Dueck, A. C.

Abstract Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), including polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, and primary myelofibrosis, have a propensity to evolve into accelerated and blast-phase disease (MPN-AP/BP), carrying a dismal prognosis. Conventional antileukemia therapy has limited efficacy in this setting. Thus, MPN-AP/BP is an urgent unmet clinical need. Modest responses to hypomethylating agents and single-agent ruxolitinib have been reported. More recently, combination of ruxolitinib and decitabine has demonstrated synergistic in vitro activity in human and murine systems. These observations led us to conduct a phase 1 study to explore the safety of combined decitabine and dose-escalated ruxolitinib in patients with MPN-AP/BP. A total of 21 patients were accrued to this multicenter study. Ruxolitinib was administered at doses of 10, 15, 25, or 50 mg twice daily in combination with decitabine (20 mg/m2 per day for 5 days) in 28-day cycles. The maximum tolerated dose was not reached. The most common reasons for study discontinuation were toxicity/adverse events (37%) and disease progression (21%). Fourteen patients died during study treatment period or follow-up. The median overall survival for patients on study was 7.9 months (95% confidence interval, 4.1-not reached). Among evaluable patients, the overall response rate by protocol-defined criteria (complete remission with incomplete count recovery + partial remission) was 9/17 (53%) and by intention-to-treat analysis was 9/21 (42.9%). The combination of decitabine and ruxolitinib was generally well tolerated by patients with MPN-AP/BP and demonstrates potentially promising clinical activity. A phase 2 trial evaluating the efficacy of this combination regimen is ongoing within the Myeloproliferative Disorder Research Consortium.

Abstract The Philadelphia chromosome–negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), including polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET), and the prefibrotic form of primary myelofibrosis (PMF), frequently progress to more overt forms of MF and a type of acute leukemia termed MPN-accelerated phase/blast phase (MPN-AP/BP). Recent evidence indicates that dysregulation of the tumor suppressor tumor protein p53 (TP53) commonly occurs in the MPNs. The proteins MDM2 and MDM4 alter the cellular levels of TP53. We investigated in 1,294 patients whether abnormalities involving chromosomes 1 and 12, which harbor the genes for MDM4 and MDM2, respectively, and chromosome 17, where the gene for TP53 is located, are associated with MPN disease progression. Gain of 1q occurred not only in individuals with MPN-BP but also in patients with PV and ET, who, with further follow-up, eventually evolve to either MF and/or MPN-BP. These gains of 1q were most prevalent in patients with a history of PV and those who possessed the JAK2V617F driver mutation. The gains of 1q were accompanied by increased transcript levels of MDM4. In contrast, 12q chromosomal abnormalities were exclusively detected in patients who presented with MF or MPN-BP, but were not accompanied by further increases in MDM2/MDM4 transcript levels. Furthermore, all patients with a loss of 17p13, which leads to a deletion of TP53, had either MF or MPN-AP/BP. These findings suggest that gain of 1q, as well as deletions of 17p, are associated with perturbations of the TP53 pathway, which contribute to MPN disease progression.

Abstract Objective The study sought to describe patient-entered supplemental information on symptomatic adverse events (AEs) in cancer clinical research reported via a National Cancer Institute software system and examine the feasibility of mapping these entries to established terminologies. Materials and Methods Patients in 3 multicenter trials electronically completed surveys during cancer treatment. Each survey included a prespecified subset of items from the National Cancer Institute’s Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE). Upon completion of the survey items, patients could add supplemental symptomatic AE information in a free text box. As patients typed into the box, structured dropdown terms could be selected from the PRO-CTCAE item library or Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA), or patients could type unstructured free text for submission. Results Data were pooled from 1760 participants (48% women; 78% White) who completed 8892 surveys, of which 2387 (26.8%) included supplemental symptomatic AE information. Overall, 1024 (58%) patients entered supplemental information at least once, with an average of 2.3 per patient per study. This encompassed 1474 of 8892 (16.6%) dropdowns and 913 of 8892 (10.3%) unstructured free text entries. One-third of the unstructured free text entries (32%) could be mapped post hoc to a PRO-CTCAE term and 68% to a MedDRA term. Discussion Participants frequently added supplemental information beyond study-specific survey items. Almost half selected a structured dropdown term, although many opted to submit unstructured free text entries. Most free text entries could be mapped post hoc to PRO-CTCAE or MedDRA terms, suggesting opportunities to enhance the system to perform real-time mapping for AE reporting. Conclusions Patient reporting of symptomatic AEs using a text box functionality with mapping to existing terminologies is both feasible and informative.

Abstract Purpose A few previous studies report a direct relationship between older age and chemotherapy-induced neuropathy. This study further evaluated this adverse event's age-based risk. Methods CALGB 40101 investigated adjuvant paclitaxel (80 mg/m2 once per week or 175 mg/m2 every 2 weeks) in patients with breast cancer and served as a platform for the current study that investigated age-based differences in neuropathy. Grade 2 or worse neuropathy, as per Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4, was the primary endpoint; patients were assessed at baseline, every 6 months for 2 years, and then annually for 15 years. Results Among these 1,881 patients, 230 were 65 years of age or older, 556 were 55–64 years, and 1,095 were younger than 55; 1,226 neuropathy events (commonly grade 1 or 2) were reported in 65% of the cohort. The number of grade 2 or worse events was 63 (27%), 155 (28%), and 266 (24%) within respective age groups (p = .14). In univariate analysis, only motor neuropathy had a higher age-based incidence: 19 (8%), 43 (8%), and 60 (5%), respectively (p = .04); in multivariate analyses, this association was no longer statistically significant. Other endpoints, such as time to onset of neuropathy (time from trial enrollment to neuropathy development) and time to improvement (time from maximal grade sensory neuropathy to a one-category improvement), showed no statistically significant age-based differences. In contrast, obesity was associated with neuropathy, and every 2-week paclitaxel was associated with trends toward neuropathy. Conclusion Although paclitaxel-induced neuropathy is common, older age is not an independent risk factor. Clinical trial identification number. NCT00041119 (CALGB 40101).

This letter comments on the letter by Luis Aguera‐Ortiz et al .

Introduction: Roughly 4% to 23% of the population embody stress prone personality and other traits characterizing a subclinical “broad autism phenotype” (BAP). Subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) among healthy elderly is associated with psychological distress leading us to predict BAP would be associated with SCI. Methods: The Autism Spectrum Quotient, a self-administered 50 item questionnaire, was completed by 419 consecutive members of the Arizona APOE Cohort who underwent neuropsychological testing every 2 years. SCI was assessed with self and informant versions of the Multidimensional Assessment of Neurodegenerative Symptoms (MANS) Questionnaire. Results: A total of 45 individuals scored in the BAP range, designated BAP+, and the rest were BAP−. At entry, both Multidimensional Assessment of Neurodegenerative Symptoms Questionnaire Self and Informant scores were higher in the BAP+ group (P<0.0001). After age 60, the BAP+ group had greater annual increases in Multidimensional Assessment of Neurodegenerative Symptoms Questionnaire Self scores (0.05 vs. 0.02; difference=0.03; 95% confidence interval, 0.004-0.05; P=0.02) yet there was no difference between groups in memory decline. Over ~10 years 33 individuals developed mild cognitive impairment: 4 in the BAP+ group (8.9%) and 29 in the BAP− group (7.8%), P=0.77. Discussion: Individuals who meet criteria for the BAP have escalating SCI with age, but no greater rate of memory decline or clinical progression to mild cognitive impairment.