ALBERT

Description: Introduction: APL, while highly curable in the modern era, remains a therapeutic challenge in the high-risk subset, with high rates of early mortality and relapse compared to non-high-risk APL. Recent evidence has confirmed excellent outcomes in non- high-risk APL with the combination of ATO and ATRA, and a previous pilot study had indicated the efficacy of a combination of ATO + ATRA + GO in high-risk APL. The North American Leukemia Intergroup designed a larger phase 2 study to confirm the efficacy and safety of this combination in high-risk APL. Primary Objectives: 1) assessment of 3-year event-free survival (EFS); 2) assessment of early (6 week) death rate. Methods: Adult patients with newly diagnosed high-risk APL (WBC ≥10k/uL) were eligible. Induction therapy consisted of: ATRA (45 mg/m2/day), beginning on day 1; ATO 0.15 mg/kg/day, beginning on day 10; GO 9 mg/m2on day 1. ATRA and ATO were continued until remission achieved. Patients in remission went on to receive consolidation with ATO x 2 cycles, followed by ATRA + daunorubicin x 2 cycles, followed by GO x 2 cycles. Subsequent maintenance therapy consisted of ATRA + 6-mercaptupurine + methotrexate for up to 1 year. Results: Between 2008 and 2013, 73 registered patients began protocol treatment. Median age was 46.5 years, with 52% females and 48% males. Sixty-two (85%) patients completed induction therapy as planned, and 50 patients (68%) completed all planned consolidation. Sixty-two patients (85%) achieved a documented complete response (CR). Non-responses were attributable to lack of response assessment (n=10), most commonly related to death. One patient had resistant disease. With a median follow-up of 3.3 years, the Kaplan Meier 3-year EFS estimate was 79% (95% CI 68% - 87%), which was significantly improved compared to the protocol-defined historical rate of 50% (p

Description: Background: Adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with high-risk cytogenetics have a significantly worse survival compared to similarly treated intermediate- or favorable-risk patients. Although prior studies suggest better outcome in high-risk AML patients in first complete remission (CR1) who undergo allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) compared with consolidation chemotherapy, only 40% of patients proceed to HCT. The lack of a matched sibling donor (available in about 33%) should not be a barrier to HCT since alternative donors are available for the large majority of high-risk AMLpatients and recent data suggest outcomes after allogeneic HCT from fully matched unrelated donors are similar to those following matched related donor transplantation. We sought to determine if a prospective organized effort could rapidly identify alternative donors to improve the historical 40% allogeneic HCT rate in high-risk CR1 AML patients ≤ age 61. Secondly, we hypothesized that transplanting significantly more adults with high-risk AML in CR1 would lead to an improved outcome compared with the historical relapse-free survival (RFS) of 22%. Patients and Methods: Adult patients between ages 18 and 60 years with untreated AML were randomized to receive induction therapy with standard cytarabine plus daunorubicin (7+3; n=261), idarubicin with high-dose cytarabine (IA; n=261), or IA with vorinostat (IA+V; n=216). Conventional cytogenetics were obtained at time of enrollment and used to determine risk classification by standard criteria. All patients with high-risk cytogenetics underwent expedited HLA-typing. High-risk patientswere encouraged tobe referred for consultation with a transplant team with the goal of conducting an allogeneic HCT in CR1. Results: Of 738 eligible patients (median age, 49 years; range, 18-60), 159 (22%) had high-risk cytogenetics, of whom 60 (38%), 61 (38%), and 38 (24%) received induction with 7+3, IA, or IA+V, respectively. A total of 107 of the 159 high-risk patients achieved CR/CRi (67%). HCT was performed in 317 of all 738 patients (43%) and 68 (64%) of the high-risk patients received a transplant in CR1 (p

