Improved long-term survival rate in the responders to bortezomib, cyclophosphamide, dexamethasone induction therapy in a transplant-eligible cohort of predominantly middle-age multiple myeloma patients.

BACKGROUND: Multiple myeloma (MM) represents the second most common hematologic malignancy (15%). Induction with bortezomib, cyclophosphamide, and dexamthasone VCd (d: low dose dexamthasone) regimen is widely used due to its high effectiveness, low toxicity and good tolerability, particularly with renal impairment. Real-world data on the use of VCD in clinical practice is lacking. OBJECTIVES: Evaluate the real-world experience of the VCD regimen. DESIGN: Retrospective. SETTING: Tumor registry database of tertiary cancer care center. PATIENTS AND METHODS: newly diagnosed MM patients who received VCD induction and underwent autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) from July 2007 to July 2020. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: response evaluation, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). SAMPLE SIZE: 87 patients. RESULTS: Of 102 patients who started induction with VCd, 87 patients experienced a partial response or more overall response rate of 85%). The median age of these 87 patients at diagnosis was 52 years, of which 29.9% presented with renal impairment and 60.3% of patients had stage 2 by the Revised International Staging System (R-ISS). Patients with a standard cytogenetic risk achieved a better response compared to those with a poor cytogenetic risk (P=.044). The post-induction response rates were 6.9% stringent complete remission (sCR), 35% complete remission (CR); 41.4% very good partial response (VGPR), and 16.1% partial response (PR), respectively; the response rates became greater for sCR and CR post-transplantation at day 100 with 16.1% sCR, 35.6% CR, 32.2% VGPR and 16.1% PR, respectively. The median PFS was 49 months and 5 years OS was 84%. PFS was better in patients who achieved sCR vs PR (83 vs 35 months, P=.037). High LDH, high-risk cytogenetic and stage 3 R-ISS showed a worse median PFS and OS. CONCLUSIONS: VCD induction in newly diagnosed MM is highly effective, convenient, tolerable and affordable regimen, especially in low and middle-income countries with limited resources, also with favorable outcomes and survival. while those who did not respond successfully shifted to VRD or VTD. LIMITATIONS: The usual limitations of a retrospective analysis using registry-level data, no data on quality of life.

Complete response of mantle cell lymphoma with central nervous system involvement at diagnosis with acalabrutinib - Case report.

Central nervous system (CNS) involvement by mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is rare and portends a poor prognosis. We describe the first patient to have a complete response with front-line treatment with single-agent acalabrutinib for MCL CNS.

Myeloablative Haploidentical Donor Hematopoietic Transplantation Using Post-Transplantation Cyclophosphamide and Antithymocyte Globulin.

Haploidentical donor (haplo-) hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) with post-transplantation cyclophosphamide (PTCy) is now performed on a large scale worldwide. Our patient outcomes did not completely reflect the results published by other groups. We herein present the results of 60 patients with hematologic malignancies treated homogeneously on a modified version of the standard protocol by adding ATG as an additional graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis measure. This was a retrospective analysis of 60 haplo-HSCT recipients using a myeloablative conditioning regimen with antithymocyte globulin and PTCy for GVHD prophylaxis. At 5 years, overall survival was 59.2%, relapse-free survival (RFS) was 48.6%, and chronic GVHD (cGVHD) and relapse-free survival was 40%. The median time to neutrophil and platelet engraftment was 16 days and 28.5 days, respectively. The rates of grade II-IV acute GVHD and extensive cGVHD were 46.7% and 23.3%, respectively. The cumulative incidence of relapse was 30%, nonrelapse mortality was 21.6%, and transplantation-related mortality was 11%. Higher Disease Risk Index and 50% HLA match were associated with lower RFS. Female donor to male recipient and older donor age were associated with an elevated risk of cGVHD. The use of PTCy might not yield the same results in different populations. Many remaining questions need to be addressed in randomized trials, including optimal graft source and donor, date of calcineurin inhibitor initiation, personalized or targeted dose of PTCy, immune reconstitution, and others.

Incidence and risk factors for secondary graft failure in uniformly treated patients with severe aplastic anemia receiving fludarabine and cyclophosphamide for conditioning and matched sibling bone marrow graft as stem cell source.

