Daratumumab-lenalidomide and daratumumab-pomalidomide in relapsed lenalidomide-exposed or refractory multiple myeloma.

Daratumumab is an anti-CD38 mAb, used frequently in combination with lenalidomide and pomalidomide. No studies compared daratumumab plus lenalidomide and dexamethasone (DRd) to daratumumab plus pomalidomide and dexamethasone (DPd) in lenalidomide-exposed multiple myeloma. We identified 504 consecutive multiple myeloma patients who received daratumumab at Mayo Clinic between January 2015 and April 2019. We excluded patients who received daratumumab in the first line, received more than four lines of therapy prior to daratumumab use, did not receive lenalidomide prior to daratumumab, or had an unknown status of lenalidomide exposure, and patients who received daratumumab combinations other than DRd or DPd. We examined the impact of using DRd compared to DPd on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. Out of 504 patients, 162 received DRd or DPd and were included; 67 were lenalidomide-exposed and 95 were lenalidomide-refractory. DRd was used in 76 (47%) and DPd in 86 (53%) patients. In lenalidomide-exposed multiple myeloma, there was no difference in median PFS; 34.2 months [95% confidence interval (CI), 22.8-44.6] for DRd compared to 25.2 months (95% CI, 4.9-35.3) for DPd, P  = 0.2. In lenalidomide-refractory multiple myeloma, there was no difference in median PFS; 18.6 months (95% CI, 13-32) for DRd compared to 9 months (95% CI, 5.2-14.6) for DPd, P  = 0.09. No difference in median OS was observed in DRd compared to DPd. Our study shows combining daratumumab with lenalidomide in patients with prior lenalidomide use is a viable and effective treatment option.

AT-101 Enhances the Antitumor Activity of Lenalidomide in Patients with Multiple Myeloma.

Bcl-2 and Mcl-1 proteins play a role in multiple myeloma (MM) cell survival, for which targeted inhibitors are being developed. AT-101 is an oral drug, which disrupts Bcl-2 and Mcl-1 function, impedes mitochondrial bioenergetic processes and induces apoptosis in MM cells. When combined with lenalidomide and dexamethasone (Rd), AT-101 significantly reduced tumor burden in an in vivo xenograft model of MM. These data provided rationale for a phase I/II study to establish the effective dose of AT-101 in combination with Rd (ARd regimen) in relapsed/refractory MM. A total of 10 patients were enrolled, most with high-risk cytogenetics (80%) and prior stem cell transplant (70%). Three patients were lenalidomide-refractory, 2 were bortezomib-refractory and 3 were daratumumab-refractory. The ARd combination was well tolerated with most common grade 3/4 adverse events being cytopenia's. The overall response rate was 40% and clinical benefit rate was 90%. The median progression free survival was 14.9 months (95% CI 7.1-NE). Patients responsive to ARd showed a decrease in Bcl-2:Bim or Mcl-1:Noxa protein complexes, increased CD8+ T and NK cells and depletion of T and B-regulatory cells. The ARd regimen demonstrated an acceptable safety profile and promising efficacy in patients with relapsed/refractory MM prompting further investigation in additional patients.

Ibrutinib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone in patients with relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma: Phase I trial results.

Therapeutic strategies that target novel pathways are urgently needed for patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). Ibrutinib is an oral covalent inhibitor of Bruton tyrosine kinase, which is overexpressed in MM cells. This phase 1 dose-escalation study examined various doses of ibrutinib in combination with standard doses of lenalidomide (25 mg) and dexamethasone (40 mg) using a standard 3 + 3 design in RRMM patients. The primary objective was to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of ibrutinib in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone. Patients (n = 15) had received a median of 4 prior regimens, 53% were triple-class exposed, 33% were penta-exposed, and 54% were lenalidomide-refractory. The MTD of ibrutinib was 840 mg (n = 6) and only 1 dose-limiting toxicity; a grade 3 rash possibly related to ibrutinib was noted. The most common ≥ grade 3 adverse events were rash in 2 (13%), lymphopenia in 2 (13%), leukopenia, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, and anemia all occurring in 3 (20%) patients each. One patient achieved a partial response for an overall response rate of 7%. The clinical benefit rate was 80%. The median time to progression was 3.8 months. Ibrutinib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone appears to be a safe and well-tolerated regimen with reasonable efficacy in heavily pretreated RRMM patients.

Myelomatous ascites and pleural effusion in relapsed multiple myeloma.

Extramedullary multiple myeloma is seen in advanced and aggressive disease and occurs due to plasma cell infiltration of sites other than the bone marrow. Myelomatous ascites or pleural effusion is seen in less than 1% of cases and can be differentiated from infectious etiologies based on fluid cytology.

