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Baer, Maria R.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9499-1348

Mayo Clinic

University of Maryland, Baltimore

Citations 71

Overall Survival and Subgroup Analysis from a Randomized Phase III Study of Intravenous Rigosertib Versus Best Supportive Care (BSC) in Patients (pts) with Higher-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome (HR-MDS) after Failure of Hypomethylating Agents (HMAs)
Garcia‐Manero, Guillermo , Fenaux, Pierre , Al‐Kali, Aref , Baer, Maria R. , Scott, Bart L. , Greenberg, Peter L. , Kreuzer, Karl‐Anton, Collins, Robert H. , Wilhelm, François, Wilhelm, Isabelle E., Azarnia, N., Maniar, Manoj, Silverman, Lewis R. , Sekeres, Mikkael A. , Roboz, Gail J. , Gaïdano, Gianluca , Platzbecker, Uwe , Steensma, David P. , Kambhampati, Suman , Godley, Lucy A. , Atallah, Ehab

Blood | October 10, 2019 | Volume: 124 | Issue: 21 | Pages: 163-163

10.1182/blood.v124.21.163.163 Get It

Abstract Background: No approved treatment options are available to HR-MDS pts after HMA therapy. Study 04-21 (“ONTIME” trial) was a Phase III, randomized, controlled study of the efficacy and safety of rigosertib, a novel small molecule inhibitor of PI3-kinase and PLK pathways, in a heterogeneous population of MDS pts who had relapsed after, failed to respond to, or progressed during administration of HMAs. The study was conducted at 87 sites in the United States and 5 European countries. Methods:From Dec 2010 to Aug 2013, 299 HR-MDS pts [<30% bone marrow blasts (BMBL)] who had progressed on (37% of total enrollment), failed to respond to (25%), or relapsed after (38%) HMA treatment were stratified on BMBL count and randomized 2:1 to receive rigosertib (199 pts) or BSC (100 pts). Rigosertib was administered at 1800 mg/24 hr for 72-hr as a continuous intravenous (CIV) ambulatory infusion, every 2 weeks for the first 16 weeks, and then every 4 weeks. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS), analyzed on an intention-to-treat (ITT) basis using the Kaplan-Meier method stratified on BMBL (5% to 19% vs. 20% to 30%). The trial had a 95% power to detect a 13-wk increase in median OS from 17 wks on BSC, with a 2-sided alpha = 0.05. The following results are based on 242 deaths: 161 in the rigosertib arm and 81 in the BSC arm. Results : Overall, the 2 arms were balanced in terms of baseline characteristics, with the majority of pts being male (66%), and White (82%). Age ranged from 50-90 yrs in the rigosertib arm and 55-86 years in the BSC arm (median, 74 yrs). The majority of pts (85%) had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score of 0 or 1. The median duration of the last HMA therapy was 8.8 months (mo) in the rigosertib arm and 10.3 mo in the BSC arm; 127 (64%) of rigosertib pts and 57% of BSC pts were classified as “primary HMA failure” (ie, they failed to respond to or progressed during HMA therapy, as defined by Prebet et al, J Clin Oncol, 2011). A 2.3-mo improvement in median OS was found in the overall (ITT) population (8.2 mo rigosertib vs. 5.9 mo BSC) (Figure 1). The ITT survival for rigosertib was similar to that noted in Phase I/II studies (35 weeks). The stratified log-rank p-value was 0.33. The stratified hazard ratio was 0.87, which was quite different from the ratio