Management of newly diagnosed high-risk and intermediate-risk follicular lymphoma with 90 Y ibritumomab tiuxetan in a phase II study.

Five-year overall survival for high-risk Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index follicular lymphoma is only approximately 50% compared with 90% for low risk. To evaluate an approach to improve upon this poor outcome, we completed an exploratory phase II trial of intensified treatment for patients with intermediate and high-risk follicular lymphoma. Front-line treatment with chemo-immunotherapy consisting of rituximab, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, and prednisone was followed by radio- immunotherapy with 90-Yttrium ibritumomab tiuxetan consolidation, and 2 years of rituximab maintenance. The 5-year overall survival for intermediate and high-risk patients was 88% and 83%, respectively. Of 33 enrolled patients, 3 were off study before receiving radio-immunotherapy. Three months post radio-immunotherapy, 28/33 (85%) patients had achieved complete response including 6 patients who had only a partial response to chemo-immunotherapy and converted to complete response after radio-immunotherapy. The 5-year progression-free survival for intermediate and high risk was 79% and 58%, respectively. Nine of 19 patients with molecular markers patients remain in molecular and clinical complete remission with a median follow-up of 48 months (range 3-84 months). Post radio-immunotherapy, hematologic toxicities were mostly grade 1 and 2. However, asymptomatic grade 3 or 4 thrombocytopenia and neutropenia occurred in 11%-36% and 10%-24% of patients, respectively. Myelodysplastic syndrome occurred in 1 patient 4 years post treatment. Whereas many patients had prolonged B-cell reduction and low immunoglobulin levels post treatment, previous immunities to rubella were maintained. More aggressive upfront approaches such as this may benefit higher risk follicular lymphoma, but confirmatory trials are required. http://www.clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01446562.

Survival of patients with transformed lymphoma in the rituximab era.

In the pre-rituximab era, transformation of indolent B-cell lymphoma to diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) was associated with an extremely poor outcome and a median post-transformation survival ranging from 1 to 2 years. We evaluated the impact of rituximab-cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, vincristine, prednisone (R-CHOP) on the survival outcomes of transformed lymphoma compared with de novo DLBCL. Between 2002 and 2010, 317 DLBCL patients who were consecutively diagnosed and treated with R-CHOP were identified at our institution. Patients with transformed lymphoma were included if they had not previously received R-CHOP. Patient characteristics, treatment, and outcome data were retrospectively collected. Sixty patients (19 %) had transformed lymphoma of which 37 (62 %) had transformed from follicular lymphoma, 50 (83 %) were chemotherapy naïve, and 58 (96 %) were rituximab naïve at the time of treatment. With a median follow-up of 31.4 months, 231 patients achieved either complete response or complete response unconfirmed (73 %) with no significant difference between de novo DLBCL (n = 192, 75 %) and the transformed group (n = 39, 65 %) (P = 0.25). Six patients (15 %) relapsed in the transformed group at a median time to relapse of 29.3 months. The 2-year and 5-year overall survivals for all patients were 82 and 72 %, respectively. The overall and progression-free survivals for transformed lymphoma and de novo DLBCL were not statistically different (P = 0.45 and P = 0.38, respectively). With R-CHOP chemotherapy, the prognosis of transformed lymphoma in patients with minimal chemotherapy exposure for indolent disease is similar to that of de novo DLBCL.

Impact of central nervous system (CNS) prophylaxis on the incidence and risk factors for CNS relapse in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma treated in the rituximab era: a single centre experience and review of the literature.

Central nervous system (CNS) prophylaxis for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is controversial with even less evidence in the era of R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone) chemotherapy. We reviewed the impact of CNS prophylaxis in DLBCL patients treated with R-CHOP at a tertiary care centre over a 7-year period. CNS prophylaxis was recommended for 'higher risk' patients and consisted of intrathecal methotrexate and/or high-dose methotrexate. Of 214 patients 12·6% received CNS prophylaxis. With a median follow-up of 27 months, eight patients (3·7%) developed CNS relapse (75% isolated to the CNS and 62·5% as parenchymal brain disease) at a median time of 17 months. Patients who did not receive CNS prophylaxis had lower events (2·7%) than those who did (11·1%). Half of the CNS relapses occurred in testicular lymphoma patients, 75% of whom had received CNS prophylaxis. In multivariate analysis, testicular involvement was the only significant prognostic factor for CNS relapse (hazard ratio 33·5, P < 0·001). In conclusion, CNS relapse in DLBCL appears to present as a later, more isolated parenchymal event and at a lower rate in the rituximab era compared with historical data. R-CHOP may negate the need for CNS prophylaxis with the exception of testicular lymphoma.

A phase I study of romidepsin, gemcitabine, dexamethasone and cisplatin combination therapy in the treatment of peripheral T-cell and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; the Canadian cancer trials group LY.15 study†.

We investigated GDP (gemcitabine, 1000 mg/m2 IV d1, d8; dexamethasone, 40 mg po d1-4; cisplatin, 75 mg/m2 IV d1) combined with romidepsin on days 1 and 8 every 21 days to a maximum of six cycles in a standard 3 + 3, phase I dose escalation trial for patients with relapsed/refractory peripheral T-cell (PTCL) or diffuse large B-cell (DLBCL) lymphoma (NCT01846390). After treating four patients, gemcitabine and romidepsin were given on days 1 and 15 every 28 days. On the 21-day schedule at 6 mg/m2 romidepsin, there were three dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) among four patients. On the 28-day schedule, there were no DLTs at the 6, 8, or 10 mg/m2 dose. At 12 mg/m2, there were four observed grade 3 DLTs among six evaluable patients. Full doses of GDP can be combined with a recommended phase II romidepsin dose of 10 mg/m2 if given on a day 1, 15 every 28 days schedule.

