Zeldenrust, Steven R.

Abstract Background: Primary systemic amyloidosis (AL) is an incurable plasma cell dyscrasia with limited therapeutic options. Based on the observed 25 to 50% partial response rates in myeloma patients, thalidomide has been tried in patients with AL. Two reports (Dispenzieri et al, Amyloid10:247; 2003; Seldin et al, Clinical Lymphoma3:241; 2003) have demonstrated that standard dose, single agent thalidomide (≥ 200 mg per day) has a higher than expected rate of adverse events in AL patients without hematologic or organ response, potentially due to rapid patient attrition. We therefore performed a prospective clinical trial using low dose, single agent thalidomide in patients with AL. Methods: In August 2001, we began accrual to a phase II trial of low dose thalidomide for patients with AL. Eligibility included: age ≥ 18 years, creatinine <3mg/dL, total bilirubin < 3 mg/dL, ANC ≥ 1 x 10(9)/L, left ventricular ejection fraction of >45%, histochemical proof of amyloid and a monoclonal plasma cell dyscrasia, symptomatic organ involvement, and ability to supply informed consent. Patients were started with thalidomide 50 mg per day, with a dose escalation to a maximum dose of 400 mg per day over a 19 week period as tolerated. Patients were evaluated monthly by their physician. These office visits were staggered with telephone toxicity checks monthly by the primary investigator. The endpoint of the study was hematologic and organ response by 12 months. Results: Eighteen patients were treated. The median age was 66 years (range 43–83). Eight were male. Twenty-eight percent had an ECOG performance status of 2 or 3. Five patients (28%) had received no prior therapy. Five had received one prior regimen; 6, two prior; and 2, ≥ three. Three had received prior PBSCT. Sixteen patients had a monoclonal lambda plasma cell disorder; two, monoclonal kappa. Immunoglobulin heavy chains were IgG (n=9), IgM (n=5), IgA (n=1), and none (n=3). Twelve patients (67%) had cardiac involvement; twelve (67%) renal; two liver; two symptomatic gastrointestinal; one pulmonary; and two nerve involvement. Study participants had significant symptomatology at baseline with dyspnea (n=12), light-headedness (n=6), and edema (n=13). Median number of organs involved was 1, range (1 to 4). Median time on study drug was 5.6 months, range 0.7–24 months. Reasons for discontinuation included: progression, 7 (39%); 3 each (17%) for adverse events, death, and patient refusal; and other causes in 2. The median tolerated dose was 100 mg. There were no hematologic responses observed. The overall organ response rate was 11%. There was one renal response at 1 year and a gastrointestinal response at 3 months with 24 hour fecal fat changing from 21 to 8.7 grams. The most common adverse effects attributable to thalidomide were: constipation (78%), edema (44%), sinus bradycardia (17%), dyspnea (11%), and paresthesias (11%). Light-headedness, rising creatinine, thrombosis, infection, syncope, and rash was attributed to the thalidomide in 5.6% of patients. Conclusions: Low dose thalidomide is tolerable in this fragile group of patients, but as a single agent efficacy is limited. Further study of combination therapy of thalidomide and low dose dexamethasone may be warranted. A study using the next generation immune modulatory drug Revlimid is scheduled to open to accrual. Funded by NIH grant CA 91561 and Celgene.

