Citations

Abstract Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma; data indicate that blastoid and pleomorphic variants have a poor prognosis. We report characteristics and outcomes of patients with blastoid/pleomorphic variants of MCL. We retrospectively studied adults with newly diagnosed MCL treated from 2000 to 2015. Primary objectives were to describe progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Secondary objectives included characterization of patient characteristics and treatments. Of the 1029 patients with MCL studied, a total of 207 neoplasms were blastoid or pleomorphic variants. Median follow-up period was 82 months (range, 0.1-174 months); median PFS was 38 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 28-66) and OS was 68 months (95% CI, 45-96). Factors associated with PFS were receipt of consolidative autologous hematopoietic transplantation (auto-HCT; hazard ratio [HR], 0.52; 95% CI, 0.31-0.80; P < .05), MCL International Prognostic Index (MIPI) intermediate (HR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.2-4.3; P < .02) and high (HR, 3.8; 95% CI, 2.0-7.4; P < .01) scores, and complete response to induction (HR, 0.29 (95% CI, 0.17-0.51). Receipt of auto-HCT was not associated with OS (HR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.41-1.16; P = .16) but was associated with MIPI intermediate (HR, 5.7; 95% CI, 2.5-13.2; P < .01) and high (HR, 10.8; 95% CI, 4.7-24.9; P < .01) scores. We report outcomes in a large cohort of patients with blastoid/pleomorphic variant MCL. For eligible patients, receipt of auto-HCT after induction was associated with improved PFS but not OS. Higher MIPI score and auto-HCT ineligibility were associated with worse survival.

Abstract In the pre–novel agent era, the median postprogression overall survival (PPS) of patients with classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) who progress after autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) was 2 to 3 years. Recently, checkpoint inhibitors (CPI) and brentuximab vedotin (BV) have improved the depth and durability of response in this population. Here, we report the estimate of PPS in patients with relapsed cHL after ASCT in the era of CPI and BV. In this multicenter retrospective study of 15 participating institutions, adult patients with relapsed cHL after ASCT were included. Study objective was postprogression overall survival (PPS), defined as the time from posttransplant progression to death or last follow-up. Of 1158 patients who underwent ASCT, 367 had progressive disease. Median age was 34 years (range, 27-46) and 192 were male. Median PPS was 114.57 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 91-not achieved) or 9.5 years. In multivariate analysis, increasing age, progression within 6 months, and pre-ASCT positive positron emission tomography scan were associated with inferior PPS. When adjusted for these features, patients who received CPI, but not BV, as first treatment for post-ASCT progression had significantly higher PPS than the no CPI/no BV group (hazard ratio, 3.5; 95% CI, 1.6-7.8; P = .001). Receipt of allogeneic SCT (Allo-SCT) did not improve PPS. In the era of novel agents, progressive cHL after ASCT had long survival that compares favorably with previous reports. Patients who receive CPI as first treatment for progression had higher PPS. Receipt to Allo-SCT was not associated with PPS in this population.

AbstractPlasmablastic lymphoma (PBL) is a rare entity, commonly associated with immunosuppressed states such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection or solid organ transplant. The clinical course is characterized by high relapse rates and a poor prognosis, leading some clinicians to recommend aggressive frontline therapy. However, a specific review of limited stage (LS) PBL patients is not available to evaluate outcomes and justify treatment recommendations. We performed a retrospective review of LS PBL cases to provide insight into this rare disease. Our cohort consisted of 80 stage I or II PBL patients from 13 US academic centers. With a median follow up of 34 months (1–196), the 3‐year progression‐free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of the entire cohort were 72% (95% CI 62, 83) and 79% (95% CI 70, 89), respectively. The 3‐year PFS and OS of patients treated with frontline chemotherapy alone was 65% (95% CI 50, 84) and 71% (95% CI 56, 89), respectively, compared to 85% (95% CI 72, 100) and 96% (95% CI 89, 100), respectively, in patients treated with combined frontline chemotherapy with radiation consolidation. Our data demonstrate favorable outcomes in LS PBL with no improvements in outcome from aggressive frontline treatment including Hyper‐CVAD or auto‐SCT consolidation. Multivariate regression analysis (MRA) demonstrated improved PFS for patients receiving EPOCH based frontline therapy versus CHOP (HR: 0.23; p = 0.029). Frontline chemotherapy followed by radiation consolidation versus chemotherapy alone appeared to be associated with improved relapse and survival outcomes but did not show statistical significance in MRA.

