ArticlePublisher preview availableLiterature Review

AYA Considerations for Aggressive Lymphomas

March 2021
Current Hematologic Malignancy Reports 16(7):1-11

Authors:

Purpose of Review Lymphoma is the one of the most common cancer diagnoses among adolescents and young adults (AYAs) aged 15–39. Despite significant advances in outcomes observed in older adults and younger children, improvements in AYAs have lagged behind. The reasons for this are likely multifactorial including disparities in access to health insurance, low rates of enrollment to clinical trials, potential differences in disease biology, and unique psychosocial challenges. Here we will review Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and primary mediastinal B cell lymphoma (PMBCL), two of the most common aggressive lymphomas that occur in AYAs. We will discuss the current knowledge about disease biology in AYAs, adult and pediatric treatment strategies, novel targeted therapies, and ongoing AYA clinical trials in these lymphoma subtypes. We also will review unique considerations for treatment-related toxicities in AYAs and psychosocial issues relevant to this population. Recent Findings Pediatric and adult trials in HL and PMBCL have demonstrated that treatment with dose-intense chemotherapeutic regimens with or without radiation results in high cure rates but can also be associated with long-term toxicity which must be considered in this young population. Novel targeted agents such as the antibody-drug conjugate brentuximab vedotin and/or antibodies targeted against PD-1/PD-L1 have demonstrated activity in the relapsed setting and are currently being evaluated in the upfront setting, which may reduce our reliance on therapies associated with long-term toxicity. AYA-focused clinical trials are currently underway to better elucidate the optimal therapy for lymphomas in this age group. Summary There is an urgent need for clinical trials including AYAs in order to increase the knowledge of age-specific outcomes, toxicities, disease biology, and the need to develop comprehensive AYA care models that meet the unique and complex care needs of this patient population.

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B-CELL NHL, T-CELL NHL, AND HODGKIN LYMPHOMA (J AMENGUAL, SECTION EDITOR)

AYA Considerations for Aggressive Lymphomas

Gabriela Llaurador

1,2

&Lisa Giulino-Roth

Accepted: 1 February 2021

#The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC part of Springer Nature 2021

Abstract

Purpose of Review Lymphoma is the one of the most common cancer diagnoses among adolescents and young adults

(AYAs) aged 15–39. Despite significant advances in outcomes observed in older adults and younger children, improve-

ments in AYAs have lagged behind. The reasons for this are likely multifactorial including disparities in access to health

insurance, low rates of enrollment to clinical trials, potential differences in disease biology, and unique psychosocial

challenges. Here we will review Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and primary mediastinal B cell lymphoma (PMBCL), two of

the most common aggressive lymphomas that occur in AYAs. We will discuss the current knowledge about disease

biology in AYAs, adult and pediatric treatment strategies, novel targeted therapies, and ongoing AYA clinical trials in

these lymphoma subtypes. We also will review unique considerations for treatment-related toxicities in AYAs and

psychosocial issues relevant to this population.

Recent Findings Pediatric and adult trials in HL and PMBCL have demonstrated that treatment with dose-intense chemothera-

peutic regimens with or without radiation results in high cure rates but can also be associated with long-term toxicity which must

be considered in this young population. Novel targeted agents such as the antibody-drug conjugate brentuximab vedotin and/or

antibodies targeted against PD-1/PD-L1 have demonstrated activity in the relapsed setting and are currently being evaluated in

the upfront setting, which may reduce our reliance on therapies associated with long-term toxicity. AYA-focused clinical trials

are currently underway to better elucidate the optimal therapy for lymphomas in this age group.

Summary There is an urgent need for clinical trials including AYAs in order to increase the knowledge of age-specific outcomes,

toxicities, disease biology, and the need to develop comprehensive AYA care models that meet the unique and complex care

needs of this patient population.

Keywords AYA .Lymphoma .Hodgkin lymphoma .Primary mediastinal B cell lymphoma .Adolescent .Young adult

Introduction

The AYA population is defined by the National Cancer

Institute (NCI) as individuals between the ages of 15 to 39

years. Lymphomas are responsible for 20–25% of the

annual cancer diagnoses in AYAs. Despite significant ad-

vances in cancer care leading to excellent outcomes in

childhood and adult lymphoma, improvements in survival

among AYAs have lagged behind [1]. Slower rates of

improvement in outcomes may be due to a variety of

disparities including delays in diagnosis due to decreased

suspicion for malignancy, lack of medical insurance, lim-

ited access to healthcare resources and/or underrepresen-

tation in clinical trials. These gaps have led to discrepan-

cies in knowledge about population-specific disease biol-

ogy and optimal treatment strategies [2–6]. In this chap-

ter, we will focus on Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and pri-

