Single-point and kinetics of peripheral residual disease by mass spectrometry to predict outcome in patients with high risk smoldering multiple myeloma included in the GEM-CESAR trial.

The value of quantitative immunoprecipitation mass spectrometry (QIP-MS) to identify the M-protein is being investigated in patients with monoclonal gammopathies but no data are yet available in high-risk smoldering myeloma (HRsMM). We have therefore investigated QIP-MS to monitor peripheral residual disease (PRD) in 62 HRsMM patients enrolled in the GEM-CESAR trial. After 24 cycles of maintenance, detecting the M-protein by MS or clonal plasma cells by NGF identified cases with a significantly shorter median PFS (mPFS; MS: not reached vs 1,4 years, p=0.001; NGF: not reached vs 2 years, p=0.0002) but reaching CR+sCR did not discriminate patients with different outcome. With NGF as a reference, the combined results of NGF and MS showed a high negative predictive value (NPV) of MS: 81% overall and 73% at treatment completion. When sequential results were considered, sustained negativity by MS or NGF was associated with a very favorable outcome with a mPFS not yet reached vs 1.66 years and 2.18 years in cases never attaining PRD or minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity, respectively. We can thus conclude that 1) the standard response categories of the IMWG do not seem to be useful for treatment monitoring in HRsMM patients, 2) MS could be used as a non-invasive, clinical valuable tool with the capacity of guiding timely bone marrow evaluations (based on its high NPV with NGF as a reference) and 3) similarly to NGF, sequential results of MS are able identify a subgroup of HRsMM patients with long-term disease control. This study was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02415413).

Prognostic value of genetic alterations and 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging features in diffuse large B cell lymphoma.

The current standard front-line therapy for patients with diffuse large-B cell lymphoma (DLBCL)-rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP)-is found to be ineffective in up to one-third of them. Thus, their early identification is an important step towards testing alternative treatment options. In this retrospective study, we assessed the ability of 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging features (radiomic + PET conventional parameters) plus clinical data, alone or in combination with genomic parameters to predict complete response to first-line treatment. Imaging features were extracted from images prior treatment. Lesions were segmented as a whole to reflect tumor burden. Multivariate logistic regression predictive models for response to first-line treatment trained with clinical and imaging features, or with clinical, imaging, and genomic features were developed. For imaging feature selection, a manual selection approach or a linear discriminant analysis (LDA) for dimensionality reduction were applied. Confusion matrices and performance metrics were obtained to assess model performance. Thirty-three patients (median [range] age, 58 [49-69] years) were included, of whom 23 (69.69%) achieved long-term complete response. Overall, the inclusion of genomic features improved prediction ability. The best performance metrics were obtained with the combined model including genomic data and built applying the LDA method (AUC of 0.904, and 90% of balanced accuracy). The amplification of BCL6 was found to significantly contribute to explain response to first-line treatment in both manual and LDA models. Among imaging features, radiomic features reflecting lesion distribution heterogeneity (GLSZM_GrayLevelVariance, Sphericity and GLCM_Correlation) were predictors of response in manual models. Interestingly, when the dimensionality reduction was applied, the whole set of imaging features-mostly composed of radiomic features-significantly contributed to explain response to front-line therapy. A nomogram predictive for response to first-line treatment was constructed. In summary, a combination of imaging features, clinical variables and genomic data was able to successfully predict complete response to first-line treatment in DLBCL patients, with the amplification of BCL6 as the genetic marker retaining the highest predictive value. Additionally, a panel of imaging features may provide important information when predicting treatment response, with lesion dissemination-related radiomic features deserving especial attention.

Accuracy and prognostic impact of FDG PET/CT and biopsy in bone marrow assessment of follicular lymphoma at diagnosis: A Nation-Wide cohort study.

