Single agent subcutaneous blinatumomab for advanced acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Blinatumomab is a BiTE® (bispecific T-cell engager) molecule that redirects CD3+ T-cells to engage and lyse CD19+ target cells. Here we demonstrate that subcutaneous (SC) blinatumomab can provide high efficacy and greater convenience of administration. In the expansion phase of a multi-institutional phase 1b trial (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04521231), heavily pretreated adults with relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (R/R B-ALL) received SC blinatumomab at two doses: (1) 250 μg once daily (QD) for week 1 and 500 μg three times weekly (TIW) thereafter (250 μg/500 μg) or (2) 500 μg QD for week 1 and 1000 μg TIW thereafter (500 μg/1000 μg). The primary endpoint was complete remission/complete remission with partial hematologic recovery (CR/CRh) within two cycles. At the data cutoff of September 15, 2023, 29 patients were treated: 14 at the 250 μg/500 μg dose and 13 at 500 μg/1000 μg dose. Data from two ineligible patients were excluded. At the end of two cycles, 12 of 14 patients (85.7%) from the 250 μg/500 μg dose achieved CR/CRh of which nine patients (75.0%) were negative for measurable residual disease (MRD; &lt;10−4 leukemic blasts). At the 500 μg/1000 μg dose, 12 of 13 patients (92.3%) achieved CR/CRh; all 12 patients (100.0%) were MRD-negative. No treatment-related grade 4 cytokine release syndrome (CRS) or neurologic events (NEs) were reported. SC injections were well tolerated and all treatment-related grade 3 CRS and NEs responded to standard-of-care management, interruption, or discontinuation. Treatment with SC blinatumomab resulted in high efficacy, with high MRD-negativity rates and acceptable safety profile in heavily pretreated adults with R/R B-ALL.</p

Single agent subcutaneous blinatumomab for advanced acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Blinatumomab is a BiTE® (bispecific T-cell engager) molecule that redirects CD3+ T-cells to engage and lyse CD19+ target cells. Here we demonstrate that subcutaneous (SC) blinatumomab can provide high efficacy and greater convenience of administration. In the expansion phase of a multi-institutional phase 1b trial (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04521231), heavily pretreated adults with relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (R/R B-ALL) received SC blinatumomab at two doses: (1) 250 μg once daily (QD) for week 1 and 500 μg three times weekly (TIW) thereafter (250 μg/500 μg) or (2) 500 μg QD for week 1 and 1000 μg TIW thereafter (500 μg/1000 μg). The primary endpoint was complete remission/complete remission with partial hematologic recovery (CR/CRh) within two cycles. At the data cutoff of September 15, 2023, 29 patients were treated: 14 at the 250 μg/500 μg dose and 13 at 500 μg/1000 μg dose. Data from two ineligible patients were excluded. At the end of two cycles, 12 of 14 patients (85.7%) from the 250 μg/500 μg dose achieved CR/CRh of which nine patients (75.0%) were negative for measurable residual disease (MRD; &lt;10−4 leukemic blasts). At the 500 μg/1000 μg dose, 12 of 13 patients (92.3%) achieved CR/CRh; all 12 patients (100.0%) were MRD-negative. No treatment-related grade 4 cytokine release syndrome (CRS) or neurologic events (NEs) were reported. SC injections were well tolerated and all treatment-related grade 3 CRS and NEs responded to standard-of-care management, interruption, or discontinuation. Treatment with SC blinatumomab resulted in high efficacy, with high MRD-negativity rates and acceptable safety profile in heavily pretreated adults with R/R B-ALL.</p

Phase 1/2 study of sorafenib added to cladribine, high-dose cytarabine, G-CSF, and mitoxantrone in untreated AML

