Phase 2 trial of CPX-351, a fixed 5:1 molar ratio of cytarabine/daunorubicin, vs cytarabine/daunorubicin in older adults with untreated AML

CPX-351 is a liposomal formulation of cytarabine: daunorubicin designed to deliver synergistic drug ratios to leukemia cells. In this phase 2 study, newly diagnosed older acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients were randomized 2: 1 to first-line CPX-351 or 713 treatment. The goal was to determine efficacy and identify patient subgroups that may benefit from CPX-351 treatment. Response rate (complete remission 1 incomplete remission) was the primary end point, with event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) as secondary end points. The 126 patients entered were balanced for disease and patient-specific risk factors. Overall, CPX-351 produced higher response rates (66.7% vs 51.2%, P = .07), meeting predefined criteria for success (P \u3c .1). Differences in EFS and OS were not statistically significant. A planned analysis of the secondary AML subgroup demonstrated an improved response rate (57.6% vs 31.6%, P = .06), and prolongation of EFS (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.59, P = .08) and OS (HR = 0.46, P = .01). Recovery from cytopenias was slower after CPX-351 (median days to absolute neutrophil count \u3e= 1000: 36 vs 32; platelets \u3e100 000:37 vs 28) with more grade 3-4 infections but without increase in infection-related deaths (3.5% vs 7.3%) or 60-day mortality (4.7% vs 14.6%), indicating acceptable safety. These results suggest a clinical benefit with CPX-351, particularly among patients with secondary AML, and provide the rationale for a phase 3 trial currently underway in newly diagnosed secondary AML patients. This study is registered at Clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT00788892

Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Following the Use of Hypomethylating Agents among Patients with Relapsed or Refractory AML: Findings from an International Retrospective Study

Abstract Patients with primary refractory or relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (RR-AML) have very poor prognosis. Due to limited treatment options, some patients are treated with hypomethylating agents (HMAs) due to their tolerability. Little is known about the role of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) following HMA therapy in this setting. We retrospectively analyzed an international cohort of 655 RR-AML patients who received HMA therapy to study patterns and outcomes with HSCT. Only 37 patients (5.6%) patients underwent HSCT after HMA therapy. The conditioning regimen was myeloablative in 57% and nonmyeloablative in 43%. Patients received matched unrelated donor, matched sibling, haploidentical and mismatched unrelated HSCT in 56%, 24%, 16% and 4% of cases, respectively. Acute GvHD and chronic GvHD were observed in 40% and 17% of patients. While the median OS for the entire cohort of patients was 15.3 months (95% CI 9.5 – 21.7 months), OS reached 29.7 months (95% CI 7.01 – not-reached) for patients who achieved a complete remission (CR) to HMA and no intervening therapies between HMA therapy and HSCT. Our study suggests that HMA therapy can effectively bridge some patients with RR-AML to HSCT

An international data set for CMML validates prognostic scoring systems and demonstrates a need for novel prognostication strategies

Since its reclassification as a distinct disease entity, clinical research efforts have attempted to establish baseline characteristics and prognostic scoring systems for chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML). Although existing data for baseline characteristics and CMML prognostication have been robustly developed and externally validated, these results have been limited by the small size of single-institution cohorts. We developed an international CMML data set that included 1832 cases across eight centers to establish the frequency of key clinical characteristics. Of note, we found that the majority of CMML patients were classified as World Health Organization CMML-1 and that a 7.5% bone marrow blast cut-point may discriminate prognosis with higher resolution in comparison with the existing 10%. We additionally interrogated existing CMML prognostic models and found that they are all valid and have comparable performance but are vulnerable to upstaging. Using random forest survival analysis for variable discovery, we demonstrated that the prognostic power of clinical variables alone is limited. Last, we confirmed the independent prognostic relevance of ASXL1 gene mutations and identified the novel adverse prognostic impact imparted by CBL mutations. Our data suggest that combinations of clinical and molecular information may be required to improve the accuracy of current CMML prognostication