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Ibrutinib plus fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab as initial treatment for younger patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia: a single-arm, multicentre, phase 2 trial.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab (FCR) can improve disease-free survival for younger (age ?65 years) fit patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia with mutated IGHV. However, patients with unmutated IGHV rarely have durable responses. Ibrutinib is active for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia irrespective of IGHV mutation status but requires continuous treatment. We postulated that time-limited ibrutinib plus FCR would induce durable responses in younger fit patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. METHODS:We did a multicentre, open-label, non-randomised, single-arm phase 2 trial at seven sites in the USA. We enrolled patients aged 65 years or younger with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. Our initial cohort (original cohort) was not restricted by prognostic marker status and included patients who had del(17p) or TP53 aberrations. After a protocol amendment (on March 21, 2017), we enrolled an additional cohort (expansion cohort) that included patients without del(17p). Ibrutinib was given orally (420 mg/day) for 7 days, then up to six 28-day cycles were administered intravenously of fludarabine (25 mg/m2, days 1-3), cyclophosphamide (250 mg/m2, days 1-3), and rituximab (375 mg/m2 day 1 of cycle 1; 500 mg/m2 day 1 of cycles 2-6) with continuous oral ibrutinib (420 mg/day). Responders continued on ibrutinib maintenance for up to 2 years, and patients with undetectable minimal residual disease in bone marrow after 2 years were able to discontinue treatment. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients who achieved a complete response with undetectable minimal residual disease in bone marrow 2 months after the last cycle of ibrutinib plus FCR. Analyses were done per-protocol in all patients who received at least one dose of study treatment. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02251548) and is ongoing. FINDINGS:Between Oct 23, 2014, and April 23, 2018, 85 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia were enrolled. del(17p) was detected in four (5%) of 83 patients and TP53 mutations were noted in three (4%) of 81 patients; two patients had both del(17p) and TP53 mutations. Median patients' age was 55 years (IQR 50-58). At data cutoff, median follow-up was 16·5 months (IQR 10·6-34·1). A complete response and undetectable minimal residual disease in bone marrow 2 months after the last cycle of ibrutinib plus FCR was achieved by 28 (33%, 95% CI 0·23-0·44) of 85 patients (p=0·0035 compared with a 20% historical value with FCR alone). A best response of undetectable minimal residual disease in bone marrow was achieved by 71 (84%) of 85 patients during the study. One patient had disease progression and one patient died (sudden cardiac death after 17 months of ibrutinib maintenance, assessed as possibly related to ibrutinib). The most common all-grade toxic effects were haematological, including thrombocytopenia in 63 (74%) patients, neutropenia in 53 (62%), and anaemia in 41 (49%). Grade 3 or 4 non-haematological serious adverse events included grade 3 atrial fibrillation in three (4%) patients and grade 3 Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in two (2%). INTERPRETATION:The proportion of patients who achieved undetectable minimal residual disease in bone marrow with ibrutinib plus FCR is, to our knowledge, the highest ever published in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia unrestricted by prognostic marker status. Ibrutinib plus FCR is promising as a time-limited combination regimen for frontline chronic lymphocytic leukaemia treatment in younger fit patients. FUNDING:Pharmacyclics and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

SUBMITTER: Davids MS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7036668 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Ibrutinib plus fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab as initial treatment for younger patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia: a single-arm, multicentre, phase 2 trial.

Davids Matthew S MS Brander Danielle M DM Kim Haesook T HT Tyekucheva Svitlana S Bsat Jad J Savell Alexandra A Hellman Jeffrey M JM Bazemore Josie J Francoeur Karen K Alencar Alvaro A Shune Leyla L Omaira Mohammad M Jacobson Caron A CA Armand Philippe P Ng Samuel S Crombie Jennifer J LaCasce Ann S AS Arnason Jon J Hochberg Ephraim P EP Takvorian Ronald W RW Abramson Jeremy S JS Fisher David C DC Brown Jennifer R JR

The Lancet. Haematology 20190614 8

<h4>Background</h4>Fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab (FCR) can improve disease-free survival for younger (age ≤65 years) fit patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia with mutated IGHV. However, patients with unmutated IGHV rarely have durable responses. Ibrutinib is active for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia irrespective of IGHV mutation status but requires continuous treatment. We postulated that time-limited ibrutinib plus FCR would induce durable responses in younger ...[more]