mary mediastinal B cell lymphoma (PMBCL), two of the

most common lymphomas in the AYA population, which

both have a peak incidence in this age group. Here we

will review our current understanding of the biology of

these lymphomas, summarize pediatric and adult ap-

proaches to treatment, and highlight recent advances in

This article is part of the Topical Collection on B Cell NHL, T Cell NHL,

and Hodgkin Lymphoma

*Lisa Giulino-Roth

Lgr2002@med.cornell.edu

Gabriela Llaurador

llauradg@mskcc.org

Division of Pediatric Hematology Oncology, Weill Cornell Medical

College, 525 E 68th Street, Payson 695, New York, NY 10065, USA

Department of Pediatrics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center,

1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11899-021-00607-7

/ Published online: 16 March 2021

Current Hematologic Malignancy Reports (2021) 16:61–71

Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.

Racial Disparities in Cancer Stage at Diagnosis and Survival for Adolescents and Young Adults

Article

Aug 2024

Importance There are limited studies assessing stage at diagnosis and risk of death among all 5 federally defined races in the US among adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients with cancer. Objective To identify racial disparities in stage at diagnosis and survival among AYA patients with cancer. Design, Setting, and Participants This retrospective cohort study used data from a US national hospital-based oncology database on AYA patients, aged 15 to 39 years, with the 10 deadliest cancers among AYA patients who received a diagnosis from January 1, 2004, to December 31, 2017, with 6 months or more of follow-up. Analyses by race were categorized by the 5 federally defined races in the US: American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and non-Hispanic White (hereafter, White ). White patients served as the majority reference group. Statistical analysis was performed from November 2022 to September 2023. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary end points were late stage at diagnosis (logistic regression with adjusted odds ratios [AORs] and 95% CIs) and overall survival (log-rank tests and Cox proportional hazards regression with adjusted hazard ratios [AHRs] and 95% CIs). Results A total of 291 899 AYA patients (median age, 33 years [IQR, 28-37 years]; 186 549 female patients [64%]; 189 812 [65%] with stage I or II cancers) were evaluated. The cohort included 1457 American Indian or Alaska Native patients (1%), 8412 Asian patients (3%), 40 851 Black patients (14%), 987 Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander patients (0.3%), and 240 192 White patients (82%). Cancers included breast (n = 79 195 [27%]), lymphoma (n = 45 500 [16%]), melanoma (n = 36 724 [13%]), testis (n = 31 413 [11%]), central nervous system (n = 26 070 [9%]), colon or rectum (n = 22 545 [8%]), cervix (n = 20 923 [7%]), sarcoma (n = 14 951 [5%]), ovary (n = 8982 [3%]), and lung (n = 5596 [2%]). Risk of late-stage diagnosis was higher for Asian (AOR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.14-1.26), Black (AOR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.36-1.43), and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (AOR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.16-1.55) patients compared with White patients. Overall survival differed by race for all cancer sites, except cancers of the central nervous system and ovary. Risk of death was higher for American Indian or Alaska Native (AHR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.02-1.30), Black (AHR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.19-1.26), and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (AHR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.09-1.44) patients but lower for Asian patients (AHR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.85-0.95) compared with White patients. Conclusions and Relevance This cohort study of AYA patients suggests that stage at diagnosis and survival varied across races for the 10 deadliest AYA cancers. These results support the need for tailored interventions and informed public policy to achieve cancer care equity for all races.

Disparities in care and outcomes for adolescent and young adult lymphoma patients

Article

Sep 2023

Though survival outcomes among adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with lymphoma have improved over the last three decades, socially vulnerable populations including non‐White, low‐income, and publicly insured groups continue to trail behind on survival curves. These disparities, while likely the result of both biological and non‐biological factors, can be largely attributed to inequities in care over the full cancer continuum. Nationally representative studies have demonstrated that from diagnosis through therapy and into long‐term survivorship, socially vulnerable AYAs with lymphoma face barriers to care that impact their short and long‐term survival. Thus, improving outcomes for all AYAs with lymphoma requires dedicated study to understand, and then address the unique challenges faced by non‐White and low‐income lymphoma populations within this age group.

Overcoming barriers to drug development and enrollment in clinical trials for adolescents and young adults with lymphoma

Article

Sep 2023

Lymphoma is one of the most common cancers in adolescents and young adults, but historically, this population has had lower clinical trial enrollment and improvements in overall survival as compared to other age populations. There are multiple challenges that are unique to this population that have affected drug development and clinical trial enrollment. Our panel of experts have identified barriers, and in this review, we discuss current methods to address these barriers as well as potential solutions moving forward.

