Citations

Abstract Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in the normal arterial media continually express contractile phenotypic markers which are reduced dramatically in response to injury. Tripartite motif‐containing proteins are a family of scaffold proteins shown to regulate gene silencing, cell growth, and differentiation. We here investigated the biological role of tripartite motif‐containing 28 (TRIM28) and tripartite motif‐containing 27 (TRIM27) in VSMCs. We observed that siRNA‐mediated knockdown of TRIM28 and TRIM27 inhibited platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF)‐induced migration in human VSMCs. Both TRIM28 and TRIM27 can regulate serum response element activity and were required for maintaining the contractile gene expression in human VSMCs. At the same time, TRIM28 and TRIM27 knockdown reduced the expression of PDGF receptor‐β (PDGFRβ) and the phosphorylation of its downstream signaling components. Immunoprecipitation showed that TRIM28 formed complexes with TRIM27 through its N‐terminal RING‐B boxes‐Coiled‐Coil domain. Furthermore, TRIM28 and TRIM27 were shown to be upregulated and mediate the VSMC contractile marker gene and PDGFRβ expression in differentiating human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. In conclusion, we identified that TRIM28 and TRIM27 cooperatively maintain the endogenous expression of PDGFRβ and contractile phenotype of human VSMCs.

e17017 Background: Epigenetic up-regulation of EBV and cellular genes via demethylation and histone deacetylase inhibition can induce EBV lytic replication enhancing immune mediated tumor killing and up-regulation of tumor suppressor genes resulting in tumor apoptosis. Methods: Patients (Pt) with relapsed or refractory NPC and NK-T cell lymphomas were enrolled to determine safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics and preliminary anti-tumor activity using a dose escalation design. 5AC was administered on days 1 to 10 sub-cutaneously while SAHA was administered on days 1 to 14 orally. PK for SAHA, EBV viral load, characterization of circulating EBV, Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and EBV promoter methylation analysis in tumor tissue were performed. Results: 11 pt have been treated (M:F 8:3, median age 48, R: 35-71) at 3 dose levels – 5AC 50 mg/m2 and SAHA 200 mg b.i.d. (dose level 1), 5AC 37.5 mg/m2 and SAHA 200 mg q. am and 100 mg q. pm (dose level 2), and 5AC 25 mg/m2 and SAHA 100 mg b.i.d (dose level 3). Median number of previous treatment regimens was 3 (R:1-6). Dose limiting toxicities (DLT) were seen in 2/2 pts at dose level 1: grade 4 thrombocytopenia (1 pt), grade 3 nausea, vomiting and fatigue (2 pts), and grade 5 hepatic failure (1 pt). Two of six patients at dose level 2 experienced DLT: grade 3 fatigue (1 pt) and worsening of pre-existing Sweet’s Syndrome (1 pt). Common AEs (G1/2) included fatigue (73%), cough (64%), anorexia (55%), and injection site reaction (45%). One minor response was seen and 5 pt had prolonged stable disease (>16 weeks), including one patient for 88 weeks. Analysis of post-treatment tumor biopsies showed demethylation of EBV lytic cycle gene promoters after treatment. SAHA PK, IHC results for EBV gene expression in tumor tissue, EBV viral load and characterization of circulating EBV will be presented. Conclusions: 5AC/SAHA appears to be tolerable at dose level 3 with suggestion of clinical benefit. Analysis of post-treatment tumor and blood samples suggests that modulation of EBV gene expression may play a role in the mechanism underlying clinical benefit. Continued accrual at dose level 3 is ongoing. Clinical trial information: NCT00336063.

5544 Background: Pazopanib, an orally bioavailable multitargeted inhibitor of kinases including VEGF-R, demonstrated impressive activity in metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer (49% durable RECIST PRs) and promising preclinical activity in anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) models, prompting its evaluation also as a candidate therapeutic in advanced ATC. Methods: A multicenter single arm phase II trial of 800 mg pazopanib daily was undertaken with the primary endpoint of RECIST response rate. The trial was designed such that there would be a 90% chance of detecting a response rate of >20% at the 0.10 significance level when the true tumor response rate is >5%. A pre-specified stopping rule designated that enrollment would cease unless 1 or more RECIST PRs+CRs were observed in the first 14 of 33 potential patients. Eligibility required informed consent, >18 years of age, performance status ECOG 0-2, systolic blood pressure (BP) <140 mm Hg and diastolic BP <90 mm Hg at entry, QTc interval <480 msecs, and measurable disease by RECIST criteria. Anatomical imaging and toxicity evaluations were required every 4 weeks. Results: Sixteen patients were enrolled. One patient withdrew prior to therapy, leaving 15 evaluable patients – 33.3% were male, with a median age of 66 years (range 45-77); 11 of 15 patients had progressed through prior systemic therapy. Four patients required 1-2 dose reductions, with the most common severe toxicities (CTC-AE version 3.0 grades 3-5) hypertension (13%) and pharyngolaryngeal pain (13%). Reasons for treatment discontinuation included: disease progression (12 pts), death on study due to a vascular event possibly related to treatment (1 pt.), and intolerability (radiation recall tracheitis – 1 pt, and uncontrolled hypertension – 1 pt). Although transient disease regression was observed in several patients, there were no confirmed RECIST tumor responses, triggering study closure at time of interim analysis. Two patients are alive with disease 9.9 months and 2.9 years post-registration; the remaining 13 died of disease. The median time to progression was 62 days and the median survival time was 111 days. Conclusions: Pazopanib has poor single agent activity in advanced anaplastic thyroid cancer.

