Project description:As multiple myeloma (MM) treatments evolve, frequent updates are required to monitor the long-term effect of changes in approach. Traditionally, MM is considered an incurable disease, with most patients eventually relapsing. However, improvements in treatments has raised the possibility that MM might be functionally curable. To examine improvements in long-term survival, we followed 4329 patients with newly diagnosed MM treated with autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences from 1989 through 2018. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier analysis, Cox proportional hazards models, relative survival analysis, and cure modeling among different time periods, risk groups, and demographic traits. Steady improvements in OS were found, with patients treated in 2014 or later having superior OS (hazard ratio, 0.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.27-0.45) and reduced excess risk for MM death (relative excess risk, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.22-0.41) compared with patients treated in 1997 or earlier. Patients treated during intervening time periods often had intermediate survival, but trends in OS, PFS, and landmarked analyses were inconsistent. Cure models support the potential for cure, ranging from 6.3% to 31.3%, depending on the year of treatment, with 10.0% to 18.6% of patients achieving their normal life expectancy across multiple periods. There was some evidence of reductions in early mortality within 3 years of diagnosis, longer complete response (CR) duration, and reductions in relapse after achieving CR. However, results differed depending on age, risk group, and cytogenetic characteristics.
Project description:Daratumumab, a CD38-targeting monoclonal antibody, has significantly improved survival rates in multiple myeloma (MM), yet patients who progress on Daratumumab have dismal clinical outcomes with an overall median of less than 10 months. While emerging novel modalities have shown promising results, the current study explores the use of high-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in heavily pretreated Daratumumab-refractory MM patients. We retrospectively investigated the outcome of 69 consecutive patients who received upfront ASCT. The median progression-free survival (PFS) for the entire patient cohort was 7.2 months with a median overall survival (OS) of 19.3 months. For patients with ≥very good partial response (VGPR), median PFS and OS improved to 9 months and 34 months, respectively. Achievement of MRD negativity in ≥VGPR did not further improve the outcome. A better performance status, younger age, longer time interval from initial MM diagnosis/initial ASCT to salvage ASCT and low-risk GEP70 were all associated with improved PFS and OS after salvage ASCT. Our results suggest a role for salvage ASCT in selected heavily pretreated and Daratumumab-refractory patients.
Project description:Lymphoma patients treated with autologous transplantation (ASCT) live an increasingly long life with the recent advancement in therapeutic modalities. This has resulted in an increase in the incidence of therapy-related myeloid neoplasms (t-MN), which is one of the leading causes of non-relapse mortality. Several observational studies have linked the development of t-MN after ASCT with the intensity and frequency of chemotherapy, particularly alkylating agents, use of total body irradiation (TBI), and peripheral blood progenitor cells. In addition, role of genetic factors is increasingly being identified. It is postulated that the use of chemotherapy prior to ASCT results in DNA damage of progenitor cells, mitochondrial dysfunction, and altered gene expression related to DNA repair, metabolism as well as hematopoietic regulation. Cytogenetic studies have shown the presence of abnormalities in the peripheral blood progenitor cells prior to ASCT. It is, therefore, likely that the reinfusion of peripheral blood progenitor cells, proliferative stress on infused progenitor cells during hematopoietic regeneration and associated telomere shortening ultimately result in clonal hematopoiesis and blastic transformation. Cytopenias, myelodysplasia, or cytogenetic abnormalities are common and can be transient after ASCT; therefore, only when present together, they do confirm the diagnosis of t-MN. Attempts to reduce the occurrence of t-MN should be directed toward minimizing the exposure to the identified risk factors. Although the median survival is few months to less than a year, studies have shown the promising role of allogeneic transplantation in select young t-MN patients without high-risk cytogenetics. In this review we will explain the recent findings in the field of t-MN in lymphoma patients that have implications for identifying the molecular and genetic mechanisms of leukemogenesis and discuss potential strategies to reduce the risk of t-MN in this patient population.
