90Y-Daclizumab (Anti-CD25), High-Dose Carmustine, Etoposide, Cytarabine, and Melphalan Chemotherapy and Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Yielded Sustained Complete Remissions in 4 Patients with Recurrent Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

Background: Despite advances in therapy of Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL), a proportion of patients will not respond or relapse. The authors had previously identified CD25, IL-2Rα, as a target for systemic radioimmunotherapy of HL since most normal cells do not express CD25, but it is expressed by a minority of Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg (HRS) cells and most Tregs rosetting around HRS cells. Study Design and Treatment: This was a single institution, nonrandomized, open-label phase I/II trial of radiolabeled 90Y-daclizumab, an anti-CD25 monoclonal antibody, BEAM (carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine, and melphalan) conditioning treatment followed by autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (ASCT). Four patients with refractory and relapsed HL were treated in this trial with 3 patients receiving a single dose of 564.6-574.6 MBq 90Y-daclizumab and the fourth patient receiving two doses of 580.9-566.1 MBq 90Y-daclizumab followed by high-dose chemotherapy and ASCT. Results: All 4 evaluable patients treated with 90Y-daclizumab obtained complete responses (CRs) that are ongoing 4.5-7 years following their stem cell transplant. The spectrum and severity of adverse events were mild and more importantly none of the patients, including several with multiple therapies before this treatment, developed the myelodysplastic syndrome. Discussion: Targeting by daclizumab was not directed primarily at tumor cells, but rather the nonmalignant CD25-expressing T cells adjacent to the HRS cells and 90Y-daclizumab provided strong enough ß emissions to kill CD25-negative tumor cells at a distance by a crossfire effect. Furthermore, the strong ß irradiation killed normal cells in the tumor microenvironment. Conclusions: 90Y-daclizumab (anti-CD25), high-dose BEAM chemotherapy and ASCT was well tolerated and yielded sustained complete remissions in all 4 patients with recurrent HL patients who completed their treatment. Significance: Despite advances, a proportion of patients with HL will not have a CR to their initial treatment, and some with CRs will relapse. They demonstrated that the addition of 90Y-daclizumab into the preconditioning regimen for refractory and relapsed HL patients with high-dose BEAM chemotherapy and ASCT provided sustained CRs in the 4 patients studied. Two of these patients were highly refractory to multiple prior treatments with bulky disease at entry into this study, including 1 patient who never entered a remission and had failed 6 different therapeutic regimens. Despite the small number of patients treated in this study, the sustained clinical benefit in these patients indicates a highly effective treatment. The daclizumab was directed primarily not at HRS cells themselves but toward nonmalignant T cells rosetting around malignant cells. 90Y provided strong ß emissions that killed antigen nonexpressing tumor cells at a distance by a crossfire effect. Furthermore, the strong ß radiation killed normal cells in the tumor microenvironment that nurtured the malignant cells in the lymphomatous mass. The present study supports expanded analysis of 90Y-daclizumab as part of the regimen of ASCT in patients with refractory and relapsed HL.

Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Phase III Trial of Fosaprepitant, Ondansetron, Dexamethasone (FOND) Versus FOND Plus Olanzapine (FOND-O) for the Prevention of Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting in Patients with Hematologic Malignancies Receiving Highly Emetogenic Chemotherapy and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Regimens: The FOND-O Trial.