© 2023 by The American Society of Hematology. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), permitting only noncommercial, nonderivative use with attribution. All other rights reserved.The multikinase inhibitor sorafenib improves event-free survival (EFS) when used with 7 + 3 in adults with newly-diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML), irrespective of the FLT3-mutation status. Here, we evaluated adding sorafenib to cladribine, high-dose cytarabine, granulocyte colony–stimulating factor, and mitoxantrone (CLAG-M) in a phase 1/2 trial of 81 adults aged ≤60 years with newly diagnosed AML. Forty-six patients were treated in phase 1 with escalating doses of sorafenib and mitoxantrone. No maximum tolerated dose was reached, and a regimen including mitoxantrone 18 mg/m2 per day and sorafenib 400 mg twice daily was declared the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D). Among 41 patients treated at RP2D, a measurable residual disease–negative complete remission (MRD– CR) rate of 83% was obtained. Four-week mortality was 2%. One-year overall survival (OS) and EFS were 80% and 76%, without differences in MRD– CR rates, OS, or EFS between patients with or without FLT3-mutated disease. Comparing outcomes using CLAG-M/sorafenib with those of a matched cohort of 76 patients treated with CLAG-M alone, multivariable-adjusted survival estimates were improved for 41 patients receiving CLAG-M/sorafenib at RP2D (OS: hazard ratio,0.24 [95% confidence interval, 0.07-0.82]; P = .023; EFS: hazard ratio, 0.16 [95% confidence interval, 0.05-0.53]; P = .003). Benefit was limited to patients with intermediate-risk disease (univariate analysis: P = .01 for OS; P = .02 for EFS). These data suggest that CLAG-M/sorafenib is safe and improves OS and EFS relative to CLAG-M alone, with benefits primarily in patients with intermediate-risk disease. The trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT02728050.The CLAG-M/sorafenib trial was supported by Bayer Pharmaceuticals Inc. A.B.H. was supported by an ASCO Young Investigator award.Peer reviewe

Impact of prior therapies and subsequent transplantation on outcomes in adult patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated with brexucabtagene autoleucel in ZUMA-3

Background Brexucabtagene autoleucel (brexu-cel) is an autologous anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy approved in the USA for adults with relapsed or refractory (R/R) B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) and in the European Union for patients ≥26 years with R/R B-ALL. After 2 years of follow-up in ZUMA-3, the overall complete remission (CR) rate (CR+CR with incomplete hematological recovery (CRi)) was 73%, and the median overall survival (OS) was 25.4 months in 78 Phase 1 and 2 patients with R/R B-ALL who received the pivotal dose of brexu-cel. Outcomes by prior therapies and subsequent allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) are reported. Methods Eligible adults had R/R B-ALL and received one infusion of brexu-cel (1×106 CAR T cells/kg) following conditioning chemotherapy. The primary endpoint was the CR/CRi rate per central review. Post hoc subgroup analyses were exploratory with descriptive statistics provided. Results Phase 1 and 2 patients (N=78) were included with median follow-up of 29.7 months (range, 20.7-58.3). High CR/CRi rates were observed across all prior therapy subgroups examined: 1 prior line of therapy (87%, n=15) and ≥2 prior lines (70%, n=63); prior blinatumomab (63%, n=38) and no prior blinatumomab (83%, n=40); prior inotuzumab (59%, n=17) and no prior inotuzumab (77%, n=61); and prior alloSCT (76%, n=29) and no prior alloSCT (71%, n=49). The frequency of Grade ≥3 cytokine release syndrome, neurological events, and treatment-related Grade 5 adverse events were largely similar among prior therapy subgroups. Median duration of remission (DOR) in responders with (n=14) and without (n=43) subsequent alloSCT was 44.2 (95% CI, 8.1 to not estimable (NE)) and 18.6 months (95% CI, 9.4 to NE); median OS was 47.0 months (95% CI, 10.2 to NE) and not reached (95% CI, 23.2 to NE), respectively. Median DOR and OS were not reached in responders without prior or subsequent alloSCT (n=22). Conclusions In ZUMA-3, adults with R/R B-ALL benefited from brexu-cel, regardless of prior therapies and subsequent alloSCT status, though survival appeared better in patients without certain prior therapies and in earlier lines of therapy. Additional studies are needed to determine the impact prior therapies and subsequent alloSCT have on outcomes of patients who receive brexu-cel

Haploidentical vs. sibling, unrelated, or cord blood hematopoietic cell transplantation for acute lymphoblastic leukemia