Abstract Background: It has been hypothesized that multiple myeloma (MM) remains incurable due to a stemcell/proliferative component that responds only partially to standard treatment regimens. We have shown that abnormal production of IL-1beta in the myeloma microenvironment stimulates the generation of paracrine IL-6, the central myeloma growth factor, and that IL-1Ra will inhibit paracrine IL-6 production in vitro. Based on these preclinical studies, we have developed a Phase II trial using IL-1Ra. Purpose: To determine the biologic and clinical activity of IL-1Ra (Anakinra) in a subgroup of smoldering MM (SMM) patients that present with an elevated plasma cell labeling index (PCLI; a measure of myeloma cell proliferation). Methods: Patients that had ≥ 10% bone marrow plasma cells and/or an IgG or IgA M-spike ≥ 3 g/dL and did not require immediate chemotherapy were eligible. Patients received 100 mg of Anakinra (IL-1Ra) SQ qd for a total duration of 6 months. Results: Eleven of 29 patients enrolled on the protocol had an on-study PCLI > 0 and have completed six months of therapy with IL-1Ra. Seven of the 11 patients had a decrease in the PCLI of 75–100% (see Table), three had only modest changes (≤ 50%), and one had an increase. The decrease in the PCLI paralleled a decrease in the high sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) in all cases (43–90% decrease). The above results suggested that IL-1Ra inhibited IL-6 production in the myeloma microenvironment, as evidenced by a reduction in the CRP, resulting in suppression of myeloma cell growth. However, there was little effect on the M-protein. To investigate these clinical observations, we co-cultured IL-1beta transduced +/− myeloma cells with stromal cells +/− dexamethasone (DEX), IL-1Ra, or both for 48 hours and quantitated the percent apoptotic cells by flow cytometry and IL-6 production by ELISA. The results showed: 1) IL-1Ra was superior at inhibition of IL-6 but caused no increase in apoptosis; 2) the DEX apoptotic effect was eliminated by IL-6 3) DEX and IL-1Ra combined induced maximal IL-6 inhibition and apoptosis of myeloma cells. Based on these in vitro results, 5 of the 11 patients have been advanced to IL-1Ra + low dose DEX (20 mg/week) resulting in 4/5 minor responses (25–50% decrease M-spike) and 1/5 with stable disease. Conclusion: The use of IL-1Ra is a novel targeted therapeutic strategy that interferes with myeloma cell growth. By inhibiting IL-1beta induced IL-6 production, IL-1Ra specifically targets the proliferative myeloma fraction and also complements DEX induced apoptosis. Preliminary studies on the use of IL-1 inhibitors in SMM patients to delay/prevent progression to active MM and to minimize toxicity appear encouraging, however, more patients need to be studied. Patient # On Study 6 months % Change 1 PCLI 0.8% 0% −100% CRP (mg/L) 2.01 0.58 − 71% M-spike (g/dL) 2.5 2.4 − 4% 2 PCLI 0.2% 0% − 100% CRP 0.89 0.51 − 43% M-spike 2.8 2.7 − 3% 3 PCLI 0.2% 0% − 100% CRP 5.7 1.02 − 82% M-spike 2.9 2.9 0% 4 PCLI 4.1% 1% − 75% CRP 3.39 1.51 − 55% M-spike 3.8 3.6 − 5% 5 PCLI 0.4% 0% − 100% CRP 3.46 0.34 − 90% M-spike 2.7 3.1 15% 6 PCLI 0.3% 0% − 100% CRP 17 5.35 − 68% M-spike 4.4 3.9 − 11% 7 PCLI 1.2% 0% − 100% CRP 1.06 0.32 − 70% M-spike 3.1 2.9 − 6%

8031 Background: Our prior studies identified the prognostic significance of ≥400 cPCs/150,000 analyzed events quantified by MFC in NDMM. We evaluated if a similar quantification of cPCs using MFC can add prognostic value to the current R-ISS classification of NDMM pts. Methods: We evaluated all NDMM pts seen at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester from 2009-2017 who had their peripheral blood samples evaluated by 6-color MFC prior to therapy. The cPCs detected were reported as the number of clonal events/150,000 collected total events. Survival analysis was performed by the Kaplan-Meier method and differences assessed using the log rank test. Results: This cohort consisted of 566 consecutive pts with NDMM with a median age of 66 years (27-95). The distribution of the R-ISS classification of this cohort is as follows: Stage 1- 128 (23%) pts, Stage 2- 369 (65%) pts and Stage 3- 69 (12%) pts. The median number of cPCs was 59 (0-46,412) / 150,000 events. The median time-to-next-treatment (TTNT) and overall survival (OS) for pts with ≥400 cPCs (n = 140, 25%) was 19 months and 46 months compared with 34 months and 77 months for those with < 400 cPCs respectively (n = 426, 75%) (p < 0.001 for both). The median TTNT and OS for pts based on their R-ISS classification as well as with and without the presence of ≥400 cPCs by MFC was as follows in the following Table. Conclusions: Quantifying ≥400 cPCs/150,000 analyzed events by MFC can potentially upstage the R-ISS classification of a subset of NDMM pts with stage I and II disease and identify those pts with a worse than expected survival outcome.[Table: see text]