BACKGROUND AIMS: Graft failure after allogeneic transplant for aplastic anemia is problematic. The risk of graft failure depends on multiple variables, including the preparative regimen, donor type, stem cell dose and source among other variables. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of patients with aplastic anemia who underwent matched-sibling allogeneic transplant at a single center. RESULTS: We identified 82 patients who fit the inclusion criteria. One had primary graft failure and was excluded from this analysis. The recipient median age was 22 years. The donor median age was 23 years. The median time from diagnosis to transplant was 1.6 months. The median number of red cell transfusions before transplant was nine. The median number of platelet transfusions before transplant was 18. Thirteen patients developed secondary graft failure, with a cumulative incidence at 5 years of 16% and median time to develop secondary graft failure of 129 days. All patients engrafted with a median time for neutrophil engraftment of 19 days and a median time for platelet engraftment of 22 days. The survival of patients with or without secondary graft failure was not different. Major or bidirectional ABO incompatibility and older recipient age were statistically significantly associated with greater risk of secondary graft failure. CONCLUSIONS: Secondary graft failure is a significant complication after allogeneic transplant for SAA. Identification of recipients at risk and mitigating the potential risks of this complication is warranted.

Successful restoration of checkpoint inhibitors efficacy after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant for classic Hodgkin lymphoma patients.

BACKGROUND: Classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) is a highly-curable disease. However, relapses after bone marrow transplant are challenging especially relapses after allogeneic transplant. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of the institution transplant database to summarize the safety and efficacy of checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) use for cHL relapses postallo-HCT in patients who already failed to derive sustained benefit from CPIs received prior to allo-HCT. RESULTS: Six cases were identified and reviewed. All patients received and failed to derive sustained benefit from CPIs and brentuximab vedotin preallo-HCT. The median age at the time of allo-HCT was 28.6 years (IQR 23.6-34.2), the median number of lines received prior to allo-HCT was 6.5 (range 5-9). The median duration of CPI therapy prior to allo-HCT was 8.1 months (IQR 6.7-12.9). The median time between the discontinuation of CPI and allo-HCT was 5.78 months (IQR 3.15-15.8). The median time to progression postallo-HCT was 5.75 months (IQR 2.6-11.7). The median time between allo-HCT and re-challenge with a CPI was 7.6 months (IQR 3.2-28.6). The median time of follow up after starting postallo-HCT CPIs was 16 months (IQR 7.25-25.75). Five out six patients responded and two patients developed GvHD. CONCLUSION: Our report shows preserved efficacy without any new safety signals by using CPIs postallo-HCT despite using and having failed to derive sustained benefit from CPIs preallo-HCT.

Improved survival of adolescents and young adults patients with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Aim: The outcome of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) has improved with the use of pediatric-inspired protocols in the adolescents and young adults (AYA) population. There is limited literature regarding the outcome of T-ALL/lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL) AYA patients treated with pediatric protocols. Methods: A total of 35 T-ALL/LBL-AYA patients ages between 14 and 55 years were treated with AYA-15 protocol. Results: At a median follow-up of 5 years the overall survival, disease-free survival and event-free survival are 71%, 62% and 49.6% respectively. Toxicities were within the expected range. Conclusion: Our single-center experience real-world data in treating T-ALL/LBL-AYA patients with pediatric-inspired protocol demonstrates encouraging results of high survival rate and excellent tolerability for patients aged 18-55 years.

"Incidence and significance of donor-specific antibodies in haploidentical stem cell transplantation".

PGF is a devastating complication after allogeneic transplant. We retrospectively analyzed our haploidentical transplant registry to report the incidence and impact of DSA and anti-HLA on engraftment. 107 patients were identified. Median recipient-age of 22, median donor-age of 31. Sixty-two patients had AML (58%), 29 had ALL (27%), 16 (15%) had other malignancies. Sixty-one recipients (57%) had positive anti-HLA, 56 of them had the DSA results available, of these 17 patients had DSAs (15% of the total number of patients, or 28% of patients who have anti-HLA antibodies). The median cumulative MFI was 2062. Sixty-three percent of the DSA were against class-II HLA antigens. The OS, CIR, aGvHD, and cGvHD did not differ between patients with and without anti-HLA antibodies, nor between patients with and without DSA. The gender of the recipient and donor, as well as the gender mismatch between recipient and donor, were statistically associated with the incidence of anti-HLA antibodies. Three patients only developed GF (2.8%), one was primary (0.9%) and the other two secondary GF (1.9%). None of the GF cases was in patients with anti-HLA antibodies or DSA. The presence of anti-HLA or DSAs did not affect the outcomes including the incidence of PGF.

Follicular lymphoma grade 3: a comprehensive review.

