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Buparlisib is an orally available pan-Class I PI3K inhibitor, that is more potent than idelalisib in vitro. Its distinct toxicities include hyperglycemia, hypertension, and mood disturbance. IND216...

Background Optimal high dose conditioning and relative roles of autologous stem cell transplantation (autoSCT) or allogeneic (alloSCT) for indolent lymphoma are uncertain. Methods A prospective phase II study evaluated autoSCT and alloSCT depending on availability of sibling donor after uniform rituximab, ifosfamide, carboplatin, etoposide (RICE) re-induction and novel myeloablative fludarabine, busulfan (FluBu) conditioning for patients with mantle cell lymphoma in first remission or first relapse, or indolent lymphoma in first or second relapse. Results The 68 patients (autoSCT, 36; syngeneic [syn], 1; alloSCT, 31) who were accrued had a 10-month median progression-free survival (PFS) after their last chemotherapy treatment. After RICE, the overall response rate was 69%, and 24 of 39 patients (62%) cleared marrow of lymphoma. Treatment-related mortality at 100 days and 1 year after FluBu were both 0% post-auto/synSCT, but were 6% and 26% post-alloSCT, respectively. At a median follow-up of 60 months, the respective 5-year overall survival and PFS rates were 71% and 46% for auto/synSCT, and were 58% and 47% for alloSCT. Quality of life assessment 1-year post-SCT favoured auto/synSCT. Conclusions The protocol was feasible, FluBu was well-tolerated, and both auto/synSCT and alloSCT conferred similar 5-year PFS following the RICE-FluBu protocol.

Background: Plasma levels of imatinib have been shown to be predictive of disease response in chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). However, the ultimate site of action of imatinib is intracellular. While intracellular imatinib has been reported to be correlated with plasma imatinib, the use of intracellular imatinib for the prediction of clinical outcomes is unclear. The concentration of intracellular imatinib depends on many factors including the level of alpha-1-acid glycoprotein, which binds to imatinib and prevents intracellular uptake, and the OCT-1 transporter, which mediates the influx of imatinib across the plasma membrane of leukemic cells. We conducted the present study of newly diagnosed CML patients with the primary objective of determining if intracellular levels of imatinib two weeks after treatment initiation predicted major molecular response. The secondary objectives were to elucidate the relationships between the levels of OCT-1 and plasma imatinib with intracellular imatinib. Methods: We prospectively studied newly diagnosed chronic phase CML patients in Canada who were treated with standard dose imatinib (400 mg). We measured both intracellular and extracellular (plasma) levels of imatinib by tandem mass spectrometry at two weeks, four weeks, and twelve months after enrollment. Additionally, we measured transcript levels of OCT-1 and BCR-Abl by q-rt-PCR before treatment, at six months, and at twelve months to determine therapeutic response. Results: Eighty-one patients were screened. A total of 76 patients entered the study, and 55 completed the study per protocol. Patient information is shown in Table 1. There was a significant correlation between intracellular imatinib levels at two weeks and a 2-log reduction of BCR-Abl transcript at six months (r=0.390; 95% CI = 0.136 - 0.595; p = 0.004) (Figure 1), but not at twelve months (r=0.183; 95% CI = -0.094 - 0.434; p = 0.194). Notably, intracellular imatinib levels and plasma levels of imatinib were highly correlated at two weeks (r=0.698; 95% CI = 0.559-0.799; p Conclusions: Intracellular imatinib levels at two weeks was moderately predictive of a disease response at six months as indicated by a 2-log reduction in BCR-Abl transcript. OCT-1 transcript levels did not have utility for predicting intracellular imatinib levels. Measurement of intracellular Imatinib levels may prove to have utility in identifying patients who would benefit from adjustments to therapy. Disclosures Hillis: Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria. Busque:Novartis: Consultancy; Pfizer: Consultancy; Paladin: Consultancy; BMS: Consultancy. Lipton:Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Research Funding; ARIAD: Consultancy, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy, Research Funding. Savoie:Pfizer: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria; BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria. Leber:Novartis Canada: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis Canada: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

In December 2005, 11 Canadian hematologists met to develop an evidence-based clinical practice guideline that would address the diagnosis, monitoring, management, and rationale for the treatment of transfusional iron overload in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). This Expert Panel consisted of hematologists from across Canada, each with an active practice in a major population centre or a rural area. Based on an extensive literature search and years of clinical experience, their mandate was to address common clinical practice questions, particularly why treat, whom to treat, when to initiate treatment, and how to treat iron overload in patients with MDS.

This study compares the clinical outcomes of 60 consecutive patients who received an allogeneic blood or marrow stem cell transplant (BMT) from one Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) mismatched related donors with those of 120 matched patients who had HLA identical sibling donors. The control patients were matched for diagnosis, disease status, conditioning regimen, and age at BMT. All patients received standard CYA and MTX for GVHD prophylaxis. The probability of overall survival (OS) at 5 years was 35% in the study group compared to 56% in the control group. The relapse rates and acute GVHD rates did not differ between the two groups. Graft failure was a significant problem in the study group compared to the control group (13 vs. 0%, p < 0.0001). All cases of graft failure occurred in patients with a mismatch in the host-versus-graft direction. BMT-related deaths were also increased in the study group. Forty percent of deaths were caused by infection in the study group vs. 19% in the control group (p < 0.01). In conclusion, the OS of patients receiving marrow/stem cells from one antigen mismatched related donors was inferior to that of controls with HLA-identical related donors. There was an increase in mortality related to infections occurring in the setting of an increased frequency of graft failure in these patients.