Evidence supports olanzapine for prophylaxis of chemotherapy-induced nausea/vomiting (CINV) for highly emetogenic chemotherapy; however, most studies focus on solid malignancies and single-day regimens. A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial was conducted to compare the addition of olanzapine to triplet therapy (fosaprepitant, ondansetron, dexamethasone [FOND-O]) versus triplet therapy alone (FOND) in preventing CINV in hematology patients receiving single-day and multiple-day highly emetogenic chemotherapy and hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) regimens (NCT02635984). The primary objective of this study was to compare complete response (CR; no emesis and minimal nausea, <25 mm on a 100-mm visual analog scale) during the overall assessment period (chemotherapy days plus 5 days after). Secondary objectives were the number of emesis, number of rescue medications, percent achieving minimal nausea, and percent achieving complete protection (CP; no emesis, rescue antiemetic, or significant nausea), all of which are reported as acute (chemotherapy days), delayed (5 days after chemotherapy), and overall phases. Olanzapine 10 mg or matching placebo were given on each chemotherapy day and 3 days after. Adults with hematologic malignancy receiving HCT regimens of melphalan, BEAM (carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine, melphalan), busulfan (Bu)/cyclophosphamide (Cy), Bu/fludarabine (Flu), Bu/melphalan, FluCy, FluCy-total body irradiation (TBI), etoposide-TBI, and ICE (ifosfamide, carboplatin, etoposide) or 7+3 chemotherapy regimens were included. An estimated 98 patients were required using alpha = .05 and 80% power. No significant differences existed in baseline characteristics between FOND-O (n = 51) and FOND (n = 50) arms. Mean duration of olanzapine was 7.7 days (range, 4 to 11). Discontinuation for possible adverse events occurred in 3 placebo and 0 olanzapine patients. CR was significantly higher for FOND-O in overall (55% versus 26%, P = .003) and delayed (60.8% versus 30%, P = .001) but not acute (P = .13) phases. Significantly more patients receiving FOND-O achieved no more than minimal nausea in overall (P = .001) and delayed phases (P = .0002), as well as fewer overall mean emesis counts (P = .005). CP rates were not different in any assessment phase (P ≥ .05 each). Within the HCT subgroup (n = 64), the CR, CP, and no significant nausea rates were significantly better for FONDO-O in overall and delayed phases (all P < .05). Analysis within the HCT subgroup revealed significant improvement in outcomes in delayed and overall phases with FOND-O in the autologous but not allogeneic cohort. Addition of olanzapine to an NK-1-based triplet antiemetic regimen significantly improved clinically relevant outcomes in the HCT population.

Combination therapy with carfilzomib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone (KRd) results in an unprecedented purity of the stem cell graft in newly diagnosed patients with myeloma.

Still, many physicians give 4 cycles of combination therapy to multiple myeloma patients prior to collection of stem cells for autologous bone marrow transplant. This tradition originates from older doxorubicin-containing regiments which limited the number of cycles due to cumulative cardiotoxicity. Using older regiments, most patients had residual myeloma cells in their autologous stem-cell grafts during collection. Emerging data show that newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients treated with modern carfilzomib/lenalidomide/dexamethasone (KRd) therapy, on average, take 6 cycles until reaching minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity. We assessed newly diagnosed patients treated with KRd focusing MRD status both in the individual patient's bone marrow, and the corresponding autologous hematopoietic progenitor cell grafts during collection. Per protocol, stem-cell collection was allowed after 4 to 8 cycles of KRd. We found similar stem-cell yield independent of the number of cycles of KRd. At stem-cell collection, 11/30 patients (36.6%) were MRD negative in their bone marrow; all 11 patients had MRD negative hematopoietic progenitor cell grafts. Furthermore, 18/19 patients who were MRD positive in their bone marrows also had MRD negative hematopoietic progenitor cell grafts. These observations support 6 cycles of KRd as an efficacious and safe induction strategy prior to stem-cell collection.

Prolonged versus short infusion rates for intravenous magnesium sulfate administration in hematopoietic cell transplant patients.

PURPOSE: Hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) recipients often require intravenous (IV) magnesium repletion due to poor dietary intake, gastrointestinal loss, and use of concomitant magnesium wasting medications. Prolonging the IV magnesium infusion rate has been postulated to reduce renal clearance and improve retention; however, limited evidence supports this hypothesis. METHODS: We reviewed autologous and allogeneic HCT recipients (n = 82) who received IV magnesium at our institution between 2014 and 2016: 41 patients received IV magnesium at a prolonged rate of 0.5 g/h and 41 patients at > 0.5 g/h (mean 2.07 g/h). Primary outcome was percent of days in which magnesium levels were in desired therapeutic range (2-2.7 mg/dL) during hospitalization. RESULTS: Baseline characteristics were similar between cohorts: no difference existed between groups in incidence of gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease or the percentage of patients who received magnesium replacement in maintenance fluids, received concomitant oral magnesium supplementation, or received parenteral nutrition. Percent of days in desired therapeutic range was not different between groups (p = 0.3). No difference existed between groups with respect to total amount of IV magnesium repletion (22.5 vs. 21.4 g, p = 0.81) or number of days of IV replacement (7.2 vs. 6.2 days, p = 0.41). In terms of safety, there was no difference between groups with respect to incidence of hypomagnesemia or hypermagnesemia (p = 0.43 each). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, prolonging the infusion rate did not correlate with improved magnesium retention based on amount and frequency of magnesium repletion or attainment of goal levels in HCT patients.

