Brentuximab vedotin plus doxorubicin and dacarbazine in nonbulky limited-stage classical Hodgkin lymphoma.

ABVD (Adriamycin, bleomycin, vinblastine, dacarbazine) with or without radiation has been the standard treatment for limited-stage Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) but carries risks of bleomycin lung injury and radiation toxicity. Brentuximab vedotin (BV) is approved with AVD for stage III-IV HL, but carries increased risks of peripheral neuropathy (PN) and neutropenic fever, likely due to overlapping toxicity between BV and vinblastine. We therefore evaluated BV in combination with AD for 4 or 6 cycles based on interim positron emission tomography response. Thirty-four patients with nonbulky stage I-II HL were enrolled. Risk was early favorable in 53% and unfavorable in 47%. The overall and complete response rates (CRRs) were 100% and 97%, respectively, with a 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) of 91%. No differences in outcome were observed based on stage (I vs II) or risk status (early favorable vs unfavorable). The most common adverse events were nausea (85%), peripheral sensory neuropathy (59%), and fatigue (56%). There were no cases of grade-4 neutropenia or neutropenic fever, and no patient received granulocyte-colony stimulating factor. Most cases of PN were grade 1, and no patient experienced grade ≥3 PN. BV-AD produced a high CRR and durable PFS with most patients requiring 4 cycles of therapy. Compared with BV-AVD, the toxicity profile appeared improved, with predominantly grade 1 reversible PN and no case of grade 4 neutropenia or neutropenic fever. This regimen warrants further study in HL and may serve as a backbone for the addition of novel agents. This trial is registered on clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02505269).

Adding Umbralisib and Ublituximab (U2) to Ibrutinib in Patients with CLL: A Phase II Study of an MRD-Driven Approach.

PURPOSE: Ibrutinib has transformed the management of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), though its use is limited by toxicity and resistance. In this study, we utilized an "add on" approach for patients who had been treated with ibrutinib in the front-line or relapsed/refractory settings with detectable MRD. Umbralisib and ublituximab (U2) were added on to ibrutinib, patients were treated until achieving undetectable-MRD (U-MRD), and then they entered a period of treatment-free observation (TFO). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients were eligible if they received ibrutinib in any line of therapy for at least 6 months and had detectable MRD (flow cytometry, <1 cell in 10-4 cutoff for U-MRD). U2 was added to ibrutinib, and patients were monitored serially for MRD. Once U-MRD was achieved or a total of 24 cycles were administered, patients entered a period of TFO. The primary study objective was rate of U-MRD. Secondary endpoints included safety and durability of clinical benefit after treatment discontinuation. RESULTS: Twenty-eight patients were enrolled of whom 27 were evaluable for efficacy. Patients received ibrutinib for a median of 21 months (range 7-67) prior to study enrollment. Fourteen patients (52%) have achieved U-MRD per protocol whereas 78% had at least one U-MRD evaluation. Seventeen patients (63%) have entered TFO after a median of 6.4 months on triplet therapy. Progression-free survival at 12 months was estimated at 95%. Grade ≥3 adverse events were hypertension 7%, diarrhea 4%, and increased ALT/AST 4%. CONCLUSIONS: This triplet approach utilizes the addition of U2 to ibrutinib as an MRD-driven time-limited therapy. This therapy was well tolerated and effective. TFO following this therapy appears durable in ongoing follow-up.

Zanubrutinib, obinutuzumab, and venetoclax with minimal residual disease-driven discontinuation in previously untreated patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma: a multicentre, single-arm, phase 2 trial.

BACKGROUND: We hypothesised that combining zanubrutinib with obinutuzumab and venetoclax (BOVen) as an initial therapy for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and small lymphocytic lymphoma would lead to high rates of undetectable minimal residual disease (MRD), and we explored MRD as a biomarker for directing treatment duration. METHODS: This multicenter, investigator-initiated, single-arm, phase 2 trial took place at two two academic medical centres in the USA. Patients were eligible for the primary cohort if they had treatment-naive chronic lymphocytic leukaemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma, required therapy, and were at least 18 years of age with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status up to 2. BOVen was administered in 28 day cycles (oral zanubrutinib at 160 mg twice per day starting in cycle 1 on day 1; intravenous obinutuzumab at 1000 mg on day 1 [split over day 1 with 100 mg and day 2 with 900 mg for an absolute lymphocyte count >25 000 cells per µL or lymph nodes >5 cm in diameter], day 8, and day 15 of cycle 1, and day 1 of cycles 2-8; and oral venetoclax ramp up to 400 mg per day starting in cycle 3 on day 1) and discontinued after 8-24 cycles when prespecified undetectable MRD criteria were met in the peripheral blood and bone marrow. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients that reached undetectable MRD in both the peripheral blood and bone marrow (flow cytometry cutoff less than one chronic lymphocytic leukaemia cell per 10 000 leukocytes [<10-4]) assessed per protocol. This trial is registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03824483). The primary cohort is closed to recruitment, and recruitment continues in the TP53-mutated mantle cell lymphoma cohort. FINDINGS: Between March 14, 2019, and Oct 10, 2019, 47 patients were screened for eligibility, and 39 patients were enrolled and treated. Median age was 62 years (IQR 52-70) with 30 (77%) of 39 male participants and nine (23%) of 39 female participants. 28 (72%) of 39 patients had unmutated immunoglobulin heavy-chain variable-region and five (13%) of 39 had 17p deletion or TP53 mutation. After a median follow-up of 25·8 months (IQR 24·0-27·3), 33 (89%) of 37 patients (95% CI 75-97) had undetectable MRD in both blood and bone marrow, meeting the prespecified undetectable MRD criteria to stop therapy after a median of ten cycles (IQR 8-12), which includes two cycles of zanubrutinib and obinutuzumab before starting venetoclax. After median surveillance after treatment of 15·8 months (IQR 13·0-18·6), 31 (94%) of 33 patients had undetectable MRD. The most common adverse events were thrombocytopenia (23 [59%] of 39), fatigue (21 [54%]), neutropenia (20 [51%]), and bruising (20 [51%]), and the most common adverse event at grade 3 or worse was neutropenia (seven [18%]) in the intention-to-treat population. One death occurred in a patient with intracranial haemorrhage on day 1 of cycle 1 after initiating intravenous heparin for pulmonary emboli. INTERPRETATION: BOVen was well tolerated and met its primary endpoint, with 33 (89%) of 37 previously untreated patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma reaching undetectable MRD in both peripheral blood and bone marrow despite a median treatment duration of only 10 months, owing to our undetectable MRD-driven treatment discontinuation design. These data support further evaluation of the BOVen regimen in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and small lymphocytic lymphoma with treatment duration guided by early MRD response kinetics. FUNDING: Beigene, Genentech (Roche), Grais-Cutler Fund, Lymphoma Research Fund, Lymphoma Research Foundation, American Cancer Society, Farmer Family Foundation, and the National Instititutes of Health and National Cancer Institute.

Racism in the chemotherapy infusion unit: a nurse's story.

Shortly before his death in 1995, Kenneth B. Schwartz, a cancer patient at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), founded The Kenneth B. Schwartz Center at MGH. The Schwartz Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and advancing compassionate health care delivery that provides hope to the patient and support to caregivers, and encourages the healing process. The Center sponsors the Schwartz Center Rounds, a monthly multidisciplinary forum where caregivers reflect on important psychosocial issues faced by patients, their families, and their caregivers, and gain insight and support from fellow staff members. In this article a nurse relates her experience as caregiver for a patient who made repeated racially motivated comments. She reflects on her response and the support she received from her colleagues.