Tag: anaplastic large cell lymphoma

Our Team’s Take on the Most Influential ASH 2018 Lymphoma Research

At the end of each year, the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition brings together over 25,000 hematology professionals from around the world to discuss the latest research into the treatment of blood diseases. Highlights of ASH is a two-day program designed to update clinicians and researchers unable to attend the Annual Meeting with the findings most likely to impact daily clinical practice.

Our Lymphoma Program Chief, Dr. Peter Martin was selected to represent the Highlights of ASH Lymphoma Committee for a post-meeting update in January 2019. Here’s his take on the latest lymphoma research.

Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL)

According to the FLYER study, patients younger than 60 with low-risk diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) had excellent outcomes with a shortened regimen of four cycles of R-CHOP chemotherapy versus the standard six cycles. The reduction in chemotherapy may allow for minimizing potential toxic side effects for this patient population.

Our Team’s Take
It is now clear that most young people with stage 1, low-risk DLBCL can be effectively treated with just four cycles of R-CHOP, but providers should use caution in extrapolating these results to rarer subtypes of DLBCL (e.g., primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma, transformed lymphomas, etc.) that may not have been included in large numbers in the FLYER trial.

SOURCE 781- Excellent Outcome of Young Patients (18-60 years) with Favourable-Prognosis Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) Treated with 4 Cycles CHOP Plus 6 Applications of Rituximab: Results of the 592 Patients of the Flyer Trial of the Dshnhl/GLA

R-CHOP chemotherapy is the standard treatment for people with previously untreated DLBCL. The Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor ibrutinib has shown activity in people with a subtype of DLBCL known as non-germinal center B cell DLBCL (non-GCB DLBCL) whose disease has relapsed following treatment. The phase III PHOENIX trial examined whether adding ibrutinib to R-CHOP would improve treatment efficacy in previously untreated non-GCB DLBCL patients. Results demonstrated that R-CHOP plus ibrutinib was equivalent to R-CHOP alone. The study did note, however, that ibrutinib may provide some benefit in patients older than 60.

Our Team’s Take
For now, R-CHOP remains the gold-standard for most people with DLBCL, including non-GCB DLBCL. That said, it appears that BTK inhibitors have the potential to improve outcomes if the optimal patient population can be identified.

SOURCE 784 – A Global, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Phase 3 Study of Ibrutinib Plus Rituximab, Cyclophosphamide, Doxorubicin, Vincristine, and Prednisone (RCHOP) in Patients with Previously Untreated Non-Germinal Center B-Cell-like (GCB) Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL)

Follicular Lymphoma

Our own Dr. John Leonard led the global phase III AUGMENT clinical trial comparing the efficacy and safety of combined lenalidomide plus rituximab versus rituximab alone in people with previously treated indolent lymphoma, including follicular and marginal zone lymphoma. Lenalidomide-rituximab treatment resulted in superior progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) outcomes when compared to rituximab treatment alone, representing an important new treatment option for this patient population.

Our Team’s Take
The impressive overall survival benefit seen in the AUGMENT trial implies that single-agent rituximab may no longer be appropriate for some people with previously treated follicular lymphoma.

SOURCE 445 – AUGMENT: A Phase III Randomized Study of Lenalidomide Plus Rituximab (R2) Vs Rituximab/Placebo in Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Indolent Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Hodgkin Lymphoma

A currently accepted standard of care treatment for early-stage low-risk Hodgkin lymphoma is two cycles of ABVD chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy. In the HD16 trial examining the possibility of omitting radiotherapy from the treatment regimen, investigators found that two cycles of ABVD alone does not provide adequate disease control.

Our Team’s Take
A primary goal of cancer care is to deliver a maximally effective treatment regimen while sparing patients from excessive treatment-related side effects. Yet, this research demonstrates that two cycles of ABVD alone does not provide sufficient control of early-stage, favorable risk classical Hodgkin lymphoma. Outside of clinical trials, providers should consider either the addition of radiation or additional chemotherapy.

SOURCE 925 – PET-Guided Treatment of Early-Stage Favorable Hodgkin Lymphoma: Final Results of the International, Randomized Phase 3 Trial HD16 By the German Hodgkin Study Group)

T-Cell Lymphoma

Following the positive results of a phase I trial combining brentuximab vedotin (BV) with CHP (CHOP chemotherapy minus vincristine) in frontline treatment of T-cell lymphoma, researchers tested the combination in patients with newly diagnosed CD30+ anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), a type of T-cell lymphoma, in the ECHELON-2 trial. Brentuximab vedotin plus CHP was shown to produce better outcomes than standard CHOP for these patients.

Our Team’s Take
BV-CHP represents a new standard of care for anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALK-positive and ALK-negative). It is less clear that BV adds significantly to CHOP in non-ALCL T-cell lymphomas regardless of CD30 status.

SOURCE 997 – The ECHELON-2 Trial: Results of a Randomized, Double-Blind, Active-Controlled Phase 3 Study of Brentuximab Vedotin and CHP (A+CHP) Versus CHOP in the Frontline Treatment of Patients with CD30+ Peripheral T-Cell Lymphomas

BONUS: Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T Cell Update

Multiple observational studies suggested that commercial, FDA-approved CAR T cell products used as part of standard practice resulted in outcomes that were comparable to outcomes seen in clinical trials prior to the approval of CAR T cells. Even patients with characteristics that might have resulted in exclusion from clinical trials (e.g., low blood counts) appeared to have comparable outcomes.

Our Team’s Take
CAR T cells clearly have a role in people with treatment-refractory DLBCL. Nonetheless, more research will be required to further improve the efficacy and safety of CAR T cells so that patients outside of academic medical centers might have access to this new treatment approach.

SOURCE 91 – Axicabtagene Ciloleucel (Axi-cel) CD19 Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-Cell Therapy for Relapsed/Refractory Large B-Cell Lymphoma: Real World Experience; 92 – Axicabtagene Ciloleucel in the Real World: Outcomes and Predictors of Response, Resistance and Toxicity

 

Dr. Jia Ruan Reviews Updates in T-Cell Lymphoma Research and Treatment

SOSS_Jia_RuanT-cell lymphoma is a complex form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma caused by abnormal clonal growth of mature T-cell lymphocytes. The disease is uncommon, affecting approximately 5-10 percent of lymphoma patients in the United States.

Historically, T-cell lymphoma was classified according to histological (microscopic anatomy) features, but thanks to new technology such as next-generation DNA sequencing and gene expression profiling, we are now able to refine disease classification based on molecular features and cell of origin. Dr. Jia Ruan discussed some of these updates at the OncLive State of the Science Summit on Hematologic Malignancies.

The most common subtypes of systemic peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) are: peripheral T-cell lymphoma not otherwise specified (PTCL-NOS), anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL), and angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL). Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) primarily affects the skin and tends to be less aggressive compared to systemic subtypes.

While outcomes vary by T-cell lymphoma subtype, the five-year overall survival rate for systemic PTCL (with the exception of ALK+ ALCL) is between 20-30 percent, which Dr. Ruan said is suboptimal and indicative of a need for progress from a clinical research and clinical management standpoint.

Physician-researchers are taking steps to improve efficacy of initial T-cell lymphoma therapy so that as many patients as possible can achieve complete remission (CR) and stay in remission for as long as possible. Strides include incorporating frontline stem cell transplant as a way to prolong progression-free survival (PFS) in a portion of patients, as well as moving novel agents into initial combination therapy.

To date, four FDA-approved novel agents, namely pralatrexate (anti-folate), romidepsin (histone deacetylase or HDAC inhibitor), brentuximab vedotin (CD30 antibody-drug conjugate), and belinostat (HDAC inhibitor), are being evaluated in clinical trials for evidence of enhanced effectiveness when combined with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin hydrochloride, vincristine, prednisone (CHOP)-like chemotherapy. Clinicians eagerly await the results of these studies.

In CTCL, Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) and NewYork-Presbyterian’s (NYP) multidisciplinary approach to healthcare allows medical oncologists and dermatologists to collaboratively diagnose and manage cases, as well as offer a range of treatment options. For cases with thin layers of skin involvement, skin-directed therapies include steroids, topical chemicals, light therapy, and electron beam radiation. For cases that progress from the skin to the lymphatic and blood system, treatment may include systemic agents like romidepsin, retinoid analogues like bexarotene, and vorinostat, an oral HDAC inhibitor. Combinations of topical therapy and systemic treatment, as well as novel options through clinical trials, are also considered whenever appropriate.

At the Lymphoma Program at WCM/NYP, the overarching goal in the context of T-cell lymphoma is to use cutting-edge next-generation sequencing of patient samples in order to better understand T-cell lymphoma biology, and to then apply a personalized approach to pair patients with the appropriate clinical trials and optimal conventional therapies.

Watch Dr. Ruan speak with OncLive about classification of T-cell lymphomas in this video:

Possible New Target for Novel Targeting Therapies in the Treatment of Patients with ALK-ALCL

ggi9001By Giorgio Inghirami, MD

Although the role of ALK chimeras is well known in the pathogenesis of ALK + Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (ALCL), the mechanisms underlying the transformation of ALK-ALCL is unknown. In an abstract presented before the 56th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology we provided a comprehensive characterization of the various driving genetic alterations that led to the constitutive activation of STAT3 in ALK-ALCL.

This characterization was reached by combining Whole Exome Sequencing (WES), Copy Number Variation analysis and RNAseq in a discovery panel (5 ALK+ and 18 ALK- ALCL). The frequency of JAK/STAT3 mutations was further tested by Sanger and deep sequencing analyses, in an independent panel of 158 ALCL (88 ALK-, 26 ALK+ ALCL and 44cALCL) AND 67 PTCL. Functional tests were completed by transfection/transduction of different cells lines (STAT3 -/- MEF, HEK-293T, SUPM2 TTA and SUPM2 S3S), in association with Western Blot, and using cells viability analyses, Luciferase Assay, 2D and soft agar colony assays.

From the gathered data we were able to demonstrate that a subset of ALK-ALCL displays the constitutive activation of JAK/STAT3 pathway via multiple mechanisms. These mechanisms could be significantly abrogated by specific inhibitors like JAK1/2 and ROS1. With the central role of STAT3 there is the possibility of using novel targeting strategies to provide new avenues for the treatment of ALK- ALCL patients as suggested in our preclinical ALC PDT model.

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