Genomic analyses of flow-sorted Hodgkin Reed-Sternberg cells reveal complementary mechanisms of immune evasion

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2019

Key Points Analyses of recurrent mutations, copy number alterations, and structural variants reveal complementary immune evasion mechanisms in cHL. The mutational burden in EBV– cHLs is among the highest reported, potentially contributing to the efficacy of PD-1 blockade.

Pembrolizumab in Relapsed or Refractory Primary Mediastinal Large B-Cell Lymphoma

Article

Full-text available

Oct 2019

Purpose: Patients with relapsed or refractory primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (rrPMBCL) have a poor prognosis, and their treatment represents an urgent and unmet need. Because PMBCL is associated with genetic aberrations at 9p24 and overexpression of programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) ligands (PD-L1), it is hypothesized to be susceptible to PD-1 blockade. Methods: In the phase IB KEYNOTE-013 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01953692) and phase II KEYNOTE-170 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02576990) studies, adults with rrPMBCL received pembrolizumab for up to 2 years or until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary end points were safety and objective response rate in KEYNOTE-013 and objective response rate in KEYNOTE-170. Secondary end points included duration of response, progression-free survival, overall survival, and safety. Exploratory end points included association between biomarkers and pembrolizumab activity. Results: The objective response rate was 48% (7 complete responses; 33%) among 21 patients in KEYNOTE-013 and 45% (7 complete responses; 13%) among 53 patients in KEYNOTE-170. After a median follow-up time of 29.1 months in KEYNOTE-013 and 12.5 months in KEYNOTE-170, the median duration of response was not reached in either study. No patient with complete response experienced progression, including 2 patients with complete response for at least 1 year off therapy. Treatment-related adverse events occurred in 24% of patients in KEYNOTE-013 and 23% of patients in KEYNOTE-170. There were no treatment-related deaths. Among 42 evaluable patients, the magnitude of the 9p24 gene abnormality was associated with PD-L1 expression, which was itself significantly associated with progression-free survival. Conclusion: Pembrolizumab is associated with high response rate, durable activity, and a manageable safety profile in patients with rrPMBCL.

Nivolumab Combined With Brentuximab Vedotin for Relapsed/Refractory Primary Mediastinal Large B-Cell Lymphoma: Efficacy and Safety From the Phase II CheckMate 436 Study

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2019

Purpose: Primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (PMBL) is a rare but aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma with poor outcomes in patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) disease. PMBL is characterized by high expression of programmed death-1 ligand and variable expression of CD30. Nivolumab, an anti-programmed death-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor, and brentuximab vedotin (BV), an anti-CD30 antibody-drug conjugate, may have synergistic activity in R/R PMBL. Methods: The expansion cohort of the open-label, phase I/II CheckMate 436 study enrolled patients with confirmed R/R PMBL who were previously treated with either autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation or two or more prior chemotherapy regimens if ineligible for autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation. Patients received nivolumab (240 mg intravenously) and BV (1.8 mg/kg intravenously) every 3 weeks until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Primary end points were investigator-assessed objective response rate (ORR) per the Lugano 2014 criteria and safety. Results: Thirty patients with PMBL were treated and evaluable. At a median follow-up of 11.1 months, ORR (95% CI) was 73% (54% to 88%), with a 37% complete remission rate per investigator, and ORR of 70% (51% to 85%), with a 43% complete metabolic response rate per independent review. Median duration of response, median progression-free survival, and median overall survival have not been reached. Eleven responders had consolidation with autologous (n = 5) or allogeneic (n = 6) transplantation. Treatment-related adverse events were reported in 25 patients (83%). Sixteen patients (53%) had grade 3 to 4 treatment-related adverse events; the most common were neutropenia (n = 9), thrombocytopenia (n = 3), and peripheral neuropathy (n = 3). There were no treatment-related deaths. Conclusion: In patients with R/R PMBL, the combination of nivolumab plus BV represents a promising option, with high antitumor activity and a manageable safety profile.

