[TCL1-family negative T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia with rapid progression of extranodal disease despite a normal white blood cell count].

Here we describe the case of a 69-year-old man who was found to have moderate thrombocytopenia and severe splenomegaly during a medical checkup at the age of 67. At the first visit, his white blood cell (WBC) count was 7,400/µl with 80% lymphocytes, and bone marrow aspiration showed 24% atypical lymphocytes. Flow cytometry of atypical lymphocytes was positive for mature T-cell markers, and T-cell clonality was revealed by T-cell receptor gene rearrangement. TCL1 was negative on immunohistochemistry. We diagnosed TCL1-family negative T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (T-PLL) and employed watchful waiting. Thirty months after diagnosis, the patient developed urinary retention and right lower-limb paresis despite a normal WBC count, and an extradural tumor around the thoracic vertebrae and spinal cord compression were detected. The tumor was diagnosed as extranodal involvement of TCL1-family negative T-PLL, but the patient's general condition deteriorated rapidly, and no treatment was possible. T-PLL is a rare disease characterized by leukocytosis, and the WBC count generally increases with disease progression. Although blood counts are recommended for observation, it is important to keep in mind that the disease may worsen even if blood counts do not change.

Compression therapy using surgical gloves is ineffective for the prevention of vincristine-induced neuropathy in patients with malignant lymphoma.

PURPOSE: Vincristine (VCR) often induces peripheral neuropathy (PN) as an adverse event. Currently, there is no consensus on the prevention of vincristine-induced PN (VIPN). In this study, we aimed to investigate the efficacy of compression therapy using surgical gloves for preventing VIPN. METHODS: Patients with malignant lymphoma (vincristine-naïve) who were receiving chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, VCR, and prednisolone, with or without rituximab, every 3 weeks for six cycles were eligible. For every VCR infusion, each patient wore two one-size-smaller gloves on one hand (study hand) for 90 min. The other hand was left bare (control hand). PN was assessed at each treatment using the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events ver. 4.0. RESULTS: Fifty-one patients with malignant lymphoma were enrolled and 44 were evaluated. At 1 month after treatment, the occurrence rates of grade ≥ 2 sensory PN were 13.6 and 13.6% in the study and control hands, respectively (p = 1.0), and those of grade ≥ 2 motor PN were 15.9 and 15.9% in the study and control hands, respectively (p = 1.0). CONCLUSION: Compression therapy using surgical gloves showed no significant effect for the prevention of VIPN. TRIAL REGISTRATION: November 1, 2018, National University Hospital Council of Japan (UMIN 000034145).

Female and preserved platelet count subgroups of myelodysplastic syndrome patients benefit from standard-dose azacitidine.

BACKGROUND: Hypomethylating agents, including azacytidine (AZA), are standard therapeutics for patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a group of myeloid neoplasms. However, treatment schedules are not unified in real-world practice; in addition to the standard 7-day (standard-dose) schedule, shortened (reduced-dose) schedules are also used. AIMS: The aim of this study was to discover the patient group(s) which show differential efficacy between standard-and reduced-dose AZA to MDS. METHODS AND RESULTS: The outcome of different AZA doses in a cohort of 151 MDS patients were retrospectively analyzed. Overall survival (OS) was not significantly different between standard- and reduced-dose AZA groups by multivariate analysis. However, an interaction was found between either the sex (female vs. male), the platelet counts (< 40 × 103 /µl vs. ≥ 40 × 103 /µl), or the karyotype risk (< poor vs. ≥ poor) and standard-dose AZA for longer OS. Subgroup analyses revealed better OS with standard- over reduced-dose AZA in female patients (HR, 0.27 [95% CI, 0.090-0.79]; p = 0.011), and those with platelet counts ≥ 40 × 103 /µl (HR, 0.51 [95% CI, 0.26-0.99]; p = 0.041). The union of female and preserved platelet count subgroups also benefited from standard-dose AZA. With this as a test cohort, we next analyzed patients registered in the JALSG MDS212 study, for whom 7-day and 5-day AZA treatment strategies were prospectively compared, as a validation cohort (N = 172). That cohort showed the same tendency as the retrospective results. CONCLUSION: We identified the union of female and preserved platelet count subgroups which benefited from standard-dose AZA, imparting crucial information to physicians planning treatment regimens in MDS patients.

