Morschhauser, Franck

Abstract Introduction: Liso-cel is an autologous, CD19-directed, 4-1BB CAR T cell product. TRANSFORM (NCT03575351) is a global, randomized, open-label, phase 3 study of liso-cel versus SOC as second-line therapy in adults with R/R LBCL. In the TRANSFORM study, liso-cel showed superior, more durable efficacy versus SOC, with a potential long-term survival benefit and a favorable safety profile, highlighting the curative potential of liso-cel for second-line R/R LBCL. Upon completion of TRANSFORM, patients who received liso-cel could enroll into a separate, long-term follow-up (LTFU) study (NCT03435796). Here, we report results after approximately 4 years of follow-up in patients from TRANSFORM who consented to the LTFU study. Methods The TRANSFORM study compared liso-cel versus SOC (chemotherapy [R-DHAP, R-ICE, or R-GDP] followed by high-dose chemotherapy [HDCT] + ASCT) in adults aged ≤ 75 years with LBCL primary refractory to or relapsed within 12 months of first-line therapy and eligible for ASCT. Patients in the liso-cel arm underwent lymphodepletion followed by liso-cel (100 × 106 CAR+ T cells). Crossover to receive liso-cel was allowed for patients in the SOC arm. The LTFU study enrolled patients who received liso-cel and discontinued early or completed TRANSFORM; liso-cel was not administered during the LTFU study and subsequent therapies were administered at investigator discretion. Selected AEs considered related to liso-cel (malignancies, neurologic, hematologic, or rheumatologic/autoimmune disorders) and OS would be assessed at each visit (month 3 and then every 6 months from years 1 to 5, and then annually) for up to 15 years from liso-cel infusion until study withdrawal or death, whichever occurred first. OS for the combined study was defined as the time from randomization to death due to any cause. PFS for the combined TRANSFORM and LTFU studies incorporated data from TRANSFORM, assessed by an independent review committee, and from LTFU, assessed by investigators, and was defined as the time from randomization to disease progression or death from any cause. For LTFU only, OS and PFS were measured from LTFU consent to event or censoring. In cases where the patient was censored at last assessment date (without receiving new therapy) in TRANSFORM and enrolled in LTFU, LTFU data were used. For patients from the liso-cel arm of TRANSFORM who did not enroll in the LTFU study, the data from TRANSFORM were considered (ie, either an event or censored) at their last adequate assessment date or before starting new therapy. Results are reported descriptively. Results In total, 184 patients were randomized in TRANSFORM (92 per arm); key demographics and baseline characteristics were previously reported (Abramson, et al. Blood 2023). The LTFU study enrolled 67 patients who received liso-cel (liso-cel arm, n = 43; crossover from SOC arm, n = 24). The median follow-up (range) for the liso-cel arm was 16.9 months (1.3–29.7) in the LTFU study and 40.1 months (2.2–61.9) combining the TRANSFORM and LTFU studies. The median follow-ups for OS and PFS for the liso-cel arm in the LTFU study were 17.1 (16.1–21.9) and 16.9 months (16.0–21.8), respectively. In patients from the LTFU study in the liso-cel arm (n = 43), median PFS and OS were both not reached (NR) with 95% CIs of NR–NR. The 24-month rates (95% CI) of PFS and OS were 94.7% (87.4–100.0) and 95.1% (88.4–100.0), respectively. In the 92 patients randomized to the liso-cel arm, using combined data from the TRANSFORM and LTFU studies, median (95% CI) PFS was NR (12.6–NR); 48-month PFS rate was 52.2% (41.5–62.8). Median (95% CI) OS was NR (NR–NR); 48-month OS rate was 61.5% (51.2–71.7). Safety results from the LTFU study in the liso-cel arm showed no new signals compared with previous reports from TRANSFORM. AEs of any grade occurred in 2 patients (hypogammaglobulinemia and dyspnea; n = 1 each), with no second primary malignancies or serious infections. AEs of grade 3 or 4 occurred in 1 patient (dyspnea). No AEs led to death.Conclusions: After a median follow-up of approximately 4 years combining data from the TRANSFORM and LTFU studies, liso-cel continued to demonstrate long-term clinical benefit with high PFS and OS rates in patients with second-line R/R LBCL. The safety profile of liso-cel continued to be manageable with no new safety signals observed during LTFU. These results further support liso-cel as an effective second-line treatment with curative potential for R/R LBCL.