Description: We used next generation sequencing (NGS) of the immunoglobulin genes to evaluate minimal residual disease (MRD) in 153 specimens from 32 patients with newly diagnosed adult B cell ALL enrolled in the phase II SWOG S0333 multi-center study. We used the clonoSEQTM assay developed by Adaptive Biotechnologies that detects 1 leukemic cell in a background of 1 million nucleated cells and focuses in the B cell receptor (Ig). Initially, a set of pre-study specimens was sequenced in order to identify the precise sequence of the VDJ or DJ fragments. Clones representing more than 5% of the total repertoire of IgH molecules profiled were considered potentially leukemic. The follow-up specimen IgH repertoire sequences were compared to the diagnostic clonal ones and the leukemic marker sequence(s) previously identified were searched for explicitly. At least one Ig clonotype was detected in 29/32 (91%) cases analyzed. The 3 remaining cases were reviewed, and in 2 cases the specimens available for NGS had been reported as having no blasts by morphology. The leukemic clonal sequence was a complete VDJ rearrangement in 17/32 patients (53%), an incomplete DJ rearrangement in 8/32 patients (25%), and in 3/32 cases both VDJ and DJ rearrangements coexisted. One patient had a kappa light chain rearrangement. 17/32 (53%) cases contained more than one IgH rearrangement at diagnosis (median=2, range: 1 - 4). One of our patients is a potential case of therapy driven clonal selection. He presented at diagnosis with two related clones, one representing 75% of VDJ sequences and the second one 18%. At relapse, the second clone was responsible for most of the VDJ sequences (95%). The NGS results were compared to the MRD results detected by multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC) in 66 specimens analyzed by both methods. The concordance between the methods in the qualitative determination of the presence or absence of leukemia was 82% (54/66). In 12 specimens (18%) MRD was detected by sequencing but not by MFC. One specimen had MRD detected at very low levels by MFC and was negative by NGS. Our study includes 54 paired bone marrow (BM) and peripheral blood (PB) specimens. The median values of leukemia detected by NGS were 6-fold higher in BM than PB (range: 0.38 - 821-fold). Twenty-five pairs show no detectable MRD in either specimen. MRD was still detectable in 20 of the remaining 29 PB cases (for one of the pairs the BM specimen was negative). In 6/9 (67%) pairs of samples with disease detectable in BM but not in PB by NGS, no MRD was detected by MFC in the BM specimen. Lastly, outcome analysis was conducted in 21/32 patients with specimen available for MRD studies at the time of registration to second induction. Patients without MRD by NGS had a 5-year relapse free survival (RFS) of approximately 80%, while patients with MRD positive by both NGS and flow have the poorest outcome (p = 0.003) (see Figure). Patients with MRD detectable only by NGS have and intermediate RFS (p = 0.078, and p = 0.04 when compared to patients with MRD negative by both techniques, and patients with leukemia detected both by NGS and flow respectively). These results suggest that MRD detection by immunoglobulin gene sequencing is a very sensitive technique, and may identify patients with an excellent survival. Moreover, the increased sensitivity of the method may allow peripheral blood testing to supplement routine marrow sampling for MRD determination. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Williamson: Adaptive Biotechnologies: Employment, Equity Ownership. Kirsch:Adaptive Biotechnologies: Employment, Equity Ownership. Robins:Adaptive Biotechnologies: Consultancy, Equity Ownership.

Description: Historically, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) beyond 100 days after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) was called chronic GVHD, even if the clinical manifestations were indistinguishable from acute GVHD. In 2005, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) sponsored a consensus conference that proposed new criteria for diagnosis and classification of chronic GVHD for clinical trials. According to the consensus criteria, clinical manifestations rather than time after transplantation should be used in clinical trials to distinguish chronic GVHD from late acute GVHD, which includes persistent, recurrent, or late-onset acute GVHD. We evaluated major outcomes according to the presence or absence of NIH criteria for chronic GVHD in a retrospective study of 740 patients diagnosed with historically defined chronic GVHD after allogeneic HCT between 1994 and 2000. The presence or absence of NIH criteria for chronic GVHD showed no statistically significant association with survival, risks of nonrelapse mortality or recurrent malignancy, or duration of systemic treatment. Antecedent late acute GVHD was associated with an increased risk of nonrelapse mortality and prolonged treatment among patients with NIH chronic GVHD. Our results support the consensus recommendation that, with appropriate stratification, clinical trials can include patients with late acute GVHD as well as those with NIH chronic GVHD.