Follicular lymphoma with secondary central nervous system relapse: a case report and literature review.

Secondary central nervous system (CNS) relapse by aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is a well-known complication portending a very poor prognosis. Conversely, patients with indolent lymphoma-like follicular lymphoma (FL) rarely present with CNS involvement and, thus, limited information is currently available. We herein describe a patient with FL who developed CNS involvement during chemotherapy. Treatment including high-dose methotrexate and radiation therapy was ineffective and the patient died 5 months after CNS relapse. In a literature review, there were 8 case reports of the secondary CNS relapse of FL. The findings obtained suggest that bone marrow infiltration is a risk factor for CNS relapse. Moreover, 5 out of 9 patients died within 2.5 years, indicating a poorer prognosis than that of FL. Therefore, it is important to promptly perform detailed examinations as soon as neurological findings appear.

Venetoclax plus low-dose cytarabine in patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia ineligible for intensive chemotherapy: an expanded access study in Japan.

BACKGROUND: In a Phase 3 international clinical trial (VIALE-C), venetoclax plus low-dose cytarabine improved the response rate and overall survival versus placebo plus low-dose cytarabine in patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia who were ineligible for intensive chemotherapy. After the enrollment period of VIALE-C ended, we conducted an expanded access study to provide preapproval access to venetoclax in combination with low-dose cytarabine in Japan. METHODS: Previously, untreated patients with acute myeloid leukemia who were ineligible for intensive chemotherapy were enrolled according to the VIALE-C criteria. Patients received venetoclax (600 mg, Days 1-28, 4-day ramp-up in Cycle 1) in 28-day cycles and low-dose cytarabine (20 mg/m2, Days 1-10). All patients took tumor lysis syndrome prophylactic agents and hydration. Safety endpoints were assessed. RESULTS: Fourteen patients were enrolled in this study. The median age was 77.5 years (range = 61-84), with 78.6% over 75 years old. The most common grade ≥ 3 treatment-emergent adverse event was neutropenia (57.1%). Febrile neutropenia was the most frequent serious adverse event (21.4%). One patient developed treatment-related acute kidney injury, leading to discontinuation of treatment. Two patients died because of cardiac failure and disease progression that were judged not related to study treatment. No patients developed tumor lysis syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: The safety outcomes were similar to those in VIALE-C without new safety signals and were well managed with standard medical care. In clinical practice, more patients with severe background disease are expected, in comparison with in VIALE-C, suggesting that it is important to carefully manage and prevent adverse events.

Early dynamics of chronic myeloid leukemia on nilotinib predicts deep molecular response.

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative disorder caused by the BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase. Although ABL1-specific tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) including nilotinib have dramatically improved the prognosis of patients with CML, the TKI efficacy depends on the individual patient. In this work, we found that the patients with different nilotinib responses can be classified by using the estimated parameters of our simple dynamical model with two common laboratory findings. Furthermore, our proposed method identified patients who failed to achieve a treatment goal with high fidelity according to the data collected only at three initial time points during nilotinib therapy. Since our model relies on the general properties of TKI response, our framework would be applicable to CML patients who receive frontline nilotinib or other TKIs.

[Myeloid sarcomas of the shoulder and testis relapsing 9 years after allogenic stem cell transplantation for acute myeloid leukemia].

This report describes a 56-year-old man who was diagnosed with myeloid sarcoma (MS) of the testis and right shoulder after receiving allogenic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) at the age of 47 for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with inv (16) (p13.1;q22). Nine years after allo-SCT, he complained of a painful right testicular mass. He underwent orchiectomy, and the pathologic diagnosis was MS. Inv (16) was identified by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using testicular tumor specimens. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) revealed FDG accumulation in the right shoulder. FISH analysis of bone marrow aspirate revealed no increase in blasts and ruled out CBFB-MYH11 fusion. Reinduction chemotherapy, consolidation, and local radiation therapy for the left testis and right shoulder were administered to him. After that, he received a second allo-SCT from an unrelated donor who was HLA-matched. As of 2 years after the second allo-SCT, recurrence of neither AML nor myeloid sarcoma has been observed. The recurrence of MSs without bone marrow involvement is frequently reported in single, multiple single organs, or multiple single regions. Even if MSs recur in a distant location, combining systemic and local treatment may be a better treatment strategy.

