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Abstract Background: Multiple myeloma (MM) is a heterogenous cancer of terminally differentiated plasma cells that typically express elevated levels of antiapoptotic proteins, such as BCL-2. Venetoclax (Ven), a highly selective, potent, oral BCL-2 inhibitor, induces apoptosis in MM cells, and when combined with bortezomib and dexamethasone showed promising efficacy in patients (pts) with relapsed/refractory MM (RRMM; Moreau et al. Blood. 2017;130:2392-2400). The Phase 3 BELLINI study primary analysis showed significantly improved response rates and progression-free survival (PFS) in pts with RRMM treated with Ven added to bortezomib and dexamethasone versus placebo (Pbo); however, increased mortality was observed in the Ven group (Kumar et al. Lancet Oncol. 2020;21:1630-1642). At the initial data cutoff (November 26, 2018), the PFS hazard ratio (HR) was 0.63 (95% CI, 0.44-0.90) and overall survival (OS) HR was 2.03 (95% CI, 1.04-3.95). Pts with t(11;14) translocation or high BCL2 expression showed improved responses and PFS without increased mortality. Here, we present updated safety and efficacy data from the prespecified final OS analysis. Methods: BELLINI (NCT02755597) is a Phase 3, randomized, double-blind, multicenter study of Ven or Pbo combined with bortezomib and dexamethasone in pts with RRMM who had received 1-3 prior lines of therapy and were either sensitive or naïve to proteasome inhibitors. Pts were randomized 2:1 to receive Ven 800 mg/day or Pbo plus bortezomib and dexamethasone. Cycles 1-8 were 21-day cycles with bortezomib 1.3 mg/m 2 on Days 1, 4, 8, and 11 and dexamethasone 20 mg on Days 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, and 12. Cycles 9 and beyond were 35-day cycles with bortezomib 1.3 mg/m 2 on Days 1, 8, 15, and 22 and dexamethasone 20 mg on Days 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, and 23. The primary endpoint was PFS assessed by independent review committee. Key secondary endpoints included overall response rate and OS. BCL2 expression was measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction with the cutoff for high BCL2 determined using bootstrapping and aggregating thresholds from trees. Results: Of 291 randomized pts (194 to Ven and 97 to Pbo), 33 pts were receiving ongoing treatment (28 with Ven and 5 with Pbo) as of the final OS analysis data cutoff (March 15, 2021). At a median follow-up of 45.6 months, there were 78 (40%) deaths in the Ven arm versus 36 (37%) in the Pbo arm. Updated PFS and OS among all pts and those with t(11;14) or high BCL2 expression are shown in the Table. Among all pts, the median PFS per investigator was 23.4 months in the Ven arm versus 11.4 months in the Pbo arm (HR, 0.58 [95% CI, 0.43-0.78]). In pts with t(11;14), the median PFS was 36.8 months in the Ven arm versus 9.3 months in the Pbo arm (HR, 0.12 [95% CI, 0.03-0.44]). In pts with high BCL2, the median PFS was 30.1 months in the Ven arm versus 9.9 months in the Pbo arm (HR, 0.37 [95% CI, 0.21-0.64]). Median OS was not reached in the Ven or Pbo arm among all pts (HR, 1.19 [95% CI, 0.80-1.77]), pts with t(11;14) (HR, 0.61 [95% CI, 0.16-2.32]), pts with high BCL2 (HR, 0.70 [95% CI, 0.32-1.51]), and pts with t(11;14) or high BCL2 (HR, 0.82 [95% CI, 0.40-1.70]). The most common treatment-emergent adverse events (AEs) with Ven (versus Pbo) were diarrhea (60% versus 50%), nausea (38% versus 23%), and constipation (35% versus 31%). The most common Grade 3/4 AEs (Ven versus Pbo) were thrombocytopenia (16% versus 30%), neutropenia (23% versus 8%), pneumonia (19% versus 13%), anemia (16% versus 15%), and diarrhea (15% versus 11%). Serious AEs occurred in 57% of Ven- and 55% of Pbo-treated pts, with serious infections and infestations occurring in 35% and 29% of pts, respectively. Overall, 26% of pts in the Ven arm and 11% of pts in the Pbo arm experienced an AE leading to Ven or Pbo discontinuation. AEs led to 12 deaths in the Ven arm, with 9 of these deaths due to serious infection; an AE led to 1 death in the Pbo arm. A total of 16 (6%) treatment-emergent deaths occurred (14 [7%] with Ven and 2 [2%] with Pbo), with 3 of these deaths due to disease progression (2 [1%] with Ven and 1 [1%] with Pbo). Conclusion: In the final OS analysis, the addition of Ven to bortezomib and dexamethasone showed significantly improved PFS but resulted in increased mortality versus Pbo in the total population. Consistent with results from previous analyses, Ven added to bortezomib and dexamethasone showed the greatest PFS improvement in pts with t(11;14) or high BCL2, with a favorable benefit-risk profile. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Kumar: Beigene: Consultancy; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Bluebird Bio: Consultancy; Merck: Research Funding; Astra-Zeneca: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; KITE: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Amgen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Tenebio: Research Funding; BMS: Consultancy, Research Funding; Antengene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Roche-Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; Abbvie: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Oncopeptides: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Carsgen: Research Funding; Adaptive: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Sanofi: Research Funding. Harrison: Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Celgene/ Juno/ BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Janssen Cilag: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Roche/Genentech: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Haemalogix: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; GSK: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Eusa: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Terumo BCT: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Cavo: Novartis: Honoraria; GlaxoSmithKline: Consultancy, Honoraria; Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Adaptive Biotechnologies: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel Accommodations, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES, Speakers Bureau; Bristol-Myers Squib: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. de la Rubia: Ablynx/Sanofi: Consultancy; Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb,: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES; Celgene, Takeda, Janssen, Sanofi: Honoraria; AbbVie: Consultancy; Bristol Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel Accommodations; GSK: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy; Sanofi: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Popat: Abbvie, Takeda, Janssen, and Celgene: Consultancy; AbbVie, BMS, Janssen, Oncopeptides, and Amgen: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES; GlaxoSmithKline: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen and BMS: Other: travel expenses. Gasparetto: Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc.: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES, Speakers Bureau; Oncopeptite: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; BMS: Consultancy; Connect Registry: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; GSK: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Hungria: Sanofi: Honoraria, Other: Support for attending meetings/travel ; Takeda: Honoraria; Abbvie: Honoraria; Amgen, BMS, Celgene, Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Support for attending meetings/travel . Salwender: Oncopeptides: Honoraria; GlaxoSmithKline: Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES; Sanofi: Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES; Takeda: Honoraria; Pfizer: Honoraria; Amgen: Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES; Chugai: Honoraria; AbbVie: Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES; Janssen-Cilag: Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES; Bristol-Myers Squibb/Celgene: Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES. Suzuki: Japanese Red Cross Medical Center: Current Employment; Janssen: Honoraria; AbbVie: Honoraria; Sanofi: Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; ONO: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria. Kim: Seoul National University Hospital: Current Employment. Onishi: Roche: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company; Genentech: Current Employment. Ku: Roche: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES; Genentech: Current Employment, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES. Pothacamury: AbbVie: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Current holder of individual stocks in a privately-held company. Sehgal: AbbVie: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Current holder of individual stocks in a privately-held company. Masud: AbbVie: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Current holder of individual stocks in a privately-held company. Ross: AbbVie: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Current holder of individual stocks in a privately-held company. Dobkowska: AbbVie: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES; Pharmacyclics: Current Employment. Moreau: Celgene BMS: Honoraria; Amgen: Honoraria; Abbvie: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria; Sanofi: Honoraria; Oncopeptides: Honoraria.

