Socio-economic outcomes among long-term childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia survivors enrolled between 1971 and 1998 in EORTC CLG studies: Results of the 58LAE study.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to evaluate the socio-economic outcomes of survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). METHODS: Childhood ALL adult survivors, enrolled in EORTC trials between 1971 and 1998 in France and Belgium, were invited to fill out a questionnaire with information about their socio-economic situation (living with a partner, having a university degree, having a job, working part time and history of having a paid job). The outcomes were compared with two matched control populations. RESULTS: Among 1418 eligible patients, 507 (35.8%) participated, including 39 (8%) and 61 (12%) patients who received a haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and a cranial radiotherapy (CRT), respectively. The median time to follow-up was 20 years, and median age was 25 years. Survivors showed a socio-economic level at least as good as controls. HCST and CRT were associated with a higher probability of not obtaining a bachelor degree (respectively OR = 3.49, 95% CI: 1.46-8.35 and OR = 2.31, 95% CI: 1.04-5.15), HSCT was associated with unemployment (OR = 2.89, 95% CI: 1.09-7.65) and having a relapse was associated with a higher probability of not having a partner (OR = 1.88, 95% CI: 1.01-3.51) adjusting for confounders. CONCLUSION: Childhood ALL survivors showed a high level of socio-economic participation. HCST and CRT were associated with poorer functioning.

Fertility status among long-term childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia survivors enrolled between 1971 and 1998 in EORTC CLG studies: results of the 58 Late Adverse Effects study.

STUDY QUESTION: What are the fertility outcomes of male and female childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) long-term survivors? SUMMARY ANSWER: We observed similar fertility outcomes in both male and female childhood ALL survivors compared with the general population, with the exception of a higher proportion of miscarriages among partners of male survivors. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: Survival after childhood ALL is currently >90% and fertility impairments are among the main concerns of the long-term survivors. Few studies have focused on the fertility issues within this selected population and the existing data are difficult to interpret due to the different treatment regimens received by the patients, the small sample sizes and the unavailability of control data in many studies. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: Childhood ALL patients enrolled in European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) studies between 1971 and 1998 in France and Belgium, <18 years old at diagnosis and alive and ≥18 years at follow-up were eligible. Among 1418 eligible survivors, 507 (35.8%) participated (277 females, 230 males). Controls from the general population matched one to one by age, province, level of urbanization and sex could be identified for 503 survivors. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: Survivors and controls were invited to fill out a questionnaire including information about their menstrual cycles (for females), intention to have children, having children, use of medical help to become pregnant and occurrence of negative pregnancy outcomes (birth defect, miscarriage, medical abortion or stillbirth). The results were analysed separately for females and males. The association between age at diagnosis and fertility outcomes, adjusted by age at follow-up, study and country were investigated using logistic regression. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: The median time since diagnosis was 20.1 years and the median age at follow-up was 25 years. There were 144 survivors (97 females, 47 males) who wanted to have children. Among these, craniospinal radiotheraphy (CRT) and haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) were administered to 18% and 4%, respectively. Of these who tried to have children, 75% of females and 69% of males succeeded, compared with 72% and 61% of the controls, respectively. These differences were not statistically significant (P = 0.73 for females and P = 0.50 for males). Overall, fertility outcomes were comparable between survivors and controls, except that a higher proportion of miscarriages occurred in partners of male survivors (28.1% versus 5.9%, P = 0.021). Among female survivors, an older age at diagnosis (10-17 years) was associated with a greater risk of pregnancy problems (adjusted OR 5.61, P = 0.046). LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: The interpretation of the incidence of miscarriage among the partners of male survivors is limited by the lack of data regarding the males' partners and by a possibly higher tendency to recall and disclose fertility issues among male survivors compared with male controls. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: Fertility outcomes were similar in childhood ALL survivors and controls, and the low proportion of patients treated with CRT or HSCT might explain this. Further studies should confirm the higher proportion of miscarriages in partners of male survivors. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S): This publication was supported by donations from the Fonds Cancer (FOCA) from Belgium and the KU Leuven from Belgium. G.R. has been awarded a fellowship by the EORTC Cancer Research Fund (ECRF). C.P. has been awarded a fellowship by Fonds Cancer (FOCA) from Belgium and the Kinderkankerfonds from Belgium (a non-profit childhood cancer foundation under Belgian law). No competing interests were declared. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT01298388 (clinicaltrials.gov).

Survival Improvement over Time of 960 s-AML Patients Included in 13 EORTC-GIMEMA-HOVON Trials.

