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Pullarkat, Vinod

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9129-3424

Mayo Clinic

City Of Hope National Medical Center

Citations 20

Improved Outcomes with TKI Maintenance Following Brexucabtagene Autoleucel in Philadelphia-chromosome ALL
Othman, Tamer , Roloff, Gregory W. , Miller, Katharine, Zhang, Amy , Sutherland, Katherine C. , Faramand, Rawan , Hill, LaQuisa C. , Jeyakumar, Nikeshan , Ladha, Abdullah , Kopmar, Noam E., Tsai, Stephanie B., O'CONNOR, TIMOTHY E., Solh, Melhem , Guzowski, Caitlin, Tan, Virginia, Malik, Shahbaz A., Mathews, John, Shaughnessy, Paul , Mountjoy, Luke, Schwartz, Marc S., Connor, Matthew P. , Vasu, Sumithira, Kumaran, Muthu, Hoeg, Rasmus T., Tracy, Sean , Yaghmour, George , Pullarkat, Vinod , Muffly, Lori , Aldoss, Ibrahim, Jeyakumar, Nikeshan , Ladha, Abdullah , Sasine, Joshua , Lin, Chenyu , Hilal, Talal , Majhail, Navneet S , Dykes, Kaitlyn C , Logan, Aaron C , Connor, Matthew , Cassaday, Ryan D , Leonard, Jessica T , Shah, Bijal , Frey, Noelle V , Muffly, Lori , Hill, LaQuisa C , Faramand, Rawan , Sutherland, Katherine , Roloff, Gregory W , Othman, Tamer , Zhang, Amy , Muhsen, Ibrahim N. , Sasine, Joshua , Lin, Chenyu , Kopmar, Noam E. , Tsai, Stephanie, Hilal, Talal , Majhail, Navneet S. , Battiwalla, Minoo , Malik, Shahbaz A. , Mountjoy, Luke , Dykes, Kaitlyn C. , Wang, Jiasheng , Vasu, Sumithira , Hoeg, Rasmus T. , Yalniz, Fevzi , Cassaday, Ryan D. , Shah, Bijal , Frey, Noelle V. , Aldoss, Ibrahim

Blood Advances | June 25, 2026 | Volume: No volume available | Issue: No issue available | Pages: No page available

10.1182/bloodadvances.2026020707 Get It

Brexucabtagene-autoleucel (brexu-cel) produces high rates of measurable residual disease-negative (MRD-) complete response (CR) in adults with Philadelphia-chromosome positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL); however, subsequent relapses remain frequent. It is unclear whether maintenance with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) can enhance remission durability. We evaluated outcomes among adults with relapsed/refractory Ph+ ALL who received commercial brexu-cel and achieved MRD- CR across 19 U.S. institutions. Considering TKI maintenance as a time-varying covariate, we analyzed outcomes based on receipt of subsequent TKI maintenance versus no maintenance. Patients receiving consolidative transplantation or non-TKI maintenance were excluded. Fifty-one patients were included: 20 received TKI maintenance and 31 received no maintenance. The use of TKI maintenance was associated with a significantly lower 1-year cumulative incidence of relapse (HR 0.12; 95% CI, 0.02-0.88; p=0.037) which translated into improved progression-free survival (PFS, HR 0.19; 95% CI, 0.04-0.85; p=0.029) and a trend towards improved overall survival (OS, HR 0.34; 95% CI, 0.07-1.62; p=0.18). There was no difference in non-relapse mortality (NRM, HR 0.83; 95% CI, 0.12-5.87; p=0.85). This real-world analysis supports the administration of TKI maintenance in Ph+ ALL following achievement of MRD- CR with brexu-cel as a strategy to improve PFS following chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy.
Allogeneic haematopoietic cell transplantation in advanced systemic mastocytosis in the new era: A CIBMTR study
Üstün, Celalettin , Zhang, Mei‐Jie , Peterson, Andrew C. , Baek, Alexander, Coltoff, Alex, Gandhi, Arpita , Ho, Vincent T., Lin, Adam, Gowda, Lohith , Mensah, Felix, Nadiminti, Kalyan , Trunk, Andrew D. , Uberti, Joseph P., Marcucci, Guido , Akın, Cem , Pullarkat, Vinod , Juckett, Mark, Saber, Wael , Burns, Linda J. , Alkhateeb, Hassan B , Borthakur, Gautam , Nadiminti, Kalyan V , Nishihori, Taiga , Trunk, Andrew , Hamadani, Mehdi , Oran, Betul , Peterson, Andrew, Agha, Mounzer , Alkhateeb, Hassan B. , Chhabra, Saurabh , Coltoff, Alex, Lima, Marcos de , Kassim, Adetola A , Lin, Adam, Borthakur, Gautam , DeAngelo, Daniel J. , McGuirk, Joseph P. , Nishihori, Taiga , Pantin, Jeremy , Gotlib, Jason , Akin, Cem , Hamadani, Mehdi , Valent, Peter , Grunwald, Michael R. , Oran, Betül

British Journal of Haematology | September 23, 2025 | Volume: 207 | Issue: 6 | Pages: 2486-2495

