RANKL+ senescent cells under mechanical stress: a therapeutic target for orthodontic root resorption using senolytics / 国际口腔科学杂志·英文版

In dentistry, orthodontic root resorption is a long-lasting issue with no effective treatment strategy, and its mechanisms, especially those related to senescent cells, remain largely unknown. Here, we used an orthodontic intrusion tooth movement model with an L-loop in rats to demonstrate that mechanical stress-induced senescent cells aggravate apical root resorption, which was prevented by administering senolytics (a dasatinib and quercetin cocktail). Our results indicated that cementoblasts and periodontal ligament cells underwent cellular senescence (p21+ or p16+) and strongly expressed receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B (RANKL) from day three, subsequently inducing tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)-positive odontoclasts and provoking apical root resorption. More p21+ senescent cells expressed RANKL than p16+ senescent cells. We observed only minor changes in the number of RANKL+ non-senescent cells, whereas RANKL+ senescent cells markedly increased from day seven. Intriguingly, we also found cathepsin K+p21+p16+ cells in the root resorption fossa, suggesting senescent odontoclasts. Oral administration of dasatinib and quercetin markedly reduced these senescent cells and TRAP+ cells, eventually alleviating root resorption. Altogether, these results unveil those aberrant stimuli in orthodontic intrusive tooth movement induced RANKL+ early senescent cells, which have a pivotal role in odontoclastogenesis and subsequent root resorption. These findings offer a new therapeutic target to prevent root resorption during orthodontic tooth movement.

Research Advance of BCR-ABL Mutation and the Efficacy of Second and Third Generation TKI in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia--Review / 中国实验血液学杂志

The treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) was revolutionized with the advent of the first-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), but drug resistance developed during treatment, leading to the development of the second-generation (dasatinib, nilotinib, and bosutinib) and third-generation (ponatinib) TKI. Compared with previous treatment regimens, specific TKI can significantly improve the response rate, overall survival rate and prognosis of CML. Only a few patients with BCR-ABL mutation are insensitive to the second-generation TKIs, so it is suggested to select the second-generation TKIs for patients with specific mutations. For patients with other mutations and without mutations, the second-generation TKI should be selected according to the patient's medical history, while the third-generation TKIs should be selected for mutations that are insensitive to the second-generation TKIs, such as T315I mutation that is sensitive to ponatinib. Due to different BCR-ABL mutations in patients with different sensitivity to the second and third-generation TKIs, this paper will review the latest research progress of the efficacy of the second and third-generation TKIs in CML patients with BCR-ABL mutations.

Development and validation of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method to quantify dasatinib in plasma and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

Abstract Dasatinib, a potent oral multi-targeted kinase inhibitor against Src and Bcr-Abl, can decrease inflammatory response in sepsis. A simple and cost-effective method for determination of an effective dose dasatinib was established. This method was validated in human plasma, with the aim of reducing the number of animals used, thus, avoiding ethical problems. Dasatinib and internal standard lopinavir were extracted from 180 uL of plasma using liquid-liquid extraction with methyl tert-butil ether, followed by liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometry in multiple reaction monitoring mode. For the pharmacokinetic study, 1 mg/kg of dasatinib was administered to mice with and without sepsis. The method was linear over the concentration range of 1-98 ng/mL for DAS in mice and human plasma, with r2>0.99 and presented intra- and interday precision within the range of 2.3 - 6.2 and 4.3 - 7.0%, respectively. Further intra- and interday accuracy was within the range of 88.2 - 105.8 and 90.6 - 101.7%, respectively. The mice with sepsis showed AUC0-t = 2076.06 h*ng/mL and Cmax =102.73 ng/mL and mice without sepsis presented AUC0-t = 2128.46 h*ng/mL. Cmax = 164.5 ng/mL. The described analytical method was successfully employed in pharmacokinetic study of DAS in mice.