High-Dose Sirolimus and Immune-Selective Pentostatin plus Cyclophosphamide Conditioning Yields Stable Mixed Chimerism and Insufficient Graft-versus-Tumor Responses.

PURPOSE: We hypothesized that lymphoid-selective host conditioning and subsequent adoptive transfer of sirolimus-resistant allogeneic T cells (T-Rapa), when combined with high-dose sirolimus drug therapy in vivo, would safely achieve antitumor effects while avoiding GVHD. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Patients (n = 10) with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) were accrued because this disease is relatively refractory to high-dose conditioning yet may respond to high-dose sirolimus. A 21-day outpatient regimen of weekly pentostatin (P; 4 mg/m(2)/dose) combined with daily, dose-adjusted cyclophosphamide (C; ≤200 mg/d) was designed to deplete and suppress host T cells. After PC conditioning, patients received matched sibling, T-cell-replete peripheral blood stem cell allografts, and high-dose sirolimus (serum trough target, 20-30 ng/mL). To augment graft-versus-tumor (GVT) effects, multiple T-Rapa donor lymphocyte infusions (DLI) were administered (days 0, 14, and 45 posttransplant), and sirolimus was discontinued early (day 60 posttransplant). RESULTS: PC conditioning depleted host T cells without neutropenia or infection and facilitated donor engraftment (10 of 10 cases). High-dose sirolimus therapy inhibited multiple T-Rapa DLI, as evidenced by stable mixed donor/host chimerism. No antitumor responses were detected by RECIST criteria and no significant classical acute GVHD was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Immune-selective PC conditioning represents a new approach to safely achieve alloengraftment without neutropenia. However, allogeneic T cells generated ex vivo in sirolimus are not resistant to the tolerance-inducing effects of in vivo sirolimus drug therapy, thereby cautioning against use of this intervention in patients with refractory cancer.

Donor-derived CD19-targeted T cells cause regression of malignancy persisting after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

New treatments are needed for B-cell malignancies persisting after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT). We conducted a clinical trial of allogeneic T cells genetically modified to express a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) targeting the B-cell antigen CD19. T cells for genetic modification were obtained from each patient's alloHSCT donor. All patients had malignancy that persisted after alloHSCT and standard donor lymphocyte infusions (DLIs). Patients did not receive chemotherapy prior to the CAR T-cell infusions and were not lymphocyte depleted at the time of the infusions. The 10 treated patients received a single infusion of allogeneic anti-CD19-CAR T cells. Three patients had regressions of their malignancies. One patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) obtained an ongoing complete remission after treatment with allogeneic anti-CD19-CAR T cells, another CLL patient had tumor lysis syndrome as his leukemia dramatically regressed, and a patient with mantle cell lymphoma obtained an ongoing partial remission. None of the 10 patients developed graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Toxicities included transient hypotension and fever. We detected cells containing the anti-CD19-CAR gene in the blood of 8 of 10 patients. These results show for the first time that donor-derived allogeneic anti-CD19-CAR T cells can cause regression of B-cell malignancies resistant to standard DLIs without causing GVHD.

