A phase 1b study of venetoclax and alvocidib in patients with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia

Relapsed/refractory (R/R) Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is a genetically complex and heterogeneous disease with a poor prognosis and limited treatment options. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop therapeutic combinations to overcome drug resistance in AML. This open-label, multicenter, international, phase 1b study evaluated the safety, efficacy, and pharmacokinetics of venetoclax in combination with alvocidib in patients with R/R AML. Patients were treated with escalating doses of venetoclax (400, 600, and 800 mg QD, orally, days 1–28) and alvocidib (45 and 60 mg/m2, intravenously, days 1–3) in 28-day cycles. The combination was found to be safe and tolerable, with no maximum tolerated dose reached. Drug-related Grade ≥3 adverse events were reported in 23 (65.7%) for venetoclax and 24 (68.6%) for alvocidib. No drug-related AEs were fatal. Gastrointestinal toxicities, including diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting were notable and frequent; otherwise, the toxicities reported were consistent with the safety profile of both agents. The response rate was modest (complete remission [CR] + incomplete CR [CRi], 11.4%; CR + CRi + partial response rate + morphologic leukemia-free state, 20%). There was no change in alvocidib pharmacokinetics with increasing doses of venetoclax. However, when venetoclax was administered with alvocidib, AUC24 and Cmax decreased by 18% and 19%, respectively. A recommended phase 2 dose was not established due to lack of meaningful increase in efficacy across all cohorts compared to what was previously observed with each agent alone. Future studies could consider the role of the sequence, dosing, and the use of a more selective MCL1 inhibitor for the R/R AML population

A Patient with Supraclavicular Lymphadenopathy and Anterior Mediastinal Mass Presenting as a Rare Case of Composite Lymphoma: A Case Report and Literature Review

Composite lymphoma (CL) is a rare disease with 2 distinct lymphomas concurrently arising in a single patient with an estimated incidence of 1–4.7% of newly diagnosed lymphomas per year. CL most commonly involves 2 B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) or a B-cell NHL with a Hodgkin lymphoma. Our case is unique in that it was a bilineage CL with both a T-cell and B-cell NHL, which has only been reported in a few case reports. A 49-year-old woman presented with several months of progressive cough, weight loss, dyspnea, and supraclavicular lymphadenopathy. Computed tomographic imaging done upon admission to the hospital found that she had extensive anterior and middle mediastinal lymphadenopathy as well as bilateral supraclavicular lymphadenopathy. The patient underwent an excisional biopsy on the supraclavicular lymph node and was found to have a composite lymphoma involving both a T-cell and B-cell NHL. Her final pathological diagnosis was peripheral T-cell lymphoma and lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma. The patient was found to have stage IIIB disease. Her HIV, hepatitis panel, and tuberculosis tests were all negative. She then underwent chemotherapy with dose-adjusted EPOCH-R (etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and rituximab). The patient showed a complete response and was then referred to a bone marrow transplant center for an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant. CL is a rare disease composed of at least 2 distinct lymphomas concurrently arising in a single patient. Due to the complexity in having to treat multiple types of lymphoma simultaneously CL presents challenges with treatment and assessing prognosis

A Patient with Supraclavicular Lymphadenopathy and Anterior Mediastinal Mass Presenting as a Rare Case of Composite Lymphoma: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Composite lymphoma (CL) is a rare disease with 2 distinct lymphomas concurrently arising in a single patient with an estimated incidence of 1-4.7% of newly diagnosed lymphomas per year. CL most commonly involves 2 B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) or a B-cell NHL with a Hodgkin lymphoma. Our case is unique in that it was a bilineage CL with both a T-cell and B-cell NHL, which has only been reported in a few case reports. A 49-year-old woman presented with several months of progressive cough, weight loss, dyspnea, and supraclavicular lymphadenopathy. Computed tomographic imaging done upon admission to the hospital found that she had extensive anterior and middle mediastinal lymphadenopathy as well as bilateral supraclavicular lymphadenopathy. The patient underwent an excisional biopsy on the supraclavicular lymph node and was found to have a composite lymphoma involving both a T-cell and B-cell NHL. Her final pathological diagnosis was peripheral T-cell lymphoma and lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma. The patient was found to have stage IIIB disease. Her HIV, hepatitis panel, and tuberculosis tests were all negative. She then underwent chemotherapy with dose-adjusted EPOCH-R (etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and rituximab). The patient showed a complete response and was then referred to a bone marrow transplant center for an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant. CL is a rare disease composed of at least 2 distinct lymphomas concurrently arising in a single patient. Due to the complexity in having to treat multiple types of lymphoma simultaneously CL presents challenges with treatment and assessing prognosis

