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Introduction: When analysing patient survival, one is often interested in cause of death. Little is known about the presence of population mortality in advanced melanoma pa-tients. The aim of this study was to assess population mortality after different response states in advanced melanoma patients in the Netherlands, and analyse the contribution of disease and population mortality for different age groups.Methods: We selected patients diagnosed between 2013 and 2019 with unresectable IIIC or stage IV melanoma, registered in the Dutch Melanoma Treatment Registry. A multi-state model with response states integrating population mortality was fitted. One-year landmark an-alyses were performed to assess outcomes after each response state.Results: Overall, 5119 patients were selected. Five-year probabilities of melanoma-related mortality in patients alive in complete response at one year after diagnosis increased with age, and was 17.2% (95% confidence interval: 13.0-21.4) for patients aged 80 years. Population mortality only played a large role for older patients (75 years and above) alive at 1 year after diagnosis with a partial or complete response.Conclusion: Even though survival outcomes of advanced melanoma patients have improved over the last decade, the vast majority of patients still die due to melanoma-related mortality. 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Introduction Multiple myeloma (MM) patients with renal impairment (RI), especially dialysis-dependent (DD) RI, have poorer outcomes than MM patients with normal renal function. Autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) is a treatment option, but there is concern at a perceived higher risk of complications which may be limiting consideration of the use of ASCT in this population. The evidence is inconsistent among studies and interpretation is complicated by heterogeneous datasets, some dating to before the availability of novel agents. Finally, the reversibility of RI following ASCT is an important prognostic factor for both survival and quality of life. Aim To evaluate the safety and efficacy of ASCT in MM patients with DD RI transplanted in EBMT centres between 1997 and 2017. Methods Baseline characteristics at diagnosis, patient treatment regimens and clinical outcomes were collected using standardised report forms. OS was defined as the period between the date of ASCT and the date of death or the date of last observation. PFS was defined as the period between the date of ASCT and date of progression/relapse or death of any causes or the date of the last observation. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was applied to assess risk factors for progression and death. Survival curves were plotted by the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using log-rank test. P Results A total of 109,959 adult MM patients are registered in the EBMT database as having undergone ASCT between 1997 and 2017. We further analysed 118 DD MM patients who had a first ASCT during this period. The median (range) age was 57 (27-71) years. Seventy (59%) patients were males. Forty nine patients (49/94 patients, 52%) had Karnofsky score ≥90. One hundred and ten patients were treated with hemodialysis and eight with peritoneal dialysis. A total of 68 (58%) patients had Light Chain MM, 43 kappa and 25 Lambda. In first-line induction therapy, 47/76 (62%) patients received bortezomib-based regimens. Forty-four (37%) patients achieved at least VGPR pre-ASCT. The median time from diagnosis to ASCT was 0.7 years (0.3-4.9). Melphalan doses were as follows: 140 mg/m2 (n=55, 67%), 70-100 mg/m2 (n=15, 18%), and >140 mg/m2 (n=12, 15%). The times to Neutrophil (>0.5) and Platelet (>20) engraftment were 12 (10-37) and 14 (4-128) days, respectively. The 30-day and 100-day transplant-related mortality (TRM) rates were 0.0% and 0.9%, respectively. ASCT was associated with a significant deepening of response (at least VGPR pre- vs post-ASCT: 36/93 (39%) vs 48/93 (52%), p < 0.001). The median PFS was 37 months (95% CI: 24-43) and 5-year PFS was 31% (95% CI: 20-41). The median OS was 102 months (95% CI: 67-129). Five-year OS post-ASCT was 62% (52-72) and 10-year OS 36% (17-55). Thirty-one (26%) DD MM patients achieved dialysis independence. There were no differences in PFS or OS when comparing the 1997-2007 and 2008-2017 cohorts: 5-year PFS - 28% (6-49) vs 31% (19-43) (p=0.7) and 5-year OS - 61% (38-84) vs 63% (51-74) (p=0.9), respectively. On univariate analysis of factors affecting PFS, achievement of an Overall Response Rate (ORR) (CR+VGPR+PR vs. Other) pre-ASCT was associated with a lower risk (HR 0.467, p=0.032) and older age (>55 years) with a higher risk (HR 1.786, p=0.035) of post-ASCT progression. Age higher than 55 (HR 2.033, 95%CI: 0.992 - 4.166, p=0.053) increased and achievement of at least VGPR pre-transplant (HR 0.494, 95%CI: 0.224 - 1.091, p=0.081, on the verge of statistical significance) decreased the risk of death. Conclusion To the best of our knowledge, the DIADEM study is the largest analysis of ASCT in DD MM pts to date. This cohort of 118 unselected patients had an OS comparable to patients without RI. This may reflect patient selection based on younger age, Karnofsky scores and pre-ASCT response. The low TRM and excellent outcomes support consideration of the use of ASCT in pts with DD RI. Notably, more than a quarter of patients became dialysis independent, an outcome likely to confer an improved Quality-of-Life.. These results can also inform the debate around the role of renal transplantation in younger DD MM patients who do not achieve dialysis independence. Disclosures Snowden: IDMC: Honoraria; Kiadis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Honoraria; Mallinckrodt: Honoraria; Jazz: Honoraria; Gilead: Honoraria. Dreger:MSD: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Sponsoring of Symposia; AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Gilead, Janssen, Novartis, Riemser, Roche: Consultancy; AbbVie, Gilead, Novartis, Riemser, Roche: Speakers Bureau; Neovii, Riemser: Research Funding. Illés:Takeda, Seattle: Research Funding; Janssen, Celgene, Novartis, Takeda, Roche, Pfizer: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Basak:Teva: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria. Gyan:Pfizer: Honoraria. Hayden:Alnylam: Honoraria; Amgen: Honoraria. Beksac:Amgen: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy; Janssen&Janssen: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy. Schönland:Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Medac: Other: Travel Grant; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Prothena: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding.

