The ECHELON-2 Trial: 5-year results of a randomized, phase 3 study of brentuximab vedotin with chemotherapy for CD30-positive peripheral T-cell lymphoma

Background:

For patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL), outcomes using frontline treatment with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CHOP) or CHOP-like therapy are typically poor. The ECHELON-2 study demonstrated that brentuximab vedotin plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone (A+CHP) exhibited statistically superior progression-free survival (PFS) per independent central review and improvements in overall survival versus CHOP for the frontline treatment of patients with systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma or other CD30-positive PTCL.

Patients and methods:

ECHELON-2 is a double-blind, double-dummy, randomized, placebo-controlled, active-comparator phase III study. We present an exploratory update of the ECHELON-2 study, including an analysis of 5-year PFS per investigator in the intent-to-treat analysis group.

Results:

A total of 452 patients were randomized (1 : 1) to six or eight cycles of A+CHP (N = 226) or CHOP (N = 226). At median follow-up of 47.6 months, 5-year PFS rates were 51.4% [95% confidence interval (CI): 42.8% to 59.4%] with A+CHP versus 43.0% (95% CI: 35.8% to 50.0%) with CHOP (hazard ratio = 0.70; 95% CI: 0.53–0.91), and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were 70.1% (95% CI: 63.3% to 75.9%) with A+CHP versus 61.0% (95% CI: 54.0% to 67.3%) with CHOP (hazard ratio = 0.72; 95% CI: 0.53–0.99). Both PFS and OS were generally consistent across key subgroups. Peripheral neuropathy was resolved or improved in 72% (84/117) of patients in the A+CHP arm and 78% (97/124) in the CHOP arm. Among patients who relapsed and subsequently received brentuximab vedotin, the objective response rate was 59% with brentuximab vedotin retreatment after A+CHP and 50% with subsequent brentuximab vedotin after CHOP.

Conclusions:

In this 5-year update of ECHELON-2, frontline treatment of patients with PTCL with A+CHP continues to provide clinically meaningful improvement in PFS and OS versus CHOP, with a manageable safety profile, including continued resolution or improvement of peripheral neuropathy.

Efficacy and safety of mogamulizumab by patient baseline blood tumour burden: a post hoc analysis of the MAVORIC trial

Background

Mogamulizumab was compared with vorinostat in the phase 3 MAVORIC trial (NCT01728805) in 372 patients with relapsed/refractory mycosis fungoides (MF) or Sézary syndrome (SS) who had failed ≥1 prior systemic therapy. Mogamulizumab significantly prolonged progression‐free survival (PFS), with a superior objective response rate (ORR) vs. vorinostat.

Objectives

This post hoc analysis was performed to evaluate the effect of baseline blood tumour burden on patient response to mogamulizumab.

Methods

PFS, ORR, time to next treatment (TTNT), skin response (modified Severity‐Weighted Assessment Tool [mSWAT]) and safety were assessed in patients stratified by blood classification (B0 [n = 126], B1 [n = 62], or B2 [n = 184], indicating increasing blood involvement).

Results

Investigator‐assessed PFS was longer for mogamulizumab versus vorinostat across all blood classes, significantly so for B1 and B2 patients. ORR was higher with mogamulizumab than with vorinostat in all blood classification groups and more markedly so with escalating B class (B0: 15.6% vs. 6.5%, P = 0.0549; B1: 25.8% vs. 6.5%, P = 0.2758; B2: 37.4% vs. 3.2%, P < 0.0001). TTNT was significantly longer for patients treated with mogamulizumab versus vorinostat with B1 (12.63 vs. 3.07 months; HR 0.32 [95% CI 0.16–0.67]; P = 0.0018) and B2 (13.07 vs. 3.53 months; HR 0.30 [95% CI 0.21–0.43]; P < 0.0001) blood involvement. In the mogamulizumab arm, 81 patients (43.5%) had ≥50% change in the mSWAT vs. 41 patients (22.0%) with vorinostat; mSWAT improvements with mogamulizumab occurred most often in B1 and B2 patients. Rapid, sustained reductions were seen in CD4⁺CD26^‐ cell counts and CD4:CD8 ratios in mogamulizumab patients for all B classes. Treatment‐emergent adverse events were less frequent overall with mogamulizumab and similar in frequency regardless of B class.