Factors influencing severe cytopenia in chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia patients receiving initial second generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors and its impact on treatment responses and outcomes / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To explore the influencing covariates of severe neutrophils and/or thrombocytopenia and their effect on treatment response and outcome in patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CP-CML) receiving initial second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (2G-TKI) . Methods: Data from consecutive patients aged ≥18 years with newly diagnosed CP-CML who received initial 2G-TKI at Peking University People's Hospital from September 2008 to November 2021 were interrogated. Binary logistic regression models and Fine-Gray and Cox regression models were applied. Results: Data from 267 patients who received initial 2G-TKI, including nilotinib (n=239, 89.5% ) and dasatinib (n=28, 10.5% ) , were interrogated. The median age was 36 (range, 18-73) years, and 156 (58.4% ) patients were male. At a median treatment period of 1.0 (0.1-3.0) month, 43 (16.1% ) patients developed grade ≥3 neutrophils and/or thrombocytopenia and recovered within 1.0 (0.1-24.6) month. Male (OR=2.9, 95% CI 1.2-6.8; P=0.018) , age of ≥36 years (OR=3.2, 95% CI 1.4-7.2, P=0.005) , a spleen below a costal margin of ≥7 cm (OR=2.8, 95% CI 1.2-6.6, P=0.020) , and a hemoglobin (HGB) level of <100 g/L (OR=2.9, 95% CI 1.3-6.8, P=0.012) at diagnosis were significantly associated with grade ≥ 3 neutrophils and/or thrombocytopenia. Based on their regression coefficients, male, age of ≥36 years, a spleen below a costal margin of ≥7 cm, and an HGB level of <100 g/L were given 1 point to form a predictive system. All patients were divided into three risk subgroups, and the incidence of severe cytopenia significantly differed among the three groups (P < 0.001) . Grade ≥3 neutrophils and/or thrombocytopenia for >2 weeks was significantly associated with lower cumulative incidences of complete cytogenetic response (CCyR, HR=0.5, 95% CI 0.3-0.7, P<0.001) and major molecular response (MMR, HR=0.4, 95% CI 0.3-0.8, P=0.004) and was not significantly associated with failure, progression, and survival. Conclusion: Male, advanced age, a large spleen, and a low HGB level were significantly associated with severe cytopenia. The four covariates were used to establish a prediction model, in which the incidence of severe cytopenia among different risk groups was significantly different. Severe cytopenia for >2 weeks was a negative factor for responses but not for outcomes.

Efficacy and Safety of Flumatinib in Treatment of Patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To analyze the efficacy and safety of flumatinib in the treatment of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).@*METHODS@#The clinical data of 56 CML patients treated with flumatinib from January 2020 to December 2021 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided into three groups: 35 new diagnosed CML patients treated with flumatinib (group A), 10 patients with imatinib/dasatinib intolerance (group B) and 11 patients with imatinib/dasatinib resistance (group C) switched to flumatinib treatment, respectively. The molecular response and adverse effects of flumatinib treatment were evaluated.@*RESULTS@#In group A, the early molecular response (EMR) at 3 months was 40.0%, and the major molecular response (MMR) at 6 and 12 months was 43.7% and 46.2%, respectively. In group B, the EMR was 50.0% at 3 months, and the MMR was 70.0% and 66.2% at 6 and 12 months, respectively. Among evaluable patients, 6 cases in group B achieved molecular response of 4.5 (MR4.5) at 12 months after switching to flumatinib treatment. In group C, 3 cases who switched from imatinib resistance to flumatinib achieved MR4.5 at 12 months, but 2 cases who switched from dasatinib resistance to flumatinib failed. Subgroup analysis showed significant differences in EUTOS long-term survival (ELTS) scores for patients in the medium-risk/high-risk group compared with those in the low-risk group for 3-month EMR (18.8% vs 57.9%), 6-month MMR (15.4% vs 63.2%) and 12-month MR4.5 (15.4% vs 69.2%) (P =0.036, P =0.012,P =0.015). The most common adverse effect in group A was thrombocytopenia, accounting for 54.5%, and 22.8% (8/35) patients discontinued the drug due to haematological adverse effects. Compared with patients who did not discontinue the drug or whose recovery time from discontinuation due to haematological toxicity was <1 month, patients whose recovery time from discontinuation was ≥1 month had a significantly worse 3-month EMR, 6-month MMR and 12-month MR4.5 (P =0.028, P =0.021, P =0.002).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Flumatinib has better molecular response and tolerance in patients with primary, imatinib/dasatinib-intolerant or resistant CML. Medium-risk/high-risk in ELTS score and time to recovery from discontinuation due to haematological toxicity ≥1 month are important factors influencing achievement of better molecular response in flumatinib treatment.