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (allo-HCT) provides the only potential route to long-term remission in patients diagnosed with blast phase transformation of mye-loproliferative neoplasm (BP-MPN). We report on a large, retrospective European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation registry-based study of BP-MPN patients undergoing allo-HCT. BP-MPN patients undergoing first allo-HCT between 2005 and 2019 were included. A total of 663 patients were included. With a median follow-up of 62 months, the estimated 3-year overall survival (OS) was 36% (95% confidence interval [CI], 32-36). Factors associated with lower OS were Karnofsky Performance Score (KPS) < 90 (hazard ratio [HR] 1.65, p < .001) and active disease at allo-HCT (HR 1.45, p < .001), whereas patients undergoing allo-HCT more recently associated with a higher OS (HR 0.96, p = .008). In a selected patient's population, the 3-year OS of patients undergoing allo-HCT in complete response (CR) and with a KPS >= 90 was 60%. KPS < 90 (HR 1.4, p = .001) and active disease (HR 1.44, p = .0004) were associated with a lower progression-free survival (PFS). Conversely, most recent allo-HCT associated with a higher PFS (HR 0.96, p = .008). Active dis-ease at allo-HCT (HR 1.34, p = .03) was associated with a higher cumulative inci-dence of relapse (RI) and allo-HCT in earlier calendar years (HR 0.96, p = .02) associated with a lower RI. Last, KPS < 90 (HR 1.91, p < .001), active disease (HR 1.74, p = .003) and allo-HCT from mismatched related donors were associated with a higher non-relapse mortality (HR 2.66, p = .003). In this large series of BPMPN patients, about one third were alive at 3 years after transplantation. Patients undergoing allo-HCT in the more recent era, with a KPS >= 90 and in CR at transplant had a better prognosis.

Contains fulltext : 251601.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH; hemophagocytic syndrome) is a rare syndrome of potentially fatal, uncontrolled hyperinflammation. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is indicated in primary, recurrent or progressive HLH, but information about its outcomes in the adult population is limited. We obtained data about 87 adult (≥18 years of age) patients retrospectively reported to the EBMT. The median survival time was 13.9 months. The three and five-year overall survival (OS) was 44% (95% CI 33-54%). Among 39 patients with a follow-up longer than 15 months, only three died. Relapse rate was 21% (95% CI 13-30%), while NRM reached 36% (95% CI 25-46%). Younger patients (

