In the SARS-CoV-2 era, do we need to be afraid of obinutuzumab?

In their paper, Pinto et al. report findings from the Italian URBAN study; an ambispective, observational, multicentre study evaluating the safety and efficacy of obinutuzumab-based therapy for advanced stage follicular lymphoma (FL) in routine practice. The URBAN substudy reported here examined severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outcomes in 299 patients with treatment-naïve advanced stage FL, treated with obinutuzumab-based chemoimmunotherapy and maintenance. The study began enrolling in September 2019, continuing enrolment throughout the pandemic, with cut-off for the current analysis of 31 January 2022; thus, it provides unique insights into various pandemic phases, including the impact of administration of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. Commentary on: Pinto et al. Exposure to obinutuzumab does not affect outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection in vaccinated patients with newly diagnosed advanced-stage follicular lymphoma. Br J Haematol 2024 (Online ahead of print). doi: 10.1111/bjh.19661.

Timing of high-dose methotrexate CNS prophylaxis in DLBCL: a multicenter international analysis of 1384 patients.

Prophylactic high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX) is often used for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients at high risk of central nervous system (CNS) relapse, despite limited evidence demonstrating efficacy or the optimal delivery method. We conducted a retrospective, international analysis of 1384 patients receiving HD-MTX CNS prophylaxis either intercalated (i-HD-MTX) (n = 749) or at the end (n = 635) of R-CHOP/R-CHOP-like therapy (EOT). There were 78 CNS relapses (3-year rate 5.7%), with no difference between i-HD-MTX and EOT: 5.7% vs 5.8%, P = .98; 3-year difference: 0.04% (-2.0% to 3.1%). Conclusions were unchanged on adjusting for baseline prognostic factors or on 6-month landmark analysis (n = 1253). In patients with a high CNS international prognostic index (n = 600), the 3-year CNS relapse rate was 9.1%, with no difference between i-HD-MTX and EOT. On multivariable analysis, increasing age and renal/adrenal involvement were the only independent risk factors for CNS relapse. Concurrent intrathecal prophylaxis was not associated with a reduction in CNS relapse. R-CHOP delays of ≥7 days were significantly increased with i-HD-MTX vs EOT, with 308 of 1573 (19.6%) i-HD-MTX treatments resulting in a delay to subsequent R-CHOP (median 8 days). Increased risk of delay occurred in older patients when delivery was later than day 10 in the R-CHOP cycle. In summary, we found no evidence that EOT delivery increases CNS relapse risk vs i-HD-MTX. Findings in high-risk subgroups were unchanged. Rates of CNS relapse in this HD-MTX-treated cohort were similar to comparable cohorts receiving infrequent CNS prophylaxis. If HD-MTX is still considered for certain high-risk patients, delivery could be deferred until R-CHOP completion.

Central nervous system lymphomas-Assessment and treatment and prevention of central nervous system relapse.

In this review focused on lymphoma and the central nervous system (CNS), we summarize recent developments in the management of primary (PCNSL) and secondary CNS lymphoma (SCNSL), treatment of CNS lymphoma in the older population, the neuroradiological assessment of CNS lymphoma and finally highlight the ongoing debate on optimal CNS prophylaxis. The section on PCNSL focuses on the different approaches available for frontline treatment in Europe and the United States and discusses consolidation strategies. We then highlight available strategies to treat PCNSL in the elderly population, an area of unmet need. New therapies aiming at minimizing toxicity and prioritizing quality of life are emerging for these patients. Secondary CNS lymphoma, especially in the relapsed/refractory setting is another area of unmet need, and the efficacy of CAR-T cell therapy is being explored. We provide an overview of the imaging challenges in the neuroradiological assessment of CNS lymphoma. Finally, the section on CNS prophylaxis summarizes recent findings from large retrospective studies challenging the efficacy of present approaches to prophylaxis in higher-risk patients with lymphoma.

CNS prophylaxis for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

CNS relapse in the brain parenchyma, eyes, or leptomeninges is an uncommon but devastating complication of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. CNS prophylaxis strategies, typically involving intrathecal or high-dose antimetabolites, have been developed in the front-line treatment setting with the aim to reduce this subsequent risk. Clinical and biological features associated with elevated risk are increasingly well defined and are discussed in this Review. This Review summarises both the historical and current developments in this challenging field, provides a nuanced discussion regarding current reasons for and against standard prophylactic measures, outlines evidence for the timing of prophylactic measures when delivered, and reflects on possible future developments.