Background and objectives Kidney biopsy is the current gold standard to diagnose membranous nephropathy. Approximately 70%–80% of patients with primary membranous nephropathy have circulating anti-phospholipase A2 receptor antibodies. We previously demonstrated that in proteinuric patients with preserved eGFR and absence of associated conditions ( e.g., autoimmunity, malignancy, infection, drugs, and paraproteinemia), a positive anti-phospholipase A2 receptor antibody test by ELISA and immunofluorescence assay confirms the diagnosis of membranous nephropathy noninvasively. These data have not been externally validated. Design, setting, participants, & measurements The clinical and pathologic characteristics of patients with a positive anti-phospholipase A2 receptor antibody test at the Mayo Clinic, the University Hospital Vall D’Hebron (Barcelona), and the Columbia University Medical Center (New York) were retrospectively reviewed. Biopsy findings and presence or absence of a potential associated condition were assessed. Results From a total of 276 patients with positive anti-phospholipase A2 receptor serology, previously reported patients ( n =33), kidney transplant recipients ( n =9), pediatric patients ( n =2), and patients without kidney biopsy ( n =69) were excluded. Among the 163 remaining patients, associated conditions were identified in 47 patients, and 15 patients had diabetes mellitus. All 101 patients of the final cohort had a primary diagnosis of membranous nephropathy on kidney biopsy. In the 79 patients with eGFR≥60 ml/min per 1.73 m 2 , none of the biopsy findings altered diagnosis or management. Among the 22 patients with decreased eGFR, additional findings included superimposed acute interstitial nephritis ( n =1). Conclusions In patients with preserved eGFR and absence of associated conditions or diabetes, a positive anti-phospholipase A2 receptor test by either ELISA >20 RU/ml or a positive immunofluorescence assay confirms the diagnosis of membranous nephropathy, precluding the requirement for a kidney biopsy.

AbstractWhether tubular injury develops in patients with acute kidney injury owing to hepatorenal syndrome (AKI‐HRS) is controversial. We performed repeated measurements of biomarkers of tubular injury during a 14‐day period in 60 patients with cirrhosis and AKI (34 with AKI‐HRS meeting the classical definition of type 1 HRS and 26 with AKI owing to acute tubular necrosis, AKI‐ATN). Nineteen of 34 patients had resolution of AKI‐HRS, while the remainder had persistent AKI‐HRS. The persistence of AKI‐HRS was associated with remarkably high short‐term mortality. There were no significant differences in urinary NGAL or IL‐18 between patients with resolution vs those with persistent AKI‐HRS throughout the 14‐day period. By contrast, biomarker levels were significantly lower in AKI‐HRS, even if persistent, compared to AKI‐ATN. These findings are highly suggestive of lack of significant tubular injury in AKI‐HRS and could be of value in the clinical decision between combined liver–kidney or liver transplantation alone in patients with cirrhosis and AKI candidates to transplantation.

With an estimated overall mortality of less than 1 percent per year, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, is the most common genetic cardiomyopathy. Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography is the standard of care for assessing patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy undergoing surgical septal myectomy, allowing surgical planning, intraoperative hemodynamic monitoring, and postprocedural assessment of the repair, including detection of immediate complications. At various phases during surgical septal myectomy, the changing hemodynamic conditions may lead to worsening or improvement in left ventricle outflow tract obstruction by change in preload or afterload, systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve, or sympathetic stimulation. These characteristics represent unique challenges in the management of these patients, requiring a comprehensive understanding of the management of all the conditions required to decrease the left ventricle outflow tract gradient avoiding obstruction, which include the maintenance of sinus rhythm, adequate rate avoiding tachycardia and bradycardia, and avoidance of systemic hypotension preserving preload and afterload, with adequate vasoactive agents. The aim of this review is to summarize the perioperative assessment and management of patients undergoing hypertrophic obstructive myopathy surgery.