Contains fulltext : 287666.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) There is no consensus on the optimal treatment duration of anti-PD-1 for advanced melanoma. The aim of our study was to gain insight into the outcomes of anti-PD-1 discontinuation, the association of treatment duration with progression and anti-PD-1 re-treatment in relapsing patients. Analyses were performed on advanced melanoma patients in the Netherlands who discontinued first-line anti-PD-1 monotherapy in the absence of progressive disease (n = 324). Survival was estimated after anti-PD-1 discontinuation and with a Cox model the association of treatment duration with progression was assessed. At the time of anti-PD-1 discontinuation, 90 (28%) patients had a complete response (CR), 190 (59%) a partial response (PR) and 44 (14%) stable disease (SD). Median treatment duration for patients with CR, PR and SD was 11.2, 11.5 and 7.2 months, respectively. The 24-month progression-free survival and overall survival probabilities for patients with a CR, PR and SD were, respectively, 64% and 88%, 53% and 82%, 31% and 64%. Survival outcomes of patients with a PR and CR were similar when anti-PD-1 discontinuation was not due to adverse events. Having a PR at anti-PD-1 discontinuation and longer time to first response were associated with progression [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.81 (95% confidence interval, CI = 1.11-2.97) and HR = 1.10 (95% CI = 1.02-1.19; per month increase)]. In 17 of the 27 anti-PD-1 re-treated patients (63%), a response was observed. Advanced melanoma patients can have durable remissions after (elective) anti-PD-1 discontinuation.

PURPOSE: The introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors and targeted therapies improved the overall survival of patients with advanced melanoma. It is not known how often these costly treatments with potential serious side effects are ineffectively applied in the last phase of life. This study aimed to investigate the start of a new systemic therapy within 45 and 90 days of death in Dutch patients with advanced melanoma. METHODS: We selected patients who were diagnosed with unresectable IIIC or stage IV melanoma, registered in the Dutch Melanoma Treatment Registry, and died between 2013 and 2019. Primary outcome was the probability of starting a new systemic therapy 45 and 90 days before death. Secondary outcomes were type of systemic therapy started, grade 3/4 adverse events (AEs), and the total costs of systemic therapies. RESULTS: Between 2013 and 2019, 3,797 patients with unresectable IIIC or stage IV melanoma were entered in the registry and died. The percentage of patients receiving a new systemic therapy within 45 and 90 days before death was significantly different between Dutch melanoma centers (varying from 6% to 23% and 20% to 46%, respectively). Thirteen percent of patients (n = 146) developed grade 3/4 AEs in the last period before death. The majority of patients with an AE required hospital admission (n = 102, 69.6%). Mean total costs of systemic therapy per cohort year of the patients who received a new systemic therapy within 90 days before death were 2.3%-2.8% of the total costs spent on melanoma therapies. CONCLUSION: The minority of Dutch patients with metastatic melanoma started a new systemic therapy in the last phase of life. However, the percentages varied between Dutch melanoma centers. Financial impact of these therapies in the last phase of life is relatively small.

Contains fulltext : 293484.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) From 2016 EBMT and JACIE developed an international risk-adapted benchmarking program of haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) outcome to provide individual EBMT Centers with a means of quality-assuring the HSCT process and meeting FACT-JACIE accreditation requirements relating to 1-year survival outcomes. Informed by previous experience from Europe, North America and Australasia, the Clinical Outcomes Group (COG) established criteria for patient and Center selection, and a set of key clinical variables within a dedicated statistical model adapted to the capabilities of the EBMT Registry. The first phase of the project was launched in 2019 to test the acceptability of the benchmarking model through assessment of Centers' performance for 1-year data completeness and survival outcomes of autologous and allogeneic HSCT covering 2013-2016. A second phase was delivered in July 2021 covering 2015-2019 and including survival outcomes. Reports of individual Center performance were shared directly with local principal investigators and their responses were assimilated. The experience thus far has supported the feasibility, acceptability and reliability of the system as well as identifying its limitations. We provide a summary of experience and learning so far in this 'work in progress', as well as highlighting future challenges of delivering a modern, robust, data-complete, risk-adapted benchmarking program across new EBMT Registry systems. 01 juni 2023