Pirtobrutinib in relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies (BRUIN): a phase 1/2 study.

BACKGROUND: Covalent Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors are efficacious in multiple B-cell malignancies, but patients discontinue these agents due to resistance and intolerance. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of pirtobrutinib (working name; formerly known as LOXO-305), a highly selective, reversible BTK inhibitor, in these patients. METHODS: Patients with previously treated B-cell malignancies were enrolled in a first-in-human, multicentre, open-label, phase 1/2 trial of the BTK inhibitor pirtobrutinib. The primary endpoint was the maximum tolerated dose (phase 1) and overall response rate (ORR; phase 2). This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03740529. FINDINGS: 323 patients were treated with pirtobrutinib across seven dose levels (25 mg, 50 mg, 100 mg, 150 mg, 200 mg, 250 mg, and 300 mg once per day) with linear dose-proportional exposures. No dose-limiting toxicities were observed and the maximum tolerated dose was not reached. The recommended phase 2 dose was 200 mg daily. Adverse events in at least 10% of 323 patients were fatigue (65 [20%]), diarrhoea (55 [17%]), and contusion (42 [13%]). The most common adverse event of grade 3 or higher was neutropenia (32 [10%]). There was no correlation between pirtobrutinib exposure and the frequency of grade 3 treatment-related adverse events. Grade 3 atrial fibrillation or flutter was not observed, and grade 3 haemorrhage was observed in one patient in the setting of mechanical trauma. Five (1%) patients discontinued treatment due to a treatment-related adverse event. In 121 efficacy evaluable patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) treated with a previous covalent BTK inhibitor (median previous lines of treatment 4), the ORR with pirtobrutinib was 62% (95% CI 53-71). The ORR was similar in CLL patients with previous covalent BTK inhibitor resistance (53 [67%] of 79), covalent BTK inhibitor intolerance (22 [52%] of 42), BTK C481-mutant (17 [71%] of 24) and BTK wild-type (43 [66%] of 65) disease. In 52 efficacy evaluable patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) previously treated with covalent BTK inhibitors, the ORR was 52% (95% CI 38-66). Of 117 patients with CLL, SLL, or MCL who responded, all but eight remain progression-free to date. INTERPRETATION: Pirtobrutinib was safe and active in multiple B-cell malignancies, including patients previously treated with covalent BTK inhibitors. Pirtobrutinib might address a growing unmet need for alternative therapies for these patients. FUNDING: Loxo Oncology.

Ibrutinib for central nervous system lymphoma: the Australasian Lymphoma Alliance/MD Anderson Cancer Center experience.

Primary and secondary central nervous system lymphomas (PCNSL/SCNSL) are aggressive rare malignancies with dismal outcomes. Encouraging data have emerged from Phase I/II clinical trials treating relapsed/refractory PCNSL/SCNSL with ibrutinib. We analysed 33 patients who received ibrutinib, alone or with other therapies, for PCNSL (n = 9) or SCNSL (n = 24). The objective response rate was 58% (complete response 55%). The median progression-free survival and overall survival for patients with PCNSL were both 3·1 months; for SCNSL, 10·2 and 11·5 months respectively. Only one invasive fungal infection was observed, despite concurrent or recent use of dexamethasone 8-16 mg daily in 14 patients (42%). Ibrutinib has encouraging activity in these aggressive malignancies.

Integration of PET in DLBCL.

F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computerized tomography (18FDG-PET/CT) is the gold-standard imaging modality for staging and response assessment for most lymphomas. This review focuses on the utility of 18FDG-PET/CT, and its role in staging, prognostication and response assessment in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), including emerging possibilities for future use.

A phase 1, open-label, randomized drug-drug interaction study of zanubrutinib with moderate or strong CYP3A inhibitors in patients with B-cell malignancies.