Host lymphocyte depletion as a strategy to facilitate early full donor chimerism after reduced-intensity allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

Reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (RIC-alloHSCT) is associated with lower toxicity but higher rates of prolonged mixed chimerism than myeloablative conditioning. Decreased pretransplantation host T cell numbers are associated with less graft rejection and early full donor chimerism. To compensate for variability in pretransplantation host lymphocyte numbers and facilitate the achievement of rapid full donor chimerism, we tested a strategy of targeted lymphocyte depletion (TLD) using chemotherapy at conventional doses to provide cytoreduction and lymphocyte depletion before RIC-alloHSCT. In our study, 111 patients with advanced hematologic malignancies received 1 to 3 cycles of conventional-dose chemotherapy to reduce circulating lymphocytes to a predetermined level. Patients then underwent RIC-alloHSCT from HLA-matched siblings. Patients received a median of 2 cycles of TLD chemotherapy, resulting in a median 71% decline in CD4(+) count. All patients engrafted; there were no late graft failures. By day +14, median CD3(+) chimerism was 99% donor and was significantly associated with lower post-TLD CD4(+) counts (P = .012). One- and 5-year treatment-related mortality were 15% and 21%, respectively. At 1-year follow-up, 66% of patients had achieved complete remission (CR) of which 92% were not in CR at the time of transplantation. Overall survival at 1 and 5 years post transplantation were 66% and 47%, respectively.

Phase 2 clinical trial of rapamycin-resistant donor CD4+ Th2/Th1 (T-Rapa) cells after low-intensity allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation.

In experimental models, ex vivo induced T-cell rapamycin resistance occurred independent of T helper 1 (Th1)/T helper 2 (Th2) differentiation and yielded allogeneic CD4(+) T cells of increased in vivo efficacy that facilitated engraftment and permitted graft-versus-tumor effects while minimizing graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). To translate these findings, we performed a phase 2 multicenter clinical trial of rapamycin-resistant donor CD4(+) Th2/Th1 (T-Rapa) cells after allogeneic-matched sibling donor hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) for therapy of refractory hematologic malignancy. T-Rapa cell products, which expressed a balanced Th2/Th1 phenotype, were administered as a preemptive donor lymphocyte infusion at day 14 post-HCT. After T-Rapa cell infusion, mixed donor/host chimerism rapidly converted, and there was preferential immune reconstitution with donor CD4(+) Th2 and Th1 cells relative to regulatory T cells and CD8(+) T cells. The cumulative incidence probability of acute GVHD was 20% and 40% at days 100 and 180 post-HCT, respectively. There was no transplant-related mortality. Eighteen of 40 patients (45%) remain in sustained complete remission (range of follow-up: 42-84 months). These results demonstrate the safety of this low-intensity transplant approach and the feasibility of subsequent randomized studies to compare T-Rapa cell-based therapy with standard transplantation regimens.

National Institutes of Health chronic graft-versus-host disease staging in severely affected patients: organ and global scoring correlate with established indicators of disease severity and prognosis.

Between 2004 and 2010, 189 adult patients were enrolled on the National Cancer Institute's cross-sectional chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) natural history study. Patients were evaluated by multiple disease scales and outcome measures, including the 2005 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Project cGVHD severity scores. The purpose of this study was to assess the validity of the NIH scoring variables as determinants of disease severity in severely affected patients in efforts to standardize clinician evaluation and staging of cGVHD. Out of 189 patients enrolled, 125 met the criteria for severe cGVHD on the NIH global score, 62 of whom had moderate disease, with a median of 4 (range, 1-8) involved organs. Clinician-assigned average NIH organ score and the corresponding organ scores assigned by subspecialists were highly correlated (r = 0.64). NIH global severity scores showed significant associations with nearly all functional and quality of life outcome measures, including the Lee Symptom Scale, Short Form-36 Physical Component Scale, 2-minute walk, grip strength, range of motion, and Human Activity Profile. Joint/fascia, skin, and lung involvement affected function and quality of life most significantly and showed the greatest correlation with outcome measures. The final Cox model with factors jointly predictive for survival included the time from cGVHD diagnosis (>49 versus ≤49 months, hazard ratio [HR] = 0.23; P = .0011), absolute eosinophil count at the time of NIH evaluation (0-0.5 versus >0.5 cells/µL, HR = 3.95; P = .0006), and NIH lung score (3 versus 0-2, HR = 11.02; P < .0001). These results demonstrate that NIH organs and global severity scores are reliable measures of cGVHD disease burden. The strong association with subspecialist evaluation suggests that NIH organ and global severity scores are appropriate for clinical and research assessments, and may serve as a surrogate for more complex subspecialist examinations. In this population of severely affected patients, NIH lung score is the strongest predictor of poor overall survival, both alone and after adjustment for other important factors.

