Near-Tetraploidy Is Strongly Associated with Development of Richter's Transformation in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Patients Receiving Ibrutinib

Abstract Ibrutinib is a promising targeted therapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). However, a small subset of patients progress on ibrutinib either through progressive CLL or Richter's transformation. Patients responding to ibrutinib and then progressing with Richter's transformation do so most commonly within the first 2 years of treatment and have an extremely poor prognosis. Identifying biomarkers associated with this transformation is of utmost importance. Near-tetraploidy (4 copies of most chromosomes within a cell) has been reported in various lymphomas; however, its incidence in CLL has not been described. We investigated the prevalence of near-tetraploidy in CLL patients prior to starting ibrutinib and identified it as a pre-treatment biomarker for Richter's transformation. We examined near-tetraploidy in a large series of CLL patients enrolled across four ibrutinib clinical trials at the Ohio State University, for which extensive correlative studies and follow up data are available (previously described by Maddocks et al., JAMA Oncol, 2015). We identified this abnormality in 9 of 300 patients (3.0%, 95% CI: 1.4-5.6) in blood or bone marrow samples taken prior to starting therapy. Near-tetraploidy was detected by the presence of four signals with four or more fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) probes and confirmed in the metaphase karyotype of each patient in at least one cell. Near-tetraploidy was associated with aggressive disease characteristics including: Rai stage 3/4 (p=0.03), deletion 17p (p=0.03), and complex karyotype (p=0.01), as well as trisomy 12 (p=0.05). With a median follow-up time of 40.5 months, in patients positive with near-tetraploidy, one patient (11%) progressed with CLL on ibrutinib, six patients (67%) progressed with Richter's transformation, and two patients (22%) were still on treatment. Cumulative incidence of Richter's transformation was significantly higher in patients with near-tetraploidy (Figure; p<0.0001). Notably, near-tetraploidy was not associated with progression with CLL alone (p=0.53). In a multivariable model, both near-tetraploidy (HR 8.66, 95% CI 3.83-19.59, p<0.0001) and complex karyotype (HR 4.78, 95% CI 1.42-15.94, p=0.01) were independent risk factors for discontinuing ibrutinib due to Richter's transformation. Our results suggest that near-tetraploidy is a distinct biomarker to assess in patients initiating ibrutinib which would predict a high risk for Richter's transformation. As a biomarker it will be important to confirm this association in a second independent data set as well as interrogate the distinct pathophysiology of this genomic subset of CLL. Figure Figure. Disclosures Lozanski: Stemline Therapeutics Inc.: Research Funding; Boehringer Ingelheim: Research Funding; Genentech: Research Funding; Beckman Coulter: Research Funding. Jones:Pharmacyclics, LLC, an AbbVie Company: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; AbbVie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Andritsos:Hairy Cell Leukemia Foundation: Research Funding. Awan:Novartis Oncology: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy; Innate Pharma: Research Funding. Blum:Pharmacyclics: Research Funding. Woyach:Acerta: Research Funding; Morphosys: Research Funding; Karyopharm: Research Funding.

Download Full-text

Long Term Outcomes of Venetoclax Therapy for Complex Karyotype Relapsed/Refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood-2018-99-113905 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 132 (Supplement 1) ◽

pp. 4431-4431 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Thomas Lew ◽

Mary Ann Anderson ◽

Constantine S. Tam ◽

Sasanka Handunnetti ◽

Dennis Carney ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia ◽

Board Of Directors ◽

Research Funding ◽

Single Agent ◽

Lymphocytic Leukemia ◽

Complex Karyotype ◽

Advisory Committees ◽

Pre Treatment

Abstract Background The selective BCL2 inhibitor venetoclax (Ven) achieves an overall response rate of approximately 75 - 80% as a single agent in patients (pts) with relapsed and refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia / small lymphocytic lymphoma (RR-CLL/SLL)1. Ven is associated with 1 year estimates of progression free survival of ~75% for the approved single agent dose of 400 mg daily1,2 with promising efficacy among pts previously treated with ibrutinib3. Early reports of pre-treatment factors impacting durability of clinical benefit have identified bulky adenopathy, >3 lines of prior therapy and del(17p) as putative adverse factors in univariate analyses1. In analyses of data from ibrutinib and idelalisib naïve patients, the dominant predictors were fludarabine refractory disease and complex karyotype (CK), with del(17p) and/or TP53 mutations not reaching significance4. However, a systematic longer term follow up of pts with RR-CLL/SLL harboring CK treated with Ven has not been reported. We report the long term follow up of 31 pts with RR-CLL/SLL with a known karyotype treated with Ven ≥400 mg/d. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 67 pts with RR-CLL/SLL enrolled on early phase clinical studies of Ven at our two hospitals between June 2011 and July 2018 as of July 2018. The pts were treated in one of three ongoing clinical trials: Phase 1 Ven monotherapy (NCT01328626) (n=41), Phase 1b Ven plus rituximab (NCT01682616) (n=16), or Phase 2 Ven monotherapy in del(17p) CLL/SLL (NCT01889186) (n=10). Our analysis was restricted to pts who received ≥400 mg/daily2 and whose pre-treatment karyotype was known (n=31). CK is defined by the presence of ≥3 chromosomal aberrations using conventional cytogenetic analysis5. Time to progression (TTP) was estimated by the method of Kaplan and Meier, and comparisons among groups used the log-rank test (Mantel-Cox) and Fisher's exact test for categorical variables. Results 31 pts (median age 68 [range 45-83]) had known karyotype prior to Ven. They had received a median of 3 (1 - 8) prior therapies, but none had prior BTK inhibitor or idelalisib exposure. 12 pts had RR-CLL/SLL with known CK (median number of aberrations 4, range 3 - 8) and 19 were known non CK. Disease was fludarabine refractory in 15 pts and 16 had evidence of TP53 dysfunction (TP53 mutation and / or del(17p)) (Table 1). The median follow up was 33 (range 1 - 67) months. Twenty-eight (90%) pts responded and 18 (58%) have developed progressive disease; 7 with Richter transformation (RT) and 11 with CLL. RT occurred significantly earlier than CLL progression at a median of 7 (range 1 - 22) months v 33 (22 - 48) months, respectively (p = 0.0004). CK did not impact likelihood of overall response or complete response (CR) (p = 0.46), but was associated with a lower rate of attainment of minimal residual disease negative (MRD-neg) BM status (8% vs 47% in pts with non CK; p = 0.046). Four pts with CK achieved CR; one was fludarabine refractory, three harbored aberrations in TP53 and one lacked both risk factors. RT was largely confined to pts with CK CLL who had a 50% incidence of RT (6 of 7 RT events; p = 0.007). Two pts with CK RR-CLL/SLL received concomitant rituximab with Ven therapy: one developed Hodgkin variant RT at ~1 month, the other achieved a PR without clearance of PB or BM MRD, with progressive CLL at 25 months. Of the 5 pts with non CK RR-CLL/SLL who received Ven and rituximab, 4 (80%) achieved MRD-neg CR with no progressions at a median follow up of 57 (range 33 - 60) months and one achieved PR, with progressive CLL at 58 months. Compared to pts with a known non CK, patients with CK had significantly shorter TTP (median 22 [95% CI 4 - 48] months v 67 [95% CI 33 - undefined] months; p = 0.0011) (Figure 1). Conclusions Patients with CK RR-CLL/SLL treated with Ven have inferior outcomes relative to those with non-CK, predominantly due to early emergence of presumably unrecognized subclinical RT, consistent with patterns previously observed for ibrutinib and chemo-immunotherapy. Careful screening of these patients for nascent RT is important. However, deep remissions are possible in some patients and confer durable disease control. Ven combination therapies merit exploration with the aim of improving depth of response and outcomes in RR-CLL/SLL harboring CK.Roberts; N Engl J Med; 2016;374:311-22.Stilgenbauer; Lancet Oncol; 2016;17:768-78.Jones; Lancet Oncol; 2018;19:65-75.Anderson; Blood; 2017;129:3362-70.Rigolin; Blood; 2012;119:2310-3. Disclosures Lew: Walter and Eliza Hall: Employment, Patents & Royalties. Anderson:Genentech: Research Funding; AbbVie, Inc: Research Funding; Walter and Eliza Hall: Employment, Patents & Royalties. Tam:Pharmacyclics: Honoraria, Travel funding; Janssen: Honoraria, Research Funding; Beigene: Honoraria, Other: Travel funding; Pharmacyclics: Honoraria; Gilead: Honoraria; Roche: Honoraria; Roche: Honoraria; Beigene: Honoraria, Other: Travel funding; AbbVie: Honoraria, Research Funding; Gilead: Honoraria; AbbVie: Honoraria, Research Funding. Roberts:Janssen: Research Funding; Genentech: Research Funding; AbbVie: Research Funding; Walter and Eliza Hall: Employment, Patents & Royalties: Employee of Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research which receives milestone and royalty payments related to venetoclax. Seymour:Celgene: Consultancy; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Genentech Inc: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria, Research Funding.