Effects of Dasatinib on the Maturation of Monocyte-Derived Dendritic Cells Derived from Healthy Donors and Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Patients / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the effects of dasatinib on the maturation of monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDCs) derived from healthy donors (HDs) and chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) patients.@*METHODS@#Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from HDs (n=10) and CML patients (n=10) who had got the remission of MR4.5 with imatinib treatment. The generation of moDCs from PBMCs was completed after 7 days of incubation in DC I culture medium, and another 3 days of incubation in DC II culture medium with or without 25 nmol/L dasatinib. On the 10th day, cells were harvested and expression of molecules of maturation related marker were assessed by flow cytometry. The CD80+CD86+ cell population in total cells was gated as DCs in the fluorescence-activated cell storting (FACS) analyzing system, then the expression of CD83, CD40 or HLA-DR in this population was analyzed respectively.@*RESULTS@#The proportion of CD80+CD86+ cells in total cells didn't show a statistical difference between HD group and patient group (89.46%±9.70% vs 87.39%±9.34%, P=0.690). Dasatinib significantly enhanced the expression of the surface marker CD40 (P=0.008) and HLA-DR (P=0.028) on moDCs derived from HDs compared with the control group, while the expression of CD83 on moDCs didn't show a significant difference between dasatinib group and the control group (P=0.428). Meanwhile, dasatinib significantly enhanced the expression of the surface marker CD40 (P=0.023), CD83 (P=0.038) and HLA-DR (P=0.001) on moDCs derived from patients compared with the control group.@*CONCLUSION@#For CML patients, the same high proportion of moDCs as HDs can be induced in vitro, which provides a basis for the application of DC-based immunotherapy strategy. Dasatinib at the concentration of 25 nmol/L can efficiently promote the maturation of moDCs derived from HDs and CML patients in vitro. Dasatinib shows potential as a DC adjuvant to be applied in DC-based immunotherapy strategies, such as DC vaccine and DC cell-therapy.

Analysis of the Curative Effect and Influencing Factors of Nilotinib Second-line and Dasatinib Third-line on Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Failed First-line and Second-line Treatment / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To evaluate the efficacy of the second-line nilotinib and third-line dasatinib on chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) with failed first- and second-line treatments, and analyze the influencing factors of the efficacy.@*METHODS@#Selected 83 patients in The Third People's Hospital of Kunshan City, Jiangsu Province with CML who were treated with nilotinib as the second-line treatment after the failure of the first-line treatment with imatinib as the second-line treatment group (referred to as the second-line group) from January 2014 to December 2018, and 61 CML patients who were treated by dasatinib as the third-line treatment group (referred to as the third-line group) after the failure of the second-line treatment with nilotinib; the first-line treatment with imatinib failed, but due to various reasons, the patients were fully after being informed of the possible serious consequences of not changing the drug treatment, 37 CML patients who were still required to continue imatinib treatment served as the control group. The hematological, genetic and molecular responses of each group were compared for 3, 6, and 24 months of treatment. LogistiC regression was used to analyze the factors affecting the second and third line curative effects.@*RESULTS@#The three groups had statistically significant differences in the rates of achieving CHR, MCyR, and MMR at 3, 6, and 12 months of treatment (P<0.05). Compared the two groups, the CHR rates of the second-line group at 3, 6, and 12 months of treatment were 100.00%, 97.59%, and 95.18%, respectively; higher than the third-line group's 90.16%, 86.89%, 83.61% and the control group's 83.78%, 75.68% and 72.97%; the CHR rate of the third-line group was higher than that of the control group at 6 and 12 months of treatment. The rates of reaching MCyR at 3, 6, and 12 months after treatment in the second-line group were 87.95%, 93.98% and 93.98%, respectively, while those in the third-line group were 80.33%, 88.52% and 86.89%, which were higher than those of the control group of 67.57%, 64.86% and 48.65%. The rates of achieving MMR at 3, 6, and 12 months of treatment in the second-line group were 19.28%, 33.72% and 60.24%, respectively, and those in the third-line group were 11.48%, 26.23% and 49.18%, which were higher than those of the control group of 0.00%, 2.70% and 0.00%; The rate of reaching MMR within 12 months of treatment in the second-line group was higher than that of the third-line group, and the differences was statistically significant (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the rate of reaching MCyR between the second-line group and the third-line group at 3, 6, and 12 months, and the rate of reaching MMR at 3 and 6 months (P>0.05). The incidence of nausea and vomiting among the three main non-hematological adverse reactions, and the incidence of grade 1~2 anemia among the hematological adverse reactions were statistically significant (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of rash, eyelid edema, diarrhea, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia and neutropenia in the three groups (P>0.05). The incidence of nausea and vomiting and grade 1~2 anemia in the second-line group and the third-line group were higher than that of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). There were statistically significant differences in Sokal score, medication compliance, and hematological adverse reactions between the MMR group and the non-MMR group (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that dose reduction or withdrawal during the treatment period, and grade 3~4 hematological adverse reactions were the main factors affecting the second and third line curative effects (OR=22.160, 2.715, 95% CI=2.795-93.027, 1.882-48.834).@*CONCLUSION@#The second-line nilotinib and the third-line dasatinib have a better effect on CML patients who have failed the first and second-line treatments. Grade 3~4 hematological adverse reactions, dose reduction or withdrawal are risk factors that affect the efficacy of second and third-line treatments.