8606 Background: The rapidity of response to initial therapy in multiple myeloma (MM) depends on a variety of factors. There is limited data on its implications on long term outcomes in patients (pts) with newly diagnosed MM. Methods: We retrospectively examined the outcomes in a cohort of 454 pts with newly diagnosed MM between Jan 2000- Dec 2011 undergoing induction therapy. Results: The median age at diagnosis was 66 yrs (29-92). Pts had measurable serum M-spike (>= 1 g/dL), dFLC (>=10 mg/dl) or 24 hour urinary M protein excretion (UrM; >=200 mg) in 70, 63 and 39% respectively. We first examined the relationship between the response to first cycle of therapy and overall survival (OS). We divided pts into quartiles based on their % reduction in the serum M spike, dFLC or UrM. The median OS (Table) was poorest for pts with the least reduction of serum M protein (P<0.001) and of dFLC. The cutoffs for Q1 was 25, 40and 40% decrease for serum M spike, dFLC and 24 hr UrM respectively. Among various baseline characteristics only higher age was predictive of a poor (Q1) response. Given the trend toward worse OS among the Q 4 group (maximum decrease in serum M spike), we examined the relationship to cytogenetic risk. Among 232 pts with FISH data available, proportion of pts with high-risk disease was 27, 12, 22 and 31% respectively in quartiles 1 - 4). In a multivariate analysis, quartile 1 and 4 of serum M-protein response and the high-risk FISH were independent risk factors associated inferior OS. Conclusions: Both shallow and very deep response to therapy in cycle 1 is a strong indicator of eventual disease outcome and should be considered as marker of high-risk disease, likely through different mechanisms. For the shallow responders, prospective trials should assess if a change in therapeutic management will alter the outcome of these pts. The rapid deep responders also appear represent a different high-risk biology, emphasizing the fact that pts with high-risk disease often have excellent initial responses, but poor long term outcomes. [Table: see text]

8600 Background: The combination of bortezomib, dexamethasone, thalidomide, cisplatin, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide and etoposide (VDTPACE) was developed as an intense regimen for disease control prior to tandem transplantation for multiple myeloma (MM) in total therapy protocols. The regimen is very effective in this setting, and since has also been used in the relapsed setting. We examined the outcomes of a set of patients undergoing VDTPACE therapy for relapsed MM at our institution. Methods: We identified 71 patients who received VDTPACE for relapsed MM, at Mayo Clinic from 7/2006 to 7/2012. Plasma cell leukemia was excluded. All data was extracted from clinical records. Results: The median age of patients was 59 years (range, 39-80); 48 (67.6%) were male. The median time from diagnosis to initiation of VDTPACE was 38.2 months (range, 2-125). The median number of cycles given was 1 (range, 1-9). The overall response rate after one cycle was 57.1% (14.3% VGPR, 22.2% PR and 20.6% MR) in the 63 patients in whom the response was evaluable. The median overall survival (OS) post-VDTPACE was 8.2 months (95% CI, 5.7-10.9). Eighteen (25.4%) patients went on to autologous stem cell transplantation (SCT), and 7 (9.9%) received matched allogeneic SCT following VDTPACE, and the median OS post-VDTPACE was significantly longer for these groups compared to those who were not transplanted (15.3 and 20.5 months, respectively vs 5 months, p-value <0.001). Thirty eight of 66 (57.6%) patients were rehospitalized after initial admission for infusion therapy for a median duration of 6 days (range, 1-26). The median platelet and red cell transfusions were 4 (range, 0-21) and 5 (range, 0-22) units, respectively. Renal toxicity was seen in 13/62 (21%) patients and 27/65 (41.5%) patients developed neutropenic fever. The median duration to absolute neutrophil and platelet count recovery was 18 (range 12-42) and 27 (range, 12-42) days, respectively. Three (4.2%) patients died within 30 days and 11 (15.5%) within 8 weeks of initiating VDTPACE. Conclusions: VDTPACE is an effective therapy in relapsed MM but is associated with significant morbidity and short-term mortality. It appears to be more effective when followed by an autologous or allogeneic SCT.

