0000000000043092
AUTHOR
Daniela Weber
Salvage therapy with high-dose cytarabine and mitoxantrone in combination with all-trans retinoic acid and gemtuzumab ozogamicin in acute myeloid leukemia refractory to first induction therapy.
Outcome of patients with primary refractory acute myeloid leukemia remains unsatisfactory. We conducted a prospective phase II clinical trial with gemtuzumab ozogamicin (3 mg/m(2) intravenously on day 1), all-trans retinoic acid (45 mg/m(2) orally on days 4-6 and 15 mg/m(2) orally on days 7-28), high-dose cytarabine (3 g/m(2)/12 h intravenously on days 1-3) and mitoxantrone (12 mg/m(2) intravenously on days 2-3) in 93 patients aged 18-60 years refractory to one cycle of induction therapy. Primary end point of the study was response to therapy; secondary end points included evaluation of toxicities, in particular, rate of sinusoidal obstruction syndrome after allogeneic hematopoietic cell tr…
Monitoring of FLT3 Phosphorylation and FLT3 Ligand Levels in Patients with FLT3-ITD Mutated Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Treated with Midostaurin within the AMLSG 16-10 Trial of the German-Austrian Study Group
Abstract Background: Target inhibition of FLT3 by therapy with the recently FDA- and EMA-approved multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) midostaurin can be monitored by plasma inhibitor activity (PIA) analysis by visualizing the level of target-dephosphorylation as previously described. When combining intensive chemotherapy with midostaurin, we have recently shown that the TKI achieves the lowest level of FLT3 phosphorylation (p-FLT3) at the end of the 1st induction cycle, indicating a deep target inhibition. However, sufficient inhibition could not be maintained during subsequent cycles by midostaurin in combination with chemotherapy, but it was reestablished during maintenance the…
An investigation of the diagnostic, predictive, and prognostic impacts of three colonic biopsy grading systems for acute graft versus host disease.
Acute graft versus host disease (aGvHD) is an important, life-threatening complication after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT). To investigate the value of multiple simultaneous colon biopsies in improving diagnostic accuracy in patients with aGvHD, we retrospectively analyzed 157 patients after alloHSCT. The biopsies were evaluated individually using three established histological grading systems (Lerner, Sale, and Melson). The maximum, minimum, median, and mean histological aGvHD grades were calculated for each patient, and the results were correlated with the Glucksberg grade of clinical manifestation of GvHD, steroid therapy status, and outcome. We found that…
Monitoring of Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) of DNMT3A Mutations (DNMT3Amut) in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML): A Study of the AML Study Group (AMLSG)
![Graphic][1] Background : The DNA methyltransferase 3A ( DNMT3A) is one of the most frequent mutated genes in AML with a hot spot mutation at codon R882 in 80% of the DNMT3A mut cases. In most of the studies DNMT3A mut predicts for poor overall (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS). Recently, DNMT3A mut have been associated with age-related clonal hematopoiesis, and they have been identified in early preleukemic stem cells. These findings suggest that DNMT3A mut represents an early event in leukemogenesis and may be part of the leukemia founder clone in most AMLs harboring a DNMT3A mut. We thought to address the question whether MRD monitoring in DNMT3A mut patients (pts) can be used for pr…
Measurable Residual Disease (MRD) Monitoring in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) with t(8;21)(q22;q22.1) RUNX1-RUNX1T1 Identifies Patients at High Risk of Relapse: Results of the AML Study Group (AMLSG)
Background: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with t(8;21)(q22;q22.1) resulting in the RUNX1-RUNX1T1 gene fusion is considered favorable in the 2017 genetic risk stratification by the European LeukemiaNet (ELN). After intensive chemotherapy most patients (pts) achieve complete remission (CR), but relapse occurs in about 50% and is associated with poor prognosis. In this AML subgroup monitoring of measurable residual disease (MRD) has been shown to identify pts at higher risk of relapse. Aims: To assess the prognostic impact of MRD monitoring in bone marrow (BM) and peripheral blood (PB) in a large cohort of 155 clinically well-annotated t(8;21)-AML pts enrolled in one of six AMLSG treatment tria…
The hematopoietic factor G-CSF is a neuronal ligand that counteracts programmed cell death and drives neurogenesis.