Conclusions

This post hoc analysis indicates greater clinical benefit with mogamulizumab vs. vorinostat in patients with MF and SS classified as having B1 and B2 blood involvement.

The importance of assessing blood tumour burden in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma

Mycosis fungoides (MF) and Sézary syndrome (SS) are the best-studied subtypes of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. The level of blood tumour burden in patients is important for diagnosis, disease staging, prognosis and management, as well as assessing treatment response. Until recently, the assessment of blood involvement was made using manual counts of morphologically atypical T cells (Sézary cells), but this approach may be subjective, and is affected by interobserver variability. Objective and consistent approaches to accurately quantifying blood involvement are required to ensure appropriate stage-related management of patients and to improve our understanding of the prognostic implications of blood tumour burden in these diseases. While assessment of blood involvement is common in SS and advanced-stage MF, an improved understanding of the implications of blood involvement at early disease stages could help identify patients more likely to progress to late-stage disease, and hence guide treatment decisions and frequency of follow-up assessment, ultimately improving patient outcomes. This concise review discusses the development of flow cytometry-based classifications for assessing blood involvement in MF and SS, and summarizes current recommendations for blood classification and assessment of blood response to treatment.

Dissection of DLBCL microenvironment provides a gene expression-based predictor of survival applicable to formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue

Background

Gene expression profiling (GEP) studies recognized a prognostic role for tumor microenvironment (TME) in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), but the routinely adoption of prognostic stromal signatures remains limited.

Patients and methods

Here, we applied the computational method CIBERSORT to generate a 1028-gene matrix incorporating signatures of 17 immune and stromal cytotypes. Then, we carried out a deconvolution on publicly available GEP data of 482 untreated DLBCLs to reveal associations between clinical outcomes and proportions of putative tumor-infiltrating cell types. Forty-five genes related to peculiar prognostic cytotypes were selected and their expression digitally quantified by NanoString technology on a validation set of 175 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded DLBCLs from two randomized trials. Data from an unsupervised clustering analysis were used to build a model of clustering assignment, whose prognostic value was also assessed on an independent cohort of 40 cases. All tissue samples consisted of pretreatment biopsies of advanced-stage DLBCLs treated by comparable R-CHOP/R-CHOP-like regimens.

Results

In silico analysis demonstrated that higher proportion of myofibroblasts (MFs), dendritic cells, and CD4⁺ T cells correlated with better outcomes and the expression of genes in our panel is associated with a risk of overall and progression-free survival. In a multivariate Cox model, the microenvironment genes retained high prognostic performance independently of the cell-of-origin (COO), and integration of the two prognosticators (COO + TME) improved survival prediction in both validation set and independent cohort. Moreover, the major contribution of MF-related genes to the panel and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis suggested a strong influence of extracellular matrix determinants in DLBCL biology.

Conclusions

Our study identified new prognostic categories of DLBCL, providing an easy-to-apply gene panel that powerfully predicts patients’ survival. Moreover, owing to its relationship with specific stromal and immune components, the panel may acquire a predictive relevance in clinical trials exploring new drugs with known impact on TME.

Phase IIa study of the CD19 antibody MOR208 in patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Background

This two-stage, phase IIa study investigated the antitumor activity and safety of MOR208, an Fc-engineered, humanized, CD19 antibody, in patients with relapsed or refractory (R-R) B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). CD19 is broadly expressed across the B-lymphocyte lineage, including in B-cell malignancies, but not by hematological stem cells.