Quantitative analysis of T cell receptor diversity in clinical samples of human peripheral blood.

The analysis of T cell receptor diversity provides a clinically relevant and sensitive marker of repertoire loss, gain, or skewing. Spectratyping is a broadly utilized technique to measure global TCR diversity by the analysis of the lengths of CDR3 fragments in each Vß family. However the common use of large numbers of T cells to obtain a global view of TCR Vß CDR3 diversity has restricted spectratyping analyses when limited T-cell numbers are available in clinical setting, such as following transplant regimens. We here demonstrate that one hundred thousand T cells are sufficient to obtain a robust, highly reproducible measure of the global TCR Vß repertoire diversity among twenty Vß families in human peripheral blood. We also show that use of lower cell number results not in a dwindling of observed diversity but rather in non-reproducible patterns in replicate spectratypes. Finally, we report here a simple to use but sensitive method to quantify repertoire divergence in patient samples by comparison to a standard repertoire profile we generated from fifteen normal donors. We provide examples using this method to statistically evaluate the changes in the global TCR Vß repertoire diversity that may take place during T subset immune reconstitution after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation or after immune modulating therapies.

Phase I trial of adoptive cell transfer with mixed-profile type-I/type-II allogeneic T cells for metastatic breast cancer.

PURPOSE: Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) response to allogeneic lymphocytes requires donor T-cell engraftment and is limited by graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). In mice, type-II-polarized T cells promote engraftment and modulate GVHD, whereas type-I-polarized T cells mediate more potent graft-versus-tumor (GVT) effects. This phase I translational study evaluated adoptive transfer of ex vivo costimulated type-I/type-II (T1/T2) donor T cells with T-cell-depleted (TCD) allogeneic stem cell transplantation (AlloSCT) for MBC. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Patients had received anthracycline, taxane, and antibody therapies, and been treated for metastatic disease and a human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-identical-sibling donor. Donor lymphocytes were costimulated ex vivo with anti-CD3/anti-CD28 antibody-coated magnetic beads in interleukin (IL)-2/IL-4-supplemented media. Patients received reduced intensity conditioning, donor stem cells and T1/T2 cells, and monitoring for toxicity, engraftment, GVHD, and tumor response; results were compared with historical controls, identically treated except for T1/T2 product infusions. RESULTS: Mixed type-I/type-II CD4(+) T cells predominated in T1/T2 products. Nine patients received T1/T2 cells at dose level 1 (5 × 10(6) cells/kg). T-cell donor chimerism reached 100% by a median of 28 days. Seven (78%) developed acute GVHD. At day +28, five patients had partial responses (56%) and none had MBC progression; thereafter, two patients had continued responses. Donor T-cell engraftment and tumor responses appeared faster than in historical controls, but GVHD rates were similar and responders progressed early, often following treatment of acute GVHD. CONCLUSION: Allogeneic T1/T2 cells were safely infused with TCD-AlloSCT, appeared to promote donor engraftment, and may have contributed to transient early tumor responses.

Characterization and treatment of chronic active Epstein-Barr virus disease: a 28-year experience in the United States.

Chronic active EBV disease (CAEBV) is a lymphoproliferative disorder characterized by markedly elevated levels of antibody to EBV or EBV DNA in the blood and EBV RNA or protein in lymphocytes in tissues. We present our experience with CAEBV during the last 28 years, including the first 8 cases treated with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the United States. Most cases of CAEBV have been reported from Japan. Unlike CAEBV in Japan, where EBV is nearly always found in T or natural killer (NK) cells in tissues, EBV was usually detected in B cells in tissues from our patients. Most patients presented with lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly; fever, hepatitis, and pancytopenia were common. Most patients died of infection or progressive lymphoproliferation. Unlike cases reported from Japan, our patients often showed a progressive loss of B cells and hypogammaglobulinemia. Although patients with CAEBV from Japan have normal or increased numbers of NK cells, many of our patients had reduced NK-cell numbers. Although immunosuppressive agents, rituximab, autologous cytotoxic T cells, or cytotoxic chemotherapy often resulted in short-term remissions, they were not curative. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation was often curative for CAEBV, even in patients with active lymphoproliferative disease that was unresponsive to chemotherapy. These studies are registered at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00032513 for CAEBV, NCT00062868 and NCT00058812 for EBV-specific T-cell studies, and NCT00578539 for the hematopoietic stem cell transplantation protocol.

