0000000000224796

AUTHOR

Wolfgang Hiddemann

Related versus unrelated donor transplantation for high risk (HiRi) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in first complete remission (CR1)

Abstract Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) from an HLA-identical sibling donor (SIB) is considered the preferred postremission therapy for younger patients with HiRi AML in CR1. The role of allo-SCT from volunteer unrelated donors (VUDs) is less clear and randomized controlled trials addressing this issue do not exist. We performed an observational landmark analysis on parallel cohorts of patients aged <60 years with AML in CR1 and HiRi cytogenetics who had been enrolled into the AML Cooperative Group (AMLCG) 1999 trial. 2347 patients were evaluable for the present update. 243/2347 patients were <60 years of age and had unfavorable cytogenetics [com…

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Salvage Therapy of Adult ALL

In a first study (1986 to 1992) the German Relapsing ALL Study Group (GRALLSG) has treated 67 adult patients with a first relapse of ALL. A first phase of induction consisted of vindesine, daunorubicin, asparaginase, and prednisone, a second phase of high-dose cytosine-arabinoside (Hd ara-C) and VP16. Results: 45 CR, 2 PR, 13 failures, 7 early death. 25 patients received a BMT. 10 had an allogeneic BMT in CR, 5 after another relapse or with refractory disease. Of 10 with autologous BMT 8 have been in 2nd CR. Only 4 of all 67 patients are surviving without relapse: One after unrelated BMT (36+mo), two after autologous BMT in 2nd CR (46+, 64+mo), and one after chemotherapy (61+mo). One patien…

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Initial chemotherapy with mitoxantrone, chlorambucil, prednisone impairs the collection of stem cells in patients with indolent lymphomas—results of a randomized comparison by the German Low-Grade Lymphoma Study Group

Myeloablative radio-chemotherapy with subsequent autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) significantly prolongs progression free and probably overall survival in follicular lymphoma (FL) in first remission. The current trial explored prospectively the rate of successful stem cell mobilization in patients with advanced stage FL after initial therapy with either Mitoxantrone, Chlorambucil, Prednisone (MCP) or Cyclophosphamide, Doxorubicin, Vincristine, Prednisone (CHOP) as part of a prospective randomized comparison of both regimens. ASCT patients received Dexa-BEAM (Dexamethasone, BCNU, Melphalan, Etoposide, Cytarabine) for mobilization of stem cells. Stem cells were collected and a mini…

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Combined Immuno-Chemotherapy (R-CHOP) Results in Significantly Superior Response Rates and Time to Treatment Failure in First Line Treatment of Patients with Lymphomplasmocytoid/ic Immunocytoma (LP-IC) - Results of a Prospective Randomized Trial of the German Low Grade Lymphoma Study Group (GLSG).

Abstract Lymphomplasmocytoid/ic immunocytoma (LP-IC), including Waldenstrom’s macro-globulinemia and lymphoplasmacytoid lymphoma according to the Kiel classification (the latter one subsummed as a variant of B-CLL in the WHO classification), is an indolent lymphoma, which is incurable by conventional chemotherapy in the advanced stage of disease. The anti-CD20 antibody Rituximab has shown remarkable activity in indolent lymphomas, in particular when combined with chemotherapy. Based on these results the GLSG investigated the efficacy of a combined immuno-chemotherapy (R-CHOP: Rituximab 375 mg/m2 d0-1; cyclophosphamide 750 mg/m2 d1; doxorubicine 50 mg/m2 d1; vincristine 1.4 mg/m2 d1; prednis…

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Soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor type II in the early diagnosis of fever in neutropenia.

Sepsis in chemotherapy-associated neutropenia is a major cause of mortality in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Early diagnosis of sepsis is crucial for patient survival. We analyzed the value of prospectively measuring serum concentrations of soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor type II (sTNF-RII) in patients with AML for early diagnosis of sepsis in neutropenia. Therefore, 54 adult patients with AML and neutropenia were followed around the onset of fever. A total of 59 febrile episodes were documented. We could not demonstrate a significant increase in sTNF-RII levels prior to fever. sTNF-RII concentrations were not predictive of the severity of a febrile episode. Based on…

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Rituximab in Combination with CHOP in Patients with Follicular Lymphoma: Analysis of Treatment Outcome of 552 Patients Treated in a Randomized Trial of the German Low Grade Lymphoma Study Group (GLSG) after a Follow up of 58 Months