Background Venetoclax (Ven) is a selective, small molecule inhibitor of anti-apoptosis protein Bcl-2 that has antitumoral activity against multiple myeloma (MM), notably those with translocation t(11;14). Dexamethasone (d) has shown to enhance the expression of BCL-2 and pro-apoptotic protein Bim, shifting its binding towards Bcl-2 and sensitizing MM cells to Ven. This Phase 1/2 open-label trial is evaluating the safety and efficacy of the combination of Ven+d as a therapeutic approach to improve clinical outcomes in patients with t(11;14) Relapsed/Refractory (R/R) MM. Methods This ongoing study (NCT01794520) has 2 distinct phases. Phase 1 (P1) consisted of separate dose escalation, safety expansion, and Ven+d combination cohorts. The phase 2 (P2) portion is an expansion cohort of Ven+d to further evaluate its efficacy. The safety and efficacy of the Ven+d cohorts from P1 and P2 are reported here. Eligible patients (pts) were adults with t(11;14) R/R MM ≥18 years of age. Key eligibility criteria for the Ven+d cohort in P1 included prior treatment with a proteasome inhibitor (PI) and an immunomodulatory drug (IMID), and an ECOG score ≤1. In P2, eligibility included an ECOG score ≤2, disease progression on or within 60 days from the last dose on previous treatment and having received at least two lines of therapy with a PI, IMID, daratumumab, and glucocorticoids. Additional inclusion criteria for both phases included measurable disease and adequate bone marrow function in all pts, and the presence of t(11;14) determined by fluorescence in-situ hybridization. In both phases, pts received oral Ven 800 mg/day + oral d 40 mg (20 mg for pts ≥75 years of age) on days 1, 8, and 15 of each 21-day cycle. In P1, preliminary efficacy was assessed as the overall response rate (ORR), time to progression (TTP), progression free survival (PFS), and duration of response (DOR) of Ven+d based on the 2011 International Uniform Response Criteria for MM. Efficacy in P2 further evaluated ORR, very good partial response (VGPR) or better, PFS, DOR, TTP, and overall survival (OS) using 2016 IMWG response criteria. Results In P1, as of 15thApril, 2019, 20 pts were enrolled (17 [85%] male; median age, 63 years [range, 46-77]). The median number of prior therapies received was 2.5 (range: 1-7). Nineteen pts (95%) discontinued the study (18 due to progressive disease and 1 underwent transplant). The treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) are summarized in the Table. Most frequent TEAEs were insomnia (45%), hypophosphatemia (40%), hyperglycemia (35%), diarrhea (35%), and thrombocytopenia (30%). Predominant Grade 3 or 4 TEAEs included neutropenia (21%), lymphopenia (29%), and hypophosphatemia (20%). The most common serious TEAE was tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) (10%). No deaths were reported in the treatment-emergent period. ORR was achieved by 13 (65%) and ≥VGPR was achieved by 6 (30%) pts respectively. Partial response (PR) was observed in 7 (35%) pts and stable disease (SD) in 4 (20%) pts. Median time to first response was 1.4 mos (95% CI: 0.7, 2.8). The DOR was 13.1 mos (95% CI: 10.9, 21.9). Median PFS and TTP were both 12.4 mos (95% CI 3.6, 20.9). In P2, as of March 18, 2019, 31 pts were enrolled (18 [58%] male; median age, 65 years [range, 48-80]). The median number of prior therapies received were 5 (range: 1-9). Eight (26%) pts discontinued the study (6 deaths, 1 withdrew consent, 1 due to physician's decision). The most frequent TEAEs reported were diarrhea (32%), nausea (26%) and lymphopenia (32%). The most frequent Grade 3 or 4 TEAEs were lymphopenia (32%), thrombocytopenia (11%), and hypertension (10%). Most common serious TEAE was sepsis (10%). Six (19%) deaths were reported (5 due to progressive disease and 1 due to adverse event). In the intention to treat population, the median TTR was 0.7 mos (range: 0.6-1.5). ORR was achieved by 14 (45%) and &gt;VGPR was observed in 8 (26%) pts. PR was observed in 6 (13%) pts and SD in 8 (26%) pts. Median PFS, DOR, and OS were not reached at the time of data analysis. The 9-mo estimates for PFS, DOR, and OS were 57% (95% CI: 19% 82%), 66% (95% CI: 16%, 91%), and 71% (95% CI: 44%, 87%) respectively. Conclusion In both phases of this study, Ven+d was efficacious and demonstrated tolerable safety in pts with t(11;14) R/R MM. These results support further investigation of Ven combinations in this pt population. This combination is also being investigated in the ongoing Phase 3 trial M13-494 (CANOVA) in t(11;14) positive R/R MM. Disclosures Kaufman: Takeda: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Consultancy; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy; Incyte: Consultancy; Karyopharm: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Honoraria; AbbVie: Consultancy; Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University: Employment; Amgen: Consultancy; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy. Gasparetto:Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, accommodations, or other expenses paid or reimbursed ; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, accommodations, or other expenses paid or reimbursed ; BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, accommodations, or other expenses paid or reimbursed . Schjesvold:Takeda: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Honoraria; Oncopeptides: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; MSD: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; SkyliteDX: Honoraria. Moreau:Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria. Facon:Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Boise:Genentech Inc.: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; AstraZeneca: Honoraria, Research Funding. Alzate:AbbVie Inc: Employment, Other: Stock/stock options. Macartney:AbbVie Inc: Employment, Other: Stock/stock options. Pesko:AbbVie: Employment, Other: Stock/stock options. Salem:AbbVie: Employment, Other: Stock/stock options. Ross:AbbVie: Employment, Other: Stock/stock options. Hong:Genentech Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership; Roche: Equity Ownership. Maciag:AbbVie: Employment, Other: Stock/stock options. Pauff:AbbVie Inc: Employment, Other: may own stock or stock options. Kumar:Takeda: Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding. OffLabel Disclosure: Venetoclax is a BCL-2 inhibitor that is FDA-approved in some indications. This presentation will focus on venetoclax for treatment in multiple myeloma, which is not an approved indication.