Impact of Venetoclax and Azacitidine in Treatment-Naïve Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia and IDH1/2 Mutations.

PURPOSE: To evaluate efficacy and safety of venetoclax + azacitidine among treatment-naïve patients with IDH1/2-mutant (mut) acute myeloid leukemia (AML). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data were pooled from patients enrolled in a phase III study (NCT02993523) that compared patients treated with venetoclax + azacitidine or placebo + azacitidine and a prior phase Ib study (NCT02203773) where patients were treated with venetoclax + azacitidine. Enrolled patients were ineligible for intensive therapy due to age ≥75 years and/or comorbidities. Patients on venetoclax + azacitidine received venetoclax 400 mg orally (days 1-28) and azacitidine (75 mg/m2; days 1-7/28-day cycle). RESULTS: In the biomarker-evaluable population, IDH1/2mut was detected in 81 (26%) and 28 (22%) patients in the venetoclax + azacitidine and azacitidine groups. Composite complete remission [CRc, complete remission (CR)+CR with incomplete hematologic recovery (CRi)] rates (venetoclax + azacitidine/azacitidine) among patients with IDH1/2mut were 79%/11%, median duration of remission (mDoR) was 29.5/9.5 months, and median overall survival (mOS) was 24.5/6.2 months. CRc rates among patients with IDH1/2 wild-type (WT) were 63%/31%, mDoR 17.5/10.3 months, and mOS 12.3/10.1 months. In patients with IDH1mut, CRc rates (venetoclax + azacitidine/azacitidine) were 66.7%/9.1% and mOS 15.2/2.2 months. In patients with IDH2mut, CRc rates were 86.0%/11.1% and mOS not reached (NR)/13.0 months. Patients with IDH1/2 WT AML treated with venetoclax + azacitidine with poor-risk cytogenetics had inferior outcomes compared with patients with IDH1/2mut, who had superior outcomes regardless of cytogenetic risk (mOS, IDH1/2mut: intermediate-risk, 24.5 months; poor-risk, NR; IDH1/2 WT: intermediate, 19.2 and poor, 7.4 months). There were no unexpected toxicities in the venetoclax + azacitidine group. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with IDH1/2mut who received venetoclax + azacitidine had high response rates, durable remissions, and significant OS; cytogenetic risk did not mitigate the favorable outcomes seen from this regimen for IDH1/2mut. See related commentary by Perl and Vyas, p. 2719.

Venetoclax plus azacitidine in Japanese patients with untreated acute myeloid leukemia ineligible for intensive chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND: The phase 3 VIALE-A trial (NCT02993523) reported that venetoclax-azacitidine significantly prolonged overall survival compared with placebo-azacitidine in patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia ineligible for intensive chemotherapy. Herein, efficacy and safety of venetoclax-azacitidine are analyzed in the Japanese subgroup of VIALE-A patients. METHODS: Eligible Japanese patients were randomized 2:1 to venetoclax-azacitidine (N = 24) or placebo-azacitidine (N = 13). Primary endpoints for Japan were overall survival and complete response (CR) + CR with incomplete hematologic recovery (CRi). Venetoclax (target dose 400 mg) was given orally once daily. Azacitidine (75 mg/m2) was administered subcutaneously or intravenously on Days 1-7 of each 28-day cycle. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 16.3 months (range, 1.0-20.3). Median overall survival was not reached with venetoclax-azacitidine (hazard ratio 0.409 and 95% confidence interval: 0.151, 1.109); overall survival estimate was higher with venetoclax-azacitidine than placebo-azacitidine at 12 (67 and 46%) and 18 months (57 and 31%), respectively. CR and CRi rates were 67% with venetoclax-azacitidine and 15% with placebo-azacitidine. Most common any-grade adverse events were febrile neutropenia (79 and 39%), thrombocytopenia (54 and 77%), constipation (54 and 54%) and decreased appetite (54 and 38%) in the venetoclax-azacitidine and placebo-azacitidine arms, respectively. Only 1 patient in the venetoclax-azacitidine arm, and no patients in the placebo-azacitidine arm, had grade 4 febrile neutropenia that led to treatment discontinuation. CONCLUSIONS: This Japanese subgroup analysis of VIALE-A demonstrates comparable safety and efficacy outcomes compared with the global study and supports venetoclax-azacitidine as first-line standard-of-care for Japanese treatment-naive patients with acute myeloid leukemia who are ineligible for intensive chemotherapy.

