Metabolic tumor volume, cancer cell fraction, and prognosis – the case of T-cell/histiocyte-rich large B-cell lymphoma

Abstract High metabolic tumor volume (MTV) predicts worse outcomes in lymphoma treated with chemotherapy. However, it is unknown if this holds for patients treated with axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel), an anti-CD19 targeted chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy. The primary objective of this retrospective study was to investigate the relationship between MTV and survival (overall survival [OS] and progression-free survival [PFS]) in patients with relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) treated with axi-cel. Secondary objectives included finding the association of MTV with response rates and toxicity. The MTV values on baseline positron emission tomography of 96 patients were calculated via manual methodology using commercial software. Based on a median MTV cutoff value of 147.5 mL in the first cohort (n = 48), patients were divided into high and low MTV groups. Median follow-up for survivors was 24.98 months (range, 10.59-51.02 months). Patients with low MTV had significantly superior OS (hazard ratio [HR], 0.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.10-0.66) and PFS (HR, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.18-0.89). Results were successfully validated in a second cohort of 48 patients with a median follow-up for survivors of 12.03 months (range, 0.89-25.74 months). Patients with low MTV were found to have superior OS (HR, 0.14; 95% CI, 0.05-0.42) and PFS (HR, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.12-0.69). In conclusion, baseline MTV is associated with OS and PFS in axi-cel recipients with LBCL.

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Association of high baseline metabolic tumor volume with response following axicabtagene ciloleucel in refractory large B-cell lymphoma.

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2019.37.15_suppl.7562 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 37 (15_suppl) ◽

pp. 7562-7562 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Erin Dean ◽

Hong Lu ◽

Aleksandr Lazaryan ◽

Gabriel S Krivenko ◽

Christina A Bachmeier ◽

...

Keyword(s):

B Cell ◽

Tumor Volume ◽

Response Rate ◽

Cell Lymphoma ◽

B Cell Lymphoma ◽

Metabolic Tumor Volume ◽

Durable Response ◽

High Baseline ◽

Large B Cell Lymphoma ◽

Large B Cell

7562 Background: Axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) is an anti-CD19 targeted Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL). High tumor burden, by sum of the product of diameters (SPD) in ≥ 6 reference lesions, was associated with lower durable responses rates in the ZUMA-1 trial (Locke F.L. ASCO. 2018). Although metabolic tumor volume (MTV) predicts worse outcomes with chemotherapy in lymphoma (Guo B. PLoSOne. 2019), its prognostic significance remains unclear with axi-cel therapy. Methods: MTV was measured by MIM Software using a 41% SUVmax threshold with manual lesion contour adjustment and radiologist review. Low and high MTV groups were defined based on median cutoff value. Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) was graded by Lee et al. ( Blood. 2014). Neurotoxicity (NT) was graded by CTCAEv4. Toxicities, overall response rate (ORR), and complete response rate (CR) were evaluated via Fisher’s test; PFS and OS via Kaplan-Meier and log-rank test. Results: 48 patients with LBCL, or its variants, that received axi-cel at Moffitt from June 2015 to October 2018 were included. 31 were male, and median age was 63 years (range, 28-76). CRS occurred in 43/47 (91.5%) and NT in 32/47 (68.1%) patients. Grade 3-4 CRS in 2/47 (4.3%) and NT in 12/47 (25.5%). Median follow up for survivors was 8.9 months (range, 1.4- 36.8 months). CR was achieved in 31/48 (64.6 %) and ORR in 39/48 (81.3%). Median for the low MTV group was 35.1 mL (range, 4.24-132.8 mL), and for the high MTV group 455.5 mL (range, 162.2-1221.4 mL). High MTV was not predictive of G1-4 NT or G3-4 NT (OR = 1.14, P = 0.99; OR = 1.66, P = 0.52). Similarly, high MTV was not predictive of G1-4 CRS or G3-4 CRS (OR = 0.29, P = 0.348; OR = 1.05, P = 0.99). Low MTV was predictive of ORR (OR = 11.50, P = 0.026) and CR (OR = 9.8, P = 0.002). Patients with high MTV had inferior PFS (HR = 3.296, 95% CI 1.42-7.64, P = 0.008) and OS (HR = 6.68, 95% CI 2.56-17.32, P = 0.003). Conclusions: High baseline MTV is associated with decreased and less durable response following axi-cel. As survival data mature, future analyses will aim to assess the role of MTV as an independent prognostic tool in axi-cel recipients with LBCL.

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