The role of haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) using posttransplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is being defined. We performed a retrospective, multivariable analysis comparing outcomes of HCT approaches by donor for adults with ALL in remission. The primary objective was to compare overall survival (OS) among haploidentical HCTs using PTCy and HLA-matched sibling donor (MSD), 8/8 HLAmatched unrelated donor (MUD), 7 /8 HLA-MUD, or umbilical cord blood (UCB) HCT. Comparing haploidentical HCT to MSD HCT, we found that OS, leukemia-free survival (LFS), nonrelapse mortality (NRM), relapse, and acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) were not different but chronic GVHD (cGVHD) was higher in MSD HCT. Compared with MUD HCT, OS, LFS, and relapse were not different, but MUD HCT had increased NRM (hazard ratio [HR], 1.42; P = .02), grade 3 to 4 aGVHD (HR, 1.59; P = .005), and cGVHD. Compared with 7/8 UD HCT, LFS and relapse were not different, but 7/8 UD HCT had worse OS (HR, 1.38; P = .01) and increased NRM (HR, 2.13; P <_ .001), grade 3 to 4 aGVHD (HR, 1.86; P = .003), and cGVHD (HR, 1.72; P <_ .001). Compared with UCB HCT, late OS, late LFS, relapse, and cGVHD were not different but UCB HCT had worse early OS (<_18 months; HR, 1.93; P < .001), worse early LFS (HR, 1.40; P = .007) and increased incidences of NRM (HR, 2.08; P < .001) and grade 3 to 4 aGVHD (HR, 1.97; P < .001). Haploidentical HCT using PTCy showed no difference in survival but less GVHD compared with traditional MSD and MUD HCT and is the preferred alternative donor HCT option for adults with ALL in complete remission

Spontaneous Remission of an Untreated, MYC and BCL2 Coexpressing, High-Grade B-Cell Lymphoma: A Case Report and Literature Review

Non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) are a heterogeneous group of hematologic malignancies typically treated with multiagent chemotherapy. Rarely, spontaneous remissions can be observed, particularly in more indolent subtypes. The prognosis of aggressive NHL can be predicted using clinical and histopathologic factors. In aggressive B-cell NHL, the importance of MYC and BCL2 proto-oncogene coexpression (as assessed by immunohistochemistry) and high-grade histologic features are particularly noteworthy. We report a unique case of spontaneous remission in a patient with an aggressive B-cell NHL which harbored high-risk histopathologic features, including MYC protein expression at 70–80%, BCL2 protein expression, and morphologic features suggestive of high-grade B-cell lymphoma, NOS (formerly B-cell lymphoma unclassifiable with features intermediate between diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and Burkitt lymphoma [BCLU]). After undergoing a biopsy to confirm this diagnosis, he opted to forego curative-intent chemotherapy. The single, yet relatively large area of involvement noted on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography steadily resolved on subsequent follow-up studies. He remained without evidence of recurrence one year later, having never received treatment. This case emphasizes the potential for spontaneous remission in NHL and demonstrates that this phenomenon can be observed despite contemporary high-risk histopathologic features

Reevaluating Patient Eligibility for Inotuzumab Ozogamicin Based on CD22 Expression: Is Dim Expression Sufficient?

Salvage options for patients with relapsed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) include inotuzumab ozogamicin (InO), a recombinant, humanized anti-CD22 monoclonal antibody conjugated to the cytotoxic antibiotic calicheamicin. However, the benefit of InO in patients with dim CD22 expression remains unclear. We present a case of a patient with B-ALL who responded to InO despite only dim surface expression of CD22 by flow cytometry, achieving a survival benefit concordant with that reported in the literature and maintaining a good quality of life as a transfusion-independent outpatient. Our observation has broad relevance to clinicians who manage patients with B-ALL who are candidates for InO.Medicine, Faculty ofAlumniNon UBCReviewedFacult

