Outcome of patients with primary refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma after R-CHOP treatment.

Primary refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) following R-CHOP chemotherapy is a major concern. We identified 1126 patients with DLBCL treated with R-CHOP from 2000 to 2009, of whom 166 (15 %) had primary refractory disease. Of the 75/166 (45 %) who were age <70 years and had been planned for stage-directed curative therapy, 43 (57 %) were primary nonresponders and 32 (43 %) relapsed within 3 months of completing R-CHOP. Thirty of 75 (40 %) patients had serious comorbidity and organ dysfunction precluding intensive treatment and had palliative treatment only. Twelve of 45 (27 %) patients responded to second-line treatment and underwent ASCT. The median overall survival for the 75 patients was 10 months with only seven patients alive without evidence of disease at follow-up ranging from 14 to 106 months. Primary refractory DLBCL after R-CHOP has a very poor outcome with only anecdotal survivors independent of the intended treatment approach.

Genetic variant predicts bevacizumab-induced hypertension in ECOG-5103 and ECOG-2100.

BACKGROUND: Bevacizumab has broad anti-tumour activity, but substantial risk of hypertension. No reliable markers are available for predicting bevacizumab-induced hypertension. METHODS: A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed in the phase III bevacizumab-based adjuvant breast cancer trial, ECOG-5103, to evaluate for an association between genotypes and hypertension. GWAS was conducted in those who had experienced systolic blood pressure (SBP) >160 mm Hg during therapy using binary analysis and a cumulative dose model for the total exposure of bevacizumab. Common toxicity criteria (CTC) grade 3-5 hypertension was also assessed. Candidate SNP validation was performed in the randomised phase III trial, ECOG-2100. RESULTS: When using the phenotype of SBP>160 mm Hg, the most significant association in SV2C (rs6453204) approached and met genome-wide significance in the binary model (P=6.0 × 10(-8); OR=3.3) and in the cumulative dose model (P=4.7 × 10(-8); HR=2.2), respectively. Similar associations with rs6453204 were seen for CTC grade 3-5 hypertension but did not meet genome-wide significance. Validation study from ECOG-2100 demonstrated a statistically significant association between this SNP and grade 3/4 hypertension using the binary model (P-value=0.037; OR=2.4). CONCLUSIONS: A genetic variant in SV2C predicted clinically relevant bevacizumab-induced hypertension in two independent, randomised phase III trials.

Incidence and risk factors for central nervous system relapse in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: the impact of the addition of rituximab to CHOP chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND: The addition of rituximab to CHOP (R-CHOP; CHOP, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) chemotherapy improves outcome in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). We evaluated the risk of central nervous system (CNS) relapse in the R-CHOP in a population-based cohort of patients with DLBCL. METHODS: Patients with DLBCL diagnosed from 1 September 1999 to 14 January 2005 at the British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA) were identified. Patients were included if they were > or =16 years old with advanced stage or any stage with testicular involvement and were treated with CHOP (1999-2001) or R-CHOP (2001-2005) with curative intent. RESULTS: Four hundred and thirty-five patients were identified; 126 (29%) were treated with CHOP and 309 (71%) with R-CHOP. With a median follow-up of 5.7 years, there were 31 CNS relapses in total with a trend to a reduced likelihood of CNS relapse in R-CHOP-treated patients (3-year risk 9.7% versus 6.4, P = 0.085). In multivariate analysis, the use of rituximab significantly reduced the risk of CNS relapse [hazard ratio (HR) 0.45, P = 0.034]; this benefit was more striking in patients who achieved a complete response (HR 0.18, P = 0.005). CONCLUSION: The use of R-CHOP appears to reduce the overall risk of CNS relapse in patients with DLBCL particularly in patients who achieve a complete response.

Primary intraocular lymphoma: an International Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma Collaborative Group Report.