Combination of socio-demographic and clinical co-variates for predicting treatment responses and outcomes in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in the chronic phase / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To explore the impacts of socio-demographic and clinical co-variates on treatment responses and outcomes in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in the chronic phase (CML-CP) receiving tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) and identified the predictive models for them. Methods: Data of newly diagnosed adult patients with CML-CP receiving first-line TKI and having complete socio-demographic data and clinical information were reviewed. Cox model was used to identify the independent variables associated with complete cytogenetic response (CCyR) , major molecular response (MMR) , molecular response 4 (MR(4)) and molecular response 4.5 (MR(4.5)) , as well as failure-free survival (FFS) , progression-free survival (PFS) , overall survival (OS) and CML-related OS. Results: A total of 1414 CML-CP patients treated with first-line imatinib (n=1176) , nilotinib (n=170) or dasatinib (n=68) were reviewed. Median age was 40 (18-83) years and 873 patients (61.7% ) were males. Result of the multivariate analysis showed that lower educational level (P<0.001-0.070) and EUTOS long-term survival intermediate or high-risk (P<0.001-0.009) were significantly associated with lower cumulative incidences of CCyR, MMR, MR(4) and MR(4.5), as well as the inferior FFS, PFS, OS and CML-related OS. In addition, those who were males, from rural households, had white blood cells (WBC) ≥120×10(9)/L, hemoglobin (HGB) <115 g/L and treated with first-line imatinib had significantly lower cumulative incidences of cytogenetic and/or molecular responses. Being single, divorced or widowed, having, rural household registration, WBC≥120×10(9)/L, HGB<15 g/L, and comorbidity (ies) was significantly associated with inferior FFS, PFS, OS, and/or CML-related OS. Thereafter, the patients were classified into several subgroups using the socio-demographic characteristics and clinical variables by cytogenetic and molecular responses, treatment failure and disease progression, as well as overall survival and CML-related OS, respectively. There were significant differences in treatment responses and outcomes among the subgroups (P<0.001) . Conclusion: Except for clinical co-variates, socio-demographic co-variates significantly correlated with TKI treatment responses and outcomes in CML-CP patients. Models established by the combination of independent socio-demographic and clinical co-variates could effectively predict the responses and outcome.

Clinical Effect of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors in the Treatment of P230 Chronic Myeloid Leukemia / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the curative efficacy of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in the treatment of e19a2 transcript (P230) CML chronic phase (CML-CP) patients.@*METHODS@#The clinical data of 11 P230 CML-CP patients were collected from July 2008 to December 2019. Blood routine examination, bone marrow cytology, chromosome, and BCR-ABL qualitative and quantitative tests were performed at initial diagnosis. After TKIs treatment, BCR-ABL (P230)/ABL in peripheral blood was regularly detected to evaluate molecular response by real-time quantitative PCR.@*RESULTS@#There were 11 patients (7 males and 4 females) in chronic phase from 6 domestic hospitals enrolled, their median age was 46 years old (range from 19 to 56 years old). Among 4 patients treated with imatinib (400 mg, qd) firstly, 3 cases switched to nilotinib (400 mg, bid) and 1 case switched to dasatinib (100 mg, qd) due to failure to achieve best molecular response at the landmark time or mutation of ABL kinase. Then major molecular response (MMR) was obtained within 1 year. In addition, 5 patients were treated with nilotinib (300 mg, bid) and 2 patients with dasatinib (100 mg, qd) as first-line treatment, all of them got MMR within 6 months.@*CONCLUSION@#For intolerance or resistance to imatinib, second-generation TKIs can enable P230 CML patients to achieve deeper molecular response, and MMR in a short time.

