Palladini, Giovanni

Abstract Abstract 1364 In light chain (AL) amyloidosis, as well as in multiple myeloma, response to treatment is increasingly being used as a surrogate endpoint in clinical trials. In 2005 a consensus statement of the International Society of Amyloidosis (ISA) established the criteria for hematologic and organ response. Since then, several studies emphasized the prognostic relevance of the measurement of the amyloidogenic precursor, the circulating free light chain (FLC). Moreover, it was reported that patients who with treatment achieved decreases in the cardiac biomarker N terminal natriuretic peptide type B (NT-proBNP) had longer survival, although echocardiographic criteria of response were not attained. The ISA Consensus Panel reconvened in 2010 to update hematologic and organ response criteria. The panel felt that any new criteria should be validated in a large patient population. Thus, we systematically gathered from 7 referral centers in Europe and in the United States a cohort of 649 patients with systemic AL amyloidosis who had been evaluated for hematologic and organ responses at diagnosis and 6 months after treatment initiation, excluding patients who died earlier. At diagnosis, 430 patients (66%) had heart involvement, 377 (58%) had NT-proBNP ≥650 ng/L, 455 (70%) had renal involvement (95, 15%, with glomerular filtration rate <30 mL/min) and 100 (15%) had liver involvement. Two-hundred eighty-nine patients (44%) were treated with melphalan and dexamethasone, 118 (18%) received thalidomide based therapy, 73 (11%) underwent autologous stem cell transplant, 35 (5%) were treated with regimens including lenalidomide, 20 (3%) received bortezomib-based therapy, and the rest received other alkylating agents, nucleoside analogues or dexamethasone. The median follow-up of living patients was 24 months, and 233 patients (34%) died. The ability of response criteria to identify patients who died was compared by evaluating the areas under Receiver Operator Characteristic curves based on death at 1 year, and by calculating the Harrell C statistic and the Royston explained variation. Survival was calculated from the time of evaluation of response. We maintained the category of complete response (CR: negative serum and urine immunofixation, normal FLC kappa/lambda ratio and normal marrow studies) and examined candidate criteria for partial (PR) and very good partial responses (VGPR), based on percentage changes or absolute values achieved after treatment of involved (amyloidogenic) FLC (iFLC), and alternatively on the difference between iFLC and uninvolved FLC (dFLC). With respect to cardiac response and progression, NT-proBNP-based criteria were defined as a decrease or an increase of both >30% and >300 ng/L, and a threshold of evaluability based on NT-proBNP baseline level >650 ng/L was chosen. The most powerful criteria for PR were those based on dFLC percent decrease, and a 50% cutoff was preferred because of easier clinical use. Among candidate criteria for VGPR, the best were based on iFLC absolute value achieved after therapy, but the performance of those based on dFLC absolute value was only slightly lower. Therefore, a definition of VGPR based on dFLC (<40 mg/L) was adopted for the sake of harmonization with the dFLC-based definition of PR. The adopted hematologic response criteria and their prognostic significance are reported in Table 1. These criteria identified 4 groups with significantly different survivals (Figure 1). Also the proposed criteria of NT-proBNP response and progression were significantly associated with survival (Figure 2). Our 2010 revised consensus criteria for hematologic response include maintenance of the definition of CR, and with use of dFLC re-casting the definition of PR and introducing a VGPR category, and for cardiac response and progression introducing the use of changes in NT-proBNP levels. In a further analysis we will address the definition of measurable dFLC at baseline and evaluate the applicability of the response criteria to earlier evaluation of response. The revised criteria improve the framework for clinical research in AL. Disclosures: Off Label Use: Thalidomide, lenalidomide, bortezomib for systemic AL amyloidosis. Dispenzieri:The Binding Site: Honoraria. Gertz:Celgene: Honoraria; Millennium: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Dimopoulos:Ortho-Biotech: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria; Millennium: Honoraria. Merlini:Millennium: Honoraria; Ortho-Biotech: Honoraria.