Patients and methods

Patients aged ≥18 years, with R-R NHL progressing after ≥1 prior rituximab-containing regimen were enrolled into subtype-specific cohorts: diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), follicular lymphoma (FL), other indolent (i)NHL and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). Treatment was MOR208, 12 mg/kg intravenously, weekly, for 8 weeks. Patients with at least stable disease could continue treatment for an additional 4 weeks. Those with a partial or complete response after 12 weeks could receive extended MOR208 treatment (12 mg/kg, either monthly or every second week) until progression. The primary end point was overall response rate.

Results

Ninety-two patients were enrolled: DLBCL (n = 35), FL (n = 34), other iNHL (n = 11) and MCL (n = 12). Responses were observed in DLBCL, FL and other iNHL cohorts (26%, 29% and 27%, respectively). They lasted ≥12 months in 5/9 responding patients with DLBCL, 4/9 with FL and 2/3 with other iNHL. Responses in nine patients are ongoing (>26 months in five instances). Patients with rituximab refractory disease showed a similar response rate and progression-free survival time to patients with non-refractory disease. The most common adverse events (any grade) were infusion-related reactions (12%) and neutropenia (12%). One patient experienced a grade 4 infusion-related reaction and eight patients (9%) experienced grade 3/4 neutropenia. No treatment-related deaths were reported.

Conclusions

MOR208 monotherapy demonstrated promising clinical activity in patients with R-R DLBCL and R-R FL, including in patients with rituximab refractory tumors. These efficacy data and the favorable safety profile support further investigation of MOR208 in phase II/III combination therapy trials in R-R DLBCL.

ClinicalTrials.gov number

NCT01685008.

Cep Regimen (Ccnu, Etoposide, Prednimustine) for Relapsed/Refractory Hodgkin's Disease

Aims and background

Although initial treatment of Hodgkin's disease induces a complete remission in most patients, approximately 50% of patients with advanced disease will not achieve a complete remission or will relapse following the first complete remission.

Patients and methods

Twenty-three patients with relapsed/resistant Hodgkin's disease, observed between January 1991 and October 1993, underwent CEP combination chemotherapy (CCNU, etoposide, prednimustine). All patients had previously received MOPP and ABVD regimens, in combination at diagnosis or sequentially (at diagnosis and at the first relapse).

Results

Thirteen (56%) patients achieved complete responses and 4 (18%) had partial responses. Two partial responders obtained a complete remission after a successive autologous bone marrow transplantation. The complete remission was not influenced by the timing of MOPP and ABVD treatments, presence of extranodal involvement or presence of bulky disease, but was affected by the presence of a primary disease refractory to the first standard programs. All the complete responders but 2 were alive and relapse-free at a median follow-up of 15 months; no major toxic effects were recorded.

Conclusions

These data suggest, as did those of other studies, that CEP is an effective regimen in patients with Hodgkin's disease in first or second relapse, also to reduce the tumor burden and to determine chemosensitivity before contingent bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell support.

Survival in HIV-infected patients with lymphoma according to the choice of antiretroviral treatment: an observational multicentre study

OBJECTIVES

Lymphoproliferative disorders are often observed in HIV-positive patients. Combination antiretroviral treatment (cART) during antineoplastic chemotherapy is beneficial, but little is known about the clinical outcome according to different antiretroviral combinations. The aim of the study was to address this gap in current knowledge.

METHODS

A retrospective study was conducted in five large Italian centres for the period from 1998 to 2015; HIV-positive patients diagnosed with lymphoma were included and demographic, clinical and therapeutic variables were recorded and associated with clinical outcomes. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed, including Cox proportional hazard models for survival.

RESULTS

A total of 399 patients were included in the study. The most common types of lymphoma were diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLCLB; n = 164), Hodgkin lymphoma (HL; n = 99) and Burkitt lymphoma (BL; n = 57), followed by plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL; n = 38), T-cell lymphoma (TCL; n = 17), indolent lymphoma (n = 10) and other less common types (n = 14). cART was given to 327 (out of 387 evaluable) patients: in 216 subjects it was protease inhibitor (PI)-based, in 73 it was nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-based and in 18 it was integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI)-based (the remaining 20 individuals received other regimens). The 5-year overall survival was 57.5% (52.8% for DLCLB, 67.8% for HL, 42.3% for BL, 60.6% for PBL and 64.7% for TCL). PI-based ART compared with other compounds was associated with worse survival in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and HL patients combined (P ≤ 0.001) and in NHL patients alone (P < 0.001); grade 3-4 haematological toxicities were more commonly observed in PI-treated individuals. Lymphoma diagnosis in recent years, better immunovirological status, lower lymphoma stage and better prognostic indexes were associated with better survival.