10.1111/bjh.70154 Get It

Summary We investigated the outcomes of patients with advanced systemic mastocytosis (AdvSM) undergoing allogeneic haematopoietic cell therapy (alloHCT) in the US. Twenty‐seven adult (median age, 58 years) patients with AdvSM received alloHCT from 2014 to 2021. Most patients were white (93%), male (63%) and had systemic mastocytosis (SM) with associated haematological neoplasm (SM‐AHN, 70%), received peripheral blood grafts (89%) and non‐myeloablative regimens. KIT mutation was detected in 14 of the reported 16 patients (87.5%). Post‐transplantation cyclophosphamide (PTCy) was used in approximately 50% of the cohort. Approximately 1 year after alloHCT, median bone marrow mast cell burden decreased from 15% pre‐alloHCT to 1.5% (range 0–8) at 1 year post‐alloHCT. The median serum tryptase decreased from 55 ng/mL (range 3–400 ng/mL) pre‐alloHCT to 18 ng/mL (range 0–481 ng/mL) at 1 year post‐alloHCT. At 1 year, progression‐free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 59% (95% confidence interval [CI], 41%–77%) and 74% (95% CI, 56%–89%) respectively. In the subset of patients with SM‐AHN, 1‐year PFS and OS were 74% (52%–91%) and 79% (95% CI, 58%–94%) respectively. The cumulative incidence of relapse/progression for the entire population of patients with SM ( n = 27) was 4% (95% CI, 0–14) at 100 days and 15% (95% CI, 4–31) at 1 year. For the subset of patients with AHN, the cumulative incidence was 11% (95% CI, 1–28) at 100 days and 21% (95% CI, 6–42) at 1 year. Relapse/progression was the cause of death in six of 12 patients (5 died of AHN and 1 died of SM progression). Eighteen and nine patients received a KIT inhibitor before alloHCT and after alloHCT respectively. In addition, six patients received a KIT inhibitor for the treatment of relapse/progression of SM after alloHCT. Although it is difficult to delineate the exact effect of alloHCT and KIT inhibitors because of the size of the study in this era, the use of alloHCT and KIT inhibitors pre‐ and post‐ alloHCT is increasing. In the near future, larger studies are required to provide further insights into this subject.
NGS MRD Negativity on Day 28 after Brexu Cel in Adults with R/R ALL Is Associated with Favorable Progression Free Survival
Valtis, Yannis K. , Devlin, Sean, Jeyakumar, Nikeshan , Miller, Katharine, Zhang, Amy , Sutherland, Katherine C. , Kopmar, Noam E. , Dekker, Simone E. , Yaghmour, George , Tsai, Stephanie B., Moore, Jozal , O'Dwyer, Kristen M., Connor, Matthew P. , Frey, Noelle, Vasu, Sumithira , Ulrickson, Matthew L. , Boccucci, Jacob , Merchant, Akil, Pullarkat, Vinod , Langston, Amelia , Solh, Melhem , O’Connor, Timothy E. , Malik, Shabaz, Mountjoy, Luke , Hoeg, Rasmus T. , Oliai, Caspian , Gupta, Vishal , Koura, Divya, Kumaran, Muthu V., Schwartz, Marc S. , Tracy, Sean , Bobillo, Maria Odstrcil, Ladha, Abdullah , Gatell, Vivian Irrizary, Shaughnessy, Paul , Muffly, Lori , Park, Jae H. , Muffly, Lori , Nemirovsky, David , Roloff, Gregory W. , Aldoss, Ibrahim , Advani, Anjali S. , Luskin, Marlise R , Chen, Evan , Jamy, Omer , Grunwald, Michael R. , Muhsen, Ibrahim N. , Dholaria, Bhagirathbhai , Leonard, Jessica T , Tsai, Stephanie B., Stock, Wendy , O'Dwyer, Kristin , Logan, Aaron C , Frey, Noelle, Bezerra, Evandro D. , Dykes, Kaitlyn C. , Battiwalla, Minoo , Lin, Chenyu , Reshef, Ran , Cassaday, Ryan D. , Hill, LaQuisa C. , Lee, Catherine J , Kota, Vamsi , Sasine, Joshua , Hilal, Talal , Faramand, Rawan , Othman, Tamer , Majhail, Navneet S. , Oliai, Caspian H , Schwartz, Marc, Bachanová, Veronika , Jackson, Clayton, Gatell, Vivian Irizarry , Oluwole, Olalekan O. , Daunov, Michael , Mathews, John, Shah, Bijal