Description: Background: We have previously shown that the survival of patients with AML who fail to achieve complete remission (CR) with 7+3 has improved since the 1980s. However, although CR rates with 7+3 have improved over the last four decades, we have not previously evaluated how outcomes for patients who achieve a CR1 with 7+3 has changed over time. Here we evaluate if either length of first CR (CR1) after 7+3 or of survival after relapse from CR1 has changed over the last four decades. Patients and Methods:We analyzed 1247 patients randomized to 7+3 arms from 5 SWOG studies and restricted to patients age 65 or younger: S8600 (n=530), S9031 (n=98), S9333 (n=57), S0106 (n=301), S1203 (n=261). S8600 enrolled patients in the 1980s, S9031 and S9333 in the 1990s, S0106 in the 2000s, and S1203 in the 2010s. S9031 and S9333 were analyzed together. All 5 protocols gave 7+3 per existing standard, which changed over time. In S8600, S9031, and S9033 the ara-C and daunorubicin doses were 200mg/m2and 45mg/m2, in S0106 100mg/m2and 60mg/m2, and in S1203 200mg/m2and 90mg/m2. CR was defined morphologically. To account for censoring in the dataset, we used landmark analyses. To evaluate patterns in length of CR1, among patients achieving CR1 and alive at 2 and 3 years, we calculated the proportion of 2 (or 3) years spent in CR1. To evaluate survival after relapse, among patients who achieved CR1 but who relapsed in next 2 (or 3) years we calculated the proportion of patients alive at least 1 year after relapse. To account for changing patient characteristics over time, multivariate linear and logistic regression models were fit. Results:Overall survival has improved dramatically over the last 4 decades (Figure 1). Additionally, among patients who achieved CR1 and were alive 2 years later, the proportion of those 2 years spent in CR1 has significantly improved over the last 4 decades (Figure 2) from a median of 58% to a median of 96% (p

Description: Abstract 2191 Background: Treatment protocols for newly diagnosed AML typically use age (often 60 years) alone to restrict eligibility to either younger or older patients. Implied in this practice is the assumption that age is the principal predictor of therapeutic failure in AML due to either early treatment-related mortality (TRM) or resistance to therapy in patients who do not incur TRM. Yet, clinical observation and previous studies indicate that other prognostic factors modulate the effect of age on TRM and resistance, suggesting that age as sole or primary criterion for treatment allocation may be suboptimal. Methods: To test this hypothesis in newly-diagnosed non-APL AML, we quantified the relative effects of age and other covariates using 1,127 patients (median age: 57 years) treated on Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) trials from 1986–2009 and 1,604 patients (median age: 61 years) treated on various protocols at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (MDA) from 2000–2008. We calculated weekly hazard rates (the probability of death in week × given that the patient was alive at the beginning of the week) for both cohorts overall and in various age subgroups. We used the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) to quantify the effects of covariates for prediction of TRM and resistance (no TRM but patient does not enter CR or relapses within 1 year of CR), where an AUC of 1 indicates that a covariate is perfect at prediction while an AUC of 0.5 indicates no prediction (i.e. it is no better than flipping a coin). Results: Despite the use of different treatment protocols, survival in the SWOG and MDA cohorts was virtually superimposable. In both cohorts, the maximum weekly hazard occurred at weeks 3 and 4 from start of treatment, after which it decreased. The maximum hazard was relatively independent of age and remained between weeks 3 and 5 in patients age 70 years, respectively. The existence of such a discrete cut-point suggested that patients who die early are qualitatively distinct and prompted us to examine the relative effect of age and other covariates in patients who (a) died within the first 30 days of treatment (our empirically-based definition of TRM, 9% of MDA and 12 % of SWOG patients, respectively) and (b) survived at least 30 days but did not enter complete remission or relapsed within 1 year (“resistant”, 43% of MDA and 59% of SWOG patients, respectively). A model including age alone to predict early mortality had an AUC of 0.67, while a model including performance status (PS) alone had an AUC of 0.72. By comparison, a more refined model hat included PS, age, platelet count, cytogenetics, secondary AML, albumin, white blood cell count, peripheral blood blast count, and LDH yielded an AUC of 0.86. Elimination of age resulted in a model with an AUC that was only minimally lower (0.85). Prediction of resistance was more difficult with a model including age, secondary AML, cytogenetics, peripheral blood blasts, race, hemoglobin, and marrow neutrophils giving an AUC of only 0.70. Elimination of age had little effect (AUC 0.67) while age alone gave an AUC of 0.64. Conclusion: Age alone appears inadequate in predicting resistance and particularly TRM. The use of models based on several covariates improves predictive ability, but the ability to predict resistance is still limited, suggesting the value of randomized trials to assess treatment designed to reduce resistance. The observation that elimination of age has little effect on the predictive ability of such models, suggests that age is primarily a surrogate for other covariates. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Description: Introduction: Survival rates continue to improve after allogeneic HCT (Gooley et al, NEJM, 2013). Population-based studies also indicate overall improvement in survival of older (60-80 years old) AML patients (pts) (Bower, Blood Cancer Journal, 2016). Yet, only a small minority (6%-8%) of them receive HCT (Medeiros, Ann Hematol. 2015). Given these potentially incongruent findings and the changing face of survival in AML, we designed the first prospective multi-center longitudinal study dating from first presentation of adults with AML to be treated at one of 13 different referral centers that provide both AML treatment and HCT. We compared survival according to whether or not pts received HCT at later time points. Methods: We enrolled 695 pts (Table 1). Data on demographics, AML status, cytogenetic risks per European Leukemia Network (ELN), and response; age; comorbidities per the HCT-comorbidity index (CI); function including activities of daily living (ADL); frailty; geriatric assessment including cognition; QOL including the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Bone Marrow Transplant Scale (FACT-BMT), Euro-QOL 5-Dimension scale, ENRICHD Social Support Instrument, Social Activity Log, and Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item Depression Scale (PHQ-9) were collected at enrollment and at 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months thereafter. We used time-dependent Cox regression analyses to identify baseline and time-dependent risk factors associated with mortality in the overall population. The factors identified as significantly associated with mortality (p