of medians (5.9/8.2 = 0.72), due to the fact that the 2 survival curves converged at 15 mo. Notably, among the 184 patients with primary HMA failure, the median OS was 8.6 mo in the rigosertib arm (N = 127) vs. 5.3 mo in the BSC arm (N = 57), HR= 0.69, p= 0.040 (Figure 2). Multivariate Cox regression, adjusting for pretreatment prognostic factors, showed little change in the treatment effect. The following subgroups were correlated with better OS: pts with failure of/progression on HMA treatment, pts with duration of HMA treatment ≤ 9 mo, pts < 75 years of age, and pts with very high risk per IPSS-R (Figure 3). Rigosertib was well tolerated, with a median dose intensity of 92%. There were no significant compliance or operations issues related to ambulatory continuous infusion. Protocol-defined dose reductions were reported in 5% of pts, with 24% experiencing dose delays of >7 days, mostly due to unrelated adverse events (AEs). No obvious differences between rigosertib and BSC were found in the incidence of AEs (rigosertib, 99%; BSC, 85%) or of ≥ Grade 3 AEs (rigosertib, 79%; BSC, 68%). In the rigosertib arm, AEs reported by ≥ 20% of pts, irrespective of severity or causality, were nausea (35%), diarrhea (33%), constipation (31%), fatigue (30%), fever (27%), anemia (22%), and peripheral edema (21%). Rigosertib had low myelotoxicity, consistent with previous clinical experience. Conclusions:Although the primary endpoint in this Phase III study of rigosertib vs BSC in pts with HR-MDS did not reach statistical significance in the ITT population, encouraging rigosertib treatment-related improvement in OS was noted in several subgroups of MDS pts, including those with “primary HMA failure and in patients in the IPSS-R Very High Risk category. CIV therapy with rigosertib had a favorable safety profile in this orphan population of elderly pts with MDS. Figure 1 Figure 1. Figure 2 Figure 2. Figure 3 Figure 3. Disclosures Fenaux: Celgene: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding. Sekeres:Celgene Corp.: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Boehringer Ingelheim: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Roboz:Novartis: Consultancy; Agios: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy; Glaxo SmithKline: Consultancy; Astra Zeneca: Consultancy; Sunesis: Consultancy; Teva Oncology: Consultancy; Astex: Consultancy. Wilhelm:Onconova Therapeutics, Inc: Employment, Equity Ownership. Wilhelm:Onconova Therapeutics, Inc: Employment. Azarnia:Onconova Therapeutics, Inc: Employment. Maniar:Onconova Therapeutics, Inc: Employment.
Results From a Randomized Trial of Salvage Chemotherapy Followed by Lestaurtinib for FLT3 Mutant AML Patients in First Relapse.
Baer, Maria R. , Perl, Alexander E. , Baccarani, Michele , Cripe, Larry D., Tallman, Martin S. , Meloni, Giovanna, Langston, Amelia , Lewis, Ian D., Nagler, Arnon , Stone, Richard M. , Yee, Karen , Douer, Dan , Wiktor-Jędrzejczak, W , Juliusson, Gunnar , Litzow, Mark R. , Petersdorf, Stephen H., Tremmel, Lothar, Bensen-Kennedy, Debra M., Small, Donald , Levis, Mark J. , Ravandi, Farhad , Wang, Eunice S. , Coutré, Steven , Erba, Harry Paul , Stuart, Robert K. , Godley, Lucy A. , Amadori, Sergio , Advani, Anjali S. , Sanz, Miguel Á. , Kantarjian, Hagop M. , Sato, Takashi , Smith, B. Douglas