CONCLUSIONS

PI-based cART while on chemotherapy was associated with worse overall survival and more frequent haematological complications in HIV-positive patients with lymphoma.

Phase II study of copanlisib, a PI3K inhibitor, in relapsed or refractory, indolent or aggressive lymphoma

Background

Copanlisib is a pan-class I phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor with predominant activity against the α- and δ-isoforms.

Patients and methods

This phase II study evaluated the response rate of copanlisib administered intravenously on days 1, 8, and 15 of a 28-day cycle, in patients with indolent or aggressive malignant lymphoma. Archival tumor tissues were used for immunohistochemistry, gene-expression profiling, and mutation analysis.

Results

Thirty-three patients with indolent lymphoma and 51 with aggressive lymphoma received copanlisib. Follicular lymphoma (48.5%) and peripheral T-cell lymphoma (33.3%) were the most common histologic subtypes. Most patients (78.6%) had received prior rituximab and 54.8% were rituximab-refractory. Median duration of treatment was 23 and 8 weeks in the indolent and aggressive cohorts, respectively (overall range 2-138). Eighty patients were evaluated for efficacy. The objective response rate was 43.7% (14/32) in the indolent cohort and 27.1% (13/48) in the aggressive cohort; median progression-free survival was 294 days (range 0-874) and 70 days (range 0-897), respectively; median duration of response was 390 days (range 0-825) and 166 days (range 0-786), respectively. Common adverse events included hyperglycemia (57.1%; grade ≥3, 23.8%), hypertension (54.8%; grade ≥3, 40.5%), and diarrhea (40.5%; grade ≥3, 4.8%), all generally manageable. Neutropenia occurred in 28.6% of patients (grade 4, 11.9%). Molecular analyses showed enhanced antitumor activity in tumors with upregulated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathway gene expression.

Conclusion

Intravenous copanlisib demonstrated promising efficacy and manageable toxicity in heavily pretreated patients with various subtypes of indolent and aggressive malignant lymphoma. Subtype-specific studies of copanlisib in patients with follicular, peripheral T-cell, and mantle cell lymphomas are ongoing. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT01660451 (Part A).

Ceop Regimen in the Treatment of Advanced Low-Grade Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas: Preliminary Report

Between March 1987 and December 1988, 30 previously untreated patients with low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL), according to the Kiel classification, were treated by a combination of therapy including cyclophosphamide, epirubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CEOP). Eighteen patients (60%) achieved a complete pathologic remission, and 8 patients (26.6%) had a partial response with a reduction of more than 50% of tumor-related manifestations. Four patients (13.4%) were primary resistant to CEOP. The overall survival was 96.6% with a median follow-up of 25 months from the diagnosis; none of the patients who achieved complete response relapsed at a median follow-up of 21 months from the completion of treatment. Clinical and hematologic toxicities were irrelevant. This regimen was effective in inducing a good remission rate of low-grade NHL, but a longer follow-up for definitive conclusions is warranted.

Global patterns of care in advanced stage mycosis fungoides/Sezary syndrome: a multicenter retrospective follow-up study from the Cutaneous Lymphoma International Consortium

BACKGROUND

Advanced-stage mycosis fungoides (MF)/Sézary syndrome (SS) patients are weighted by an unfavorable prognosis and share an unmet clinical need of effective treatments. International guidelines are available detailing treatment options for the different stages but without recommending treatments in any particular order due to lack of comparative trials. The aims of this second CLIC study were to retrospectively analyze the pattern of care worldwide for advanced-stage MF/SS patients, the distribution of treatments according to geographical areas (USA versus non-USA), and whether the heterogeneity of approaches has potential impact on survival.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This study included 853 patients from 21 specialist centers (14 European, 4 USA, 1 each Australian, Brazilian, and Japanese).