Download Full-text

Five-Year Experience with Single-Agent Ibrutinib in Patients with Previously Untreated and Relapsed/Refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia/Small Lymphocytic Leukemia

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v128.22.233.233 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 128 (22) ◽

pp. 233-233 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

Susan M. O'Brien ◽

Richard R. Furman ◽

Steven E. Coutre ◽

Ian W. Flinn ◽

Jan Burger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia ◽

Board Of Directors ◽

Research Funding ◽

Single Agent ◽

Lymphocytic Leukemia ◽

Advisory Committees ◽

Equity Ownership ◽

Grade 3 ◽

Over Time

Abstract Background: Ibrutinib (ibr), a first-in-class, once-daily Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is approved by the US FDA for treatment of patients (pts) with chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) including pts with del17p. The phase 1b/2 PCYC-1102 trial showed single-agent efficacy and tolerability in treatment-naïve (TN; O'Brien, Lancet Oncol 2014) and relapsed/refractory (R/R) CLL/SLL (Byrd, N Engl J Med 2013). We report efficacy and safety results of the longest follow-up to date for ibr-treated pts. Methods: Pts received 420 or 840 mg ibr QD until disease progression (PD) or unacceptable toxicity. Overall response rate (ORR) including partial response (PR) with lymphocytosis (PR-L) was assessed using updated iwCLL criteria. Responses were assessed by risk groups: unmutated IGVH, complex karyotype (CK; ≥3 unrelated chromosomal abnormalities by stimulated cytogenetics assessed by a reference lab), and in hierarchical order for del17p, then del11q. In the long-term extension study PCYC-1103, grade ≥3 adverse events (AEs), serious AEs, and AEs requiring dose reduction or discontinuation were collected. Results: Median age of the 132 pts with CLL/SLL (31 TN, 101 R/R) was 68 y (range, 37-84) with 43% ≥70 y. Baseline CK was observed in 41/112 (37%) of pts. Among R/R pts, 34 (34%) had del17p, 35 (35%) del11q, and 79 (78%) unmutated IGVH. R/R pts had a median of 4 prior therapies (range, 1-12). Median time on study was 46 m (range, 0-67) for all-treated pts, 60 m (range, 0-67.4) for TN pts, and 39 m (range, 0-67) for R/R pts. The ORR (per investigator) was 86% (complete response [CR], 14%) for all-treated pts (TN: 84% [CR, 29%], R/R: 86% [CR, 10%]). Median progression-free survival (PFS) was not reached (NR) for TN and 52 m for R/R pts with 60 m estimated PFS rates of 92% and 43%, respectively (Figure 1). In R/R pts, median PFS was 55 m (95% confidence intervals [CI], 31-not estimable [NE]) for pts with del11q, 26 m (95% CI,18-37) for pts with del17p, and NR (95% CI, 40-NE) for pts without del17p, del11q, trisomy 12, or del13q. Median PFS was 33 m (95% CI, 22-NE) and NR for pts with and without CK, and 43 m (95% CI, 32-NE) and 63 m (95% CI, 7-NE) for pts with unmutated and mutated IGVH, respectively(Figure 2). Among R/R pts, median PFS was 63 m (95% CI, 37-NE) for pts with 1-2 prior regimens (n=27, 3 pts with 1 prior therapy) and 59 m (95% CI, 22-NE) and 39 m (95% CI, 26-NE) for pts with 3 and ≥4 prior regimens, respectively. Median duration of response was NR for TN pts and 45 m for R/R pts. Pts estimated to be alive at 60 m were: TN, 92%; all R/R, 57%; R/R del17p, 32%; R/R del 11q, 61%; R/R unmutated IGVH, 55%. Among all treated pts, onset of grade ≥3 treatment-emergent AEs was highest in the first year and decreased during subsequent years. With about 5 years of follow-up, the most frequent grade ≥3 AEs were hypertension (26%), pneumonia (22%), neutropenia (17%), and atrial fibrillation (9%). Study treatment was discontinued due to AEs in 27 pts (20%) and disease progression in 34 pts (26%). Of all treated pts, 38% remain on ibr treatment on study including 65% of TN pts and 30% of R/R pts. Conclusions: Single-agent ibrutinib continues to show durable responses in pts with TN or R/R CLL/SLL including those with del17p, del11q, or unmutated IGVH. With extended treatment, CRs were observed in 29% of TN and 10% of R/R pts, having evolved over time. Ibrutinib provided better PFS outcomes if administered earlier in therapy than in the third-line or beyond. Those without CK experienced more favorable PFS and OS than those with CK. Ibrutinib was well tolerated with the onset of AEs decreasing over time, allowing for extended dosing for 65% of TN and 30% of R/R pts who continue treatment. Disclosures O'Brien: Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Pharmacyclics, LLC, an AbbVie Company: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding. Furman:Pharmacyclics, LLC, an AbbVie Company: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Coutre:Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics, LLC, an AbbVie Company: Consultancy, Research Funding; AbbVie: Research Funding. Flinn:Janssen: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company: Research Funding; Gilead Sciences: Research Funding; ARIAD: Research Funding; RainTree Oncology Services: Equity Ownership. Burger:Pharmacyclics, LLC, an AbbVie Company: Research Funding; Gilead: Research Funding; Portola: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses; Roche: Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses. Sharman:Gilead: Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Research Funding; Acerta: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding. Wierda:Abbvie: Research Funding; Genentech: Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; Acerta: Research Funding; Gilead: Research Funding. Jones:Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; AbbVie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics, LLC, an AbbVie Company: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Luan:AbbVie: Equity Ownership; Pharmacyclics, LLC, an AbbVie Company: Employment, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses. James:AbbVie: Equity Ownership; Pharmacyclics, LLC, an AbbVie Company: Employment. Chu:Pharmacyclics, LLC, an AbbVie Company: Employment; AbbVie: Equity Ownership.