Precision medicine in acute lymphoblastic leukemia / 医学前沿

The cure rate of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has exceeded 90% in some contemporary clinical trials. However, the dose intensity of conventional chemotherapy has been pushed to its limit. Further improvement in outcome will need to rely more heavily on molecular therapeutic as well as immuno-and cellular-therapy approaches together with precise risk stratification. Children with ETV6-RUNX1 or hyperdiploid > 50 ALL who achieve negative minimal residual disease during early remission induction are suitable candidates for reduction in treatment. Patients with Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-positive or Ph-like ALL with ABL-class fusion should be treated with dasatinib. BH3 profiling and other preclinical methods have identified several high-risk subtypes, such as hypodiplod, early T-cell precursor, immature T-cell, KMT2A-rearranged, Ph-positive and TCF-HLF-positive ALL, that may respond to BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax. There are other fusions or mutations that may serve as putative targets, but effective targeted therapy has yet to be established. For other high-risk patients or poor early treatment responders who do not have targetable genetic lesions, current approaches that offer hope include blinatumomab, inotuzumab and CAR-T cell therapy for B-ALL, and daratumumab and nelarabine for T-ALL. With the expanding therapeutic armamentarium, we should start focus on rational combinations of targeted therapy with non-overlapping toxicities.

Analysis of the efficacy and influencing factors of nilotinib or dasatinib as second- or third-line treatment in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in the chronic phase and accelerated phase / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To explore the efficacy and prognosis of nilotinib or dasatinib as second- or third-line treatment in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in the chronic phase (CP) and accelerated phase (AP) . Methods: From January 2008 to November 2018, the data of CML patients who failed first- or second-line tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) -therapy received nilotinib or dasatinib as second-line and third-line therapy were retrospectively reviewed. Results: A total of 226 patients receiving nilotinib or dastinib as second-line (n=183) and third-line (n=43) therapy were included in this study. With a median follow-up of 21 (range, 1-135) months, the cumulative rates of complete hematological response (CHR) , complete cytogenetic response (CCyR) and major molecular response (MMR) were 80.4%, 56.3%and 38.3%, respectively in those receiving TKI as second-line TKI therapy. The 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 78.7%and 93.1%, respectively. Multivariate analyses showed that Sokal high risk, female gender, the best response achieved <CHR on the first-line TKI-therapy, the interval from diagnosis to switching to second-line TKI ≥18 months, AP or hematologic failure, or non-specific mutation of BCR-ABL kinase domain before second-line TKI therapy, developing severe hematologic toxicity during the second-line TKI therapy were variables associated with poor responses or outcomes on second-line TKI therapy. With a median follow-up of 6 (range, 3-129) months, the cumulative CHR, CCyR and MMR were 95.7%, 29.3%, and 18.6%, respectively in those receiving the third-line TKI therapy. The 2-year PFS and OS rates were 66.8% and 93.8%, respectively. The patients with an interval from diagnosis to starting TKI ≥6 months, achieving no cytogenetic response on the second-line TKI, the interval from diagnosis to starting second-line TKI ≥60 months, and progression to AP before the third-line TKI therapy had lower probabilities of responses and unfavorable outcomes. Conclusions: The efficacy of dasatinib and nilotinib as second- or third-line TKI-therapy were active in the CML patients with TKI-resistance. The best response achieved on previous TKI-therapy, the disease phase before switching TKI, and the severe hematologic toxicity developing on the current TKI-therapy were associated with the responses and outcomes.