Blood | December 6, 2024 | Volume: 144 | Issue: Supplement 1 | Pages: 4200-4200

10.1182/blood-2024-201610 Get It

Introduction: Brexucabtagene autoleucel (brexu cel) is a CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy approved for the treatment of adults with relapsed/refractory (R/R) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Some patients (pts) proceed with a consolidative allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) after breux cel. We do not know which pts can safely avoid a consolidative HCT and its associated morbidity. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study utilizing the Real-World Outcomes Collaborative of CAR-T in Adult ALL (ROCCA) dataset. ROCCA is a registry of brexu cel pts in 32 centers in North America. We defined complete remission (CR) as < 5% blasts in the bone marrow and no central nervous system (CNS) or extramedullary (EM) disease on or around D28 after brexu cel. We defined measurable residual disease negative (MRD-) CR as CR and no abnormal blasts in the bone marrow by multiparameter flow cytometry, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, ClonoSeq next generation sequencing (NGS), or other sequencing modalities with lower sensitivity. ClonoSeq NGS has a sensitivity of 10-6, while the other modalities have a sensitivity of at least 10-4. We defined progression free survival (PFS) as the time from CAR-T infusion to relapse or death, censored at the date of last follow-up. Statistical analyses were performed in R. Univariable Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were performed to determine the association of pre-specified variables with PFS. Variables known to be associated with CAR T outcomes in ALL were entered into a multivariable model. HCT was incorporated as a time-varying covariate. Results: During the study period, 281 pts were infused with brexu cel. We focused our analysis on 172 (61%) pts with confirmed MRD- CR on D28, as that is the group with clinical equipoise regarding maintenance strategy. 38 (22%) of those pts received a consolidative HCT, 30 (17%) received another form of maintenance therapy (primarily tyrosine kinase inhibitors for Philadelphia (Ph)-chromosome positive ALL), and 104 (60%) pts received no maintenance therapy. Pts who underwent consolidative HCT were younger (median age 35 years) than those who received no maintenance (42y) (p = 0.023) and were less likely to have a history of prior HCT (13% vs. 47%, p < 0.001). No differences were observed with respect to sex, TP53 mutation status, prior inotuzumab (ino) or blinatumomab (blina) exposure, disease burden prior to CAR, or development of any cytokine release syndrome (CRS) or any neurotoxicity with brexu cel. We performed univariable Cox proportional hazard regression analyses among pts in MRD- CR on D28, excluding those who received other maintenance therapy besides HCT; the median follow up was 8.1 months. In univariable analyses, D28 MRD negativity by ClonoSeq NGS (versus MRD negativity by other, less sensitive methods), development of CRS, and pre-CAR BM blasts < 5% were associated with improved PFS; prior ino exposure was negatively associated with PFS (p < 0.05). Age, sex, Ph status, TP53 status, and neurotoxicity development were not associated with PFS. In a multivariable model incorporating ALL type, prior HCT, prior ino/blina, and pre-CAR blast burden, as well as consolidative HCT as a time-varying covariate, only MRD negativity by ClonoSeq NGS with at least 10-6 sensitivity retained statistical significance (PFS hazard ratio 0.34, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.15-0.77, p = 0.005). Pts who were MRD- by ClonoSeq NGS on D28 and received no maintenance had favorable 6m PFS of 76% (95% CI: 59-98%) and OS of 100% with a median follow up of 6.3 months in this subgroup. Among those in MRD- CR by NGS, HCT as a time-varying covariate was not associated with improved PFS (HR 0.6, p = 0.6). Conclusions: In a large real-world cohort of adults with R/R B-ALL infused with brexu cel, we identified practice variation regarding the use of consolidative HCT. Among brexu cel recipients who entered an MRD- CR, we identified ClonoSeq NGS MRD negativity as a novel predictive factor of favorable oncologic outcomes, even without a consolidative HCT. Similar results have been obtained in pediatric ALL patietns ftreated with 41BB-based tisagenleucleucel (Pulsipher et al., Blood Cancer Discovery 2022). Longer follow-up is needed to validate the safety of omitting consolidative HCT in such pts, but these results encourage the potential for definitive therapy with brexu cel when D28 ClonoSeq NGS MRD is negative.
Efficacy and Safety of Brexucabtagene Autoleucel for Relapsed/Refractory B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Patients Aged 60 and Above
Jeyakumar, Nikeshan , Miller, Katharine, Zhang, Amy , Sutherland, Katherine C. , Boccucci, Jacob , Ulrickson, Matthew L. , Vasu, Sumithira, Langston, Amelia , Kopmar, Noam E. , Tsai, Stephanie B., O’Connor, Timothy E. , Park, Jae H. , Valtis, Yannis K. , Solh, Melhem , Dekker, Simone E. , Malik, Shahbaz A. , Shaughnessy, Paul , Mountjoy, Luke , Hoeg, Rasmus T. , Oliai, Caspian , Gupta, Vishal , Koura, Divya, Kumaran, Muthu V., Schwartz, Marc S. , Tracy, Sean , O'Dwyer, Kristen M., Moore, Jozal , Bobillo, María Silvina Odstrcil , Frey, Noelle, Connor, Matthew P. , Ladha, Abdullah , Yaghmour, George , Gatell, Vivian Irrizary, Pullarkat, Vinod , Merchant, Akil, Muffly, Lori , Muffly, Lori , Muhsen, Ibrahim N. , Advani, Anjali S. , Roloff, Gregory W. , Grunwald, Michael R. , Kota, Vamsi , Sasine, Joshua , Aldoss, Ibrahim , Othman, Tamer , Vasu, Sumithira , Reshef, Ran , Luskin, Marlise R , Chen, Evan , Lin, Chenyu , Cassaday, Ryan D. , Tsai, Stephanie B., Hilal, Talal , Faramand, Rawan , Bezerra, Evandro D. , Leonard, Jessica T , Majhail, Navneet S. , Battiwalla, Minoo , Mathews, John, Oliai, Caspian H , Dykes, Kaitlyn C. , Logan, Aaron C , Stock, Wendy , Schwartz, Marc, Bachanová, Veronika , O'Dwyer, Kristin , Lee, Catherine J , Frey, Noelle, Jamy, Omer , Daunov, Michael , Jackson, Clayton, Gatell, Vivian Irizarry , Oluwole, Olalekan O. , Dholaria, Bhagirathbhai , Shah, Bijal , Hill, LaQuisa C.