Download Full-text

Efficacy and Safety of Ibrutinib in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia or Small Lymphocytic Leukemia with 17p Deletion: Results from the Phase II RESONATE™-17 Trial

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v124.21.327.327 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 124 (21) ◽

pp. 327-327 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Susan O'Brien ◽

Jeffrey A. Jones ◽

Steven Coutre ◽

Anthony R. Mato ◽

Peter Hillmen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia ◽

Board Of Directors ◽

Research Funding ◽

Complete Response ◽

Lymphocytic Leukemia ◽

Efficacy And Safety ◽

Advisory Committees ◽

Previously Treated ◽

Grade 3

Abstract Background: Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) with deletion of the short arm of chromosome 17 (del 17p) follow an aggressive clinical course and demonstrate a median survival of less than 2 years in the relapsed/refractory (R/R) setting. Ibrutinib (ImbruvicaTM), a first-in-class Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, has been approved for previously treated patients with CLL and for patients with del 17p CLL. We report results from the primary analysis of the Phase II RESONATETM-17 (PCYC-1117-CA) study, designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of single-agent ibrutinib for treatment of patients with R/R del 17p CLL or small lymphocytic leukemia (SLL). Methods: Patients with del 17p CLL or SLL who failed at least one therapy were enrolled to receive 420 mg oral ibrutinib once daily until progression. All patients receiving at least one dose of ibrutinib were included in the analysis. The primary endpoint was overall response rate (ORR) per an independent review committee (IRC). Other endpoints included duration of response (DOR), progression-free survival (PFS), and safety of ibrutinib. Results: Among 144 treated patients (137 with CLL, 7 with SLL), the median age was 64 (48% 65 years or older) and all had del 17p. Baseline characteristics included 63% of patients with Rai Stage III or IV disease, 49% with bulky lymphadenopathy of at least 5 cm, and 10% with lymphadenopathy of least 10 cm. The median baseline absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) was 32.9 x 109/L with 57% of patients with a baseline ALC at least 25.0 x 109/L. Baseline beta-2 microglobulin levels were at least 3.5 mg/L in 78% of patients (range 1.8-19.8 mg/L), and lactate dehydrogenase levels were at least 350 U/L in 24% of patients (range 127-1979 U/L). A median of 2 prior therapies (range 1-7) was reported. Investigator-assessed ORR was 82.6% including 17.4% partial response with lymphocytosis (PR-L). Complete response (CR)/complete response with incomplete bone marrow recovery (CRi) were reported in 3 patients. IRC-assessed ORR is pending. At a median follow up of 13.0 months (range 0.5-16.7 months), the median PFS (Figure 1) and DOR by investigator determination had not been reached. At 12 months, 79.3% were alive and progression-free, and 88.3% of responders were progression-free. Progressive disease was reported in 20 patients (13.9%). Richter transformation was reported in 11 of these patients (7.6%), 7 of the cases occurring within the first 24 weeks of treatment. Prolymphocytic leukemia was reported in 1 patient. The most frequently reported adverse events (AE) of any grade were diarrhea (36%; 2% Grade 3-4), fatigue (30%; 1% Grade 3-4), cough (24%; 1% Grade 3-4), and arthralgia (22%; 1% Grade 3-4). Atrial fibrillation of any grade was reported in 11 patients (7.6%; 3.5% Grade 3-4). Seven patients reported basal or squamous cell skin cancer and 1 patient had plasma cell myeloma. Most frequently reported Grade 3-4 AEs were neutropenia (14%), anemia (8%), pneumonia (8%), and hypertension (8%). Major hemorrhage was reported in 7 patients (4.9%, all Grade 2 or 3). Study treatment was discontinued in 16 patients (11.1%) due to AEs with 8 eventually having fatal events (pneumonia, sepsis, myocardial or renal infarction, health deterioration). At the time of data cut, the median treatment duration was 11.1 months, and 101 of 144 patients (70%) continued treatment with ibrutinib. Conclusions: In the largest prospective trial dedicated to the study of del 17p CLL/SLL, ibrutinib demonstrated marked efficacy in terms of ORR, DOR, and PFS, with a favorable risk-benefit profile. At a median follow up of 13 months, the median DOR had not yet been reached; 79.3% of patients remained progression-free at 12 months, consistent with efficacy observed in earlier studies (Byrd, NEJM 2013;369:32-42). The PFS in this previously treated population compares favorably to that of treatment-naïve del 17p CLL patients receiving fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab (FCR) (Hallek, Lancet 2010;376:1164-74) or alemtuzumab (Hillmen, J Clin Oncol 2007;10:5616-23) with median PFS of 11 months. The AEs are consistent with those previously reported for ibrutinib (Byrd, NEJM 2014;371:213-23). These results support ibrutinib as an effective therapy for patients with del 17p CLL/SLL. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures O'Brien: Amgen, Celgene, GSK: Consultancy; CLL Global Research Foundation: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Emergent, Genentech, Gilead, Infinity, Pharmacyclics, Spectrum: Consultancy, Research Funding; MorphoSys, Acerta, TG Therapeutics: Research Funding. Jones:Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Research Funding. Coutre:Janssen, Pharmacyclics: Honoraria, Research Funding. Mato:Pharamcyclics, Genentech, Celegene, Millennium : Speakers Bureau. Hillmen:Pharmacyclics, Janssen, Gilead, Roche: Honoraria, Research Funding. Tam:Pharmacyclics and Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Siddiqi:Janssen: Speakers Bureau. Furman:Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau. Brown:Sanofi, Onyx, Vertex, Novartis, Boehringer, GSK, Roche/Genentech, Emergent, Morphosys, Celgene, Janssen, Pharmacyclics, Gilead: Consultancy. Stevens-Brogan:Pharmacyclics: Employment. Li:Pharmacyclics: Employment. Fardis:Pharmacyclics: Employment. Clow:Pharmacyclics: Employment. James:Pharmacyclics: Employment. Chu:Pharmacyclics: Employment, Equity Ownership. Hallek:Janssen, Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Research Funding. Stilgenbauer:Pharmacyclics, Janssen Cilag: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding.

