We recently demonstrated that early post-transplant vaccination of patients with myeloid leukemia with irradiated autologous tumor cells, virally transduced to express the potent cytokine adjuvant GM-CSF, is a promising approach to enhance anti-leukemia immunity with minimal toxicity (Ho et al, PNAS 2009). Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is an ideal disease to extend this treatment approach since it is incurable by conventional chemotherapy, is sensitive to graft-versus-leukemia effects, and has readily harvestable leukemia cells. However, viral transduction of lymphoid cells is inefficient, and GM-CSF-based cellular vaccines have thus far been unavailable for CLL. To address this limitation, we manufactured K562 cells engineered to secrete high and consistent levels of GM-CSF (10 micrograms GM-CSF/106 cells/24 hours), and initiated a phase I study to test the effects of a post-transplant vaccine consisting of 1 x 107 irradiated autologous CLL cells together with an equal number of irradiated bystander GM-K562 cells. CD19+CD5+CLL cells were harvested from patient peripheral blood or marrow and banked prior to salvage chemotherapy. To date, we have enrolled 13 patients with CLL, who had experienced a median of 4 prior therapies (range 2-8). Median CLL marrow involvement at transplant was 10% (range <5-50%). Patients were conditioned with a fludarabine/busulfex-based reduced-intensity regimen prior to infusion of peripheral blood stem cells from a matched related (4) or unrelated (9) donor, and received tacrolimus as GvHD prophylaxis throughout the vaccination period. Starting on day 30-45, vaccines were administered as a cycle of 6 vaccines (s.c./i.d., every week x 3, then every 2 weeks x 3). Ten of 13 patients received at least one vaccine, and 7 of 10 received 3 or more vaccines. Three of 13 developed graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) prior to day 45, precluding vaccination. Four of the 10 vaccinated subjects developed grade II GvHD. None experienced unexpected toxicities to vaccines. At a median follow-up of 1 year (range 0.5-2 years), 9 of 10 vaccinated subjects remain free of disease, and 1 patient remains in partial remission. Our studies reveal that reduced intensity transplant followed by early CLL/GM-K562 vaccination is well-tolerated and does not increase the expected rate of GvHD. Early clinical results are promising and ongoing studies are assessing the effects of the vaccination on the induction of immunity against recipient CLL cells.
Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) with reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) has the potential to lead to long-term remissions for patients with lymphoma. However, the role of RIC SCT in the treatment of lymphoma is still unclear. Specifically, the relative benefit of RIC SCT across lymphoma histologies and the prognostic factors in this population are incompletely defined. We retrospectively analyzed the outcomes of 87 patients with advanced lymphoma who underwent RIC SCT at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute over a 6-year period with a homogeneous conditioning regimen consisting of fludarabine and low-dose busulfan. Thirty-six patients had Hodgkin disease (HD) and 51 had non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Sixty-eight percent had undergone prior autologous transplantation. The 1-year cumulative incidence of nonrelapse mortality was 13%, and the 3-year cumulative incidence of progression was 49%. The incidence of grade 3-4 acute GVHD was 11%. The 2-year cumulative incidence of chronic GVHD was 68%, and its development was associated with a decreased risk of progression and an improved progression-free survival (PFS). Three-year overall survival (OS) was 56% for patients with HD, 81% for indolent NHL, 42% for aggressive NHL, and 40% for mantle cell lymphoma. The corresponding figures for 3-year PFS were 22%, 59%, 22%, and 30%, respectively. Multivariate analysis identified elevated pretransplantation lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) as an adverse factor for PFS, while indolent NHL histology was favorable. For OS, advanced age and elevated pretransplantation LDH were adverse factors, whereas indolent NHL histology was favorable. Low early donor chimerism was not predictive of poor outcome in univariate or multivariate analyses. Moreover, progression was not associated with loss of chimerism. These results emphasize the importance of lymphoma histology for patients undergoing RIC SCT, as well as the lack of relevance of donor chimerism for outcome in this patient population.