Alemtuzumab and CHOP Chemotherapy for the Treatment of Aggressive Histology Peripheral T Cell Lymphomas: A Multi-Center Phase I Study.

BACKGROUND: Alemtuzumab has single-agent activity in relapsed peripheral T cell lymphoma (PTL), but the optimal dose and/or schedule in combination with chemotherapy for first-line use is unknown. The primary objectives were to establish the maximally tolerated dose and pharmacokinetics (PK) of alemtuzumab combined in this way. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Adult patients with untreated CD52-positive (CD52(+)) PTL were enrolled in a phase I trial. Alemtuzumab was given subcutaneously in escalating doses and/or schedules in combination with CHOP (cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, vincristine and prednisone) using a 3+3 design. Trough PK of alemtuzumab were measured on day 1 of each 21-day cycle and B and T cell subsets were serially measured. RESULTS: Twenty patients were enrolled across 4 dose levels. Dose-limiting toxicities necessitated expansion at 10 mg weekly (fatal tuberculosis reactivation) and 60 mg every 3 weeks (grade 4 thrombocytopenia) dose levels. Maximally tolerated dose was not reached. Ten patients developed asymptomatic cytomegalovirus reactivations at a median of 39 days (range, 4-99 days). Two patients developed fungal pneumonias. The overall and complete response rates were 68% and 37%, respectively. Highest day 1 alemtuzumab trough levels were achieved at 60 mg (1973 ng/mL), but with significant inter- and intradose variability. Lymphopenia at baseline was common and T cell recovery was significantly delayed. CONCLUSION: With monitoring and prophylaxis, alemtuzumab 60 mg combined with CHOP showed activity in CD52(+) PTL and achieved the highest drug levels.

Chemoimmunotherapy resistant follicular lymphoma: predictors of resistance, association with transformation and prognosis.

Follicular lymphoma (FL) is characterized by an initial response to treatment with inevitable relapse. We evaluated chemoimmunotherapy resistance (CIR resistance) including transformation. We identified patients who received rituximab combination therapy for symptomatic FL. CIR resistance was defined as disease progression during rituximab-based chemoimmunotherapy, rituximab maintenance or within 6 months of treatment completion. Our primary outcome was time to early progression (CIR resistance). Between July 2006 and April 2010, 132 patients met the inclusion criteria and 22 (16.7%) demonstrated CIR resistance with a median follow-up of 33 months. High-risk Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index (FLIPI) score was predictive of CIR resistance (hazard ratio [HR] 2.43; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.4-4.1; p = 0.001). Overall, eight patients (36.3%) transformed (biopsy-proven), with no transformation in the chemoimmunotherapy responder group. Median overall survival in the CIR resistant group was 47 months. Patients with CIR resistance had high rates of histologic transformation and shorter survival with poor response to next therapy.

Evaluation of direct medical costs of hospitalization for febrile neutropenia.

BACKGROUND: Treatment of febrile neutropenia (FN) is costly, because it typically involves hospitalization. As cancer rates continue to increase, the number of patients suffering from FN will also increase, making it important to quantify the costs of treating this condition accurately and comprehensively. METHODS: A consecutive sample of patients admitted to an inpatient hematology/oncology ward at a tertiary care hospital for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced FN was enrolled in this study. Patients were followed prospectively during hospitalization, and information on medical resource utilization including length of stay, medications, and laboratory and diagnostic tests was collected. Costs, extracted from hospital and provincial databases, were used to calculate the overall cost per FN episode, from the hospital perspective. RESULTS: Fifty-one episodes of FN that occurred in 46 patients were included in the study. Approximately 52% of these episodes occurred in women, and 65% of these episodes occurred in patients with hematologic malignancies. The mean +/- standard deviation age of patients was 60.3 +/- 13.4 years. The mean length of stay per episode was 6.8 +/- 4.9 days. The mean overall cost per episode was 6324 +/- 4783 in 2007 Canadian dollars. CONCLUSIONS: Hospitalization for the treatment of FN is expensive. The results of this study could be used in future economic evaluations of preventive measures and treatments for FN, including primary prophylactic administration of hematopoietic growth factors and outpatient treatment of this condition.

Primary care physicians' views of routine follow-up care of cancer survivors.

PURPOSE: Routine follow-up of adult cancer survivors is an important clinical and health service issue. Because of a lack of evidence supporting advantages of long-term follow-up care in oncology clinics, there is increasing interest for the locus of this care to be provided by primary care physicians (PCPs). However, current Canadian PCP views on this issue have been largely unknown. METHODS: A mail survey of a random sample of PCPs across Canada, stratified by region and proximity to urban centers, was conducted. Views on routine follow-up of adult cancer survivors and modalities to facilitate PCPs in providing this care were determined. RESULTS: A total of 330 PCPs responded (adjusted response rate, 51.7%). After completion of active treatment, PCPs were willing to assume exclusive responsibility for routine follow-up care after 2.4 +/- 2.3 years had elapsed for prostate cancer, 2.6 +/- 2.6 years for colorectal cancer, 2.8 +/- 2.5 years for breast cancer, and 3.2 +/- 2.7 years for lymphoma. PCPs already providing this care were willing to provide exclusive care sooner. The most useful modalities PCPs felt would assist them in assuming exclusive responsibility for follow-up cancer care were (1) a patient-specific letter from the specialist, (2) printed guidelines, (3) expedited routes of rereferral, and (4) expedited access to investigations for suspected recurrence. CONCLUSION: With appropriate information and support in place, PCPs reported being willing to assume exclusive responsibility for the follow-up care of adult cancer survivors. Insights gained from this survey may ultimately help guide strategies in providing optimal care to these patients.