Allogeneic haematopoietic cell transplant (allo-HCT) provides the only potential route to long-term remission in patients diagnosed with blast phase transformation of myeloproliferative neoplasm (BP-MPN). We report on a large, retrospective EBMT registry-based study of BP-MPN patients undergoing allo-HCT. BP-MPN patients undergoing first allo-HCT between 2005-2019 were included. A total of 663 patients were included. With a median follow-up of 62 months, the estimated 3-year OS was 36% (95% CI, 32-36). Factors associated with lower OS were Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS)90 (HR 1.65, p0.001) and active disease at allo-HCT (HR 1.45, p0.001), whereas patients undergoing allo-HCT more recently associated with a higher OS (HR 0.96, p=0.008). In a selected patients population, the 3-year OS of patients undergoing allo-HCT in complete response (CR) and with a KPS ≥90 was 60%. KPS90 (HR 1.4, p=0.001) and active disease (HR 1.44, p=0.0004) were associated with a lower PFS. Conversely, most recent allo-HCT associated with a higher PFS (HR 0.96, p=0.008). Active disease at allo-HCT (HR 1.34, p=0.03) was associated with a higher cumulative incidence of relapse (RI) and allo-HCT in earlier calendar years (HR 0.96, p=0.02) associated with a lower RI. Lastly, KPS90 (HR 1.91, p0.001), active disease (HR 1.74, p=0.003) and allo-HCT from mismatched related donors were associated with a higher NRM (HR 2.66, p=0.003). In this large series of BP-MPN patients, about one third were alive at 3 years after transplantation. Patients undergoing allo-HCT in the more recent era, with a KPS≥90 and in CR at transplant had a better prognosis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Introduction: In older patients with breast cancer, the risk of dying from other causes than breast cancer strongly increases after the age of 70. The aim of this study was to assess contributions of breast cancer mortality versus other-cause mortality after locoregio-nal or distant recurrence in a population-based cohort of older patients analysed by multi-state models. Methods: Surgically treated patients >70 years diagnosed with stage I-III breast cancer in 2003-2009 were selected from the Netherlands Cancer Registry. A novel multi-state model with locoregional and distant recurrence that incorporates relative survival was fitted. Other-cause and breast cancer mortality were indicated as population and excess mortality. Results: Overall, 18,419 patients were included. Ten-year cumulative incidences of locoregio-nal and distant recurrence were 2.8% (95%CI 2.6-3.1%) and 12.5% (95%CI 11.9-13.1%). Other-cause mortality increased from 23.9% (95%CI 23.7-24.2%) in patients 70-74 years to 73.8% (95%CI 72.2-75.4%) in those >80 years. Ten-year probabilities of locoregional or distant recurrence with subsequent breast cancer death were 0.4-1.3% and 10.2-14.6%, respectively. For patients with a distant recurrence in the first two years after diagnosis, breast cancer death probabilities were 95.3% (95%CI 94.2-96.4%), 93.1% (95%CI 91.6-94.6%), and 88.6% (95%CI 86.5-90.8%) in patients 70-74, 75-79, and >80 years. Conclusion: In older patients without recurrence, prognosis is driven by other-cause mortality. Although locoregional recurrence is a predictor for worse outcome, given its low incidence it contributes little to breast cancer mortality after diagnosis. For patients who develop a distant recurrence, breast cancer remains the dominant cause of death, even at old age.(c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

To determine the survival benefit of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) in chronic myelomonocytic leukemias (CMML), we assembled a retrospective cohort of CMML patients 18-70 years old diagnosed between 2000 and 2014 from an international CMML dataset (n = 730) and the EBMT registry (n = 384). The prognostic impact of allo-HCT was analyzed through univariable and multivariable time-dependent models and with a multistate model, accounting for age, sex, CMML prognostic scoring system (low or intermediate-1 grouped as lower-risk, intermediate-2 or high as higher-risk) at diagnosis, and AML transformation. In univariable analysis, lower-risk CMMLs had a 5-year overall survival (OS) of 20% with allo-HCT vs 42% without allo-HCT (P < .001). In higher-risk patients, 5-year OS was 27% with allo-HCT vs 15% without allo-HCT (P = .13). With multistate models, performing allo-HCT before AML transformation reduced OS in patients with lower-risk CMML, and a survival benefit was predicted for men with higher-risk CMML. In a multivariable analysis of lower-risk patients, performing allo-HCT before transformation to AML significantly increased the risk of death within 2 years of transplantation (hazard ratio [HR], 3.19; P < .001), with no significant change in long-term survival beyond this time point (HR, 0.98; P = .92). In higher-risk patients, allo-HCT significantly increased the risk of death in the first 2 years after transplant (HR 1.46; P = .01) but not beyond (HR, 0.60; P = .09). Performing allo-HCT before AML transformation decreases life expectancy in lower-risk patients but may be considered in higher-risk patients.