Blood | October 9, 2019 | Volume: 114 | Issue: 22 | Pages: 788-788

10.1182/blood.v114.22.788.788 Get It

Abstract Abstract 788 FLT3 mutations are common in AML and are associated with poor prognosis. Lestaurtinib is a multi-targeted kinase inhibitor with potent activity against FLT3. In an attempt to definitively establish whether or not there is clinical benefit for FLT3 inhibition in the relapse setting, we conducted a randomized trial of chemotherapy followed by lestaurtinib for patients with FLT3 mutant AML in first relapse. Patients were randomized to receive either chemotherapy alone, consisting of mitoxantrone, etoposide, and cytarabine (MEC) or high-dose cytarabine (HiDAc) depending on the duration of CR1) or chemotherapy followed by 80 mg lestaurtinib orally BID. Patients on the chemotherapy only arm were eligible for crossover if they were refractory to therapy. Patients on the lestaurtinib arm received the drug for up to 112 days on study (they could continue to receive the drug through a separate extension protocol). The primary objective was complete remission (CR/CRp). Secondary objectives included overall survival (OS), safety, and tolerability. From January 2004 through December 2008, 224 patients at 52 different centers were enrolled and randomized, with 220 patients actually receiving therapy. Blood samples from patients on the lestaurtinib arm were obtained at baseline, on Day 15, and on Day 42 for pK studies and for determination of in vivo FLT3 inhibition and measurement of plasma FLT3 ligand (FL) and alpha-1 acid glycoprotein (AGP) levels. The median age for all patients enrolled was 55 years (53.5 in the control arm, 58.5 in the lestaurtinib arm), with 88% having FLT3/ITD mutations, 8% having D835 mutations, and 4% having both. The duration of CR1 was less than 6 months in 47% of patients in each arm. On the lestaurtinib arm, 107 patients received at least 1 week of lestaurtinib (mean 60.1 days, range 8-418), with 17 of these patients receiving drug on the extension protocol. On the chemotherapy only arm, 7 patients crossed over to receive lestaurtinib, and 31 patients went on to receive lestaurtinib on the extension protocol after outcome evaluation. Lestaurtinib was generally well tolerated following chemotherapy, with 104 Grade 3/4 adverse events in the lestaurtinib arm versus 99 in the control arm. There were 61 serious adverse events in the lestaurtinib arm versus 49 in the control arm. Early death (by Day 42) occurred in 22 lestaurtinib patients (2 progressive leukemia, 14 infectious, 6 organ failure) and16 control patients (6 progressive leukemia, 5 infectious, 5 organ failure). By intention to treat analysis, there were 29 CR/CRp in the lestaurtinib arm and 23 in the control arm (26% versus 21%; p = 0.35), with no difference in OS (4.73 months versus 4.57 months) between the two arms. Blood samples from 79 of the 107 lestaurtinib-treated patients obtained on Day 15 were analyzed for FLT3 inhibitory activity (plasma inhibitory activity [PIA] assay), as well as FLT3 ligand (FL), lestaurtinib, and AGP concentrations. Mean lestaurtinib plasma concentration was 12 uM at Day 15 and fell to 7.5 uM on Day 42. Mean lestaurtinib concentration at Day 15 was 13.3 uM in patients achieving CR/CRp and 11.5uM in non-responders. A target of >85% inhibition of FLT3 maintained at trough (pre-dose) was defined from previous studies. Of the 79 patients tested, 46 (58%) achieved this degree of FLT3 inhibition on Day 15. FL concentrations rose from baseline (15.6 pg/mL) to Day 15 (1148 pg/mL), and AGP concentrations rose by an average of 52% over the same period, both of which may have reduced the degree of FLT3 inhibition. Of the 46 patients with target FLT3 inhibition on Day 15, 18 (39%) achieved CR/CRp, while only 3 (9%) of the 32 patients with below target FLT3 inhibition achieved CR/CRp. Thus, in patients with FLT3 mutant AML at first relapse, pharmacokinetic factors and possible physiologic factors (FL and AGP) limit lestaurtinib's ability to effectively inhibit FLT3. FLT3 inhibition by lestaurtinib, when achieved, correlates with better CR rates, but in this trial that benefit was negated by a poor CR rate in those patients for whom the drug did not reach the target level of FLT3 inhibition. Overall, lestaurtinib treatment following re-induction chemotherapy failed to increase response rates or prolong survival of patients with FLT3 mutant AML in first relapse. Disclosures: Levis: Cephalon: Clinical Advisory Board member. Ravandi:Cephalon: Honoraria, Member, clinical advisory board, Research Funding. Erba:Cephalon: Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Baccarani:Novartis Pharma, Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck Sharp & Dome, Pfizer: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau. Stone:Cephalon: ad hoc consultancy; Novartis: Research Funding, ad hoc consultancy. Advani:Cephalon: Research Funding. Douer:Cephalon: Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Litzow:Cephalon: Research Funding. Tremmel:Cephalon: Employment, Equity Ownership. Bensen-Kennedy:cephalon: Employment. Smith:Cephalon: Research Funding.
Pegylated interferon alfa-2a for polycythemia vera or essential thrombocythemia resistant or intolerant to hydroxyurea
Yacoub, Abdulraheem , Mascarenhas, John , Prchal, Josef T. , Berenzon, Dmitry, Baer, Maria R. , Ritchie, Ellen K. , Silver, Richard T. , Winton, Elliott F., Finazzi, Maria Chiara , Rambaldi, Alessandro , Leibowitz, D , Rondelli, Damiano , Arcasoy, Murat O. , Catchatourian, Rosalind, Vadakara, Joseph , Kremyanskaya, Marina , Sandy, Lonette, Tripodi, Joseph , Najfeld, Vesna , Farnoud, Noushin , Papaemmanuil, Elli , Salama, Mohamed E. , Singer-Weinberg, Rona, Rampal, Raajit K. , Goldberg, Judith D. , Barbui, Tiziano , Dueck, Amylou C. , Salama, Mohamed , Dueck, A. C. , Tripodi, Joseph , Mascarenhas, John , Goldberg, Judith D , Rambaldi, Alessandro , Najfeld, Vesna , Kosiorek, Heidi , Kessler, Craig M. , Vannucchi, Alessandro M. , Rosti, Vittorio , Hexner, Elizabeth O. , Mesa, Ruben A. , Hoffman, Ronald , Prchal, Josef T.