Blood | December 6, 2024 | Volume: 144 | Issue: Supplement 1 | Pages: 523-523

10.1182/blood-2024-210682 Get It

Introduction: Brexucabtagene Autoleucel (brexu-cel) is the first CD19-targeting chimeric antigen receptor (CD19.CAR) T-cell therapy approved for the treatment of relapsed/refractory (r/r) B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) in adult (≥18 yo) patients (pts) based on results from the ZUMA-3 trial. However, data on the safety and efficacy of CAR-T cells in older pts (≥60 yo) remains limited, with only 8 pts >65 yo enrolled in the ZUMA-3 trial. We evaluated the treatment characteristics and outcomes with use of brexu-cel amongst patients ≥60 yo in the Real-World Outcomes Collaborative for CAR-T in ALL (ROCCA) consortium database. Methodology: ROCCA is a consortium of over 30 U.S.-based institutions with a database of adult pts with B-ALL who received brexu-cel as standard of care therapy. We identified pts ≥60 yo and further stratified them into two cohorts: 60-69 yo and ≥70 yo. Outcomes of interest included OS, PFS, ORR, and toxicities (CRS and ICANS). Both OS and PFS were calculated from the day of brexu-cel infusion. Response assessment occurred on day +28, and MRD evaluation was per institutional practices. CRS and ICANS were graded according to the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy criteria. Results: Of 280 brexu-cel recipients in the ROCCA database, 73 (26%) were ≥60 yo, of which 58 (79%) were between 60-69 yo and 15 (21%) were ≥70 yo. Among pts ≥60 yo, the median age at infusion was 65 (range 60-81). Pts were heavily pretreated with a median of 3 prior lines of therapy (range 2-9). Prior therapies included: allogeneic HSCT (38%), inotuzumab ozogamicin (41%), and blinatumomab (62%). Forty pts (55%) had Ph-negative B-ALL, 24 (33%) had Ph+ B-ALL and 9 (12%) had Ph-like B-ALL. When grouped by HCT-CI equal to 0, 1-2 or ≥3, a higher proportion of pts ≥60 yo had HCT-CI ≥3 (19% vs. 7% in <60 yo; p=0.004). Pre-apheresis, 33 pts (45%) had active disease (>5% marrow blasts or extramedullary disease), 34 (47%) were in CR (of whom 14 were MRD-negative) and 6 had unknown disease status. Following brexu-cel, 43 (59%) achieved MRD-negative CR, 20 (27%) had MRD + or CR with unknown MRD status, 6 (8%) had refractory disease and 5 had no disease evaluation available. The ORR was similar between pts 60-69 and ≥70 yo (MRD-negative CR rate: 58% vs 61%, r/r to brexu-cel: 9% vs 6%) and was comparable to pts <60 yo (MRD-negative CR 66%; r/r disease of 9%). The rate of all grade ICANS was higher in pts ≥70 (77%) than in pts 60-69 (47%) or pts <60 (49%), with grade 1-2 ICANS occurring at a significantly higher rate in pts ≥70 (44% vs. 20% in 60-69 and 20% in <60, p=0.049). Grade 3-4 ICANS were similar between the groups: 33%, 27% and 29% in the ≥70, 60-69, and <60 groups, respectively. Conversely, rates of CRS were similar across age groups (80-84%). There was no statistically significant difference in the rate of grade 3-4 CRS which was 17% in pts ≥70, 4% in pts 60-69, and 11% in pts <60 yo. With a median follow-up of 332 days (range 8-936 days) from infusion, pts ≥60 yo had a median PFS of 395 days compared to 547 days in pts <60 yo. Median PFS was lower in the ³70 yo (231 days) compared to 677 in the 60-69 yo cohort. No statistically significant difference was found between the <60 and ≥60groups in 6- and 12-month PFS rates (6 months PFS: 66% vs 64%, p=0.77 and 12 months PFS: 57% vs 57%, p=1.00). When pts ≥60 yo were stratified by age, pts ≥70 yo had similar 6-month PFS compared to other age groups but significantly lower 12-month PFS (38%; vs. 64% in pts 60-69and 57% in pts <60, p=0.001). Median OS was not reached in any of the age groups, and there was no statistically significant difference in 6-month OS (72% in ≥ 70 vs. 82% in the 60-69 vs. 82% in <60, p=0.14) or 12-months OS (61% in ≥ 70 vs. 69% in 60-69 vs. 73% in <60, p=0.18). Conclusion: This is the largest study to date of older B-ALL pts receiving CAR-T cells. We observed that older pts, particularly those aged 60-69, have similar outcomes to younger pts. However, pts ≥70 yo had lower median and 12-month PFS when compared to younger patients. Additionally, pts ≥70 yo had higher rates of grades 1-2 ICANS. An important limitation of this analysis is the potential selection bias among clinicians when selecting older patients for this treatment. Longer follow-up, including inclusion of additional pts ≥70 yo is needed to confirm these results, and further studies are needed to identify the optimal approach for use of CAR T-cell therapy in patients in this age group.
Apex Part 2 Trial in Progress: A Phase 2 Open-Label Clinical Study of Bezuclastinib in Adult Patients with Advanced Systemic Mastocytosis
Goncalves, Isaac , Fuller, Stephen J. , Vachhani, Pankit , Pullarkat, Vinod , Panse, Jens , Ng, Teng Fong , Piris‐Villaespesa, Miguel , Tashi, Tsewang , Yi, Cecilia Y. Arana , Pomares, Helena , Patel, Jay , Cridtina, Bulai Livideanu, Schwaab, Juliana , Dybedal, Ingunn , Lambert, Jonathan, Wierzbicka-Hainaut, E. , Deininger, Michael W. , Pilla, Amanda, Radia, Deepti , Gotlib, Jason , DeAngelo, Daniel J. , Klein, Saskia K. , Sperr, Wolfgang R. , Hartmann, Karin , Shoumariyeh, Khalid , Hunter, Anthony M. , Bose, Prithviraj , Yi, Cecilia Arana , Jain, Manish Kumar , George, Tracy I. , Papayannidis, Cristina , Taparia, Minakshi , Lambert, Jonathan , Jain, Tania , Hermine, Olivier , Bonifacio, Massimiliano , Hobbs, Gabriela , Carden, Marcus A.

Blood | December 5, 2024 | Volume: 144 | Issue: Supplement 1 | Pages: 4569.1-4569.1