We report the outcomes of secondary acute myeloid leukemia (s-AML) patients included in one of 13 European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) collaborative AML trials using intensive remission-induction chemotherapy. Among 8858 patients treated between May 1986 and January 2008, 960 were identified as having s-AML, either after MDS (cohort A; n = 508), occurring after primary solid tumors or hematologic malignancies other than MDS (cohort B; n = 361), or after non-malignant conditions or with a history of toxic exposure (cohort C; n = 91). Median age was 64 years, 60 years and 61 years in cohort A, B and C, respectively. Among patients ≤60 years and classified in the cohorts A or B (n = 367), the 5-year overall survival (OS) rate was 28%. There was a systematic improvement in the 5-year OS rate over three time periods (p < 0.001): 7.7% (95% CI: 1.3-21.7%) for patients treated before 1990 (period 1: n = 26), 23.3% (95% CI: 17.1-30.0%) for those treated between 1990 and 2000 (period 2: n = 188) and 36.5% (95% CI: 28.7-44.3%) for those treated in 2000 or later (period 3: n = 153). In multivariate analysis, male gender (HR = 1.39; p = 0.01), WBC ≥ 25 × 109/L (HR = 2.00; p < 0.0001), age 46-60 years (HR = 1.65; p < 0.001) and poor-risk cytogenetics (HR = 2.17; p < 0.0001) were independently associated with shorter OS, while being treated during period 2 (HR = 0.50, p = 0.003) or period 3 (HR = 0.43; p = 0.0008). Having received high-dose cytarabine (HD-AraC) (n = 48) in the induction chemotherapy (HR = 0.54, p = 0.012) was associated with a longer OS. In contrast, among patients >60 years of age (n = 502), the OS was dismal, and there was no improvement over time.

Evaluating the potential of relapse-free survival as a surrogate for overall survival in the adjuvant therapy of melanoma with checkpoint inhibitors.

INTRODUCTION: Recent changes in the adjuvant treatment of melanoma have raised interest in confirming relapse-free survival (RFS) as a surrogate for overall survival (OS). METHODS: We explore this issue with the meta-analytic framework, using individual patient data from the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) 18071 trial of ipilimumab and published results from other adjuvant trials. RESULTS: The individual patient data analysis results at a median follow-up of 5.3 years showed a strong association between RFS and OS at the patient level (ρ = 0.84; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.82-0.87) and a moderate association at the trial level (R2 = 0.59; 95% CI: 0.08-1.00). CONCLUSIONS: The trial-level association previously observed in interferon-based trials appeared to be maintained when the EORTC 18071 results were added to a regression analysis using published results from other trials. More data from adjuvant trials are required to confirm the strength of association between RFS and OS in this setting.

Relapse-Free Survival as a Surrogate for Overall Survival in the Evaluation of Stage II-III Melanoma Adjuvant Therapy.

Background: We assessed whether relapse-free survival (RFS; time until recurrence/death) is a valid surrogate for overall survival (OS) among resected stage II-III melanoma patients through a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Methods: Individual patient data (IPD) on RFS and OS were collected from 5826 patients enrolled in 11 randomized adjuvant trials comparing interferon (IFN) to observation. In addition, IPD from two studies comparing IFN and vaccination in 989 patients were included. A two-level modeling approach was used for assessing Spearman's patient-level correlation (rho) of RFS and OS and the trial-level coefficient of determination (R²) of the treatment effects on RFS and on OS. The results were validated externally in 13 adjuvant studies without available IPD. We then tested the results on the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) 18071 double-blind trial comparing ipilimumab 10 mg/kg with placebo, which showed a statistically significant impact of the checkpoint inhibitor on RFS and OS. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results: With a median follow-up of seven years, 12 of 13 trials showed a consistency between the IFN vs No IFN differences regarding RFS (hazard ratio [HR]RFS = 0.88) and OS (HROS = 0.91), but the small trial, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group 2696, was an outlier (HRRFS = 0.72 vs HROS = 1.11). Therefore, even if rho was high, R² was low and could not reliably be estimated. Based on the 12 trials, rho remained high (0.89), and the hazard ratios for RFS and OS were strongly correlated (R² = 0.91). The surrogate threshold effect for RFS was estimated to be 0.77. For the EORTC 18071 trial, the hazard ratio for RFS was 0.75, predicting an effect of ipilimumab on OS. This was subsequently confirmed (HROS = 0.72, 95.1% confidence interval = 0.58 to 0.88, P = .001). Conclusions: In high-risk stage II-III melanoma, RFS appeared to be a valid surrogate end point for OS for adjuvant randomized studies assessing interferon or a checkpoint inhibitor. In future similar adjuvant studies, a hazard ratio for RFS of 0.77 or less would predict a treatment impact on OS.

Prolonged Survival in Stage III Melanoma with Ipilimumab Adjuvant Therapy.

