Multiple myeloma (MM) accounts for 10% of haematological malignancies. Overall survival (OS) has ... more Multiple myeloma (MM) accounts for 10% of haematological malignancies. Overall survival (OS) has improved in recent years due to increased use of autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in the treatment of newly diagnosed MM and the advent of novel agents, including proteasome inhibitors, immunomodulatory drugs and monoclonal antibodies. To assess trends in ASCT including patient selection, choice of induction regimen, depth of response and survival, we performed a retrospective analysis of all patients undergoing first ASCT for MM in European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation centres between 1995 and 2019. A total of 117 711 patients across 575 centres were included. The number of transplants performed increased sevenfold across the study period. The median age increased from 55 to 61 years, and the percentage of patients aged >65 years rose from 7% to 30%. Use of chemotherapy-based induction fell significantly, being largely replaced by bortezomib-based regimens....
Background: Achieving a first complete remission (CR1) is an important prognostic factor for tran... more Background: Achieving a first complete remission (CR1) is an important prognostic factor for transplantation outcome. However, there are no data in the setting of cord blood transplantation (CBT) indicating whether the number of induction courses (1 or 2) needed to achieve CR1, is of prognostic significance. As CBT is advantageous for acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) patients (pts) with positive pre transplant measurable residual disease (MRD) (Milano F, NEJM 2016), it is conceivable that in the CBT setting, no difference in transplantation outcome will be observed between pts achieving CR1 after 1 or 2 inductions. Methods: Using the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT)/Acute Leukemia Working Party (ALWP) registry, we compared transplantation outcomes of adult pts aged ≥18 years with AML that underwent CBT in 2005-2020 in CR1, achieved following 1 versus (vs) 2 induction courses. Multivariate analysis (MVA) adjusting for differences between the induction grou...
The impact of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on outcomes in patients with cancer remains unc... more The impact of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on outcomes in patients with cancer remains unclear. Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)/high-risk myelodysplasia (MDS) are common hematological malignancies resulting in profound immunosuppression, which is exacerbated by intensive and less-intensive chemotherapy. Importantly, venetoclax based regimens have been increasingly used during the pandemic as a strategy to reduce patient hospitalization however, there is little information concerning the impact of such regimens on COVID-19 infection rates. We therefore opened a prospective clinical study (PACE), at the start of the current pandemic in April 2020 to characterize the risk of COVID-19 infection in patients with AML/MDS-EB2 receiving intensive or non-intensive treatment, including patients treated with venetoclax-based regimens. The primary aim was to determine the incidence of COVID-19 in patients with AML /MDS-EB2 including both, prior to study entry and during treatment until 4 we...
Background Outcomes for patients with blast-phase chronic myeloid leukaemia (BP-CML) are extremel... more Background Outcomes for patients with blast-phase chronic myeloid leukaemia (BP-CML) are extremely poor, and allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) represents the only opportunity for cure. Crucially, long-term survival post-transplant depends on first attaining a return to chronic phase though salvage treatment. Novel strategies that improve response and can optimise transplant outcomes are therefore required. In the era of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), BP-CML has become an orphan disease. Consequently, the prospective trials needed to guide clinical practice are rarely attempted. We now report the final results of the prospective MATCHPOINT trial which uses an innovative EffTox design to investigate the activity and tolerability of the TKI ponatinib in combination with high-dose chemotherapy, to improve remission status and transplant outcomes in BP-CML. Methods and patients Between March 2015 and April 2018, 17 patients were recruited through the UK Trials Accelerati...
Background Treatments for 'accelerated phase' MPNs (MPN-AP, 10-19% blasts)/post-MPN AML (... more Background Treatments for 'accelerated phase' MPNs (MPN-AP, 10-19% blasts)/post-MPN AML (MPN-BP, ≥20% blasts) are limited. Most patients are precluded from potentially curative haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). For HSCT ineligible patients, azacitidine (AZA) is licensed to treat high-risk MDS or AML. Whilst dose and toxicity profile of AZA is well understood, the response of MPNs and post-MPN AML to monotherapy is limited. AZA-based doublet chemotherapy may however result in improved clinical responses. The phase Ib single-arm PHAZAR trial was established to determine maximum tolerated dose (MTD), safety profile and clinical activity of the selective JAK1/2 inhibitor ruxolitinib (RUX) used in combination with AZA to treat MPN-AP and MPN-BP patients. Methods A modified two-stage continual reassessment method with an expansion cohort at the MTD, was used to establish the MTD of RUX in combination with AZA. Successive flexible cohorts of 3-5 patients were enrolle...