Phase I study of recombinant human interleukin-7 administration in subjects with refractory malignancy.

PURPOSE: Interleukin-7 (IL-7) has critical and nonredundant roles in T-cell development, hematopoiesis, and postdevelopmental immune functions as a prototypic homeostatic cytokine. Based on a large body of preclinical evidence, it may have multiple therapeutic applications in immunodeficiency states, either physiologic (immunosenescence), pathologic (HIV), or iatrogenic (postchemotherapy and posthematopoietic stem cell transplant), and may have roles in immune reconstitution or enhancement of immunotherapy. We report here on the toxicity and biological activity of recombinant human IL-7 (rhIL-7) in humans. DESIGN: Subjects with incurable malignancy received rhIL-7 subcutaneously every other day for 2 weeks in a phase I interpatient dose escalation study (3, 10, 30, and 60 microg/kg/dose). The objectives were safety and dose-limiting toxicity determination, identification of a range of biologically active doses, and characterization of biological and, possibly, antitumor effects. RESULTS: Mild to moderate constitutional symptoms, reversible spleen and lymph node enlargement, and marked increase in peripheral CD3(+), CD4(+), and CD8(+) lymphocytes were seen in a dose-dependent and age-independent manner in all subjects receiving >or=10 microg/kg/dose, resulting in a rejuvenated circulating T-cell profile, resembling that seen earlier in life. In some subjects, rhIL-7 induced in the bone marrow a marked, transient polyclonal proliferation of pre-B cells showing a spectrum of maturation as well as an increase in circulating transitional B cells. CONCLUSION: This study shows the potent biological activity of rhIL-7 in humans over a well-tolerated dose range and allows further exploration of its possible therapeutic applications.

Correlation of pretransplant and early post-transplant response assessment with outcomes after reduced-intensity allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy sensitivity, defined simply as at least a partial response to chemotherapy, is an important outcome predictor for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients undergoing reduced-intensity allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HCT). The authors hypothesized that further differentiation of chemotherapy sensitivity by specific response, complete remission (CR) versus partial remission (PR) versus stable disease (SD) versus progression of disease (PD), correlates with post-transplant outcomes. METHODS: The impact of pretransplant and early (28 days) post-transplant disease response on transplant outcomes was analyzed in 63 NHL patients treated with reduced-intensity allo-HCT. RESULTS: The 3-year event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) (median potential follow-up after reduced-intensity allo-HCT = 58 months) for all patients was 37% and 47%, respectively. The 3-year EFS based on pretransplant response was: CR = 50%; PR = 66%; SD = 18%; no patient with PD pretransplant reached 3-year follow-up. The 3-year OS based on pretransplant response was: CR = 63%; PR = 69%; SD = 45%. The 3-year EFS based on post-transplant response was: CR = 57%; PR = 32%; SD = 33%; no patient with PD post-transplant reached 3-year follow-up. The 3-year OS based on post-transplant response was: CR = 65%; PR = 43%; SD = 50%. In multivariate analyses, pretransplant response was the best predictor of EFS (P < .0001). Pretransplant response (P < .0001) and age (P = .0035) were jointly associated with OS. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that NHL patients with pretransplant SD, generally considered inappropriate candidates, may benefit from reduced-intensity allo-HCT, and patients with pretransplant PD should only receive this therapy in clinical trials.

Strategies to improve long-term outcome in stage IIIB inflammatory breast cancer: multimodality treatment including dose-intensive induction and high-dose chemotherapy.