8541 Background: Achievement of a complete response (CR) to treatment is an important predictor of outcome for patients (pts) with myeloma (MM). The goal of the current study was to assess whether the treatment that resulted in CR has any impact on the outcomes. Methods: We identified 462 pts with MM, who fulfilled the IMWG criteria for CR, seen at Mayo Clinic between 1991 and 2011. The treatment was classified into groups by the regimen that led to CR (Table), and also based on whether an autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) was part of the regimen. The remaining 21 pts had a variety of regimens and are not included in the Table. Results: The median age at diagnosis was 58.5 yrs (27.1–82.3 yrs) with 56% males. The overall survival (OS) from diagnosis for the entire cohort was 10.7 yrs (95% CI; 9.3, NR). The median interval from diagnosis to the recorded CR was 10.3 mos (range 1- 170), with 272 (58.4%) and 385 (82.7%) obtaining a CR in <12 mos and <24 months from diagnosis. We first compared the outcomes based on whether ASCT was part of the regimen; 328 had an ASCT while 117 pts received only chemotherapy. Median time to progression (TTP) following a CR was 5.1 yrs for the ASCT group compared with 5.5 yrs for the rest (P=0.3). Median OS from CR was 9.1 yrs for the ASCT group and 7.5 yrs for the rest (P=0.5) and OS from diagnosis was 10.1 yrs for the ASCT group and 12.6 for the rest (P=0.5). Examining the outcomes based on the regimen utilized showed that the TTP and OS from CR as well as OS from diagnosis were similar for all the groups (Table). Among pts who had a CR within a year of diagnosis, there were no differences in terms of the TTP or OS from the onset of CR or from diagnosis between the ASCT vs. chemotherapy groups or between the different regimens (P=NS for all comparisons). Conclusions: The current study highlights an important message regarding CR in MM. The results suggest that the prognostic value of CR is independent of the nature of therapy, and likely reflects the contribution of disease biology to obtaining a CR. [Table: see text]

8516 Background: There is consensus that light chain amyloidosis (AL) patients with CRAB criteria (abnormal calcium or renal function, anemia or lytic bone lesions) also have multiple myeloma (MM). These patients are typically excluded from AL trials; however, AL patients with >= 10% bone marrow plasma cells (BMPC) in the absence of CRAB are included in trials along with AL with < 10% BMPC. We postulated that the currently used dichotomy may be incorrect and examined the spectrum of AL with and without MM. Methods: We identified 1,272 patients with AL seen within 90 days of diagnosis, between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2010. We defined the population of patients with coexisting MM based on the existence of CRAB (AL-CRAB-MM). Patients without CRAB were divided into two groups, AL-only (<10% BMPC) and AL-PC-MM (>=10% BMPC). Results: Among the 1,272 patients, 117 (9%) had AL-CRAB-MM, 476 (37%) had AL-PC-MM, and 679 (53%) had AL only. Their respective median overall survivals (OS) were 16.2, 15.8, and 28.4 months (p<0.0001). Autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) was performed in 203 (30%), 138 (29%) and 23 (20%) patients respectively. Since the outcomes of AL-CRAB-MM and AL-PC-MM were similar, they were pooled for univariate and multivariate analyses. On multivariate analysis, AL-CRAB-MM and AL-PC-MM retained negative prognostic value independent of age, cardiac stage, prior autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT), beta 2 microglobulin, and dFLC. We next considered whether patients received ASCT as part of their treatment. For those patients who never received ASCT, the 5-year OS were 19%, 14%, and 31%, p<0.001, for AL-CRAB-MM, AL-PC-MM, and AL only respectively. In contrast, for those patients who received ASCT, the respective 5-year OS were 46%, 56%, and 73%, p<0.001. Conclusions: AL patients with >=10% BMPCs have a poor prognosis similar to patients with AL-CRAB-MM and should therefore be considered as AL with MM.

TPS8116 Background: Eukaryotic translation initiation Factor 5A (eIF5A) has been implicated in the regulation of apoptosis and is the only known protein to be modified by hypusination. Hypusinated eIF5A is the predominant form of eIF5A in cancer cells. However, in its unhypusinated form, eIF5A is pro-apoptotic. SNS01-T, designed to treat myeloma, consists of two components: a plasmid DNA expressing eIF5AK50R (human eIF5A containing a lysine to arginine substitution at position 50) which remains pro-apoptotic because it cannot be hypusinated, and an siRNA against an untranslated region of native eIF5A mRNA. When these two components are combined with linear polyethyleneimine (PEI), the nucleic acids are condensed into nanoparticles for protection from degradation in the blood and enhanced delivery to tissues. The eIF5AK50R transgene is under the control of the B29 promoter and enhancer, which restricts expression to B cells. The mode of action of SNS01-T is to use an eIF5A-specific siRNA to deplete the pool of hypusinated eIF5A in myeloma cells while simultaneously adding pro-apoptotic eIF5AK50R. In vitro cell studies and in vivo xenograft studies have demonstrated the efficacy of this approach. Methods: Eligible patients are enrolled sequentially into four cohorts of increasingly higher doses. Each cohort will receive SNS01-T by intravenous infusion twice weekly for 6 consecutive weeks and then be observed every 4 weeks during a 24-week follow-up period. Eligible patients must have been diagnosed with multiple myeloma according to IMWG criteria, have measurable disease, have relapsed disease after two or more prior treatment regimens, have a life expectancy of at least 3 months, and not be eligible to receive any other standard therapy known to extend life expectancy. The primary objective is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of multiple escalating doses of SNS01-T. Secondary objectives include pharmacokinetics, immunogenicity studies, proinflammatory cytokine quantitation, and therapeutic efficacy. Two of the planned 15 patients have been enrolled. (Clinical Trials.gov Identifier: NCT01435720.)

