New Weill Cornell Study: Aurora Kinase A Inhibitor MLN8237 in Peripheral T-Cell non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Update: this study is closed to enrollment. 
The Weill Cornell Lymphoma Program is now enrolling people in a new clinical trial for patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that generally has a poor outcome with conventional chemotherapy.

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of the experimental drug MLN8237 on patients with relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma. MLN8237 is an Aurora Kinase A inhibitor that has been developed to interfere with cell division, which is required for cancer to grow. It has been shown to have anti-cancer activity in laboratory studies as well as in patients who have non-Hodgkin lymphoma including peripheral T-cell lymphoma in earlier phase I/II studies.

MLN8237 is available as a tablet. Patients will take MLN8237 on Days 1-7, twice a day with 8 ounces of water. Patients will continue with this treatment every 3 weeks for up to a year as long as their disease does not get worse. Whether patients remain on study treatment or not, the study physician will follow their health status for a maximum of 2 years from study enrollment.

Key eligibility:

  • Relapsed/refractory peripheral T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma
  • Must have received at least one course of prior systemic therapy which may include chemotherapy, antibody therapy or immunotherapy
  • May have received prior radiation in combination with systemic therapy
  • Must not have received a previous allogeneic stem cell transplant or be within 90 days of autologous stem cell transplant
  • Detailed eligibility reviewed when you contact the study team

For more information about the study, call June Greenberg, RN at (212) 746-2651 or email June at jdg2002@med.cornell.edu.

The physician leading the study at Weill Cornell is Dr. Jia Ruan. Click here to read Dr. Ruan’s clinical and research profile.

Click here to view all current lymphoma clinical trials at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Lymphoma in the news: Exercise after completion of cancer treatment improves quality of life

By Peter Martin, MD

A recently published meta-analysis focused on the effects of physical activity in adults who had completed their cancer therapy (click here to read the abstract). Fong and colleagues compiled data from 34 randomized studies that assigned participants to either exercise or no exercise. Most of the studies evaluated aerobic exercise, and the average duration of activity was 13 weeks. Not surprisingly, participants randomized to exercise experienced significant improvements in body mass index, weight, and power output among other measures. Importantly, they also experienced significant gains in quality of life and other psychological outcomes (e.g., fatigue, depression).

A meta-analysis is a study that combines results from multiple related studies to derive a more powerful estimate of a true effect (click here to read more about meta-analyses). Although meta-analyses are often derided and are subject to various forms of bias, a well-performed meta-analysis is one of the most powerful methods of controlling for variation between studies and determining a true effect size in a population.

The results of this meta-analysis strongly suggest that patients who have completed cancer therapy can benefit from an exercise program. Moreover, it behooves oncologists to discuss the potential role of an exercise program with their patients. Patients should be encouraged to discuss the potential role of exercise with the oncologists and primary care physicians.

Fertility and Lymphoma

By Rebecca Elstrom, MD and Glenn Schattman, MD

Dr. Elstrom is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College whose clinical and research interests focus on the treatment of patients with lymphoma. Dr. Schattman is an Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Weill Cornell Medical College, specializing in reproductive endocrinology/infertility.

Preservation of fertility is a major concern in many patients with lymphoma, as many patients are within their child-bearing years at diagnosis. Furthermore, many young patients with lymphoma have a significant chance of being cured, making consideration of quality of life issues after lymphoma a critical aspect of care.  Reliable data regarding the likelihood of infertility after chemotherapy however, have been difficult to come by.  While many women may regain their menstrual cycles and possibly fertility, premature ovarian failure (POF), or menopause before age 40, can shorten the window of potential child-bearing following cancer treatment. Unfortunately, most studies use resumption of menstrual bleeding as a measure of fertility, though it is not a reliable indicator.

These issues are particularly relevant to patients with Hodgkin lymphoma, as peak incidence occurs at approximately 20 years of age, and most patients, even those with advanced stage disease, are cured.  A paper recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology presented encouraging results for young women treated with ABVD chemotherapy, which is currently the standard approach in the United States.  This study reviewed the reproductive outcomes of a subset of female patients treated on clinical trials within the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), and found that women less than age 32 who were treated with non-alkylating chemotherapy (such as ABVD) had no increased risk of POF (overall incidence 3%, similar to women in the general population), whereas those older than 32 years had a moderately increased risk of POF (9%).  In contrast, women treated with alkylator-containing therapy, such as MOPP or BEACOPP, experienced a high rate of POF regardless of age, with an overall incidence of 60%.

Although this large cohort evaluation has shed light on the incidence and risk factors for POF in women with Hodgkin lymphoma, the data in women treated for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) are less clear. Continue reading “Fertility and Lymphoma”