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare clinicopathologic entity with a poor prognosis, lagging far behind any other form of nonmetastatic breast cancer. Since the advent of systemic chemotherapy over 35 years ago, only minimal progress has been made in long-term outcome. Although multiple randomized trials of high-dose chemotherapy and autologous progenitor cell transplantation (ASCT) for the treatment of breast cancer have yielded disappointing results, these data are not necessarily relevant to IBC, a distinct clinical and pathologic entity. Therefore, the optimal multimodality therapy for IBC is not well established, and remains unsatisfactory. We treated 21 women with nonmetastatic IBC with a multimodality strategy including high-dose melphalan (Mel)/etoposide and ASCT. The treatment was overall tolerated with acceptable morbidity, and no post-ASCT 100-day mortality. With a median potential follow-up of approximately 8 years, the estimated progression-free survival (PFS), event-free survival (EFS), and overall survival (OS) at 6 years from on-study date are: 67%, 55%, and 69%, respectively. These results from a small phase II study are among the most promising of mature outcome data for IBC. They strongly suggest, along with results of several already published phase II trials, that ASCT could play a significant role in the first line treatment of IBC.

Perspective on potential clinical applications of recombinant human interleukin-7.

Interleukin-7 has critical and nonredundant roles in T cell development, hematopoiesis, and postdevelopmental immune functions as a prototypic homeostatic cytokine. Based on a large body of preclinical evidence, it may have multiple therapeutic applications in immunodeficiency states, either physiologic (immuno-senescence), pathologic (HIV) or iatrogenic (postchemotherapy and posthematopoietic stem cell transplant) and may have roles in immune reconstitution or enhancement of immunotherapy. Early clinical development trials in humans show that, within a short time, rhIL-7 administration results in a marked preferential expansion of both naive and memory CD4 and CD8 T cell pools with a tendency toward enhanced CD8 expansion. As a result, lymphopenic or normal older hosts develop an expanded circulating T cell pool with a profile that resembles that seen earlier in life with increased T cell repertoire diversity. These results, along with a favorable toxicity profile, open a wide perspective of potential future clinical applications.

Administration of rhIL-7 in humans increases in vivo TCR repertoire diversity by preferential expansion of naive T cell subsets.

Interleukin-7 (IL-7) is a homeostatic cytokine for resting T cells with increasing serum and tissue levels during T cell depletion. In preclinical studies, IL-7 therapy exerts marked stimulating effects on T cell immune reconstitution in mice and primates. First-in-human clinical studies of recombinant human IL-7 (rhIL-7) provided the opportunity to investigate the effects of IL-7 therapy on lymphocytes in vivo. rhIL-7 induced in vivo T cell cycling, bcl-2 up-regulation, and a sustained increase in peripheral blood CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells. This T cell expansion caused a significant broadening of circulating T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire diversity independent of the subjects' age as naive T cells, including recent thymic emigrants (RTEs), expanded preferentially, whereas the proportions of regulatory T (T reg) cells and senescent CD8(+) effectors diminished. The resulting composition of the circulating T cell pool more closely resembled that seen earlier in life. This profile, distinctive among cytokines under clinical development, suggests that rhIL-7 therapy could enhance and broaden immune responses, particularly in individuals with limited naive T cells and diminished TCR repertoire diversity, as occurs after physiological (age), pathological (human immunodeficiency virus), or iatrogenic (chemotherapy) lymphocyte depletion.

Interleukin-7 immunotherapy.

IL-7 is a member of the common gamma-chain family of cytokines sharing a common gamma-chain in their receptor. Beyond its long-established pivotal role in immune development, it has been more recently recognized as a critically important regulator of peripheral naïve and memory T cell homeostasis while its role in postdevelopment thymic function remains at best, poorly defined, and controversial. Its multiple immune-enhancing properties, most notably in the maintenance of T cell homeostasis, make it a very attractive candidate for immunotherapy in a wide variety of clinical situations. Following many years of rich preclinical data in murine and simian models, IL-7 is now emerging in human phase I trials as a very promising immunotherapeutic agent. Human in vivo data discussed here are derived from the phase I study initiated at the National Cancer Institute in collaboration with Cytheris, Inc., in a cohort of subjects with incurable malignancy.