Awareness of myeloma care and the global impact of treatment: An international internet-based prospective study.

OBJECTIVE: Outcomes in multiple myeloma (MM) have significantly improved necessitating focus on survivorship. METHODS: We undertook a web-based survey in collaboration with International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) to explore patient awareness and psycho-physical impacts of MM. The survey was viewed on the IMF website by 1,324 individuals from 32 countries. RESULTS: The survey responses were available from 959 individuals, with 62% who completed the survey. Treating doctors were the most frequent source of MM-related information. Only 56% patients admitted full compliance with treatment. Treatment side effects bothered 86% responders, including >50% admitting to pain, peripheral neuropathy and asthenia. Majority (57%) reported some degree of depression, 82% had discontent with their quality of life and only 35% reported being satisfied with their coping mechanisms. Patients ≥65 years of age reported more peripheral neuropathy (p = 0.007) and difficulty with ability to work (p = 0.015). CONCLUSIONS: We report the prevalence of psychologic, social and physical domains as well as patient-physician relationship dynamics. This knowledge can help improve MM survivorship.Introduction.

Management of lytic bone disease in lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma: A case report and review of the literature.

Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM)/lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (LPL) is often differentiated from myeloma based on the presence of lytic bone lesions (LBL). However, WM/LPL can present with LBL, and management is poorly understood. We describe a case of an 81-year-old woman with LPL who presented with LBL and was successfully treated with chemoimmunotherapy.

Utilization of radiation therapy in multiple myeloma: trends and changes in practice.

Plasma cell disorders including plasmacytomas and multiple myeloma (MM) are exquisitely radiosensitive, and thus, radiation therapy (XRT) is used effectively in their management. The role of XRT in the setting of novel MM therapeutics has not been explored. The 2016 National Cancer Database (NCDB) for MM with patients diagnosed between 2004 and 2013 was studied. Association between utilization of XRT as part of initial therapy and patient, disease, or treating facility characteristics was studied. A total of 111,281 cases with 91.6% MM, 7% osseous plasmacytoma (PLA-O), and 1.4% extramedullary plasmacytoma (PLA-E) were identified. XRT was utilized as part of initial therapy in 25.4% cases, including 69.3% of PLA-O, 60% of PLA-E, and 21.5% of MM patients. Patients with PLA-E and MM were significantly less likely to receive XRT as compared to PLA-O (p < 0.001). A significantly decreased use of XRT was noted over time (p < 0.001), and for advancing patient age (p < 0.001), women (p < 0.001), and blacks (p < 0.001), and with increasing income (p = 0.015). Patients with Medicare were less likely to receive XRT (OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.78, 0.94) as compared to uninsured as were those with initial treatment at academic or high-volume facilities and facilities performing stem cell transplant. There was overall decreased utilization of XRT in recent years, possibly due to advent of efficacious systemic agents for MM therapy, with a higher XRT utilization for plasmacytomas. Patterns of XRT use need to be explored prospectively, so that uniform standards of healthcare delivery can be maintained and treatment heterogeneity can be minimized.

Trends in Early Mortality From Multiple Myeloma: A Population-Based Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Despite significant improvements in multiple myeloma (MM) treatment modalities, patient mortality early in the course of disease has been identified as a persistent phenomenon with variable reported rates and causes. Trends in early mortality over time have not been clearly defined. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database was used to identify adult patients with MM between 1975 and 2015. Association of available sociodemographic factors with all-cause and MM-specific early mortality (death within 6 months after the diagnosis of MM) was conducted by multivariate analysis. Trends in early mortality were studied by joinpoint regression analysis. RESULTS: Of the 90,975 MM cases included in this analysis, early mortality was noted in 21%. Median age was 68 years overall, and 75 years for the early mortality cohort (P < .01). The most common causes of death for early mortality were MM itself, followed by cardiovascular, infections, and renal failure. Male gender, "other" race/ethnicity group, advancing age, and West, Midwest or South regions (reference Northeast) were associated with increased risk of both all-cause and MM-specific early mortality. Joinpoint regression analysis of trends data resulted in 1 joinpoint for all-cause 6-month mortality (2006-2015), while 2 joinpoints were noticed for myeloma-specific 6-month mortality (1975-1987 and 2003-2015). CONCLUSION: Early mortality remains a significant unmet need for MM patient care, despite improving trends in recent years. Understanding the factors associated with early mortality can help develop individualized plans of patient care and mitigate circumstances that may contribute to early mortality among MM patients.