A Patient with Supraclavicular Lymphadenopathy and Anterior Mediastinal Mass Presenting as a Rare Case of Composite Lymphoma: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Composite lymphoma (CL) is a rare disease with 2 distinct lymphomas concurrently arising in a single patient with an estimated incidence of 1-4.7% of newly diagnosed lymphomas per year. CL most commonly involves 2 B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) or a B-cell NHL with a Hodgkin lymphoma. Our case is unique in that it was a bilineage CL with both a T-cell and B-cell NHL, which has only been reported in a few case reports. A 49-year-old woman presented with several months of progressive cough, weight loss, dyspnea, and supraclavicular lymphadenopathy. Computed tomographic imaging done upon admission to the hospital found that she had extensive anterior and middle mediastinal lymphadenopathy as well as bilateral supraclavicular lymphadenopathy. The patient underwent an excisional biopsy on the supraclavicular lymph node and was found to have a composite lymphoma involving both a T-cell and B-cell NHL. Her final pathological diagnosis was peripheral T-cell lymphoma and lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma. The patient was found to have stage IIIB disease. Her HIV, hepatitis panel, and tuberculosis tests were all negative. She then underwent chemotherapy with dose-adjusted EPOCH-R (etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and rituximab). The patient showed a complete response and was then referred to a bone marrow transplant center for an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant. CL is a rare disease composed of at least 2 distinct lymphomas concurrently arising in a single patient. Due to the complexity in having to treat multiple types of lymphoma simultaneously CL presents challenges with treatment and assessing prognosis

A Sensitive, Quantitative Assay for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Integration

Quantitative methods to measure human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) integration promise to be important tools in dissecting the mechanisms whereby latent reservoirs of provirus are established, most notably in the resting T cells of patients receiving antiretroviral therapy. Here we describe a fluorescence-monitored, nested PCR assay that is able to quantify the relatively rare integration events that occur within these cells. Following DNA extraction, a nonkinetic preamplification step is performed with primers that bind genomic Alu elements and HIV-1 gag sequences, under conditions where primers, deoxynucleoside triphosphates, and enzyme are not limiting. This is followed by a kinetic PCR that quantitates HIV-1 long terminal repeat sequences. A T-cell-based integration standard which reflects the randomness of HIV-1 integration is also described. The assay is 10 to 100 times more sensitive than previously reported quantitative Alu PCR-based integration assays. It is specific for integration events, since no proviruses are detected in cells infected either in the presence of an integrase inhibitor or with an integrase-deficient virus. This method promises to provide important new insights into the processes underlying the accumulation and persistence of latent HIV-1 reservoirs and may eventually be useful clinically in monitoring the eradication of latent virus by novel therapies

Glasdegib plus intensive or non-intensive chemotherapy for untreated acute myeloid leukemia: results from the randomized, phase 3 BRIGHT AML 1019 trial.

This is the primary report of the randomized, placebo-controlled phase 3 BRIGHT AML 1019 clinical trial of glasdegib in combination with intensive chemotherapy (cytarabine and daunorubicin) or non-intensive chemotherapy (azacitidine) in patients with untreated acute myeloid leukemia. Overall survival (primary endpoint) was similar between the glasdegib and placebo arms in the intensive (n = 404; hazard ratio [HR] 1.05; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.782-1.408; two-sided p = 0.749) and non-intensive (n = 325; HR 0.99; 95% CI: 0.768-1.289; two-sided p = 0.969) studies. The proportion of patients who experienced treatment-emergent adverse events was similar for glasdegib versus placebo (intensive: 99.0% vs. 98.5%; non-intensive: 99.4% vs. 98.8%). The most common treatment-emergent adverse events were nausea, febrile neutropenia, and anemia in the intensive study and anemia, constipation, and nausea in the non-intensive study. The addition of glasdegib to either cytarabine and daunorubicin or azacitidine did not significantly improve overall survival and the primary efficacy endpoint for the BRIGHT AML 1019 phase 3 trial was not met. Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03416179