Optimal high dose conditioning and relative roles of autologous stem cell transplantation (autoSCT) or allogeneic (alloSCT) for indolent lymphoma are uncertain.A prospective phase II study evaluated autoSCT and alloSCT depending on availability of sibling donor after uniform rituximab, ifosfamide, carboplatin, etoposide (RICE) re-induction and novel myeloablative fludarabine, busulfan (FluBu) conditioning for patients with mantle cell lymphoma in first remission or first relapse, or indolent lymphoma in first or second relapse.The 68 patients (autoSCT, 36; syngeneic [syn], 1; alloSCT, 31) who were accrued had a 10-month median progression-free survival (PFS) after their last chemotherapy treatment. After RICE, the overall response rate was 69%, and 24 of 39 patients (62%) cleared marrow of lymphoma. Treatment-related mortality at 100 days and 1 year after FluBu were both 0% post-auto/synSCT, but were 6% and 26% post-alloSCT, respectively. At a median follow-up of 60 months, the respective 5-year overall survival and PFS rates were 71% and 46% for auto/synSCT, and were 58% and 47% for alloSCT. Quality of life assessment 1-year post-SCT favoured auto/synSCT.The protocol was feasible, FluBu was well-tolerated, and both auto/synSCT and alloSCT conferred similar 5-year PFS following the RICE-FluBu protocol.

Introduction: High-dose melphalan and autologous stem cell transplantation is the accepted therapy for most patients with multiple myeloma (MM) following steroid-based induction therapy. In a significant proportion of patients, however, the disease is refractory to standard induction. The use of dose-intense combination chemotherapy, such as D-PACE (dexamethasone, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, and cisplatin), may affect the ability to harvest an adequate number of hematopoeitic stem cells prior to transplantation. In addition, in those patients not achieving adequate cytoreduction despite combination chemotherapy, there is a theoretical risk of stem cell product contamination by malignant plasma cells. Bortezomib is a therapeutic agent with a novel mechanism of action, which in preliminary studies appears to be synergistic to alkylating agents and does not appear to affect stem cell yield. We piloted the addition of bortezomib to high-dose cyclophosphamide during stem cell harvesting in a series of patients failing to achieve an adequate response to D-PACE salvage. Patients and Methods: Between 2002 and 2006, fifteen MM patients refractory to standard dexamethasone-based induction therapy received ≥ 2 cycles of D-PACE prior to proceeding to autologous stem cell harvest and transplantation. 7/15 patients achieved adequate cytoreduction and proceeded to high-dose cyclophosphamide (3 g/m2) and filgrastim plus ancestim stimulation for stem cell mobilization. However, 8 patients in this cohort did not achieve adequate disease cytoreduction following D-PACE. Therefore, bortezomib was added to the mobilization regimen on days 1, 4, 8, and 11, in addition to high-dose cyclophosphamide given on day 11. Identical growth factor stimulation was provided. Response assessment included days to stem cell harvest, number of CD34 cells harvested, plasma cells in the product, disease response, and hematologic parameters. Results: Pre-treatment toxicities from D-PACE were similar in both groups. The addition of bortezomib to cyclophosphamide during stem cell mobilization did not lead to increased symptomatic toxicity. Grade 3/4 thrombocytopenia occurred in 5/8 patients receiving combination bortezomib/cyclophosphamide. No episodes of significant bleeding, peripheral neuropathy, or skin rash were noted. The average CD34-positive stem cell harvest in both groups was >5.0 × 106/kg. Time to stem cell harvesting was not significantly different between the groups. Flow cytometric examination of the harvested product from the bortezomib/cyclophosphamide group consistently demonstrated Conclusion: The addition of bortezomib to high-dose cyclophosphamide during stem cell mobilization does not increase toxicity or decrease stem cell harvest yield or quality, and appears to achieve adequate disease reduction in patients otherwise refractory to combination chemotherapy. This may result in improved relapse-free survival in patients with refractory MM.

We analyzed the outcomes of 24 consecutive patients aged ≥60 years with poor-prognosis myelodysplastic syndrome or acute myeloid leukemia undergoing transplantation with nonmyeloablative conditioning using fludarabine (125 mg/m2) and low-dose total body irradiation (2 Gy) followed by allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell grafts from HLA-identical sibling donors. Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis consisted of cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil. The median age of the patients was 64 years (range, 60-71 years). In addition to age, 88% of patients had 1 or more adverse biological features of the disease. With a median follow-up of 21 months, 12 patients are alive, 11 of whom are disease free. The probabilities of 2-year overall and progression-free survival were 52% and 44%, respectively. The cumulative probabilities of relapse and of acute and chronic GVHD were 27%, 45%, and 74%, respectively. Nonrelapse mortality at 100 days and 2 years was 8% and 25%, respectively. Of the 15 patients with extensive chronic GVHD, 1 patient relapsed. These data suggest that nonmyeloablative stem cell transplantation is a feasible treatment option in patients aged ≥60 years with poor-prognosis myelodysplastic syndrome or acute myeloid leukemia. The reasonable disease control with nonmyeloablative transplantation in this high-risk group of patients merits further investigation.