BACKGROUND: On the basis of data from a phase 2 trial that compared the checkpoint inhibitor ipilimumab at doses of 0.3 mg, 3 mg, and 10 mg per kilogram of body weight in patients with advanced melanoma, this phase 3 trial evaluated ipilimumab at a dose of 10 mg per kilogram in patients who had undergone complete resection of stage III melanoma. METHODS: After patients had undergone complete resection of stage III cutaneous melanoma, we randomly assigned them to receive ipilimumab at a dose of 10 mg per kilogram (475 patients) or placebo (476) every 3 weeks for four doses, then every 3 months for up to 3 years or until disease recurrence or an unacceptable level of toxic effects occurred. Recurrence-free survival was the primary end point. Secondary end points included overall survival, distant metastasis-free survival, and safety. RESULTS: At a median follow-up of 5.3 years, the 5-year rate of recurrence-free survival was 40.8% in the ipilimumab group, as compared with 30.3% in the placebo group (hazard ratio for recurrence or death, 0.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.64 to 0.89; P<0.001). The rate of overall survival at 5 years was 65.4% in the ipilimumab group, as compared with 54.4% in the placebo group (hazard ratio for death, 0.72; 95.1% CI, 0.58 to 0.88; P=0.001). The rate of distant metastasis-free survival at 5 years was 48.3% in the ipilimumab group, as compared with 38.9% in the placebo group (hazard ratio for death or distant metastasis, 0.76; 95.8% CI, 0.64 to 0.92; P=0.002). Adverse events of grade 3 or 4 occurred in 54.1% of the patients in the ipilimumab group and in 26.2% of those in the placebo group. Immune-related adverse events of grade 3 or 4 occurred in 41.6% of the patients in the ipilimumab group and in 2.7% of those in the placebo group. In the ipilimumab group, 5 patients (1.1%) died owing to immune-related adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: As adjuvant therapy for high-risk stage III melanoma, ipilimumab at a dose of 10 mg per kilogram resulted in significantly higher rates of recurrence-free survival, overall survival, and distant metastasis-free survival than placebo. There were more immune-related adverse events with ipilimumab than with placebo. (Funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00636168 , and EudraCT number, 2007-001974-10 .).

Long term follow up of the EORTC 18952 trial of adjuvant therapy in resected stage IIB-III cutaneous melanoma patients comparing intermediate doses of interferon-alpha-2b (IFN) with observation: Ulceration of primary is key determinant for IFN-sensitivity.

BACKGROUND: We report on the long term outcome of the EORTC 18952 adjuvant interferon (IFN) trial in 1388 resected stage IIB/III melanoma patients and identify key predictive factors for outcome. METHODS: We analysed outcome of the EORTC 18952 trial (4 weeks of IFN, 10 MU, 5 times/week for 4 weeks followed by 12 months IFN at 10 MU, 3 times/week versus followed by 24 months IFN at 5 MU 3 times/week versus observation) regarding relapse-free survival (RFS), distant metastasis-free interval/survival (DMFI/DMFS), and overall survival (OS), and analysed potential predictive factors of outcome. FINDINGS: At a median follow-up of 11 years, the comparison of IFN 13 months versus IFN 25 months versus observation yielded estimated hazard ratios (HR) for RFS of 0.94 versus 0.84 (p = 0.06); for DMFI 0.95 versus 0.82 (p = 0.027); for DMFS 0.95 versus 0.84 (p = 0.07); and for OS 0·95 versus 0.84 (p = 0.08), respectively. The impact of treatment was greatest in the ulceration group, whereas in patients with non-ulcerated primaries the impact was null (HR ≥ 1.0). In patients with ulcerated melanoma the HR for IFN 13 months versus 25 months versus observation were for: RFS 0.82 (p = 0.16) versus 0.61 (p = 0.0008); DMFS 0.76 (p = 0.06) versus 0.57 (p = 0.0003); OS 0.80 (p = 0.13) versus 0.59 (p = 0.0007). In stage IIB/III-N1 (microscopic nodal involvement only) patients with ulcerated melanoma the HR estimates were for: RFS 0.85 versus 0.62; DMFS 0.80 versus 0.56; OS 0.77 versus 0.54. CONCLUSIONS: This long term report of the EORTC 18952 trial demonstrates the superiority of the 25-month IFN schedule and defines ulceration of the primary as the overriding predictive factor for IFN-sensitivity.

Adjuvant ipilimumab versus placebo after complete resection of high-risk stage III melanoma (EORTC 18071): a randomised, double-blind, phase 3 trial.