Influence of dasatinib treatment on body height in children with acute myeloid leukemia / 中国当代儿科杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To study the influence of dasatinib treatment on body height in children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).@*METHODS@#A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 86 AML children aged <17 years. According to the treatment regimen, these children were divided into a conventional chemotherapy group and a dasatinib chemotherapy group. The 57 children in the conventional chemotherapy group were given conventional chemotherapy drugs without tyrosine kinase inhibitor, and the 29 children in the dasatinib chemotherapy group were given conventional chemotherapy drugs and dasatinib. The two groups were compared in terms of height standard deviation score (HtSDS) at the beginning of treatment and after treatment, as well as the change in HtSDS after 1 and 2 years of treatment.@*RESULTS@#There was no significant difference in HtSDS between the conventional and dasatinib chemotherapy groups before treatment. Within the first two years of treatment, the dasatinib chemotherapy group had a similar change trend of HtSDS as the conventional chemotherapy group. Four children in the dasatinib chemotherapy group reached the final adult height during follow-up, which was significantly lower than the target height (P=0.044). In the conventional chemotherapy group, there was no significant difference between final adult height and target height. In the dasatinib chemotherapy group, the children in adolescence had a significant change in HtSDS after treatment (P=0.032).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Dasatinib treatment may affect the final height of children with AML, and the use of dasatinib after the beginning of adolescence may lead to growth disorder, but dasatinib treatment has little effect on body height in the short-term treatment.

Combination of axitinib with dasatinib improves the outcome of a chronic myeloid leukemia patient with BCR-ABL1 T315I mutation / 中南大学学报(医学版)

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is one of the most common hematological malignancies and characterized by the formation of Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome. Recently, tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) treatment greatly improved the prognosis of CML. However, the options may be limited when a patient develops traditional TKI resistance or gene mutation. Herein, we reported a case. A 38-year-old male CML patient developed a BCR-ABL1 gene mutation of T315I after 2.5 years of TKI treatment, including imatinib and dasatinib. We adjusted the treatment with the combined application of dasatinib and axitinib. BCR-ABL1 gene copies dropped down and achieved an early molecular response at 2 months later. Subsequently, he received hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Axitinib and dasatinib were applied for another half year after the allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Two years after the allo-HSCT, the BCR-ABL1 gene was still undetectable. It provided a successful example in treating CML patients carrying BCR-ABL1 T315I mutation via combination of axitinib with conditional TKI.

What happens to intolerant, relapsed or refractory chronic myeloid leukemia patients without access to clinical trials?

ABSTRACT Objective: To assess clinical outcomes of intolerant, relapsed or refractory patients who could not be treated with new tyrosine kinase inhibitors or experimental therapies. Methods: A retrospective cohort of 90 chronic myeloid leukemia patients in all phases of the disease treated with imatinib mesylate as their first TKI therapy, and with dasatinib or nilotinib as the next line of therapy. We evaluated clinical outcomes of these patients, with special focus on the group that needed more than two therapy lines. Results: Thirty-nine percent of patients were refractory or intolerant to imatinib. An 8-year overall survival rate of the patients who went through three or more lines of treatment was significantly lower, compared to those who were able to maintain imatinib as their first-line therapy (83% and 22%, respectively p < 0.01). Decreased overall survival was associated with advanced-phase disease (p < 0.01), failure to achieve major molecular response in first-line treatment (p < 0.01) and interruption of first-line treatment due to any reason (p = 0.023). Failure in achieving complete cytogenetic response and major molecular response and treatment interruption were associated with the progression to the third-line treatment. Conclusion: The critical outcome observed in relapsed, intolerant or refractory chronic phase CML patients reflects the unmet need for this group of patients without an alternative therapy, such as new drugs or experimental therapies in clinical trials. Broader access to newer treatment possibilities is a crucial asset to improve survival among CML patients, especially those refractory or intolerant to first-line therapies.

Management of chronic myeloid leukemia during pregnancy: a retrospective analysis at a single center

ABSTRACT We analyzed the management and outcomes of pregnancies of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia at a single center over fifteen years. Among the 203 CML female patients, there were ten pregnancies in seven women, all of them not planned. In three cases, the chronic myeloid leukemia diagnosis was made during pregnancy. Five patients received tyrosine kinase inhibitors in the first weeks of pregnancy and the drug was interrupted until delivery. One patient lost complete cytogenetic response, and two patients lost the hematological response. A patient with a stable major molecular response had two successful pregnancies without loss of response. There were four premature births. There were no maternal adverse events, fetal malformation or death. All patients received Interferon-alpha during gestation, and two received hydroxyurea for a short period. Leukapheresis was performed in two patients for hyperleukocytosis control. One patient with sickle cell disease died from disease progression six months after delivery. Conclusions: The tyrosine kinase inhibitors ministration should be interrupted during pregnancy. Patients should be advised to achieve a stable and deep molecular response if they plan to conceive, to avoid the risk of disease progression.