IPSS-R is a well established prognostic factor for transplant outcome in patients with MDS, irres... more IPSS-R is a well established prognostic factor for transplant outcome in patients with MDS, irrespective whether it is assessed at diagnosis or at transplant. However it is unclear how a change in IPSS-R, e.g. by reducing bone marrow blasts through therapy, would potentially affect transplant results. In particular the decision to treat patients before transplant or perform an upfront allogeneic transplantation can so far not be based on evidence. We did a registry search based in the MDS quality initiative conducted by EBMT to identify transplanted patients with MDS and sufficient data to calculate IPSS-R at diagnosis and before transplant. The search was limited to patients reveiving a first allogeneic stem cell transplantation in the period 2005 -2018. 1482 patients were identified. Median age at alloHCT was 59 (interquartile range 51-64) years, 60% were male. Donors were related in 36%, graft source was PBSC in 85% of cases. Conditioning was standard dose in 33% and reduced inte...
The use of GSCF-mobilised Peripheral Blood Stem Cells (PBSC) for unrelated donor (UD) transplanta... more The use of GSCF-mobilised Peripheral Blood Stem Cells (PBSC) for unrelated donor (UD) transplantation has increased dramatically since 2000. The association of PBSC with more rapid engraftment and with an increase in chronic Graft versus Host Disease (GvHD), compared to bone marrow (BM) has been reported in a number of studies. More recently the use of PBSC has been associated with an increase in transplant related mortality (TRM) and decrease in survival (OS) in T-cell replete transplants. We sought to analyse the impact of PBSC compared to BM in a cohort of UD transplant recipients, where T-cell depleting agents (in-vivo campath in >90%) were included in the transplant conditioning. The study included 145 patients transplanted between January 2000 and March 2006: CML- 35 in 1CP; acute leukaemia (AML in 61, ALL in 49)-110 in CR1 or 2. All had myeloablative conditioning regimens and received grafts with 9–10/10 matched HLA alleles. 86 patients received BM and 59 PBSC. There were ...
Background: Polycythemia vera (PV) is characterized by erythrocytosis, thrombocytosis, and/or leu... more Background: Polycythemia vera (PV) is characterized by erythrocytosis, thrombocytosis, and/or leukocytosis and a broad range of disease-related symptoms. In high-risk patients, the most common first-line treatment is hydroxyurea (HU). The open-label RESPONSE trial demonstrated that ruxolitinib (RUX), a JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor, provided superior efficacy compared with best available therapy in patients with PV who were resistant to or intolerant of HU according to modified European LeukemiaNet (ELN) criteria. This study (RELIEF) was conducted in patients receiving a stable dose of HU and who were generally well controlled but reporting disease-associated symptoms, comparing the change in PV-related symptom burden in patients continuing their HU therapy with those switching to RUX treatment. Methods: RELIEF was a randomized, multicenter, double-blind, double-dummy, phase 3b study of patients with PV aged ≥18 years on a stable dose of HU monotherapy and reporting PV-related symptoms. Patie...
The prognosis of patients with blast crisis (BC) chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is still dismal. ... more The prognosis of patients with blast crisis (BC) chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is still dismal. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) represents the only curative treatment option, but data on transplant outcomes are scarce. We therefore conducted a retrospective, registry based study of adult patients allografted for BC CML focusing on patients with active disease at transplant and pre-transplant prognostic factors. A total of 170 patients allografted for BC CML after tyrosine kinase inhibitor pre-treatment between 2004 and 2016 were analyzed. Prior to transplant, 95 patients were in remission, whereas 75 patients had active BC. In multivariable analysis of the entire cohort, active BC at transplant was the strongest factor associated with decreased overall survival (OS, HR 1.87, P=0.010) and shorter leukemia-free survival (LFS, HR 1.69, P=0.017). For patients with BC in remission at transplant, advanced age (≥45 years), lower performance status (≤80%), longer interval from diagnosis BC to transplant (>12 months), myeloablative conditioning, and unrelated donor (UD) transplant were risk factors for inferior survival. In patients with active BC, only UD transplant was significantly associated with prolonged LFS and trended towards improved OS. In summary, survival of patients allografted for BC CML was strongly dependent on the pre-transplant remission status. In patients with remission of BC, conventional prognostic factors remained the major determinants of outcome, whereas in those with active BC at transplant, UD transplantation was associated with prolonged LFS in our study.
The randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, phase 3b RELIEF trial evaluated polycythaemia vera (P... more The randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, phase 3b RELIEF trial evaluated polycythaemia vera (PV)-related symptoms in patients who were well controlled with a stable dose of hydroxycarbamide (also termed hydroxyurea) but reported PV-related symptoms. Patients were randomized 1:1 to ruxolitinib 10 mg BID (n = 54) or hydroxycarbamide (prerandomization dose/schedule; n = 56); crossover to ruxolitinib was permitted after Week 16. The primary endpoint, ≥50% improvement from baseline in myeloproliferative neoplasm -symptom assessment form total symptom score cytokine symptom cluster (TSS-C; sum of tiredness, itching, muscle aches, night sweats, and sweats while awake) at Week 16, was achieved by 43·4% vs. 29·6% of ruxolitinib- and hydroxycarbamide-treated patients, respectively (odds ratio, 1·82; 95% confidence interval, 0·82-4·04; P = 0·139). The primary endpoint was achieved by 34% of a subgroup who maintained their hydroxycarbamide dose from baseline to Weeks 13-16. In a post hoc ana...
This is an analysis in 171 patients comparing BEAM-Auto and BEAM-Allo (alemtuzumab)-hematopoietic... more This is an analysis in 171 patients comparing BEAM-Auto and BEAM-Allo (alemtuzumab)-hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in relapsed follicular lymphoma. BEAM-Allo group had a lower 10 years cumulative incidence of relapse(31.4% vs 55.1%, p=0.042), a trend to a plateau in survival but no statistical differences in OS or DFS, and a TRM of 24%. When transplanted in CR BEAM-Allo patients had better OS and DFS. Incidence of acute and chronic GVHD was 16.6% and 22%. 29% of BEAM-Allo patients received DLI (all but two remain in CR and alive). Our data supports Allo-HSCT as a potential curative treatment for selected patients with FL.
Bisphosphonates are recommended in patients with osteolytic lesions secondary to multiple myeloma... more Bisphosphonates are recommended in patients with osteolytic lesions secondary to multiple myeloma. We report on the safety of bisphosphonate therapy with long-term follow-up in the Medical Research Council Myeloma IX study. Patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma were randomised to zoledronic acid (ZOL; 4 mg intravenously every 21-28 d) or clodronate (CLO; 1600 mg/d orally) plus chemotherapy. Among 1960 patients (5.9-year median follow-up), both bisphosphonates were well tolerated. Acute renal failure events were similar between groups (ZOL 5.2% vs. CLO 5.8% at 2 years; incidence plateaued thereafter). The overall incidence of confirmed osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) was low, but higher with ZOL (ZOL 3.7% vs. CLO 0.5%; P < 0.0001). ONJ events were generally low grade and most occurred between 8 and 30 months (median time to ONJ, 23.7 months). Among 10 patients with ONJ recovery data, four patients in the ZOL group completely recovered, two patients improved, and three patients experienced no improvement; one CLO patient experienced no improvement. Dental surgery or trauma preceded ONJ in six ZOL patients. The incidence of renal adverse events was similar for ZOL and CLO. ONJ incidence remained low and was lower with CLO compared to ZOL. We have seen no further ONJ cases to date.