[FIP1L1::PDGFRA-positive chronic eosinophilic leukemia showing slowly progressive cardiac impairment].

This report describes a 69-year-old man with eosinophilia that was detected during a medical check-up. A review of his medical history revealed that his absolute eosinophil count was 990/µl at the age of 55 and increased to 5,380/µl at the age of 69. Electrocardiogram revealed first-degree atrioventricular block at the age of 58, followed by ST-segment depression and a negative T wave at the age of 65. The echocardiogram was normal at the age of 65. We diagnosed him with FIP1L1::PDGFRA-positive chronic eosinophilic leukemia by detecting the FIP1L1::PDGFRA fusion gene by fluorescence in situ hybridization. He had no symptoms at the first visit; however, echocardiography and contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed an abnormal structure, considered a thrombus, within the left ventricular apex and apex wall thickening. We initiated imatinib (100 mg/day), and the eosinophilia disappeared in a month. However, his cardiac impairment worsened, and he gradually developed symptoms of heart failure. This case is valuable because it shows the long-term course of the disease, with 15 years of laboratory findings until diagnosis. Our findings suggest that in cases of eosinophilia with an abnormal electrocardiogram, contrast-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance imaging should be considered earlier.

[Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia complicated by bone marrow necrosis during consolidation chemotherapy].

A 46-year-old man who had previously undergone open surgery for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) developed Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph-ALL). After the induction therapy, he achieved complete molecular remission. However, fever and bilateral buttock pain continued during the consolidation therapy. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) showed FDG accumulation in both iliac bones and in the sacrum; however, no causative diseases, including relapse of Ph-ALL and RCC, were detected. Iliac bone marrow biopsy revealed bone marrow necrosis (BMN), the etiology of which was presumed to be the leukemia itself and the therapeutic response to chemotherapy. Fever resolution and buttock pain alleviation were observed over the next months. We observed diffuse fibrosis in the bone marrow at day 162 and day 364 after cord blood transplantation. Moreover, the FDG accumulation was significantly reduced on PET-CT. BMN is not widely recognized despite its potential association with hematologic malignancies. Additional cases of BMN should be reviewed to clarify BMN etiology and clinical features.

Pomalidomide-bortezomib-dexamethasone in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma: Japanese subset analysis of OPTIMISMM.

In the phase 3 OPTIMISMM trial, pomalidomide, bortezomib and dexamethasone (PVd) significantly improved the progression-free survival (PFS) and the overall response rate (ORR) vs bortezomib and dexamethasone (Vd) in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. All patients were previously treated with lenalidomide (70% refractory to lenalidomide) and had received one to three prior regimens. Here we report the first efficacy and safety analysis of PVd vs Vd in Japanese patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. Seventeen patients enrolled in the OPTIMISMM trial in Japan. With a median follow-up of 14.8 months, the median PFS was 17.6 months with PVd (n = 12) vs 4.4 months with Vd (n = 5), and the ORR was 100% vs 60.0%, respectively. The safety profile was as expected for PVd. Toxicities were managed with dose reductions and interruptions, and no patients discontinued PVd due to treatment-emergent adverse events. These results are consistent with those in the overall OPTIMISMM patient population and confirm the clinical benefit of PVd in Japanese patients.

