Frequency of venous thrombotic events in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome and 5q deletion syndrome during lenalidomide therapy.

Lenalidomide is known to increase the risk of venous thromboembolism in patients with hematologic malignancies. The role of antithrombotic prophylaxis in patients receiving lenalidomide is well established in multiple myeloma. However, when used in patients with a myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS)-in particular, del(5q) patients-the risk of venous thromboembolism and the need for anticoagulation are unknown. We performed a retrospective for MDS patients with 5q deletion. The total number of patients was 64, and 24 (38%) were treated with lenalidomide. Of those who received lenalidomide, venous thrombotic events (VTE) occurred in 4 (17%). All events occurred after 1 year of lenalidomide therapy. Although limited by the cohort size, concurrent erythropoietin-stimulating agents (ESAs) were not associated with increased thrombotic events, and the diagnosis of VTE did not affect survival. Our data suggest an increased incidence of VTE with prolonged lenalidomide treatment, mainly if MDS responds to this therapy.

A Pilot Study of the Telomerase Inhibitor Imetelstat for Myelofibrosis.

BACKGROUND: Current drugs for myeloproliferative neoplasm-associated myelofibrosis, including Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors, do not induce complete or partial remissions. Imetelstat is a 13-mer lipid-conjugated oligonucleotide that targets the RNA template of human telomerase reverse transcriptase. METHODS: We sought to obtain preliminary information on the therapeutic activity and safety of imetelstat in patients with high-risk or intermediate-2-risk myelofibrosis. Imetelstat was administered as a 2-hour intravenous infusion (starting dose, 9.4 mg per kilogram of body weight) every 1 to 3 weeks. The primary end point was the overall response rate, and the secondary end points were adverse events, spleen response, and independence from red-cell transfusions. RESULTS: A total of 33 patients (median age, 67 years) met the eligibility criteria; 48% had received prior JAK inhibitor therapy. A complete or partial remission occurred in 7 patients (21%), with a median duration of response of 18 months (range, 13 to 20+) for complete responses and 10 months (range, 7 to 10+) for partial responses. Bone marrow fibrosis was reversed in all 4 patients who had a complete response, and a molecular response occurred in 3 of the 4 patients. Response rates were 27% among patients with a JAK2 mutation versus 0% among those without a JAK2 mutation (P=0.30) and 32% among patients without an ASXL1 mutation versus 0% among those with an ASXL1 mutation (P=0.07). The rate of complete response was 38% among patients with a mutation in SF3B1 or U2AF1 versus 4% among patients without a mutation in these genes (P=0.04). Responses did not correlate with baseline telomere length. Treatment-related adverse events included grade 4 thrombocytopenia (in 18% of patients), grade 4 neutropenia (in 12%), grade 3 anemia (in 30%), and grade 1 or 2 elevation in levels of total bilirubin (in 12%), alkaline phosphatase (in 21%), and aspartate aminotransferase (in 27%). CONCLUSIONS: Imetelstat was found to be active in patients with myelofibrosis but also had the potential to cause clinically significant myelosuppression. (Funded by Geron; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01731951.).

Mayo Clinic experience with 1123 adults with acute myeloid leukemia.

Between 2004 and 2017, a total of 1123 adult patients (median age 65 years; 61% males) with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML), not including acute promyelocytic leukemia, were seen at the Mayo Clinic. Treatment included intensive (n = 766) or lower intensity (n = 144) chemotherapy or supportive care (n = 213), with respective median survivals of 22, 9, and 2 months (p < 0.01). Intensive chemotherapy resulted in complete remission (CR) and CR with incomplete count recovery (CRi) rates of 44 and 33%, respectively, with no difference in survival outcome between the two (p = 0.4). Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (AHSCT) was documented in 259 patients and provided the best survival rate (median 55 months; p < 0.01). After a median follow-up of 13 months, 841 (75%) deaths were recorded. Multivariate analysis identified age >60 years (HR 2.2, 1.9-2.6), adverse karyotype (HR 2.9, 1.9-4.9), intermediate-risk karyotype (HR 1.6, 1.02-2.6), post-myeloproliferative neoplasm AML (HR 1.9, 1.5-2.4), and other secondary AML (HR 1.3 (1.1-1.6) as risk factors for shortened survival. These risk factors retained their significance after inclusion of FLT3/NPM1 mutational status in 392 informative cases: FLT3+NPM1- (HR 2.8, 1.4-5.6), FLT3+/NPM+ (HR 2.6 (1.3-5.2), and FLT3-NPM1- (HR 1.8, 1.0-3.0).