BACKGROUND: Primary intraocular lymphoma (PIOL) is an uncommon subset of primary central nervous system lymphoma. Because it is rare and difficult to diagnose, the natural history and optimal management are unknown. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective study of 83 HIV negative, immunocompetent PIOL patients was assembled from 16 centers in seven countries. RESULTS: Median age at diagnosis was 65. Median ECOG performance status was 0. Presenting symptoms included blurred vision, decreased visual acuity, and floaters. Median time to diagnosis was 6 months. Diagnosis was made by vitrectomy (74), choroidal/retinal biopsy (6) and ophthalmic exam (3). Eleven percent had positive CSF cytology. Initial treatment was categorized as focal in 23 (intra-ocular methotrexate, ocular radiotherapy) or extensive in 53 (systemic chemotherapy, whole brain radiotherapy). Six received none; details are unknown in one. Forty-seven relapsed: brain 47%, eyes 30%, brain and eyes 15%, and systemic 8%. Median time to relapse was 19 months. Focal therapy alone did not increase risk of brain relapse. Median progression free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 29.6 and 58 months, respectively, and unaffected by treatment type. CONCLUSION: Treatment type did not affect relapse pattern, median PFS or OS. Focal therapy may minimize treatment toxicity without compromising disease control.

Clinical significance of the t(14;18) and BCL2 overexpression in follicular large cell lymphoma.

Follicular large cell lymphoma (FLCL) is an aggressive disease that responds to anthracycline-containing chemotherapy much like diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Since the t(14;18) and/or bcl2 protein expression are less common in FLCL than in its low-grade counterparts, we sought to determine whether these features were predictive of survival as in DLBCL. We studied 50 patients with FLCL who were treated with curative intent. The t(14;18) was found by cytogenetic analysis in 56% of the patients and bcl2 protein was expressed by the tumor cells in 73%, but neither was predictive of survival. However, abnormalities of chromosome 17p and the presence of trisomy 21 were adverse predictors of survival, as were a number of clinical features. We conclude that neither the absence of the t(14;18) nor the lack of bcl2 expression explain the good response of a subset of patients with FLCL to curative therapy.

A prospective clinical utility and pharmacoeconomic study of the impact of the 21-gene Recurrence Score® assay in oestrogen receptor positive node negative breast cancer.

PURPOSE: The primary purpose of this study was to measure the impact of the 21-gene Recurrence Score® result on systemic treatment recommendations and to perform a prospective health economic analysis in stage I-II, node-negative, oestrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer. METHODS: Consenting patients with ER+ node negative invasive breast cancer and their treating medial oncologists were asked to complete questionnaires about treatment preferences, level of confidence in those preferences and a decisional conflict scale (patients only) after a discussion of their diagnosis and risk without knowledge of the Recurrence Score. At a subsequent visit, the assay result and final treatment recommendations were discussed prior to both parties completing a second set of questionnaires. A Markov health state transition model was constructed, simulating the costs and outcomes experienced by a hypothetical 'assay naïve' population and an 'assay informed' population. RESULTS: One hundred and fifty-six patients across two cancer centres were enrolled. Of the 150 for whom successful assay results were obtained, physicians changed their chemotherapy recommendations in 45 cases (30%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 22.8-38.0%); either to add (10%; 95% CI 5.7-16.0%) or omit (20%; 95% CI 13.9-27.3%) adjuvant chemotherapy. There was an overall significant improvement in physician confidence post-assay (p<0.001). Patient decisional conflict also significantly decreased following the assay (p<0.001). The simulation model found an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of Canadian Dollars (CAD) $6630/quality-adjusted life years (QALY). CONCLUSION: Within the context of a publicly funded health care system, the Recurrence Score assay significantly affects adjuvant treatment recommendations and is cost effective in ER+ node negative breast cancer.

Primary CNS lymphoma with intraocular involvement: International PCNSL Collaborative Group Report.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the demographics, diagnostic details, therapeutic management, and outcome in patients with primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL) with ocular involvement. METHODS: A retrospective study of 221 patients was assembled from 16 centers in seven countries. Only HIV-negative, immunocompetent patients with brain and ocular lymphoma were included; none had systemic lymphoma. RESULTS: Median age at diagnosis was 60. Fifty-seven percent were women. Median Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status was 2. Ocular disturbance and behavioral/cognitive changes were the most common presenting symptoms. Diagnosis of lymphoma was made by brain biopsy (147), vitrectomy (65), or CSF cytology (11). Diagnosis of intraocular lymphoma was made by vitrectomy/choroidal/retinal biopsy (90) or clinical ophthalmic examination (141). CSF cytology was positive in 23%. Treatment information was available for 176 patients. A total of 102 received dedicated ocular therapy (ocular radiotherapy 79, intravitreal methotrexate 22, and both 1) in addition to treatment for their brain lymphoma. Sixty-nine percent progressed at a median of 13 months; sites of progression included brain 52%, eyes 19%, brain and eyes 12%, and systemic 2%. Patients treated with local ocular therapy did not have a statistically significant decreased risk of failing in the eyes (p = 0.7). Median progression free survival and overall survival for the entire cohort were 18 and 31 months. CONCLUSION: This is the largest reported series of primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL) with intraocular involvement. Progression free and overall survival was similar to that reported with PCNSL. Dedicated ocular therapy improved disease control but did not affect overall survival.