Download Full-text

Detailed Safety Analysis of Venetoclax Combined with Rituximab in Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v128.22.2033.2033 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 128 (22) ◽

pp. 2033-2033 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Danielle M. Brander ◽

Michael Y. Choi ◽

Andrew W. Roberts ◽

Shuo Ma ◽

L. Leanne Lash ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bone Marrow ◽

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia ◽

Board Of Directors ◽

Peripheral Blood ◽

Research Funding ◽

Lymphocytic Leukemia ◽

Advisory Committees ◽

Grade 3 ◽

Over Time

Abstract Background: Venetoclax (VEN) is a selective, potent, orally bioavailable BCL-2 inhibitor FDA-approved for patients with del(17p) chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and who have received ≥1 prior therapy. Based on preclinical evidence of synergy, VEN plus rituximab is being assessed in an ongoing Phase 1b study. Methods: Patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) CLL received daily VEN with stepwise ramp-up over 3-4 weeks to reach daily doses of 200-600mg. After 1 week at the target dose, monthly rituximab was added for 6 doses. Responses and progression were assessed by iwCLL criteria with CT scan and bone marrow biopsy. Bone marrow assessments were done at screening, completion of combination therapy (month 7), and 2 months after clinical/radiologic criteria of iwCLL response were met. Minimal residual disease (MRD) was assessed in peripheral blood and marrow aspirates using ≥4 color flow cytometry (min sensitivity: 0.01%). Data cutoff was 04March2016, with analysis focusing on updated safety of cytopenias experienced on the course of treatment. Results: Forty-ninepatients enrolled (48 CLL/1 SLL). Patients had received a median of 2 prior therapies (range: 1-5) and disease in 25 (51%) was considered refractory to the most recent therapy. Median time on study was 28 (<1-42) months, with 31 patients active on study. Eighteen patients discontinued: 11 due to disease progression, 3 due to toxicity (peripheral neuropathy [1], MDS [1], and death due to TLS [1]), 3 withdrew consent, and 1 was lost to follow up. Across all doses, the most common AEs of any grade were diarrhea (57%), neutropenia (55%), upper respiratory tract infection (55%), and nausea (51%). Peripheral blood cytopenias were the most common Grade 3/4 AEs (neutropenia [53%], thrombocytopenia [16%], anemia [14%], febrile neutropenia [12%], and leukopenia [12%]). Twenty-seven (55%) patients had a history of neutropenia, of whom 6 were receiving G-CSF support prior to starting VEN. Overall, in the first month of therapy, 15 (31%) experienced an AE of neutropenia (any grade). Thereafter, the rate of new AEs of neutropenia decreased over time. While there was individual patient variability, mean ANC was stable over time. Overall, 26 (53%) patients had Grade 3/4 neutropenia. Neutropenia was generally well tolerated and managed by G-CSF support in 24 patients, in addition to ≥1 dose modification in 11 of the 24 patients. Of 8 (16%) patients who experienced grade 3 infections, 2 were while neutropenic. There were no grade 4 infections. Among the 11 (22%) patients who developed any-grade thrombocytopenia, none occurred within 2 weeks of a reported bleeding-related AE. One patient had thrombocytopenia overlapping with disease progression on therapy. Objective response rate for all patients was 86% (n=42), with 51% (n=25) who had complete response (CR/CRi; 12 achieved CR/CRi by month 7). At the completion of combination therapy (month 7), 39 patients had evaluable bone marrow assessments. Thirty (77%) had no histologic evidence of CLL in the bone marrow and 22 patients (56%) had attained bone marrow MRD-negativity. In longer follow up at any point during treatment for all 49 patients, 37 (75%) patients achieved complete marrow clearance and 28 (57%) achieved marrow MRD-negativity. Conclusions: Transient manageable neutropenia was the most common AE, with first onset usually seen within the first month of treatment and the onset of new neutropenia AEs decreased over time. No patients discontinued the study due to cytopenias. Patients were able to continue on study and high rates of response to treatment were observed. VEN given with rituximab achieved rapid and profound reductions in disease burden in peripheral blood and bone marrow. 77% of evaluable patients achieved morphologic clearance by month 7, and 57% were MRD-negative at any point on study. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Brander: TG Therapeutics: Research Funding; Gilead: Honoraria. Roberts:AbbVie: Research Funding; Servier: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Genentech: Research Funding; Genentech: Patents & Royalties: Employee of Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research which receives milestone payments related to venetoclax. Ma:Pharmacyclics, LLC, an AbbVie Company: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Genentech: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Research Funding; Xeme: Research Funding; AbbVie: Research Funding. Lash:AbbVie: Employment. Verdugo:AbbVie: Employment, Other: may own stock. Zhu:AbbVie Inc.: Employment, Other: may own stock. Kim:AbbVie: Employment. Seymour:Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Genentech: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; AbbVie Inc.: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau.

Download Full-text

Serial Minimal Residual Disease Evaluation in Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Under Long-Term Venetoclax Treatment

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood-2018-99-114048 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 132 (Supplement 1) ◽

pp. 1876-1876

Author(s):