Follicular lymphoma (FL) is a heterogeneous entity with disparate outcomes based on clinical and pathologic characteristics. An increasingly detailed understanding of high-grade FL (grade 3) has led to the identification of separate categories of FL3A and FL3B. Recently, genomic studies have made much progress in delineating the genetic differences between FL3A and FL3B. Although a general consensus exists that FL3B follows an aggressive course matching that of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, there is less certainty regarding the course of FL3A. Uncertainty also exists regarding the management of high-grade FL. Given that a majority of the prospective landmark trials in FL have excluded patients with high-grade FL, most of the available evidence is retrospective. This review summarizes the recent advances in the management of high-grade FL.

The Evolution of Our Understanding of Immunoproliferative Small Intestinal Disease (IPSID) over Time.

Immunoproliferative small intestinal disease (IPSID) is an uncommon disease with a higher prevalence in the developing world. IPSID diagnosis relies mainly on a tissue biopsy and a high index of suspicion. Treatment options are variable; however, they mainly include anthracycline-based chemotherapy with or without antibiotics in advanced stages. Because of the paucity of IPSID, our perception of the disease remains narrow, and investigating the optimal lines of therapy and prevention without a complete comprehension of the disease is challenging. In our review, we explore the expansion of knowledge about IPSID, which has been developing over the years, to help increase the detection of IPISD cases and further research the most appropriate lines of therapy and prevention.

Allogeneic transplant compared to pediatric-inspired therapy for Philadelphia chromosome-negative adolescent and adult ALL in first complete remission.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric-inspired non-transplant regimens for adolescent and adult ALL patients are becoming standard in many institutions. We aimed to compare a cohort of patients receiving a pediatric-inspired protocol to a cohort of patients treated with adult type ALL therapy followed by allografting after achieving CR1. METHOD: Eighty-five adolescent and adult ALL patients treated with CALGB 19802 protocol who received MSD transplant in CR1 were retrospectively compared to a matched cohort of 72 adolescent and adult ALL patients treated with a modified version of Children's Cancer Group (CCG) 1900 protocol. RESULTS: The five years OS in the allo-HCT cohort was 63.1% compared to 80.2% in the pediatric-inspired chemotherapy arm (P = 0.03). The five years EFS in the allo-HCT arm was 58.8% compared to 61.6% in the pediatric-inspired chemotherapy arm (P = 0.07). The five years DFS in the allo-HCT arm was 58.8% as compared to 71.9% in the pediatric-inspired chemotherapy arm (P = 0.07). The relapse rate in the allo-HCT cohort was 30.58% compared to 21.68% in the pediatric-inspired chemotherapy arm (P = 0.16). The NRM in the allo-HCT cohort was 10.59 as compared to 6.45 in the pediatric-inspired chemotherapy arm (P = 0.3). CONCLUSION: For adolescent and adult patients with Ph-negative ALL, pediatric-inspired chemotherapy resulted in higher OS compared to allo-HCT.

The Risk and Prognosis of COVID-19 Infection in Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Numerous studies have been published regarding outcomes of cancer patients infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus causing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. However, most of these are single-center studies with a limited number of patients. To better assess the outcomes of this new infection in this subgroup of susceptible patients, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 infection on cancer patients. We performed a literature search using PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus for studies that reported the risk of infection and complications of COVID-19 in cancer patients and retrieved 22 studies (1018 cancer patients). The analysis showed that the frequency of cancer among patients with confirmed COVID-19 was 2.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.3-3) in the overall cohort. These patients had a mortality of 21.1% (95% CI: 14.7-27.6), severe/critical disease rate of 45.4% (95% CI: 37.4-53.3), intensive care unit (ICU) admission rate of 14.5% (95% CI: 8.5-20.4), and mechanical ventilation rate of 11.7% (95% CI: 5.5-18). The double-arm analysis showed that cancer patients had a higher risk of mortality (odds ratio [OR]=3.23, 95% CI: 1.71-6.13), severe/critical disease (OR=3.91, 95% CI: 2.70-5.67), ICU admission (OR=3.10, 95% CI: 1.85-5.17), and mechanical ventilation (OR=4.86, 95% CI: 1.27-18.65) than non-cancer patients. Furthermore, cancer patients had significantly lower platelet levels and higher D-dimer levels, C-reactive protein levels, and prothrombin time. In conclusion, these results indicate that cancer patients are at a higher risk of COVID-19 infection-related complications. Therefore, cancer patients need diligent preventive care measures and aggressive surveillance for earlier detection of COVID-19 infection.