Phase 1b Study of IGF-Methotrexate Conjugate in the Treatment of High-grade Myelodysplastic Syndromes.

BACKGROUND/AIM: The insulin-like growth factor type 1 receptor (IGF-1R) is overexpressed in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) cells, and 765IGF-Methotrexate (IGF-MTX) is a conjugate of methotrexate and a variant of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) designed to selectively target cancer cells through binding to IGF-1R. The aim of this study was to determine whether IGF-MTX would be effective to treat MDS. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this phase I clinical trial, two patients with high grade MDS or oligoblastic acute myeloid leukemia (O-AML) that had failed standard therapy were treated with IGF-MTX. RESULTS: No dose-limiting toxicity was observed. Both patients had stable or improved cell counts and CD34+ myelodysplastic cell counts and exceeded their life expectancy (both alive at 1.9 years despite a life expectancy of less than 6 months). Bone marrow blast counts decreased from 22% to 5% in one patient, and from 17% to 16% in the other. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, IGF-MTX at 0.20 µM equivalents per kg was well tolerated, caused no cytopenia, and produced stable disease and extension of life.

Mayo Clinic Hematology Fellowship for Advanced Practice Providers.

Advanced practice providers (APPs), including nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs), are part of a growing cancer care workforce. Current hematology-specific education provided by most graduate NP and PA school educations is limited. Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences launched a hematology-specific fellowship in 2018 to provide APPs with the skills and knowledge required to deliver high-quality specialty care in hematology and blood and marrow transplant (BMT). The fellowship curriculum was developed based on a needs-based assessment study as well as the qualitative reported experiences of current hematology-specific APPs. The curriculum contains didactic in-class education, research opportunities, and mentored clinical rotations in both inpatient and outpatient practice in hematology and BMT. This 12-month fellowship, one of the only postgraduate training programs dedicated to benign and malignant hematology practice, provides structured training for highly qualified graduate APPs interested in developing a rewarding career in hematology.

Mayo Alliance Prognostic Model for Myelodysplastic Syndromes: Integration of Genetic and Clinical Information.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a new risk model for primary myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) that integrates information on mutations, karyotype, and clinical variables. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with World Health Organization-defined primary MDS seen at Mayo Clinic (MC) from December 28, 1994, through December 19, 2017, constituted the core study group. The National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) provided the validation cohort. Model performance, compared with the revised International Prognostic Scoring System, was assessed by Akaike information criterion and area under the curve estimates. RESULTS: The study group consisted of 685 molecularly annotated patients from MC (357) and NTUH (328). Multivariate analysis of the MC cohort identified monosomal karyotype (hazard ratio [HR], 5.2; 95% CI, 3.1-8.6), "non-MK abnormalities other than single/double del(5q)" (HR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.3-2.6), RUNX1 (HR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.2-3.1) and ASXL1 (HR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.2-2.3) mutations, absence of SF3B1 mutations (HR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.1-2.4), age greater than 70 years (HR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.6-3.1), hemoglobin level less than 8 g/dL in women or less than 9 g/dL in men (HR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.7-3.1), platelet count less than 75 × 109/L (HR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.1-2.1), and 10% or more bone marrow blasts (HR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.1-2.8) as predictors of inferior overall survival. Based on HR-weighted risk scores, a 4-tiered Mayo alliance prognostic model for MDS was devised: low (89 patients), intermediate-1 (104), intermediate-2 (95), and high (69); respective median survivals (5-year overall survival rates) were 85 (73%), 42 (34%), 22 (7%), and 9 months (0%). The Mayo alliance model was subsequently validated by using the external NTUH cohort and, compared with the revised International Prognostic Scoring System, displayed favorable Akaike information criterion (1865 vs 1943) and area under the curve (0.87 vs 0.76) values. CONCLUSION: We propose a simple and contemporary risk model for MDS that is based on a limited set of genetic and clinical variables.