Project description:IntroductionMultiple myeloma (MM) is considered an incurable hematological neoplasm. For transplant-eligible patients, initial treatment includes an induction phase followed by an autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). Despite the introduction of several drugs in the past years, relapses still occur. Nevertheless, some patients achieve sustained responses after successful induction treatment and ASCT.MethodsWe retrospectively evaluated all patients diagnosed with MM in our institution who underwent induction treatment and ASCT between 1990 and 2015. The subset of patients who achieved a sustained response (any degree) for 5 or more years after ASCT without further treatment or signs of progression were distinguished as "long-term responders" (LTRs). In the non-LTR group, a cohort referred to as "prolonged responders" (PLRs) showed sustained response of at least 5 years after ASCT but eventually relapsed. We collected and analyzed clinical and laboratory data.ResultsTwo hundred and fifty patients were diagnosed with MM and received induction treatment and ASCT at our institution in the study period. Among them, 54 (21.6%) patients met the criteria for LTR. Some diagnostic features such as a younger age, female gender, ECOG performance status of 0, lower International Staging System (ISS) stage, lower bone marrow plasma cell infiltration, and lower serum levels of calcium, C-reactive protein, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were found to be more prevalent in LTR. Female gender, an ECOG performance status of 0, a localized Durie-Salmon stage, an ISS of I-II, the absence of bone disease, and an LDH within normal range were also predictive of longer progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in the whole cohort. The depth of the response achieved after induction and ASCT as well as the administration of an IMID-based maintenance regimen may play a role in the differences observed on PFS between cohorts. A detectable M-protein with a monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS)-like behavior was detected in one-third of LTR after ASCT. Although relapses continue to occur in patients who achieve a 5-year treatment-free period after ASCT, a plateau is observed in the survival curves at approximately 21 years of follow-up.
Project description:Therapy-related myeloid neoplasms (tMN) develop after exposure to cytotoxic and radiation therapy, and due to their adverse prognosis, it is of paramount interest to identify patients at high risk. The presence of clonal hematopoiesis has been shown to increase the risk of developing tMN. The value of analyzing hematopoietic stem cells harvested at leukapheresis before autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) with next-generation sequencing and immunophenotyping represents potentially informative parameters that have yet to be discovered. We performed a nested case-control study to elucidate the association between clonal hematopoiesis, mobilization potential, and aberrant immunophenotype in leukapheresis products with the development of tMN after ASCT. A total of 36 patients with nonmyeloid disease who were diagnosed with tMN after treatment with ASCT were included as case subjects. Case subjects were identified from a cohort of 1130 patients treated with ASCT and matched with 36 control subjects who did not develop tMN after ASCT. Case subjects were significantly poorer mobilizers of CD34+ cells at leukapheresis (P = .016), indicating that these patients possess inferior bone marrow function. Both clonal hematopoiesis (odds ratio, 5.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.8-19.1; P = .003) and aberrant expression of CD7 (odds ratio, 6.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.6-26.2; P = .004) at the time of ASCT were associated with an increased risk of developing tMN after ASCT. In conclusion, clonal hematopoiesis, present at low variant allele frequencies, and aberrant CD7 expression on stem cells in leukapheresis products from patients with nonmyeloid hematologic cancer hold potential for the early identification of patients at high risk of developing tMN after ASCT.
Project description:BackgroundThe aim of this study is to evaluate the prognostic impact of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in multiple myeloma (MM) in the context of autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT).MethodsPeripheral blood samples were collected for measuring monocytic (M-) MDSCs (CD14posHLA-DRlow/neg) and early-stage (E-) MDSCs (LinnegHLA-DRnegCD33posCD11bpos) before and after ASCT. Clinical outcomes following ASCT differed according to the frequency of each MDSC phenotype.ResultsIn the pre-ASCT analyses, lower M-MDSCs (<median) but not E-MDSCs were associated with a longer time to progression (TTP), whereas both MDSC phenotypes post-ASCT did not have a role in TTP. Both MDSC phenotypes pre-ASCT but not post-ASCT similarly suppressed in vitro autologous T and natural killer T cell proliferation. Importantly, pre-ASCT M-MDSCs more strongly inhibited the in vitro cytotoxic effect of melphalan compared with pre-ASCT E-MDSCs. Transcriptome analysis of each isolated MDSC subtype showed that expression of osteoclastic differentiation factors, particularly colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R), was significantly increased in M-MDSCs pre-ASCT. Finally, blockade of CSF1R substantially recovered the melphalan-induced cytotoxicity reduced by pre-ASCT M-MDSCs.ConclusionsOur data demonstrate that pre-ASCT M-MDSCs are correlated with poor clinical outcomes after ASCT through reduced cytotoxicity of melphalan. We propose that targeting CSF1R on these cells may improve the results of ASCT in MM.