The most important outcome of many studies of haematopoietic cell transplants is survival. The statistical field that deals with such outcomes is survival analysis. Methods developed in this field are also applicable to other outcomes where the occurrence and timing are important. Analysis of such time-to-event outcomes has special challenges because it takes time to observe time. The most important condition for unbiased estimation of a survival curve-non-informative censoring-is discussed along with methods to account for competing risks, a situation where multiple, mutually-exclusive endpoints are of interest. Techniques to compare survival outcomes between groups are reviewed, including the instance where it is unknown at baseline to which group a subject will belong later during follow-up (time-dependent covariates).SERIES EDITOR INTRODUCTION: The final article in our Statistics Series by de Wreede and colleagues deals with the important issue of survival analyses in general and in recipients of haematopoietic cell transplants specifically. At first glance analyzing survival should be simple. The endpoint is clear with rare exception, the subject is either alive or dead. (See definition of a bell ringer in England in the Middle Ages; Figure 1). Compare this to other less well defined transplant-related outcomes such as who has acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) and of what grade or what is the cause of interstitial pneumonia. There is also the complexity of composite endpoints when one analyzes outcomes such as event-free (EFS) or relapse-free survival (RFS). Here you're either alive or dead. Period. Alas, as it turns out things are not so simple. As the authours point out: it takes time to observe time. It is almost never possible to wait long enough for everyone in a study to die. (Some people who are cured by a transplant will outlive their physician and statistician.) Other subjects may not be followed until the end of the study, lost to follow-up or withdraw consent to participate. Often these are non-random events, muddy the water and make what seems a simple analysis of survival not so. Fortunately, de Wreede and colleagues discuss the issues of informative and non-informative censoring and time-dependent co-variates. And there are other nasty complexities such non-proportional hazards of death say when initially there is a survival disadvantage to transplants from transplant-related mortality followed in 1-2 years by a survival benefit. They emphasize the danger of considering only Hazard Ratio in this setting. Lastly, the authours discuss how to compare interventions such as conventional therapy versus a haematopoietic cell transplant when the endpoint of interest is survival. We think this article will be of considerable interest to readers of BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION and suggest you study it carefully. Survival analyses, seemingly simple, are a potential minefield. You don't want to step on one. This article and the entire Statistics Series are available online at https://www. nature.com/collections/ejhigdbeeh.

After allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT), patient-derived stem cells that survived the pre-transplant conditioning compete with engrafting donor stem cells for bone marrow (BM) repopulation. In addition, donor-derived alloreactive T-cells present in the stem cell product may favor establishment of complete donor-derived hematopoiesis by eliminating patient-derived lymphohematopoietic cells. T-cell depleted alloSCT with sequential transfer of potentially alloreactive T-cells by donor lymphocyte infusions (DLIs) provides a unique opportunity to selectively study how competitive repopulation and allo-immunological pressure influence the lymphohematopoietic recovery.To determine the relative contribution of competitive repopulation and donor-derived anti-recipient allo-immunological pressure on the establishment of lymphohematopoietic chimerism after alloSCT.In a retrospective cohort study of 281 acute leukemia patients treated according to a protocol combining alemtuzumab-based T-cell depleted alloSCT with prophylactic DLI, we investigated engraftment and quantitative donor chimerism in the BM and immune cell subsets. DLI-induced increase of chimerism and development of Graft-versus-Host-Disease (GvHD) were analyzed as complementary indicators for donor-derived anti-recipient allo-immunological pressure.Profound suppression of patient immune cells by conditioning sufficed for sustained engraftment without necessity for myeloablative conditioning or development of clinically significant GvHD. While 61% of the patients without any DLI or GvHD showed full donor chimerism (FDC) in the BM at 6 months after alloSCT, only 24% showed FDC in the CD4+ T-cell compartment. In contrast, 75% of the patients who had received a DLI and 83% of the patients with clinically significant GvHD had FDC in this compartment. 72% of the patients with mixed hematopoiesis receiving DLI converted to complete donor-derived hematopoiesis, of whom only 34% developed clinically significant GvHD.We show that competitive repopulation can be sufficient to reach complete donor-derived hematopoiesis, but that some allo-immunological pressure is needed for the establishment of a completely donor-derived T-cell compartment, either by the development of GvHD or by administration of DLI. We illustrate that it is possible to separate GvL from GvHD, as conversion to durable complete donor-derived hematopoiesis following DLI did not require induction of clinically significant GvHD.

