Palmer, Jeanne

Abstract Background: Myelofibrosis (MF) is a myeloproliferative neoplasm that is characterized by significant scar tissue and fibrosis in the bone marrow, enlarged spleen and/or liver from extramedullary hematopoiesis, and may include significant constitutional symptoms such as bone pain, night sweats, pruritis, and cachexia. The only curative therapy is allogeneic stem cell transplant. Although the symptom burden has been explored in the literature, the impact of hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCST) on QoL in patients with MF has not been evaluated. We sought to longitudinally describe QoL in patients undergoing HCST for MF. Methods: We prospectively followed patients undergoing HSCT for MF. We assessed symptoms, functioning, and QoL using the FACT-BMT and MPN-SAF total symptom score (TSS) pre-transplant and at day 30, day 100 and one year post-transplant. Scores at the post-transplant time points were compared with baseline scores by paired t-tests. Pearson correlations between FACT-BMT and MPN-SAF TSS questionnaires were also computed. Results: 16 patients were enrolled [median age 64.0 (49-69) years; 13 (81%) male; 13 (81%) Caucasian], two did not have day 30 data as they died prior to then or did not go to transplant. Fourteen patients had day 30 information, 11 had day 100 information, and only 4 had one year information. Of the 14 who had day 30 information, 6 patients died within the first year, two from treatment related mortality and four from relapse. One patient had intermediate-1 risk, the remainder of the patients were intermediate-2 or high risk. All patients had RIC conditioning. Mean MPN-SAF TSS score was 28.1 (SD=14.2) and FACT-BMT total score was 99.8 (SD=17.4) at baseline. FACT-BMT and MPN-SAF TSS at baseline were inversely correlated; lower symptom score was associated with higher QoL (r=-0.62; p=0.01). FACT-BMT at day 30 was lower (mean change: -12.5, SD=16.7; p=0.03). Two MF-specific symptoms showed improvement that reached statistical significance compared to baseline: night sweats mean improvement day 30, 2.5 (SD=3.1; p=0.01) and mean improvement day 100, 1.7 (SD=2.6; p=0.05, Figure 1); headache mean improvement day 100, 1.5 (SD=1.9) p=0.02. In general, scores showed a worsening at day 30, improvement at day 100 and stability at one year. The MPN-SAF TSS worsened at day 30 (6 points) and improved by day 100 (4.5 points). Changes that showed improvement at day 100 include Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI) with a mean improvement of 1.2 points and concentration (1 point). Of the four surveys that were collected at one year, a modest decline was noted in BFI (1.5 points), inactivity (1.5 points) and cough (3 points). However improvements were noted in night sweats (2.25 points), abdominal discomfort (1 point), insomnia (1.75 points), bone pain (1 point). Discussion: This is the first study to evaluate serially the QoL and symptom burden of patients who underwent a transplant for MF. A decline in QoL in the first 30 days was observed, with modest improvement at day 100. Few surveys have been completed at 1 year to date in this ongoing study. Collection of surveys past one year may be more informative regarding long-term impact of transplant on quality of life. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Mesa: Gilead: Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy; Ariad: Consultancy; CTI Biopharma: Research Funding; Galena: Consultancy; Celgene: Research Funding; Promedior: Research Funding; Incyte: Research Funding.