Blood | September 13, 2019 | Volume: 134 | Issue: 18 | Pages: 1498-1509

10.1182/blood.2019000428 Get It

Yacoub et al report excellent responses to pegylated interferon alfa-2a in patients with hydroxyurea-resistant/intolerant polycythemia vera or essential thrombocythemia.
Prognostic and predictive value of IPSS-R in assessing overall survival (OS) in a phase III study of rigosertib in second-line higher-risk (HR) MDS patients.
Silverman, Lewis R. , Fenaux, Pierre , Al‐Kali, Aref , Baer, Maria R. , Scott, Bart L. , Greenberg, Peter L. , Kreuzer, Karl Anton, Collins, Robert H. , Azarnia, N., Garcia‐Manero, Guillermo , Sekeres, Mikkael A. , Roboz, Gail J. , Gaïdano, Gianluca , Platzbecker, Uwe , Steensma, David P. , Kreuzer, Karl‐Anton, Godley, Lucy A. , Atallah, Ehab

Journal of Clinical Oncology | April 19, 2019 | Volume: 33 | Issue: 15_suppl | Pages: 7092-7092

10.1200/jco.2015.33.15_suppl.7092 Get It

Results of a first-in-human, phase I/II trial of ASP2215, a selective, potent inhibitor of FLT3/Axl in patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Perl, Alexander E. , Altman, Jessica K. , Ritchie, Ellen K. , Baer, Maria R. , Litzow, Mark R. , Schiller, Gary J. , Üstün, Celalettin , Gill, Stan, Sargent, Briana, Bahceci, Erkut, Levis, Mark J. , Cortes, Jörge E. , Larson, Richard A. , Smith, Catherine C. , Wang, Eunice S. , Strickland, Stephen Anthony , Claxton, David F. , Liu, Charles Y.

Journal of Clinical Oncology | April 19, 2019 | Volume: 33 | Issue: 15_suppl | Pages: 7003-7003

10.1200/jco.2015.33.15_suppl.7003 Get It

Overall survival (OS) and baseline disease characteristics in MDS patients with primary HMA failure in a randomized, controlled, phase III study of rigosertib.
Fenaux, Pierre , Al‐Kali, Aref , Baer, Maria R. , Silverman, Lewis R. , Scott, Bart L. , Greenberg, Peter L. , Kreuzer, Karl Anton, Godley, Lucy A. , Collins, Robert H. , Azarnia, N., Garcia‐Manero, Guillermo , Godley, Lucy A , Sekeres, Mikkael A. , Roboz, Gail J. , Gaïdano, Gianluca , Platzbecker, Uwe , Steensma, David P. , Kreuzer, Karl‐Anton, Atallah, Ehab

Journal of Clinical Oncology | March 7, 2019 | Volume: 33 | Issue: 15_suppl | Pages: e18079-e18079

10.1200/jco.2015.33.15_suppl.e18079 Get It

Feasibility of geriatric assessment for older adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) receiving intensive chemotherapy on a cooperative group trial: CALGB 361006 (Alliance).
Ritchie, Ellen K. , Sanford, Ben L. , Marcucci, Guido , Zhao, Weiqiang , Geyer, Susan M. , Powell, Bayard L., Baer, Maria R. , Cohen, Harvey Jay, Stone, Richard M. , Klepin, Heidi D. , Ballman, Karla V. , Stock, Wendy , Larson, Richard A. , Uy, Geoffrey L.