BTK inhibitor exposure increases significantly when coadministered with CYP3A inhibitors, which may lead to dose-related toxicities. This study explored the pharmacokinetics, efficacy, and safety of zanubrutinib when coadministered with moderate or strong CYP3A inhibitors in 26 patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies. Coadministration of zanubrutinib (80 mg BID) with moderate CYP3A inhibitors fluconazole and diltiazem or zanubrutinib (80 mg QD) with strong CYP3A inhibitor voriconazole resulted in comparable exposures to zanubrutinib (320 mg QD) with AUC0-24h geometric least squares mean ratios approaching 1 (0.94, 0.81, and 0.83, for fluconazole, diltiazem, and voriconazole, respectively). The most common treatment-emergent adverse events were contusion (26.9%), back pain (19.2%), constipation and neutropenia (15.4% each), and rash, diarrhea, and fall (11.5% each). This study supports current United States Prescribing Information dose recommendations for the coadministration of reduced-dose zanubrutinib with moderate or strong CYP3A inhibitors and confirms the favorable efficacy and safety profile of zanubrutinib.

Characteristics and Outcomes of Older Patients With Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma: An Australasian Lymphoma Alliance, and Lymphoma and Related Diseases Registry Study.

BACKGROUND: There is no standard front-line therapy for older patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). We analyzed the clinical presentation and front-line management of older Australian patients with cHL and explored factors associated with unplanned hospital admission and survival. METHODS: Patients aged ≥ 61 years and diagnosed between 2011 and 2020, were retrospectively identified through the Lymphoma and Related Diseases Registry (LaRDR) and Australasian Lymphoma Alliance (ALA) institutional databases. Descriptive statistics and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were performed using STATA-v17. RESULTS: 195 patients were identified, 72 from LaRDR,123 from ALA. Median age of the combined cohort was 72 years (range 61-93); 56.4% male, 35.3% had stage I-II, bulk present in 9.2%, 33.9% had extra-nodal disease and 48.2% had B-symptoms. Chemotherapy was commenced in 91.3% of patients, with an anthracycline-based regimen used in 81%. Median number of cycles given for stage I-II was 2 and for stage III-IV was 6. Radiotherapy was administered in 26.2% of patients. A complete remission to front-line chemotherapy was achieved in 60.7% of patients. During front-line therapy in the ALA cohort, 89 unplanned hospitalizations occurred in 58 patients, with infection accounting for 59.6% of admissions. Treatment-related mortality was 5.2%. Only performance status and anthracycline use correlated with unplanned hospitalizations. Estimated 2-year progression free survival was 63.7% and 2-year overall survival was 71.2%. Anthracycline use and younger age were independently associated with improved survival. CONCLUSION: The management of older patients with cHL in Australia is diverse but aligns with international data. Anthracycline-based therapy improved survival but resulted in frequent unplanned hospitalizations.

High-Dose Methotrexate as CNS Prophylaxis in High-Risk Aggressive B-Cell Lymphoma.

PURPOSE: CNS progression or relapse is an uncommon but devastating complication of aggressive B-cell lymphoma. There is no consensus regarding the optimal approach to CNS prophylaxis. This study was designed to determine whether high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX) is effective at preventing CNS progression in patients at high risk of this complication. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients age 18-80 years with aggressive B-cell lymphoma and high risk of CNS progression, treated with curative-intent anti-CD20-based chemoimmunotherapy, were included in this international, retrospective, observational study. Cause-specific hazard ratios (HRs) and cumulative risks of CNS progression were calculated according to use of HD-MTX, with time to CNS progression calculated from diagnosis for all patients (all-pts) and from completion of frontline systemic lymphoma induction therapy, for patients in complete response at completion of chemoimmunotherapy (CR-pts). RESULTS: Two thousand four hundred eighteen all-pts (HD-MTX; n = 425) and 1,616 CR-pts (HD-MTX; n = 356) were included. CNS International Prognostic Index was 4-6 in 83.4% all-pts. Patients treated with HD-MTX had a lower risk of CNS progression (adjusted HR, 0.59 [95% CI, 0.38 to 0.90]; P = .014), but significance was not retained when confined to CR-pts (adjusted HR, 0.74 [95% CI, 0.42 to 1.30]; P = .29), with 5-year adjusted risk difference of 1.6% (95% CI, -1.5 to 4.4; all-pts) and 1.4% (95% CI, -1.5 to 4.1; CR-pts). Subgroups were underpowered to draw definitive conclusions regarding the efficacy of HD-MTX in individual high-risk clinical scenarios; however, there was no clear reduction in CNS progression risk with HD-MTX in any high-risk subgroup. CONCLUSION: In this large study, high-risk patients receiving HD-MTX had a 7.2% 2-year risk of CNS progression, consistent with the progression risk in previously reported high-risk cohorts. Use of HD-MTX was not associated with a clinically meaningful reduction in risk of CNS progression.

