Citations 177

Low Incidence of Fungal Infections after Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in an Endemic Region for Coccidioidomycosis

Blood | November 28, 2022 | Volume: 140 | Issue: Supplement 1 | Pages: 12111-12113

10.1182/blood-2022-159744

A Randomized Pilot Study of Online Hatha Yoga for Physical and Psychological Symptoms Among Survivors of Allogenic Bone Marrow Transplant

International Journal of Yoga Therapy | October 28, 2022 | Volume: 32 | Issue: 2022 | Pages: No page available

10.17761/2022-d-21-00047 | PMID 36305845

Abstract Bone marrow transplant (BMT) is a curative procedure for patients with hematological malignancies, hemoglobinopathies, and errors of inborn metabolism. Survivors are not without symptom burden. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of a 12-week online yoga intervention compared to an educational control group in survivors of allogenic BMT. Participants were recruited nationally. Consenting participants were assigned to online yoga or a podcast control. Yoga and control group participants were instructed to complete 12 weeks of 60 minutes/week of online yoga and podcasts, respectively. Study participants were asked to complete online questionnaires at baseline (wk 0), midpoint (wk 6), postintervention (wk 12), and follow-up (wk 20). Feasibility benchmarks included > 70% satisfied with intervention and > 70% intending to continue participating in online yoga (acceptability); > 70% of participants achieving > 42 minutes/week of online yoga (demand); > 70% completing all four questionnaires (practicality); and at least small effect sizes of the intervention on Lee Symptom Score, physical function, fatigue, anxiety, sleep disturbance, social functioning, pain interference, depression, and quality of life as compared to control group (limited efficacy). Seventy-two participants consented and enrolled in the study (yoga group n = 33; podcast group n = 39). Of the yoga group participants, 54.5% (n = 19) completed the postintervention questionnaire, with 73.7% (n = 14) indicating they were satisfied/very satisfied and 15.8% (n = 3) likely/very likely to continue online yoga. Yoga participation averaged 31.98 minutes/week across 12 weeks. Both groups experienced a significant improvement in the Lee Symptom Score (6.2%–8.7% improvement from baseline) and depressive symptoms (5.3%–6.6% improvement from baseline). The yoga group experienced a significant reduction in pain (6.1% from baseline), and the podcast group experienced a significant reduction in fatigue (6.4% improvement from baseline). Online yoga was not found to be feasible to deliver to this population of survivors of BMT. However, there was satisfaction with online yoga among the majority of survivors of BMT, and beneficial effects were experienced in the yoga group on Lee Symptom Score, depressive symptoms, and pain. Future research is needed to enhance our understanding of barriers to online yoga participation for survivors of BMT and to determine its efficacy.
Limited activity of luspatercept in myelofibrosis and myeloid neoplasms other than myelodysplastic syndromes with ring sideroblasts

American Journal of Hematology | October 5, 2022 | Volume: 97 | Issue: 12 | Pages: No page available

10.1002/ajh.26749 | PMID 36197043

Quality of life independently predicts overall survival in myelofibrosis: Key insights from the COntrolled MyeloFibrosis Study with ORal Janus kinase inhibitor Treatment (COMFORT)‐I study

British Journal of Haematology | June 25, 2022 | Volume: 198 | Issue: 6 | Pages: 1065-1068

10.1111/bjh.18329 | PMID 35751150

Impact of imbalanced gender participation in online myeloproliferative neoplasm symptom surveys.

Journal of Clinical Oncology | June 6, 2022 | Volume: 40 | Issue: 16_suppl | Pages: e19078-e19078

10.1200/jco.2022.40.16_suppl.e19078

e19078 Background: Patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), including polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET), and myelofibrosis (MF), experience chronic disease-related symptoms. Surveying these patients while incorporating the MPN-Symptom Assessment Form (SAF) gains valuable insight. Independent surveys evaluating symptoms among MPN patients have seen disproportionate participation among females compared to males (upwards of 4:1). Though the general MPN patient population is roughly gender balanced, epidemiological studies show the occurrence of MPN types differ between men and women (MPN [%male]: PV [65%], ET [33%], MF [50%]. Mehta, et al. Leuk & Lymph 2014). In-clinic evaluations and international MPN surveys of disease-related symptoms suggest women report higher symptom burden on average compared to men, despite MPN type [Emanuel, et al. JCO 2012. Geyer, et al. Haematol 2017]. Further, a recent study across cancer trials showed women had a 34% increased risk of reporting severe symptoms [Unger, et al. JCO 2022]. This study aimed to evaluate gender imbalance in survey participation among MPN patient surveys and investigate its potential to overestimate symptom burden if gender is ignored. Methods: Five anonymous web-based surveys were used to assess the impact of disproportionate gender participation. The MPN-10 assessing the 10 most clinically meaningful SAF items was present in these surveys and generated the Total Symptom Score (TSS). Survey responses with no self-reported gender or ≥5 missing MPN-10 symptoms were excluded. Raking weights based on expected MPN population were applied at the survey- and MPN type-level. Relative bias of mean TSS was calculated to evaluate over- and underestimation due to this participation imbalance. Relative bias <5% is commonly acceptable. Results: There were 4962 survey participants total and 74% were female (Table). Epidemiologically expected gender frequency by MPN type was not seen (MPN [%male]: PV [31%], ET [15%], MF [37%]). The gender participation imbalance accounted for a 3.1% overestimation of overall TSS. This also resulted in a 6.8% underestimation of the mean difference in TSS between genders, across MPNs. Conclusions: Overall bias due to gender participation imbalance was relatively low. However, analyses considering gender differences were more impacted. Anonymous surveys should seek to reduce participation bias during the survey design phase. More research is needed to evaluate gender and other participation biases in surveys across cancer domains.[Table: see text]
Treatment with anti-spike monoclonal antibodies in allogeneic HCT and CAR T-cell recipients with mild to moderate COVID-19: The Mayo Clinic experience.