PURPOSE Although most patients with follicular lymphoma (FL) can expect an indolent course, progressive lymphoma remains the primary cause of death during the first decade after diagnosis. Progression of disease within 24 months (POD24) of starting first-line (1L) immunochemotherapy defines a high-risk population with poor survival, but better risk stratification at diagnosis is needed. METHODS The FLIPI24 model was developed and internally validated to predict 24-month event rates using individual data from 4,485 patients treated with 1L immunochemotherapy from 10 observational cohorts of FL. Overall and cause-specific survival was further evaluated in FLIPI24 risk groups. External validation in the 1L immunochemotherapy setting was performed using the prospective observational Lymphoma Epidemiology of Outcomes (LEO) cohort (N = 565) and three randomized phase III trials (N = 3,192); extension to all patients with FL (any 1L therapy) was performed in the LEO cohort (N = 1,445) and its Molecular Epidemiology Resource subcohort (N = 1,074). RESULTS The FLIPI24 model uses age and four blood-based variables (hemoglobin, lactate dehydrogenase, beta-2 microglobulin, and WBC count). FLIPI24 showed consistent performance across validation and extension data sets, which was superior to existing prognostic tools. Across the four external immunochemotherapy validation data sets, patients with high-risk FLIPI24 (23%-32% of patients) had significantly higher 24-month event rates (22%-35%) and inferior 5-year overall survival (77%-83%) compared with patients with low-risk FLIPI24 (29%-31% of patients, 24-month event rates: 10%-12%; 5-year OS: 96%-97%). Results were consistent when evaluating lymphoma-related death and when extended to all patients with FL. CONCLUSION The FLIPI24 model robustly stratifies, at diagnosis, patients with FL at increased risk of lymphoma-related death versus patients with very low lymphoma-related mortality during the first decade after diagnosis. FLIPI24 can be used to enrich future clinical trial designs in newly diagnosed FL.

Abstract Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) poses a challenge in hematology given its varied symptoms, and the complex interplay between disease and treatment effects on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The phase 3 POLARIX study demonstrated superior progression-free survival and a similar safety profile with polatuzumab vedotin plus rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone (Pola-R-CHP) vs R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) in patients with previously untreated DLBCL. Here, we evaluate HRQoL through patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments to fully characterize the patient experience in the POLARIX study. Changes from baseline in HRQoL, lymphoma symptoms, and gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms were assessed, as well as incidence and severity of common symptoms by PROs vs clinician-reported adverse events (AEs). Baseline characteristics of PRO-evaluable patients (N = 874) were consistent. Comparison between PROs and clinician-reported AEs revealed a notable discordance; patients generally reported a higher incidence of symptoms than clinicians, emphasizing the need for patient-centric tools to accurately capture the patient experience. Both treatments exhibited rapid and sustained improvements in HRQoL and lymphoma symptoms, with the most substantial improvements seen in global health status/QoL, lymphoma symptoms, fatigue, role, emotional, and social functioning. GI symptoms (diarrhea, constipation, nausea, and vomiting) were generally similar between treatment arms and returned to baseline levels after treatment completion. These HRQoL data underscore the complementarity of PROs, as an adjunct to clinician-reported AEs, in evaluating the efficacy and tolerability of new treatments, including Pola-R-CHP, which may represent a new benchmark for patient-reported HRQoL in previously untreated DLBCL. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03274492.

Abstract Twenty percent of patients with follicular lymphoma relapse early with poor outcomes; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying this aggressive behavior are unknown. Using a multiomic approach, we show that patients with follicular lymphoma with elevated IRF4 expression (IRF4hi) have increased transformation risk, dysregulated immune signaling, and a suppressive tumor microenvironment. Loss- and gain-of-function experiments in IRF4hi lymphoma cells, along with chromatin profiling, demonstrate that IRF4 impairs their interaction with T cells by repressing antigen presentation and co-receptor gene modules while promoting the expression of cytokines that antagonize T-follicular helper cell and regulatory T-cell functions. Additionally, IRF4 rewires tumor metabolism and restricts glucose availability to immune cells. Silencing of IRF4 inhibits tumor cell growth and restores immune surveillance mechanisms, thus representing a promising target for therapy. Our data suggest that IRF4hi lymphoma cells co-opt a developmental mechanism used to exit the germinal center response in promoting a more aggressive cancer via engagement of multiple immune-evasive mechanisms. Significance: We show that IRF4 controls immune and metabolic signaling with functional effects on the cross-talk between B and T cells, resulting in a suppressive immune microenvironment when IRF4 is overexpressed in lymphoma. This underscores the importance of IRF4 as a pivotal therapeutic target to restore antitumor immunosurveillance for IRF4-associated lymphomas.