10.1182/blood-2024-194550 Get It

Background and Significance: Systemic mastocytosis (SM) is a rare heterogeneous disease characterized by the aberrant accumulation of neoplastic mast cells (MC). In about 95% of adult patients, SM is driven by a gain-of-function mutation (D816V) in exon 17 of KIT. Advanced SM (AdvSM) is a life-threatening form of SM and includes three subtypes: aggressive SM (ASM), SM with an associated hematologic neoplasm (SM-AHN), and mast cell leukemia (MCL). Despite improvement in disease control with approval of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), there is still unmet need for improved tolerability and efficacy in AdvSM treatments. Bezuclastinib, an oral and selective type 1 TKI that potently inhibits KIT D816V, is being studied in patients diagnosed with AdvSM in the Apex study (NCT04996875). Results from the Part 1 dose optimization portion of Apex were presented previously. Part 1 randomized 32 patients 1:1:1:1 to receive bezuclastinib at 50, 100, or 200 mg BID or 400 mg QD. Initial results from the Part 1 dose optimization portion of the Apex trial in patients with AdvSM demonstrated encouraging safety profile and signs of clinical activity, as well as deep reductions across biomarkers of MC burden including bone marrow MC burden, serum tryptase levels, and KIT D816V variant allele fraction (VAF). In addition, 94%, 93%, and 100% of patients demonstrated ≥50% reduction in serum tryptase, KIT D816V VAF, and bone marrow MC burden, respectively. Exposure achieved with 100 mg BID of bezuclastinib original formulation resulted in optimal efficacy and safety outcomes. 150 mg QD of an optimized formulation is expected to deliver bezuclastinib exposures consistent with the 100 mg BID of the original formulation. Part 2 is further evaluating the efficacy and safety of bezuclastinib in patients with AdvSM at the selected Part 2 dose of 150mg QD of the optimized formulation. Study Design and Methods: Apex is a multicenter, Phase 2 open-label study of bezuclastinib in patients with AdvSM as defined per the WHO criteria. Enrollment includes previously treated and treatment-naïve patients. Part 2 is enrolling approximately 65 patients including up to 15 patients without measurable mIWG C-findings. The Part 2 expansion portion of the Apex study is designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of bezuclastinib in patients with AdvSM, including ASM, SM-AHN, or MCL. Key eligibility criteria include measurable disease (centrally adjudicated) according to modified IWG-MRT-ECNM criteria and clinically acceptable laboratory values including platelet count ≥50,000/µL. The primary efficacy endpoint of Part 2 is overall response rate (ORR = complete response [CR] + complete remission with partial hematologic recovery [CRh] + partial response [PR] + clinical improvement [CI]) per mIWG-MRT-ECNM criteria according to mIWG-MRT-ECNM response criteria and will be confirmed by a Central Response Review Committee. Secondary endpoints include further characterization of safety and tolerability, pure pathologic response, biomarker response (including changes in bone marrow MC burden, serum tryptase level, and KIT D816V mutational burden), duration of response, time to response, progression-free survival, and overall survival (OS). Apex Part 2 is actively enrolling. Study sites are enrolling in North America, Asia-Pacific, and Europe. In addition, a high-risk SM-AHN sub-study assessing the safety and feasibility of the combination of bezuclastinib 150 mg QD and azacitidine may enroll up to 20 patients who are currently receiving or indicated for azacitidine and have biopsy-proven SM with an associated high- or very high-risk myeloid neoplasm. Patients with SM-AHN from Part 1 or Part 2 who have demonstrated AHN progression may enroll in an additional rollover cohort to receive bezuclastinib with concomitant azacitidine or hydroxyurea.
Outcomes After Brexucabtagene Autoleucel Administered as a Standard Therapy for Adults With Relapsed/Refractory B-Cell ALL
Aldoss, Ibrahim , Kopmar, Noam E. , Lin, Chenyu , Dekker, Simone E. , Gupta, Vishal, O’Connor, Timothy E. , Jeyakumar, Nikeshan , Muhsen, Ibrahim N. , Valtis, Yannis K. , Zhang, Amy , Miller, Kate , Ahmed, Mohamed , Schwartz, Marc S. , Tracy, Sean , Mukherjee, Akash , Ladha, Abdullah , Guzowski, Caitlin, Hoeg, Rasmus T. , Moore, Jozal , Connor, Matthew P. , Hill, LaQuisa C. , Tsai, Stephanie B., Sasine, Joshua , Solh, Melhem , Koura, Divya, Veeraputhiran, Muthu, Park, Jae H. , Bachanová, Veronika , Galal, Ahmed , Pullarkat, Vinod , Muffly, Lori , Oliai, Caspian , Yaghmour, George , Sutherland, Katherine, Zambrano, Héctor, Bradshaw, Danielle , Kubiak, Michal , Mountjoy, Luke , Malik, Shahbaz A. , Shaughnessy, Paul , Stefan, Maryann, O'Dwyer, Kristen M., Blunk, Betsy, Bishop, Michael R. , Aldoss, Ibrahim , Kopmar, Noam E , Lin, Chenyu , Gupta, Vishal K , Muhsen, Ibrahim N , Valtis, Yannis , Miller, Katharine , Chen, Evan , Mercadal, Santiago , Tracy, Sean I , Dholaria, Bhagirathbhai R , Battiwalla, Minoo , Logan, Aaron C , Ladha, Abdullah , Hilal, Talal , Connor, Matthew , Hill, LaQuisa C , Sasine, Joshua , Solh, Melham M , Kota, Vamsi , Frey, Noelle V , Park, Jae H , Luskin, Marlise R , Stock, Wendy , Cassaday, Ryan D , Muffly, Lori , Bachanova, Veronika , Roloff, Gregory W. , Ahmed, Naveed, Dykes, Kaitlyn C. , Schwartz, Marc, Dholaria, Bhagirathbhai , Battiwalla, Minoo , Hilal, Talal , Tsai, Stephanie B., Kota, Vamsi , Leonard, Jessica T , Frey, Noelle V. , Stock, Wendy , Cassaday, Ryan D. , Shah, Bijal , Faramand, Rawan , Oliai, Caspian H , Majhail, Navneet S. , Mathews, John Abraham , Advani, Anjali S. , O'Dwyer, Kristin , Lee, Catherine J , Bishop, Michael Russell

Journal of Clinical Oncology | October 17, 2024 | Volume: 43 | Issue: 5 | Pages: 558-566