G-CSF is a potent hematopoietic factor that enhances survival and drives differentiation of myeloid lineage cells, resulting in the generation of neutrophilic granulocytes. Here, we show that G-CSF passes the intact blood-brain barrier and reduces infarct volume in 2 different rat models of acute stroke. G-CSF displays strong anti-apoptotic activity in mature neurons and activates multiple cell survival pathways. Both G-CSF and its receptor are widely expressed by neurons in the CNS, and their expression is induced by ischemia, which suggests an autocrine protective signaling mechanism. Surprisingly, the G-CSF receptor was also expressed by adult neural stem cells, and G-CSF induced neurona…
Minimal Residual Disease Monitoring in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) with Translocation t(8;21)(q22;q22): Results of the AML Study Group (AMLSG)
Abstract Background: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with t(8;21)(q22;q22) results in the formation of the RUNX1-RUNX1T1 fusion transcript which can be used to monitor minimal residual disease (MRD) by quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Early identification of patients (pts) with a high risk of relapse will allow pre-emptive therapy including allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT). Recent studies in AML with NPM1 mutation or the CBFB-MYH11 gene fusion revealed that MRD persistence is significantly associated with a high risk of relapse. However, the prognostic impact of MRD assessment in RUNX1-RUNX1T1-positive AML is not well established. A…
Assessment of Treatment Effects By Measurable Residual Disease Monitoring in NPM1-Mutated AML Patients Randomized for Gemtuzumab-Ozogamicin (GO) within the AMLSG 09-09 Trial of the German-Austrian AML Study Group (AMLSG)
Abstract Background: Measurable residual disease (MRD), as determined by quantitation of Nucleophosmin 1-mutated (NPM1mut) transcript levels (TL), provides significant prognostic information independent of other risk factors in patients (pts) with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This is also addressed by the 2017 European LeukemiaNet (ELN) risk stratification system, which recommends taking into account results from MRD monitoring when selecting the appropriate post-remission therapy. Furthermore, MRD monitoring provides a powerful tool to evaluate treatment effects within clinical trials investigating novel therapies. Aims: To determine the impact of the anti-CD33 immunotoxin Gemtuzumab-Ozog…
Midostaurin in Combination with Intensive Induction and As Single Agent Maintenance Therapy after Consolidation Therapy with Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation or High-Dose Cytarabine (NCT01477606)
Abstract Background: Internal tandem duplications (ITD) in the receptor tyrosine kinase FLT3 occur in roughly 25% of younger adult patients (pts) with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), implicating FLT3 as a potential target for kinase inhibitor therapy. The multi-targeted kinase inhibitor midostaurin shows potent activity against FLT3 as a single agent but also in combination with intensive chemotherapy. Aims: To evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of midostaurin in combination with intensive induction therapy and as single agent maintenance therapy after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT) or high-dose cytarabine (HIDAC). Methods: The study includes adult pts (age 1…
Clinical Relevance of Minimal Residual Disease Monitoring in NPM1 Mutated AML: A Study of the AML Study Group (AMLSG)
Abstract Background: Nucleophosmin (NPM1mut) mutations represent one of the most common gene mutations in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and can be used for monitoring minimal residual disease (MRD). In a former study, we could define clinical relevant check-points and a cut-off value to identify patients (pts) at high risk of relapse. Aims: To confirm our previous results on the clinical relevance of NPM1mut transcript levels (TL) in an extended cohort of younger AML pts (18 to 60 years) harbouring NPM1mut type A, B, C, D, JT, 4, QM, NM or KM, and to assess the impact of concurrent FLT3 internal tandem duplications (ITD) and DNMT3A (DNMT3Amut) mutations on NPM1mut TL kinetics. Methods: All …
Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS)-Based Measurable Residual Disease (MRD) Monitoring in Acute Myeloid Leukemia with FLT3 Internal Tandem Duplication (FLT3-ITD+ AML) Treated with Additional Midostaurin
Background: FLT3-ITD occurs in ~25% of adult AML patients (pts) and is associated with poor prognosis. MRD monitoring is of high prognostic relevance, but restricted to certain AML subtypes. FLT3-ITD represents an attractive target for MRD monitoring in particular in pts treated with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor. FLT3-ITD MRD monitoring is hampered by the broad heterogeneity of ITD length and insertion site (IS). NGS may overcome these limitations offering the opportunity for MRD monitoring in FLT3-ITD+ AML. Aims: To validate our recently established NGS-based FLT3-ITD MRD assay in a defined cohort of FLT3-ITD+ AML pts treated within the AMLSG16-10 trial (NCT01477606) combining intensive che…
Impact of Age and Midostaurin-Dose on Response and Outcome in Acute Myeloid Leukemia with FLT3-ITD: Interim-Analyses of the AMLSG 16-10 Trial
Abstract Background: Internal tandem duplications (ITD) in the receptor tyrosine kinase FLT3 occur in roughly 25% of younger adult patients (pts) with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The multi-targeted kinase inhibitor midostaurin combined with intensive chemotherapy has shown activity against AML with FLT3 mutations. However, toxicity and potential drug-drug interactions with strong CYP3A4 inhibitors such as posaconazole may necessitate dose reduction. Aims: To evaluate the impact of age and midostaurin dose-adaptation after intensive induction chemotherapy on response and outcome in AML with FLT3-ITD within the AMLSG 16-10 trial (NCT01477606). Methods: The study included adult pts (age 18-7…
