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Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable disease with a limited life expectancy of five years from diagnosis. Uncontrolled disease or infections are the main causes of mortality. Daratumumab, a monoclonal antibody against CD38, is approved to treat patients with MM. Its target, CD38, is expressed not only on MM cells but also on common lymphoid precursors and subsets of normal lymphocytes. Daratumumab-induced lymphopenia is common, but its clinical significance is understudied. In this study, we report the baseline characteristics, rates of severe lymphopenia, infections, and clinical trajectory of multiple myeloma patients (n = 100) treated with daratumumab-based regimens at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. We discover high rates of infections, hospital utilization, and severe lymphopenia and identify risks factors for severe lymphopenia, such as low pretreatment absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) values. Severe lymphopenia persists in 23% of patients, resulting in worst survival outcomes. Our data underline the importance of monitoring ALC and consider future use of prophylactic measures or alternative regimens in subsets of MM patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Systemic light chain (AL) amyloidosis is a clonal plasma‐cell neoplasm that carries a poor prognosis. Although AL amyloidosis and Multiple Myeloma (MM) can co‐exist and share various cytogenetic chromosomal abnormalities, little is known about Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and its prognostic relevance in AL amyloidosis. Aim: The study aims to evaluate the most prevalent FISH cytogenetic abnormalities in AL patients as independent prognostic factors, and assess the impact of cytogenetics on the survival of high‐risk cardiac AL patients. Materials & Methods: This retrospective study reviewed 113 consecutive AL patients treated at The Ohio State University (OSU). Patients were divided into subgroups based on FISH data obtained within 90 days of diagnosis. Hyperdiploidy was defined as trisomies of at least 2 chromosomal loci. Primary endpoints were progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Kaplan Meier curves were used to calculate PFS and OS. The log‐rank test and Cox proportional hazard models were used to test the equality of survival functions and further evaluate the differences between groups. Results: FISH abnormalities were detected in 76% of patients. Patients with abnormal FISH trended toward lower overall survival (OS) (p=0.06) and progression free survival (PFS) (p=0.06). The two most prevalent aberrations were translocation t(11;14) (39%) and hyperdiploidy‐overall (38%). Hyperdiploidy‐overall was associated with worsening PFS (p=0.018) and OS (p=0.03), confirmed in multivariable analysis. Patients with del 13q most frequently had cardiac involvement (p=0.006) and was associated with increased bone marrow plasmacytosis (p=0.02). Cardiac AL patients with no FISH abnormalities had much improved OS (p=0.012) and PFS (p=0.018) Conclusions: Our findings ultimately reveal the association of hyperdiploidy on survival in AL amyloidosis patients, including the high‐risk cardiac AL population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant for fit patients with multiple myeloma. Topics discussed include acceleration in neutrophil recovery due to use of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), high-dose melphalan given to several patients followed by autologous stem cell rescue, and benefits demonstrated by transplant including reduction in the duration of neutropenia and number of infections.

The article presents a study which measures the serum testosterone level of patients with multiple myeloma. Information is offered on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted for determining the health status of adults and children in the U.S. A table is presented depicting the correlation among testosterone and other factors in multiple myeloma patients.

Single-agent post-autologous transplant maintenance therapy with lenalidomide is standard of care for patients with multiple myeloma. The tolerability and effectiveness of combination post-transplant maintenance therapy is unknown, so we investigated lenalidomide and vorinostat (suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid) in this setting, hypothesizing that the regimen would be well tolerated and associated with an improved post-transplant response. This trial followed a standard 3 × 3 dose escalation phase 1 design. Vorinostat was administered beginning day +90 post-haematopoietic stem cell transplantation for days 1-7 and 15-21, and lenalidomide was started at 10 mg days 1-21, both on a 28-d cycle. The primary endpoint was maximum tolerated dose and dose limiting toxicities were assessed during the first cycle. Treatment was well tolerated in 16 enrolled patients. During Cycle 1, the most common toxicities included cytopenias, gastrointestinal complaints and fatigue. Seven patients improved their transplant response after starting combination therapy. The median follow-up was 38·4 months, and the median progression-free survival and overall survival have yet to be reached. This oral post-transplant maintenance regimen was well tolerated. This is the first trial to publish results on the use of a histone deacetylase inhibitor in the maintenance setting, and it provides rationale for the ongoing randomized trial in maintenance (ISRCTN 49407852). Trial Registration: NCT00729118 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Only a minority of patients with high risk lymphoma will be cured with autologous transplant, so maintenance with vorinostat, an oral agent with activity in relapsed lymphoma, was studied starting day + 60 for 21 consecutive days followed by a week off for up to 11 cycles. Twenty-three patients with lymphoma were treated. Ten patients completed the full 11 -cycle treatment plan per protocol, four patients were removed due to progressive disease and seven withdrew or were removed from the study due to toxicities. Despite Prevnar vaccine administration every 2 months for three injections, the mean antibody concentration never reached protective levels (>0.35 pg/mL). Fatigue and functional well-being measured by Brief Fatigue Inventory and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General improved significantly from cycle 1 to cycle 7, but depression scores from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale did not change. Given the toxicities observed, this broad-spectrum deacetylase inhibitor at this schedule is not optimal for prolonged maintenance therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several studies showed that gain-of-function somatic mutations affecting the catalytic domain of EGFR in non-small cell lung carcinomas were associated with response to gefitinib and erlotinib, both EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors. In addition, 4% of non-small cell lung carcinomas were shown to have ERBB2 mutations in the kinase domain. In our study, we sought to determine if similar respective gain-of-function EGFR and ERBB2 mutations were present in hepatoma and/or biliary cancers. Methods: We extracted genomic DNA from 40 hepatoma (18) and biliary cancers (22) samples, and 44 adenocarcinomas of the lung, this latter as a positive control for mutation detection. We subjected those samples to PCR-based semi-automated double stranded nucleotide sequencing targeting exons 18-21 of EGFR and ERBB2. All samples were tested against matched normal DNA. Results: We found 11% of hepatoma, but no biliary cancers, harbored a novel ERBB2 H878Y mutation in the activating domain. Conclusion: These newly described mutations may play a role in predicting response to EGFRtargeted therapy in hepatoma and their role should be explored in prospective studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) remains an effective treatment option for many patients with systemic light chain (AL) amyloidosis. While maintenance post ASCT in multiple myeloma is now standard, the decision to utilize maintenance in AL amyloidosis remains largely unexplored. The present study aims to determine the prognostic significance of utilizing maintenance therapy following ASCT and assess the impact of fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) abnormalities, bone marrow plasma cell burden (BMPC), and degree of organ involvement on this decision. Methods and results: This is a retrospective analysis of fifty AL amyloidosis patients who underwent ASCT at The Ohio State University. Twenty-eight patients received maintenance and twenty-two did not. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis was used to compare the effect of maintenance therapy with no significant difference in PFS (p = 0.66) and OS (p = 0.32) between the two groups. There was no difference in survival based on maintenance when further categorized by FISH, PFS (p = 0.15), and OS (p = 0.65); BMPC ≥ 10%, PFS (p = 0.49), and OS (p = 0.32); or with 2 or more organs involved, PFS (p = 0.34) and OS (p = 0.80). Conclusion: Maintenance therapy post ASCT did not impact PFS or OS when categorized by FISH abnormalities, increasing BMPC, or ≥2 organs involved in AL amyloidosis patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]