Thomas Lew ◽

Mary Ann Anderson ◽

Constantine S. Tam ◽

Sasanka Handunnetti ◽

Dennis Carney ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia ◽

Board Of Directors ◽

Median Time ◽

Research Funding ◽

Residual Disease ◽

Lymphocytic Leukemia ◽

Advisory Committees ◽

Minimal Residual

Abstract Background The selective BCL2 inhibitor venetoclax (Ven) achieves an overall response rate of approximately 75-80% as a single agent in relapsed and refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (RR-CLL/SLL)1. At one year ~75% of patients (pts) are progression-free at the approved monotherapy dose of 400 mg/day1,2 and Ven is the only novel agent with a significant rate of minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity (MRD-neg)3. The temporal pattern of MRD levels and systematic long term follow up of pts stratified by their MRD status on Ven have not been reported. We report the long term outcomes according to MRD status for 59 pts with RR-CLL/SLL who attained objective disease response to Ven, and the temporal patterns of change in MRD. Methods We reviewed the clinical outcomes to July 2018 of 67 pts with RR-CLL/SLL enrolled since June 2011 on early phase clinical studies of Ven at our two hospitals. Analysis was restricted to the 59 pts who achieved a partial response or complete response by iwCLL criteria. Pts initially received 150-1200mg Ven/day (45 ≥400mg/day) on one of three ongoing trials: Phase 1 Ven monotherapy (NCT01328626) (n=36), Phase 1b Ven plus rituximab (NCT01682616) (n=14), or Phase 2 Ven monotherapy in del(17p) CLL/SLL (NCT01889186) (n=9). For this analysis MRD-negativity was defined as <1 cell in 10-4 leukocytes by ERIC criteria, or no cells with a CLL phenotype when <400,000 cells were analyzed in an assay with a minimum sensitivity of 0.1%. Of those pts reported as MRD-neg this was confirmed at a level of 10-4 in 71%4. Unless otherwise specified, MRD-neg refers to status in the bone marrow (BM) and pts who were not tested were considered to be MRD-pos (n=2 pts). Landmark analyses of time to progression (TTP) by MRD status used the median time to achievement of MRD-neg. Fisher exact test was used to assess the association of clinical, biological and treatment variables with achievement of MRD-neg. TTP and time to MRD-neg were estimated using the method of Kaplan-Meier, and comparisons among groups used the log-rank (Mantel-Cox) test. Results Of the 59 pts who achieved an objective response to Ven, 21 (36%) achieved MRD-neg in the BM and 26 (44%) in the PB. Of the 38 pts who did not achieve BM MRD-neg, 36 (95%) had at least one BM assessment on treatment; the two remaining pts did not clear MRD in the PB. The strongest positive predictor for the achievement of BM MRD-neg was treatment with Ven plus rituximab (9 of 14 [64%]) achieved vs 13 of 45 [27%] on Ven monotherapy (p=0.02)). Complex karyotype was a negative predictor in pts receiving ≥400mg/day. TP53 aberrant state (mutation and/or del(17p)), bulky adenopathy >5cm and fludarabine-refractoriness were not significantly associated with achievement of MRD-neg, irrespective of dose (table 1). The median time to MRD-neg was 8.2 (range 2 - 46) mths for BM (fig 1A) and 5 (range <1 - 50) mths for PB, with 22/26 (85%) pts who achieved PB MRD-neg doing so within 12 mths of starting Ven. 25/26 had a contemporaneous or subsequent BM aspirate and 20 (80%) achieved BM MRD-neg after a median of 3 (<1 - 17) further mths. After a median follow up of 25 (range 2 - 55) mths since attainment of BM MRD-neg, 8/21 (38%) pts have developed confirmed re-emergence of BM MRD, and a further 2 pts have re-developed PB MRD-pos. Median time to reemergence of BM MRD has not been reached (59% BM MRD relapse free at 2 years post attainment). In a landmark analysis from median time to BM MRD-neg (8.2 mths), TTP by iwCLL criteria was significantly longer among BM MRD-neg pts (n = 21; median TTP 65 mths [95% CI 47 - undefined]) than BM MRD-pos pts (n = 31; median 22 mths [95% CI 14 - 39]; Hazard Ratio (HR) 0.11; p<0.0001) (figure 1B). Similar patterns held for the equivalent landmark analysis according to PB MRD (HR 0.21; p = 0.0002). Conclusions Venetoclax frequently induces BM MRD-neg, and pts achieving BM MRD-neg have very durable responses. Combined Ven plus rituximab increases the rate of BM MRD-neg. With Ven therapy, PB MRD status appears to be a reasonable surrogate for BM MRD status, but further validation is required. Achievement of BM MRD-neg should be the aim of therapy with Ven and Ven-based combination approaches may be the most effective way to achieve this.Roberts; N Engl J Med; 2016;374:311-22.Stilgenbauer; Lancet Oncol; 2016;17:768-78.Seymour; Lancet Oncol; 2017;18:230-40.Rawstron; Leukemia; 2016;30:929-36. Disclosures Lew: Walter and Eliza Hall: Employment, Patents & Royalties. Anderson:Genentech: Research Funding; AbbVie, Inc: Research Funding; Walter and Eliza Hall: Employment, Patents & Royalties. Tam:Janssen: Honoraria, Research Funding; AbbVie: Honoraria, Research Funding; Beigene: Honoraria, Other: Travel funding; Beigene: Honoraria, Other: Travel funding; Pharmacyclics: Honoraria, Travel funding; Gilead: Honoraria; Pharmacyclics: Honoraria; Roche: Honoraria; AbbVie: Honoraria, Research Funding; Gilead: Honoraria; Roche: Honoraria. Roberts:AbbVie: Research Funding; Walter and Eliza Hall: Employment, Patents & Royalties: Employee of Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research which receives milestone and royalty payments related to venetoclax; Genentech: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding. Seymour:Celgene: Consultancy; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Genentech Inc: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria, Research Funding.

Download Full-text

Outcomes of Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia after Ibrutinib Discontinuation Outside Clinical Trials: A Single Institution Experience

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v126.23.2945.2945 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 126 (23) ◽

pp. 2945-2945 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Jose D Sandoval-Sus ◽

Julio C Chavez ◽

Samir Dalia ◽

Celeste M. Bello ◽

Bijal D. Shah ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Clinical Trials ◽

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia ◽

Disease Progression ◽

Board Of Directors ◽

Research Funding ◽

Lymphocytic Leukemia ◽

Complex Karyotype ◽

Advisory Committees ◽

Genetics Research ◽

Advisory Role

Abstract BACKGROUND: The B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling pathway plays a pivotal pathogenic role in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Ibrutinib is an irreversible Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor that effectively treats patients with CLL, including those harboring poor-risk mutations such as del17p. Here we present the outcomes of CLL patients (pts) who discontinued ibrutinib while being treated outside clinical trials. METHODS: The primary objective was to describe the clinical characteristics, reasons for of discontinuation and outcomes after stopping Ibrutinib. Using the Moffitt Cancer Center, Total Cancer Care and pharmacy registry, we identified and reviewed the charts of all CLL pts that had been treated with ibrutinib from January 2013 to July 2015. Pts were evaluated for time to discontinuation, reason for discontinuation and overall survival (OS) after discontinuation. Survival outcomes were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test. All analyses were done using SPSS version 19.0. RESULTS: We identified 54 relapsed/refractory (R/R) CLL pts treated with ibrutinib. The median age was 62 (36-80) and female/male ratio 0.1. The median number of prior therapies was 2 (1-6), 60% had unmutated IgVH, 36% had del17p and 14% had complex karyotype. Eighty percent received and failed fludarabine-based regimens (Table 1). After a median follow up of 9.1 months (0.5-23.3) for survivors, there were 22 (41%) CLL pts who discontinued ibrutinib; 7 due to disease progression (PD), 8 due to toxicity and 7 due to proceeding with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The most common side effects that lead to ibrutinib discontinuation were: major bleeding events (3), atrial fibrillation (2), grade 3 constipation (1) and grade 2 recurrent skin rashes (1). The median duration of ibrutinib therapy was 3.7 (0.9 - 10.9) months. The median OS for CLL pts with PD after ibrutinib and HSCT was 5.5 and 10.8 months, respectively. In pts who discontinued ibrutinib due to toxicity, the median OS was not reached. Of the seven patients who underwent HSCT, 71% had unmutated IgVH, 43% had del17p, one had complex karyotype and all of them had a clinical response to ibrutinib (PR= 1 and SD =6) prior to HSCT. Four patients developed RichterÕs transformation (RT) upon progression with median OS of 3 months; 3 had del17p/complex karyotype. By univariate analysis RT was associated with inferior OS. CONCLUSION: R/R CLL patients that are treated with ibrutinib and experience disease progression have a dismal prognosis, especially in those who develop RT that appears to be the most important prognostic factor for OS in this group. In addition, ibrutinib appears to be an effective therapy for CLL pts as a bridge for allogeneic HSCT and in general for patients with R/R CLL. Table 1. Main characteristics of CLL patients that discontinued Ibrutinib outside clinical trials Patients characteristics Patients (N=22) Age at discontinuation* 62 (36-80) Unmutated IgVH 13 (60%) Del17p# 8 (36 %) Complex karyotype 3 (14%) Number of prior therapies* 2 (1-5) Clinical responseá Stable disease (SD)á Partial response (PR)á Progressive disease (PD) 12 (52%) 3 (13%) 2 (9%) *Median; #one patient had both del17p and TP53 mutation. Disclosures Shah: Acetylon: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Rosetta Genomics: Research Funding; Spectrum: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Bayer: Honoraria; Pharmacyclics: Speakers Bureau; PLexus Communications: Honoraria; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding. Sokol:Spectrum: Consultancy; Seatle Genetics: Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy. Pinilla-Ibarz:BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Consulting & Advisory Role, Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Consultancy, Other: Consulting & Advisory Role, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Consultancy, Other: Consulting & Advisory Role, Research Funding; ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Consultancy, Other: Consulting & Advisory Role, Research Funding; Teva: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau.