BACKGROUND: Ipilimumab is an approved treatment for patients with advanced melanoma. We aimed to assess ipilimumab as adjuvant therapy for patients with completely resected stage III melanoma at high risk of recurrence. METHODS: We did a double-blind, phase 3 trial in patients with stage III cutaneous melanoma (excluding lymph node metastasis ≤1 mm or in-transit metastasis) with adequate resection of lymph nodes (ie, the primary cutaneous melanoma must have been completely excised with adequate surgical margins) who had not received previous systemic therapy for melanoma from 91 hospitals located in 19 countries. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1), centrally by an interactive voice response system, to receive intravenous infusions of 10 mg/kg ipilimumab or placebo every 3 weeks for four doses, then every 3 months for up to 3 years. Using a minimisation technique, randomisation was stratified by disease stage and geographical region. The primary endpoint was recurrence-free survival, assessed by an independent review committee, and analysed by intention to treat. Enrollment is complete but the study is ongoing for follow-up for analysis of secondary endpoints. This trial is registered with EudraCT, number 2007-001974-10, and ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00636168. FINDINGS: Between July 10, 2008, and Aug 1, 2011, 951 patients were randomly assigned to ipilimumab (n=475) or placebo (n=476), all of whom were included in the intention-to-treat analyses. At a median follow-up of 2·74 years (IQR 2·28-3·22), there were 528 recurrence-free survival events (234 in the ipilimumab group vs 294 in the placebo group). Median recurrence-free survival was 26·1 months (95% CI 19·3-39·3) in the ipilimumab group versus 17·1 months (95% CI 13·4-21·6) in the placebo group (hazard ratio 0·75; 95% CI 0·64-0·90; p=0·0013); 3-year recurrence-free survival was 46·5% (95% CI 41·5-51·3) in the ipilimumab group versus 34·8% (30·1-39·5) in the placebo group. The most common grade 3-4 immune-related adverse events in the ipilimumab group were gastrointestinal (75 [16%] vs four [<1%] in the placebo group), hepatic (50 [11%] vs one [<1%]), and endocrine (40 [8%] vs none). Adverse events led to discontinuation of treatment in 245 (52%) of 471 patients who started ipilimumab (182 [39%] during the initial treatment period of four doses). Five patients (1%) died due to drug-related adverse events. Five (1%) participants died because of drug-related adverse events in the ipilimumab group; three patients died because of colitis (two with gastrointestinal perforation), one patient because of myocarditis, and one patient because of multiorgan failure with Guillain-Barré syndrome. INTERPRETATION: Adjuvant ipilimumab significantly improved recurrence-free survival for patients with completely resected high-risk stage III melanoma. The adverse event profile was consistent with that observed in advanced melanoma, but at higher incidences in particular for endocrinopathies. The risk-benefit ratio of adjuvant ipilimumab at this dose and schedule requires additional assessment based on distant metastasis-free survival and overall survival endpoints to define its definitive value. FUNDING: Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Long-term results of the randomized phase III trial EORTC 18991 of adjuvant therapy with pegylated interferon alfa-2b versus observation in resected stage III melanoma.

PURPOSE: Adjuvant pegylated interferon alfa-2b (PEG-IFN-α-2b) was approved for treatment of resected stage III melanoma in 2011. Here, we present long-term follow-up results of this pivotal trial. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In all, 1,256 patients with resected stage III melanoma were randomly assigned to observation (n = 629) or PEG-IFN-α-2b (n = 627) for an intended duration of 5 years. Stratification factors were microscopic (N1) versus macroscopic (N2) nodal involvement, number of positive nodes, ulceration and tumor thickness, sex, and center. Recurrence-free survival (RFS; primary end point), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and overall survival (OS) were analyzed for the intent-to-treat population. RESULTS: At 7.6 years median follow-up, 384 recurrences or deaths had occurred with PEG-IFN-α-2b versus 406 in the observation group (hazard ratio [HR], 0.87; 95% CI, 0.76 to 1.00; P = .055); 7-year RFS rate was 39.1% versus 34.6%. There was no difference in OS (P = .57). In stage III-N1 ulcerated melanoma, RFS (HR, 0.72; 99% CI, 0.46 to 1.13; P = .06), DMFS (HR, 0.65; 99% CI, 0.41 to 1.04; P = .02), and OS (HR, 0.59; 99% CI, 0.35 to 0.97; P = .006) were prolonged with PEG-IFN-α-2b. PEG-IFN-α-2b was discontinued for toxicity in 37% of patients. CONCLUSION: Adjuvant PEG-IFN-α-2b for stage III melanoma had a positive impact on RFS, which was marginally significant and slightly diminished versus the benefit seen at prior follow-up (median, 3.8 years). No significant increase in DMFS or OS was noted in the overall population. Patients with ulcerated melanoma and lower disease burden had the greatest benefit.