The optimal treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in first complete remission (CR1) is uncertain. Current consensus, based on cytogenetic risk, recommends myeloablative allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) for poor-risk but not for good-risk AML. Allogeneic SCT, autologous transplantation, and consolidation chemotherapy are considered of equivalent benefit for intermediate-risk AML.To quantify relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival benefit of allogeneic SCT for AML in CR1 overall and also for good-, intermediate-, and poor-risk AML.Systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective trials evaluating allogeneic SCT vs nonallogeneic SCT therapies for AML in CR1. The search used the combined search terms allogeneic; acut* and leukem*/leukaem*/leucem*/leucaem*/aml; myelo* or nonlympho* in the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Registry of Controlled Trials databases in March 2009. The search identified 1712 articles.Prospective trials assigning adult patients with AML in CR1 to undergo allogeneic SCT vs nonallogeneic SCT treatment(s) based on donor availability and trials reporting RFS and/or overall survival outcomes on an intention-to-treat, donor vs no-donor basis were identified.Two reviewers independently extracted study characteristics, interventions, and outcomes. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were determined.Overall, 24 trials and 6007 patients were analyzed (5951 patients in RFS analyses and 5606 patients in overall survival analyses); 3638 patients were analyzed by cytogenetic risk (547, 2499, and 592 with good-, intermediate-, and poor-risk AML, respectively). Interstudy heterogeneity was not significant. Fixed-effects meta-analysis was performed. Compared with nonallogeneic SCT, the HR of relapse or death with allogeneic SCT for AML in CR1 was 0.80 (95% CI, 0.74-0.86). Significant RFS benefit of allogeneic SCT was documented for poor-risk (HR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.57-0.84) and intermediate-risk AML (HR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.68-0.85) but not for good-risk AML (HR, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.80-1.42). The HR of death with allogeneic SCT for AML in CR1 was 0.90 (95% CI, 0.82-0.97). Significant overall survival benefit with allogeneic SCT was documented for poor-risk (HR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.59-0.90) and intermediate-risk AML (HR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.74-0.93) but not for good-risk AML (HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.83-1.38).Compared with nonallogeneic SCT therapies, allogeneic SCT has significant RFS and overall survival benefit for intermediate- and poor-risk AML but not for good-risk AML in first complete remission.
Importance Although sharing care with local oncologists after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) has been proposed for patients living far from HCT centers, it is not known whether a shared strategy is safe or improves patient quality of life (QOL). Objective To determine the efficacy and safety of sharing follow-up care after HCT between the HCT specialty center and local oncologists. Design, Setting, and Participants This was a multicenter collaborative randomized clinical trial of patients undergoing HCT at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI)—a high volume HCT center in Boston (Massachusetts)—and 8 local oncology practices. Eligible patients were enrolled from December 2017 to December 2021 and were randomized 1:1 to shared vs usual care after neutrophil engraftment, stratified by local sites in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New York, and Maine. Data analyses were performed in January 2024. Intervention Shared care involved alternating post-HCT visits at DFCI and local oncology practices through day 100; for usual care, all post-HCT visits occurred only at DFCI. Main Outcomes and Measures Coprimary outcomes were nonrelapse mortality (NRM) at day 100, and QOL measured by the FACT-BMT (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Bone Marrow Transplantation) instrument and the QLQ-C30 (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer’s Quality of Life Questionnaire) at day 180. Prespecified secondary outcomes included day 100 QOL and 1-year overall survival. Results A total of 302 participants (median [range] age, 63 [20-79] years; 117 [38.7%] females; 185 [61.3%] males) were included in the analysis; 152 were randomized to shared care and 150 to usual care. Day 100 NRM was noninferior for shared vs usual care (2.6% [95% CI, 0.7% to 6.6%] vs 2.7% [95% CI, 0.7% to 6.7%]; P = .98). There were no differences at day 180 for the FACT-BMT total score (mean difference, 3.8; 95% CI, −2.1 to 9.6; P = .20) or QLQ-C30 global score (1.9; 95% CI, −4.9 to 8.8; P = .58). At day 100, the FACT-BMT total score was better for shared care (mean difference, 6.6; 95% CI, 1.0 to 12.1; P = .02) as was the QLQ-C30 global score (8.8; 95% CI, 1.8 to 15.7; P = .02). Conclusions and Relevance This randomized clinical trial found that shared care resulted in noninferior NRM at day 100 but similar QOL at day 180, with improved QOL at day 100. These data suggest that shared care is safe, improves QOL early on, and has the potential to become a routine model for post-HCT care. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03244826
Despite new therapeutic options, treatment of steroid-refractory chronic graft-versus-host disease (SR-cGVHD) remains challenging as organ involvement and clinical manifestations are highly variable. In previous trials of low-dose interleukin-2 (LD IL-2), we established the safety and efficacy of LD IL-2 for the treatment of SR-cGVHD. In the present report, we combined five phase 1 or 2 clinical trials conducted at our center to investigate organ-specific response rate, coinvolvement of organs, predictors of organ-specific response, and its possible association with immune response. For the 105 adult patients included in this report, the overall response rate after 8 or 12 weeks of LD IL-2 was 48.6% and 53.3%, including late responses in patients who continued treatment for extended periods. Skin was the most frequent organ involved (84%). The organ-specific response rate was highest in liver (66.7%) followed by the gastrointestinal tract (62.5%), skin (36.4%), joint/muscle/fascia (34.2%), and lung (19.2%). In multivariable analysis, shorter time from diagnosis of cGVHD to IL-2 initiation, shorter time from transplant to IL-2 initiation, and fewer prior therapies were associated with overall response as well as skin response. For immunologic correlates, the ratio of regulatory T cells:conventional T cells (ie, CD4Treg:CD4Tcon) ratio at 1 week was significantly higher in patients with overall and skin response; skin response was significantly associated with lower number of total CD3 T cells, CD4Tcon cells, and CD8 T cells and a higher number of B cells. For lung responders, terminal effector memory cell counts were lower within all T-cell populations compared with nonresponders. Organ-specific mechanisms of injury should be investigated, and organ-specific targeted therapies need to be developed.