Download Full-text

Five-Year Follow-up of Safety and Efficacy of a Phase III Randomized Trial of Ofatumumab Therapy Versus Physicians' Choice in Patients with Bulky Fludarabine Refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood-2018-99-113295 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 132 (Supplement 1) ◽

pp. 5569-5569

Author(s):

Udvardy Miklos ◽

Vladimir Strugov ◽

Catharina Lewerin ◽

Sebastian Grosicki ◽

Grzegorz Mazur ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia ◽

Board Of Directors ◽

Interim Analysis ◽

Research Funding ◽

Lymphocytic Leukemia ◽

Phase Iii ◽

Advisory Committees ◽

To Receive ◽

Travel Expense

Abstract Background : In 2014, a planned interim analysis of an open-label, two-arm, randomized, phase III study of ofatumumab (OFA) vs physicians' choice (PC) treatment (most patients received rituximab-, alemtuzumab-, alkylator-, or fludarabine-based therapies) in patients with bulky fludarabine-refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (BFR CLL) was performed to assess the effectiveness of OFA in the time-period prior to administering small molecule kinase inhibitors. The study did not meet its primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS) as assessed by the independent review committee (median PFS 5.4 months vs 3.6 months; hazard ratio [HR]=0.79, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.50, 1.24; p=0.268). Here, we report the 5-year follow-up of the study. Methodology : Patients with BFR CLL who required therapy and had received at least 2 prior therapies were randomized (2:1) to receive either OFA or PC therapy. Eligible participants were stratified based on del (17p) status, the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status (0, 1, or 2), and fludarabine-refractory status (no response vs <6 months response).Patients in the OFA arm received an initial dose of 300 mg, followed 1 week (w) later with 2000 mg once weekly for 7 w, followed 4 w later by one infusion of 2000 mg every 4 w for 4 infusions, with total 12 infusions over 24 w. Patients in PC therapy received non-OFA regimen permitted therapies for CLL and standard of care regimens for up to 6 months. After 24 w in the OFA arm, if patients achieved at least stable disease or better, they were further randomized to either OFA extended arm (additional dose regimen of 2000 mg once every 4 w up to 24 w) or OFA observation arm (no further therapy). Patients in PC arm who received OFA after experiencing progressive disease (PD) had an option to receive single-agent OFA therapy in the salvage arm. The primary objective of the study was to evaluate improvement in PFS. The key secondary objectives were overall response rate (ORR), overall survival (OS), and evaluation of safety and tolerability of OFA. Results: After 24 w of OFA treatment, 122 patients who were randomized to PC (n=43) or OFA (n=79) underwent a second randomization (24 continued OFA in the extended arm and 13 stopped OFA in the observation arm). Of the 43 patients who were randomized to PC arm, 22 received OFA salvage therapy at PD. Patient disposition is described in Figure 1. Patients received a median of 6 and 3 treatment cycles in the OFA and PC arms, respectively. The interim analysis of PFS was presented earlier (Osterborg et al., 2016). The investigator-assessed ORR for the OFA and PC arms remained unchanged from the interim analysis (49% vs 37%, respectively). However, in the OFA salvage arm (55%), there was a 5% increase in the investigator-assessed ORR compared to that of the previous analysis. The median OS for the OFA arm vs PC arm was 19.2 months vs 14.5 months (HR=0.75, 95% CI: 0.48, 1.17; p=0.173, log-rank test). The most common adverse events (AEs) in the OFA and PC arms (>15% in either) were neutropenia (21% vs 19%), pneumonia (18% vs 19%), and anemia (9% vs 19%), respectively. Grade 3, 4, and 5 AEs (>10%) in the OFA and PC arms were neutropenia (17% vs 16%), pneumonia (14% vs 9%), febrile neutropenia (9% vs 12%), and anemia (6% vs 14%), respectively. Serious AEs (≥5%) in the OFA and PC arms were pneumonia (13% vs 16%), febrile neutropenia (9% each), pyrexia (5% vs 7%), anemia (3% vs 9%), sepsis (0% vs 9%), autoimmune hemolytic anemia (0% vs 5%), and neutropenic sepsis (1% vs 5%), respectively. There were 8 (10%) on-treatment deaths in the OFA arm and 5 (12%) on-treatment deaths in the PC arm. Post-treatment anti-cancer therapies are described in Table 1. Conclusions: At the 5-year follow-up of this phase III trial, there was a numerical but statistically not significant longer median OS (+4.7 months) in the OFA arm. As only few patients had the chance to receive a kinase inhibitor later, the study displays the survival of BFR CLL patients in the period prior to receiving small molecule inhibitors. This and other studies have demonstrated a longer PFS with the use of low-dose maintenance CD20 monoclonal antibody therapy vs not, a finding that may be re-explored in the new targeted therapeutic landscape in CLL. OFA is a safe option in multi-resistant advanced CLL cases. Disclosures Miklos: AOP Orphan: Honoraria; Novo nordisk: Honoraria. Strugov:Janssen: Honoraria, Other: Travel expense, Research Funding; Abbvie: Other: Travel expense. Lewerin:Abbvie: Consultancy. Grosicki:Affimed: Research Funding. Steurer:Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding. Montillo:Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding. Middeke:Roche: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Stefanelli:Novartis: Employment, Equity Ownership. Vincent:Novartis: Employment. G:Novartis: Employment. Österborg:Beigene: Research Funding; Abbvie: Research Funding; Gilead: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Research Funding.

Download Full-text

Impact of Idelalisib Treatment Interruption with or without Dose Reduction on Outcomes in Relapsed / Refractory Indolent Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood-2019-124541 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 134 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 5468-5468

Author(s):

Shuo Ma ◽

Rebecca J Chan ◽

Lin Gu ◽

Guan Xing ◽

Nishan Rajakumaraswamy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Overall Survival ◽