RESULTS

Heterogeneity of treatment approaches was found, with up to 24 different modalities or combinations used as first-line and 36% of patients receiving four or more treatments. Stage IIB disease was most frequently treated by total-skin-electron-beam radiotherapy, bexarotene and gemcitabine; erythrodermic and SS patients by extracorporeal photochemotherapy, and stage IVA2 by polychemotherapy. Significant differences were found between USA and non-USA centers, with bexarotene, photopheresis and histone deacetylase inhibitors most frequently prescribed for first-line treatment in USA while phototherapy, interferon, chlorambucil and gemcitabine in non-USA centers. These differences did not significantly impact on survival. However, when considering death and therapy change as competing risk events and the impact of first treatment line on both events, both monochemotherapy (SHR = 2.07) and polychemotherapy (SHR = 1.69) showed elevated relative risks.

CONCLUSION

This large multicenter retrospective study shows that there exist a large treatment heterogeneity in advanced MF/SS and differences between USA and non-USA centers but these were not related to survival, while our data reveal that chemotherapy as first treatment is associated with a higher risk of death and/or change of therapy and thus other therapeutic options should be preferable as first treatment approach.

Phase II multicentre trial of oral quisinostat, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, in patients with previously treated stage IB-IVA mycosis fungoides/Sézary syndrome

BACKGROUND

Quisinostat is a hydroxamate, second-generation, orally available pan-histone deacetylase inhibitor.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral quisinostat in patients with previously treated cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL).

METHODS

Patients received quisinostat 8 mg or 12 mg on days 1, 3 and 5 of each week in 21-day treatment cycles. Primary efficacy end point was cutaneous response rate (RR) based on the modified Severity Weighted Assessment Tool (mSWAT). Secondary end points included global RR, duration of response (DOR) in skin, progression-free survival (PFS), pruritus relief, safety and pharmacodynamic markers.

RESULTS

Eight of 26 (25 evaluable) patients achieved ≥ 50% reduction in mSWAT score at least once, with confirmed cutaneous response in six (RR 24%). There was a low global RR of 8%. DOR in skin ranged from 2·8 to 6·9 months. Median PFS was 5·1 months. Pruritus relief was more frequent in cutaneous responders (67%) than nonresponders (32%). Serial tumour biopsies revealed an increase in acetylated tubulin, indicating a target effect of histone deacetylase 6. Twenty-one of 26 (81%) patients were withdrawn from the study before or at clinical cut-off; five (19%) continued to receive treatment with quisinostat. The most common drug-related adverse events were nausea, diarrhoea, asthenia, hypertension, thrombocytopenia and vomiting. Grade 3 drug-related adverse events included hypertension, lethargy, pruritus, chills, hyperkalaemia and pyrexia.

CONCLUSIONS

Quisinostat 12 mg three times weekly is active in the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory CTCL, with an acceptable safety profile. Combination therapy with other drugs active in CTCL may be appropriate.

Brentuximab vedotin in relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma: An updated review of published data from the named patient program

Brentuximab vedotin was available via named patient program (NPP) to patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) or systemic anaplastic large-cell lymphoma in ∼60 non-US/Canadian countries, before local approval. Published results were examined recently; through systematic literature review, we identified 12 new NPP publications. Most (10/12) publications included new NPP data describing 8 unique cohorts (N=480; all R/R HL) and new participating countries. Overall response rates were 58-80%, and complete remission rates were 10-40%. With median follow-up of 9.5-26 months, median progression-free survival was 5-10.5 months and median overall survival (OS) had not been reached in most cohorts; 1- and 2-year OS was 67-76% and 58-67%, respectively. Tolerability was as expected from previous reports. Despite intrinsic bias and heterogeneous cohorts, this update supports previous findings showing comparable efficacy and tolerability of brentuximab vedotin between real-world practice and phase 2 trial results in R/R HL.

