North American Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm Consortium: position on standards of care and areas of need.

Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare hematologic malignancy with historically poor outcomes and no worldwide consensus treatment approach. Unique among most hematologic malignancies for its frequent cutaneous involvement, BPDCN can also invade other extramedullary compartments, including the central nervous system. Generally affecting older adults, many patients are unfit to receive intensive chemotherapy, and although hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is preferred for younger, fit individuals, not all are eligible. One recent therapeutic breakthrough is that all BPDCNs express CD123 (IL3Rα) and that this accessible surface marker can be pharmacologically targeted. The first-in-class agent for BPDCN, tagraxofusp, which targets CD123, was approved in December 2018 in the United States for patients with BPDCN aged ≥2 years. Despite favorable response rates in the frontline setting, many patients still relapse in the setting of monotherapy, and outcomes in patients with relapsed/refractory BPDCN remain dismal. Therefore, novel approaches targeting both CD123 and other targets are actively being investigated. To begin to formally address the state of the field, we formed a new collaborative initiative, the North American BPDCN Consortium (NABC). This group of experts, which includes a multidisciplinary panel of hematologists/oncologists, hematopoietic stem cell transplant physicians, pathologists, dermatologists, and pediatric oncologists, was tasked with defining the current standard of care in the field and identifying the most important research questions and future directions in BPDCN. The position findings of the NABC's inaugural meetings are presented herein.

The combination of ibrutinib and rituximab demonstrates activity in first-line follicular lymphoma.

This phase 2 study evaluated the activity and safety of ibrutinib, a Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor, plus rituximab in adults with previously untreated follicular lymphoma. Patients received once-daily ibrutinib 560 mg continuously plus once-weekly rituximab 375 mg/m2 for 4 weeks beginning Week 1 (Arm 1, n = 60) or Week 9 (following an 8-week ibrutinib lead-in) to explore biomarkers (Arm 2, n = 20). The primary endpoint was the best overall response rate (ORR). The median age was 58 years; most had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status of 0 (74%) and Stage III/IV disease (84%). At a median study follow-up of 34 months in Arm 1 and 29 months in Arm 2, ORRs were 85% [95% confidence interval (CI) 73-93] and 75% (95% CI 51-91), respectively, with complete responses in 40% and 50%. The median duration of response was not reached in either arm; 30-month progression-free and overall survival rates were 67% and 97% (Arm 1) and 65% and 100% (Arm 2). The most common adverse events were fatigue, diarrhoea and nausea. Higher grade (Grade 3/4) haematological, haemorrhagic and cardiac events occurred infrequently. Ibrutinib plus rituximab was active and tolerable in first-line follicular lymphoma.

Erlotinib and bevacizumab in newly diagnosed performance status 2 or elderly patients with nonsquamous non-small-cell lung cancer, a phase II study of the Hoosier Oncology Group: LUN04-77.

BACKGROUND: Poor PS is a negative prognostic factor for survival and a risk factor for treatment-related toxicity with standard platinum-doublet chemotherapy for advanced NSCLC. A phase II study combining erlotinib and bevacizumab for treatment of recurrent NSCLC showed encouraging efficacy and acceptable toxicity. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This single-arm phase II study evaluated erlotinib and bevacizumab as first-line therapy for newly diagnosed nonsquamous advanced NSCLC patients with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group PS ≥ 2 or age 70 or older. Only patients eligible for bevacizumab per label were enrolled. Patients received erlotinib 150 mg orally daily and bevacizumab 15 mg/kg intravenously on day 1 every 21 days for up to 6 cycles. The primary end point was the rate of nonprogressive disease at 4 months (alternative hypothesis > 60%). RESULTS: Twenty-five patients were enrolled, with median age 77 years (range, 52-90 years), 44% female, 20% never- or remote-smokers. Ninety-two percent of patients enrolled had PS of 2 per investigator assessment. The rate of nonprogressive disease at 4 months was 28%. There were no complete responses, 1 patient achieved a partial response, and 11 patients (44%) experienced stable disease as best response. Rash, fatigue, and diarrhea were the most common toxicities. CONCLUSION: The combination of erlotinib and bevacizumab had insufficient activity in the absence of known activating epidermal growth factor receptor gene mutations to warrant study in newly diagnosed elderly or poor PS patients with nonsquamous NSCLC.

