The changing spectrum of infection with BCMA and GPRC5D targeting bispecific antibody (bsAb) therapy in patients with relapsed refractory multiple myeloma.

There is a paucity of granular data on infection risk with B-cell maturation antigen (BMCA) and GPRC5D bispecific antibodies (bsAb) in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). The aim of our multi-institutional study was to characterize the incidence, etiologies, and risk factors of infections from the start of therapy to the last follow-up or 90 days after study exit. A total of 66 patients received BCMA bsAb monotherapy, 15 GPRC5D bsAb monotherapy, and 15 GPRC5D bsAb combination therapy with daratumumab and/or pomalidomide. While the infection rate per 100 days was 0.57 for BCMA bsAb, it was 0.62 for GPRC5D bsAb combination and 0.13 for GPRC5D bsAb monotherapy; P=0.05. The proportion of infections that were grade ≥3 was higher in the BCMA bsAb group compared to the GPRC5D groups (58% vs. 36%; P=0.04). Grade 5 events were observed in 8% (n=8) of the patients, all treated with BCMA bsAb. The 9 month cumulative incidence of any grade of infection was similar in the BCMA and GPRC5D-combination groups (57% and 62%) and significantly higher than in the GPRC5D-mono group (16%); P=0.012. The cumulative incidence of grade ≥3 infections was highest in the BCMA group reaching 54% at 18 months; P=0.06. Multivariate analysis showed that BCMA bsAb therapy or GPRC5D combination therapy, history of previous infections, baseline lymphopenia, and baseline hypogammaglobulinemia were significantly associated with a higher risk of grade ≥3 infections. Our results indicate that BCMA bsAb and GPRC5D-combination therapies in RRMM are associated with higher cumulative incidence of infection and grade ≥3 infection compared to GPRC5D bsAb mono.

Bacteremias following autologous stem cell transplantation for multiple myeloma: Risk factors and outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) is a commonly used treatment for multiple myeloma (MM). This retrospective cohort study characterizes the risk factors and outcomes associated with bacteremia following ASCT at a single center. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis in subjects who underwent ASCT for multiple myeloma and other malignancies from May 2014 to March 2015 at a single center. The control cohort included all subjects undergoing ASCT in the same time period who did not develop bacteremia. RESULTS: During the study period, 363 ASCTs were completed in 282 discrete patients. Bacteremia was documented in 13% of all transplants. Enterococcus faecium was the most frequent species overall (14/62, 23%). Vancomycin resistance was present in 93% of E faecium isolates. Bacteremia was associated with a significantly decreased survival in patients who received their transplant after the first year of myeloma treatment. Overall survival (OS) was not significantly different in the two cohorts among patients undergoing ASCT within the first year of myeloma treatment. Survival analysis showed a significantly decreased OS in patients who developed Enterococcus bacteremia as compared to the non-bacteremia cohort. Enterococcal bacteremia was associated with significantly longer duration of neutropenia (mean 14 vs 9.7 days, P = 0.01), hospitalization (mean 61.7 vs 20.4 days, P = 0.0006), and higher mortality (69% vs 25%, P = 0.01) as compared to other bacteremias. CONCLUSION: We found a high incidence of E faecium and a low incidence of MRSA and Pseudomonas bacteremias following ASCT in our patient population. Survival analysis in our cohort suggests that the effect of underlying disease status and cumulative chemotherapy is critically important in determining outcomes related to bacteremia. Enterococcal bacteremias following ASCT were associated with significantly higher morbidity and mortality than non-enterococcal bacteremias.

Skin lesion in a patient with acute myeloid leukemia.

We present the case of a 51-year-old man with acute myeloid leukemia who developed fevers with a skin lesion following the first cycle of induction chemotherapy. Skin biopsy showed evidence of invasive fungal infection. Cultures remained negative, but polymerase chain reaction on tissue detected Rhizopus oryzae complex. The patient was started on liposomal amphotericin B and underwent surgical debridement. He was switched to posaconazole, with plans for allogeneic hematopoetic stem cell transplant in the future.

The role of next generation sequencing in infection prevention in human parainfluenza virus 3 infections in immunocompromised patients.

BACKGROUND: Respiratory viral infections are a significant problem in patients with hematologic malignancies. We report a cluster of HPIV 3 infections in our myeloma patients, and describe the utility of next generation sequencing (NGS) to identify transmission linkages which can assist in infection prevention. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the utility of NGS to track respiratory viral infection outbreaks and delineate between community acquired and nosocomial infections in our cancer units. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective chart review conducted at a single site. All patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma who developed symptoms suggestive of upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) or lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) along with a respiratory viral panel (RVP) test positive for HPIV 3 between April 1, 2016, to June 30, 2016, were included. Sequencing was performed on the Illumina MiSeq™. To gain understanding regarding community strains of HPIV 3 during the same season, we also performed NGS on HPIV3 strains isolated from pediatric cases. RESULTS: We saw a cluster of 13 cases of HPIV3 infections in the myeloma unit. Using standard epidemiologic criteria, 3 cases were considered community acquired, 7 cases developed infection during treatment in the cancer infusion center, while an additional 3 developed infections during hospital stay. Seven patients required hospitalization for a median duration of 20days. NGS enabled sensitive discrimination of the relatedness of the isolates obtained during the outbreak and provided evidence for source of transmission. Two hospital onset infections could be tracked to an index case; the genome sequences of HPIV 3 strains from these 3 patients only differed by a single nucleotide. CONCLUSIONS: NGS offers a significantly higher discriminatory value as an epidemiologic tool, and can be used to gather real-time information and identification of transmission linkages to assist in infection prevention in immunocompromised patients.

Adventitious sporulation in Fusarium: The yeast that were not.

In immunocompromised patients, Fusarium species cause infections that lead to high mortality. Our case report describes a case of disseminated fusariosis in a neutropenic patient with AML after myelosuppressive chemotherapy, and a neutropenic multiple myeloma patient with Fusarium fungemia awaiting stem cell collection. Both cases highlight the fact that Fusarium can grow as yeast-like structures in the blood causing a delay in diagnosis, and that Fusarium has a tendency to be a resistant organism. Fusarium was only susceptible to amphotericin B in both cases, but we chose to continue treatment with voriconazole in the first case with disseminated infection, despite culture results, in view of his good clinical response. Despite high mortality rates in disseminated infection, our two patients had good outcomes.

Postoperative testicular abscess with bacteremia due to Actinomyces neuii.

Bacteremia due to Actinomyces neuii has been reported in the literature 14 times. A. neuii is an endogenous organism that has been cultured in clinical specimens of the genitourinary tract; we are reporting a unique case of A. neuii postoperative testicular abscess with bacteremia which was successfully treated with surgery and a short course of parenteral antimicrobials.