Optimal treatment strategy with nilotinib for patients with newly diagnosed chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia based on early achievement of deep molecular response (MR4.5 ): The phase 2, multicenter N-Road study.

For patients who have chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), one of the primary treatment options is administration of nilotinib 300 mg twice daily (BID). In previous studies which compared outcomes associated with nilotinib or imatinib treatment, nilotinib achieved a higher rate of deep molecular response (MR). We conducted a phase II, open-label, multicenter study to investigate an intrapatient nilotinib dose-escalation strategy for patients with newly diagnosed chronic-phase (CP) CML based on early MR4.5 achievement. The primary study endpoint was achievement of MR4.5 by 24 months following the initiation of nilotinib 300 mg BID. Fifty-three patients were enrolled, 51 received nilotinib, and 37 completed the treatment. An increase in the nilotinib dose (to 400 mg BID) was allowed when patients satisfied our criteria for no optimal response at any time point. The median (range) dose intensity was 600 (207-736) mg/day. Of 46 evaluable patients, 18 achieved an optimal response and 28 did not. Of the latter, nine patients underwent dose escalation to 400 mg BID, and none achieved MR4.5 . The remaining 19 patients could not undergo dose escalation, 12 (63%) because of adverse events (AEs), and 7 (37%) for non-AE related reasons. Four of these patients achieved MR4.5 . The MR4.5 rate by 24 months was 45.7%. The progression-free, overall and event-free survival were each 97.6%. No new safety concerns were observed. Our findings support the use of continuous nilotinib at a dose of 300 mg BID for newly diagnosed patients with CML-CP.

Dasatinib Is an Effective Treatment for Angioimmunoblastic T-cell Lymphoma.

Recurrent hotspot (p.Gly17Val) mutations in RHOA encoding a small GTPase, together with loss-of-function mutations in TET2 encoding an epigenetic regulator, are genetic hallmarks of angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL). Mice expressing the p.Gly17Val RHOA mutant on a Tet2-null background succumbed to AITL-like T-cell lymphomas due to deregulated T-cell receptor (TCR) signaling. Using these mice to investigate therapeutics for AITL, we found that dasatinib, a multikinase inhibitor prolonged their survival through inhibition of hyperactivated TCR signaling. A phase I clinical trial study of dasatinib monotherapy in 5 patients with relapsed/refractory AITL was performed. Dasatinib was started at a dose of 100 mg/body once a day and continued until days 10-78 (median day 58). All the evaluable patients achieved partial responses. Our findings suggest that AITL is highly dependent on TCR signaling and that dasatinib could be a promising candidate drug for AITL treatment. SIGNIFICANCE: Deregulated T-cell receptor signaling is a critical molecular event in angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma and can be targeted with dasatinib.

Durable Leukemic Remission and Autologous Marrow Recovery with Random Chromosomal Abnormalities after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.

A 38-year-old woman with aggressive clinical course of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) was treated with 8 courses of R-CHOP. Clinical remission was achieved, while B-cell clonality remained. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation was performed with reduced intensity conditioning (fludarabine and 2-Gy total body irradiation). However, autologous hematopoietic recovery occurred within a month after the transplant. Nevertheless, B-cell clonality became undetectable at 14 days after transplant, which has been kept so for over 10 years with clinical remission. Cytogenetic analyses were repeatedly performed and demonstrated nonclonal chromosomal aberrations, although the patient did not develop any secondary malignancies. One possible explanation for the clinical course is a very short-term allogeneic immune reaction helping eradication of residual CLL cells.

Efficacy and Safety of a Weekly Cyclophosphamide-Bortezomib-Dexamethasone Regimen as Induction Therapy Prior to Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation in Japanese Patients with Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma: A Phase 2 Multicenter Trial.

