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Survival after azacitidine (AZA) failure in higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) is poor and new treatment options are needed. Erlotinib, an oral inhibitor of the epidermal-growth-factor-receptor (EGFR), has shown in preclinical models some efficacy in higher risk MDS and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In this phase I/II trial, 30 patients received 100 mg/day ( n = 5) or 150 mg/day ( n = 25) of Erlotinib orally after primary or secondary resistance to AZA treatment. Eighteen MDS and 12 AML patients were treated. This outpatient treatment was well tolerated with limited grade III–IV extra hematological toxicities (skin ( n = 1), and diarrhea ( n = 3). Response was observed in 6 patients (20%) including 1 complete remission (CR), 1 marrow CR and 4 hematological improvement (2 erythroid and 2 on platelets). Median duration of response was 5 months. Erlotinib appears to induce a significant number of responses in higher risk MDS/AML having failed AZA treatment. Given the good safety profile of Erlotinib, its combination with other drugs could be tested in the future in MDS and AML.

The effect of azacitidine (AZA) in therapy related MDS and AML (t-MDS/AML) is not well established. 54 patients (42 t-MDS and 12 t-AML), 71% of whom had complex karyotype, received AZA for at least one cycle (median 4 cycles). The overall response rate (ORR) was 39% in the whole cohort and 62% in patients who received ≥4 cycles. One, 2 and 3 year OS was 36%, 14% and 8% respectively. Female gender (p=0.01) and ECOG 0-1 (p=0.04) were associated with significantly better OS, while karyotype and marrow blast percentage had no significant impact. By comparison with de novo MDS/AML treated in the same program, t-MDS/AML had a similar response rate (38% vs 45% in de novo MDS/AML, p=0.53), but significantly shorter OS (2 year OS of 14% vs 33.9%, p=0.0005). However, in a multivariate analysis performed in all patients (de novo and therapy related cases), only complex karyotype and high IPSS, and not etiology (i.e. de novo versus therapy related), had a significant impact on OS. Nine (15%) patients received allogeneic stem cell transplantation, 4 of whom were still alive.

Outcome of patients with high risk MDS and CMML who failed treatment with azacitidine remains poor with a median survival of 6 months, without established therapy available except allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The objective of our study was to evaluate efficacy of decitabine after azacitidine failure in a relatively large patient cohort based on conflicting results with 0-28% response rates (RR) in this setting in small patient series. Thirty-six consecutive high risk MDS and CMML patients who received decitabine after azacitidine failure were retrospectively reviewed. Response was based on IWG 2006 criteria for MDS and CMML with WBC

The prognosis of patients older than 50 with relapsed or refractory AML is dismal. Azacitidine has been investigated in older AML patients. Here we report the outcome of 130 patients older than 50 years included in a multicenter patient named program of azacitidine after relapse (n=67) or induction failure (n=63) of intensive chemotherapy. Median age was 67 years, cytogenetic risk was high in 28% and performance status ≥2 in 15% of cases. Most (72%) patients received azacitidine at the standard schedule (75mg/m(2)/d, 7 days/month) for a median of 4 courses. The overall response rate was 17% (CR: 10%, CRi: 7%). Median overall survival was 8.4 months. Achievement of CR/CRi was associated with prolonged survival (P=0.0001), whereas hematological improvement according to MDS criteria, achieved in 36% of patients with resistant disease, did not improve survival. In multivariate analysis, high risk cytogenetics (P=0.022) and peripheral blasts >10% (P

We studied a retrospective cohort of 282 higher-risk MDS treated with azacitidine, including 32 patients who concomitantly received an ESA for a median of 5.8 months after azacitidine onset. Forty-four percent of ESA and 29% of no-ESA patients reached HI-E (p = 0.07); 48% and 20% achieved transfusion independence (p = 0.01). Median OS was 19.6 months in the ESA and 11.9 months in the no-ESA groups (p = 0.04). Addition of an ESA significantly improved OS (p = 0.03) independently of azacitidine schedule and duration, and of our proposed azacitidine risk score (Blood 2011;117:403–11). Adding an ESA to azacitidine in higher-risk MDS should be studied prospectively.

Aberrant expression of the adhesion molecule CD44 correlates with poor prognosis in various neoplasms. To evaluate the prognostic impact of CD44 in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) serum levels of soluble CD44 (sCD44) were measured in 130 MDS patients using an enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). sCD44 levels were significantly elevated in MDS patients compared to healthy donors (p< 0.05), and were found to correlate with distinct FAB subtypes. The highest levels of sCD44 were found in patients with CMML and in patients with MDS transformed into acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In univariate analysis elevated levels of sCD44 s were significantly correlated with shorter overall survival in MDS-patients (9 versus 37 months; p< 000). In multivariate analysis sCD44 s displayed prognostic significance for survival independent from the International Prognosis Scoring System (IPSS). To test for refined prognostication, each IPSS risk group was split into two separate categories based on sCD44 s levels. Using this approach, MDS patients with a shorter survival were identified both in the IPSS low-risk (p = 0.014) and in the IPSS Int-1 group (p = 0.031). The CD44 s-adjusted IPSS defines a cohort of MDS patients with unfavorable prognosis within the low and intermediate-1 IPSS groups, which might be helpful in risk stratification and in therapeutic algorithms.