We report 3-year follow-up results from TRANSFORM comparing lisocabtagene maraleucel (liso-cel) versus standard of care (SOC) for second-line primary refractory/early relapsed (≤12 months) large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL). Adults eligible for autologous stem cell transplantation (N = 184) were randomly assigned 1:1 to liso-cel (100 × 10 6 chimeric antigen receptor–positive T cells) or SOC. Results are reported descriptively. With a median follow-up of 33.9 months, median (95% CI) event-free survival was 29.5 months (9.5 to not reached [NR]) for liso-cel versus 2.4 months (2.2 to 4.9) for SOC (hazard ratio [HR], 0.375; 95% CI, 0.259 to 0.542). Median progression-free survival was NR (12.6-NR) for liso-cel versus 6.2 months (4.3-8.6) for SOC (HR, 0.422; 95% CI, 0.279 to 0.639) with 36-month rates of 51% versus 26.5%. Median overall survival (OS) was NR for both arms (HR, 0.757; 95% CI, 0.481 to 1.191), with 66% of patients crossing over to receive liso-cel; 36-month OS rate was 63% for liso-cel versus 52% for SOC. OS HR (0.566 [95% CI, 0.359 to 0.895]) favored liso-cel when accounting for the treatment effect of crossover. Safety results were consistent with previous reports. At 3-year follow-up, liso-cel confirmed superior, more durable efficacy versus SOC with a favorable safety profile and no new safety signals. These data support liso-cel as an effective second-line treatment with curative potential for relapsed/refractory LBCL.

Background: Positron emission tomography (PET) scan is the imaging modality of choice for initial staging and response assessment of follicular lymphoma (FL). Quantitative parameters such as standardized uptake value (SUV) have been investigated as putative prognosticators in FL, with high baseline SUVmax predicting aggressive disease. To date, there is no data to guide treatment choices in patients (pts) with high SUVmax but with no documented evidence of histologic transformation (HT). Specifically, it remains unclear whether anthracycline-containing regimens, such as R-CHOP, are more beneficial than R-Bendamustine (BR) in these pts. Therefore, we aimed to compare the efficacy of frontline R-CHOP and BR in newly diagnosed FL pts based on the SUVmax at baseline PET (bPET). Patients and Methods: Pts with newly diagnosed, biopsy-proven FL1-2 and FL3A who had a bPET scan and who received either first-line R-CHOP or BR within 6 months of diagnosis between 2002 and 2022 were evaluated. Analysis was restricted to pts with age < 70 years to reduce confounding of age with treatment selection. Cohorts included were the FOLL12 (n=562, Luminari et al JCO 2022) and the R-chemotherapy arm of the RELEVANCE (n=216, Morschhauser et al NEJM 2018) clinical trials, the prospectively enrolled Molecular Epidemiology Resource (MER) and the Lymphoma Epidemiology of Outcomes (LEO) cohorts (n=288) and a retrospective cohort from 13 Australian centers (n=219). Choice of chemotherapy regimen was per treating physician. Maintenance was per protocol (FOLL12/RELEVANCE) or per treating physician (MER/LEO/Australia). Event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) were defined as time from treatment initiation to progression, relapse, retreatment or death; both were censored at 72 months due to varying follow-up across cohorts. SUVmax was grouped by tertile within each cohort to account for potential differences in SUVmax distributions and patient populations across cohorts. Kaplan Meier curves and multivariable Cox models cohort-stratified and adjusted for clinical factors (FLIPI, ECOG PS, age, grade 3A) were used to evaluate outcomes. Results: The median age at diagnosis was 57 years (IQR 49-64). 651 (51%) pts were treated with R-CHOP and 634 (49%) with BR. Within the study cohorts, there was a prevalence of cases receiving BR compared to R-CHOP in the Australian (90% vs 10%) and MER/LEO (68% vs 32%) cohorts, while the opposite was observed in the RELEVANCE (16% vs 84%) and FOLL12 (37% vs 63; p<0.001) trials. Pts receiving R-CHOP were slightly younger (median 56 vs 58 years, p=0.005), more frequently had grade 3A (17% vs 7%, p<0.001), elevated LDH (27% vs 22%, p=0.029), bulky disease > 7 cm (44% vs 37%, p=0.019), lower ECOG PS (PS >1 7% vs 13%, p<0.001), and higher rate of high risk FLIPI (37% vs 30%, p=0.005). Baseline SUVmax was slightly lower in R-CHOP (median 10.7, IQR 7.9-14.9) vs BR (median 11.0, IQR 8.2-14.2) treated pts (p=0.0045). At a median follow-up of 56 months (range, 1-72 months), 415 pts (32%) had an event and 103 (8%) died. Higher SUVmax was not associated with EFS (middle tertile HR=0.96, 95% CI 0.76-1.22; upper tertile HR=0.86, 95% CI 0.68-1.09; p=0.45) or OS (middle tertile HR=1.28, 95% CI 0.80-2.05; upper tertile HR=0.97, 95% CI 0.59-1.59; p=0.44) in multivariable models stratified on cohort and adjusted for treatment and clinical factors. We then compared outcomes by treatment within tertiles of SUVmax. In multivariable models, R-CHOP had modestly inferior EFS to BR in low (HR=1.27, 95% CI 0.84-1.93) and middle tertiles (HR=1.49, 95% CI 0.99-2.25), and modestly superior OS to BR in low (HR=0.59, 95% CI 0.23-1.47) and middle (HR=0.79, 95% CI 0.37-1.71) tertiles. Both EFS (HR=1.06, 95% CI 0.71-1.58) and OS (HR=1.02, 95% CI 0.45-2.30) for R-CHOP were similar to BR in the highest tertile. No comparisons identified a statistically significant benefit for either therapy in multivariable models when evaluating SUVmax tertile subsets. Conclusions: In this large multicenter study of newly diagnosed FL pts with bPET who received frontline immunochemotherapy, higher baseline SUVmax was not associated with inferior outcomes after adjusting for treatment and clinical factors. Within the caveats of retrospective studies and confounding of treatment selection, these data provide no clear insights for SUVmax-based therapy selection in first-line follicular lymphoma pts treated with immunochemotherapy.

