Plain language summary of zanubrutinib or ibrutinib in chronic lymphocytic leukemia that is resistant to treatment or has come back after treatment.

WHAT IS THIS SUMMARY ABOUT?: This is a plain language summary of a research study called ALPINE. The study involved people who had been diagnosed with, and previously treated at least once for, relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). Lymphocytes help to find and fight off viruses and infections in the body, but when someone has CLL or SLL, the body creates abnormal lymphocytes, leaving the patient with a weakened immune system and susceptible to illness. In CLL, these lymphocytes are in the bone marrow and bloodstream, whereas for SLL, they are mostly found in the lymph nodes, such as those in the neck. HOW WAS THE RESEARCH DONE?: The ALPINE study was designed to directly compare the cancer-fighting effects and side effects of zanubrutinib and ibrutinib as treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory CLL/SLL. WHAT WERE THE RESULTS?: After 30 months, zanubrutinib was more effective than ibrutinib at reducing and keeping the cancer from coming back. Clinical Trial Registration: NCT03734016 (ClinicalTrials.gov).

Zanubrutinib or Ibrutinib in Relapsed or Refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.

BACKGROUND: In a multinational, phase 3, head-to-head trial, ibrutinib, a Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, was compared with zanubrutinib, a BTK inhibitor with greater specificity, as treatment for relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). In prespecified interim analyses, zanubrutinib was superior to ibrutinib with respect to overall response (the primary end point). Data from the final analysis of progression-free survival are now available. METHODS: We randomly assigned, in a 1:1 ratio, patients with relapsed or refractory CLL or SLL who had received at least one previous course of therapy to receive zanubrutinib or ibrutinib until the occurrence of disease progression or unacceptable toxic effects. In this final analysis, progression-free survival (a key secondary end point) was assessed with the use of a hierarchical testing strategy to determine whether zanubrutinib was noninferior to ibrutinib. If noninferiority was established, the superiority of zanubrutinib was assessed and claimed if the two-sided P value was less than 0.05. RESULTS: At a median follow-up of 29.6 months, zanubrutinib was found to be superior to ibrutinib with respect to progression-free survival among 652 patients (hazard ratio for disease progression or death, 0.65; 95% confidence interval, [CI], 0.49 to 0.86; P = 0.002), as assessed by the investigators; the results were similar to those as assessed by an independent-review committee. At 24 months, the investigator-assessed rates of progression-free survival were 78.4% in the zanubrutinib group and 65.9% in the ibrutinib group. Among patients with a 17p deletion, a TP53 mutation, or both, those who received zanubrutinib had longer progression-free survival than those who received ibrutinib (hazard ratio for disease progression or death, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.31 to 0.88); progression-free survival across other major subgroups consistently favored zanubrutinib. The percentage of patients with an overall response was higher in the zanubrutinib group than in the ibrutinib group. The safety profile of zanubrutinib was better than that of ibrutinib, with fewer adverse events leading to treatment discontinuation and fewer cardiac events, including fewer cardiac events leading to treatment discontinuation or death. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with relapsed or refractory CLL or SLL, progression-free survival was significantly longer among patients who received zanubrutinib than among those who received ibrutinib, and zanubrutinib was associated with fewer cardiac adverse events. (Funded by BeiGene; ALPINE ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03734016.).

Zanubrutinib Versus Ibrutinib in Relapsed/Refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma: Interim Analysis of a Randomized Phase III Trial.