BACKGOUND: In the workup of follicular lymphoma (FL), bone marrow biopsy (BMB) assessment is a key component of FLIPI and FLIPI2, the most widely used outcome scores. During the previous decade, several studies explored the role of FDG-PET/CT for detecting nodal and extranodal disease, with only one large study comparing both techniques. METHODS: The aim of our study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and the prognostic impact of both procedures in a retrospective cohort of 299 FL patients with both tests performed at diagnosis. In order to avoid a collinearity bias, FLIPI2 was deconstructed in its founding parameters, and the bone marrow involvement (BMI) parameter separately included as: a positive BMB, a positive PET/CT, the combined "PET/CT and BMB positive" or "PET/CT or BMB positive". These variables were also confronted independently with the POD24 in 233 patients treated with intensive regimens. RESULTS: In the total cohort, bone marrow was involved in 124 and 60 patients by BMB and PET/CT, respectively. In terms of overall survival, age > 60 y.o. and the combined "PET/CT or BMB positive" achieved statistical independence as a prognostic factor. In patients treated with an intensive regimen, only the combined "PET/CT or BMB positive" added prognostic value for a shorter overall survival, when confronted with the POD24. CONCLUSION: Our results show that in FL both BMB and PET/CT should be considered at diagnosis, as their combined assessment provides independent prognostic value in the context of the most widely use clinical scores.

Single versus tandem autologous stem-cell transplantation in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma and high-risk cytogenetics. A retrospective, open-label study of the PETHEMA/Spanish Myeloma Group (GEM).

Tandem ASCT has been suggested as a valid approach to improve the prognosis of patients with MM and HR cytogenetic. In this observational, retrospective study, 213 patients with newly diagnosed MM and HR cytogenetic in 35 hospitals from the Spanish Myeloma Group underwent single or tandem ASCT between January 2015 and December 2019 after induction with VTD/VRD. HR cytogenetic was defined as having ≥1 of the following: del17p, t(4;14), t(14;16) or gain 1q21. More patients in the tandem group had R-ISS 3 and >1 cytogenetic abnormality at diagnosis. With a median follow-up of 31 months (range, 10-82), PFS after single ASCT was 41 months versus 48 months with tandem ASCT (p = 0.33). PFS in patients with del17p undergoing single ASCT was 41 months, while 52% of patients undergoing tandem ASCT were alive and disease free at 48 months. In conclusion, tandem ASCT partly overcomes the bad prognosis of HR cytogenetic.

Unsupervised machine learning improves risk stratification in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma: an analysis of the Spanish Myeloma Group.

The International Staging System (ISS) and the Revised International Staging System (R-ISS) are commonly used prognostic scores in multiple myeloma (MM). These methods have significant gaps, particularly among intermediate-risk groups. The aim of this study was to improve risk stratification in newly diagnosed MM patients using data from three different trials developed by the Spanish Myeloma Group. For this, we applied an unsupervised machine learning clusterization technique on a set of clinical, biochemical and cytogenetic variables, and we identified two novel clusters of patients with significantly different survival. The prognostic precision of this clusterization was superior to those of ISS and R-ISS scores, and appeared to be particularly useful to improve risk stratification among R-ISS 2 patients. Additionally, patients assigned to the low-risk cluster in the GEM05 over 65 years trial had a significant survival benefit when treated with VMP as compared with VTD. In conclusion, we describe a simple prognostic model for newly diagnosed MM whose predictions are independent of the ISS and R-ISS scores. Notably, the model is particularly useful in order to re-classify R-ISS score 2 patients in 2 different prognostic subgroups. The combination of ISS, R-ISS and unsupervised machine learning clusterization brings a promising approximation to improve MM risk stratification.

Predictive value of 1q21 gain in multiple myeloma is strongly dependent on concurrent cytogenetic abnormalities and first-line treatment.