10.1200/jco.24.00321 Get It

PURPOSE On the basis of the results of the ZUMA-3 trial, brexucabtagene autoleucel (brexu-cel), a CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, gained US Food and Drug Administration approval in October 2021 for adults with relapsed/refractory (R/R) B-cell ALL (B-ALL). We report outcomes of patients treated with brexu-cel as a standard therapy. METHODS We developed a collaboration across 31 US centers to study adults with B-ALL who received brexu-cel outside the context of a clinical trial. Data were collected retrospectively from October 2021 to October 2023. Toxicities were graded per American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy guidelines for cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and immune effector cell–associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS). RESULTS At the time of data lock, 204 patients had undergone apheresis and 189 were infused. Median follow-up time was 11.4 months. Forty-two percent of patients received brexu-cel in morphologic remission and would have been ineligible for participation in ZUMA-3. After brexu-cel, 151 achieved complete remission (CR), of which 79% were measurable residual disease (MRD) negative remissions. Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 9.5 months and median overall survival was not reached. Grade 3-4 CRS or ICANS occurred in 11% and 31%, respectively. In multivariable analysis, patients receiving consolidative hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT; hazard ratio, 0.34 [95% CI, 0.14 to 0.85]) after brexu-cel had superior PFS compared with those who did not receive any consolidation or maintenance therapy. CONCLUSION Similar to ZUMA-3, high rates of MRD-negative CR were observed after brexu-cel treatment for R/R B-ALL. The use of HCT as consolidation after brexu-cel resulted in improved PFS.
Impact of prior inotuzumab ozogamicin treatment on brexucabtagene autoleucel outcomes in adults with B-cell ALL
Aldoss, Ibrahim , Roloff, Gregory W. , Kopmar, Noam E. , Lin, Chenyu , Advani, Anjali S. , Dekker, Simone E. , O’Connor, Timothy E. , Jeyakumar, Nikeshan , Muhsen, Ibrahim N. , Valtis, Yannis K. , Zhang, Amy , Miller, Katharine, Sutherland, Katherine C. , Ahmed, Mohamed , Zambrano, Héctor, Bradshaw, Danielle , Schwartz, Marc S. , Tracy, Sean , Kubiak, Michal Jakub , Mukherjee, Akash , Mountjoy, Luke , Malik, Shahbaz A. , Shaughnessy, Paul , Ladha, Abdullah , Stefan, Maryann, Guzowski, Caitlin, Hoeg, Rasmus T. , Moore, Jozal , Connor, Matthew P. , O’Dwyer, Kristen M. , Hill, LaQuisa C. , Tsai, Stephanie B., Sasine, Joshua , Solh, Melhem , Koura, Divya, Veeraputhiran, Muthu, Blunk, Betsy, Oliai, Caspian , Park, Jae H. , Bachanová, Veronika , Galal, Ahmed , Bishop, Michael R. , Pullarkat, Vinod , Muffly, Lori , Lin, Chenyu , Advani, Anjali S , Jeyakumar, Nikeshan , Dykes, Kaitlyn C , Chen, Evan , Bradshaw, Danielle , Dholaria, Bhagirathbhai R , Majhail, Navneet S , Logan, Aaron C , Ladha, Abdullah , Hilal, Talal , Moore, Jozal , Connor, Matthew , Hill, LaQuisa C , Sasine, Joshua , Lee, Catherine J , Leonard, Jessica T , Frey, Noelle V , Luskin, Marlise R , Muffly, Lori , Bachanova, Veronika , Aldoss, Ibrahim , Muhsen, Ibrahim N , Sutherland, Katherine , Roloff, Gregory W , Faramand, Rawan , Gupta, Vishal , Dykes, Kaitlyn C. , Mercadal, Santiago , Schwartz, Marc, Dholaria, Bhagirathbhai , Majhail, Navneet S. , Battiwalla, Minoo , Mathews, John, Hilal, Talal , O'Dwyer, Kristin , Tsai, Stephanie B., Kota, Vamsi , Oliai, Caspian H , Frey, Noelle V. , Bishop, Michael Russell , Stock, Wendy , Cassaday, Ryan D. , Shah, Bijal

Blood Advances | August 2, 2024 | Volume: 8 | Issue: 23 | Pages: 6139-6147

10.1182/bloodadvances.2024013747 Get It

Abstract The effect of prior inotuzumab ozogamicin (InO) treatment on brexucabtagene autoleucel (brexu-cel) outcomes remains unclear in adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). We conducted a retrospective multicenter analysis of 189 patients with relapsed/refractory ALL treated with brexu-cel. Over half of the patients received InO before brexu-cel (InO exposed). InO-exposed patients were more heavily pretreated (P = .02) and frequently had active marrow disease before apheresis (P = .03). Response rate and toxicity profile after brexu-cel were comparable for InO-exposed and InO-naïve patients; however, consolidation therapy after brexu-cel response was used at a higher rate in InO-naïve patients (P = .005). With a median follow-up of 11.4 months, InO-exposed patients had inferior progression-free survival (PFS; P = .013) and overall survival (OS; P = .006) in univariate analyses; however, prior InO exposure did not influence PFS (hazard ratio, 1.20; 95% confidence interval, 0.71-2.03) in multivariate models. Within InO-exposed patients, InO responders had superior PFS (P = .002) and OS (P < .0001) relative to InO-refractory patients. The timing of administering InO did not affect brexu-cel outcomes, with comparable PFS (P = .51) and OS (P = .86) for patients receiving InO as bridging therapy or before apheresis. In conclusion, although InO exposure was associated with inferior survival outcomes after brexu-cel in unadjusted analyses, these associations were no longer significant in multivariate analyses, suggesting it is unlikely that InO negatively affects brexu-cel efficacy. Our data instead imply that InO-exposed recipients of brexu-cel tend to be higher-risk patients with intrinsic adverse leukemia biology.
Expert consensus on the management of pharmacodynamic breakthrough-hemolysis in treated paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria
Dingli, David , Koprivnikar, Jamie, Maciejewski, Jaroslaw P. , Mulherin, Brian , Panse, Jens , Pullarkat, Vinod , Shammo, Jamile M. , Weitz, Ilene C. , Yermilov, Irina , Gibbs, Sarah N. , Broder, Michael S. , Beenhouwer, David O. , Kuter, David J. , Yermilov, Irina , Gibbs, Sarah , Broder, Michael , Dingli, David , III, Carlos De Castro, Kulasekararaj, Austin , Röth, Alexander , Terriou, Louis

