Combination of IFN-α/Gm-CSF as a Maintenance Therapy for Multiple Myeloma Patients After Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation (ASCT): A Prospective Phase II Study

Interferon alpha (IFN-α) has been used as a maintenance therapy after autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) for multiple myeloma (MM) patients. In this study, we combined GM-CSF with IFN-α in order to improve IFN tolerance in post-ASCT myeloma patients. Primary aims were to evaluate myelotoxicity and effectiveness of this maintenance therapy. The treatment included 4 × 106 units of IFN-α and 125 μg/m2 of GM-CSF given three times a week for twelve months. Twenty seven patients were enrolled within 120 days after ASCT. One patient discontinued treatment due to thrombocytopenia and seven others were taken off study due to flu-like symptoms and/or increase in liver enzymes. With a median follow-up of 45.5 months, the median overall survival was not reached while the median progression-free survival was 28 months. Eleven patients (42%) have remained in very good partial remission or complete remission since ASCT. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that maintenance with GM-CSF and IFN-α is safe and effective

Long-Term Outcome after Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation with Adequate Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Mobilization Using Plerixafor and G-CSF in Poor Mobilizer Lymphoma and Myeloma Patients

Poor peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) mobilization predicts worse outcome for myeloma and lymphoma patients post autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT). We hypothesize that PBSC harvest using plerixafor and G-CSF in poor mobilizers may improve long-term outcome. We retrospectively analyzed the data on patients who had second PBSC mobilization using plerixafor and G-CSF as a rescue. Nine lymphoma and 8 multiple myeloma (MM) patients received the drug. A control group of 25 MM and lymphoma patients who were good mobilizers with G-CSF only was used for comparison. Sixteen of the 17 poor mobilizers proceeded to ASCT, and one MM patient had tandem transplants. Length of hospital stay, infection incidence, granulocyte engraftment, and long-term hematopoietic recovery were not significantly different between the two groups. In conclusion, all poor mobilizers were able to obtain adequate stem cells transplant dose and had similar transplant course and long-term outcome to that of the control good mobilizers group

Ex vivo development, expansion and in vivo analysis of a novel lineage of dendritic cells from hematopoietic stem cells

Dendritic cells (DCs) play a key role in innate and adaptive immunity but the access to sufficient amount of DCs for basic and translational research has been limited

Long-Term Outcome after Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation with Adequate Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Mobilization Using Plerixafor and G-CSF in Poor Mobilizer Lymphoma and Myeloma Patients

Poor peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) mobilization predicts worse outcome for myeloma and lymphoma patients post autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT). We hypothesize that PBSC harvest using plerixafor and G-CSF in poor mobilizers may improve long-term outcome. We retrospectively analyzed the data on patients who had second PBSC mobilization using plerixafor and G-CSF as a rescue. Nine lymphoma and 8 multiple myeloma (MM) patients received the drug. A control group of 25 MM and lymphoma patients who were good mobilizers with G-CSF only was used for comparison. Sixteen of the 17 poor mobilizers proceeded to ASCT, and one MM patient had tandem transplants. Length of hospital stay, infection incidence, granulocyte engraftment, and long-term hematopoietic recovery were not significantly different between the two groups. In conclusion, all poor mobilizers were able to obtain adequate stem cells transplant dose and had similar transplant course and long-term outcome to that of the control good mobilizers group

Melflufen and dexamethasone in heavily pretreated relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma

Clinical trial information: NCT02963493Altres ajuts: Oncopeptides A

Improved Outcomes After Autologous Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation for Light Chain Amyloidosis: A Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research Study

Autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation, or autotransplantation, is effective in light-chain amyloidosis (AL), but it is associated with a high risk of early mortality (EM). In a multicenter randomized comparison against oral chemotherapy, autotransplantation was associated with 24% EM. We analyzed trends in outcomes after autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation for AL in North America

Lenalidomide after Stem-Cell Transplantation for Multiple Myeloma

Data are lacking on whether lenalidomide maintenance therapy prolongs the time to disease progression after autologous hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation in patients with multiple myeloma

Pharmacogenomics of osteonecrosis of the jaw

Osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) is a rare but serious drug induced adverse event, mainly associated with the use of antiresorptive medications, such as intravenous (IV) bisphosphonates (BPs) in cancer patients. In this review, we evaluated all the pharmacogenomic association studies for ONJ published up to December 2018. To date, two SNPs (CYP2C8 rs1934951 and RBMS3 rs17024608) were identified to be associated with ONJ by two genome-wide association studies (GWAS). However, all six subsequent candidate gene studies failed to replicate these results. In addition, six discovery candidate gene studies tried to identify the genetic markers in several genes associated with bone remodeling, bone mineral density, or osteoporosis. After evaluating the results of these 6 studies, none of the SNPs was significantly associated with ONJ. Recently, two whole-exome sequencing (WES) analysis (including one from our group) were performed to identify variants associated with ONJ. So far, only our study successfully replicated discovery result indicating SIRT1 SNP rs7896005 to be associated with ONJ. However, this SNP also did not reach genome-wide significance. The major limitations of these studies include lack of replication phases and limited sample sizes. Even though some studies had larger sample sizes, they recruited healthy individuals as controls, not subjects treated with BPs. We conclude that a GWAS with a larger sample size followed by replication phase will be needed to fully investigate the pharmacogenomic markers of ONJ

Plerixafor in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma patients undergoing autologous stem cell transplantation

Autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) is the standard of care for multiple myeloma (MM) and relapsing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) patients. Peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) have become the main source of grafts for ASCT due to several advantages over bone marrow grafts. Poor PBSC mobilization and inadequate collection of CD34+ cell dose for safe engraftment is a reality for significant proportion of these patients. For this review, we conducted a PubMed search using the titles plerixafor and AMD3100 as well as poor stem cell mobilization. English-language articles were selected and data were extracted with focus on clinical studies of PBSC mobilization in MM and NHL patients. We discuss predictors of poor PBSC mobilization, the impact of poor mobilization on ASCT outcomes, the available agents that have been routinely used to enhance mobilization to achieve optimal CD34+ cell dose, and the role of plerixafor, the first CXCR4 antagonist to be approved for stem cell mobilization. Studies have shown that plerixafor is effective and safe when given with G-CSF either upfront or as a rescue for patients with MM or NHL. Currently, more patients are getting transplanted because of plerixafor. The challenge now is how to use the drug in the most cost effective way. Several scenarios on how to use the drug in proven or predicted poor mobilizers are proposed in this manuscript; however, validation for some of these approaches is still needed