Fertility and disease outcomes in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To explore Fertility and disease outcomes in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) . Methods: Clinical and fertility outcomes of male (from Jul. 1998 to Feb. 2018) and female CML (from Sep. 2009 to Feb. 2018) patients were retrospectively analyzed at Peking University People's Hospital. Results: A total of 49 male CML patients and their spouses were enrolled. Before their spouses conceived, 34 patients were receiving tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) imatinib, 9 with nilotinib, and 6 with dasatinib. At the time of conception, the median age of these male patients was 32 years (range, 25-48 years) , and the median TKI treatment duration was 36 months (range, 0.2-198 months) . One male patient having achieved complete hematologic response yet discontinuing TKI for a year developed a disease progression to blast crisis. The other 48 patients sustained stable disease. The total conception times were 61 and finally 55 infants were born including one with premature birth, two with low birth weight, and one with hypospadias receiving surgery. The other 18 female patients after pregnancy were enrolled. Two patients developed spontaneous abortions. Two received induced abortions. Fourteen gave birth to healthy infants without congenital malformation. The interval from diagnosis of CML to initiation of TKI was 4 months (range, 0.3-16 months) . During a median follow-up of 45 months (range from 7-114 months) , the estimated complete cytogenetic response (CCyR) rate, major molecular response (MMR) rate and molecular response(4.5) (MR(4.5)) rate by 5 years were 88.9%, 85.3% and 35.1%, respectively. The estimated failure-free survival, progression-free survival and overall survival were 64.2%, 90.9% and 90.9%, respectively. All 14 babies developed as normal. Conclusions: It seems that TKIs do not affect pregnancy outcome in the spouses of male CML patients, suggesting that withdrawal of TKIs is not necessary. Female CML patients have good pregnancy and disease outcomes in the TKI era.

Severe hematologic toxicity and its impact on treatment response in newly diagnosed patients with chronic myeloid leukemia receiving tyrosine kinase-inhibitor therapy / 中华血液学杂志

Objectives: To explore the incidence and factors of severe leukopenia and/or thrombocytopenia in newly diagnosed patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) to probe their impacts on cytogenetic and molecular responses, progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) . Methods: Data of newly diagnosed patients with CML in the chronic phase (CP) and/or accelerated phase (AP) were retrospectively collected and analyzed. Results: 855 CML patients [including 744 (87%) in the CP and 111 (13.0%) in the AP] were included in this study. 523 (61.2%) patients were male with a median age of 39 years (range, 14-87 years) . 749 (87.6%) patients received imatinib, 93 (10.9%) nilotinib, and 13 (1.5%) dasatinib, respectively as front-line therapy. At a median treatment of 1 month (range, 0.1-7.0 months) , 137 (16.0%) developed ≥grade 3 leukopenia and/or thrombocytopenia and recovered 0.6 month (range, 0.3-6.5 months) . Multivariate analysis showed that female gender (OR=1.5, 95%CI 1.0-2.2, P=0.033) , WBC ≥100×109/L (OR=1.9, 95%CI 1.3-2.8, P=0.001) , CP in Sokal high-risk (OR=2.2, 95%CI 1.2-3.9, P=0.005) , AP with ≥15% blast cells in blood or bone marrow (OR=5.1, 95%CI 1.9-13.3, P=0.001) were factors associated with higher incidence of ≥grade 3 leukopenia and/or thrombocytopenia. Severe leukopenia and/or thrombocytopenia with time of drug discontinuance >2 weeks was associated with lower probabilities of achieving complete cytogenetic (OR=0.4, 95%CI 0.3-0.6, P<0.001) , severe leukopenia and/or thrombocytopenia, no matter the time of drug discontinuance >2 weeks or ≤2 weeks, were associated with lower probabilities of achieving major molecular responses (OR=0.3, 95%CI 0.2-0.5, P<0.001; OR=0.7, 95%CI 0.5-1.0, P=0.036) and MR4.5 (OR=0.2, 95%CI 0.1-0.5, P=0.002; OR=0.7, 95%CI 0.4-1.1, P=0.110) ; however, those had no impacts on PFS and OS. Conclusions: Severe leukopenia and/or thrombocytopenia were common adverse events during TKI therapy. Female patients, WBC ≥100×109/L at diagnosed, CP in Sokal high-risk, CML-AP with ≥15% blast cells in blood or bone marrow were at high risk for higher incidence of severe leukopenia and/or thrombocytopenia. Those severe adverse events had impacts on lower cytogenetic and molecular response.

