The need for improved neutropenia risk assessment in DLBCL patients receiving R-CHOP-21: findings from clinical practice

Febrile neutropenia (FN) risk-assessment and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) prophylaxis use in clinical practice was evaluated in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma receiving R-CHOP-21. More G-CSF primary prophylaxis was used in patients assessed as high FN risk, but R-CHOP-21 was associated with substantial myelotoxicity in both high- and low-risk groups. In a multivariate analysis, older age, poor performance status, lower baseline hemoglobin, and lack of G-CSF prophylaxis were significantly associated with occurrence of FN in any cycle. Results highlight the need for improved FN risk-assessment and thorough guideline adherence to further reduce FN and better support chemotherapy delivery

Progression-free survival of early interim PET-positive patients with advanced stage Hodgkin's lymphoma treated with BEACOPP(escalated) alone or in combination with rituximab (HD18): an open-label, international, randomised phase 3 study by the German Hodgkin Study Group

Background Advanced stage Hodgkin's lymphoma represents a heterogeneous group of patients with different risk profiles. Data suggests that interim PET assessment during chemotherapy is superior to baseline international prognostic scoring in terms of predicting long-term treatment outcome in patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma. We therefore hypothesised that early interim PET-imaging after two courses of bleomycin, etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone (BEACOPP) might be suitable for guiding treatment in patients with advanced stage Hodgkin's lymphoma. We aimed to assess whether intensifying standard chemotherapy (BEACOPP(escalated)) by adding rituximab would improve progression-free survival in patients with positive PET after two courses of chemotherapy. Methods In this open-label, international, randomised, phase 3 study, we recruited patients aged 18-60 years with newly diagnosed, advanced stage Hodgkin's lymphoma from 160 hospitals and 77 private practices in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic. Interim PET-imaging was done after two cycles of BEACOPP(escalated) and centrally assessed by an expert panel. Patients with a positive PET after 2 cycles of BEACOPP(escalated) chemotherapy (PET-2) were randomly assigned (1: 1) to receive six additional courses of either BEACOPP(escalated) (BEACOPP(escalated) group) or BEACOPP(escalated) plus rituximab (R-BEACOPP(escalated) group). PET-2 was assessed using a 5-point scale with.. FDG uptake higher than the mediastinal blood pool (corresponding to Deauville scale 3) defined as positive. BEACOPP(escalated) was given as previously described; rituximab was given intravenously at a dose of 375 mg/m(2) (maximum total dose 700 mg), the first administration starting 24 h before starting the fourth cycle of BEACOPP(escalated) (day 0 and day 3 in cycle 4, day 1 in cycles 5-8). Randomisation was done centrally and used the minimisation method including a random component, stratified according to centre, age, stage, international prognostic score, and sex. The primary efficacy endpoint was 5 year progression-free survival, analysed in the intention-to-treat population. We are reporting this second planned interim analysis as the final report of the trial. The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials. gov, number NCT00515554. Findings Between May 14, 2008, and May 31, 2011, we enrolled 1100 patients. 440 patients had a positive PET-2 and were randomly assigned to either the BEACOPP(escalated) group (n= 220) or the R-BEACOPP(escalated) group (n= 220). With a median follow-up of 33 months (IQR 25-42) for progression-free survival, estimated 3 year progression-free survival was 91.4% (95% CI 87.0-95.7) for patients in the BEACOPP(escalated) group and 93.0% (89.4-96.6) for those in the R-BEACOPP(escalated) group (difference 1.6%, 95% CI -4.0 to 7.3; log rank p= 0.99). Common grade 3-4 adverse events were leucopenia (207 [95%] of 218 patients in the BEACOPP(escalated) group vs 211 [96%] of 220 patients in the R-BEACOPP(escalated) group), and severe infections (51 [23%] vs 43 [20%] patients). Based on a futility analysis, the independent data monitoring committee recommended publication of this second planned interim analysis as the final result. Six (3%) of 219 patients in the BEACOPP(escalated) group and ten (5%) of 220 in the R-BEACOPP(escalated) group died; fatal treatment-related toxic effects occurred in one (< 1%) patient in the BEACOPP(escalated) group and three (1%) in the R-BEACOPP(escalated) group, all of them due to infection. Interpretation The addition of rituximab to BEACOPP(escalated) did not improve the progression-free survival of PET-2 positive patients with advanced stage Hodgkin's lymphoma. However, progression-free survival for PET-2 positive patients was much better than expected, exceeding even the outcome of PET-2-unselected patients in the previous HD15 trial. Thus, PET-2 cannot identify patients at high-risk for treatment failure in the context of the very effective German Hodgkin Study Group standard treatment for advanced stage Hodgkin's lymphoma

Darbepoetin alfa administration in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and chemotherapy-induced anemia receiving (±R)CHOP

IMPACT NHL was a multicenter, observational study in adults with non-Hodgkin lymphoma receiving CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone) chemotherapy with or without rituximab. Erythropoietin-stimulating agent treatment was given according to routine clinical practice and physician preference. In a subanalysis, outcomes were evaluated in 207 patients who received darbepoetin alfa (DA). The most common reason (81%) for initiating DA was low/declining hemoglobin (Hb) concentration. Mean (±standard deviation) duration of DA exposure was 8.8 ± 6.9 weeks (mean number of doses, 5.1 ± 4.6). Overall, 23% of patients had chemotherapy and DA treatment synchronized more than 75% of the time. At the time of DA initiation, 67% of patients had Hb concentrations in the guideline-recommended range (9-11 g/dl). Of 89 patients with Hb concentrations <10 g/dl at DA initiation and still receiving DA 5 weeks later, 92% (Kaplan-Meier) achieved Hb concentrations 10-12 g/dl between week 5 and at the end of treatment

Prolonged survival with improved tolerability in higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes: azacitidine compared with low dose ara-C

In the phase III AZA-001 trial, low-dose cytarabine (LDara-C), the most widely used low-dose chemotherapy in patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) who are ineligible for intensive treatment, was found to be associated with poorer survival compared with azacitidine. This analysis further compared the efficacy and the toxicity of these two drug regimens. Before randomization, investigators preselected patients to receive a conventional care regimen, one of which was LDara-C. Of 94 patients preselected to LDara-C, 45 were randomized to azacitidine and 49 to LDara-C. Azacitidine patients had significantly more and longer haematologicalal responses and increased red blood cell transfusion independence. Azacitidine prolonged overall survival versus LDara-C in patients with poor cytogenetic risk, presence of −7/del(7q), and French-American-British subtypes refractory anaemia with excess blasts (RAEB) and RAEB in transformation. When analyzed per patient year of drug exposure, azacitidine treatment was associated with fewer grade 3–4 cytopenias and shorter hospitalisation time than LDara-C in these higher-risk MDS patients