Midostaurin Plus Intensive Chemotherapy for Younger and Older Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia and FLT3 Internal Tandem Duplications
Abstract BACKGROUND: Midostaurin is a first-generation, type I multi-targeted kinase inhibitor with inhibitory activity against FLT3-ITD and -TKD mutations. Midostaurin is approved by FDA and EMA in combination with intensive induction and consolidation chemotherapy for adult patients with AML exhibiting an activating FLT3 mutation; the EMA label also includes single-agent maintenance therapy following consolidation chemotherapy. We conducted a phase-II trial (AMLSG 16-10) to evaluate midostaurin with induction chemotherapy followed by allogeneic hematopoietic-cell transplantation (HCT) and a one-year midostaurin maintenance therapy in younger and older patients with acute myeloid leukemia …
Impact of pretreatment characteristics and salvage strategy on outcome in patients with relapsed acute myeloid leukemia
Impact of pretreatment characteristics and salvage strategy on outcome in patients with relapsed acute myeloid leukemia
A Neuroprotective Function for the Hematopoietic Protein Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor (GM-CSF)
Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is a hematopoietic cytokine responsible for the proliferation, differentiation, and maturation of cells of the myeloid lineage, which was cloned more than 20 years ago. Here we uncovered a novel function of GM-CSF in the central nervous system (CNS). We identified the GM-CSF α-receptor as an upregulated gene in a screen for ischemia-induced genes in the cortex. This receptor is broadly expressed on neurons throughout the brain together with its ligand and induced by ischemic insults. In primary cortical neurons and human neuroblastoma cells, GM-CSF counteracts programmed cell death and induces BCL-2 and BCL-Xl expression in a dose- a…
Molecular Characterization of Relapsed Core-Binding Factor (CBF) Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
Abstract Background: CBF-AML is defined by recurrent genetic abnormalities which encompass t(8;21)(q22;q22), inv(16)(p13.1q22) or less frequently t(16;16)(p13.1;q22). Most frequent secondary chromosome aberrations in t(8;21) AML are del(9q) or loss of a sex chromosome, and in inv(16)/t(16;16) AML trisomy 22 or trisomy 8. At the molecular level mutations involving KIT, FLT3, or NRAS were identified as recurrent lesions in CBF-AML. However, the underlying genetic alterations which might trigger relapse in CBF-AML are not well delineated. Thus, the aim of our study was to characterize the clonal architecture of relapsed CBF-AML. Methods: We performed mutational profiling (KIT, FLT3-ITD, FLT3-T…
Condensed Versus Standard Schedule of High-Dose Cytarabine Consolidation Therapy with Pegfilgrastim Growth Factor Support in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Abstract Background: The concept of intensive post-remission chemotherapy in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is based on the observation that despite achievement of a first complete remission (CR) after intensive induction therapy virtually all patients relapse in the absence of further treatment. Moreover, randomized studies showed that intensive post-remission consolidation chemotherapy was superior to prolonged low-dose maintenance therapy in younger patients. With regard to consolidation therapy, the landmark study conducted by the Cancer and Leukemia Group B established the current standard for patients aged 60 years and younger with high-dose cytarabine (HDAC) 3g/m² bidaily on days days …
Pharmacodynamic Monitoring of the Efficacy of a Targeted Therapy with Midostaurin By Plasma Inhibitor Activity (PIA) Analysis in FLT3 -ITD Positive AML Patients within the AMLSG 16-10 Trial: A Study of the AML Study Group (AMLSG)
Abstract Background: Activating mutations in receptor tyrosine kinases like FLT3 (FLT3mut) lead to an aberrant signal transduction thereby causing an increased proliferation of hematopoietic cells. Internal tandem duplications (FLT3-ITD) or mutations in the tyrosine kinase domain (FLT3-TKD) occur in about 25% of younger adult patients (pts) with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), with FLT3 -ITD being associated with an unfavourable outcome. FLT3mut present an excellent target for small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI). The multi-targeted kinase inhibitor midostaurin (PKC412) is currently under investigation as a FLT3-inhibitor in combination with intensive chemotherapy. Monitoring of th…
Clinical impact of GATA2 mutations in acute myeloid leukemia patients harboring CEBPA mutations: a study of the AML study group.
Clinical impact of GATA2 mutations in acute myeloid leukemia patients harboring CEBPA mutations: a study of the AML study group
All-trans retinoic acid as adjunct to intensive treatment in younger adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia: results of the randomized AMLSG 07-04 study
The aim of this clinical trial was to evaluate the impact of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) in combination with chemotherapy and to assess the NPM1 status as biomarker for ATRA therapy in younger adult patients (18–60 years) with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Patients were randomized for intensive chemotherapy with or without open-label ATRA (45 mg/m2, days 6–8; 15 mg/m2, days 9–21). Two cycles of induction therapy were followed by risk-adapted consolidation with high-dose cytarabine or allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Due to the open label character of the study, analysis was performed on an intention-to-treat (ITT) and a per-protocol (PP) basis. One thousand one hundred pati…