A 62-year-old woman had magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head after presenting with a poss... more A 62-year-old woman had magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head after presenting with a possible transient ischaemic attack. The MRI demonstrated no evidence of a recent event but showed small T2 intense foci consistent with mature ischaemic lesions. Incidentally, ‘a heterogeneous signal throughout the marrow space of the cranial vault’ was reported on the axial T2 scan (left) and a lateral skull X-ray was suggested. This showed multiple ‘punched out’ lytic lesions throughout the skull vault (right) and she was referred to the haematology department urgently with a probable diagnosis of multiple myeloma. On review, she was asymptomatic and had a normal full blood count, creatinine and calcium. She had an IgMj paraprotein that was too low to quantitate and a normal serum free light chain ratio; her urine was negative for Bence–Jones protein. A skeletal survey demonstrated additional lesions in the mandible, some with endosteal scalloping and less convincing lesions in the right distal femur. Bone marrow aspiration and trephine biopsy were performed, these showing just 3% plasma cells. At this point, the differential diagnosis was reconsidered. The skull has two cortical layers with marrow between them. Skull lesions with lytic appearances can arise from the bone itself or occur either by distant metastasis or local invasion. The differential diagnosis for multiple lytic lesions on a skull X-ray in a patient of this age includes: multiple myeloma, metastases (particularly breast, lung, renal and prostate carcinoma), leukaemia, ‘brown tumours’ (osteitis fibrosa cystica secondary to hyperparathyroidism), venous lakes and vascular channels, Pacchionian granulations (hypertrophied arachnoid villi), benign lipomas and osteoporosis. Lipomas are relatively rare in the bone marrow despite the fact that it is rich in fatty tissue. MRI is useful for the detection of lipomas because they have a homogenous high signal on T1 and suppression on short T1 inversion recovery (STIR) sequences. This distinguishes them from metastases and inflammatory lesions. Our patient went on to have a further MRI showing high signal on T1, suppression on STIR and no enhancement post-contrast, in keeping with a signal of fat in a lobular pattern, that is multiple lipomas giving the X-ray appearances. A computerized tomography (CT) of the body cavities revealed no primary disease. Some lucencies in the axial skeleton on CT were also confirmed to be the signal of fat on axial MRIs. She was reassured and discharged from the haematology clinic.
The molecular pathogenesis of therapy-related acute myeloid leukaemia/myelodysplastic syndrome (t... more The molecular pathogenesis of therapy-related acute myeloid leukaemia/myelodysplastic syndrome (t-AML/MDS) remains uncertain. However, clonal haemopoiesis may develop following stem cell transplantation and precede the development of t-AML/MDS. Moreover, accelerated telomere shortening may be induced by replicative stress or oxidative damage, leading to genomic instability, and inactivating polymorphisms of the gene encoding NADPH-quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1) are more frequently observed in patients with t-AML. We studied clonal haemopoiesis, telomere length and NQO1 status in 146 patients receiving conventional chemotherapy for non-myeloid malignancies. Clonal haemopoiesis was demonstrated in eight of 98 (8%) patients. Telomere length was reduced in patients following chemotherapy (n = 52) compared with controls (n = 42) (P < 0.001), particularly in those with clonal haemopoiesis (P < 0.002). Whilst there was a trend towards telomere shortening in control subjects polymorphic for NQO1-187Ser (n = 12), chemotherapy-exposed patients polymorphic for the NQO1-187Ser allele (n = 29) had significantly shorter telomeres (P < 0.001). Furthermore, chemotherapy-treated patients with the NQO1-187Ser, polymorphism were more likely to develop clonal haemopoiesis than patients with wild type NQO1 (odds ratio = 7; 1.16-42.6). We conclude that a switch to clonal haemopoiesis may occur after conventional chemotherapy and lead to accelerated telomere shortening. Patients with the NQO1-187Ser polymorphism have an increased risk of developing both clonal haemopoiesis and telomere shortening, which may partly explain the predisposition to t-AML in NQO1-187Ser null individuals.
Background No studies have investigated the immediate impact of receiving an allogeneic hematopoi... more Background No studies have investigated the immediate impact of receiving an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) on pulmonary inflammation or lung function. Methods Using a prospective study design, we quantified the changes in these outcome measures in eligible adult individuals in the first six months after receiving an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Results Between January 2007 and December 2008, 72 patients were eligible to participate in the cohort, and of these 68 (94%) were included in the study. Compared to baseline, pulmonary inflammation as measured by exhaled nitric oxide increased after receiving a HSCT with the largest increment seen at three months (+6.0ppb, 95%CI: +0.4 to +11.5), and this was sustained at six months. Percent predicted forced expiratory volume in one second decreased over the same period, with the largest decrease observed at six weeks (−5.9%, 95% CI: -8.9 to −2.9), and this was also sustained over a six month period. S...