Abstract This phase 1/2 study assessed the safety, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy of the oral proteasome inhibitor (PI) ixazomib in patients with relapsed/refractory immunoglobulin light chain (AL) amyloidosis. Ixazomib was administered to adult patients with relapsed/refractory AL amyloidosis after 1 or more prior lines of therapy (including bortezomib) on days 1, 8, and 15 of 28-day cycles, for up to 12 cycles. Patients with less than partial response after 3 cycles received oral dexamethasone (40 mg, days 1-4) from cycle 4. A 3+3 dose-escalation phase was followed by 2 expansion cohorts (PI-naive and PI-exposed patients) at the maximum tolerated dose (MTD). Twenty-seven patients were enrolled: 11 during dose escalation (6 at 4.0 mg and 5 at 5.5 mg) and 16 during dose expansion (4.0 mg). Three patients experienced dose-limiting toxicities: 1 at 4.0 mg and 2 at 5.5 mg; the MTD was determined as 4.0 mg. Most common adverse events (AEs) included nausea, skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders (SSTD), diarrhea, and fatigue; grade 3 or higher AEs included dyspnea, fatigue, and SSTD. Overall, the hematologic response rate was 52% in patients treated at the MTD (n = 21). Organ responses were seen in 56% of patients (5 cardiac, 5 renal). Median hematologic progression-free survival was 14.8 months; 1-year progression-free and overall survival rates were 60% and 85%, respectively (median follow-up, 16.9 months). Weekly oral ixazomib appears to be active in patients with relapsed/refractory AL amyloidosis, with a generally manageable safety profile. The study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01318902. A phase 3 study is ongoing (#NCT01659658).

Multiple myeloma (MM) patient frailty has been delineated primarily by age and ECOG performance score (PS) and recently by the IMWG frailty score based on functional status [Activity of Daily Living (ADL) and Instrumental‐ADL scores], comorbidities [Charlson‐comorbidity‐index (CCI)] and age. It was hypothesized that N‐terminal natriuretic peptide type B (NT‐proBNP) might be both a more convenient measure of frailty and a predictor of overall survival (OS). Three‐hundred and fifty‐one consecutive symptomatic MM patients who were seen at Mayo Clinic within 30 days of diagnosis and who had blood stored were eligible. Data from the first visit was abstracted and used to calculate an ADL, CCI, and measure the NT‐proBNP level. The best cutoff of NT‐proBNP predicting OS was 300 ng/L. Variables predictive for OS were ECOG‐PS, age, CCI, ADL, ISS, revised‐ISS, and NT‐proBNP. On multivariate analysis age ≥70, PS ≥2, and NT‐proBNP ≥300 were independent predictors of survival. Patients were assigned a score of 1 for each of these variables, creating stages I–IV with scores of 0–3 points, respectively. The median OS from diagnosis was not reached, 58, 28, and 18 months (P < 0.0001), respectively. This frailty risk schema was independent of initial therapy and the revised‐ISS. NT‐proBNP is a useful predictor of survival independent of age and PS. It is a widely available biomarker that could be added to the panel of laboratory tests of newly diagnosed MM patients and serve as a simple and objective tool of determining frailty in clinical practice. Am. J. Hematol. 91:1129–1134, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Purpose To identify the criteria for hematologic and cardiac response to treatment in immunoglobulin light chain (AL) amyloidosis based on survival analysis of a large patient population. Patients and Methods We gathered for analysis 816 patients with AL amyloidosis from seven referral centers in the European Union and the United States. A different cohort of 374 patients prospectively evaluated at the Pavia Amyloidosis Research and Treatment Center was used for validation. Data was available for all patients before and 3 and/or 6 months after initiation of first-line therapy. The prognostic relevance of different criteria for hematologic and cardiac response was assessed. Results There was a strong correlation between the extent of reduction of amyloidogenic free light chains (FLCs) and improvement in survival. This allowed the identification of four levels of response: amyloid complete response (normal FLC ratio and negative serum and urine immunofixation), very good partial response (difference between involved and uninvolved FLCs [dFLC] < 40 mg/L), partial response (dFLC decrease > 50%), and no response. Cardiac involvement is the major determinant of survival, and changes in cardiac function after therapy can be reliably assessed using the cardiac biomarker N-terminal natriuretic peptide type B (NT-proBNP). Changes in FLC and NT-proBNP predicted survival as early as 3 months after treatment initiation. Conclusion This study identifies and validates new criteria for response to first-line treatment in AL amyloidosis, based on their association with survival in large patient populations, and offers surrogate end points for clinical trials.