Hematology | March 21, 2024 | Volume: 29 | Issue: 1 | Pages: No page available

10.1080/16078454.2024.2329030 Get It

The Impact of Inotuzumab Ozogamicin (InO) Treatment on Brexucabtagene Autoleucel (Brexu-cel) Outcomes in Adults with Relapsed/Refractory B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (B-ALL)
Kopmar, Noam E. , Dekker, Simone E. , Gupta, Vishal, Jeyakumar, Nikeshan , O’Connor, Timothy E. , Zhang, Amy , Miller, Katharine, Ahmed, Mohamed , Zambrano, Héctor, Bradshaw, Danielle , Schwartz, Marc S. , Tracy, Sean , Kubiak, Michal , Mukherjee, Akash , Mountjoy, Luke , Malik, Shahbaz A. , Shaughnessy, Paul , Ladha, Abdullah , Yaghmour, George , Stefan, Maryann, Guzowski, Caitlin, Hoeg, Rasmus T. , Moore, Jozal , O’Dwyer, Kristen M. , Tsai, Stephanie B., Solh, Melhem , Koura, Divya, Veeraputhiran, Muthu, Blunk, Betsy, Oliai, Caspian , Galal, Ahmed , Pullarkat, Vinod , Muffly, Lori , Muffly, Lori , Aldoss, Ibrahim , Roloff, Gregory W. , Advani, Anjali S. , Lin, Chenyu , Dykes, Kaitlyn C. , Mercadal, Santiago , Schwartz, Marc, Dholaria, Bhagirathbhai , Majhail, Navneet S. , Battiwalla, Minoo , Mathews, John Abraham , Logan, Aaron C , Hilal, Talal , O'Dwyer, Kristin , Tsai, Stephanie B., Sasine, Joshua , Lee, Catherine J , Kota, Vamsi , Leonard, Jessica T , Oliai, Caspian H , Bachanová, Veronika , Stock, Wendy , Cassaday, Ryan D. , Shah, Bijal , Faramand, Rawan

Blood | December 1, 2023 | Volume: 142 | Issue: Supplement 1 | Pages: 4877-4877

10.1182/blood-2023-182404 Get It

Cellular Immunotherapies: Late Phase and Commercially Available Therapies The Impact of Inotuzumab Ozogamicin (InO) Treatment on Brexucabtagene Autoleucel (Brexu-cel) Outcomes in Adults with Relapsed/Refractory B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (B-ALL) Introduction: Brexu-cel is the first approved CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for adult patients (pts) with relapsed/refractory (r/r) B-ALL. InO, an anti-CD22 antibody drug conjugate, is also approved for the same indication. With the accessibility to several targeted therapies in r/r B-ALL, the optimal sequence remains uncertain. The effect of prior treatment with InO on brexu-cel outcomes remains underreported, especially as a bridging therapy, as well as the effect of previous response to InO on post brexu-cel outcomes. Methods: This is a retrospective multicenter analysis from 25 U.S. institutions of adults (≥18 years) with r/r B-ALL treated with commercial brexu-cel from 2021 to 2023 post FDA approval. Methodologies for assessing minimal residual disease (MRD) (minimal threshold of 10 -4) included flow cytometry, NGS, or qPCR depending on institutional practice. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated from day of brexu-cel infusion and were not censored for hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) or maintenance. All living patients were censored at the time of last follow-up prior to data lock, which occurred on June 30, 2023. Results: Among 152 infused, 83 (54.6%) had pre-CAR InO therapy (InO-exposed), with a median of 3 administered doses (range: 1-22). Within the InO-exposed cohort, 23 (28%) pts received InO as a CAR T-cell bridging therapy (ie, between apheresis and lymphodepletion) with or without pre-apheresis and 60 (72%) pts received InO only during pre-apheresis. Baseline characteristics for InO exposed and InO-naïve pts are shown in Table 1. InO-exposed pts had higher median prior lines of therapies (4 vs. 3; p= 0.05), more frequently had active disease (≥5% marrow blasts) at the time of apheresis (67% vs. 44%, p= 0.02), and had lower incidence of Ph+ disease (19% vs. 45%, p=0.003), compared to InO-naïve pts, respectively. The incidences of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) (85% vs. 85%, p= 0.26) and ICANS (58% vs. 57%, p= 0.36) post infusion were similar, and post-infusion death in remission occurred in 17% and 12% among InO-exposed and InO-naïve pts, respectively. Morphological complete remission (CR) and MRD- rates following brexu-cel infusion were 89% and 77% for InO-exposed pts, and 92% and 70% for InO-naive pts, respectively. Post CAR therapy, more InO-naïve pts underwent consolidation/maintenance therapy (transplant, chemotherapy, or TKIs) compared to InO-exposed pts (41% vs. 19%, p= 0.004). The median follow-up after brexu-cel was 8.4 (range) months. Median OS (not reached (NR) vs. 12 months; p= 0.033) and median PFS (NR vs. 7 months; p= 0.029) were superior in InO-naïve pts compared to InO-exposed pts, respectively. However, after adjusting for pre-apheresis disease burden and post-CAR maintenance therapy, there were no longer significant differences in OS (HR= 1.25;95%CI: 0.62-2.53; p= 0.53) or PFS (HR= 1.24;95%CI:0.71-2.16, p=0.45) based on pre-CAR InO exposure. When InO-exposed pts were stratified based on prior InO-response (CR vs. no response), InO-responsive pts had superior estimated 12-month OS (64%) and PFS (38%) relative to InO-refractory pts (OS: 33%; PFS: 34%), but inferior to InO-naïve pts (OS: 75%; PFS 56%), with p-values of 0.0001 and 0.021 for OS and PFS, respectively (Figure 1). The timing of pre-CAR InO therapy did not impact brexu-cel survival outcomes, with comparable estimated 12-month OS (43% vs. 58%, p= 0.35) and PFS (46% vs. 38%, p= 0.57) for InO-exposed pts during bridging therapy and patients who received InO as a therapy prior to apheresis. Conclusion: After adjusting for pre-CAR disease burden and post-CAR consolidation/maintenance, we found that prior InO exposure does not significantly associate with PFS or OS following brexu-cel. However, relative to InO-responsive patients, patients who were InO-refractory appear to have worse post-CAR survival outcomes. Finally, timing of InO administration (ie as a prior line of therapy or as CAR bridging) did not influence outcomes brexu-cel outcomes.
Toxicity Profile of Brexucabtagene Autoleucel (brexu-cel; CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy) in Adult Patients (pts) with Relapsed/Refractory (R/R) B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (B-ALL): Results from a Multicenter Real-World Outcomes Study
Kopmar, Noam E. , Gooley, Ted , Dekker, Simone E. , Jeyakumar, Nikeshan , O’Connor, Timothy E. , Ahmed, Mohamed , Zambrano, Héctor, Bradshaw, Danielle , Schwartz, Marc S. , Tracy, Sean , Kubiak, Michal , Mukherjee, Akash , Mountjoy, Luke , Malik, Shabaz, Shaughnessy, Paul , Ladha, Abdullah , Yaghmour, George , Stefan, Maryann, Guzowski, Caitlin, Hoeg, Rasmus T. , Moore, Jozal , O’Dwyer, Kristen M. , Tsai, Stephanie B., Solh, Melhem , Koura, Divya, Veeraputhiran, Muthu, Blunk, Betsy, Oliai, Caspian , Galal, Ahmed , Pullarkat, Vinod , Muffly, Lori , Muffly, Lori , Roloff, Gregory W. , Aldoss, Ibrahim , Lin, Chenyu , Gupta, Vishal , Dykes, Kaitlyn C. , Mercadal, Santiago , Schwartz, Marc, Dholaria, Bhagirathbhai , Majhail, Navneet S. , Battiwalla, Minoo , Mathews, John Abraham , Logan, Aaron C , Advani, Anjali S. , Hilal, Talal , O'Dwyer, Kristin , Tsai, Stephanie B., Sasine, Joshua , Lee, Catherine J , Kota, Vamsi , Leonard, Jessica T , Oliai, Caspian H , Bachanová, Veronika , Stock, Wendy , Shah, Bijal , Faramand, Rawan , Cassaday, Ryan D.

