Plerixafor for autologous peripheral blood stem cell mobilization in patients previously treated with fludarabine or lenalidomide.

Fludarabine and lenalidomide are essential drugs in the front-line treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and multiple myeloma (MM), respectively. Data suggests that fludarabine and lenalidomide therapy may have a deleterious effect on stem cell mobilization. In the European compassionate use program, 48 patients (median age 57 years) previously treated with fludarabine (median 5 cycles; range: 1-7 cycles) were given plerixafor plus granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) for remobilization following a primary mobilization attempt. The overall median number of CD34+ cells collected was 2.3 × 10(6)/kg (range: 0.3-13.4). The minimum required number of CD34+ cells (≥2.0 × 10(6)/kg) was collected from 58% of patients in a median of 2 days. Thirty-five patients (median age = 57 years) previously treated with lenalidomide (median 5 cycles; range: 1-10 cycles) were given plerixafor plus G-CSF for remobilization. The overall median number of CD34+ cells collected was 3.4 × 10(6)/kg (range: 1.1-14.8). The minimum required number of CD34+ cells (≥2.0 × 10(6) per kg) was collected from 69% of patients in a median of 2 days. In conclusion, salvage mobilization with plerixafor plus G-CSF is successful in the majority of patients with MM previously treated with lenalidomide. In fludarabine-exposed patients, only 58% of patients will achieve successful salvage mobilization with plerixafor plus G-CSF, suggesting the need for novel mobilization regimens algorithms in this subgroup of patients

Blood donation for iron removal in individuals with HFE mutations: study of efficacy and safety and short review on hemochromatosis and blood donation

BackgroundElevated serum ferritin with/without HFE variants in asymptomatic persons leads frequently to referral for blood donation. Hemochromatosis (p.C282Y/p.C282Y) only requires treatment. We evaluated safety and feasibility of iron removal in healthy persons with elevated ferritin and HFE variants using blood donation procedures.Materials and methodsThirty subjects with ferritin >200 ng/mL (women) or >300 ng/mL (men) with p.C282Y/p.C282Y, p.C282Y/p.H63D or p.H63D/p.H63D were randomized to weekly phlebotomy (removal of 450 mL whole blood) or erythrapheresis (removal of 360 mL red blood cells) every 14 days. The ferritin target was <100 ng/mL. A full blood count and ferritin were measured at each visit. Hemoglobin (Hb) ≥140 g/L was required at inclusion. If Hb dropped to <120 g/L (women) or <130 g/L (men), procedures were postponed (7 or 14 days). Primary endpoint was the number of procedures needed to the ferritin target; secondary objectives were duration of treatment and compliance. The treatment effect was tested with Poisson regression; number of procedures and treatment duration were compared between study arms with the Kruskal–Wallis test.ResultsTwenty-five of 30 participants were men (83%); mean age was 47 years (SD 10.5), mean BMI 26.6 kg/m2 (SD 3.6); 17 had p.C282Y/p.C282Y, nine p.C282Y/p.H63D, four p.H63D/p.H63D. Median baseline Hb was 150 g/L (IQR 144, 1,559), median ferritin 504 ng/mL (IQR 406,620). Twenty-seven subjects completed the study. Treatment arm (p < 0.001) and HFE variant (p = 0.007) influenced the primary endpoint significantly. To ferritin levels <100 ng/mL, a median number of 7.5 (IQR 6.2, 9.8) phlebotomies and 4.0 (IQR 3.0, 5.8) erythraphereses (p = 0.001) was needed during a median of 66.5 days (IQR 49,103) and 78.5 days (IQR 46139), respectively (p = 0.448). Low Hb was the principal reason for protocol violation; anemia occurred in 13 participants (48%). Immediate complications were infrequent; fatigue was reported after 25% of phlebotomies and 45% of erythraphereses. Thirty-five procedures were postponed because of low Hb and 15 for non-medical reasons. The median interval was 7.0 (IQR 7.7) and 14.0 (IQR 14, 20) days between phlebotomies and erythraphereses, respectively.ConclusionBlood donation procedures remove iron effectively in HC, but frequent treatments cause Hb decrease and fatigue that can impair feasibility

Extracorporeal Photopheresis versus Anticytokine Therapy as a Second-Line Treatment for Steroid-Refractory Acute GVHD: A Multicenter Comparative Analysis

AbstractThe optimal therapy for steroid-refractory (SR) acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) is undefined. We studied patients with SR aGVHD, comparing extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP; n = 57) and anticytokine therapy (n = 41). In multivariate analyses, ECP, adjusted for steroid dose (odds ratio, 3.42; P = .007), and grade >II aGVHD (odds ratio, 68; P < .001) were independent predictors of response. ECP therapy, adjusted for conditioning regimen intensity and steroid dose, was associated with superior survival (hazard ratio [HR], 4.6; P = .016) in patients with SR grade II aGVHD. Grade >II aGVHD at onset of salvage therapy (HR, 9.4; P < .001) and lack of response to therapy (HR, 3.09; P = .011) were associated with inferior survival. These findings require validation in a prospective randomized study

CAR-T Cell Therapy in Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma: Hype and Hope

Abstract. Patients with non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) resistant to standard therapies have a dismal prognosis. The outcome is even poorer in patients relapsing after autologous stem cell transplantation. Most of these patients do not qualify for an allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) due to refractory disease, lack of a suitable allogeneic donor, higher age, or cumulative toxicity of previous chemotherapy. Despite patients undergoing allogeneic HCT normally profit from a graft-versus-lymphoma effect, overall survival in patients with NHL after HCT remains short. Therefore, novel treatment modalities are urgently needed. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells, a new class of cellular immunotherapy involving ex vivo genetic modification of T cells to incorporate an engineered CAR have been used in clinical trials. In the majority of studies, B cell malignancies treated with CD19 targeting CAR-T cells have been analyzed. Recently, results from 2 CD19 directed CAR-T cell trials with an increased follow-up of patients led to Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency approval of tisagenlecleucel and axicabtagene ciloleucel. Common adverse events (AEs) include cytokine release syndrome and neurological toxicity, which may require admission to an intensive care unit, B cell aplasia and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. These AEs are manageable when treated by an appropriately trained team following established algorithm. In this review, we summarize the results of 3 large phase II CD19 CAR-T cell trials and focus on AEs. We also provide a perspective of ongoing activity in this field with the intend to improve the potency of this emerging novel therapy

Chimeric antigen receptor Tcell therapy : a hematological success story

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells are genetically engineered autologous cells that express an activating receptor targeted towards one or more tumoral antigens. After ex vivo production and re-infusion, they are able to proliferate in the host and to recognize and kill tumor cells. Together with checkpoint inhibition, this new therapy is already being celebrated as a major medical breakthrough in recent years, due to the substantial benefit observed in clinical trials with patients with chemotherapy-refractory Bcell malignancies. These results have led to the recent approval of two CAR Tcell products by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States. The list of targetable antigens and possible indications is continuously being expanded, as are the modifications to the CAR structure and the final cell products currently under investigation. In some patients, CAR Tcell therapy may lead to substantial toxicity including the cytokine release syndrome (CRS). In summary, CAR Tcell therapy has already provided clinical benefit to patients with Bcell malignancies unresponsive to conventional treatment. Yet, the therapy is still in an early stage of development, and the many opportunities for improvement in its various aspects as well as its future role in relation to conventional therapy will set the pace in the field of hematology for the next years or even decades.(VLID)365890