A clinicopathological retrospective study of 131 patients with primary bone lymphoma: a population-based study of successively treated cohorts from the British Columbia Cancer Agency.

BACKGROUND: Primary bone lymphoma (PBL) is a distinct clinicopathological entity. Although PBL has been reviewed in several small studies, few reflect recent improvements in primary treatment. METHODS: We used the British Columbia Cancer Agency Lymphoid Cancer Database to identify all patients with PBL (1983-2005). All were staged in a uniform manner and treated with era-specific protocols. RESULTS: We identified 131 patients with a median age of 63 years (18-87). One third had disease in long bones and another one third had disease in the spine, of which half presented with spinal cord compression. Patients with diffuse large-cell lymphoma (DLCL) (n=103, 79%) had 5- and 10-year overall survivals (OS) of 62% and 41%, respectively. Multivariate analysis identified three prognostic groups: age<60 with International Prognostic Index (IPI) 1-3 (n=43), age>or=60 with IPI 0-3 (n=23) and age>or=60 with IPI 4-5 (n=33), with markedly different 5-year OS of 90%, 61% and 25%, respectively (P<0.0001). Neither primary site nor pathological fracture at presentation had an impact on OS. The 3-year progression-free survival in patients who received rituximab plus combination chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone (CHOPR) chemotherapy was 88% compared with 52% in those who received CHOP-like chemotherapy without rituximab (P=0.005). The 10-year OS for those with advanced-stage disease who received irradiation plus chemotherapy was 25% versus 56% for those who received chemotherapy alone (P=0.025). Patients received irradiation if spinal cord compression was present or residual disease at the end of chemotherapy was thought to require it. CONCLUSIONS: PBL is usually of DLCL type and has an improved outcome with CHOPR. Younger patients with good IPI score have a favorable prognosis.

Frequent association of t(3;14) or variant with other lymphoma-specific translocations.

Malignant lymphomas (ML) with t(3;14) or variant t(2;3) and t(3;22) have recently been recognized. These translocations have been shown to associate predominantly with B-cell diffuse large cell lymphoma (DLCL) and less frequently with follicular lymphoma (FL). The molecular alterations associated with these translocations involve one of the immunoglobulin gene (Ig) loci and a recently cloned gene, bcl-6 located at 3q27 which codes for a zinc-finger protein that may function as a transcription factor. We have identified by cytogenetic analysis 22 cases of ML with a 3q27/Ig translocation. The pathologic diagnoses of these cases include DLCL, FL, small non-cleaved non-Burkitt lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. Molecular analysis confirmed a bcl-6 rearrangement in 10/12 cases tested. The karyotype in 5/22 cases revealed the t(3;14) or variant in association with another lymphoma-specific translocation, t(14;18) in three cases and t(8;14) in two cases. ML with dual translocations that implicate Ig genes in the deregulation of proto-oncogenes are being increasingly recognized and may represent distinct subtypes or 'hybrid' forms of malignant lymphoma.

Mechanisms of histamine-induced contraction of canine airway smooth muscle.

