ABSTRACT
Context: Durable responses with the immunotherapy tafasitamab+lenalidomide were previously reported in ASCT-ineligible patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (R/R DLBCL) in the Phase II L-MIND trial (NCT02399085). Based on L-MIND, tafasitamab+lenalidomide received accelerated approval (US) and conditional approval (EU and other countries) in this setting. Objective: To describe the long-term efficacy and safety of tafasitamab+lenalidomide in L-MIND patients who received treatment for ≥2 years. Methods: Ongoing, multicenter, open-label, single-arm Phase II study. Eligibility: ≥18 years old, histologically confirmed DLBCL, and 1–3 prior systemic therapies for DLBCL, including ≥1 anti-CD20 therapy. Tafasitamab: twelve 28-day cycles (12 mg/kg IV) QW during Cycles 1–3, with a loading dose on Cycle 1 Day 4;Q2W Cycles 4–12. Lenalidomide: 25 mg PO Cycles 1–12 Days 1–21. Cycle 13+ tafasitamab monotherapy Q2W until disease progression. Time-to-event, treatment response, and safety endpoints were assessed. Results: Of 80 patients in the full analysis set, 27 (34%) received treatment for ≥2 years (median: 4.3 years). At data cut-off (February 15, 2022), 23 of 27 patients were confirmed alive, one was lost to follow-up, one died with unknown cause, and two died following adverse events (AEs) unrelated to study treatment. Thirteen patients remained on treatment, including six with treatment ≥5 years. Fourteen patients discontinued tafasitamab after ≥2 years due to progressive disease (n=4), patient/physician's decision (n=8), and non-treatment-related fatal AEs (n=2: one each, COVID-19 and cardiovascular AE). Among the 27 patients who received treatment for ≥2 years, the AE analysis for patients receiving tafasitamab+lenalidomide combination therapy (Cycles 1–12) and tafasitamab monotherapy (Cycles 13–24) by exposure-adjusted incidence revealed lower incidence of AEs during tafasitamab monotherapy compared with combination therapy. The majority of AEs were Grade 1–2. The most common AEs (≥1 event/patient-year) were neutropenia and diarrhea during combination (incidence, all-grade/Grade ≥3 AEs: 3.87/1.91 and 1.04/0.04, respectively) and following monotherapy (incidence, all-grade/Grade ≥3 AEs: 0.87/0.45 and 0.32/0.0, respectively). Conclusions: Tafasitamab+lenalidomide followed by tafasitamab monotherapy provided durable responses, with long-term treatment efficacy in those patients who received tafasitamab for up to 5 years. The adverse event burden decreased as patients transitioned from combination therapy to tafasitamab monotherapy. Funding: MorphoSys AG.
ABSTRACT
The use of autopsies in medicine has been declining. The COVID-19 pandemic has documented and rejuvenated the importance of autopsies as a tool of modern medicine. In this review, we discuss the various autopsy techniques, the applicability of modern analytical methods to understand the pathophysiology of COVID-19, the major pathological organ findings, limitations or current studies, and open questions. This article summarizes published literature and the consented experience of the nationwide network of clinical, neuro-, and forensic pathologists from 27 German autopsy centers with more than 1200 COVID-19 autopsies. The autopsy tissues revealed that SARS-CoV-2 can be found in virtually all human organs and tissues, and the majority of cells. Autopsies have revealed the organ and tissue tropism of SARS-CoV-2, and the morphological features of COVID-19. This is characterized by diffuse alveolar damage, combined with angiocentric disease, which in turn is characterized by endothelial dysfunction, vascular inflammation, (micro-) thrombosis, vasoconstriction, and intussusceptive angiogenesis. These findings explained the increased pulmonary resistance in COVID-19 and supported the recommendations for antithrombotic treatment in COVID-19. In contrast, in extra-respiratory organs, pathological changes are often nonspecific and unclear to which extent these changes are due to direct infection vs. indirect/secondary mechanisms of organ injury, or a combination thereof. Ongoing research using autopsies aims at answering questions on disease mechanisms, e.g., focusing on variants of concern, and future challenges, such as post-COVID conditions. Autopsies are an invaluable tool in medicine and national and international interdisciplinary collaborative autopsy-based research initiatives are essential.