Radioimmunotherapy for first-line and relapse treatment of aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma: an analysis of 215 patients registered in the international RIT-Network

PURPOSE

Very few reliable clinical data about the use of radioimmunotherapy in aggressive B-cell lymphoma exist.

METHODS

Patients with aggressive B-cell lymphoma registered in the international RIT-Network were analysed with regard to prior treatment, response and side effects. The RIT-Network is a web-based registry that collects observational data from radioimmunotherapy-treated patients with malignant lymphoma across 13 countries.

RESULTS

This analysis included 215 with aggressive B-cell lymphoma out of 232 patients registered in the RIT-Network. Histological subtypes were as follows: 190 diffuse large B-cell, 15 primary mediastinal, 9 anaplastic large cell, and 1 intravascular lymphoma. The median age of the patients was 62 years (range 17 - 88), with 27% above the age of 70 years. Radioimmunotherapy was mainly used as consolidation after first-line or second-line chemotherapy (56.1%), as part of third-line to eighth-line therapy for relapse (16.4%), and in refractory disease (12.2%). Grade IV neutropenia and thrombopenia and grade III anaemia were observed. The median time to recovery of blood count was 81 days (range 0 - 600 days). The overall response rate was 63.3%. The complete response rate was 76.4 % in patients treated as part of first-line therapy, and 44.3% in patients with relapse. Mean overall survival in first-line therapy patients was 32.7 months and 14.0 months in patients with relapse or refractory disease, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Most patients with aggressive B-cell lymphoma in the RIT-Network received radioimmunotherapy as consolidation after first-line therapy with excellent complete remission and overall survival rates compared to published data. In relapsed aggressive B-cell lymphoma, radioimmunotherapy is a safe and feasible treatment leading to satisfactory response rates with acceptable toxicity.

Long-term follow-up of lenalidomide in relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma: subset analysis of the NHL-003 study

BACKGROUND

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is an uncommon type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma with poor overall prognosis, requiring the development of new therapies. Lenalidomide is an immunomodulatory agent demonstrating antitumor and antiproliferative effects in MCL. We report results from a long-term subset analysis of 57 patients with relapsed/refractory MCL from the NHL-003 phase II multicenter study of single-agent lenalidomide in patients with aggressive lymphoma

DESIGN

Lenalidomide was administered orally 25 mg daily on days 1-21 every 28 days until progressive disease (PD) or intolerability. The primary end point was overall response rate (ORR).

RESULTS

Fifty-seven patients with relapsed/refractory, advanced-stage MCL had a median of three prior therapies. The ORR was 35% [complete response (CR)/CR unconfirmed (CRu) 12%], with a median duration of response (DOR) of 16.3 months (not yet reached in patients with CR/CRu) by blinded independent central review. The median time to first response was 1.9 months. Median progression-free survival was 8.8 months, and overall survival had not yet been reached. The most common grade 3/4 adverse events (AEs) were neutropenia (46%), thrombocytopenia (30%), and anemia (13%).

CONCLUSIONS

These results show the activity of lenalidomide in heavily pretreated, relapsed/refractory MCL. Responders had a durable response with manageable side-effects. Clinical trial number posted on www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT00413036.