Background The cardiac intensive care unit ( CICU ) population is no longer composed of only patients with acute coronary syndromes, and includes those with acute heart failure and multiple comorbidities. We hypothesized that the GWTG ‐ HF (Get With The Guidelines–Heart Failure) risk score that predicts inpatient mortality in hospitalized patients with heart failure would predict mortality in CICU patients. Methods and Results We retrospectively analyzed CICU patients at a tertiary care hospital from 2007 to 2015. The GWTG ‐ HF risk score was calculated at CICU admission. As a secondary analysis, the EFFECT (Enhanced Feedback for Effective Cardiac Treatment) , OPTIMIZE‐HF (Organized Program to Initiate Lifesaving Treatment in Hospitalized Patients With Heart Failure), and ADHERE (Acute Decompensated Heart Failure National Registry) risk scores were calculated. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve value were determined for inpatient and 1‐year mortality. The GWTG ‐ HF risk score was calculated in 9532 (95%) patients, with a median value of 40 (interquartile range, 35–47). Inpatient mortality occurred in 824 (8.6%) patients, and 2075 (21.8%) patients died by 1 year. Patients who died in hospital had a significantly higher mean GWTG ‐ HF score (47.7 versus 40.2; P <0.001). Inpatient and 1‐year mortality increased in each GWTG ‐ HF risk score quartile ( P <0.0001). Discrimination of the GWTG ‐ HF , EFFECT, OPTIMIZE‐HF, and ADHERE risk scores was assessed using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values for hospital mortality, and were similar for all risk scores (0.72–0.74; P >0.05). The Hosmer–Lemeshow statistic suggested poor calibration for hospital mortality by the GWTG ‐ HF risk score ( P <0.001). Conclusions The GWTG ‐ HF risk score and other heart failure prediction tools demonstrate good discrimination for inpatient and 1‐year mortality in a heterogeneous cohort of CICU patients. Our study emphasizes that prognostic variables overlap in cardiac patients, regardless of the admission diagnosis.

AbstractDistal biliary strictures (DBS) are common and may be caused by both malignant and benign pathologies. While endoscopic procedures play a major role in their management, a comprehensive review of the subject is still lacking. Our consensus statements were formulated by a group of expert Asian pancreatico‐biliary interventional endoscopists, following a proposal from the Digestive Endoscopy Society of Taiwan, the Thai Association for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and the Tokyo Conference of Asian Pancreato‐biliary Interventional Endoscopy. Based on a literature review utilizing Medline, Cochrane library, and Embase databases, a total of 19 consensus statements on DBS were made on diagnosis, endoscopic drainage, benign biliary stricture, malignant biliary stricture, and management of recurrent biliary obstruction and other complications. Our consensus statements provide comprehensive guidance for the endoscopic management of DBS.

Background: Current treatment options for red blood cell (RBC) transfusion-dependent (TD) patients with lower risk (LR) myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) relapsed after or refractory to erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) have limited efficacy and durability; new approaches are needed. Imetelstat is a 13-mer lipid-conjugated oligonucleotide that targets the RNA template of human telomerase and is a competitive inhibitor of telomerase enzymatic activity (Asai et al, Cancer Res 2003; Herbert et al, Oncogene 2005). Preclinical, in vivo xenograft models (Dikmen et al, Cancer Res 2005; Hochreiter et al, Clin Cancer Res 2006) and preliminary clinical data from a pilot study conducted at Mayo Clinic (Tefferi et al, Blood Cancer Journal 2016) supported initiation of a study in TD LR MDS patients. A Phase 2 study of imetelstat, IMerge, demonstrated an 8-week RBC transfusion independence (RBC-TI) rate of 42%, 24-week RBC-TI rate of 29%, and 68% erythroid hematologic improvement (HI-E) rate in 38 heavily TD patients (median prior RBC transfusion burden 8 units / 8 weeks over the 16 weeks pre-study period) with LR MDS. Responses were durable with median duration of 8-week RBC-TI of 85.9 weeks by Kaplan Meier estimates (range 8.0-140.9) (Steensma ASH 2018, Fenaux EHA 2019). These Phase 2 results provided further evidence of potential clinical benefit of imetelstat treatment in TD LR MDS, and supported initiation of a Phase 3 trial. Methods: IMerge is two-part, Phase 2/3 study (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02598661). The Phase 2 portion of the study described above is closed for enrollment. The Phase 3 portion of the study is open for enrollment of adult patients with International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) low or intermediate-1 risk, non-del(5q) MDS, who are TD, are relapsed after or refractory to ESAs, and have not received treatment with lenalidomide or hypomethylating agents. The study is a randomized (2:1) double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to compare efficacy of imetelstat vs. placebo that will enroll approximately 170 patients and will be conducted at approximately 90 centers in North America, Europe, Asia and Middle East. Imetelstat will be administered as 2-hour IV infusion every 4 weeks at 7.5 mg/kg. The primary endpoint of the study is to assess the rate of RBC-TI lasting ≥8 weeks. Secondary endpoints include safety, rate of RBC-TI ≥24 weeks, time to RBC-TI start, RBC-TI duration, rate of HI-E, the amount and relative change in RBC transfusions, rate of CR or PR, overall survival, progression of MDS, pharmacokinetics and effect of treatment on quality of life. Biomarkers relevant to the mechanism of action of imetelstat will be assessed to demonstrate target inhibition and their association with clinical responses. Cytogenetics and mutation analyses will be performed to evaluate the impact of imetelstat on reduction/depletion of malignant clones leading to disease modification. Disclosures Platzbecker: Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria. Steensma:Astex: Consultancy; Arrowhead: Equity Ownership; Summer Road: Consultancy; Onconova: Consultancy; Aprea: Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy; Stemline: Consultancy; H3 Biosciences: Other: Research funding to institution, not investigator.. Santini:Celgene Corporation: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Johnson & Johnson: Honoraria; Acceleron: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Menarini: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Germing:Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria; Amgen: Honoraria. Font:Celgene: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Díez-Campelo:Novartis: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Celgene Corporation: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Patnaik:Stem Line Pharmaceuticals.: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Sherman:Geron Corporation: Employment, Equity Ownership. Dougherty:Geron Corporation: Employment, Equity Ownership. Feller:Geron Corporation: Employment. Sun:Geron Corporation: Employment, Equity Ownership. Wan:Geron Corporation: Employment, Equity Ownership. Huang:Geron Corporation: Employment, Equity Ownership. Rizo:Geron Corporation: Employment, Equity Ownership. Fenaux:Celgene Corporation: Honoraria, Research Funding; Aprea: Research Funding; Astex: Honoraria, Research Funding; Jazz: Honoraria, Research Funding.