Project description:Upfront autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) is the standard of care for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) patients. However, relapse is ubiquitous and therapy-related myeloid neoplasms (t-MN) post-ASCT are commonly associated with poor outcomes. We hypothesized that the enrichment of abnormal myeloid progenitors and immune effector cells (IEC) in the peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) is associated with a higher risk of relapse and/or development of t-MN. We performed a comprehensive myeloid and lymphoid immunophenotyping on PBSCs from 54 patients with MM who underwent ASCT. Median progression-free (PFS), myeloid neoplasm-free (MNFS), and overall survival (OS) from ASCT were 49.6 months (95% CI: 39.5-Not Reached), 59.7 months (95% CI: 55-74), and 75.6 months (95% CI: 62-105), respectively. Abnormal expression of CD7 and HLA-DR on the myeloid progenitor cells was associated with an inferior PFS, MNFS, and OS. Similarly, enrichment of terminally differentiated (CD27/CD28-, CD57/KLRG1+) and exhausted (TIGIT/PD-1+) T-cells, and inhibitory NK-T like (CD159a+/CD56+) T-cells was associated with inferior PFS, MNFS, and OS post-transplant. Our observation of abnormal myeloid and IEC phenotype being present even before ASCT and maintenance therapy suggests an early predisposition to t-MN and inferior outcomes for MM, and has the potential to guide sequencing of future treatment modalities.
Project description:BackgroundInduction therapy followed by high-dose chemotherapy and autologous transplantation is the standard treatment for suitable patients with multiple myeloma.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to assess whether induction therapy with thalidomidecontaining regimens was associated with improved results compared to vincristine, doxorubicin, and dexamethasone, and whether cyclophosphamide, thalidomide, and dexamethasone were associated with better results than thalidomide and dexamethasone.MethodsThe records of 152 patients who underwent autologous transplantation at this institution from August of 2004 to January of 2012 were reviewed, selecting those with at least partial response to a maximum of eight cycles of induction therapy and sufficient follow-up information for analysis.ResultsThis study included 89 patients; 44 were female, with a mean age of 55 years (there was a significant trend for increasing age over the years of the study).The median number of induction therapy cycles was four, again with a trend of increase over the years.At least a very good partial response to induction therapy was achieved more often in the cyclophosphamide, thalidomide, and dexamethasone group (61.1%) and in the thalidomide and dexamethasone group (59.2%) than in the vincristine, doxorubicin, and dexamethasone group (16.2%). The overall median progression-free survival was 34 months, with no statistically significant difference between the three groups. The overall median survival was not reached, and there was no significant difference between the three groups; the estimated five-year overall survival was 55%.ConclusionAlthough the quality of responses appeared to be better with thalidomidecontaining regimens, these improvements did not translate into improved long-term outcomes. Given its track record, cyclophosphamide, thalidomide, and dexamethasone is currently considered the preferred regimen for first-line induction therapy in the Brazilian public health system.
Project description:An estimated 22?350 patients had multiple myeloma diagnosed in 2013, representing 1.3% of all new cancers; 10?710 deaths are projected, representing 1.8% of cancer deaths. Approximately 0.7% of US men and women will have a myeloma diagnosis in their lifetime, and with advances in therapy, 77?600 US patients are living with myeloma. The 5-year survival rate was 25.6% in 1989 and was 44.9% in 2005. The median age at diagnosis is 69 years, with 62.4% of patients aged 65 or older at diagnosis. Median age at death is 75 years. The rate of new myeloma cases has been rising 0.7% per year during the past decade. The most common indication for autologous stem cell transplantation in the United States is multiple myeloma, and this article is designed to provide the specifics of organizing a transplant program for multiple myeloma. We review the data justifying use of stem cell transplantation as initial management in myeloma patients. We provide selection criteria that minimize the risks of transplantation. Specific guidelines on mobilization and supportive care through the transplant course, as done at Mayo Clinic, are given. A review of the data on tandem vs sequential autologous transplants is provided.
Project description:Multiple myeloma, the second most common hematological malignancy worldwide, has demonstrated dramatic improvements in outcome in the last decade. In newly diagnosed patients, induction chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) is the standard of care. After ASCT, the majority of patients experience disease remission but, despite recent therapeutic developments, most will eventually relapse. In this review we consider clinical aspects of maintenance therapies that can be used post-ASCT to prolong remission duration. We discuss the evidence for the effectiveness of each of these drugs as a maintenance therapy, alongside other benefits and drawbacks to their use, for example, route of administration and potential toxicities. We discuss questions which remain unanswered around the optimal use of currently available maintenance therapies and review newer agents being considered for use as maintenance such as emerging immunotherapies.