Background Atogepant is an oral, small-molecule, calcitonin gene–related peptide receptor antagonist for the preventive treatment of migraine. Methods In the double-blind, phase 3 ADVANCE trial, participants with 4–14 migraine days/month were randomized to atogepant 10 mg, 30 mg, 60 mg, or placebo once daily for 12 weeks. We evaluated the time course of efficacy of atogepant for the preventive treatment of migraine. Analyses included change from baseline in mean monthly migraine days during each of the three 4-week treatment periods, change in weekly migraine days during weeks 1–4, and proportion of participants with a migraine on each day during the first week. Results We analyzed 873 participants (n = 214 atogepant 10 mg, n = 223 atogepant 30 mg, n = 222 atogepant 60 mg, n = 214 placebo). For weeks 1–4, mean change from baseline in mean monthly migraine days ranged from −3.1 to −3.9 across atogepant doses vs −1.6 for placebo ( p < 0.0001). For weeks 5–8 and 9–12, reductions in mean monthly migraine days ranged from −3.7 to −4.2 for atogepant vs −2.9 for placebo ( p ≤ 0.012) and −4.2 to −4.4 for atogepant vs −3.0 for placebo ( p < 0.0002), respectively. Mean change from baseline in weekly migraine days in week 1 ranged from −0.77 to −1.03 for atogepant vs −0.29 with placebo ( p < 0.0001). Percentages of participants reporting a migraine on post-dose day 1 ranged from 10.8% to 14.1% for atogepant vs 25.2% with placebo ( p ≤ 0.0071). Conclusion Atogepant demonstrated treatment benefits as early as the first full day after treatment initiation, and sustained efficacy across each 4-week interval during the 12-week treatment period. Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03777059

Abstract Usually used in emergency settings, bedside sonographic measurement of optic nerve sheath diameter can aid in diagnosing elevated intracranial pressure. We report a case of a 26-year-old male hospitalized for CAR T-cell therapy with Axicabtagene Ciloleucel for treatment of relapsed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, who developed progressive symptoms of immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome. Fundoscopic examination suggested the presence of blurred optic disc margins. Bedside ocular ultrasound revealed wide optic nerve sheath diameters and bulging optic discs bilaterally. The patient had a ventriculostomy placed for monitoring and received treatment with steroids and mannitol, as well as tocilizumab. After 7 days in the ICU, the patient recovered with no evidence of long-term neurological deficits.

PURPOSE COSMIC-021 is evaluating cabozantinib plus atezolizumab in patients with solid tumors. We report results from patients with advanced clear cell (cc) and non–clear cell (ncc) renal cell carcinoma (RCC). METHODS This phase Ib study ( NCT03170960 ) enrolled patients age ≥ 18 years with advanced RCC. A dose-escalation stage was followed by expansion cohorts. For cohort expansion, prior systemic therapy was not permitted for ccRCC but allowed for nccRCC. Patients received oral cabozantinib 40 mg once a day (ccRCC and nccRCC) or 60 mg once a day (ccRCC only) plus atezolizumab (1,200 mg intravenously, once every 3 weeks). The primary end point was investigator-assessed objective response rate (ORR) per RECIST v1.1; the secondary end point was safety. RESULTS A total of 102 patients were enrolled. Median follow-up was 25.8, 15.3, and 13.3 months for the 40-mg ccRCC, 60-mg ccRCC, and nccRCC groups, respectively. ORR was 53% (80% CI, 41 to 65) in the 40-mg ccRCC group (n = 34) and 58% (80% CI, 46 to 70) in the 60-mg ccRCC group (n = 36), 3% and 11%, respectively, with complete response; median progression-free survival (exploratory end point) was 19.5 and 15.1 months, respectively. In nccRCC (n = 32), ORR was 31% (80% CI, 20 to 44), all partial responses; median progression-free survival was 9.5 months. Grade 3 or 4 treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) were reported by 71% of patients in the 40-mg ccRCC group, 67% in the 60-mg ccRCC group, and 38% in the nccRCC group; TRAEs leading to discontinuation of both agents occurred in 15%, 6%, and 3% of patients, respectively. There were no grade 5 TRAEs. CONCLUSION The novel combination of cabozantinib plus atezolizumab demonstrated encouraging clinical activity and acceptable tolerability in patients with advanced ccRCC and nccRCC. Disease control was observed across dose levels and histologic subtypes.