Abstract We have previously reported that compared to CHOP alone the addition of Rituximab (R) to CHOP significantly increases the response rate (RR), the time to treatment failure (TTF) and also the overall survival (OS) in patients with newly diagnosed advanced follicular lymphoma. However, in the previous report, the median observation time was short with 18 months and no data were reported on the outcome of different risk groups according to the FLIPI (Hiddemann et al., Blood 2005). We now report on the treatment outcome of 552 patients with advanced stage follicular lymphoma randomized between R-CHOP versus CHOP alone after a median follow up of 58 months. Responding patients < …

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Phase I/II Trial of High-Dose Cytosine Arabinoside and Mitoxantrone in Adult Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia

In spite of a high initial response rate of 60% –80% the vast majority of adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) still cannot be cured of the disease and ultimately die from recurrent and refractory leukemia. The development of new therapeutic approaches and of more effective drugs therefore seems warranted.

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FS-HAI for Relapsed AML

Treatment results in patients with refractory and relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) need to be improved. The current study aimed at enhancing the anti-leukemic efficacy of the sequential high-dose AraC and idarubicin (S-HAI) regimen by the addition of fludarabine as a chemo-modulator. High-dose AraC was applied q 12 hours on days on days 1, 2, 8, and 9 and idarubicin on days 3, 4, 10, and 11. Patients were randomized to receive fludarabine q 12 hours on days 1, 2, 8, and 9 in addition to S-HAI or S-HAI alone. Of 179 patients having entered the study 120 are fully evaluable at the present time (median age 55 years, range 20–77). Thirty-eight percent of the patients had refractory disease…

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CHOP Improves Response Rates but Not Overall Survival in Follicular and Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL)- Results of a Randomized Trial of the German Low Grade Lymphoma Study Group (GLSG).

Abstract In advanced stage follicular lymphoma conventional chemotherapy is non-curative and no major improvement in overall survival has been achieved by different regimens. Similarly, MCL, a lymphoma subtype with an especially poor clinical outcome, cannot be cured by conventional chemotherapy. In 1996, the German Low Grade Lymphoma Study Group (GLSG) started a randomized trial to evaluate the efficacy of two different anthracycline/anthrachinon containing regimens comparing CHOP (cyclophosphamide 750 mg/m2 day 1, vincristine 1.4 mg/m2 day 2, adriamycine 50 mg/m2 day 1, prednisone 100 mg/m2 days 1–5) and MCP (mitoxantrone 8 mg/m2 days 1–2, chlorambucil 3x3 mg/m2 days 1–5; prednisone 25 mg…

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Abnormal Marker Expression in Acute Leukemia (AL) Characterized by Monoclonal Antibodies and Flow Cytometry

The application of refined immunologic and enzymatic markers to conventional morphologic and cytochemical techniques has revealed an unexpected heterogeneitiy in acute leukemia (AL). Since the development of monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) to lineage specific differentiation markers, there have been several reports of AL patients whose blast cells represent relatively homogeneous populations with phenotypic features of more than one cell line [1–5] or are characterized by the coexistence of separate cell populations each demonstrating either lymphoid or myeloid features [6–10].

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High Anti-Lymphoma Activity of Bendamustine/Mitoxantrone/Rituximab (BMR) in Rituximab Pretreated Relapsed or Refractory Indolent Lymphomas. A Multicentre Phase II Study of the German Low Grade Lymphoma Study Group (GLSG).

Abstract Purpose: Bendamustine is a new anti-lymphoma agent with promising activity. Based on a preceeding phase I study the current trial explored Bendamustine in combination with Mitoxantrone and Rituximab (BMR) in patients with relapsed or refractory indolent lymphomas. Patients and Methods: Patients with relapsed or refractory symptomatic stage III/IV indolent lymphomas with or without prior treatment with Rituximab were eligible. Therapy consisted of Bendamustine 90 mg/m2 days 1+2, Mitoxantrone 10 mg/m2 day 1, Rituximab 375 mg/m2 day 8. Treatment was repeated on day 29 for a total of 4 cycles. Results: Between 04/03 and 07/04 62 patients were recruited from 24 participating institution…

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Obinutuzumab-Based Immunochemotherapy Prolongs Progression-Free Survival and Time to Next Anti-Lymphoma Treatment in Patients with Previously Untreated Follicular Lymphoma: Four-Year Results from the Phase III GALLIUM Study