We studied the effects of atropine (10(-10) to 10(-6) M), tetrodotoxin (TTX) (10(-6) g/ml), and neostigmine (10(-7) M) on the histamine dose-response curve of canine tracheal smooth muscle (TSM) in vitro. Pretreatment with atropine or TTX reduced base-line tension in some TSM samples, whereas neostigmine invariably caused contraction of TSM. All concentrations of atropine reduced the maximum isometric tension produced by histamine (Tmax). With 10(-6), 10(-8), and 10(-10) M atropine, Tmax was 57, 74, and 88%, respectively, of its value in paired control samples. Atropine, 10(-9) to 10(-6) M, increased the concentration of histamine which produced 20% of Tmax, whereas 10(-6) M also increased the concentration required to produce 50% of Tmax. TTX reduced tension produced by low concentrations of histamine but had no effect at higher concentrations. Neostigmine shifted the histamine dose-response curve and caused greater tension for any given histamine concentration; Tmax increased by 30% (P less than 0.05). Our data are consistent with spontaneous release of acetylcholine from cholinergic nerves in the airway tissue and suggest that histamine either accelerates this release or interacts supra-additively with the acetylcholine at the smooth muscle.

Advanced diffuse large-cell lymphoma treated with 12-week combination chemotherapy: natural history of relapse after initial complete response and prognostic variables defining outcome after relapse.

PURPOSE: To define both the natural history of and prognostic factors affecting outcome post relapse from a complete response in advanced stage diffuse large-cell lymphoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 468 patients aged 17-74 years received the 12-week duration chemotherapy regimens MACOP-B, VACOP-B and ACOP-12 between 1 April 1981 and 31 December 1995 for advanced stage diffuse large, mixed or immunoblastic lymphoma. Of these 402 entered a complete remission, 97 (24%) of whom subsequently relapsed. Initial staging data, follow-up, and relapse information were analyzed to define the natural history of relapse and also subjected to univariate and multivariate correlation with overall (OS) and failure free survival (FFS). RESULTS: Eleven percent of the relapses were low grade. All other relapses were of intermediate grade with 75% occurring within the first two years, the remainder up until the eleventh year. Median and five-year OS from the time of relapse for intermediate grade relapse were 12 months and 20%; for FFS they were eight months and 18% respectively. Adverse independent factors, for both OS and FFS were: less than one year to relapse, decreasing performance status at relapse, and more than three nodal sites at relapse. CONCLUSIONS: Low-grade relapse is not uncommon in patients who initially presented with diffuse large cell lymphoma. As the management of low- and intermediate grade disease is so different biopsy proof of the nature of the relapse is of value. The prognostic factors identified need to be taken into consideration when analyzing results from trials of secondary treatment so as to avoid erroneous conclusions about comparative treatment efficacy.

Hepatitis C infection and B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in British Columbia: a cross-sectional analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in British Columbia. DESIGN: A cross-sectional analysis. SETTING: The British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA), a Canadian provincial tertiary oncology referral center. SUBJECTS: Consecutive patients with B-cell NHL registered onto the BCCA lymphoma database in 1996 and part of 1997 and a control group of patients with T-cell NHL registered on the database from 1995 through 1997. Patients with HIV infection were excluded from the analysis. A second control group (n = 1085) consisted of health-care workers tested for HCV infection following a needle-stick injury. INTERVENTIONS: Stored sera from patients with B-cell NHL (n = 88) and T-cell NHL (n = 37), identified from the database, were tested for the presence of HCV infection with commercially available serologic tests. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: HCV seropositivity in the B-cell lymphoma group compared to the control groups (T-cell NHL and health-care workers). RESULTS: 2.3% of the B-cell NHL group, none of the T-cell NHL group and 1% of the health-care worker control group were positive for HCV infection. These results were not statistically significantly different. CONCLUSION: Patients in British Columbia with B-cell NHL do not have an increased prevalence of HCV infection. These data suggest that the lymphotrophism of HCV may differ by regional, racial and genotypic variations around the world.

A phase I-II study of bi-weekly paclitaxel as first-line treatment in metastatic breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Single-agent bi-weekly paclitaxel was studied as first-line metastatic treatment for breast cancer in a phase I-II trial. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-eight women with metastatic breast cancer were enrolled. Thirty-seven are evaluable for toxicity, 35 for response. RESULTS: The MTD was defined at 160 mg/m2 q two weeks with dose limiting toxicity in two patients consisting of hematological toxicity (1) and neurotoxicity (2). Twenty patients were treated at 150 mg/m2, the recommended dose. Response rates were two CRs and nine PRs (overall 61%) at the RD of 150 mg/m2 and three CRs and 11 PRs for an overall RR of 67% for the two top doses. CONCLUSIONS: The good drug tolerance, response rates, and convenience over weekly treatment suggest this may be a worthwhile regimen.