Search

Background:Optimal adherence to imatinib therapy is of paramount importance to maximise treatment effectiveness in patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). The main objective of this study was to investigate patient-reported personal factors associated with adherence behaviour.Methods:Analysis was conducted on 413 CML patients receiving long-term therapy with imatinib. Adherence behaviour was measured with the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale and personal factors investigated included: quality of life, perceived social support, fatigue, symptom burden, psychological wellbeing and desire for additional information. Key socio-demographic and treatment-related factors were also taken into account. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to investigate factors associated with optimal adherence to therapy.Results:In all, 53% of patients reported an optimal adherence behaviour. The final multivariate model retained the following variables as independent predictors of optimal adherence to therapy: desire for more information (ref. no), odds ratio (OR)=0.43 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.29-0.66; P<0.001), social support (higher score representing greater support), OR=1.29 (95% CI, 1.11-1.49; P<0.001) and concomitant drug burden (ref. no), OR=1.82 (95% CI, 1.18-2.80; P=0.006).Conclusion:This study suggests that a higher level of social support, satisfaction with information received and concomitant drug burden are the main factors associated with greater adherence to long-term imatinib therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most effective post-remission treatment to maintain complete remission (CR) in adults aged between 46 and 60 years with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is uncertain. Previously untreated patients with AML in CR after induction chemotherapy with daunorubicin and cytarabine were randomized between two intensive courses of consolidation therapy containing high-dose cytarabine, combined with amsacrine or daunorubicin and a standard consolidation and maintenance therapy containing standard dose cytarabine and daunorubicin. One hundred fifty-eight CR patients were assigned to the intensive group and 157 patients to the standard group. After a median follow-up of 7.5 years, the 4-year survival rate was 32 % in the intensive group versus 34 % in the standard group (P = 0.29). In the intensive group, the 4-year relapse incidence was lower than in the standard group: 55 and 75 %, respectively (P = 0.0003), whereas treatment-related mortality incidence was higher: 22 versus 3 % (P < 0.0001). Two intensive consolidation courses containing high-dose cytarabine as post-remission treatment in patients with AML aged between 46 and 60 years old did not translate in better long-term outcome despite a 20 % lower relapse incidence. Better supportive care and prevention of treatment-related complications may improve the overall survival after intensified post-remission therapy in this age group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on a newly proposed clinical trial (CT) model , which standardizes data exchange between the various stages of a research study. In order to develop a standard model and a common terminology, the Italian Group for Hematological Diseases of Adults, and the Italian National Research Council have developed the first version of a detailed model of the entire CT process. This model focuses attention on: activities that compose the CT process, rules that govern its functioning, and data needed to synchronize CT activities carried out by the different actors involved. The model also helps and supports the writing of a consistent protocol that describes the entire process in a detailed format. The CT model comprises three sub-processes: the clinical trial management process, the statistical units management process, and the patient health care delivery management process. INSET: Groups Behind the CT Model..