Improved therapies in multiple myeloma (MM) have forced a constant risk stratification update, first Durie-Salmon, then international scoring systems (ISS), next revised-ISS (RISS) including high-risk cytogenetic abnormalities (HRCAs) such as del(17p) and t(4;14), and now R2-ISS including 1q21 gain has been proposed. Predictive value of 1q21 gain by itself or in concurrence with other cytogenetic abnormalities is evaluated in 737 real-world plasma cell neoplasm (PCN) patients under current therapies. Ten-year progression-free survival (10y-PFS) rates for patients with 2, 3 and >3 copies of 1q21 were 72.2%, 42.5% and 43.4% (P<1.1×10-17). Cox regression analysis confirmed that 1q21 gain was an independent prognostic factor for PFS (HR=1.804, P<0.0001, Harrell C-statistic =0.7779±0.01495) but not for OS (P=0.131). Gain of 1q21 was strongly associated with hypodiploidy (38.8% vs. 7.0%, P=1.3×10-22), hyperdiploidy (44.1% vs. 16.4%, P=1.6×10-13), HRCAs (12.6% vs. 3.5%, 1.8×10-5), IGH breaks (12.3% vs. 2.1%, P=2.1×10-7) and del(13q) (8.0% vs. 4.0%, P=0.031). In our series, 1q21 gain by itself did not improve RISS predictive capacity in patients either eligible or ineligible for autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). However, compared with patients with other 1q21 gains: concurrence with hyperdiploidy improved the prognosis of ASCT-eligible patients from 62.5% to 96.0% 10-year overall-survival (10y-OS, P<0.002); concurrence with hypodiploidy improved the prognosis of ASCT-ineligible patients from 35.7% to 71.0% (P=0.013); and concurrence with del(13q) worsened the prognosis of ASCT-ineligible patients from 12.5% to 53.4% (P=0.035). Gain of 1q21 should be patient-wisely evaluated, irrespective of the RISS, considering its concurrence with other cytogenetic abnormalities and eligibility for ASCT.

CAR-T therapy in solid transplant recipients with post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease: case report and literature review.

Patients with postransplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) who are refractory to rituximab-based regimens have extremely poor prognosis. Data is lacking in the setting of solid organ transplantation (SOT)-related PTLD treated with chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy. Moreover, limited information is available on the influence of concomitant immunosuppressive drugs on CAR-T function. Here, we describe the clinical outcome in one PTLD patient and propose a strategy for tailoring immunosuppressive treatment and organ monitoring in patients with kidney allografts after CAR-T infusion. This report also reviews the limited published data in the setting of SOT-related PTLD treated with CAR-T, which appears to be a feasible treatment in this clinical scenario, without severe toxicity and capable of inducing sustained responses. A noteworthy finding is that in most reported cases patients underwent complete or partial discontinuation of immunosuppressive drugs, with only one documented case of allograft rejection.

Lenalidomide and dexamethasone with or without clarithromycin in patients with multiple myeloma ineligible for autologous transplant: a randomized trial.

Although case-control analyses have suggested an additive value with the association of clarithromycin to continuous lenalidomide and dexamethasone (Rd), there are not phase III trials confirming these results. In this phase III trial, 286 patients with MM ineligible for ASCT received Rd with or without clarithromycin until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). With a median follow-up of 19 months (range, 0-54), no significant differences in the median PFS were observed between the two arms (C-Rd 23 months, Rd 29 months; HR 0.783, p = 0.14), despite a higher rate of complete response (CR) or better in the C-Rd group (22.6% vs 14.4%, p = 0.048). The most common G3-4 adverse events were neutropenia [12% vs 19%] and infections [30% vs 25%], similar between the two arms; however, the percentage of toxic deaths was higher in the C-Rd group (36/50 [72%] vs 22/40 [55%], p = 0.09). The addition of clarithromycin to Rd in untreated transplant ineligible MM patients does not improve PFS despite increasing the ≥CR rate due to the higher number of toxic deaths in the C-Rd arm. Side effects related to overexposure to steroids due to its delayed clearance induced by clarithromycin in this elderly population could explain these results. The trial was registered in clinicaltrials.gov with the name GEM-CLARIDEX: Ld vs BiRd and with the following identifier NCT02575144. The full trial protocol can be accessed from ClinicalTrials.gov. This study received financial support from BMS/Celgene.

Biological and clinical significance of dysplastic hematopoiesis in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.