Use of KRD-PACE as Salvage Therapy in Aggressive, Relapsed/Bortezomib-Refractory Extramedullary Multiple Myeloma: A Report of Two Cases and Literature Review.

Extramedullary multiple myeloma is defined by the presence of plasma cell infiltration outside of the bone marrow. It is associated with a poor prognosis and resistance to therapy and is often associated with high-risk cytogenetics. Aggressive relapsed and refractory extramedullary multiple myeloma is often treated with salvage infusional chemotherapy to achieve rapid disease control. Commonly used regimens include DCEP, CVAD, and VTD-PACE. While VTD-PACE contains bortezomib and thalidomide which have potent antimyeloma activity, the advent of novel agent therapy with proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory agents being used in the first-line setting has resulted in many patients being refractory to bortezomib by the time they are treated with VTD-PACE. Herein, we discuss two cases of aggressive relapsed, high-risk, bortezomib-refractory extramedullary multiple myeloma treated with KRD-PACE and review the available clinical data on salvage chemotherapy regimens used in relapsed refractory myeloma.

Timeliness of Initial Therapy in Multiple Myeloma: Trends and Factors Affecting Patient Care.

Multiple myeloma (MM) treatment has advanced significantly over the last 2 decades. In most patients, the disease course has been altered from early fatality to chronic morbidity with multiple lines of treatment. The MM treatment paradigm has shifted toward treating patients before end-organ damage occurs. Thus, timeliness of treatment initiation in this era might improve patient outcomes. This is the first report to our knowledge analyzing disparities and trends in treatment timeliness of patients with MM using the National Cancer Database. Multiple factors affected the timing of treatment initiation in MM and disparities were found. We noted that initiation of treatment was delayed in women (odds ratio [OR], 1.15; 95% CI, 1.1 to 1.2) and blacks (OR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.14 to 1.28; reference, whites) and in patients diagnosed in more recent years (2012-2015; OR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.1 to 1.22; reference, 2004-2007). Patients were likely to start treatment earlier if they were age ≥ 80 years (OR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.76 to 0.9; reference, age < 60 years), were uninsured (OR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.72 to 0.91; reference, private insurance), had Medicaid (OR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.79 to 0.95; reference, private insurance), were treated in a comprehensive community cancer program (OR, 0.7; 95% CI, 0.65 to 0.77; reference, community cancer program), lived in a location other than the US Northeast, or had a higher Charlson comorbidity score. Patient education and income levels did not affect time to treatment initiation. Particular aspects of these disparities could be explained by our current health care system and insurance rules, whereas others need to be investigated more deeply.

Trends in the risk of second primary malignancies among survivors of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

With improving survivorship in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the risk of second primary malignancies (SPMs) has not been systematically addressed. Differences in risk for SPMs among CLL survivors from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database (1973-2015) were compared to risk of individual malignancies expected in the general population. In ~270,000 person-year follow-up, 6487 new SPMs were diagnosed with a standardized incidence ratio (SIR) of 1.2 (95% CI:1.17-1.23). The higher risk was for both solid (SIR 1.15; 95% CI:1.12-1.18) and hematological malignancies (SIR 1.61; 95% CI:1.5-1.73). The highest risk for SPMs was noted between 2 and 5 months after CLL diagnosis (SIR 1.57; 95% CI:1.41-1.74) and for CLL patients between 50- and 79-years-old. There was a significant increase in SPMs in years 2003-2015 (SIR 1.36; 95% CI:1.3-1.42) as compared to 1973-1982 (SIR 1.19; 95% CI:1.12-1.26). The risk of SPMs was higher in CLL patients who had received prior chemotherapy (SIR 1.38 95% CI:1.31-1.44) as compared to those untreated/treatment status unknown (SIR 1.16, 95% CI:1.13-1.19, p < 0.001). In a multivariate analysis, the hazard of developing SPMs was higher among men, post-chemotherapy, recent years of diagnosis, advanced age, and non-Whites. Active survivorship plans and long-term surveillance for SPMs is crucial for improved outcomes of patients with a history of CLL.

Survival Trends in Young Patients With Multiple Myeloma: A Focus on Racial-Ethnic Minorities.