Item does not contain fulltext We assessed the incidence and outcome of early candidemia after hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). The analysis included all first HSCTs performed from 2000 to 2015 in adult and pediatric patients with a non-leukemic disease and recorded in the EBMT registry. Overall survival (OS), non-relapse mortality (NRM), and relapse mortality (RM) were evaluated. Candidemia was diagnosed in 420 of 49,852 patients at a median time of 17 days post HSCT (range 0-100), the cumulative incidence being 0.85%. In 65.5% of episodes, candidemia occurred by day 30 after HSCT. The mortality rate by day 7 was 6.2%, whereas 100-day NRM was higher (HR 3.47, p

Multi-state models provide an extension of the usual survival/event-history analysis setting. In the medical domain, multi-state models give the possibility of further investigating intermediate events such as relapse and remission. In this work, a further extension is proposed using relative survival, where mortality due to population causes (i.e. non-disease-related mortality) is evaluated. The objective is to split all mortality in disease and non-disease-related mortality, with and without intermediate events, in datasets where cause of death is not recorded or is uncertain. To this end, population mortality tables are integrated into the estimation process, while using the basic relative survival idea that the overall mortality hazard can be written as a sum of a population and an excess part. Hence, we propose an upgraded non-parametric approach to estimation, where population mortality is taken into account. Precise definitions and suitable estimators are given for both the transition hazards and probabilities. Variance estimating techniques and confidence intervals are introduced and the behaviour of the new method is investigated through simulations. The newly developed methodology is illustrated by the analysis of a cohort of patients followed after an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The work has been implemented in the R package mstate.

Benchmarking is commonly used in many healthcare settings to monitor clinical performance, with the aim of increasing cost-effectiveness and safe care of patients. The funnel plot is a popular tool in visualizing the performance of a healthcare center in relation to other centers and to a target, taking into account statistical uncertainty. In this paper we develop methodology for constructing funnel plots for survival data. The method takes into account censoring and can deal with differences in censoring distributions across centers. Practical issues in implementing the methodology are discussed, particularly in the setting of benchmarking clinical outcomes for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. A simulation study is performed to assess the performance of the funnel plots under several scenarios. Our methodology is illustrated using data from the EBMT benchmarking project., 24 pages, 4 figures, 1 table

Background: Mucosal melanoma (MM) is rare and has a poor prognosis. Since 2011, new effective treatments are available for advanced melanoma. It is unclear whether patients with mucosal melanoma equally benefit from these new treatments compared with patients with cutaneous melanoma (CM).Methods: Patients with advanced MM and CM diagnosed between 2013 and 2017 were included from a nationwide population-based registry the Dutch Melanoma Treatment Registry. Overall survival (OS) was estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method (also for a propensity score-matched cohort). A Cox model was used to analyse the association of possible prognostic factors with OS.Results: In total, 120 patients with MM and 2960 patients with CM were included. Median OS was 8.7 months and 14.5 months, respectively. Patients with MM were older (median age 70 versus 65 years) and more often female (60% versus 41%), compared with CM. In total, 77% and 2% of the MM patients were treated with first-line immunotherapy and targeted therapy, respectively, compared with 49% and 33% of the CM patients. In contrast to CM, OS for MM did not improve for patients diagnosed in 2015-2017, compared with 2013-2014. ECOG performance score >= 1 (HR = 1.99 [1.26-3.15; p = 0.003]) and elevated LDH level (HR = 1.63 [0.96-2.76]; p = 0.069) in MM were associated with worse survival.Conclusions: Within the era of immune and targeted therapies, prognosis for patients with advanced MM has not improved as much as for CM. Collaboration is necessary to enlarge sample size for research to improve immunotherapeutic strategies and identify targetable mutations. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