Risk of developing myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is significantly increased in both multiple myeloma (MM) and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, suggesting that it is therapy independent. However, the incidence and sequelae of dysplastic hematopoiesis at diagnosis are unknown. Here, we used multidimensional flow cytometry (MFC) to prospectively screen for the presence of MDS-associated phenotypic alterations (MDS-PA) in the bone marrow of 285 patients with MM enrolled in the PETHEMA/GEM2012MENOS65 trial (#NCT01916252). We investigated the clinical significance of monocytic MDS-PA in a larger series of 1252 patients enrolled in 4 PETHEMA/GEM protocols. At diagnosis, 33 (11.6%) of 285 cases displayed MDS-PA. Bulk and single-cell-targeted sequencing of MDS recurrently mutated genes in CD34+ progenitors (and dysplastic lineages) from 67 patients revealed clonal hematopoiesis in 13 (50%) of 26 cases with MDS-PA vs 9 (22%) of 41 without MDS-PA; TET2 and NRAS were the most frequently mutated genes. Dynamics of MDS-PA at diagnosis and after autologous transplant were evaluated in 86 of 285 patients and showed that in most cases (69 of 86 [80%]), MDS-PA either persisted or remained absent in patients with or without MDS-PA at diagnosis, respectively. Noteworthy, MDS-associated mutations infrequently emerged after high-dose therapy. Based on MFC profiling, patients with MDS-PA have altered hematopoiesis and T regulatory cell distribution in the tumor microenvironment. Importantly, the presence of monocytic MDS-PA at diagnosis anticipated greater risk of hematologic toxicity and was independently associated with inferior progression-free survival (hazard ratio, 1.5; P = .02) and overall survival (hazard ratio, 1.7; P = .01). This study reveals the biological and clinical significance of dysplastic hematopoiesis in newly diagnosed MM, which can be screened with moderate sensitivity using cost-effective MFC.

Correction: Early myeloma-related death in elderly patients: development of a clinical prognostic score and evaluation of response sustainability role.

Following the publication of this article, the author notes that the following information was missed from the acknowledgments section.

Predicting long-term disease control in transplant-ineligible patients with multiple myeloma: impact of an MGUS-like signature.

Disease control at 5 years would be a desirable endpoint for elderly multiple myeloma (MM) patients, but biomarkers predicting this are not defined. Therefore, to gain further insights in this endpoint, a population of 498 newly diagnosed transplant-ineligible patients enrolled in two Spanish trials (GEM2005MAS65 and GEM2010MAS65), has been analyzed. Among the 435 patients included in this post-hoc study, 18.6% remained alive and progression free after 5 years of treatment initiation. In these patients, overall survival (OS) rate at 10 years was 60.8% as compared with 11.8% for those progressing within the first 5 years. Hemoglobin (Hb) ≥ 12 g/dl (OR 2.74, p = 0.001) and MGUS-like profile (OR 4.18, p = 0.005) were the two baseline variables associated with long-term disease-free survival. Upon including depth of response (and MRD), Hb ≥ 12 g/dl (OR 2.27) and MGUS-like signature (OR 7.48) retained their predictive value along with MRD negativity (OR 5.18). This study shows that despite the use of novel agents, the probability of disease control at 5 years is still restricted to a small fraction (18.6%) of elderly MM patients. Since this endpoint is associated with higher rates of OS, this study provides important information about diagnostic and post-treatment biomarkers helpful in predicting the likelihood of disease control at 5 years.

Life expectancy of follicular lymphoma patients in complete response at 30 months is similar to that of the Spanish general population.

The use of immunochemotherapy has improved the outcome of follicular lymphoma (FL). Recently, complete response at 30 months (CR30) has been suggested as a surrogate for progression-free survival. This study aimed to analyse the life expectancy of FL patients according to their status at 30 months from the start of treatment in comparison with the sex and age-matched Spanish general population (relative survival; RS). The training series comprised 263 patients consecutively diagnosed with FL in a 10-year period who needed therapy and were treated with rituximab-containing regimens. An independent cohort of 693 FL patients from the Grupo Español de Linfomas y Trasplante Autólogo de Médula Ósea (GELTAMO) group was used for validation. In the training cohort, 188 patients were in CR30, with a 10-year overall survival (OS) of 53% and 87% for non-CR30 and CR30 patients, respectively. Ten-year RS was 73% and 100%, showing no decrease in life expectancy for CR30 patients. Multivariate analysis indicated that the FL International Prognostic Index was the most important variable predicting OS in the CR30 group. The impact of CR30 status on RS was validated in the independent GELTAMO series. In conclusion, FL patients treated with immunochemotherapy who were in CR at 30 months showed similar survival to a sex- and age-matched Spanish general population.

Prognostic utility of serum free light chain ratios and heavy-light chain ratios in multiple myeloma in three PETHEMA/GEM phase III clinical trials.

