International Working Group consensus response evaluation criteria in lymphoma (RECIL 2017).

In recent years, the number of approved and investigational agents that can be safely administered for the treatment of lymphoma patients for a prolonged period of time has substantially increased. Many of these novel agents are evaluated in early-phase clinical trials in patients with a wide range of malignancies, including solid tumors and lymphoma. Furthermore, with the advances in genome sequencing, new "basket" clinical trial designs have emerged that select patients based on the presence of specific genetic alterations across different types of solid tumors and lymphoma. The standard response criteria currently in use for lymphoma are the Lugano Criteria which are based on [18F]2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography or bidimensional tumor measurements on computerized tomography scans. These differ from the RECIST criteria used in solid tumors, which use unidimensional measurements. The RECIL group hypothesized that single-dimension measurement could be used to assess response to therapy in lymphoma patients, producing results similar to the standard criteria. We tested this hypothesis by analyzing 47 828 imaging measurements from 2983 individual adult and pediatric lymphoma patients enrolled on 10 multicenter clinical trials and developed new lymphoma response criteria (RECIL 2017). We demonstrate that assessment of tumor burden in lymphoma clinical trials can use the sum of longest diameters of a maximum of three target lesions. Furthermore, we introduced a new provisional category of a minor response. We also clarified response assessment in patients receiving novel immune therapy and targeted agents that generate unique imaging situations.

FLORENCE: a randomized, double-blind, phase III pivotal study of febuxostat versus allopurinol for the prevention of tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) in patients with hematologic malignancies at intermediate to high TLS risk.

BACKGROUND: Serum uric acid (sUA) control is of key relevance in tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) prevention as it correlates with both TLS and renal event risk. We sought to determine whether febuxostat fixed dose achieves a better sUA control than allopurinol while preserving renal function in TLS prevention. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with hematologic malignancies at intermediate to high TLS risk grade were randomized to receive febuxostat or allopurinol, starting 2 days before induction chemotherapy, for 7-9 days. Study treatment was blinded, whereas daily dose (low/standard/high containing allopurinol 200/300/600 mg, respectively, or fixed febuxostat 120 mg) depended on the investigator's choice. The co-primary end points, sUA area under curve (AUC sUA1-8) and serum creatinine change, were assessed from baseline to day 8 and analyzed through analysis of covariance with two-sided overall significance level of 5%. Secondary end points included treatment responder rate, laboratory and clinical TLS incidence and safety. RESULTS: A total of 346 patients (82.1% intermediate TLS risk; 82.7% assigned to standard dose) were randomized. Mean AUC sUA1-8 was 514.0 ± 225.71 versus 708.0 ± 234.42 mgxh/dl (P < 0.0001) in favor of febuxostat. Mean serum creatinine change was -0.83 ± 26.98% and -4.92 ± 16.70% for febuxostat and allopurinol, respectively (P = 0.0903). No differences among secondary efficacy end points were detected. Drug-related adverse events occurred in 6.4% of patients in both arms. CONCLUSION: In the largest adult trial carried out in TLS prevention, febuxostat achieved a significant superior sUA control with one fixed dose in comparison to allopurinol with comparable renal function preservation and safety profile. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01724528.

Are new conditioning regimens for transplants in acute myelogenous leukemia better?

Pretransplant conditioning regimens designed to decrease leukemia relapse and increase leukemia-free survival in allotransplants in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) were developed recently. We review studies of new regimens containing drugs like busulfan, cytarabine, melphalan or etoposide as well as novel radiation schemes. Results are compared to those achieved with cyclophosphamide and total body radiation. Some new regimens seem inferior. Others seem to decrease relapse but do not improve leukemia-free survival because of increased deaths from causes other than leukemia. In a third group of new regimens reporting improved antileukemia efficacy and increased leukemia-free survival, results are not convincingly superior to cyclophosphamide and total body radiation. This failure to detect major improvements with new conditioning regimens may indicate the relative insensitivity of current clinical trial designs to detect improvement or the absence of an effective dose-response relationship in AML.

What is the role of recombinant colony stimulating factors in bone marrow transplantation?

Colony stimulating factors (CSFs) regulate production of myeloid cells. Use of CSFs post bone marrow transplant accelerates granulocyte recovery by shortening the interval of relative but not absolute granulocytopenia. Data from non-randomized trials suggest that CSFs decrease documented infections by about one-third; there is no apparent increase in survival. Adverse effects of CSFs are modest; there are no indications of increased graft failure, graft-versus-host disease or cancer recurrence after their use. Future studies of CSFs should be in the context of randomized trials where their therapeutic efficacy is best evaluated. CSFs may also be useful in other transplant settings such as treating graft failure or increasing the efficiency of harvesting myeloid progenitor cells from the blood for subsequent transplantation. Controlled trials are needed to evaluate these uses. Future directions will probably include combinations of CSFs and, possibly, in vitro treatment of the graft.

Antilymphocyte globulin for treatment of pure red cell aplasia after major ABO incompatible marrow transplant.

A patient developed pure red cell aplasia after ABO incompatible BMT for leukemia. He did not respond to plasma exchange. Antilymphocyte globulin therapy was followed by complete and permanent erythroid recovery with disappearance of recipient-derived isoagglutinins.

Prostaglandin E2 for prophylaxis of oral mucositis following BMT.