We investigate calibration and assessment of predictive rules when missing values are present in the predictors. Our paper has two key objectives. The first is to investigate how the calibration of the prediction rule can be combined with use of multiple imputation to account for missing predictor observations. The second objective is to propose such methods that can be implemented with current multiple imputation software, while allowing for unbiased predictive assessment through validation on new observations for which outcome is not yet available. We commence with a review of the methodological foundations of multiple imputation as a model estimation approach as opposed to a purely algorithmic description. We specifically contrast application of multiple imputation for parameter (effect) estimation with predictive calibration. Based on this review, two approaches are formulated, of which the second utilizes application of the classical Rubin's rules for parameter estimation, while the first approach averages probabilities from models fitted on single imputations to directly approximate the predictive density for future observations. We present implementations using current software that allow for validation and estimation of performance measures by cross‐validation, as well as imputation of missing data in predictors on the future data where outcome is missing by definition. To simplify, we restrict discussion to binary outcome and logistic regression throughout. Method performance is verified through application on two real data sets. Accuracy (Brier score) and variance of predicted probabilities are investigated. Results show substantial reductions in variation of calibrated probabilities when using the first approach.

The Idelalisib treatment prior to allogeneic stem cell transplantation for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: a report from the EBMT chronic malignancies working party, written by Johannes Schetelig, Patrice Chevallier, Michel van Gelder, Jennifer Hoek, Olivier Hermine, Ronjon Chakraverty, Paul Browne, Noel Milpied, Michele Malagola, Gerard Socié, Julio Delgado, Eric Deconinck, Ghandi Damaj, Sebastian Maury, Dietrich Beelen, Stéphanie Nguyen Quoc, Paneesha Shankara, Arne Brecht, Jiri Mayer, Mathilde Hunault-Berger, Jörg Bittenbring, Catherine Thieblemont, Stéphane Lepretre, Henning Baldauf, Liesbeth C. de Wreede, Olivier Tournilhac, Ibrahim Yakoub-Agha, Nicolaus Kröger, Peter Dreger was originally published Online First without Open Access. After publication in volume 56, issue 3, page 605–613 the author decided to opt for Open Choice and to make the article an Open Access publication. Therefore, the copyright of the article has been changed to © The Author(s) 2020 and the article is forthwith distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0. Open access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. Korrektur zu 10.1038/s41409-020-01069-w

Autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (auto-HCT) may be performed in multiple myeloma (MM) patients relapsing after a previous auto-HCT. For those without an adequate dose of stored stem cells, remobilization is necessary. This retrospective study included patients who, following disease relapse after the first auto-HCT(s), underwent stem cell remobilization and auto-HCT performed using these cells. There were 305 patients, 68% male, median age at salvage auto-HCT was 59 years. The median time to relapse after the first-line penultimate auto-HCT(s) was 30.6 months, the median follow-up after salvage auto-HCT 31 months. The 2- and 4-year non-relapse mortality (NRM) after the salvage auto-HCT was 5 and 9%, the relapse incidence 56 and 76%, respectively. Overall survival (OS) after 2 and 4 years was 76 and 52%, progression-free survival (PFS) 39 and 15%. In multivariable analysis an increasing interval between the penultimate auto-HCT and relapse was associated with better OS and PFS, later calendar year of salvage auto-HCT with better OS. In conclusion, salvage auto-HCT performed with cells remobilized after a previous auto-HCT was associated with acceptable NRM. The leading cause of failure was disease progression of MM, which correlated with a shorter interval from the penultimate auto-HCT to the first relapse.