Frontline-matched sibling donor transplant of aplastic anemia patients using primed versus steady-state bone marrow grafts.

Priming donors with G-CSF before BM harvest is reported to improve engraftment and GvHD in recipients. These effects are highly desirable when transplanting patients with non-neoplastic hematologic diseases, particularly AA patients. Here we retrospectively report the outcomes of 39 AA patients receiving a primed BM graft from MSD to 43 patients receiving a steady-state BM graft from MSD, otherwise transplanted using a uniform transplant platform. The graft had higher TNC and CD34 cell concentrations in the primed group (p < 0.001), and that was reflected in higher TNC and CD34 doses per kilogram of recipient in the primed group (p = 0.004 and 0.03, respectively). The OS for primed BM graft recipients was 97.4% and 78.9% for the steady-state BM graft recipients, p-value = 0.01. The cumulative incidence of death without GF was 2.6% in the primed group and 16.3% in the steady-state group, p-value = 0.03. There was no difference in GvHD incidence between the two groups. We confirm that priming improved the TNC and CD34 graft concentration and cell dose; this evidence along with other reported studies constitute reasonable evidence to prove that BM priming improve engraftment. We observed no increase in GvHD using primed BM graft.

Hepatitis-Associated Aplastic Anemia.

Hepatitis-associated aplastic anemia (HAAA) is a rare illness, characterized by onset of pancytopenia with a hypoplastic bone marrow that traditionally occurs within 6 months of an increase in serum aminotransferases. HAAA is observed in 1% to 5% of all newly diagnosed cases of acquired aplastic anemia. Several hepatitis viruses have been linked to the disease, but in many cases no specific virus is detected. The exact pathophysiology is unknown; however, immune destruction of hematopoietic stem cells is believed to be the underlying mechanism. HAAA is a potentially lethal disease if left untreated. Management includes immunosuppression with antithymocyte globulin and cyclosporine and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Improved survival in adolescents and young adults (AYA) patients aged 14-55 years with acute lymphoblastic leukemia using pediatric-inspired protocol - a retrospective analysis of a real-world experience in 79 of patients treated at a national tertiary care referral center.

BACKGROUND: Treating adolescents and young adults (AYA) patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) using pediatric-inspired protocols have shown improvement in outcomes. Most data available in the literature of such protocols is derived from well-controlled clinical trials. This report aims to provide a real-world experience from using a pediatric-inspired protocol in ALL-AYA population in larger number of patients treated at a national tertiary care referral center. METHODS: Newly diagnosed Philadelphia negative ALL-AYA patients ages between 14 and 55 years of age were treated on an institutional protocol (AYA-15 protocol) adopted from a modified version of Children's Cancer Group (CCG) 1900 protocol. At the time of this publication, a total of 79 patients were treated using the AYA-15 protocol between 2015 and 2020). Event-free survival (FFS), disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS) were analyzed using cumulative incidence and Kaplan-Meier methods. RESULTS: The median age at diagnosis was 18 years (14-51 years) with 63% male patients. Complete remission (CR) at day 28 of induction was achieved in 88.6% of which 73.4% were minimal residual disease (MRD) negative. At a median follow up of 5 years, EFS, DFS and OS were 57.5%, 69.2% and 75.8% respectively. Toxicities were within the expected range with infections and transaminitis being the most common adverse events. CONCLUSION: Our single-center experience real-world data in treating AYA-ALL patients with pediatric-inspired protocol demonstrates encouraging results of high survival rate and excellent tolerability for patients aged 18-55 years.

Full Dose Cyclophosphamide with the Addition of Fludarabine for Matched Sibling Transplants in Severe Aplastic Anemia.

The recommended therapy for severe aplastic anemia (SAA) in younger patients with a matched sibling donor (MSD) is allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT). A number of conditioning regimens and protocols have been used for these patients. Here we report a homogeneous cohort of SAA patients receiving a uniform transplantation protocol. This study is a retrospective analysis of 82 consecutive patients with SAA who underwent MSD allo-HCT at a single center. The median duration of follow-up for survivors was 100 months, the 10-year overall survival (OS) was 87.5%, and the 10-year event-free survival was 75.3%. The OS was 97.4% for "mobilized" bone marrow (BM) graft recipients and 78.9% for "nonmobilized" BM graft recipients (P = .01. The cumulative incidence of acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) was 25.6%, that of chronic GVHD was 27.16%, and that of graft failure was 16.2%. Recipient age ≥30 years and transplantation at >6 months after SAA diagnosis were associated with a increased risk of events. In the presence of a fully matched sibling donor, allo-HCT with a mobilized BM graft and fludarabine-cyclophosphamide conditioning is an efficacious and safe approach. Early transplantation is associated with a better outcome, emphasizing the importance of not delaying transplantation in these patients. Prospective trials are needed to determine the optimal regimen.