PURPOSE Patients with bulky stage I/II classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) are typically treated with chemotherapy followed by radiation. Late effects associated with radiotherapy include increased risk of second cancer and cardiovascular disease. We tested a positron emission tomography (PET)–adapted approach in patients with bulky, early-stage cHL, omitting radiotherapy in patients with interim PET-negative (PET−) disease and intensifying treatment in patients with PET-positive (PET+) disease. METHODS Eligible patients with bulky disease (mass > 10 cm or 1/3 the maximum intrathoracic diameter on chest x-ray) received two cycles of doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD) followed by interim fluorodeoxyglucose PET (PET2). Patients with PET2–, defined as 1-3 on the 5-point scale, received four additional cycles of doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine. Patients with PET2+ received four cycles of escalated bleomycin, etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone followed by 30.6 Gy involved-field radiation. RESULTS Of 94 evaluable patients, 53% were female with median age 30 years (range, 18-58 years). Eight-five (90%) had stage II disease, including 48 (51%) with stage IIB/IIBE. Seventy-eight (78%) were PET2– and 21 (22%) were PET2+. The predominant toxicity was neutropenia, with 9% of patients developing febrile neutropenia and one developing sepsis. The primary end point of 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) was 93.1% in PET2– and 89.7% in PET2+ patients. Three-year overall survival was 98.6% and 94.4%, respectively. The estimated hazard ratio comparing PFS of patients with PET2+ and patients with PET2− was 1.03 (85% upper bound 2.38) and was significantly less than the null hypothesis of 4.1 (one-sided P = .04). CONCLUSION Our study of PET-adapted therapy in bulky stage I/II cHL met its primary goal and was associated with an excellent 3-year PFS rate of 92.3% in all patients, with the majority being spared radiotherapy and exposure to intensified chemotherapy.

The treatment landscape of chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) has significantly evolved in recent years. Targeted therapy with Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors and BCL-2 inhibitors has emerged as an effective chemotherapy-free option for patients with previously untreated or relapsed/refractory CLL/SLL. Undetectable minimal residual disease after the end of treatment is emerging as an important predictor of progression-free and overall survival for patients treated with fixed-duration BCL-2 inhibitor-based treatment. These NCCN Guidelines Insights discuss the updates to the NCCN Guidelines for CLL/SLL specific to the use of chemotherapy-free treatment options for patients with treatment-naïve and relapsed/refractory disease.

AbstractPreclinical data demonstrated that combining an anti–programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) inhibitor with a cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) inhibitor provided enhanced antitumor activity with no significant toxicities, suggesting this combination may be a potential therapeutic option. The multicohort, phase 1 KEYNOTE-155 study evaluated the safety and antitumor activity of the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab plus the CDK9 inhibitor dinaciclib in patients with relapsed or refractory (rr) chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and multiple myeloma (MM). Patients enrolled were ≥18 years of age with a confirmed diagnosis of CLL, DLBCL, or MM. The study included 2 phases: a dose-evaluation phase to determine dose-limiting toxicities and a signal-detection phase. Patients received pembrolizumab 200 mg every 3 weeks plus dinaciclib 7 mg/m2 on day 1 and 10 mg/m2 on day 8 of cycle 1 and 14 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8 of cycles 2 and later. Primary endpoint was safety, and a key secondary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR). Seventy-two patients were enrolled and received ≥1 dose of study treatment (CLL, n = 17; DLBCL, n = 38; MM, n = 17). Pembrolizumab plus dinaciclib was generally well tolerated and produced no unexpected toxicities. The ORRs were 29.4% (5/17, rrCLL), 21.1% (8/38, rrDLBCL), and 0% (0/17, rrMM), respectively. At data cutoff, all 72 patients had discontinued treatment, 38 (52.8%) because of progressive disease. These findings demonstrate activity with combination pembrolizumab plus dinaciclib and suggest that a careful and comprehensive approach to explore anti–PD-1 and CDK9 inhibitor combinations is warranted. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02684617.