Mycosis fungoides: disease evolution of the "lion queen" revisited

Mycosis fungoides (MF), which represents the most common subtype of primary cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), is an epidermotropic lymphoma included as an indolent form in the recent WHO/EORTC classification. From a clinical point of view, the classic disease progression usually is slow and takes over years or even decades, and characterized by the evolution from patches to more infiltrated plaques and eventually to tumours or erythroderma. However, the analysis of the MF disease course has been greatly impaired by the rarity of the disease, thus data about the time course of disease progression and pattern of relapse during time are not well known. In this review, a summary of published data on MF large patients cohorts will be presented, together with the results obtained by a retrospective analysis of clinical features and follow-up data of 1,422 MF patients diagnosed and followed-up from 1975 to 2010 in 27 Italian Centres (Italian Study Group for Cutaneous Lymphoma). From a clinical perspective, the amount of data support the relevance of a stage-tailored, differentiated follow-up strategy, in as much as the TNMB staging appears not only to be associated with different progression rates, but also shows as a new finding a relationship with different patterns of disease progression. From a biological point of view, there is the need to understand the molecular basis of the different clinical pathways of disease progression, to be able to potentially identify at an earlier phase of disease evolution, the patients who are more likely to develop erythroderma or tumour-stage progression. In conclusion, if MF is indeed a true "lion queen", as dermatologists we need to be expert and wise tamers to keep it under control.

Advanced/aggressive CTCL: improving the efficacy of treatment

Treatment regimens of patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) vary widely based on clinician preference and patient tolerance. Skin directed therapies are recommended for patients with early stage IA and IB MF, with combinations used in refractory cases. While no regimen has been proven to prolong survival in advanced stages, immunomodulatory regimens should be used initially to reduce the need for cytotoxic therapies. In more advanced stages of disease, treatment efforts should strive for palliation and improvement of quality of life. With many new therapies and strategies on the horizon, the future looks promising for CTCL patients.

An international phase II trial of single-agent lenalidomide for relapsed or refractory aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

BACKGROUND

Lenalidomide is an immunomodulatory agent with antitumor activity in B-cell malignancies. This phase II trial aimed to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of lenalidomide in patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), follicular grade 3 lymphoma (FL-III), or transformed lymphoma (TL).

METHODS

Patients received oral lenalidomide 25 mg on days 1-21 every 28 days as tolerated or until progression. The primary end point was overall response rate (ORR).

RESULTS

Two hundred and seventeen patients enrolled and received lenalidomide. The ORR was 35% (77/217), with 13% (29/217) complete remission (CR), 22% (48/217) partial remission, and 21% (45/217) with stable disease. The ORR for DLBCL was 28% (30/108), 42% (24/57) for MCL, 42% (8/19) for FL-III, and 45% (15/33) for TL. Median progression-free survival for all 217 patients was 3.7 months [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.7-5.1]. For 77 responders, the median response duration lasted 10.6 months (95% CI 7.0-NR). Median response duration was not reached in 29 patients who achieved a CR and in responding patients with FL-III or MCL. The most common adverse event was myelosuppression with grade 4 neutropenia and thrombocytopenia in 17% and 6%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Lenalidomide is well tolerated and produces durable responses in patients with relapsed or refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

18[F]FDG small animal PET study of sorafenib efficacy in lymphoma preclinical models

AIM

Kinase inhibitors have been proposed as novel therapeutic agents in different forms of solid tumours. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of Sorafenib, an oral multikinase inhibitor, for advanced renal carcinoma and unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. On-going studies are investigating the efficacy of Sorafenib in other solid tumours such as melanoma and non-small cells lung carcinoma and pre-clinical models showed the efficacy of treatment with Sorafenib in murine models of renal cells carcinoma, breast cancer, colon carcinoma and melanoma. To our knowledge, Sorafenib has never been employed in human lymphoma. The aim of the present study was to assess the efficacy of Sorafenib in murine models of human anaplastic large cells lymphoma (ALCL) and Hodgkin lymphoma (HD).

METHODS

Sorafenib cytotoxicity was assessed in vitro and growth inhibition (IC50) was calculated. Cells were assayed for Caspase-3 to measure apoptosis. Human ALCL and HD xenografts in NOD/SCID mice were monitored by small animal positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) over time. Tumour bearing animals were randomly selected to receive treatment with Sorafenib or no treatment. Pathology was available in all cases.

RESULTS

Sorafenib efficacy on cells proliferation and apoptosis (IC50: HD=0.0343 mg/L; ALCL=0.319 mg/L) was confirmed in vitro. Caspase-3 production showed a dose-dependent trend reaching significantly higher values for 0.046 mg/L and 0.465 mg/L drug concentrations in both cell lines. In vivo experiments showed a progressive increase of tumour lesions metabolism and dimensions regardless treatment.