We assessed the efficacy and safety of weekly cyclophosphamide-bortezomib-dexamethasone (CBD) induction prior to autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in newly diagnosed Japanese patients with multiple myeloma (MM). This regimen consisted of four 28-day cycles of once-weekly oral cyclophosphamide (300 mg/m2), subcutaneous bortezomib (1.3 mg/m2), and oral dexamethasone (40 mg). Responding patients underwent stem cell collection followed by ASCT. The primary endpoint was the postinduction rate of achieving a near complete response (nCR) or better. Among the 38 enrolled patients, a complete response (CR), an nCR, a very good partial response (VGPR), and a partial response (PR) were achieved in 10.5, 2.6, 23.7, and 36.8% of cases, respectively. A grade 4 hematological adverse event (AE) was observed in 1 patient. Grade 3-4 infection, including febrile neutropenia, was observed in 4 patients (10.5%). Although 2 patients dropped out due to AE, 94.7% of the patients completed the induction phase. However, because of a poor response to induction chemotherapy (

Daratumumab, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone in East Asian patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma: subgroup analyses of the phase 3 POLLUX study.

In the phase 3 POLLUX study, daratumumab plus lenalidomide and dexamethasone (DRd) significantly reduced the risk of progression/death and induced deeper responses vs. lenalidomide and dexamethasone alone (Rd) in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). We report a subgroup analysis of East Asian (Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese) patients from POLLUX based on a longer follow-up of 24.7 months. Median progression-free survival was not reached (NR) for DRd vs. 13.8 months for Rd (hazard ratio [HR], 0.42; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.23-0.76), and overall response rates were higher for DRd vs. Rd (90.2 vs. 72.1%). DRd extended the median duration of response vs. Rd (NR vs. 20.2 months), and minimal residual disease-negative rates at the 10-5 sensitivity threshold were 21.2 vs. 9.1% for DRd vs. Rd. No new safety signals were observed. Similar efficacy and safety were observed in the smaller subgroup of Japanese patients treated with DRd vs. Rd. These results demonstrate favorable efficacy and safety of DRd vs. Rd in East Asian patients and also in the Japanese-only patient subgroup that are consistent with findings in the overall patient population of POLLUX.

Safety and efficacy of daratumumab in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone in Japanese patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

Daratumumab in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone (DVd) has demonstrated longer progression-free survival than combination of bortezomib and dexamethasone in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). In this multicenter, open-label, phase-1 study, the safety, efficacy, and pharmacokinetics (PK) of DVd were evaluated in Japanese patients with RRMM. Eight patients with RRMM aged between 54 and 82 years were enrolled and treated with DVd regimen. Primary endpoints were tolerability and safety. Secondary endpoints were overall response rate (ORR), very good partial response (VGPR) or better, complete response (CR) or better, time to response (TTR), PK, and immunogenicity. All patients (n = 8) experienced Grade ≥ 3 treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAE), with thrombocytopenia (n = 6, 75%) being the most frequent. Mild Grade ≤ 2 infusion-related reactions were reported in five patients. Serious TEAEs were herpes zoster, nasopharyngitis, and prostate cancer (n = 1 each). Three dose-limiting toxicities were observed in two patients. No death or disease progression was reported as of the study cut-off date. ORR was 100% (2 CRs or better, 2 VGPRs, 4 PRs). The median TTR was 0.9 months. PK profiles were comparable to previous studies. The DVd regimen showed acceptable safety with favorable efficacy in Japanese patients with RRMM. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02497378.

[Lenalidomide and low-dose dexamethasone therapy for Japanese patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma: updated results of the MM-025 study].

In a Japanese phase II study (MM-025), the efficacy and safety of lenalidomide plus low-dose dexamethasone (Rd) were confirmed at a median follow-up of 14.2 months in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who were ineligible for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. In the present report, we analyzed the follow-up data from the abovementioned study. Treatment was stopped for all 26 patients after a median follow-up of 31.3 months, and the median treatment duration was approximately 25 months. The overall response rate was 87.5%, and the complete response rate was 20.8%. The median duration of response and progression-free survival were 30.7 and 31.6 months, respectively. The median overall survival has not yet been reached. At least one grade 3/4 adverse event was experienced by 23 patients (88.5%), and 18 patients (69.2%) experienced serious adverse events. There were no treatment-related deaths. Therefore, the efficacy and safety of Rd were confirmed in transplant-ineligible Japanese patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma at the present follow-up period.