p73, the homologue of p53, is a nuclear protein whose ectopic expression, in p53+/+ and p53-/- cells, recapitulates the most well-characterized p53 effects, such as growth arrest, apoptosis and differentiation. Unlike p53, which is mutated in half of human cancers, p73 is rarely mutated. However, altered expression of the p73 gene has been reported in neuroblastoma, lung cancer, prostate cancer and renal cell carcinoma. To investigate the potential involvement of p73 in acute myeloid leukemias (AMLs), we analyzed 71 samples from AML patients for the expression pattern of N-terminal transactivation-p73alpha (TA-p73alpha), its spliced isoforms and N-terminal-deleted-p73 transcripts (DeltaN-p73). We detected p73 gene expression in AML irrespective of FAB (French-American-British) subtypes. Notably, the analysis of DeltaN-p73 expression, which has been reported to inactivate both p53 and p73 antitumor effects, revealed a rather peculiar pattern. In fact, DeltaN-p73 transcript and protein were detectable in 27/28 (96.4%) cases of M0, M1, M2, M4, M5 and M6 AML and in 13/41 (31.7%) cases of PML-RARalpha-positive M3 AML (P<0.01). Thus, the distinct gene expression profile of p73 further supports the notion that acute promyelocytic leukemia is a biologically different subset of AML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several trials have shown the superior impact of high-dose melphalan (usually 200?mg/m2, MEL200) vs standard therapy in myeloma patients. Intermediate-dose melphalan (100?mg/m2, MEL100) is also superior to the standard dose, but has not been clinically compared with MEL200. A total of 90 patients at diagnosis were treated with two MEL100 courses. Their clinical outcome was compared with that of a control group of 90 pair mates matched for serum ß2-microglobulin levels and Durie and Salmon clinical stage. These patients were treated at diagnosis with two MEL200 courses. Patient characteristics were similar in both groups except that the median age of the MEL100 group was significantly higher (P<0.0001). Complete remission was 35% after MEL100 and 48% after MEL200 (P=0.08). Median event-free survival (EFS) was 32 months in the MEL100 group and 42 months in the MEL200 group (P<0.005), but overall survival (OS) was not different. Transplant-related mortality was not significantly different. Haematological and extra-haematological toxicity was significantly reduced after MEL100. Despite the significant age difference, tandem MEL100 was less toxic than tandem MEL200, and MEL100 was inferior to MEL200 in terms of EFS but not in terms of OS. The intensified nonmyeloablative MEL100 regimen is an effective first-line treatment.Leukemia (2004) 18, 133-138. doi:10.1038/sj.leu.2403196 Published online 30 October 2003 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In all, 134 elderly patients (median age 66 years, range 60-75 years) with newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) were enrolled in two successive protocols of the Italian multicenter group GIMEMA. All patients received an identical induction with all-trans retinoic acid and idarubicin; 116 (86%) entered complete remission (CR), two (2%) were resistant and 16 (12%) died during induction. After CR, 106 patients received further therapy whereas 10 did not, because of refusal (n = 5) or toxicity (n = 5). Consolidation consisted of three chemotherapy courses in the AIDA protocol (AIDA, 67 patients) or, since 1997, of an amended protocol including only the first cycle (amended AIDA, aAIDA, 39 patients). In the AIDA group, 43 patients (64%) completed consolidation, while seven (11%) and 17 (25%) patients were withdrawn after first and second courses, respectively; nine patients (13%) died in CR and 12 (18%) relapsed. In the aAIDA group, all patients received the assigned treatment; two patients (5%) died in CR and six (15%) relapsed. In the AIDA and aAIDA series, the 3-year overall and discase-free survival rates were 81 and 83% (P = NS), 73 and 72% (P = NS), respectively. We highlight here the frequency and severity of complications linked to intensive chemotherapy in this clinical setting and suggest that, in APL of the elderly, less intensive postremission therapy allows significant reduction of severe treatment-related toxicity and may be equally effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interleukin (IL)-2 is a glycoprotein lymphokine which induces proliferation of all subclasses of T-lymphocytes, natural killer cells and lymphokine activated killer cells, differentiation of cytotoxic cells and secretion of other cytokines, especially interferon-γ. A fundamental property of IL-2 activated effector cells is to selectively lyse freshly isolated tumour cells. Work carried out on animal tumour models and application in human therapeutics has suggested the potential value of an immunotherapeutic approach in haematological malignancies, especially in the setting of minimal residual disease. Extensive phase I/II trials have been conducted in all haematological diseases, but the most interesting results have been obtained in acute myeloid leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, where