PURPOSE: Zanubrutinib is a potent, irreversible next-generation Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor designed to maximize BTK occupancy and minimize off-target kinase inhibition. We hypothesized that complete/sustained BTK occupancy may improve efficacy outcomes and increased BTK specificity may minimize off-target inhibition-related toxicities. PATIENTS AND METHODS: ALPINE (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03734016) is a global, randomized, open-label phase III study of zanubrutinib versus ibrutinib in patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The primary end point was investigator-assessed overall response rate (ORR). The preplanned interim analysis was scheduled approximately 12 months after the first 415 patients were enrolled. RESULTS: Between November 1, 2018, and December 14, 2020, 652 patients were enrolled. We present the interim analysis of the first 415 enrolled patients randomly assigned to receive zanubrutinib (n = 207) or ibrutinib (n = 208). At 15 months of median follow-up, ORR (partial or complete response) was significantly higher with zanubrutinib (78.3%; 95% CI, 72.0 to 83.7) versus ibrutinib (62.5%; 95% CI, 55.5 to 69.1; two-sided P < .001). ORR was higher with zanubrutinib versus ibrutinib in subgroups with del(17p)/TP53 mutations (80.5% v 50.0%) and del(11q) (83.6% v 69.1%); 12-month progression-free survival in all patients was higher with zanubrutinib (94.9%) versus ibrutinib (84.0%; hazard ratio, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.23 to 0.69). Atrial fibrillation rate was significantly lower with zanubrutinib versus ibrutinib (2.5% v 10.1%; two-sided P = .001). Rates of cardiac events, major hemorrhages, and adverse events leading to treatment discontinuation/death were lower with zanubrutinib. CONCLUSION: Zanubrutinib had a significantly higher ORR, lower atrial fibrillation rate, and improved progression-free survival and overall cardiac safety profile versus ibrutinib. These data support improved efficacy/safety outcomes with selective BTK inhibition.

Flow Cytometric Evaluation of Double/Triple Hit Lymphoma.

"Double" or "triple" hit lymphomas (D/THL) with recurrent translocations involving MYC/8q24 and BCL2/18q21 and/or BCL6/3q27 are characterized by a poor prognosis, but their identification is hampered by the clinicopathologic overlap with other disease categories. Cases with circulating blastic-appearing cells may initially cause concern for lymphoblastic leukemia a diagnostic dilemma, which has not been well studied. There is only limited literature regarding the flow cytometric (FC) D/THL phenotype and its clinical correlates. The FC features of 20 D/THL (11 BCL2(+)/MYC(+), 5 BCL6(+)/MYC(+), 4 BCL2(+)/BCL6(+)/MYC(+)) were evaluated, compared to 20 B-lymphoblastic leukemias (B-LBL), and correlated with overall survival. Most (89%, 17/19) D/THL were CD10(+), 47% (9/19) lacked surface light chain, and a significant subset underexpressed CD45 (47%, 9/19), CD20 (42% 8/19), and/or CD19 (39%, 7/18), which did not vary by genetic subgroup. Compared to B-LBL, D/THL less frequently underexpressed CD45 (p = 0.0001) and CD20 (p = 0.0004). Lower levels of BCL2 expression were noted in the BCL6(+)/MYC(+) and BCL2(+)/BCL6(+)/MYC(+) subgroups versus BCL2(+)/MYC(+) cases (p = 0.0014). Of the flow cytometric parameters assessed, dim CD45 expression correlated with inferior survival (p = 0.01). Although there is some overlap with B-LBL, D/THL demonstrates a characteristic immunophenotype which may have prognostic significance and warrants further investigation.

Intensive chemotherapy in patients aged 70 years or older newly diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) represents a major therapeutic challenge in the elderly. Because of the high treatment-related mortality and poor overall outcomes of remission induction therapy, many older patients are not considered candidates for intensive chemotherapy. The current study evaluated prognostic factors for achievement of complete remission (CR) in newly diagnosed elderly AML patients who were treated with initial intensive chemotherapy. The study included 62 newly diagnosed AML patients ≥ 70 years who were treated with intensive chemotherapy. The overall response rate (CR and CRp) was 56%. Patients with favorable or intermediate cytogenetics (p=0.0036) as well as those with primary AML (p=0.0212) had a higher response rate. The median overall survival for all patients was 6.85 months (95% CI 3.7-13.5 months). The median overall survival for patients achieving remission after intensive induction chemotherapy was significantly higher than those who did not respond to therapy (20.4 months vs. 3.5 months, p<0.001). The all-cause 4-week mortality rate was 11%, and the all-cause 8-week mortality rate was 17.7%. A subgroup of elderly patients may benefit more from initial intensive induction chemotherapy, specifically those patients with performance status able to tolerate induction chemotherapy and favorable cytogenetic status. However, despite high rates of initial CR, relapse rates are still high, suggesting that alternative strategies of postremission therapy are warranted.