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia ◽

Board Of Directors ◽

Dose Reduction ◽

Clinical Outcomes ◽

Research Funding ◽

Treatment Interruption ◽

Lymphocytic Leukemia ◽

Hodgkin's Lymphoma ◽

Advisory Committees

Introduction: Idelalisib (IDELA) is the first-in-class PI3Kδ inhibitor and is approved as a monotherapy for relapsed or refractory (R/R) follicular lymphoma and in combination with rituximab for R/R chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). We previously evaluated IDELA treatment interruption as a mechanism to mitigate treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) and found that limited interruption with clinically appropriate re-challenging resulted in superior clinical outcomes. These findings did not comprehensively address the potential confound of interruptions inherently being associated with longer duration of therapy (DoT). Furthermore, the compound effect of IDELA dose reduction together with treatment interruption on IDELA efficacy was not assessed. Objectives: 1) To evaluate whether the benefit of IDELA interruption is retained in patients on therapy >180 days, a duration previously found to be associated with longer overall survival among patients who discontinued IDELA due to an AE; and 2) To compare clinical outcomes of patients who reduced IDELA dosing in addition to interrupting IDELA with those of patients who interrupted IDELA without additional dose reduction. Methods: Using data from Gilead-sponsored trials of patients with R/R indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (iNHL) treated with IDELA monotherapy (N=125, Gopal et al., N. Engl. J. Med., 2014) or with R/R CLL treated with IDELA + anti-CD20 (N=110, Furman et al., N. Engl. J. Med., 2014; and N=173, Jones et al., Lancet Haematol., 2017), DoT, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were compared between patients on IDELA therapy >180 days with vs. without interruption and between patients who experienced Interruption and Dose Reduction (IDR) vs. patients who experienced Interruption but NoDose Reduction (INoDR) at any point during IDELA treatment. Interruption was defined as missing at least one IDELA treatment day due to an AE and dose reduction could have occurred before or after the first interruption. PFS and OS were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and were compared using a log-rank test. Results: Sixty-nine of 125 patients with R/R iNHL (55.2%) and 222 of 283 patients with R/R CLL (78.4%) remained on IDELA therapy >180 days with 29 (42.0%) and 103 (46.4%) of them, respectively, experiencing interruption on or after day 180 (Table 1). The proportions of patients with interruption before day 180 were similar within each of these populations. Among patients on therapy >180 days, those with treatment interruption on or after 180 days had a longer median (m) DOT than patients without interruption (Table 1). Both PFS and OS were longer in CLL patients who interrupted compared to those who did not interrupt (mPFS=28.9 mos. vs. 17.3 mos. and mOS=not reached [NR] vs. 40.4 mos. for with interruption vs. without interruption, respectively, Table 1 and Figure 1). In patients with iNHL, no difference was observed in PFS or OS between patients who interrupted vs. those who did not (Table 1). Of patients who experienced at least one AE-induced interruption at any point during IDELA therapy (n=63 iNHL and n=157 CLL), 47 iNHL patients (74.6%) and 84 CLL patients (53.5%) also had dose reduction. Two iNHL patients (1.6%) and 5 CLL patients (1.8%) had IDELA dose reduction but no interruption. Both iNHL and CLL patients with IDR experienced a similar PFS compared to patients with INoDR (mPFS=16.5 mos. vs. 14.2 mos. for iNHL and 21.8 mos. vs. 22.1 mos. for CLL with IDR vs. INoDR, respectively, Table 2). However, OS was longer in both iNHL and CLL patients with IDR compared to INoDR (mOS=61.2 mos. vs. 35.3 mos. for iNHL and NR vs. 42.4 mos. for CLL, respectively, Table 2; CLL patients shown in Figure 2). Discussion: IDELA treatment interruption is not associated with rapid clinical deterioration, as observed with some B-cell receptor signaling pathway inhibitors. No clear relationship between IDELA DoT and frequency of interruption was observed. When normalized for DoT >180 days, IDELA treatment interruption retained its clinical benefit in the CLL population. When utilized together with IDELA interruption, dose reduction did not lead to inferior clinical outcomes but instead extended OS in both iNHL and CLL populations. Adherence to treatment interruption and dose reduction guidance as outlined in the IDELA USPI may optimize IDELA tolerability and efficacy for patients with iNHL and CLL. Disclosures Ma: Janssen: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Gilead: Research Funding; Abbvie: Research Funding; Juno: Research Funding; Incyte: Research Funding; Xeme: Research Funding; Beigene: Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; Astra Zeneca: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Kite: Consultancy; Acerta: Research Funding; Bioverativ: Consultancy; Genentech: Consultancy. Chan:Gilead Sciences, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Gu:Gilead Sciences, Inc.: Employment. Xing:Gilead Sciences, Inc.: Employment. Rajakumaraswamy:Gilead Sciences, Inc.: Employment. Ruzicka:Gilead Sciences, Inc.: Employment. Wagner-Johnston:Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; ADC Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Jannsen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bayer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

Download Full-text

High-Level ROR1 and BCL2, Cancer-Stemness, and BCL2 Mutations Associate with Venetoclax Resistance in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood-2019-131426 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 134 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 476-476

Author(s):

Emanuela M. Ghia ◽

Laura Z. Rassenti ◽

Michael Y. Choi ◽

Elvin Chu ◽

George F. Widhopf II ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Board Of Directors ◽

Research Funding ◽

Gene Expression Signature ◽

Lymphocytic Leukemia ◽

Complex Karyotype ◽

Cancer Stemness ◽

Advisory Committees ◽

Group B ◽

High Level ◽

Cell Stem Cell

Venetoclax (Ven) is an inhibitor of BCL2 that is highly active in patients (pts) with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), effecting remissions without detectable minimal residual disease (MRD), particularly when used in combination with an anti-CD20 mAb (Seymour et al., N Engl J Med, 2018). However, pts can have persistent detectable MRD (i.e. ≥10-4 CLL cells by flow cytometry) after ≥1 year (yr) of Ven therapy (V-Rx); such pts are at risk for developing progressive disease (PD) even with continued V-Rx (Kater et al., J Clin Oncol, 2019). Evaluation of CLL cells from such pts may define biologic markers for pts who are likely to have persistent MRD after 1 yr of V-Rx and elucidate potential mechanism(s) of Ven resistance. We examined the CLL cells of pts (N=13) who had persistent MRD after ≥1 yr of V-Rx; 8 developed PD after a median time of 2 yrs on V-Rx and were designated as being in subgroup A1. Pts who had persistent MRD without PD after ≥1 yr of V-Rx were designated as being in subgroup A2 (N=5). For comparison we examined the pre-treatment (pre-Rx) CLL cells of pts who cleared MRD within 1 yr of therapy (N=5), and designated such pts as being in group B. The CLL cells of most pts expressed unmutated IGHV (i.e. 7/8 pts in A1, 3/5 pts in A2, and 5/5 pts in B). However, a high proportion of the pts with MRD after ≥1 yr of V-Rx had pre-Rx CLL cells with a complex karyotype and del17p (i.e. 5/8 pts in A1 and 2/5 pts in A2); whereas none of pre-Rx CLL cells of group B had a complex karyotype or del17p. We examined CLL cells for intracellular BCL2 and surface ROR1, which prior studies showed were correlative in CLL (Rassenti et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2017). The pre-Rx CLL cells of pts from subgroups A1 and A2 expressed significantly higher levels of ROR1 and BCL2 than the pre-Rx CLL cells of group B (P=0.03 and 0.0002, respectively, Mann-Whitney test). Furthermore, the CLL cells of pts with PD on V-Rx expressed significantly higher levels of ROR1 and BCL2 than the already high-levels expressed by the pre-Rx CLL cells of these same pts (P=0.002 and 0.01, respectively, Paired t test). We did not observe temporal changes in ROR1 or BCL2 in serial CLL samples collected over a comparable time interval from a comparator group of pts with adverse cytogenetics who did not receive V-Rx. We performed RNA sequencing with a mean of 70-million reads per sample on negatively-selected pre-Rx CLL cells from each pt, and on the isolated CLL cells from each of 6 pts in subgroup A1 when they had PD on V-Rx. Transcriptome analyses revealed the cancer-stemness gene-expression signature influenced by ROR1-signaling and associated with poorly-differentiated cancers (Choi et al., Cell Stem Cell, 2018; Malta et al., Cell, 2018) was significantly enriched in pre-Rx CLL of pts in subgroups A1 and/or A2 compared to group B (A1 and/or A2 vs. B had FDR q values of <0.001). We also found the transcriptomes of CLL cells from pts with PD on V-Rx had a significantly greater enrichment in the cancer-stemness gene-expression signature than that of the pre-Rx CLL cells of the same pts (FDR q value <0.001)! We identified the BCL2G101V mutation found earlier (Blombery et al., Cancer Discov, 2019) in the CLL cells of 3 of 6 pts with PD in subgroup A1 at allelic frequencies of less than 20%; this BCL2G101V mutation was not detected in pre-Rx CLL samples. We identified a new nonsynonymous BCL2 mutation at an allelic frequency of 49.3% in the CLL cells of 1 pt with PD who lacked the BCL2G101V mutation; this pt's pre-Rx CLL cells did not harbor detectable levels of this BCL2 mutation, which we deduce alters the BCL2 BH3-binding pocket. In summary, this study reveals that pts with CLL cells having complex cytogenetics, del17p, high-level expression of ROR1 and BCL2, and/or transcriptomes enriched for cancer-stemness may be at greater risk for having persistent MRD at ≥1 yr of V-Rx. Furthermore, the CLL cells of pts who develop PD on V-Rx have significantly higher levels of ROR1 and BCL2, BCL2 mutations, and transcriptomes with greater enrichment of the cancer-stemness signature than that of CLL cells from the same pts prior to V-Rx, implying that CLL cells resistant to Ven have greater cancer-cell de-differentiation. Because of the high frequency of mutations in BCL2 for pts with PD on V-Rx, strategies targeting ROR1 (Choi et al., Cell Stem Cell, 2018), rather than higher doses of Ven, may be more effective in mitigating the risk of PD in high-risk pts treated with Ven-based regimens. Disclosures Choi: Oncternal: Research Funding; Gilead: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Genentech: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Rigel: Consultancy, Research Funding; Abbvie: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Kipps:Pharmacyclics: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Genentech, Inc.: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Velos-Bio: Equity Ownership, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Jannsen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; AstraZeneca, Inc.: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Verastem: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

