Dasatinib plus Peg-Interferon alpha 2b combination in newly diagnosed chronic phase chronic myeloid leukaemia: Results of a multicenter phase 2 study (DASA-PegIFN study).

Superior rates of deep molecular response (DMR) have been reported with the combination of tyrosine kinase inhibitors and pegylated-interferon-alpha (Peg-IFN) in patients with newly diagnosed chronic phase-chronic myeloid leukaemia (CP-CML). In this setting, this study investigated the efficacy and safety of dasatinib combined to Peg-IFN-α2b (Dasa-PegIFN, NCT01872442). A total of 79 patients (age ≤65 years) started dasatinib; 61 were eligible for Peg-IFNα-2b add-on therapy at month 3 for a maximum 21-months duration. Dasatinib was continued thereafter. The primary endpoint was the cumulative rate of molecular response 4.5 log (MR4.5 ) by 12 months. The results are reported for the 5-year duration of the study. Grade 3 neutropenia was frequent with the combination but did not induce severe infection (one of grade 3). Other adverse events were generally low grade (4% of grade 3-4) and expected. Seventy-nine per cent and 61% of patients continued the Peg-IFN until months 12 and 24, respectively. Overall, at these time points, MR4.5 rates were 25% and 38%, respectively. Thereafter, 32% and 46% of patients achieved a sustained (≥2 years) MR4.5 or MR4 , respectively. This work established the feasibility and high rates of achievement of early and sustained DMR (a prerequisite for treatment-free-remission) with dasatinib and Peg-IFNα-2b combination as initial therapy.

A randomized study of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin versus continuous-infusion doxorubicin in elderly patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: the GRAALL-SA1 study.

BACKGROUND: The prognosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the elderly is poor. The GRAALL-SA1 phase II, randomized trial compared the efficacy and toxicity of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin versus continuous-infusion doxorubicin in patients 55 years or older with Philadelphia chromosome-negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia. DESIGN AND METHODS: Sixty patients received either continuous-infusion doxorubicin (12 mg/m(2)/day) and continuous-infusion vincristine (0.4 mg/day) on days 1-4 or pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (40 mg/m(2)) and standard vincristine (2 mg) on day 1, accompanied by dexamethasone, followed at day 28 by a second cycle, reinforced by cyclophosphamide. End-points were safety, outcome and prognostic factors. RESULTS: Myelosuppression was reduced in the pegylated liposomal doxorubicin arm with shorter severe neutropenia (P=0.05), shorter severe thrombocytopenia (P=0.03), and fewer red blood cell transfusions (P=0.04). Grade 3/4 infections and Gram-negative bacteremia were reduced in the pegylated liposomal doxorubicin arm (P=0.04 and P=0.02, respectively). There was a trend towards fewer cardiac events among the patients who received pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (1/29 versus 6/31). The complete remission rate was 82% and, with a median follow-up of 4 years, median event-free survival and overall survival were 9 and 10 months, respectively. Despite the better tolerance of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin, no differences in survival were observed between the two arms, due to trends towards more induction refractoriness (17 versus 3%, P=0.10) and a higher cumulative incidence of relapse (52% versus 32% at 2 years, P=0.20) in the pegylated liposomal doxorubicin arm. CONCLUSIONS: With the drug schedules used in this study, pegylated liposomal doxorubicin did not improve the outcome of elderly patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia despite reduced toxicities.

Long-term outcome of imatinib 400 mg compared to imatinib 600 mg or imatinib 400 mg daily in combination with cytarabine or pegylated interferon alpha 2a for chronic myeloid leukaemia: results from the French SPIRIT phase III randomised trial.

The STI571 prospective randomised trial (SPIRIT) French trial is a four-arm study comparing imatinib (IM) 400 mg versus IM 600 mg, IM 400 mg + cytarabine (AraC), and IM 400 mg + pegylated interferon alpha2a (PegIFN-α2a) for the front-line treatment of chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). Long-term analyses included overall and progression-free survival, molecular responses to treatment, and severe adverse events. Starting in 2003, the trial included 787 evaluable patients. The median overall follow-up of the patients was 13.5 years (range 3 months to 16.7 years). Based on intention-to-treat analyses, at 15 years, overall and progression-free survival were similar across arms: 85%, 83%, 80%, and 82% and 84%, 87%, 79%, and 79% for the IM 400 mg (N = 223), IM 600 mg (N = 171), IM 400 mg + AraC (N = 172), and IM 400 mg + PegIFN-α2a (N = 221) arms, respectively. The rate of major molecular response at 12 months and deep molecular response (MR4) over time were significantly higher with the combination IM 400 mg + PegIFN-α2a than with IM 400 mg: p = 0.0001 and p = 0.0035, respectively. Progression to advanced phases and secondary malignancies were the most frequent causes of death. Toxicity was the main reason for stopping AraC or PegIFN-α2a treatment.