A Window Study of Ixazomib in Untreated B-NHL

Background: Window of opportunity studies are rarely conducted in lymphoma, but permit evaluation of novel therapies before resistance mechanisms emerge. Identification of a minimum acceptable response rate in the first-line setting may expedite drug development and is most attractive for testing relatively nontoxic, oral targeted agents that may offer substantial logistical and clinical benefits (1). Ixazomib, an orally bioavailable proteasome inhibitor, showed promising activity in a single small study that included relapsed/refractory indolent B-cell NHL (i-NHL) (2). We designed a frontline "window" study to assess the activity of ixazomib monotherapy in patients with i-NHL. Methods: This single-arm, open-label investigator-initiated phase II trial (NCT 02339922) is being conducted at the University of Washington / Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center. Patients must have a diagnosis of i-NHL and a clinical indication for treatment per NCCN guidelines. Other criteria are ECOG ≤ 2, and no prior systemic anti-neoplastic treatment except in cases of mucosa-associated marginal zone lymphoma relapsed after or refractory to antibiotics. Ixazomib is administered at 4 mg orally once a week on consecutive 28-day cycles until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. The window period closes after 6 cycles, with four doses of weekly rituximab added during the 7th cycle to test the safety and efficacy of this combination. The primary endpoint is investigator-assessed response rate performed every 2 cycles. An overall response rate of ≥ 19 of 36 is required to conclude promising efficacy. Secondary endpoints include duration of response, progression free survival, time to next treatment, and safety / tolerability. Correlative studies are being performed on tumor tissue samples collected pre-treatment and paired with biopsies obtained, as able, within 2 months after initiation of ixazomib and with clinically suspected disease progression to gain insight into potential molecular predictors of response. Correlates under investigation include gene expression profiling using the Nanostring platform and immunohistochemical evaluation of pathways associated with lymphoma proliferation and proteasome inhibition. The study opened in May 2016 and as of June 2019, 32 patients were screened. Of 23 patients treated the median age is 64 (range 41 to 85) and 15 (65%) are male. Fifteen (65%) patients had follicular lymphoma, 4 (17%) mantle cell lymphoma, 3 (13%) marginal zone lymphoma, and 1 (4%) chronic lymphocytic leukemia. No unexpected toxicities have emerged to date. The study is supported by Takeda Oncology. Glimelius B, Lahn M. Window-of-opportunity trials to evaluate clinical activity of new molecular entities in oncology. Ann Oncol. 2011;22(8):1717-25.Assouline SE, Chang J, Cheson BD, Rifkin R, Hamburg S, Reyes R, et al. Phase 1 dose-escalation study of IV ixazomib, an investigational proteasome inhibitor, in patients with relapsed/refractory lymphoma. Blood Cancer J. 2014;4:e251. Disclosures Graf: BeiGene: Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Research Funding. Lynch:Johnson Graffe Keay Moniz & Wick LLP: Consultancy; Incyte Corporation: Research Funding; Juno Therapeutics: Research Funding; T.G. Therapeutics: Research Funding; Rhizen Pharmaceuticals S.A: Research Funding; Takeda Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding. Ujjani:Gilead: Consultancy; Astrazeneca: Consultancy; Atara: Consultancy; Genentech: Honoraria; AbbVie: Honoraria, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Honoraria; PCYC: Research Funding. Cowan:Abbvie: Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Sanofi: Consultancy; Cellectar: Consultancy; Juno: Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding. Smith:Pharmacyclics: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; Portola Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Genentech: Research Funding; Ayala (spouse): Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Denovo Biopharma: Research Funding; Ignyta (spouse): Research Funding; Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp: Consultancy, Research Funding; Incyte Corporation: Research Funding; Acerta Pharma BV: Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb (spouse): Research Funding. Shadman:BeiGene: Research Funding; Sound Biologics: Consultancy; Celgene: Research Funding; Gilead: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Research Funding; TG Therapeutic: Research Funding; Sunesis: Research Funding; Astra Zeneca: Consultancy; Atara Biotherapeutics: Consultancy; Mustang Bio: Research Funding; ADC Therapeutics: Consultancy; Verastem: Consultancy; AbbVie: Consultancy, Research Funding; Acerta Pharma: Research Funding. Libby:Alnylam: Consultancy; Abbvie: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics and Janssen: Consultancy; Akcea: Consultancy. Cassaday:Amgen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Incyte: Research Funding; Kite/Gilead: Research Funding; Merck: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Other: Spouse's disclosure: employment, stock and other ownership interests. Fromm:Merck, Inc.: Research Funding. Gopal:Teva, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, Takeda, Seattle Genetics, Pfizer, Janssen, Takeda, and Effector: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics, Pfizer, Janssen, Gilead, Sanofi, Spectrum, Amgen, Aptevo, BRIM bio, Acerta, I-Mab-pharma, Takeda, Compliment, Asana Bio, and Incyte: Honoraria; Seattle Genetics, Pfizer, Janssen, Gilead, Sanofi, Spectrum, Amgen, Aptevo, BRIM bio, Acerta, I-Mab-pharma, Takeda, Compliment, Asana Bio, and Incyte.: Consultancy. OffLabel Disclosure: Ixazomib is not approved for use in indolent B-NHL