Multiple myeloma (MM) accounts for 10% of haematological malignancies. Overall survival (OS) has ... more Multiple myeloma (MM) accounts for 10% of haematological malignancies. Overall survival (OS) has improved in recent years due to increased use of autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in the treatment of newly diagnosed MM and the advent of novel agents, including proteasome inhibitors, immunomodulatory drugs and monoclonal antibodies. To assess trends in ASCT including patient selection, choice of induction regimen, depth of response and survival, we performed a retrospective analysis of all patients undergoing first ASCT for MM in European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation centres between 1995 and 2019. A total of 117 711 patients across 575 centres were included. The number of transplants performed increased sevenfold across the study period. The median age increased from 55 to 61 years, and the percentage of patients aged >65 years rose from 7% to 30%. Use of chemotherapy-based induction fell significantly, being largely replaced by bortezomib-based regimens....
Background: Achieving a first complete remission (CR1) is an important prognostic factor for tran... more Background: Achieving a first complete remission (CR1) is an important prognostic factor for transplantation outcome. However, there are no data in the setting of cord blood transplantation (CBT) indicating whether the number of induction courses (1 or 2) needed to achieve CR1, is of prognostic significance. As CBT is advantageous for acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) patients (pts) with positive pre transplant measurable residual disease (MRD) (Milano F, NEJM 2016), it is conceivable that in the CBT setting, no difference in transplantation outcome will be observed between pts achieving CR1 after 1 or 2 inductions. Methods: Using the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT)/Acute Leukemia Working Party (ALWP) registry, we compared transplantation outcomes of adult pts aged ≥18 years with AML that underwent CBT in 2005-2020 in CR1, achieved following 1 versus (vs) 2 induction courses. Multivariate analysis (MVA) adjusting for differences between the induction grou...
The impact of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on outcomes in patients with cancer remains unc... more The impact of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on outcomes in patients with cancer remains unclear. Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)/high-risk myelodysplasia (MDS) are common hematological malignancies resulting in profound immunosuppression, which is exacerbated by intensive and less-intensive chemotherapy. Importantly, venetoclax based regimens have been increasingly used during the pandemic as a strategy to reduce patient hospitalization however, there is little information concerning the impact of such regimens on COVID-19 infection rates. We therefore opened a prospective clinical study (PACE), at the start of the current pandemic in April 2020 to characterize the risk of COVID-19 infection in patients with AML/MDS-EB2 receiving intensive or non-intensive treatment, including patients treated with venetoclax-based regimens. The primary aim was to determine the incidence of COVID-19 in patients with AML /MDS-EB2 including both, prior to study entry and during treatment until 4 we...
Background Outcomes for patients with blast-phase chronic myeloid leukaemia (BP-CML) are extremel... more Background Outcomes for patients with blast-phase chronic myeloid leukaemia (BP-CML) are extremely poor, and allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) represents the only opportunity for cure. Crucially, long-term survival post-transplant depends on first attaining a return to chronic phase though salvage treatment. Novel strategies that improve response and can optimise transplant outcomes are therefore required. In the era of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), BP-CML has become an orphan disease. Consequently, the prospective trials needed to guide clinical practice are rarely attempted. We now report the final results of the prospective MATCHPOINT trial which uses an innovative EffTox design to investigate the activity and tolerability of the TKI ponatinib in combination with high-dose chemotherapy, to improve remission status and transplant outcomes in BP-CML. Methods and patients Between March 2015 and April 2018, 17 patients were recruited through the UK Trials Accelerati...
Background Treatments for 'accelerated phase' MPNs (MPN-AP, 10-19% blasts)/post-MPN AML (... more Background Treatments for 'accelerated phase' MPNs (MPN-AP, 10-19% blasts)/post-MPN AML (MPN-BP, ≥20% blasts) are limited. Most patients are precluded from potentially curative haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). For HSCT ineligible patients, azacitidine (AZA) is licensed to treat high-risk MDS or AML. Whilst dose and toxicity profile of AZA is well understood, the response of MPNs and post-MPN AML to monotherapy is limited. AZA-based doublet chemotherapy may however result in improved clinical responses. The phase Ib single-arm PHAZAR trial was established to determine maximum tolerated dose (MTD), safety profile and clinical activity of the selective JAK1/2 inhibitor ruxolitinib (RUX) used in combination with AZA to treat MPN-AP and MPN-BP patients. Methods A modified two-stage continual reassessment method with an expansion cohort at the MTD, was used to establish the MTD of RUX in combination with AZA. Successive flexible cohorts of 3-5 patients were enrolle...