PMID: 31208944

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Project description:BackgroundFludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab (FCR) has become a gold-standard chemoimmunotherapy regimen for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. However, the question remains of how to treat treatment-naive patients with IGHV-unmutated chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. We therefore aimed to develop and validate a gene expression signature to identify which of these patients are likely to achieve durable remissions with FCR chemoimmunotherapy.MethodsWe did a retrospective cohort study in two cohorts of treatment-naive patients (aged ≥18 years) with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. The discovery and training cohort consisted of peripheral blood samples collected from patients treated at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, TX, USA), who fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of the International Workshop on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, had received at least three cycles of FCR chemoimmunotherapy, and had been treated between Oct 10, 2000, and Oct 26, 2006 (ie, the MDACC cohort). We did transcriptional profiling on samples obtained from the MDACC cohort to identify genes associated with time to progression. We did univariate Cox proportional hazards analyses and used significant genes to cluster IGHV-unmutated samples into two groups (intermediate prognosis and unfavourable prognosis). After using cross-validation to assess robustness, we applied the Lasso method to standardise the gene expression values to find a minimum gene signature. We validated this signature in an external cohort of treatment-naive patients with IGHV-unmutated chronic lymphocytic leukaemia enrolled on the CLL8 trial of the German Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia Study Group who were treated between July 21, 2003, and April 4, 2006 (ie, the CLL8 cohort).FindingsThe MDACC cohort consisted of 101 patients and the CLL8 cohort consisted of 109 patients. Using the MDACC cohort, we identified and developed a 17-gene expression signature that distinguished IGHV-unmutated patients who were likely to achieve a long-term remission following front-line FCR chemoimmunotherapy from those who might benefit from alternative front-line regimens (hazard ratio 3·83, 95% CI 1·94-7·59; p<0·0001). We validated this gene signature in the CLL8 cohort; patients with an unfavourable prognosis versus those with an intermediate prognosis had a cause-specific hazard ratio of 1·90 (95% CI 1·18-3·06; p=0·008). Median time to progression was 39 months (IQR 22-69) for those with an unfavourable prognosis compared with 59 months (28-84) for those with an intermediate prognosis.InterpretationWe have developed a robust, reproducible 17-gene signature that identifies a subset of treatment-naive patients with IGHV-unmutated chronic lymphocytic leukaemia who might substantially benefit from treatment with FCR chemoimmunotherapy. We recommend testing the value of this gene signature in a prospective study that compares FCR treatment with newer alternative therapies as part of a randomised clinical trial.FundingChronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia Global Research Foundation and the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute.

Project description:BackgroundIbrutinib, an orally administered covalent inhibitor of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK), is an effective treatment for relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). We investigated the activity and safety of the combination of ibrutinib with the monoclonal antibody rituximab in patients with high-risk CLL.MethodsIn this single-arm phase 2 study, we enrolled adult patients with high-risk CLL at the MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, TX, USA). All enrolled participants had high-risk cytogenetic abnormalities (deletion 17p, TP53 mutation, or deletion 11q) or a short progression-free survival (PFS <36 months) after previous first-line chemoimmunotherapy. Patients with symptomatic disease requiring therapy received 28-day cycles of once-daily ibrutinib 420 mg together with rituximab (375 mg/m(2), intravenously, every week during cycle 1, then once per cycle until cycle 6), followed by continuous daily single-agent ibrutinib 420 mg until disease progression or until toxicities or complications precluded further treatment. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival in the intention-to-treat population. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT01520519, and is no longer accruing patients.FindingsBetween Feb 28, 2012, and Sept 11, 2012, we enrolled 40 patients with CLL with high-risk disease features, 20 of whom had deletion 17p (del[17p]) or TP53 mutations (16 previously treated, four untreated), 13 had relapsed CLL with deletion 11q (del[11q]), and seven a PFS less than 36 months after first-line chemoimmunotherapy. 18-month PFS in all patients was 78·0% (95% CI 60·6-88·5), whereas in those with a del(17p) or TP53 mutation it was 72·4% (45·6-87·6) Toxicity was mainly mild to moderate in severity (grade 1-2). Diarrhoea occurred in ten (25%) patients (grade 1 in nine patients and grade 2 in one), bleeding events in 14 (33%) patients (eight grade 1 and five grade 2), nausea or vomiting in 15 patients (38%) (ten grade 1 and five grade 2), and fatigue in seven (18%) patients (four grade 1 and three grade 2). Five patients (13%) had grade 3 infections (two lung infections, one upper respiratory tract infection, one sepsis, and one mucositis), and no grade 4 or 5 infections occurred. One patient had grade 4 neutropenia.InterpretationThe encouraging safety and activity of ibrutinib and rituximab in this population of patients with high-risk CLL merits further investigation of this combination.FundingPharmacyclics Inc, Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, National Cancer Institute, MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Project description:Chemoimmunotherapy has led to improved numbers of patients achieving disease response, and longer overall survival in young patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia; however, its application in elderly patients has been restricted by substantial myelosuppression and infection. We aimed to assess safety and activity of ibrutinib, an orally administered covalent inhibitor of Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK), in treatment-naive patients aged 65 years and older with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.In our open-label phase 1b/2 trial, we enrolled previously untreated patients at clinical sites in the USA. Eligible patients were aged at least 65 years, and had symptomatic chronic lymphocytic leukaemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma requiring therapy. Patients received 28 day cycles of once-daily ibrutinib 420 mg or ibrutinib 840 mg. The 840 mg dose was discontinued after enrolment had begun because comparable activity of the doses has been shown. The primary endpoint was the safety of the dose-fixed regimen in terms of frequency and severity of adverse events for all patients who received treatment. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01105247.Between May 20, 2010, and Dec 18, 2012, we enrolled 29 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and two patients with small lymphocytic lymphoma. Median age was 71 years (range 65-84), and 23 (74%) patients were at least 70 years old. Toxicity was mainly of mild-to-moderate severity (grade 1-2). 21 (68%) patients had diarrhoea (grade 1 in 14 [45%] patients, grade 2 in three [10%] patients, and grade 3 in four [13%] patients). 15 (48%) patients developed nausea (grade 1 in 12 [39%] patients and grade 2 in three [10%] patients). Ten (32%) patients developed fatigue (grade 1 in five [16%] patients, grade 2 in four [13%] patients, and grade 3 in one [3%] patient). Three (10%) patients developed grade 3 infections, although no grade 4 or 5 infections occurred. One patient developed grade 3 neutropenia, and one developed grade 4 thrombocytopenia. After a median follow-up of 22.1 months (IQR 18.4-23.2), 22 (71%) of 31 patients achieved an objective response (95% CI 52.0-85.8); four patients (13%) had a complete response, one patient (3%) had a nodular partial response, and 17 (55%) patients had a partial response.The safety and activity of ibrutinib in elderly, previously untreated patients with symptomatic chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, or small lymphocytic lymphoma is encouraging, and merits further investigation in phase 3 trials.Pharmacyclics, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, D Warren Brown Foundation, Mr and Mrs Michael Thomas, Harry Mangurian Foundation, P50 CA140158 to Prof J C Byrd MD.