Paclitaxel plus bevacizumab in patients with chemosensitive relapsed small cell lung cancer: a safety, feasibility, and efficacy study from the Hoosier Oncology Group.

INTRODUCTION: Bevacizumab when combined with carboplatin and paclitaxel improves response rates (RRs) and overall survival in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Paclitaxel has single-agent activity in relapsed small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Angiogenesis seems to play an important role in the pathogenesis of SCLC. This study evaluated the safety and efficacy of paclitaxel plus bevacizumab in patients with chemosensitive relapsed SCLC. METHODS: Patients with relapsed chemosensitive SCLC with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 to 1 were eligible. They received paclitaxel 90 mg/m intravenously on days 1, 8, and 15. Bevacizumab was administered at 10 mg/kg intravenously on days 1 and 15. Cycles were every 28 days. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary endpoints included RRs, toxicity, and overall survival. Correlative studies evaluated vascular endothelial growth factor polymorphisms. RESULTS: Thirty-four patients were enrolled in the study. Median age was 66.5 (range, 38-88) years, male:female: 61.8%:38.2%, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0:1 47.1%:52.9%. Median progression-free survival was 14.7 weeks (equivalent to historical controls). Median survival time was 30 weeks. The overall RR was 18.1%. Stable disease rate was 39.3%, and 45.4% of patients had progressive disease. No unexpected toxicities were noted, and grade 3/4 toxicities were limited to neutropenia, fatigue, and dyspnea. None of the vascular endothelial growth factor polymorphisms evaluated were significantly associated with response. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of bevacizumab to paclitaxel does not improve outcomes in relapsed chemosensitive SCLC.

Pemetrexed in second line and beyond small cell lung cancer: a Hoosier Oncology Group phase II study.

INTRODUCTION: : Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is initially a chemotherapy-sensitive disease. Nevertheless, drug-resistance results in disease recurrence in most patients. Many drugs, including antimetabolites, are active, but only minimal progress has been made in improving survival times for those with advanced disease. Based on the need to discover better systemic therapies, we conducted a phase II study of pemetrexed in patients with relapsed SCLC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: : Eligible patients had SCLC or poorly differentiated neuroendocrine cancers of the lung, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 to 2, and had received less than or equal to two prior chemotherapy regimens (additional targeted agents were allowed). Both chemotherapy-sensitive (relapse >/=90 days from completion of first line therapy) and chemotherapy-resistant (progressive disease during or within 90 days from completion of first line treatment) patients were eligible and analyzed separately. Pemetrexed was administered at 500 mg/m intravenously every 21 days for up to six cycles. All patients received folic acid, vitamin B12, and steroid prophylaxis. The primary objective of the trial was to estimate the clinical benefit rate (complete plus partial response plus stable disease) in each group. RESULTS: : From January 2005 to September 2005, 20 patients were enrolled in the chemotherapy-sensitive arm and 23 patients in the chemotherapy-resistant arm. The majority of patients were men, the median age of the two groups were 62.5 and 65, respectively; 75% had a performance status of 0 or 1, and more than 50% had received more than one prior regimen. Grade 3/4 toxicities were as expected for pemetrexed. Progressive disease was the best response in 16 patients (80%) in the chemo-sensitive group and 19 patients (83%) in the chemo-refractory group. One patient had a partial response and three had stable disease in each group. CONCLUSION: : Pemetrexed has minimal single agent activity in relapsed SCLC.

A phase II study of methylphenidate for the treatment of fatigue.