Dasatinib/prednisone induction followed by blinatumomab/dasatinib in Ph+ acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Novel treatment strategies are needed for the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in older patients. This trial evaluated the feasibility and outcomes with the anti-CD19 bispecific T-cell-engaging antibody, blinatumomab, in combination with dasatinib and steroids. Patients 65 years of age or older with Ph+ or Ph-like ALL (with dasatinib-sensitive fusions/mutations) were eligible and could be newly diagnosed or relapsed/refractory. Induction therapy consisted of dasatinib/prednisone. Patients not achieving response by day 56 proceeded to blinatumomab reinduction therapy. Patients achieving response with induction or reinduction therapy proceeded to blinatumomab/dasatinib postremission therapy for 3 cycles followed by dasatinib/prednisone maintenance. All patients received central nervous system prophylaxis with intrathecal methotrexate for a total of 8 doses. Response was assessed at days 28, 56, and 84 and at additional time points based on response parameters. Measurable residual disease was assessed centrally by 8-color flow cytometry at day 28. A total of 24 eligible patients with newly diagnosed Ph+ ALL were enrolled with a median age of 73 years (range, 65-87 years). This combination was safe and feasible. With a median of 2.7 years of follow-up, 3-year overall survival and disease-free survival were 87% (95% confidence interval [CI], 64-96) and 77% (95% CI, 54-90), respectively. Although longer follow-up is needed, these results are encouraging, and future trials are building on this backbone regimen. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT02143414

Tolerability and Efficacy of the Anticluster of Differentiation 47 Antibody Magrolimab Combined With Azacitidine in Patients With Previously Untreated AML: Phase Ib Results.

PURPOSE: Magrolimab is a first-in-class humanized monoclonal antibody against cluster of differentiation 47, an antiphagocytic signal used by cancer cells to evade phagocytosis. Azacitidine upregulates prophagocytic signals on AML cells, further increasing phagocytosis when combined with magrolimab. We report final phase Ib data for magrolimab with azacitidine in patients with untreated AML ineligible for intensive chemotherapy (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03248479). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with previously untreated AML, including TP53-mutant AML, received magrolimab intravenously as an initial dose (1 mg/kg, days 1 and 4), followed by 15 mg/kg once on day 8 and 30 mg/kg once weekly or every 2 weeks as maintenance. Azacitidine 75 mg/m2 was administered intravenously/subcutaneously once daily on days 1-7 of each 28-day cycle. Primary end points were safety/tolerability and proportion with complete remission (CR). RESULTS: Eighty-seven patients were enrolled and treated; 72 (82.8%) had TP53 mutations with a median variant allele frequency of 61% (range, 9.8-98.7). Fifty-seven (79.2%) of TP53-mutant patients had European LeukemiaNet 2017 adverse-risk cytogenetics. Patients received a median of 4 (range, 1-39) cycles of treatment. The most common treatment-emergent adverse events included constipation (49.4%), nausea (49.4%), and diarrhea (48.3%). Thirty (34.5%) experienced anemia, and the median hemoglobin change from baseline to first postdose assessment was -0.9 g/dL (range, -3.6 to 2.5 g/dL). Twenty-eight (32.2%) patients achieved CR, including 23 (31.9%) patients with TP53 mutations. The median overall survival in TP53-mutant and wild-type patients were 9.8 months and 18.9 months, respectively. CONCLUSION: Magrolimab with azacitidine was relatively well tolerated with promising efficacy in patients with AML ineligible for intensive induction chemotherapy, including those with TP53 mutations, warranting further evaluation of magrolimab with azacitidine in AML. The phase III randomized ENHANCE-2 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04778397) and ENHANCE-3 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05079230) studies are recruiting frontline patients with AML