INTRODUCTION: Outcomes in multiple myeloma (MM) have improved significantly over time. This is true overall for all patients as well as patient subgroups based on age and race/ethnicity. Despite this, disparities are noted in outcomes when looking at racial subgroups. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed an analysis from the population-based Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database to evaluate improvement in relative survival rates (RSRs) for young (≤ 40 years at the time of MM diagnosis) and older (> 40 years at the time of MM diagnosis) over time by race/ethnicity, specifically focusing on Hispanic patients with MM. Expected survival was estimated using the age- and gender-specific death rates from the United States population. RSR was provided as the ratio of the observed to expected survival at individual time points. Five-year and 10-year RSRs were calculated for patients based on treatments modalities available in various time periods. RESULTS: We identified a total of 89,451 patients with MM in SEER, of which 1460 patients formed the young patients with MM (≤ 40 years) cohort. Five- and 10-year RSR improved significantly over time for all patients and older patients (> 40 years) by race (all P < .001). Evaluating the younger patients, RSR improved significantly for non-Hispanic whites and non-Hispanic blacks, but not for Hispanics. This was true for the 5-year (P = .08) and 10-year (P = .13) RSRs. CONCLUSION: We report a lack of significant benefit in long-term outcomes for younger Hispanic patients with MM over time. This could be owing to multifactorial causes that need to be addressed to mitigate outcome disparities.

Monoclonal antibody utilization characteristics in patients with multiple myeloma.

This study analyzed 91 multiple myeloma patients who received two monoclonal antibodies, Daratumumab and Elotuzumab, over a year and report the adverse event profile, infusion practices and utilization of these drugs in the real world. All current reported data on monoclonal antibodies is from clinical trials, without any real-world experience. Patients from Mayo Clinic Florida or Arizona diagnosed with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who were treated with Daratumumab or Elotuzumab alone or in combination between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2016 were included in the analysis. Daratumumab-treated patients (n = 78) were more heavily pre-treated than that in published clinical trials, whereas the elotuzumab patient (n = 13) profile was similar to that published before. Infusion time was on average 2 hours less than the prescribing guidelines and premedication use varied noticeably after the initial monoclonal antibody infusion, with an overall decrease over time. We noted higher than reported haematologic adverse events, especially neutropenia and fewer non-haematologic adverse events. 91.7% infusion-related reactions were observed during the first monoclonal antibody infusion, with a subsequent decrease. All infusion-related reactions were grade 2 or less, and none of the patients discontinued treatment due to infusion-related reactions. Baseline allergy profile or laboratory tests were not associated with the likelihood of developing monoclonal antibody-related infusion-related reactions. The real-world safety profile of monoclonal antibodies showed varying adverse event patterns than those reported in previous clinical trials. The infusion-related reaction patterns were similar to previous reports. Despite changes in premedication regimens safety was maintained in succeeding infusions. Such treatment utilization data is vital to broaden our knowledge of approved therapeutic agents and maximize their benefits for patients.

Targeting CD38 Enhances the Antileukemic Activity of Ibrutinib in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.

PURPOSE: CD38 has emerged as a high-impact therapeutic target in multiple myeloma, with the approval of daratumumab (anti-CD38 mAb). The clinical importance of CD38 in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has been known for over 2 decades, although it's relevance as a therapeutic target in CLL remains understudied. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We investigated the biological effects and antitumor mechanisms engaged by daratumumab in primary CLL cells. Besides its known immune-effector mechanisms (antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity, complement-dependent death, and antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis), we also measured direct apoptotic effects of daratumumab alone or in combination with ibrutinib. In vivo antileukemic activity was assessed in a partially humanized xenograft model. The influence of CD38 on B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling was measured via immunoblotting of Lyn, Syk, BTK, PLCγ2, ERK1/2, and AKT. RESULTS: In addition to immune-effector mechanisms; daratumumab also induced direct apoptosis of primary CLL cells, which was partially dependent on FcγR cross-linking. For the first time, we demonstrated the influence of CD38 on BCR signaling where interference of CD38 downregulated Syk, BTK, PLCγ2, ERK1/2, and AKT; effects that were further enhanced by addition of ibrutinib. In comparison to single-agent treatment, the combination of ibrutinib and daratumumab resulted in significantly enhanced anti-CLL activity in vitro and significantly decreased tumor growth and prolonged survival in the in vivo CLL xenograft model. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, our data demonstrate the antitumor mechanisms of daratumumab in CLL; furthermore, we show how cotargeting BTK and CD38 lead to a robust anti-CLL effect, which has clinical implications.

Retreatment with obinutuzumab: An addition to the therapeutic landscape of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Obinutuzumab is used for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. So far there are no data of using this for retreatment in patients who have received it previously. We introduced obinutuzumab for the retreatment in a chronic lymphocytic leukemia patient, who had first achieved partial remission with it and eventually relapsed over a course of 2.5 years. After retreatment with single-agent obinutuzumab, the patient achieved a partial remission again within one cycle and continues to maintain the response status. This case is a platform for considering obinutuzumab as a viable option for retreatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients who have received it before, similar to the pattern of use for other anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies in this disease, including rituximab.