Oral mucositis-related oropharyngeal pain and correlative tumor necrosis factor-alpha expression in adult oncology patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Oral mucositis is the most common sequela of conditioning chemotherapy (CT) for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and is the principal cause of most of the associated pain. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is a key pathogenic component of oral mucositis. OBJECTIVES: The primary purpose of this study was to describe oral mucositis-related oropharyngeal pain in the setting of HSCT. A secondary purpose was to assess the effectiveness of molecular biology methods for measuring TNF-alpha concentrations in plasma, saliva, and buccal epithelial cells in patients with oral mucositis undergoing HSCT. METHODS: This descriptive, correlative study recruited subjects aged >or= 18 years who were scheduled to receive HSCT with CT. Subjects assessed their pain at baseline and 9 days (+/-24 hours) after CT using a pain visual analog scale (VAS) from 0=no pain to 10=worst possible pain, as well as word descriptors of sensory and affective pain. The extent and severity of oral mucositis were evaluated using the Oral Mucositis Assessment Scale. Saliva and blood samples and buccal brush biopsies were obtained at the same time points. Salivary and plasma TNF-alpha concentrations were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction testing was used to measure buccal TNF-alpha gene expression. To determine the optimal method of RNA isolation, samples were extracted using 3 different methods: TRIzol, RNeasy, and RLT/TRIzol. RESULTS: Twenty-five adult men and women (mean age, 46 years; age range, 32-68 years; 64% white) underwent HSCT with CT. Significant differences from baseline to day 9 were observed in the severity of oral mucositis (P<0.001), the overall intensity of oral pain (P<0.05), the overall intensity of oral pain with swallowing (P<0.01), the sensory dimension of oral pain with swallowing (P<0.05), and the sensory and affective dimension of oral pain with swallowing (P<0.05). The severity of oral mucositis was significantly associated with the overall intensity of oral pain (P<0.05). Although mean scores for oral pain were low, 8 subjects had clinically unacceptable pain VAS scores (>3) while receiving opioids. Fourteen subjects had measurable increases in buccal TNF-alpha RNA expression at day 9 (P=0.027 vs baseline), as measured using the TRIzol method, which was found to be the best method for measuring this variable. TNF-alpha RNA content in buccal samples was significantly associated with the worst intensity of oral pain with swallowing (partial R(2)=0.19; P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the use of opioids, oropharyngeal pain remained a treatment challenge in approximately one third of these subjects after CT with HSCT. The sensitive assay used to measure TNF-alpha gene expression in buccal cells may be useful in investigating molecular events in oral mucositis-related pain, as well as in evaluating the therapeutic response to investigational agents.

Phase I clinical trial of costimulated, IL-4 polarized donor CD4+ T cells as augmentation of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation.

The primary objective of this clinical trial was to evaluate the safety, feasibility, and biologic effects of administering costimulated, interleukin (IL)-4 polarized donor CD4(+) T cells in the setting of HLA-matched sibling, T cell-replete allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Forty-seven subjects with hematologic malignancy received granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-mobilized allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplants and cyclosporine graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis after reduced intensity conditioning. Initial subjects received no additional cells (n = 19); subsequent subjects received additional donor CD4(+) T cells generated ex vivo by CD3/CD28 costimulation in medium containing IL-4 and IL-2 (administered day 1 after HCT at 5, 25, or 125 x 10(6) cells/kg). Studies after HCT included measurement of monocyte IL-1alpha and tumor necrosis factor alpha, detection of T cells with antitumor specificity, and characterization of T cell cytokine phenotype. The culture method generated donor CD4(+) T cells that secreted increased T helper 2 (Th2) cytokines and decreased T helper 1 (Th1) cytokines. Such Th2-like cells were administered without infusional or dose-limiting toxicity. The Th2 cohort had accelerated lymphocyte reconstitution; both cohorts had rapid hematopoietic recovery and alloengraftment. Acute GVHD and overall survival were similar in the Th2 and non-Th2 cohorts. Th2 cell recipients tended to have increased monocyte IL-1alpha and had increased tumor necrosis factor alpha secretion. CD8(+) T cells with antitumor specificity were observed in Th2 and non-Th2 cohorts. Post-transplantation T cells from Th2 cell recipients secreted IL-4 and IL-10 (Th2 cytokines) and IL-2 and interferon gamma (Th1 cytokines). Allograft augmentation with costimulated, IL-4-polarized donor CD4(+) T cells resulted in activated Th1, Th2, and inflammatory cytokine pathways without an apparent increase in GVHD.