7013 Background: Liso-cel is an autologous, CD19-directed, 4-1BB CAR T cell product. In prespecified interim and primary analyses of TRANSFORM (NCT03575351), liso-cel showed significant improvements in efficacy vs SOC in pts with R/R LBCL. Here we report results after ~3-y FU. Methods: TRANSFORM is a randomized phase 3 study comparing liso-cel vs SOC (CT [R-DHAP, R-ICE, or R-GDP] then high-dose CT [HDCT] + ASCT) in adults aged ≤ 75 y with LBCL primary refractory to or relapsed ≤ 12 mo after first-line therapy and eligible for ASCT. Liso-cel arm pts underwent lymphodepletion followed by liso-cel (100 × 10 6 CAR + T cells). Bridging therapy was allowed. SOC arm pts received 3 cycles of CT; responding pts proceeded to HDCT + ASCT. Crossover to receive liso-cel was allowed for SOC arm pts if criteria were met. The primary endpoint was event-free survival (EFS) per independent review committee (IRC). Key secondary endpoints included CR rate and PFS per IRC, and OS. Endpoints were not statistically retested and are reported descriptively. Results: In total, 184 pts were randomized (92 per arm); baseline characteristics were reported (Abramson et al. Blood 2023). Median (range) FU was 33.9 mo (0.9–53.0). Median EFS, PFS, and duration of response (DOR) were longer for liso-cel vs SOC, similar to the primary analysis (Table). A total of 61 (66%) SOC arm pts crossed over to receive liso-cel. Median OS was not reached (NR) in either arm; 36-mo OS rates were numerically higher for liso-cel. Of 76 total deaths (liso-cel, n = 34; SOC, n = 42 [crossover pts, n = 33]), 10 occurred since the primary analysis (liso-cel, n = 6; SOC, n = 4 [all crossover pts]); most were due to disease progression or complications (n = 6). Safety results were consistent with the primary analysis. Cellular kinetics and B-cell aplasia will be presented. Conclusions: After median FU of 33.9 mo, liso-cel as 2L treatment in pts with primary refractory or early relapsed LBCL resulted in deepening of response and continued improvement in efficacy endpoints over SOC, confirming the ongoing benefit of liso-cel. Clinical trial information: NCT03575351 . [Table: see text]

Abstract This global phase 3 study compared lisocabtagene maraleucel (liso-cel) with a standard of care (SOC) as second-line therapy for primary refractory or early relapsed (≤12 months) large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL). Adults eligible for autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT; N = 184) were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to liso-cel (100 × 106 chimeric antigen receptor–positive T cells) or SOC (3 cycles of platinum-based immunochemotherapy followed by high-dose chemotherapy and ASCT in responders). The primary end point was event-free survival (EFS). In this primary analysis with a 17.5-month median follow-up, median EFS was not reached (NR) for liso-cel vs 2.4 months for SOC. Complete response (CR) rate was 74% for liso-cel vs 43% for SOC (P < .0001) and median progression-free survival (PFS) was NR for liso-cel vs 6.2 months for SOC (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.400; P < .0001). Median overall survival (OS) was NR for liso-cel vs 29.9 months for SOC (HR = 0.724; P = .0987). When adjusted for crossover from SOC to liso-cel, 18-month OS rates were 73% for liso-cel and 54% for SOC (HR = 0.415). Grade 3 cytokine release syndrome and neurological events occurred in 1% and 4% of patients in the liso-cel arm, respectively (no grade 4 or 5 events). These data show significant improvements in EFS, CR rate, and PFS for liso-cel compared with SOC and support liso-cel as a preferred second-line treatment compared with SOC in patients with primary refractory or early relapsed LBCL. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT03575351.