Description: Introduction Mangement of AML typically calls for a bone marrow aspirate 7-10 days after completion of induction therapy with standard or high-dose cytarabine (HiDAC)-containing regimens (day 14 marrow). If this marrow contains 〉5-10% blasts, National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines recommend a second course of induction therapy. However, nearly 70% of patients who have persistent blasts in a day 14 marrow do not begin reinduction within 1 week. Additionally, at least in patients given higher doses of cytarabine as part of induction therapy, blast counts often continue to decrease between days 14 and 21, and many such patients will achieve complete remission (CR) without a second induction. These findings call into question the value of a day 14 marrow. Methods Our database contained 154 patients with newly diagnosed AML or MDS with 10-19% blasts seen in our hospital from 2008-2013. Patients lived at least 21 days after receiving induction therapy with regimens containing standard-dose cytarabine (114 patients, typically given “3+7” ) or high-dose cytarabine (40 patients). The treatments were not given on protocol, thus granting physicians discretion to determine when to examine the marrow. Marrow exams performed between days 10 and 17 after starting induction were considered a “day 14 marrow.” Response was assessed at least 21 days from the start of the initial induction course. Our goals were (1) to identify pretreatment factors (described below) associated with the decision to obtain a day 14 marrow and (2) to determine the influence obtaining a day 14 marrow had on the likelihood of CR on course 1, after accounting, by multivariable logistic regression, for age, cytogenetic risk (SWOG criteria), pretreatment blast % (morphologic count in marrow; peripheral blood if no marrow available), and type of AML (de novo vs. secondary). Results 116 of 154 patients (75%) had a day 14 marrow. Patients who had and did not have a day 14 marrow were similarly-aged (average 53 in both groups), had similar pretreatment blast percentages (52% vs 47%, respectively), and had a similar proportion with de novo AML (66% vs 68%). Patients who had a day 14 marrow more often received 3+7 (79% of standard-dose cytarabine patients had a day 14 marrow vs 65% of HiDAC, p=0.06). Only 60% of patients with favorable risk cytogenetics had a day 14 marrow vs 79% of patients with intermediate or unfavorable risk (p=0.03). Considering the 3+7 group separately, only a higher pretreatment blast count predicted the likelihood of a day 14 marrow (53% with a day 14 marrow vs 38% without, p=0.02). No factors were predictive in the HiDAC group. As expected, favorable cytogenetics were associated with a higher CR rate while age, pretreatment blast %, and de novo vs secondary AML did not influence CR. After accounting for these covariates, there was no difference in the rate of CR between patients who did and did not have a day 14 marrow (66% vs 74%, p=0.61). The same was true when standard and high-dose cytarabine were analyzed separately (p=0.80 and 0.26, respectively). 18 patients with a day 14 marrow had resistant disease and received a second induction course; of these, two achieved CR. Likewise, two patients without a day 14 marrow were reinduced for resistant disease, and one entered CR. While the response to the second induction was not included in the analysis, results would not be expected to vary significantly given the CR rates with the second course. Conclusions These results suggest that while patients are more likely to have a day 14 marrow if they have intermediate- or poor-risk cytogenetics and receive 3+7, the decision to obtain a day 14 marrow does not lead to a higher CR rate. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.