Journal of Clinical Oncology | June 6, 2022 | Volume: 40 | Issue: 16_suppl | Pages: e19049-e19049

10.1200/jco.2022.40.16_suppl.e19049

e19049 Background: Prognosis of COVID-19 is poor in the setting of immunosuppression. Casirivimab/imdevimab (REGEN-COV), bamlanivimab, and sotrovimab are investigational monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) authorized for treatment of mild/moderate COVID-19 for patients (pts) 12 years or older and who are at high-risk for progression to severe COVID-19. These neutralizing antibodies, against SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins, have been shown to decrease risk of progression to severe disease. Recipients of allogeneic stem cell transplants (allo-SCT) or chimeric antigen T cell therapy (CAR T cell) represent a high risk population. However, treatment outcomes with these MoAbs in these pts are not well described. Methods: This retrospective study included 33 consecutive adult pts who developed mild/moderate COVID-19 and received anti-spike SARS-CoV-2 MoAbs between December 2020 and November 2021. Allo-SCT (N=27) or CAR T cell (N=6) recipients were included, and outcomes were analyzed separately. Pts received REGEN-COV (N=19), bamlanivimab (N=11), or sotrovimab (N=1), missing (N=2). Results: In the allo-SCT cohort (N=27), median age at time of COVID-19 was 55 (23-76) years. Median time from allo-SCT to COVID-19 was 31 (22-64) months. Two pts received CAR T-cell therapy prior to allo-SCT. Diagnoses included leukemia or myeloid diseases (82%), lymphoma (11%), or myeloma (7%). Transplant characteristics are summarized (Table). Thirteen pts were vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 prior to breakthrough COVID-19. Events considered included hospitalization due to COVID-19, disease progression, or death from any cause. The 6-month event-free and overall survivals were 81% and 91%, respectively. In the CAR T cell recipients cohort (N=6), 4 pts received axicabtagene ciloleucel for diffuse large B-cell or follicular lymphoma and 2 received brexucabtagene autoleucel for mantle cell lymphoma. The median follow-up was 8 (1-11) months. Two pts received autologous SCT prior to COVID-19. Median time from CAR T cell therapy to COVID-19 was 10 (3-24) months. Three pts were vaccinated prior to COVID-19. Only 1 pt was hospitalized due to severe COVID-19 requiring mechanical ventilation leading to death. Conclusions: These results show a potential benefit of MoAbs in high-risk pts, namely allo-SCT or CAR T cell recipients. Future studies should evaluate the role of prophylactic use MoAbs in these populations. A comparative analysis with a matched control cohort (who did not receive MoAbs) will be provided at the meeting. [Table: see text]
Limited activity of fedratinib in myelofibrosis patients relapsed/refractory to ruxolitinib 20 mg twice daily or higher: A real‐world experience

British Journal of Haematology | May 26, 2022 | Volume: 198 | Issue: 4 | Pages: No page available

10.1111/bjh.18284 | PMID 35614565

CLO22-067: Symptom Burden in Patients With Myelofibrosis who Have Moderate or Severe Thrombocytopenia: A Retrospective Analysis of Patients Enrolled in the PERSIST-2 Study

Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network | March 31, 2022 | Volume: 20 | Issue: 3.5 | Pages: CLO22-067

10.6004/jnccn.2021.7287

Real‐world experience with venetoclax and hypomethylating agents in myelodysplastic syndromes with excess blasts

American Journal of Hematology | March 18, 2022 | Volume: 97 | Issue: 6 | Pages: No page available

10.1002/ajh.26539 | PMID 35303376

Momelotinib reduces transfusion requirements in patients with myelofibrosis

Leukemia & Lymphoma | March 8, 2022 | Volume: 63 | Issue: 7 | Pages: 1718-1722

10.1080/10428194.2022.2043304 | PMID 35255234