Between October 1988 and December 1990, 60 patients with leukaemia (25 with AML, 19 ALL and 16 CML) undergoing BMT were randomised in a double-blind clinical trial to receive prostaglandin E2 (PGE) (Prostin E2, 0.5 mg per tablet) or placebo for prophylaxis of oral mucositis. Patients had to dissolve tablets in the mouth three times daily starting 7 days before BMT and continuing until 21 days after BMT. The incidence of severe oral mucositis was similar for both groups, 55% in patients receiving PGE and 52% in patients receiving placebo. The duration of severe mucositis did not differ between PGE and placebo groups (chi-square 0.95, p = NS). The incidence of HSV infection was significantly higher in patients receiving PGE. Patients with HSV infection receiving PGE also had a higher incidence of severe oral mucositis. The results presented indicate that PGE is not effective for prophylaxis of oral mucositis in BMT recipients.

Bone marrow immunoscintigraphy in haematological patients with pancytopenia: preliminary results.

The aim of this study was to assess the clinical value of bone marrow immunoscintigraphy using the (99m)Tc labelled anti-NCA-95 antigranulocyte antibodies (AGAb) and of AGAb bone marrow uptake ratio (UR) in the initial diagnostic work-up of diseases with depression of the bone marrow. Twenty-four whole-body bone marrow scans were performed in 23 patients (11 women, 12 men; median age 46 years, range 17-74 years) 5 h after i.v. injection of 370 MBq of AGAb. The UR was calculated from the posterior view drawing an irregular region of interest around the sacroiliac and a background areas. The mean UR in pancytopenic patients was 2.3+/-1.5 (range 0.3-5.8), thus being significantly lower (P=0.45 x 10(-6)) than the mean UR in a control group of 50 patients (mean UR 7.3+/-2.3; range 4.4-12.6) obtained previously. Considering patient age, there was no overlap between UR of pancytopenic patients and the respective normal ranges. The bone marrow appearance on scans seemed to be characteristic for the different haematological diseases investigated. In six patients with myelofibrosis, bone marrow scans demonstrated diffusely decreased bone marrow activity and prominent splenic uptake, possibly related to extramedullary haematopoiesis. In aplastic anaemia, highly reduced and patchy marrow uptake was observed in four patients (five scans), in one of them persisting even after blood cell counts had recovered to the near-normal range. In another two patients with aplastic anaemia, diffusely decreased bone marrow uptake was obtained. In patients with myeloid leukaemia, bone marrow patterns were almost normal probably because the target antigen is often expressed on neoplastic myeloid cells, too. Bone marrow extension was a common finding in these patients. There is an obvious differentiation between haematological patients with pancytopenia and normal subjects by means of AGAb bone marrow uptake ratio. The distinct patterns of AGAb distribution may be indicative for particular haematological diseases.

[Oncogenes in acute myeloid leukemia]. / Onkogeni u akutnim mijeloicnim leukemijama.

The role of oncogenes in carcinogenesis is intensively studied. Certain oncogenes are often found in some kinds of tumors. In acute myeloid leukemia (AML), of all oncogenes presently known, only those belonging to the ras group are activated in a larger number of cases. In single cases myc, myb, sis, and ets oncogenes have been found. It is possible that a disorder in regulation of myc and myb protooncogenes exists in AML.

Treatment of relapsed or refractory aggressive non-hodgkin lymphoma with two ifosfamide-based regimens, IMVP and ICE.

We report the outcomes of 45 patients with relapsed or refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) treated with a combination of ifosfamide, carboplatinum and etoposide (ICE) and 28 patients treated with a combination of ifosfamide, methotrexate and etoposide (IMVP) during two 5-year periods. The response rate (RR) to ICE was 47%, 2-year overall survival (OS) 31% and 2-year event-free survival (EFS) 22%. These results were similar to those obtained with IMVP (RR 39%, 2-year OS 23%, 2-year EFS 13%; p=0.355 for RR, 0.275 for OS, 0.668 for EFS). Higher IPI scores and refractoriness to treatment were negative prognostic factors, immunophenotype (B vs. T) had no influence on prognosis. Changing from IMVP to ICE does not substantially improve the outcome of patients with relapsed or refractory aggressive NHL. Patients with relapsed/refractory aggressive B-NHL do not have a superior outcome in comparison to those with T-NHL if treated with chemotherapy alone.

BCR-ABL rearrangements in children with Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myelogenous leukemia.

Leukemia cells from adults with Philadelphia (Ph1)-chromosome positive chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) have a characteristic molecular rearrangement between the BCR and ABL genes whereby major breakpoint cluster region (Mbcr) exons 2 or 3 are joined to ABL exon II. Ph1-chromosome positive CML is uncommon in children and it is unknown whether these children have similar rearrangements. We studied 17 children with Ph1-chromosome positive CML. Five were studied for Mbcr rearrangement using Southern blotting, nine for the presence of chimeric BCR-ABL mRNA using reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction, and three for both. All eight children studied by Southern blotting had BCR rearrangement. Of 12 children in whom BCR-ABL mRNA was studied, 10 had Mbcr exon 2 joined to ABL exon II, one had Mbcr exon 3 joined to ABL II, and one had both Mbcr-ABL junctions. These data indicate a similarity to adult CML. However, mRNA processing in children may preferentially splice Mbcr exon 2 to ABL exon II. No child had BCR exon 1 joined to ABL exon II, the rearrangement typical of childhood Ph1-chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia.