Tag: Jia Ruan MD

Clinical Trial: MLN8237 in Relapsed/Refractory Aggressive B-Cell Lymphoma Treated With Rituximab & Vincristine

Update: this study is closed to enrollment. 

The Weill Cornell Lymphoma Program has recently opened a new clinical trial for men and women with relapsed or refractory Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) and other aggressive lymphomas including Transformed Follicular Lymphoma, and Mantle Cell or Burkitt Lymphoma. The study sponsor is Millennium Pharmaceuticals, and the principal investigator at Weill Cornell is Dr. Jia Ruan. For more information about the study, please call Amelyn Rodgriguez, RN at (212) 746-1362 or e-mail Amelyn at amr2017@med.cornell.edu.

Key Eligibility
  • Men and women age 18 and older
  • Parts 1 and 2:
    • Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma, Transformed Follicular Lymphoma, Mantle Cell or Burkitt Lymphoma
  • Part 3:
    • Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma, Transformed Follicular Lymphoma (people with Mantle Cell or Burkitt Lymphoma are eligible for Parts 1 and 2 only)
    • For Part 3, must have received prior rituximab
  • Relapsed or refractory after at least 1 prior systemic treatment for aggressive lymphoma; relapsed following autologous stem cell transplant is allowed
  • Detailed eligibility reviewed when you contact the study team
Study Details

The purpose of the study is to investigate whether the experimental drug MLN8237 has any treatment benefit when combined with rituximab (this combination is called MR) or when combined with rituximab and vincristine (called MRV). The study will also evaluate the safety and tolerability of the MR and MRV combinations.   Continue reading “Clinical Trial: MLN8237 in Relapsed/Refractory Aggressive B-Cell Lymphoma Treated With Rituximab & Vincristine”

New Treatment for Systemic and Cutaneous T-cell Lymphomas: Antibody-drug Conjugate Brentuximab Vedotin

jruanBy Jia Ruan, MD

The peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCL) are uncommon lymphoid diseases that account for 5-10% of all non-Hodgkin lymphomas in adults in North America.  Compared to B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas, the PTCLs are generally aggressive and less responsive to current treatment options. Relapsed and refractory diseases are common.  Novel and target therapies are in much need to improve quality and duration of response.  At the 2012 American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting in Atlanta, several research groups reported encouraging study results with the antibody-drug conjugate Brentuximab vedotin for T-cell lymphomas. Brentuximab vedotin (BV) is an anti-CD30 chimeric antibody conjugated by a protease-cleavable linker to the microtubule-disrupting agent monomethyl auristatin E. BV received accelerated FDA approval in 2011 for relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), 2 diseases that express abundant CD30.  Several new studies have looked at the treatment outcome of BV in patients with systemic or cutaneous T-cell lymphomas that express variable amount of CD30.

Studies in Systemic T-cell Lymphomas

Dr. Jacobsen from Dana Farber Cancer Institute reported an interim analysis of a phase II multicenter study which evaluated the antitumor activity of BV in patients with relapsed or refractory CD30-positive NHL. BV was administered at 1.8 mg/kg every 3 weeks by IV infusion. The study also explored the correlation between antitumor activity and quantitative CD30 expression.  Fifty-three patients with various CD30-positive NHLs have been enrolled, including 18 patients with mature T-/NK-cell lymphomas. Of the T-cell lymphoma patients enrolled, 9 have angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL), 8 have PTCL-NOS, and 1 has cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.  The ORR was 27% (3/11) for mature T-/NK-cell NHLs.  Thus far, response was particularly noteworthy in in AITL where 3 of 5 patients (60%) have responded (2 CR, 1 PR).   Treatment-emergent adverse events were generally mild and moderate (grade 1/2), and expected including peripheral neuropathy and cytopenias, which was consistent with the safety profile of BV.  CD30 expression levels for patients with a CR or PR were widely variable and ranged from <1% to 90%.  Preliminary data seems to suggest that BV may be beneficial for patients with T-cell lymphomas that have low CD30 expression. Dr. Fanale from MD Anderson Cancer Center reported a phase I study with BV administered concurrently with multi-agent chemotherapy as frontline treatment of systemic ALCL and other CD30 positive T-cell lymphomas.  The study was Continue reading “New Treatment for Systemic and Cutaneous T-cell Lymphomas: Antibody-drug Conjugate Brentuximab Vedotin”

New Clinical Trial: Alisertib (MLN8237) or Investigator’s Choice for Relapsed/Refractory Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma

A Phase 3, Randomized, Two-Arm, Open-Label, Multicenter, International Trial of Alisertib (MLN8237) or Investigator’s Choice (Selected Single Agent) in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma

Update: this study is closed to enrollment. 

The Weill Cornell Lymphoma Program has recently opened a new clinical trial for people with relapsed or refractory Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma (PTCL). The sponsor is Millennium Pharmaceuticals, and the principal investigator at Weill Cornell is Dr. Jia Ruan. For more information about the study, please call Amelyn Rodgriguez, RN at (212) 746-1362 or e-mail Amelyn at amr2017@med.cornell.edu.

Study Details

The purpose of the study is to assess how well people with PTCL respond to treatment with the experimental drug Alisertib (also known as MLN8237) as compared to other PTCL treatments.

Study participants will be randomly assigned to receive Alisertib or one of the following drugs used to treat PTCL: pralatrexate, romidepsin or gemcitabine.

Alisertib has been developed to interfere with cell division, which is required for normal and cancer cell growth. By blocking an enzyme that cells need to reproduce, alistertib may slow the growth of cancer cells.

Key Eligibility

  • PTCL relapsed or refractory to at least 1 prior systemic, cytoxic therapy for PTCL
  • Must have received convential therapy (not experimental) as prior therapy

Treatment Plan

Study participants will be randomly assigned to one of two study arms:

  • Arm A: Alisertib tablet twice daily by mouth for 7 consecutive days (Cycle Days 1-7) in a 21-day cycle for up to 32 cycles of treatment (2 years)
  • Arm B: Single-arm comparator. Participants will be assigned by the investigator to receive 1 of the following for up to 2 years:
    • Pralatrexate via infusion once weekly for 6 weeks in 7-week cycles. Cycles repeated every 7 weeks
    • Romidepsin via infusion on Days 1, 8 and 15 of a 28-day cycle. Cycles repeated every 28 days
    • Gemcitabine via infusion on Days 1, 8 and 15 of a 28-day cycle. Cycles repeated every 28 days