Abstract Background: Chemoimmunotherapy is considered standard initial therapy for follicular lymphoma (FL) with high tumor burden (HTB). Obinutuzumab and Bendamustine (OB) with maintenance Obinutuzumab (mO) is considered a standard therapy for the frontline treatment of HTB FL (GALLIUM, Marcus et al, NEJM 2017). Venetoclax (VEN), an oral BCL2 inhibitor, is an attractive target in FL given the high BCL2 expression; though single agent activity has been disappointing (Davids et al. JCO 2017). BCL2 inhibition is thought to be synergistic with chemotherapy. Thus, the PrE0403 study evaluated the OB-VEN combination in frontline HTB FL. Here we present end of induction (EOI) outcomes. Methods: The primary objective of this Phase II study was to estimate the complete remission (CR) rate at EOI. Potential participants must have had a histologically confirmed diagnosis of FL grade 1, 2, or 3a with HTB defined by GELF or high risk defined by FLIPI-1 criteria. They must have had adequate performance status and organ function. Notably, creatinine clearance must have been ≥50 mL/min. Participants must have not had prior treatment for FL. Eligible participants were treated with Bendamustine IV 90 mg/m2 Day (D) 1 & 2, Obinutuzumab IV 100 mg D1, 900 mg D2, 1000 mg D8 and D15 of Cycle (C) 1 then D1 of each cycle, and VEN 800 mg orally daily D1-10 every 28 days for 6 total cycles. Due to a high rate of laboratory tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) during C1 in the first 21 patients, VEN was removed from C1 and given in C2-6 only. Participants with a CR at EOI were treated with mO IV 1000 mg D1 every 8 weeks for 2 years. Those with a partial response (PR) or stable disease (SD) were treated with mO as well as VEN 800 mg orally daily for 2 years. Pneumocystis jiroveci Pneumonia (PJP) and antiviral prophylaxis was required as was G-CSF support. Response was assessed via Lugano Criteria at EOI including PET/CT and bone marrow assessment. Adverse Events (AEs) were evaluated using CTCAE v5.0. To be considered promising, OB-VEN should improve the null hypothesis CR rate of 50% (OB) to 65%. With an 85% power and a one sided 15% type I error, 56 participants would be needed with an estimated 51 eligible. Support for the study was from Genentech, Member of the Roche Group. Results A total of 56 participants were enrolled and treated between 12/2017 and 11/2020; baseline characteristics are listed in Table 1. TLS was closely monitored in C1 and 8/21 participants developed TLS when VEN was administered in C1; 0/35 when it was not. However, monitoring for TLS in C1 became less stringent when VEN was not administered. Treatment related Grade ≥3 toxicities occurred in 47/56 participants (83.9%) with serious adverse events in 31 of 56 (55.5%). Atypical infections were seen; there was one treatment related death on study due to cytomegalovirus (CMV) encephalitis as well as PJP pneumonia which occurred after induction C6. Enrollment was temporarily suspended and CMV monitoring was implemented with no further occurrences. Another participant receiving mO later developed BK virus nephropathy following mO C6 and now requires ongoing hemodialysis. Another was diagnosed with Respiratory Syncytial Virus pneumonia 30 days after C6 and later PJP pneumonia after C2 of mO. Common (incidence >10%) AEs during induction are listed in Table 2. 45 of 56 (80.4%) participants were able to receive all 6 cycles of OB-VEN. CR was seen in 41 of 56 participants (73.2%, 2 sided 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 59.7-84.2%) at the EOI. 30 participants (53.5%) went onto maintenance. With a median follow up of 20.9 months, estimated 2 year Overall Survival (OS) and Progression-Free Survival (PFS) (90% CI) is 94.4% (82.4-98.3%) and 85.8% (68.8-93.9%) respectively. Conclusions This Phase II study of OB-VEN in untreated HTB FL showed high CR rate and met its primary endpoint with early signs of prolonged PFS. Laboratory TLS was identified but it was unclear if attributed solely to VEN, as baseline laboratory TLS rate for OB is unknown. The rate of Grade ≥3 AE of 83.9% (compared to 69% for OB in GALLIUM, Hiddeman JCO 2018) and the observation of opportunistic infections including CMV encephalitis, PJP pneumonia and BK nephropathy, suggests the combination is highly immunosuppressive. Therefore, while the study met its primary outcome, the combination of OB-VEN at 800 mg for 10 days, plus mO, does not have an acceptable risk/benefit profile. Participants will continue to be followed for efficacy and safety during the maintenance phase. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Portell: Acerta/AstraZeneca: Research Funding; SeaGen: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Honoraria; Xencor: Research Funding; Aptitude Health: Honoraria; BeiGene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Abbvie: Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Honoraria, Research Funding; Kite: Honoraria, Research Funding; Merck: Honoraria, Research Funding; Morphosys: Honoraria; Targeted Oncology: Honoraria; Genentech: Research Funding; VelosBio: Research Funding. Nowakowski: MorphoSys: Consultancy; Incyte: Consultancy; Kymera Therapeutics: Consultancy; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy; Blueprint Medicines: Consultancy; Nanostrings: Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding; Celgene/Bristol Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Research Funding; Zai Labolatory: Consultancy; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy; Bantham Pharmaceutical: Consultancy; Curis: Consultancy; Karyopharm Therapeutics: Consultancy; Selvita: Consultancy; Ryvu Therapeutics: Consultancy; Kyte Pharma: Consultancy. Cohen: Janssen, Adicet, Astra Zeneca, Genentech, Aptitude Health, Cellectar, Kite/Gilead, Loxo, BeiGene, Adaptive: Consultancy; Genentech, BMS/Celgene, LAM, BioINvent, LOXO, Astra Zeneca, Novartis, M2Gen, Takeda: Research Funding. Kahl: AbbVie, Acerta, ADCT, AstraZeneca, BeiGene, Genentech: Research Funding; AbbVie, Adaptive, ADCT, AstraZeneca, Bayer, BeiGene, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Genentech, Incyte, Janssen, Karyopharm, Kite, MEI, Pharmacyclics, Roche, TG Therapeutics, and Teva: Consultancy. OffLabel Disclosure: Venetoclax is not approved for follicular lymphoma or in combination with bendamustine and obinutuzumab