CONCLUSION

Sorafenib showed a good cytotoxic effect in vitro especially on human HD cell line, but these findings were not confirmed in vivo. The strong discrepancy between in vitro and in vivo results suggests that further studies are needed to better acknowledge the biodistribution and metabolism of Sorafenib in NOD/SCID mice. Factors influencing drug availability at tumour site or differences in the downstream pathways may be responsible for the scarse effect of treatment.

Addition of rituximab to fludarabine and cyclophosphamide in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia: a randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial

BACKGROUND

On the basis of promising results that were reported in several phase 2 trials, we investigated whether the addition of the monoclonal antibody rituximab to first-line chemotherapy with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide would improve the outcome of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

METHODS

Treatment-naive, physically fit patients (aged 30-81 years) with CD20-positive chronic lymphocytic leukaemia were randomly assigned in a one-to-one ratio to receive six courses of intravenous fludarabine (25 mg/m(2) per day) and cyclophosphamide (250 mg/m(2) per day) for the first 3 days of each 28-day treatment course with or without rituximab (375 mg/m(2) on day 0 of first course, and 500 mg/m(2) on day 1 of second to sixth courses) in 190 centres in 11 countries. Investigators and patients were not masked to the computer-generated treatment assignment. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). Analysis was by intention to treat. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00281918.

FINDINGS

408 patients were assigned to fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab (chemoimmunotherapy group) and 409 to fludarabine and cyclophosphamide (chemotherapy group); all patients were analysed. At 3 years after randomisation, 65% of patients in the chemoimmunotherapy group were free of progression compared with 45% in the chemotherapy group (hazard ratio 0·56 [95% CI 0·46-0·69], p<0·0001); 87% were alive versus 83%, respectively (0·67 [0·48-0·92]; p=0·01). Chemoimmunotherapy was more frequently associated with grade 3 and 4 neutropenia (136 [34%] of 404 vs 83 [21%] of 396; p<0·0001) and leucocytopenia (97 [24%] vs 48 [12%]; p<0·0001). Other side-effects, including severe infections, were not increased. There were eight (2%) treatment-related deaths in the chemoimmunotherapy group compared with ten (3%) in the chemotherapy group.

INTERPRETATION

Chemoimmunotherapy with fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab improves progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. Moreover, the results suggest that the choice of a specific first-line treatment changes the natural course of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

FUNDING

F Hoffmann-La Roche.

Clinical activity of bortezomib in relapsed/refractory MALT lymphomas: results of a phase II study of the International Extranodal Lymphoma Study Group (IELSG)

BACKGROUND

The nuclear factor-kappa B activation in mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma pathogenesis provided the rationale for the evaluation of bortezomib in this malignancy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Thirty-two patients with relapsed/refractory MALT lymphoma were enrolled. Thirty-one patients received bortezomib 1.3 mg/m(2) i.v., on days 1, 4, 8, and 11, for up to six 21-day cycles.

RESULTS

Median age was 63 years (range, 37-82 years). Median number of prior therapies was 2 (range, 1-4). Nine patients had Ann Arbor stage I, 7 patients had stage II, and 16 patients had stage IV. Primary lymphoma localization was the stomach in 14 patients; multiple extranodal sites were present in 10 patients. Among the 29 patients assessable for response, the overall response rate was 48% [95% confidence interval (CI) 29% to 67%], with 9 complete and 5 partial responses. Nine patients experienced stable disease and six had disease progression during therapy. The most relevant adverse events were fatigue, thrombocytopenia, neutropenia, and peripheral neuropathy. After a median follow-up of 24 months, the median duration of response was not reached yet. Five deaths were reported, in two patients due to disease progression.

CONCLUSION

Bortezomib is active in relapsed MALT lymphomas. Further investigations to identify optimal bortezomib dose, schedule, and combination regimens are needed since the frequent detection of dose-limiting peripheral neuropathy.