Children's Oncology Group AALL0434: A Phase III Randomized Clinical Trial Testing Nelarabine in Newly Diagnosed T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

PURPOSE: Nelarabine is effective in inducing remission in patients with relapsed and refractory T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) but has not been fully evaluated in those with newly diagnosed disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From 2007 to 2014, Children's Oncology Group trial AALL0434 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00408005) enrolled 1,562 evaluable patients with T-ALL age 1-31 years who received the augmented Berlin-Frankfurt-Muenster (ABFM) regimen with a 2 × 2 pseudo-factorial randomization to receive escalating-dose methotrexate (MTX) without leucovorin rescue plus pegaspargase (C-MTX) or high-dose MTX (HDMTX) with leucovorin rescue. Intermediate- and high-risk patients were also randomly assigned after induction to receive or not receive six 5-day courses of nelarabine that was incorporated into ABFM. Patients who experienced induction failure were nonrandomly assigned to HDMTX plus nelarabine. Patients with overt CNS disease (CNS3; ≥ 5 WBCs/µL with blasts) received HDMTX and were randomly assigned to receive or not receive nelarabine. All patients, except those with low-risk disease, received cranial irradiation. RESULTS: The 5-year event-free and overall survival rates were 83.7% ± 1.1% and 89.5% ± 0.9%, respectively. The 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rates for patients with T-ALL randomly assigned to nelarabine (n = 323) and no nelarabine (n = 336) were 88.2% ± 2.4% and 82.1% ± 2.7%, respectively (P = .029). Differences between DFS in a four-arm comparison were significant (P = .01), with no interactions between the MTX and nelarabine randomizations (P = .41). Patients treated with the best-performing arm, C-MTX plus nelarabine, had a 5-year DFS of 91% (n = 147). Patients who received nelarabine had significantly fewer isolated and combined CNS relapses compared with patients who did not receive nelarabine (1.3% ± 0.63% v 6.9% ± 1.4%, respectively; P = .0001). Toxicities, including neurotoxicity, were acceptable and similar between all four arms. CONCLUSION: The addition of nelarabine to ABFM therapy improved DFS for children and young adults with newly diagnosed T-ALL without increased toxicity.

Improved Survival for Children and Young Adults With T-Lineage Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Results From the Children's Oncology Group AALL0434 Methotrexate Randomization.

PURPOSE: Early intensification with methotrexate (MTX) is a key component of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) therapy. Two different approaches to MTX intensification exist but had not been compared in T-cell ALL (T-ALL): the Children's Oncology Group (COG) escalating dose intravenous MTX without leucovorin rescue plus pegaspargase escalating dose, Capizzi-style, intravenous MTX (C-MTX) regimen and the Berlin-Frankfurt-Muenster (BFM) high-dose intravenous MTX (HDMTX) plus leucovorin rescue regimen. PATIENTS AND METHODS: COG AALL0434 included a 2 × 2 randomization that compared the COG-augmented BFM (ABFM) regimen with either C-MTX or HDMTX during the 8-week interim maintenance phase. All patients with T-ALL, except for those with low-risk features, received prophylactic (12 Gy) or therapeutic (18 Gy for CNS3) cranial irradiation during either the consolidation (C-MTX; second month of therapy) or delayed intensification (HDMTX; seventh month of therapy) phase. RESULTS: AALL0434 accrued 1,895 patients from 2007 to 2014. The 5-year event-free survival and overall survival rates for all eligible, evaluable patients with T-ALL were 83.8% (95% CI, 81.2% to 86.4%) and 89.5% (95% CI, 87.4% to 91.7%), respectively. The 1,031 patients with T-ALL but without CNS3 disease or testicular leukemia were randomly assigned to receive ABFM with C-MTX (n = 519) or HDMTX (n = 512). The estimated 5-year disease-free survival ( P = .005) and overall survival ( P = .04) rates were 91.5% (95% CI, 88.1% to 94.8%) and 93.7% (95% CI, 90.8% to 96.6%) for C-MTX and 85.3% (95% CI, 81.0%-89.5%) and 89.4% (95% CI, 85.7%-93.2%) for HDMTX. Patients assigned to C-MTX had 32 relapses, six with CNS involvement, whereas those assigned to HDMTX had 59 relapses, 23 with CNS involvement. CONCLUSION: AALL0434 established that ABFM with C-MTX was superior to ABFM plus HDMTX for T-ALL in approximately 90% of patients who received CRT, with later timing for those receiving HDMTX.

Increased complications of chronic erythrocytapheresis compared with manual exchange transfusions in children and adolescents with sickle cell disease.

BACKGROUND: Children and adolescents with sickle cell disease (SCD) are at high risk of strokes and are frequently treated with red blood cell (RBC) transfusions. The goal is to suppress hemoglobin (Hb) S while minimizing transfusion-induced iron overload. RBCs may be given via simple transfusion, manual exchange transfusion (MET), or erythrocytapheresis (aRBCX). Chronic transfusion practices vary among institutions. METHODS: This single-institution, retrospective cohort study compares Hb S control and therapy complication rates between MET and aRBCX in a cohort of children and adolescents with SCD and stroke during a 5-year period from 2008 through 2012. Duration and mode of transfusion therapy, achievement of Hb S suppression goal, iron burden by ferritin levels, and catheter complications were evaluated. RESULTS: Thirty-seven children were included in analysis. The prevalence of catheter complications was 75% in aRBCX recipients compared with 0% in MET recipients (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference between modalities in achieving Hb S suppression or ferritin goals, but those receiving aRBCX had a greater likelihood of discontinuing chelation therapy. Among aRBCX recipients, adherence to >90% of transfusion appointments was associated with achieving Hb S suppression goals. CONCLUSION: aRBCX may have increased complication risks compared with MET for chronic transfusion therapy in SCD. Risks and benefits of aRBCX and MET should be considered when selecting a chronic transfusion modality. Transfusion therapy modalities should be compared in prospective studies for stroke prevention in children with SCD.