Abstract Introduction: Immunochemotherapy is standard of care treatment for previously untreated patients (pts) with advanced stage follicular lymphoma (FL). However, the majority of pts relapse, with around 20% relapsing within 2 years. Obinutuzumab (GA101; G) is a glycoengineered type II anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody (mAb) with increased antibody-dependent cell-mediated phagocytosis and cytotoxicity, and direct B-cell killing, compared with the type I mAb rituximab (R). The randomized Phase III GALLIUM study (NCT01332968) compared the efficacy and safety of G-chemotherapy (G-chemo) vs R-chemotherapy (R-chemo) in previously untreated pts with advanced stage FL. In the primary analysis (PA)…

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Modulation of AraC by Fludarabine: Results of Salvage Therapy by AMLCG

Fludarabine was shown to increase the intracellular formation of AraCTP during treatment with AraC both in vitro and in vivo and had significant activity in patients with advanced acute myeloid leukemia (AML) when used in combination with AraC in phase II studies. However, the efficacy of fludarabin as chemo-modulatior of the AraC metabolism has not yet been assessed in phase III studies. Based on the S-HAI salvage regimen comprizing high-dose AraC q 12 hours on days 1,2,8, and 9 and idarubicin on days 3,4,10, and 11, the German AML Cooperative Group initiated a prospective randomized comparison between fludarabine q 12 hours on days 1, 2, 8, and 9 in addition to S-HAI as compared with S-HA…

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The addition of rituximab to front-line therapy with CHOP (R-CHOP) results in a higher response rate and longer time to treatment failure in patients with lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma: results of a randomized trial of the German Low-Grade Lymphoma Study Group (GLSG)

Lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (LPL) is an indolent lymphoma with moderate sensitivity to conventional chemotherapy. This study investigated whether the addition of rituximab to standard chemotherapy improves treatment outcome in LPL and the subgroup of LPL patients fulfilling the criteria of Waldenstroem's macroglobulinemia (WM). A total of 69 patients with previously untreated LPL were enrolled into the trial; 64 patients were evaluable for treatment outcome. In all, 48 of the 64 LPL patients fulfilled the criteria of WM. Patients were randomly assigned to R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone, n=34) or CHOP (n=30). R-CHOP resulted in significantly highe…

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High anti-lymphoma activity of bendamustine/mitoxantrone/rituximab in rituximab pretreated relapsed or refractory indolent lymphomas and mantle cell lymphomas. A multicenter phase II study of the German Low Grade Lymphoma Study Group (GLSG)

On the basis of a preceding phase I study, the current trial explored bendamustine in combination with mitoxantrone and rituximab (BMR) in patients with stage III/IV relapsed or refractory indolent lymphomas and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) with or without prior rituximab containing chemo-immunotherapy (R-chemo) treatment. Therapy consisted of bendamustine 90 mg/m(2) days 1 + 2, mitoxantrone 10 mg/m(2) day 1, rituximab 375 mg/m(2) day 8. Treatment was repeated on day 29 for a total of four cycles. Between 3 April and 04 July, 57 patients were recruited from 24 participating institutions, 39% of whom had received prior R-chemo therapy. Median age was 66 years (40 - 83). Lymphoma subtypes were …

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Clinicogenetic Risk Models in Patients Randomized to Receive Consolidative Autologous Stem-Cell Transplantation after Frontline R-CHOP for Advanced Follicular Lymphoma: An Analysis from the GLSG2000 Trial

Abstract Introduction: Advanced follicular lymphoma (FL) is a clinically and molecularly heterogeneous disease. About 20% of patients have early progression of disease (POD) and short overall survival (OS). We have previously shown that integration of lymphoma-specific gene mutations and clinical factors improves pretreatment risk stratification (Pastore, 2015) and prediction of early POD (i.e., within 24 months, POD24; Jurinovic, 2016). Recently, we have shown that high-dose therapy (HDT) followed by autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT) is an effective treatment option for eligible patients with high-risk disease as defined by POD24 (Jurinovic, 2018). Here, we aimed to explore wheth…

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Multicenter phase II study of oral idarubicin in treated and untreated patients with B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Idarubicin is the first anthracycline that can be administered orally facilitating antineoplastic chemotherapy at an improved quality of life. In different studies idarubicin has proved clinical effectiveness in patients with advanced low grade non Hodgkin's lymphoma. We performed a phase II study in 19 patients with untreated and pretreated B-CLL of Binet stage A-C. Idarubucin was administered orally at a dose of 15 mg/m2 over 3 days every 4 weeks. Of 19 evaluable patients (m:f, 16:3, median age 64 years, range 41-80 years) 7 were previously untreated while 12 patients had received prior therapy with fludarabine, chlorambucil or similar non-anthracycline containing regimens. 12 pts had Bin…

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