IPSS-R is a well established prognostic factor for transplant outcome in patients with MDS, irres... more IPSS-R is a well established prognostic factor for transplant outcome in patients with MDS, irrespective whether it is assessed at diagnosis or at transplant. However it is unclear how a change in IPSS-R, e.g. by reducing bone marrow blasts through therapy, would potentially affect transplant results. In particular the decision to treat patients before transplant or perform an upfront allogeneic transplantation can so far not be based on evidence. We did a registry search based in the MDS quality initiative conducted by EBMT to identify transplanted patients with MDS and sufficient data to calculate IPSS-R at diagnosis and before transplant. The search was limited to patients reveiving a first allogeneic stem cell transplantation in the period 2005 -2018. 1482 patients were identified. Median age at alloHCT was 59 (interquartile range 51-64) years, 60% were male. Donors were related in 36%, graft source was PBSC in 85% of cases. Conditioning was standard dose in 33% and reduced inte...
The use of GSCF-mobilised Peripheral Blood Stem Cells (PBSC) for unrelated donor (UD) transplanta... more The use of GSCF-mobilised Peripheral Blood Stem Cells (PBSC) for unrelated donor (UD) transplantation has increased dramatically since 2000. The association of PBSC with more rapid engraftment and with an increase in chronic Graft versus Host Disease (GvHD), compared to bone marrow (BM) has been reported in a number of studies. More recently the use of PBSC has been associated with an increase in transplant related mortality (TRM) and decrease in survival (OS) in T-cell replete transplants. We sought to analyse the impact of PBSC compared to BM in a cohort of UD transplant recipients, where T-cell depleting agents (in-vivo campath in >90%) were included in the transplant conditioning. The study included 145 patients transplanted between January 2000 and March 2006: CML- 35 in 1CP; acute leukaemia (AML in 61, ALL in 49)-110 in CR1 or 2. All had myeloablative conditioning regimens and received grafts with 9–10/10 matched HLA alleles. 86 patients received BM and 59 PBSC. There were ...
Background: Polycythemia vera (PV) is characterized by erythrocytosis, thrombocytosis, and/or leu... more Background: Polycythemia vera (PV) is characterized by erythrocytosis, thrombocytosis, and/or leukocytosis and a broad range of disease-related symptoms. In high-risk patients, the most common first-line treatment is hydroxyurea (HU). The open-label RESPONSE trial demonstrated that ruxolitinib (RUX), a JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor, provided superior efficacy compared with best available therapy in patients with PV who were resistant to or intolerant of HU according to modified European LeukemiaNet (ELN) criteria. This study (RELIEF) was conducted in patients receiving a stable dose of HU and who were generally well controlled but reporting disease-associated symptoms, comparing the change in PV-related symptom burden in patients continuing their HU therapy with those switching to RUX treatment. Methods: RELIEF was a randomized, multicenter, double-blind, double-dummy, phase 3b study of patients with PV aged ≥18 years on a stable dose of HU monotherapy and reporting PV-related symptoms. Patie...
The prognosis of patients with blast crisis (BC) chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is still dismal. ... more The prognosis of patients with blast crisis (BC) chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is still dismal. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) represents the only curative treatment option, but data on transplant outcomes are scarce. We therefore conducted a retrospective, registry based study of adult patients allografted for BC CML focusing on patients with active disease at transplant and pre-transplant prognostic factors. A total of 170 patients allografted for BC CML after tyrosine kinase inhibitor pre-treatment between 2004 and 2016 were analyzed. Prior to transplant, 95 patients were in remission, whereas 75 patients had active BC. In multivariable analysis of the entire cohort, active BC at transplant was the strongest factor associated with decreased overall survival (OS, HR 1.87, P=0.010) and shorter leukemia-free survival (LFS, HR 1.69, P=0.017). For patients with BC in remission at transplant, advanced age (≥45 years), lower performance status (≤80%), longer interval from diagnosis BC to transplant (>12 months), myeloablative conditioning, and unrelated donor (UD) transplant were risk factors for inferior survival. In patients with active BC, only UD transplant was significantly associated with prolonged LFS and trended towards improved OS. In summary, survival of patients allografted for BC CML was strongly dependent on the pre-transplant remission status. In patients with remission of BC, conventional prognostic factors remained the major determinants of outcome, whereas in those with active BC at transplant, UD transplantation was associated with prolonged LFS in our study.
The randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, phase 3b RELIEF trial evaluated polycythaemia vera (P... more The randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, phase 3b RELIEF trial evaluated polycythaemia vera (PV)-related symptoms in patients who were well controlled with a stable dose of hydroxycarbamide (also termed hydroxyurea) but reported PV-related symptoms. Patients were randomized 1:1 to ruxolitinib 10 mg BID (n = 54) or hydroxycarbamide (prerandomization dose/schedule; n = 56); crossover to ruxolitinib was permitted after Week 16. The primary endpoint, ≥50% improvement from baseline in myeloproliferative neoplasm -symptom assessment form total symptom score cytokine symptom cluster (TSS-C; sum of tiredness, itching, muscle aches, night sweats, and sweats while awake) at Week 16, was achieved by 43·4% vs. 29·6% of ruxolitinib- and hydroxycarbamide-treated patients, respectively (odds ratio, 1·82; 95% confidence interval, 0·82-4·04; P = 0·139). The primary endpoint was achieved by 34% of a subgroup who maintained their hydroxycarbamide dose from baseline to Weeks 13-16. In a post hoc ana...
This is an analysis in 171 patients comparing BEAM-Auto and BEAM-Allo (alemtuzumab)-hematopoietic... more This is an analysis in 171 patients comparing BEAM-Auto and BEAM-Allo (alemtuzumab)-hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in relapsed follicular lymphoma. BEAM-Allo group had a lower 10 years cumulative incidence of relapse(31.4% vs 55.1%, p=0.042), a trend to a plateau in survival but no statistical differences in OS or DFS, and a TRM of 24%. When transplanted in CR BEAM-Allo patients had better OS and DFS. Incidence of acute and chronic GVHD was 16.6% and 22%. 29% of BEAM-Allo patients received DLI (all but two remain in CR and alive). Our data supports Allo-HSCT as a potential curative treatment for selected patients with FL.
Bisphosphonates are recommended in patients with osteolytic lesions secondary to multiple myeloma... more Bisphosphonates are recommended in patients with osteolytic lesions secondary to multiple myeloma. We report on the safety of bisphosphonate therapy with long-term follow-up in the Medical Research Council Myeloma IX study. Patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma were randomised to zoledronic acid (ZOL; 4 mg intravenously every 21-28 d) or clodronate (CLO; 1600 mg/d orally) plus chemotherapy. Among 1960 patients (5.9-year median follow-up), both bisphosphonates were well tolerated. Acute renal failure events were similar between groups (ZOL 5.2% vs. CLO 5.8% at 2 years; incidence plateaued thereafter). The overall incidence of confirmed osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) was low, but higher with ZOL (ZOL 3.7% vs. CLO 0.5%; P < 0.0001). ONJ events were generally low grade and most occurred between 8 and 30 months (median time to ONJ, 23.7 months). Among 10 patients with ONJ recovery data, four patients in the ZOL group completely recovered, two patients improved, and three patients experienced no improvement; one CLO patient experienced no improvement. Dental surgery or trauma preceded ONJ in six ZOL patients. The incidence of renal adverse events was similar for ZOL and CLO. ONJ incidence remained low and was lower with CLO compared to ZOL. We have seen no further ONJ cases to date.