We investigated the prognostic impact and clinical utility of serum free light chains (sFLC) and serum heavy-light chains (sHLC) in patients with multiple myeloma treated according to the GEM2005MENOS65, GEM2005MAS65, and GEM2010MAS65 PETHEMA/GEM phase III clinical trials. Serum samples collected at diagnosis were retrospectively analyzed for sFLC (n = 623) and sHLC (n = 183). After induction or autologous transplantation, 309 and 89 samples respectively were available for sFLC and sHLC assays. At diagnosis, a highly abnormal (HA) sFLC ratio (sFLCr) (<0.03 or >32) was not associated with higher risk of progression. After therapy, persistence of involved-sFLC levels >100 mg/L implied worse survival (overall survival [OS], P = 0.03; progression-free survival [PFS], P = 0.007). Among patients that achieved a complete response, sFLCr normalization did not necessarily indicate a higher quality response. We conducted sHLC investigations for IgG and IgA MM. Absolute sHLC values were correlated with monoclonal protein levels measured with serum protein electrophoresis. At diagnosis, HA-sHLCrs (<0.29 or >73) showed a higher risk of progression (P = 0.006). Additionally, involved-sHLC levels >5 g/L after treatment were associated with shorter survival (OS, P = 0.001; PFS, P = 0.018). The HA-sHLCr could have prognostic value at diagnosis; absolute values of involved-sFLC >100 mg/L and involved-sHLC >5 g/L could have prognostic value after treatment.

Early myeloma-related death in elderly patients: development of a clinical prognostic score and evaluation of response sustainability role.

Although survival of elderly myeloma patients has significantly improved there is still a subset of patients who, despite being fit and achieving optimal responses, will die within 2 years of diagnosis due to myeloma progression. The objective of this study was to define a scoring prognostic index to identify this group of patients. We have evaluated the outcome of 490 newly diagnosed elderly myeloma patients included in two Spanish trials (GEM2005-GEM2010). Sixty-eight patients (13.8%) died within 2 years of diagnosis (early deaths) due to myeloma progression. Our study shows that the use of simple scoring model based on 4 widely available markers (elevated LDH, ISS 3, high risk CA or >75 years) can contribute to identify up-front these patients. Moreover, unsustained response (<6 months duration) emerged as one important predictor of early myeloma-related mortality associated with a significant increase in the risk of death related to myeloma progression. The identification of these patients at high risk of early death is relevant for innovative trials aiming to maintain the depth of first response, since many of them will not receive subsequent lines of therapy.

Risk of, and survival following, histological transformation in follicular lymphoma in the rituximab era. A retrospective multicentre study by the Spanish GELTAMO group.

The diagnostic criteria for follicular lymphoma (FL) transformation vary among the largest series, which commonly exclude histologically-documented transformation (HT) mandatorily. The aims of this retrospective observational multicentre study by the Spanish Grupo Español de Linfoma y Transplante Autólogo de Médula Ósea, which recruited 1734 patients (800 males/934 females; median age 59 years), diagnosed with FL grades 1-3A, were, (i) the cumulative incidence of HT (CI-HT); (ii) risk factors associated with HT; and (iii) the role of treatment and response on survival following transformation (SFT). With a median follow-up of 6·2 years, 106 patients developed HT. Ten-year CI-HT was 8%. Considering these 106 patients who developed HT, median time to transformation was 2·5 years. High-risk FL International Prognostic Index [Hazard ratio (HR) 2·6, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1·5-4·5] and non-response to first-line therapy (HR 2·9, 95% CI: 1·3-6·8) were associated with HT. Seventy out of the 106 patients died (5-year SFT, 26%). Response to HT first-line therapy (HR 5·3, 95% CI: 2·4-12·0), autologous stem cell transplantation (HR 3·9, 95% CI: 1·5-10·1), and revised International Prognostic Index (HR 2·2, 95% CI: 1·1-4·2) were significantly associated with SFT. Response to treatment and HT were the variables most significantly associated with survival in the rituximab era. Better therapies are needed to improve response. Inclusion of HT in clinical trials with new agents is mandatory.

Depth of Response in Multiple Myeloma: A Pooled Analysis of Three PETHEMA/GEM Clinical Trials.