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Simple Summary: The survival of advanced melanoma patients has improved significantly over the last decade due to the introduction of new systemic therapies. It is unknown whether survival outcomes of advanced melanoma patients differ between melanoma centers in the Netherlands. This research aimed to assess center variation in treatments and 2-year survival probabilities of advanced melanoma patients diagnosed between 2013 and 2017 in the Netherlands. Significant center variation in 2-year survival probabilities of patients diagnosed in 2014-2015 was observed after correcting for case-mix and treatment with new systemic therapies. The different use of new systemic therapies partially explained the observed variation. From 2016 onwards, no significant difference in 2-year survival was observed between centers. This study shows the added value of quality monitoring with a national registry that enables the study of variation between centers.Background: To assure a high quality of care for patients treated in Dutch melanoma centers, hospital variation in treatment patterns and outcomes is evaluated in the Dutch Melanoma Treatment Registry. The aim of this study was to assess center variation in treatments and 2-year survival probabilities of patients diagnosed between 2013 and 2017 in the Netherlands. Methods: We selected patients diagnosed between 2013 and 2017 with unresectable IIIC or stage IV melanoma, registered in the Dutch Melanoma Treatment Registry. Centers' performance on 2-year survival was evaluated using Empirical Bayes estimates calculated in a random effects model. Treatment patterns of the centers with the lowest and highest estimates for 2-year survival were compared. Results: For patients diagnosed between 2014 and 2015, significant center variation in 2-year survival probabilities was observed even after correcting for case-mix and treatment with new systemic therapies. The different use of new systemic therapies partially explained the observed variation. From 2016 onwards, no significant difference in 2-year survival was observed between centers. Conclusion: Our data suggest that between 2014 and 2015, after correcting for patient case-mix, significant variation in 2-year survival probabilities between Dutch melanoma centers existed. The use of new systemic therapies could partially explain this variation. In 2013 and between 2016 and 2017, no significant variation between centers existed.

Donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) is a treatment option to prevent or treat relapse after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). We here report data for 173 patients who received one or multiple DLIs after haploidentical-HCT with post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCY) at 47 EBMT centers from 2009 to 2018. Indication for DLI was: prophylactic for 59 (34.3%), preemptive for 20(11.6%), and therapeutic for 93(54.1%). For the prophylactic group, the median number of DLIs was 1 (IQR:1-2.5) with a median first dose of 0.1 × 10

The causes and rates of late patient-mortality following alloHCT for myelodysplastic syndromes or secondary acute myeloid leukemia were studied, to assess the contribution of relapse-related, treatment-related, and population factors. Data from EBMT on 6434 adults, who received a first alloHCT from January 2000 to December 2012, were retrospectively studied using combined land-marking, relative-survival methods and multi-state modeling techniques. Median age at alloHCT increased from 49 to 58 years, and the number of patients aged ≥65 years at alloHCT increased from 5 to 17%. Overall survival probability was 53% at 2 years and 35% at 10 years post-alloHCT. Survival probability at 5 years from the 2-year landmark was 88% for patients

Objective:The aim of this study was to evaluate treatment patterns and overall survival (OS) of patients with BRAFV600wild-type and BRAFV600-mutant advanced melanoma in the Netherlands.Methods:We selected patients of 18 years and over, diagnosed between 2016 and 2017 with unresectable stage IIIC or IV melanoma, registered in the Dutch Melanoma Treatment Registry. To assess the association of BRAFV600-mutation status with OS we used the Cox proportional-hazards model.Results:A total of 642 BRAFV600wild-type and 853 mutant patients were included in the analysis. Median OS did not differ significantly between both groups, 15.2 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 13.2-19.2) versus 20.6 months (95% CI: 18.3-25.0). Survival rates at 6 and 12 months were significantly lower for BRAFV600wild-type patients compared with BRAFV600-mutant patients, 72.0% (95% CI: 68.6-75.6) and 56.0% (95% CI: 52.2-60.0) versus 83.4% (95% CI: 80.9-85.9) and 65.7% (95% CI: 62.6-69.0). Two-year survival was not significantly different between both groups, 41.1% (95% CI: 37.2-45.3) versus 47.0% (95% CI: 43.6-60.6). Between 0 and 10 months, BRAFV600wild-type patients had a decreased survival with a hazard ratio for OS of 2.00 (95% CI: 1.62-2.46) but this effect disappeared after 10 months. At 12 months, BRAFV600-mutant patients had started with second-line systemic treatment more often compared with BRAFV600wild-type patients (50% vs. 19%).Conclusion:These results suggest that advanced BRAFV600wild-type melanoma patients have worse survival than BRAFV600-mutated patients during the first 10 months after diagnosis because of less available treatment options.