Efficacy and safety of domestic dasatinib as second-line treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia patients in the chronic phase / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To investigate the efficiency and safety of domestic tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) dasatinib (Yinishu) as second-line treatment for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in chronic phase (CML-CP). Methods: A retrospective analysis of clinical data of CML-CP patients who received domestic dasatinib as second-line treatment in the CML collaborative group hospitals of Hubei province from March 2016 to July 2018 was performed. The optimal response rate, the cumulative complete cytogenetic response (CCyR), the cumulative major molecular responses (MMR), progression free survival (PFS), event free survival (EFS) and adverse effects (AEs) of the patients were assessed at 3, 6 and 12 months of treatment. Results: A total of 83 CML-CP patients were enrolled in this study. The median follow-up time was 23 months. The optimal response rates at 3, 6 and 12 months in 83 CML-CP patients treated with dasatinib were 77.5% (54/71), 72.6% (61/75) and 60.7% (51/69), respectively. By the end of follow-up, the cumulative CCyR and MMR rates were 65.5% (55/80) and 57.1% (48/73), respectively. The median time to achieving CCyR and MMR was 3 months. During follow-up time, the PFS rate was 94.0% (79/83) and the EFS rate was 77.4% (65/83). The most common non-hematological AEs of dasatinib were edema (32.5%), rash itching (18.1%) and fatigue (13.3%). The common hematological AEs of dasatinib were thrombocytopenia (31.3%), leukopenia (19.3%) and anemia (6.0%). Conclusion: Domestic dasatinib was effective and safe as the second-line treatment of CML-CP patients and it can be used as an option for CML-CP patients.

Effects of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors on the Th1 and Treg Cells of CML Patients / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To compare the immunomodulatory effects of the 2nd generation of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs)-dasatinib and nilotinib as well as the 1st generation of TKI-imatinib on chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients.@*METHOD@#To evaluate the T cell subtypes by flow cytometry on the CML patients of our center who received the treatment with dasatinib (n=10), nilotinib (n=26) or imatinib (n=44) for more than 3 months, and to analyze and correlate these data with the clinical remission situations and prognosis.@*RESULTS@#80.0% of the patients in dasatinib group, 16.6% of the patients in nilotinib group and 27.5% of the patients in imatinib group respectively had a Th1 proportion in the peripheral blood (Th1/CD4 T) above the upper limit of normal. More specifically, the Th1 proportion in dasatinib group (30.86%±9.75%) was significantly higher than that in nilotinib group(17.37%±9.35%) (P<0.001) and that in imatinib group (20.79%±9.01%) (P<0.001). Among the 3 groups, both the CD8 T cell proportion (CD8 T/Lymphocyte) and the Th2 proportion (Th2/CD4 T) in the peripheral blood did not show a statistically significant difference. The Treg proportion (Treg/CD4 T) in dasatinib group (1.31%±0.10%) was significantly lower than that in nilotinib group (2.65%±0.97%) (P<0.001) and that in imatinib group(2.99%±1.40%) (P<0.001).Among all the CML patients analyzed, for CML patients who had a Th1 proportion above the upper limit of normal(25.8%) (n=28), 84.62% of these patients obtained CCyR (complete cytogenetic response), 71.43% of these patients obtained MMR (major molecular response), 71.43% of these patients obtained MR4.5; for CML patients who had the Th1 proportion in the normal range(11.8%-25.8%) (n=45), 90.7% of these patients obtained CCyR, 75.56% of these patients obtained MMR, and 75.56% of these patients obtained MR4.5; for CML patients who had the Th1 proportion below the lower limit of normal (11.8%) (n=21), 57.14% of these patients obtained CCyR, 47.62% of these patients obtained MMR, and 47.62% of these patients obtained MR4.5. The above-mentioned data shows that the patients in high Th1 group and the normal Th1 group obtained the higher remission rate as well as the deeper remission level.@*CONCLUSION@#This study shows that during the CML treatment with TKIs, the increased or normal Th1 proportion indicates a bigger chance for CCyR, MMR, and MR4.5. Dasatinib may significantly increase the level of Th1 while decrease the level of Treg in the patients, as compared with nilotinib and imatinib.