A 62-year-old woman had magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head after presenting with a poss... more A 62-year-old woman had magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head after presenting with a possible transient ischaemic attack. The MRI demonstrated no evidence of a recent event but showed small T2 intense foci consistent with mature ischaemic lesions. Incidentally, ‘a heterogeneous signal throughout the marrow space of the cranial vault’ was reported on the axial T2 scan (left) and a lateral skull X-ray was suggested. This showed multiple ‘punched out’ lytic lesions throughout the skull vault (right) and she was referred to the haematology department urgently with a probable diagnosis of multiple myeloma. On review, she was asymptomatic and had a normal full blood count, creatinine and calcium. She had an IgMj paraprotein that was too low to quantitate and a normal serum free light chain ratio; her urine was negative for Bence–Jones protein. A skeletal survey demonstrated additional lesions in the mandible, some with endosteal scalloping and less convincing lesions in the right distal femur. Bone marrow aspiration and trephine biopsy were performed, these showing just 3% plasma cells. At this point, the differential diagnosis was reconsidered. The skull has two cortical layers with marrow between them. Skull lesions with lytic appearances can arise from the bone itself or occur either by distant metastasis or local invasion. The differential diagnosis for multiple lytic lesions on a skull X-ray in a patient of this age includes: multiple myeloma, metastases (particularly breast, lung, renal and prostate carcinoma), leukaemia, ‘brown tumours’ (osteitis fibrosa cystica secondary to hyperparathyroidism), venous lakes and vascular channels, Pacchionian granulations (hypertrophied arachnoid villi), benign lipomas and osteoporosis. Lipomas are relatively rare in the bone marrow despite the fact that it is rich in fatty tissue. MRI is useful for the detection of lipomas because they have a homogenous high signal on T1 and suppression on short T1 inversion recovery (STIR) sequences. This distinguishes them from metastases and inflammatory lesions. Our patient went on to have a further MRI showing high signal on T1, suppression on STIR and no enhancement post-contrast, in keeping with a signal of fat in a lobular pattern, that is multiple lipomas giving the X-ray appearances. A computerized tomography (CT) of the body cavities revealed no primary disease. Some lucencies in the axial skeleton on CT were also confirmed to be the signal of fat on axial MRIs. She was reassured and discharged from the haematology clinic.
The molecular pathogenesis of therapy-related acute myeloid leukaemia/myelodysplastic syndrome (t... more The molecular pathogenesis of therapy-related acute myeloid leukaemia/myelodysplastic syndrome (t-AML/MDS) remains uncertain. However, clonal haemopoiesis may develop following stem cell transplantation and precede the development of t-AML/MDS. Moreover, accelerated telomere shortening may be induced by replicative stress or oxidative damage, leading to genomic instability, and inactivating polymorphisms of the gene encoding NADPH-quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1) are more frequently observed in patients with t-AML. We studied clonal haemopoiesis, telomere length and NQO1 status in 146 patients receiving conventional chemotherapy for non-myeloid malignancies. Clonal haemopoiesis was demonstrated in eight of 98 (8%) patients. Telomere length was reduced in patients following chemotherapy (n = 52) compared with controls (n = 42) (P < 0.001), particularly in those with clonal haemopoiesis (P < 0.002). Whilst there was a trend towards telomere shortening in control subjects polymorphic for NQO1-187Ser (n = 12), chemotherapy-exposed patients polymorphic for the NQO1-187Ser allele (n = 29) had significantly shorter telomeres (P < 0.001). Furthermore, chemotherapy-treated patients with the NQO1-187Ser, polymorphism were more likely to develop clonal haemopoiesis than patients with wild type NQO1 (odds ratio = 7; 1.16-42.6). We conclude that a switch to clonal haemopoiesis may occur after conventional chemotherapy and lead to accelerated telomere shortening. Patients with the NQO1-187Ser polymorphism have an increased risk of developing both clonal haemopoiesis and telomere shortening, which may partly explain the predisposition to t-AML in NQO1-187Ser null individuals.
Background No studies have investigated the immediate impact of receiving an allogeneic hematopoi... more Background No studies have investigated the immediate impact of receiving an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) on pulmonary inflammation or lung function. Methods Using a prospective study design, we quantified the changes in these outcome measures in eligible adult individuals in the first six months after receiving an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Results Between January 2007 and December 2008, 72 patients were eligible to participate in the cohort, and of these 68 (94%) were included in the study. Compared to baseline, pulmonary inflammation as measured by exhaled nitric oxide increased after receiving a HSCT with the largest increment seen at three months (+6.0ppb, 95%CI: +0.4 to +11.5), and this was sustained at six months. Percent predicted forced expiratory volume in one second decreased over the same period, with the largest decrease observed at six weeks (−5.9%, 95% CI: -8.9 to −2.9), and this was also sustained over a six month period. S...
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Papers by Jenny Byrne