Abstract Background: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive form of blood cancers with a wide range of response and relapse rates using standard chemotherapy regimen (commonly known as 7+3). Several genes (FLT3, IDH1, RAS) have been targeted using small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors with encouraging results. The stem cell receptor tyrosine kinase KIT is expressed more than 10% in the blasts in 95% of relapsed AML cases and mediates leukemic proliferation and has anti-apoptotic effects (Domen and Weissman 2000). AML with high KIT expression is associated with poorer outcome (Del Poeta, Venditti et al 2003). Goals: To study the efficacy and safety of combination 7+3 and nilotinib in patients (pts) with AML and KIT expression. Primary goal is to determine the complete response (CR) rate; while secondary goals include 2-year overall survival (OS) and disease free survival (DFS) in addition to safety of DATA regimen. Methods: A single arm, Phase II study, enrolled pts at Mayo Clinic (MN and AZ). Appropriate IRB was obtained and study was registered (NCT 01806571). Pts were enrolled if they were newly diagnosed with AML with KIT (CD117) expression of 20% or higher on myeloblasts by flow cytometry. KIT mutations were allowed if present. Nilotinib 300 mg twice daily was given on days 4-14 of induction and consolidation; and continuous daily maintenance therapy for up to 2 years. Cytarabine 100 mg/m2/day continuous IV x7 days plus daunorubicin 60 mg/m2 IV daily x3 days were used for induction , while consolidation used standard cytarabine 3 gm/m2 twice daily days 1, 3, 5 for a total of 4 cycles. This is a Simon 1-stage design with a safety analysis after enrolling 12 pts, and an interim analysis after enrolling 18 out of 43 pts. If 11 or fewer pts achieve complete remission, the regimen will be considered ineffective. Results: Eighteen pts have been enrolled between July 2013 and July 2015, 17 of which have baseline data. Median age was 58 years (range 24-65) with 76.5% being male. Median laboratory findings include hemoglobin of 9.3 gm/dL, platelets of 52 x109, and white blood count of 7.0 (0.5-125). Cytogenetics were normal in 41% of the pts. Favorable cytogenetics were seen in 2 pts (inv 16). FLT3 testing was done on 15 pts and was positive in 27%. KIT gene sequencing (exon 8, 9, 10, 11, 17) revealed no pathogenic mutation. Median number of cycles was 3 (range 1-7). Six pts had treatment delays, with 2/13 (15%) delays being due to non-hematologic toxicities. No delays or missed doses affected cytarabine and daunorubicin administration. Out of 15 pts evaluable for response, 12 (80%) achieved CR (or CR with incomplete platelet recovery). Six of the 12 pts (50%) who achieved remission needed a second induction on protocol. Two out of 15 did not respond (did not get re-induction on protocol). One pt died before disease assessment due to liver failure (G5, had only one dose of nilotinib and toxicity was attributed to daunorubicin). Of the 14 pts having at least 1 bone marrow biopsy, the overall CR rate was 86%. Five (33%) pts proceeded to allogeneic stem cell transplant, all are alive and none were able to initiate protocol nilotinib maintenance therapy. Only 2 out of 12 (17%) pts relapsed after achieving CR, one was secondary AML from myelodysplastic syndrome with complex karyotype and the other was therapy-related AML with t(9;11). Only 2 (11%) pts died at time of report. Thirteen pts were evaluated for adverse events (AE). Six pts had G4 non-hematological AEs. Five of 12 G4 AEs were related to infection, 2 were electrolyte imbalances, and 2 were heart failures. Most common G3 non-hematological AEs were febrile neutropenia (53%), hypophosphatemia (23%), hyperglycemia (23%), and hypertension (23%). In agreement with the favorable outcomes, the molecular target validation revealed that nilotinib treatment down-regulates the expression of KIT, Sp1, DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) 1, DNMT3a and DNMT3b. Conclusion: Combination daunorubicin and cytarabine with nilotinib (DATA) appears to be safe and effective. Interim results show an acceptable safety profile in the first 12 evaluable pts with most common AE being infection as expected. Thirty day mortality is acceptable (7%). DATA regimen has encouraging CR rates of 80% (intent to treat) and 86% in assessed pts, with half of the pts who achieved remission requiring 2 cycles of induction. Relapse rate seems to be low at 17%. We will continue accrual until all pts accrued for final results. Disclosures Al-Kali: Celgene: Research Funding. Off Label Use: This is a Phase II study of combination nilotinib to standard chemotherapy in patients diagnosed with AML.. Tibes:TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding.