BACKGROUND: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is one of the most distressing symptoms patients experience and is seen well after the completion of treatment. Methylphenidate (Ritalin) use includes the treatment of opiate-induced somnolence, depression, and reduced cognition. This phase II study was performed to evaluate the effects of methylphenidate on CRF. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The criteria for the eligibility of patients included the following: a history of breast cancer, absence of disease for greater than 6 months but less than 5 years, a hemoglobin level of >12 g%, less than moderate depression on the Brief Zung Self-administered Depression Scale, and a score of > or =4 on the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI). Patients received methylphenidate, 5 mg, orally, twice daily, for 6 weeks, with a dose escalation on week 2 if the BFI score remained > or =4 and no significant toxicities were reported. A response was defined as a decrease in the BFI score of at least two points on weeks 4 and 6 as compared to baseline. RESULTS: Between May 2001 and May 2003, 37 patients were entered and treated. On weeks 4 and 6, 20 of 37 (54%) responded with a decreased BFI score greater than two points, averaging a decrease of 3.5. Although six patients (19%) withdrew due to adverse events, these were reported as grade 1. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that women with breast cancer who are suffering from moderate to severe fatigue may benefit from methylphenidate.

A phase II study of weekly gemcitabine and paclitaxel in patients with previously untreated stage IIIb and IV non-small cell lung cancer.

Platinum-based combination chemotherapy has become the standard treatment for good performance patients with stage IIIb and IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, newer agents such as gemcitabine and paclitaxel appear to have superior single agent activity and are more easily tolerated in comparison to the older platinum compounds. Therefore, we conducted this phase II study to evaluate the activity and toxicity of the combination paclitaxel and gemcitabine in advanced NSCLC. Gemcitabine was given at 1,000 mg/m(2) intravenously over 30 min followed by paclitaxel at 110 mg/m(2) intravenously over 1 h on days 1, 8 and 15 every 28 days for a maximum of 6 cycles. Between April 1998 and June 1999, 40 of 42 patients entered were eligible and received chemotherapy. Data was available on 39 patients. Toxicities included Grade 3/4 neutropenia in 43% of patients, while thrombocytopenia (13%) and anemia (7%) were less frequent. Five (12.5%) patients developed neutropenic fever. Four (10%) patients developed bilateral interstitial shadows with hypoxia suggestive of a drug-induced pneumonitis. There were 4 treatment-related deaths (1 from pneumonitis, 3 from neutropenic complications). Five patients were not evaluable due to early death. Therefore, 34 patients were evaluable with 12 (35.3%) achieving a partial remission and 1 achieving a complete remission for an overall response rate of 38.2% (32.5% on an intention-to-treat basis). The median progression free survival was 107 days (range, 14-391), median survival was 148 days (range, 12-495) and 1-year survival was 26%. In conclusion, weekly gemcitabine with paclitaxel in patients with advanced NSCLC is an active regimen; however, toxicity and poor survival precludes the use of this regimen as an experimental arm on a future phase III study.

Carboplatin plus paclitaxel and sequential radiation followed by consolidation carboplatin and paclitaxel in patients with previously untreated locally advanced NSCLC. A Hoosier Oncology Group (HOG) phase II study.

Chemoradiation is standard treatment for patients with unresectable locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, local and distant relapse rates remain high. It has been postulated that the addition of consolidation chemotherapy might further decrease the systemic relapse rate. We performed this phase II study to evaluate the toxicities and activity of two cycles of paclitaxel and carboplatin administered prior to and following thoracic radiation in patients with locally advanced, inoperable NSCLC. From April to December 1997, 25 patients were entered on study. Twenty-three patients were eligible and received paclitaxel 225 mg/m(2) intravenously over 3 h followed by carboplatin at an AUC (6) on days 1 and 22. Radiation consisted of 60 Gy given over 6 weeks beginning on day 43. Patients with non-progressive disease received two additional cycles of consolidation carboplatin and paclitaxel. Four of 23 patients progressed during induction chemotherapy. There were seven PR's and 11 had SD after induction chemotherapy. Following radiation, the response changed to 11 PR, four SD, and three had progressive disease. Of the 15 patients eligible to receive consolidation chemotherapy, three were excluded due to a poor performance status. Twelve patients were treated with consolidation chemotherapy with further improvement in two patients (SD to PR, PR to CR). All 12 patients who received consolidation chemotherapy developed grade 3 or 4 neutropenia, including three patients with neutropenic fever. The overall response rate was 52.1%. The median survival, 1-, and 2-year survival was 10.5 months, 45, and 17%, respectively. In conclusion, consolidation chemotherapy was associated with significant hematologic toxicity without an obvious improvement in survival in comparison to other studies utilizing chemoradiation alone.