Project description:BackgroundData regarding the efficacy of treatment with ibrutinib-rituximab, as compared with standard chemoimmunotherapy with fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab, in patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) have been limited.MethodsIn a phase 3 trial, we randomly assigned (in a 2:1 ratio) patients 70 years of age or younger with previously untreated CLL to receive either ibrutinib and rituximab for six cycles (after a single cycle of ibrutinib alone), followed by ibrutinib until disease progression, or six cycles of chemoimmunotherapy with fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab. The primary end point was progression-free survival, and overall survival was a secondary end point. We report the results of a planned interim analysis.ResultsA total of 529 patients underwent randomization (354 patients to the ibrutinib-rituximab group, and 175 to the chemoimmunotherapy group). At a median follow-up of 33.6 months, the results of the analysis of progression-free survival favored ibrutinib-rituximab over chemoimmunotherapy (89.4% vs. 72.9% at 3 years; hazard ratio for progression or death, 0.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.22 to 0.56; P<0.001), and the results met the protocol-defined efficacy threshold for the interim analysis. The results of the analysis of overall survival also favored ibrutinib-rituximab over chemoimmunotherapy (98.8% vs. 91.5% at 3 years; hazard ratio for death, 0.17; 95% CI, 0.05 to 0.54; P<0.001). In a subgroup analysis involving patients without immunoglobulin heavy-chain variable region (IGHV) mutation, ibrutinib-rituximab resulted in better progression-free survival than chemoimmunotherapy (90.7% vs. 62.5% at 3 years; hazard ratio for progression or death, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.14 to 0.50). The 3-year progression-free survival among patients with IGHV mutation was 87.7% in the ibrutinib-rituximab group and 88.0% in the chemoimmunotherapy group (hazard ratio for progression or death, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.14 to 1.36). The incidence of adverse events of grade 3 or higher (regardless of attribution) was similar in the two groups (in 282 of 352 patients [80.1%] who received ibrutinib-rituximab and in 126 of 158 [79.7%] who received chemoimmunotherapy), whereas infectious complications of grade 3 or higher were less common with ibrutinib-rituximab than with chemoimmunotherapy (in 37 patients [10.5%] vs. 32 [20.3%], P<0.001).ConclusionsThe ibrutinib-rituximab regimen resulted in progression-free survival and overall survival that were superior to those with a standard chemoimmunotherapy regimen among patients 70 years of age or younger with previously untreated CLL. (Funded by the National Cancer Institute and Pharmacyclics; E1912 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02048813.).

Dataset Information

Ibrutinib plus fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab as initial treatment for younger patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia: a single-arm, multicentre, phase 2 trial.

Publications

Ibrutinib plus fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab as initial treatment for younger patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia: a single-arm, multicentre, phase 2 trial.

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