the possibility of achieving partial and complete responses in patients with advanced disease has been reported. The feasibility and immunomodulatory effects of IL-2 treatment in patients with minimal residual disease after high-dose chemotherapy have also been explored. However, the heterogeneity of cases treated and administration schedules used does not allow definitive conclusions to be drawn about the true impact of IL-2 treatment on the prognosis of these patients. The clearly encouraging results reported in the literature deserve further investigation from a biological and clinical point of view; until the role of IL-2 in haematological malignancies has been identified, it should be used only in the investigative setting of clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is increasingly reported as an important outcome in cancer clinical trials. However, very little evidence exists on the impact of such evaluation in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of leukaemia patients. A systematic search of the literature from 1980 to 2007 was undertaken and studies were identified and evaluated independently, according to a pre-defined coding scheme, by three reviewers. Both HRQOL outcomes and traditional clinical reported outcomes were systematically analysed to evaluate their consistency and their relevance for supporting clinical decision making. Nine RCTs were identified, involving 3838 patients overall. There were four RCTs involving acute myeloid leukaemia patients (AML), three with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) and two with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). Six studies were published after 2000 and provided fairly robust methodological quality. Imatinib greatly improved HRQOL compared to interferon based treatments in CML patients and fludarabine plus cyclophosphamide does not seem to have a deleterious impact on patient's HRQOL when compared to fludarabine alone or chlorambucil in CLL patients. This study revealed the paucity of HRQOL research in leukaemia patients. Nonetheless, HRQOL assessment is feasible in RCTs and has the great potential of providing valuable outcomes to further support clinical decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several trials have shown the superior impact of high-dose melphalan (usually 200?mg/m2, MEL200) vs standard therapy in myeloma patients. Intermediate-dose melphalan (100?mg/m2, MEL100) is also superior to the standard dose, but has not been clinically compared with MEL200. A total of 90 patients at diagnosis were treated with two MEL100 courses. Their clinical outcome was compared with that of a control group of 90 pair mates matched for serum ß2-microglobulin levels and Durie and Salmon clinical stage. These patients were treated at diagnosis with two MEL200 courses. Patient characteristics were similar in both groups except that the median age of the MEL100 group was significantly higher (P<0.0001). Complete remission was 35% after MEL100 and 48% after MEL200 (P=0.08). Median event-free survival (EFS) was 32 months in the MEL100 group and 42 months in the MEL200 group (P<0.005), but overall survival (OS) was not different. Transplant-related mortality was not significantly different. Haematological and extra-haematological toxicity was significantly reduced after MEL100. Despite the significant age difference, tandem MEL100 was less toxic than tandem MEL200, and MEL100 was inferior to MEL200 in terms of EFS but not in terms of OS. The intensified nonmyeloablative MEL100 regimen is an effective first-line treatment.Leukemia (2004) 18, 133-138. doi:10.1038/sj.leu.2403196 Published online 30 October 2003 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the last decade, TKIs improved the overall survival (OS) of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients who achieved a deep and sustained molecular response (DMR, defined as stable MR4 and MR4.5). Those patients may attempt therapy discontinuation. In our analysis, we report the differences in eligibility criteria due to time of response and different TKI used as frontline treatment analyzed in a large cohort of CP-CML patients., Methods: Data were exported by LabNet CML, a network founded by GIMEMA in 2014. The network standardized and harmonized the molecular methodology among 51 laboratories distributed all over Italy for the diagnosis and molecular residual disease (MRD) monitoring., Results: Out of 1777 patients analyzed, 774 had all evaluable timepoints (3, 6, and 12 months). At 3 months, 40 patients obtained ≥MR4: of them 14 (3.6%) with imatinib, 8 (5.8%) with dasatinib, and 18 (7.4%) with nilotinib (P = .093); at 6 months, 146 patients were in MR4: 42 (11%) with imatinib, 38 (28%) with dasatinib, and 66 (27%) with nilotinib (P < .001). At 12 months, 231 patients achieved a DMR: 85 (22%) with imatinib, 55 (40%) with dasatinib and 91 (38%) with nilotinib (P < .001). Achieving at least ≥MR2 at 3 months, was predictive of a DMR at any timepoint of observation: with imatinib 67% versus 30% of patients with 2 years was significant for patients who at 3 months had ≥MR2 (18% vs. 9.9% of pts with