More patients achieved a CR/CRi with intensive (48%) compared with non-intensive (19%) salvage therapy (p < 0.001). In the overall population, median overall survival (OS) was 5.5 months; 1- and 5-year OS rates were 25% and 7%. OS was significantly (p < 0.001) prolonged with intensive or non-intensive salvage therapy compared with supportive therapy, and in those achieving CR/CRi versus no responders. Of 280 evaluable patients, 61 (22%) had an allogeneic stem-cell transplant after they had achieved CR/CRi. In conclusion, in this large cohort study, salvage treatment approaches for patients with FLT3-ITD mutated R/R AML were heterogeneous. Median OS was poor with both non-intensive and intensive salvage therapy, with best long-term outcomes obtained in patients who achieved CR/CRi and subsequently underwent allogeneic stem-cell transplant.This study was supported by Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Cáncer (CIBERONC), Valencia, Spain [CB16/12/00284]

Adverse prognostic impact of complex karyotype (≥3 cytogenetic alterations) in adult T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL)

© 2021 The Author(s).The potential prognostic value of conventional karyotyping in adult T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) remains an open question. We hypothesized that a modified cytogenetic classification, based on the number and type of cytogenetic abnormalities, would allow the identification of high-risk adult T-ALL patients. Complex karyotype defined by the presence of ≥3 cytogenetic alterations identified T-ALL patients with poor prognosis in this study. Karyotypes with ≥3 abnormalities accounted for 16 % (22/139) of all evaluable karyotypes, corresponding to the largest poor prognosis cytogenetic subgroup of T-ALL identified so far. Patients carrying karyotypes with ≥3 cytogenetic alterations showed a significantly inferior response to therapy, and a poor outcome in terms of event-free survival (EFS), overall survival (OS) and cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR), independently of other baseline characteristics and the end-induction minimal residual disease (MRD) level. Additional molecular analyses of patients carrying ≥3 cytogenetic alterations showed a unique molecular profile that could contribute to understand the underlying molecular mechanisms of resistance and to evaluate novel targeted therapies (e.g. IL7R directed) with potential impact on outcome of adult T-ALL patients.This project was supported by the AECC (GC16173697BIGA); ISCIII (PI19/01828) co-funded by ERDF/ESF "A way to make Europe"/ "Investing in your future", CERCA/Generalitat de Catalunya SGR 2017 288 (GRC)/ “La Caixa” P. Barba was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III FIS16/01433 and PERIS 2018-2020 from Generalitat de Catalunya (BDNS357800)

Adverse prognostic impact of complex karyotype (≥3 cytogenetic alterations) in adult T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL)

The potential prognostic value of conventional karyotyping in adult T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) remains an open question. We hypothesized that a modified cytogenetic classification, based on the number and type of cytogenetic abnormalities, would allow the identification of high-risk adult T-ALL patients. Complex karyotype defined by the presence of ≥3 cytogenetic alterations identified T-ALL patients with poor prognosis in this study. Karyotypes with ≥3 abnormalities accounted for 16 % (22/139) of all evaluable karyotypes, corresponding to the largest poor prognosis cytogenetic subgroup of T-ALL identified so far. Patients carrying karyotypes with ≥3 cytogenetic alterations showed a significantly inferior response to therapy, and a poor outcome in terms of event-free survival (EFS), overall survival (OS) and cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR), independently of other baseline characteristics and the end-induction minimal residual disease (MRD) level. Additional molecular analyses of patients carrying ≥3 cytogenetic alterations showed a unique molecular profile that could contribute to understand the underlying molecular mechanisms of resistance and to evaluate novel targeted therapies (e.g. IL7R directed) with potential impact on outcome of adult T-ALL patients

Outcomes and prognostic factors of adults with refractory or relapsed T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia included in measurable residual disease-oriented trials

Despite high complete remission (CR) rates with frontline therapy, relapses are frequent in adults with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) with limited salvage options. We analyzed the outcomes and prognostic factors for CR to salvage therapy and overall survival (OS) of patients with R/R T-ALL included in two prospective measurable residual disease-oriented trials. Seventy-five patients (70 relapsed, 5 refractory) were identified. Relapses occurred in bone marrow, isolated or combined in 50 patients, and in the central nervous system (CNS; isolated or combined) in 20. Second CR was attained in 30/75 patients (40%). Treatment with FLAG-Ida and isolated CNS relapse were independently associated with a higher CR rate after first salvage therapy. The median OS was 6.2 (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.9–8.6) months, with a 4-year OS probability of 18% (95% CI, 9%–27%). No differences in survival were observed according to the treatment with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients in CR after first salvage therapy. Multivariable analysis showed a ≥12-month interval between first CR and relapse, CR after first salvage therapy and isolated CNS relapse as favorable prognostic factors for OS with hazard ratios (HR) (95% CI) of 1.931 (1.109–3.362), 2.958 (1.640–5.334), and 2.976 (1.157–7.655), respectively. This study confirms the poor outcomes of adults with R/R T-ALL among whom FLAG-Ida was the best of the rescue therapies evaluated. Late relapse, CR after first rescue therapy and isolated CNS relapse showed prognostic impact on survival. More effective rescue therapies are needed in adults with R/R T-ALL.La Caixa" Foundation and ISCIII, Grant/ Award Number: PI19/01828; Generalitat de Catalunya (GRC), Grant/Award Number: 2017 SGR28