Purpose To perform a critical analysis on the impact of depth of response in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM). Patients and Methods Data were analyzed from 609 patients who were enrolled in the GEM (Grupo Español de Mieloma) 2000 and GEM2005MENOS65 studies for transplant-eligible MM and the GEM2010MAS65 clinical trial for elderly patients with MM who had minimal residual disease (MRD) assessments 9 months after study enrollment. Median follow-up of the series was 71 months. Results Achievement of complete remission (CR) in the absence of MRD negativity was not associated with prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) compared with near-CR or partial response (median PFS, 27, 27, and 29 months, respectively; median OS, 59, 64, and 65 months, respectively). MRD-negative status was strongly associated with prolonged PFS (median, 63 months; P < .001) and OS (median not reached; P < .001) overall and in subgroups defined by prior transplantation, disease stage, and cytogenetics, with prognostic superiority of MRD negativity versus CR particularly evident in patients with high-risk cytogenetics. Accordingly, Harrell C statistics showed higher discrimination for both PFS and OS in Cox models that included MRD (as opposed to CR) for response assessment. Superior MRD-negative rates after different induction regimens anticipated prolonged PFS. Among 34 MRD-negative patients with MM and a phenotypic pattern of bone marrow involvement similar to monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance at diagnosis, the probability of "operational cure" was high; median PFS was 12 years, and the 10-year OS rate was 94%. Conclusion Our results demonstrate that MRD-negative status surpasses the prognostic value of CR achievement for PFS and OS across the disease spectrum, regardless of the type of treatment or patient risk group. MRD negativity should be considered as one of the most relevant end points for transplant-eligible and elderly fit patients with MM.

A Next-Generation Sequencing Strategy for Evaluating the Most Common Genetic Abnormalities in Multiple Myeloma.

Identification and characterization of genetic alterations are essential for diagnosis of multiple myeloma and may guide therapeutic decisions. Currently, genomic analysis of myeloma to cover the diverse range of alterations with prognostic impact requires fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), single nucleotide polymorphism arrays, and sequencing techniques, which are costly and labor intensive and require large numbers of plasma cells. To overcome these limitations, we designed a targeted-capture next-generation sequencing approach for one-step identification of IGH translocations, V(D)J clonal rearrangements, the IgH isotype, and somatic mutations to rapidly identify risk groups and specific targetable molecular lesions. Forty-eight newly diagnosed myeloma patients were tested with the panel, which included IGH and six genes that are recurrently mutated in myeloma: NRAS, KRAS, HRAS, TP53, MYC, and BRAF. We identified 14 of 17 IGH translocations previously detected by FISH and three confirmed translocations not detected by FISH, with the additional advantage of breakpoint identification, which can be used as a target for evaluating minimal residual disease. IgH subclass and V(D)J rearrangements were identified in 77% and 65% of patients, respectively. Mutation analysis revealed the presence of missense protein-coding alterations in at least one of the evaluating genes in 16 of 48 patients (33%). This method may represent a time- and cost-effective diagnostic method for the molecular characterization of multiple myeloma.

Outcomes with two different schedules of bortezomib, melphalan, and prednisone (VMP) for previously untreated multiple myeloma: matched pair analysis using long-term follow-up data from the phase 3 VISTA and PETHEMA/GEM05 trials.

Bortezomib-melphalan-prednisone (VMP) is a standard-of-care for previously untreated, transplant-ineligible multiple myeloma (MM). Here, we compared outcomes between VMP regimens in the VISTA trial (9-cycle VMP schedule, including 4 cycles of twice weekly bortezomib) and the PETHEMA/GEM05 trial (less intensive 6-cycle VMP schedule with 1 cycle of twice weekly and 5 cycles of weekly bortezomib, then bortezomib-based maintenance). A total of 113 patient pairs matched by propensity score (estimated using logistic regression and incorporating eight exposure/outcome-related parameters) were included in this retrospective analysis. Median cumulative bortezomib dose was higher in PETHEMA/GEM05 than VISTA (49.6 vs 37.0 mg/m2); median dose intensity was lower (2.0 vs 5.1 mg/m2/month). Median progression-free survival (PFS) and time-to-progression (TTP) were significantly longer in PETHEMA/GEM05 than VISTA (PFS, 30.5 vs 20.0 months, p = 0.0265; TTP, 33.8 vs 24.2 months, p = 0.0049) after a median follow-up of 77.2 and 26.0 months, respectively. Median overall survival (OS) was similar (61.3 vs 61.0 months, p = 0.6528; median follow-up, 77.6 vs 60.1 months). Post-induction complete response rate was lower in PETHEMA/GEM05 than VISTA (19 vs 31 %; p = 0.03318); on-study (including maintenance) rate was similar (30 vs 31 %; p = 0.89437). This analysis suggests that the less-intensive PETHEMA/GEM05 VMP regimen plus maintenance may improve PFS and TTP, but not OS, compared with the VISTA VMP regimen. TRIAL REGISTRATIONS: NCT00111319, NCT00443235.