Download Full-text

IKZF3 Overexpression Phenocopies Gain-of-Function Mutation in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood-2020-137085 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 136 (Supplement 1) ◽

pp. 9-9

Author(s):

Shanye Yin ◽

Gregory Lazarian ◽

Elisa Ten Hacken ◽

Tomasz Sewastianik ◽

Satyen Gohil ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia ◽

Dna Binding ◽

B Cell ◽

Board Of Directors ◽

Research Funding ◽

Lymphocytic Leukemia ◽

Advisory Committees ◽

Bcr Signaling ◽

Experimental Group

A hotspot mutation within the DNA-binding domain of IKZF3 (IKZF3-L162R) has been identified as a putative driver in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL); however, its functional effects are unknown. We recently confirmed its role as a CLL driver in a B cell-restricted conditional knock-in model. IKZF3 mutation altered mature B cell development and signaling capacity, and induced CLL-like disease in elderly mice (~40% penetrance). Moreover, we found IKZF3-L162R acts as a gain-of-function mutation, altering DNA binding specificity and target selection of IKZF3, and resulting in overexpression of multiple B-cell receptor (BCR) genes. Consistent with the murine data, RNA-sequencing analysis showed that human CLL cells with mut-IKZF3 [n=4] have an enhanced signature of BCR-signaling gene expression compared to WT-IKZF3 [n=6, all IGHV unmutated] (p<0.001), and also exhibited general upregulation of key BCR-signaling regulators. These results confirm the role of IKZF3 as a master regulator of BCR-signaling gene expression, with the mutation contributing to overexpression of these genes. While mutation in IKZF3 has a clear functional impact on a cardinal CLL-associated pathway, such as BCR signaling, we note that this driver occurs only at low frequency in patients (~3%). Because somatic mutation represents but one mechanism by which a driver can alter a cellular pathway, we examined whether aberrant expression of IKZF3 could also yield differences in BCR-signaling gene expression. We have observed expression of the IKZF3 gene to be variably dysregulated amongst CLL patients through re-analysis of transcriptomic data from two independent cohorts of human CLL (DFCI, Landau et al., 2014; ICGC, Ferreira et al., 2014). We thus examined IKZF3 expression and BCR-signaling gene expression, or the 'BCR score' (calculated as the mean expression of 75 BCR signaling-associate genes) in those cohorts (DFCI cohort, n=107; ICGC cohort, n=274). Strikingly, CLL cells with higher IKZF3 expression (defined as greater than median expression) had higher BCR scores than those with lower IKZF3 expression (<median) (p=0.0015 and p<0.0001, respectively). These findings were consistent with the notion that IKZF3 may act as a broad regulator of BCR signaling genes, and that IKZF3 overexpression, like IKZF3 mutation, may provide fitness advantage. In support of this notion, our re-analysis of a gene expression dataset of 107 CLL samples (Herold Leukemia 2011) revealed that higher IKZF3 expression associated with poorer prognosis and worse overall survival (P=0.035). We previously reported that CLL cells with IKZF3 mutation appeared to increase in cancer cell fraction (CCF) with resistance to fludarabine-based chemotherapy (Landau Nature 2015). Instances of increase in mut-IKZF3 CCF upon treatment with the BCR-signaling inhibitor ibrutinib have been reported (Ahn ASH 2019). These studies together suggest an association of IKZF3 mutation with increased cellular survival following either chemotherapy or targeted treatment. To examine whether higher expression of IKZF3 was associated with altered sensitivity to ibrutinib, we performed scRNA-seq analysis (10x Genomics) of two previously treatment-naïve patients undergoing ibrutinib therapy (paired samples, baseline vs. Day 220). We analyzed an average of 11,080 cells per patient (2000 genes/cell). Of note, following ibrutinib treatment, remaining CLL cells expressed higher levels of IKZF3 transcript compared to pretreatment baseline (both p<0.0001), whereas no such change was observed in matched T cells (n ranging between 62 to 652 per experimental group, p>0.05), suggesting that cells with high expression of IKZF3 were selected by ibrutinib treatment. Moreover, we showed that ibrutinib treatment resulted in consistent upregulation of BCR-signaling genes (e.g., CD79B, LYN, GRB2, FOS, RAC1, PRKCB and NFKBIA) (n ranging between 362 to 1374 per experimental group, all p<0.0001), which were likewise activated by mutant IKZF3. Altogether, these data imply that IKZF3 mutation or overexpression may influence upregulation of BCR-signaling genes and enhance cellular fitness even during treatment with BCR-signaling inhibitors. We highlight our observation that IKZF3 mutation appears to be phenocopied by elevated IKZF3 expression, and suggest that alterations in mRNA or protein level that mimic genetic mutations could be widespread in human cancers. Disclosures Kipps: Pharmacyclics/ AbbVie, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Oncternal Therapeutics, Inc., Specialized Center of Research (SCOR) - The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS), California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM): Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Genentech/Roche: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; VelosBio: Research Funding; Oncternal Therapeutics, Inc.: Other: Cirmtuzumab was developed by Thomas J. Kipps in the Thomas J. Kipps laboratory and licensed by the University of California to Oncternal Therapeutics, Inc., which provided stock options and research funding to the Thomas J. Kipps laboratory, Research Funding; Ascerta/AstraZeneca, Celgene, Genentech/F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Gilead, Janssen, Loxo Oncology, Octernal Therapeutics, Pharmacyclics/AbbVie, TG Therapeutics, VelosBio, and Verastem: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Wu:BionTech: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company; Pharmacyclics: Research Funding.

Download Full-text