Abstract Background: The association of clinical trial participation with outcomes in cancer patients is controversial, with some studies reporting better outcomes for trial participants while others do not. It is possible that the difference in outcomes is due to differences in baseline characteristics of participants and non-participants. The Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN) 0201 trial was a large randomized, multi-center study comparing peripheral blood (PB) with bone marrow (BM) for hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) from HLA-matched or 1 allele mismatched unrelated donors (URD) in patients with acute leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes. The trial reported no significant survival differences between PB and BM; there was decreased risk of graft failure but increased risk of chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) with PB grafts (Anasetti et al NEJM 2012). Methods: We compared characteristics of BMT CTN 0201 study participants (n=494) with HCT recipients who did not participate on the trial (n=1384) but were potentially eligible by virtue of known characteristics. These patients received similar conditioning and GVHD prophylaxis as trial participants at 38 United States trial centers during the study time-period. Centers that had no eligible non-trial participants were excluded. Outcomes between patients on and off trial were compared using Cox proportional hazards regression models. Data were obtained from the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) that collects patient data on all trial and non-trial allogeneic HCT recipients through its registry function. Results: Approximately 29% [494/1878] of apparently eligible patients were randomized and analyzed as part of the trial. There were no significant differences between study participants and non-participants in age or sex distribution, disease types, HLA or sex matching, comorbidities, or interval from diagnosis to HCT. Higher proportions of non-participants were Hispanic, had a lower performance status and lower disease risk, and received myeloablative conditioning and antithymocyte globulin (ATG) or Campath than the study participants. PB was used more commonly as the graft source in the non-participants as compared to the study participants (65% vs. 50%, p<0.001). In multivariate models, overall mortality (HR 1.09, 95% CI 0.95-1.25, p=0.22), transplant-related mortality (HR 1.08, 95% CI 0.89-1.32, p=0.42) and risks of acute grade II-IV (HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.82-1.12, p=0.57) and chronic GVHD (HR 1.06, 95% CI 0.92-1.23, p=0.41) were comparable between study non-participants and participants. Non-participants were at higher risk for relapse than participants (HR 1.24, 95%CI 1.04-1.49, p=0.02) in the multivariate analysis adjusted for disease risk and other clinical variables. Center effect was examined and was not found to be significant (p=0.10). There was no significant interaction between graft source and trial participation (P=0.22) and the risk of mortality was comparable for BM (HR 0.99, 95% CI 0.80-1.22, p=0.90) and PB recipients (HR 1.17, 95% CI 0.97-1.41, p=0.09) whether on trial or off trial. (Figure) Conclusion: Approximately 29% of patients who appeared eligible and were treated with conditioning and GVHD prophylaxis regimens allowed on the trial were enrolled. Despite some differences in clinical characteristics, most of the outcomes of non-trial participants were comparable to trial participants, suggesting that there is no definitive evidence that the outcomes of patients in a clinical trial are superior to those of the non-participants treated in a similar fashion. The comparable outcomes also indicate that the results of this trial were not seriously affected by selection bias and are therefore representative of the larger population. Figure 1: Adjusted overall survival in BMT CTN 0201 trial participants and non-participants Figure 1:. Adjusted overall survival in BMT CTN 0201 trial participants and non-participants Figure 2 Figure 2. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Abstract Abstract 1940 Background: Chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a significant source of morbidity, mortality, impaired patient-reported quality of life (QOL), greater symptom burden, and prolonged duration of immune suppressive therapy following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). While available data support the adverse prognosis of overlap subtype of chronic GVHD, the relative importance of site of gastrointestinal (GI) and type of hepatic involvement is not known. Methods: We analyzed prospectively acquired observational cohort data to examine whether the site of GI involvement (esophageal, upper GI, lower GI) and type of hepatic laboratory test abnormality (bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase (AP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) elevation over the upper limit of normal based on study site-specific laboratory reference ranges) among chronic GVHD-affected patients are associated with overall survival (OS) and non-relapse mortality (NRM), symptoms (Lee Symptom Scale), and quality of life (QOL) per SF-36 and FACT-BMT instruments. Results: This analysis included 567 individual subjects with baseline and 1548 follow up visits. The majority were incident cases (59%), adults (98%), and predominantly White/Non-Hispanic. Median time from HCT to cohort enrollment was 11.9 months (range 3–294 months). Overall NIH chronic GVHD severity was mild in 10%, moderate in 52%, and severe in 38% at enrollment. Prior acute GVHD was noted in 66%, KPS < 80% in 17%, and platelet count at chronic GVHD onset of < 100 K/uL in 23%. At enrollment, GI involvement was seen in 40% (upper GI 20%, esophagus 16%, lower GI 13%), and liver involvement was seen in 52% (AP 38%, ALT 38%, bilirubin 10%). Time from transplant to cGVHD onset was not different for patients with or without GI involvement or hepatic involvement. In multivariate analysis utilizing data from enrollment visits only and adjusting for patient and transplant variables, lower GI involvement (HR 1.7, p=0.03) and elevated bilirubin (HR 2.36, p=0.001) were associated with OS; both were also associated with NRM. In multivariable analysis using all visits (time-dependent covariates), GI score greater than zero (HR 1.7, p=0.01) and elevated bilirubin (HR 3.7, p<0.001) were associated with OS; results were similar for NRM. Separate models were constructed to examine the relationship of severity of GI and hepatic involvement (0–3 severity score per NIH consensus) and mortality: Increasing lower GI severity at enrollment was significantly associated with non-relapse mortality, with progressively increasing HR for greater severity levels (lower GI score 2/3 vs. 0: HR 5.5, 95% CI 2.3–13.1, p = 0.0001). Increasing bilirubin was also associated with NRM (bilirubin score 2/3 vs. 0: HR 3.3, 95% CI 1.3–8.4, p=0.01). A similar association was observed for bilirubin elevation and NRM in the time-dependent model (bilirubin 2/3 vs. 0: HR 8.9, 95% CI 3.3–24, p < 0.0001). When analyzing all visits, any esophageal involvement and GI score greater than zero were associated with both symptoms and QOL while elevated bilirubin was associated with QOL. We found no consistent evidence that upper GI involvement, AP, ALT, or NIH liver score add prognostic value for survival, overall symptom burden, or quality of life. Conclusion: These data support important differences in patient-reported outcomes according to GI and hepatic involvement among chronic GVHD affected patients, and identify those with elevated bilirubin or higher GI score at any time, or lower GI involvement at cohort enrollment, as patients at greater risk for mortality under current treatment approaches. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Key PointsHigh-circulating AREG (≥33 pg/mL) reclassifies additional patients into HR categories and further refines the Minnesota aGVHD risk score. Patients with aGVHD and AREG ≥33 pg/mL have lower rates of steroid response, higher NRM, and poorer OS.

AbstractThe prognostic importance of genetic information in primary myelofibrosis (PMF) was recently highlighted in a study of over 1000 cytogenetically‐annotated patients; 5‐year survival rates were 8% for very high risk (VHR), 27% “unfavorable” and 45% “favorable” karyotype. The current study addresses the practice‐relevant question of whether or not allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) can overcome the detrimental survival effect of VHR or unfavorable karyotype. The study included 67 patients with PMF or secondary MF who received HCT at the Mayo Clinic and in whom pretransplant cytogenetic information was available. Dynamic international prognostic scoring system (DIPSS) risk distribution was 13% high, 66% intermediate‐2 and 21% intermediate‐1. Cytogenetic risk distribution was 11% VHR, 34% unfavorable and 55% favorable. At median post‐HCT follow‐up of 60 months for living patients (range 34‐170), 28 (42%) deaths were recorded. Five‐year survival was 62% and was not affected by VHR or unfavorable karyotype (P = .68). The salutary effect of HCT in patients with VHR or unfavorable karyotype was also apparent during analysis of a combined dataset that included a nontransplant cohort of 383 patients with PMF; multivariable analysis of the combined dataset (n = 450) resulted in HRs (95% CI) of 2.4 (1.6‐3.6) for absence of transplant, 3.3 (2.2‐4.8) for VHR karyotype, 1.6 (1.2‐2.1) for unfavorable karyotype, 2.9 (2.0‐4.2) for DIPSS high and 1.7 (1.4‐2.2) for DIPSS intermediate‐2. These observations were further confirmed by analysis of more stringently matched case‐control subset cohorts and provide the evidence for the therapeutic preference of HCT in cytogenetically high risk patients with MF.