Minimal residual disease monitoring and immune profiling in multiple myeloma in elderly patients.

The value of minimal residual disease (MRD) in multiple myeloma (MM) has been more frequently investigated in transplant-eligible patients than in elderly patients. Because an optimal balance between treatment efficacy and toxicity is of utmost importance in patients with elderly MM, sensitive MRD monitoring might be particularly valuable in this patient population. Here, we used second-generation 8-color multiparameter-flow cytometry (MFC) to monitor MRD in 162 transplant-ineligible MM patients enrolled in the PETHEMA/GEM2010MAS65 study. The transition from first- to second-generation MFC resulted in increased sensitivity and allowed us to identify 3 patient groups according to MRD levels: MRD negative (<10(-5); n = 54, 34%), MRD positive (between <10(-4) and ≥10(-5); n = 20, 12%), and MRD positive (≥10(-4); n = 88, 54%). MRD status was an independent prognostic factor for time to progression (TTP) (hazard ratio [HR], 2.7; P = .007) and overall survival (OS) (HR, 3.1; P = .04), with significant benefit for MRD-negative patients (median TTP not reached, 70% OS at 3 years), and similar poorer outcomes for cases with MRD levels between <10(-4) and ≥10(-5) vs ≥10(-4) (both with a median TTP of 15 months; 63% and 55% OS at 3 years, respectively). Furthermore, MRD negativity significantly improved TTP of patients >75 years (HR, 4.8; P < .001), as well as those with high-risk cytogenetics (HR, 12.6; P = .01). Using second-generation MFC, immune profiling concomitant to MRD monitoring also contributed to identify patients with poor, intermediate, and favorable outcomes (25%, 61%, and 100% OS at 3 years, respectively; P = .01), the later patients being characterized by an increased compartment of mature B cells. Our results show that similarly to transplant candidates, MRD monitoring is one of the most relevant prognostic factors in elderly MM patients, irrespectively of age or cytogenetic risk. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01237249.

Immune status of high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma patients and its therapeutic modulation under LenDex: a longitudinal analysis.

There is significant interest in immunotherapy for the treatment of high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM), but no available data on the immune status of this particular disease stage. Such information is important to understand the interplay between immunosurveillance and disease transformation, but also to define whether patients with high-risk SMM might benefit from immunotherapy. Here, we have characterized T lymphocytes (including CD4, CD8, T-cell receptor γδ, and regulatory T cells), natural killer (NK) cells, and dendritic cells from 31 high-risk SMM patients included in the treatment arm of the QUIREDEX trial, and with longitudinal peripheral blood samples at baseline and after 3 and 9 cycles of lenalidomide plus low-dose dexamethasone (LenDex). High-risk SMM patients showed at baseline decreased expression of activation-(CD25/CD28/CD54), type 1 T helper-(CD195/interferon-γ/tumor necrosis factor-α/interleukin-2), and proliferation-related markers (CD119/CD120b) as compared with age-matched healthy individuals. However, LenDex was able to restore the normal expression levels for those markers and induced a marked shift in T-lymphocyte and NK-cell phenotype. Accordingly, high-risk SMM patients treated with LenDex showed higher numbers of functionally active T lymphocytes. Together, our results indicate that high-risk SMM patients have an impaired immune system that could be reactivated by the immunomodulatory effects of lenalidomide, even when combined with low-dose dexamethasone, and support the value of therapeutic immunomodulation to delay the progression to multiple myeloma. The QUIREDEX trial was registered to www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT00480363.