Time to progression of disease and outcomes with second-line BTK inhibitors in relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma.

Time to progression of disease (POD) after first-line (1L) therapy is prognostic in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), although studies have included a broad range of 1L, second-line (2L), and subsequent lines of therapy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the factors predicting outcomes in patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) MCL exclusively initiating 2L Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors (BTKis) after 1L rituximab-containing therapy. Patients were accrued from 8 international centers (7 main, 1 validation cohort). Multivariable models evaluating the association between time to POD and clinical/pathologic factors were constructed and converted into nomograms and prognostic indexes predicting outcomes in this population. A total of 360 patients were included, including 160 in the main cohort and 200 in the validation cohort. Time to POD, Ki67 ≥ 30%, and MCL International Prognostic Index (MIPI) were associated with progression-free survival (PFS2) and overall survival (OS2) from the start of 2L BTKis. C-indexes were consistently ≥0.68 in both cohorts. Web/application-based calculators based on nomograms and prognostic indexes to estimate PFS2 and OS2 were constructed. The 2L BTKi MIPI identifies 3 groups with distinct 2-year PFS2, including high risk (14%), intermediate risk (50%), and low risk (64%). Time to POD, Ki67, and MIPI are associated with survival outcomes in patients with R/R MCL receiving 2L BTKis. Simple clinical models incorporating these variables may assist in planning for alternative therapies such as chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, allogeneic stem cell transplantation, or novel agents with alternative mechanisms of action.

New Directions for Mantle Cell Lymphoma in 2022.

Mantle cell lymphoma is a rare B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma that is clinically and biologically heterogeneous. Risk stratification at the time of diagnosis is critical. One of the most powerful prognostic indices is the Mantle Cell Lymphoma International Prognostic Index-Combined, which integrates an estimate of proliferation (Ki67 index) with the standard Mantle Cell Lymphoma International Prognostic Index clinical factors. In addition, the presence of TP53 mutation is associated with suboptimal response to intensive chemoimmunotherapy and particularly dismal survival outcomes. Given their excellent activity in the relapsed/refractory setting, increasingly, biologically targeted therapeutics-such as covalent Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors, lenalidomide, and venetoclax-are being incorporated into "chemotherapy-free" regimens and in combination with established chemoimmunotherapy backbones for treatment-naïve mantle cell lymphoma. In addition, risk-adapted treatment programs are increasingly being studied. These programs tailor treatment according to baseline prognostic factors (e.g., presence of TP53 mutation) and may incorporate biomarkers of response such as minimal residual disease assessment. Although still investigational, these studies present an opportunity to move beyond the biology-agnostic, historical fitness-based treatment selection paradigm and toward a more personalized, tailored treatment approach in mantle cell lymphoma. After Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor failure, many promising standard or investigational therapies exist, including CAR T-cell therapy (including brexucabtagene autoleucel and lisocabtagene maraleucel), bispecific antibody therapy targeting CD20-CD3, zilovertamab vedotin (an antibody-drug conjugate that targets ROR1), and the noncovalent Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor pirtobrutinib. These new therapies show promising efficacy, even among high-risk patients, and will likely translate to improvements in survival outcomes for patients with progressive mantle cell lymphoma following treatment with a Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

Non-Covalent BTK Inhibitors-The New BTKids on the Block for B-Cell Malignancies.

The B-cell receptor signalling pathway plays a critical role in development of B-cell malignancies, and the central role of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) activation in this pathway provides compelling rationale for BTK inhibition as a therapeutic strategy for these conditions. Covalent BTK inhibitors (BTKi) have transformed the treatment landscape of B-cell malignancies, but adverse events and treatment resistance have emerged as therapeutic challenges, with the majority of patients eventually discontinuing treatment due to toxicity or disease progression. Non-covalent BTKi have alternative mechanisms of binding to BTK than covalent BTKi, and therefore offer a therapeutic alternative for patients with B-cell malignancies, including those who have been intolerant to, or experienced disease progression during treatment with a covalent BTKi. Here, we summarise the clinical data, adverse events and mechanisms of resistance observed with covalent BTKi and describe the emerging data for non-covalent BTKi as a novel treatment for B-cell malignancies.