Journal of Clinical Oncology | January 3, 2019 | Volume: 32 | Issue: 15_suppl | Pages: 7102-7102

10.1200/jco.2014.32.15_suppl.7102 Get It

Relationship of bone marrow blast (BMBL) response to overall survival (OS) in a multicenter study of rigosertib (Rigo) in patients (pts) with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) with excess blasts progressing on or after treatment with a hypomethylating agent (
Al‐Kali, Aref , Baer, Maria R. , Greenberg, Peter L. , Collins, Robert H. , Shammo, Jamile M. , Seymour, John F. , Meyer, Wolfgang , Zbyszewski, Patrick S., Petrone, Michael E., Fruchtman, Steven, Garcia‐Manero, Guillermo , Silverman, Lewis R. , Hiwase, Devendra , Shortt, Jake , Steensma, David P. , Verma, Amit , Roboz, Gail J. , Ottmann, Oliver G. , Szer, Jeff , Meyer, Wolfgang

Journal of Clinical Oncology | September 6, 2018 | Volume: 35 | Issue: 15_suppl | Pages: 7056-7056

10.1200/jco.2017.35.15_suppl.7056 Get It

7056 Background: No therapies are approved for MDS after HMA failure. 04-24 was a single-arm study to evaluate best BMBL response as a potential surrogate for OS in higher-risk (HR) MDS pts who progressed on or after an HMA. Rigo is a Ras-mimetic that inhibits the RAS-RAF-MEK pathway, which is frequently activated in HR MDS (Athuluri-Divakar Cell 2016; Gil-Bazo Cancer Biol Ther 2016). Methods: Eligible MDS pts had 5-30% BMBL confirmed within 6 wks pre-study and progression per International Working Group (IWG) 2006 criteria on or after HMAs within 2 yrs. Rigo 1800 mg/24 hrs was continuously infused over 72 hrs q 2 wks × 8 cycles, then q 4 wks until progression or unacceptable toxicity. Primary endpoint was relationship of best BMBL IWG response to OS by Kaplan Meier method. Results: 64 pts were treated (median 5 cycles, range 1-32+), with 61% male, median age 73 (range 47-87), median prior HMA duration 10.8 mos (range 1.2-70.2). Revised International Prognostic Scoring System scores were low 2%, intermediate 11%, high 27%, very high 53%, and unknown 8%. ≥Grade 3 adverse events in ≥10% of pts were anemia 19%, thrombocytopenia 19%, and febrile neutropenia 16%. At the analysis time 40 pts (63%) had died. Best BMBL IWG response was marrow complete response (mCR) 14 pts (22%), stable disease (SD) 30 (47%), progressive disease (PD) 15 (23%), and failure (early death/withdrawal) 5 (8%); 2 mCR pts had transplant. Median OS was 7.0 mos (95% confidence interval 4.8-10.8). Landmark median OS (from day of best BMBL response) was mCR not reached; SD 6.3 mos; PD 3.3 mos. Median OS of mCR+SD was 8.5 mos, with log-rank p = 0.011 (mCR+SD OS to PD OS). Conclusions: BMBL response is a predictor of survival for MDS pts receiving Rigo after HMA failure, confirming findings in earlier Phase 1/2 studies (Silverman ASCO 2015 Abstr 7017). Based on earlier results identifying an MDS subset benefitting from Rigo (Garcia-Manero Lancet Oncol 2016; ASCO 2016 Abstr 165681), a randomized Phase 3 trial of Rigo vs physician’s choice (INSPIRE) is ongoing to determine if Rigo improves survival after HMA failure within 9 cycles. Clinical trial information: NCTO 1928537.
The telomerase inhibitor imetelstat in patients (pts) with intermediate-2 or high-risk myelofibrosis (MF) previously treated with Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor: A phase 2, randomized study.
Tefferi, Ayalew , Gangat, Naseema , Niederwieser, Dietger , Droogenbroeck, Jan Van, Baer, Maria R. , Cervantes, Francisco , Sirhan, Shireen , Langlois, Angélique, Wan, Ying , Sherman, Laurie, Dougherty, Souria, Feller, Faye, Odenike, Olatoyosi , Kiladjian, Jean‐Jacques , Hoffman, Ronald , Finazzi, Guido , Gotlib, Jason , Apperley, Jane F.

Journal of Clinical Oncology | September 6, 2018 | Volume: 34 | Issue: 15_suppl | Pages: TPS7079-TPS7079

10.1200/jco.2016.34.15_suppl.tps7079 Get It