Blood | December 1, 2023 | Volume: 142 | Issue: Supplement 1 | Pages: 522-522

10.1182/blood-2023-185107 Get It

Introduction: In October 2021, the FDA approved brexu-cel for the treatment of adults ≥ 18 years old with R/R B-ALL. Following this approval, a consortium of cancer centers was formed across the US to investigate outcomes following commercial brexu-cel use for adults with R/R B-ALL. One area of interest is the toxicity profile of brexu-cel when given in the real-world context, including the respective incidences and severity of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity (ICANS). Methods: Eligible pts included adults ≥ 18 years old who received commercial brexu-cel starting in October 2021 onward at a participating center in the US (N = 25). Retrospective patient data were collected across participating institutions, with the most recent data lock occurring on June 30, 2023. Criteria from the ASTCT were used to grade CRS and ICANS severity. Statistical methods included the use of medians and simple ratios for descriptive outcomes; univariate logistic regression models were used to assess the association of various factors with the probability of CRS and ICANS, and Cox regression was used to examine the association of each with the hazards of mortality and failure for event-free survival (EFS; earliest of progression, relapse, or death). Results: Key demographics and toxicities are described in Tables 1 and 2 (respectively). Of the 152 pts infused with brexu-cel, 82% (N = 125) developed CRS and 56% (N = 85) developed ICANS. CRS and ICANS did NOT develop in 12% (N = 19). Twenty percent of all pts (N = 31) required ICU-level care for management of CAR-related toxicities, with a median LOS in ICU of 4 days (range 1-79). In univariate models, grade 3+ ICANS was most likely to occur in pts with active disease (≥ 5% marrow blasts and/or EMD) at the time of apheresis (OR 2.63, 1.28-5.38, p = 0.008); a numerical increase for grade 3+ CRS (OR 2.35, 0.69-8, p = 0.17) was seen in pts with active disease at apheresis. Therapies received for these CAR-related toxicities included steroids, tocilizumab (toci), and anakinra (Table 2). Among pts who received steroids (N = 94), 37% (N = 34) achieved a sufficient response to the first steroid trial and did not require subsequent therapies; otherwise, toxicities improved with the first steroid course but later worsened in 16% (N = 15); the first trial of steroids was not effective but improved when further steroids were given in 31% (N = 29); there were no responses to any doses of steroids in 10% (N = 9). In pts receiving toci (N = 103), 31% (N = 32) achieved a sufficient response to the first dose and did not require any further therapy; toxicities improved with the first dose but later worsened in 31% (N = 32); the first dose was ineffective but improvement was seen with subsequent doses in 21% (N = 22); 9% (N = 9) did not respond at all to toci. The rate of death within day +28 was 6% (N = 9), and the respective causes were typically multifactorial: CRS was implicated in 3 cases, ICANS in 3, infection in 5, disease relapse/progression in 2, and HLH in 1 case. In total, uncontrolled ICANS was implicated in the death of 6 pts (between day +9 to day +106). HLH was reported in 6 pts: in most cases, this was a biochemical diagnosis, and it either overlapped with concurrent CRS or infection or occurred following CRS/ICANS. The most common infections between day 0 and day +28 included bacteremia in 8% of pts (N = 12), fungal infections in 4% (N = 6), pneumonia in 3% (N = 5), and CMV infections in 3% (N = 4). The fungal infections included 4 instances of invasive sinopulmonary infections (2 due to aspergillus; 2 due to mucormycosis) and 2 cases of candidemia. With both CRS and ICANS treated as a time-varying covariate, the development of grade 3+ CRS was associated with a higher hazard of death (HR 2.38, 1.00-5.66, p = 0.05); grade 3+ ICANS was not associated with a demonstrably higher risk of death (HR 1.11, 0.60-2.05, p = 0.74). The HR of EFS failure for Grade 3+ CRS was 1.81 (0.87-3.79, p = 0.12) and for grade 3+ ICANS HR = 0.93 (0.56-1.53, p = 0.77). Conclusions: In this real-world study of toxicities from brexu-cel use for adults with R/R B-ALL, we observed CRS and ICANS in the majority of pts, and no new safety signals were observed. Rates of severe CRS and ICANS were more common with active disease. Interestingly, though CRS-related mortality was rare, grade 3+ CRS was associated with a higher risk of death. Efforts to identify mechanisms and mitigable risk factors for these toxicities are warranted.