8105 Background: Tumor stage migration can artifactually inflate cancer survival rates and overestimate benefits of newer therapies. We have previously shown a favorable impact of widely used novel agents in MM patients. However, it is not known whether use of well tolerated and easily administrable novel agents results in their introduction at lower levels of MM burden (and therefore add to improved outcome). Our goal was to assess for stage migration in newly diagnosed active MM patients. Methods: We reviewed records of 1,467 patients with active MM at Mayo Clinic, at initiation of therapy from 3 consecutive 5-year intervals: 01/1996-12/2000 (Group 1), 01/2001-12/2005 (Group 2), 01/2006- 12/2010 (Group 3). These intervals reflect the practice changing approaches at our center transitioning from the use of alkylator-based to novel agent-based initial therapy. Traditional parameters and staging systems were used to estimate tumor burden. We performed one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to assess for differences in these parameters among the groups. A p-value of <0.05 was considered significant. Results: Group 3 shows an upward trend for hemoglobin (Hgb), and lower creatinine and bone marrow plasma cell (BMPC) percent. Compared to other groups, a greater proportion of Group 3 patients are assigned to lower Durie Salmon (DS) stages (Table) suggesting reduced tumor burden at therapy initiation. In contrast, the International Staging System (ISS) which is not used for decisions regarding therapy initiation divides cohorts in similar proportions. Conclusions: Stage migration is evident in our cohort of active MM patients presenting in the time periods of evolving initial therapeutic strategies. Future studies should take into account the bias introduced by this phenomenon in interpreting survival analysis of MM patients. [Table: see text]

8096 Background: The combination of lenalidomide and dexamethasone (Len-Dex) is a commonly used initial therapy for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. While the short-term outcomes with respect to response and toxicity is well-known, long-term outcome with this combination as initial therapy is not well described. Methods: We studied 286 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed MM seen at our institution, who received initial therapy with Len-Dex, and who had complete follow up records. Data regarding the clinical course was obtained from medical records. Results: The median (range) age at diagnosis was 63 (28-92) yrs; 166 (58% were ≤ 65 yrs and175 (61%) were male. The median estimated follow-up was 3.9 yrs (95% CI, 3.4, 4.2) and 203 (71%) pts were alive at the time of last follow up. The median estimated duration on Len-Dex was 5.3 mos (95% CI, 4.6, 6.4). The best overall response (≥PR) was 72%, including 26% with VGPR or better and 14 (5%) not being evaluable for a response. At last follow up, 41 (14%) patients were continuing on therapy. There were 93 pts (32%) who stayed on therapy for 12 months or more. Among these patients, the ORR was 86%, including 45% with VGPR or better. The median overall survival (OS) for the entire cohort from diagnosis was 7.4 yrs (95% CI; 5.8, NR) and the estimated 5-yr survival was 67%. There were 16 (5.5%) pts who died within a year of diagnosis. The median time to first disease progression, irrespective of transplant status, was 30.2 mos (95% CI, 25, 42). Overall, 143 (50%) of the patients have gone to stem cell transplant. Censoring those patients who proceeded to SCT prior to relapse at the time of BMT, the median TTP was 25.5 mos (95% CI, 22, 29). The median OS was 7.4 yrs for those ≤65 yrs, compared with 6.2 yrs for the older patients (P=0.01). The 5-yr OS estimate for patients in ISS stage 1, 2 and 3 were 82, 65, and 44 months respectively. Conclusions: The current study provides long-term estimates of responses and survival in a series of patients treated initially with lenalidomide and dexamethasone. The median survival of nearly 8 years reflects the efficacy of the novel agents both at diagnosis and at relapse and confirms the survival improvements seen in MM in the last decade.