The outcomes of secondary AML post allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation significantly depend on the presence of poor-risk cytogenetic abnormalities.

Secondary acute myeloid leukemia (sAML) includes AML as a complication of an antecedent hematological disorder or a therapy-related AML. Large registry-based data identified sAML as an independent poor-outcome type of AML post allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT). In our study, we tried to define factors affecting outcomes of sAML post allo-HCT, and identify patients with sAML who may truly benefit from allo-HCT. We retrospectively analyzed the data of 64 patients aged (14-61 years) with sAML who received allo-HCT between September 2010 and February 2018 at our institute. Most of the patients were transplanted from matched related donors (MRD; 54, 84.4%). Our results showed that poor-risk cytogenetics were identified in 31 patients (48.4%), and their presence was an indicator of poor overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS; P-value = .009, and .004, respectively). The cumulative incidence of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) was significantly lower in sAML patients with poor-risk cytogenetics (P-value = .003) resulting in a high risk of death without cGVHD in this group of patients (P-value = .02). Besides, GVHD relapse-free survival (GRFS) analysis showed that most of our studied patients experienced either relapse or debilitating grade II-IV cGVHD in the first 2 years post allo-HCT. We conclude that sAML patients with poor-risk cytogenetics have a significantly lower DFS post allo-HCT with a high risk of death without active cGVHD.

Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation in the Treatment of Newly Diagnosed Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia: An Evidence-Based Review from the American Society of Transplantation and Cellular Therapy.

The role of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) in the management of newly diagnosed adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is reviewed and critically evaluated in this evidence-based review. An AML expert panel, consisting of both transplant and nontransplant experts, was invited to develop clinically relevant frequently asked questions covering disease- and HCT-related topics. A systematic literature review was conducted to generate core recommendations that were graded based on the quality and strength of underlying evidence based on the standardized criteria established by the American Society of Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Steering Committee for evidence-based reviews. Allogeneic HCT offers a survival benefit in patients with intermediate- and high-risk AML and is currently a part of standard clinical care. We recommend the preferential use of myeloablative conditioning in eligible patients. A haploidentical related donor marrow graft is preferred over a cord blood unit in the absence of a fully HLA-matched donor. The evolving role of allogeneic HCT in the context of measurable residual disease monitoring and recent therapeutic advances in AML with regards to maintenance therapy after HCT are also discussed.

Tenofovir in the treatment of naïve and refractory chronic Hepatitis B: A single center experience in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) is a nucleotide analog used in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection. This study evaluated the efficacy of TDF in achieving undetectable HBV DNA after 48 weeks of treatment in a Saudi cohort of CHB patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective study included patients treated at a tertiary care center in Saudi Arabia from January 2009 to December 2012. Of the 68 eligible patients, 51 were treatment naïve and 17 were treatment-refractory. Twenty-three patients tested positive for HBeAg. The remaining 45 patients were HBeAg-negative. RESULTS: The mean HBV DNA viral load decreased from 95 million IU/mL at baseline to 263 IU/mL after 48 weeks of treatment (P < 0.001). Overall, 62% of patients achieved a complete virological response (CVR) and 37% a partial virological response (PVR). Respective CVR and PVR rates according to subgroup were: HBeAg-positive (21.7% and 78.3%) and HBeAg-negative (84.4% and 15.6%). At 48 weeks, HBV DNA was undetectable in 66.7% of treatment-naÏve and 53% of treatment-refractory patients (P = 0.3). Seroconversion occurred in 13 (57%) of HBeAg-positive patients. Two (3%) of the HBeAg-negative patients lost HBsAg at follow up. Mean alanine aminotransferase decreased significantly from 134 U/L before treatment to 37 U/L at 48 weeks (P < 0.001). Significant adverse events were not encountered during the study period. CONCLUSION: Forty-eight weeks of treatment with TDF reduced HBV DNA to undetectable levels in more than half of our patients regardless of whether they were treatment-naïve or refractory. HBeAg-negative (vs positive) patients experienced a better response rate.