Single-Cell Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Disease-Defining T-cell Subsets in the Tumor Microenvironment of Classic Hodgkin Lymphoma

Article

Dec 2019

Hodgkin lymphoma is characterized by an extensively dominant tumor microenvironment (TME) composed of different types of noncancerous immune cells with rare malignant cells. Characterization of the cellular components and their spatial relationship is crucial to understanding cross-talk and therapeutic targeting in the TME. We performed single-cell RNA sequencing of more than 127,000 cells from 22 Hodgkin lymphoma tissue specimens and 5 reactive lymph nodes, profiling for the first time the phenotype of the Hodgkin lymphoma–specific immune microenvironment at single-cell resolution. Single-cell expression profiling identified a novel Hodgkin lymphoma–associated subset of T cells with prominent expression of the inhibitory receptor LAG3, and functional analyses established this LAG3+ T-cell population as a mediator of immunosuppression. Multiplexed spatial assessment of immune cells in the microenvironment also revealed increased LAG3+ T cells in the direct vicinity of MHC class II–deficient tumor cells. Our findings provide novel insights into TME biology and suggest new approaches to immune-checkpoint targeting in Hodgkin lymphoma. Significance We provide detailed functional and spatial characteristics of immune cells in classic Hodgkin lymphoma at single-cell resolution. Specifically, we identified a regulatory T-cell–like immunosuppressive subset of LAG3+ T cells contributing to the immune-escape phenotype. Our insights aid in the development of novel biomarkers and combination treatment strategies targeting immune checkpoints. See related commentary by Fisher and Oh, p. 342. This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 327

Pembrolizumab in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Primary Mediastinal Large B-Cell Lymphoma (PMBCL): Data from the Keynote-013 and Keynote-170 Studies

Article

Nov 2018

Introduction: Patients (pts) with relapsed/refractory PMBCL (rrPMBCL) are typically treated like those with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), often with limited effective treatment options and poor outcomes. Unlike DLBCL and similar to classical Hodgkin lymphoma, PMBCL has frequent genetic abnormalities leading to over-expression of the programmed death (PD)-1 ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2. This suggests that rrPMBCL should be sensitive to PD-1 blockade. In the phase 1b KEYNOTE (KN)-013 study (NCT01953692), pembrolizumab was associated with frequent and durable responses (Zinzani, Blood 2017) in pts with rrPMBCL. The international phase 2 KN170 (NCT02576990) study was conducted to extend these findings and evaluate correlative biomarkers of response. Here, we present updated results of all pts in KN013 (n=21) and the first full analysis of pts in KN170 (n=53). Methods: KN013 enrolled pts with rrPMBCL who had failed, were ineligible for, or refused autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT). KN170 enrolled pts with rrPMBCL who had relapsed after or were ineligible for ASCT with ≥2 lines of prior therapy. In KN013, the initial 10 pts received pembrolizumab 10 mg/kg Q2W; the remaining 11 patients and all patients on KN170 received pembrolizumab 200 mg Q3W for up to 2 years. Archival or fresh tumor tissue obtained before pembrolizumab initiation was used for correlative studies. Tumor response was assessed with PET/CT scans by IWG 2007 criteria. The primary endpoint of KN170 was objective response rate (ORR) by blinded independent central review (BICR). Secondary endpoints included duration of response (DOR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and safety/tolerability. Exploratory endpoints included response by Lugano 2014 criteria and biomarker analyses. Data cutoff dates for this analysis were Apr 4, 2018 for KN013 and April 13, 2018 for KN170. Results: KN013 enrolled 21 pts with a median of 3 prior lines of therapy, of whom 13 (62%) were ASCT-ineligible. KN170 enrolled 53 pts also with a median of 3 prior lines, of whom 39 (74%) were ASCT-ineligible due to chemorefractoriness. In KN013, ORR was 48% (10/21; 95% CI, 26-70), with a CR rate of 33% (7/21). In KN170, ORR was 45% (24/53; 95%CI, 32-60), with a CR rate of 13% (7/53; 11/53 [21% by Lugano criteria]). In KN013, after a median follow-up duration of 29.1 mo (range, 0.6-49.6), median DOR was not reached (range, 1.9+ to 39.8+ mo) (Panel A). 2 patients in KN013 in CR at 2 years remained in CR after a further 12 and 18 mo of follow-up off therapy. After a median follow-up of 12.5 mo for KN170 (range, 0.1-25.6), median DOR was not reached (range, 1.1+ to 22.0+ mo) (Panel A). At data cutoff, no patient who achieved a CR on KN170 had relapsed. In KN013, median PFS was 10.4 mo (95%CI, 3.4 to not reached) with 12-mo PFS rate of 47%; median OS was 31.4 mo with 12-mo OS rate of 65% (Panel B). In KN170, median PFS was 5.5 mo (95%CI, 2.8-12.1) with 12-mo PFS rate of 38%; median OS was not reached (95% CI, 7.3 to not reached) with 12-mo OS rate of 58% (Panel B). In KN013, no new safety signals were observed compared with prior analyses. In KN170, 30 (57%) pts had a treatment-related AE (TRAE). Common (≥5%) TRAEs included neutropenia (19%), hypothyroidism and asthenia (8% each), and pyrexia (6%). 12 (23%) pts had a grade 3-4 TRAE, including 5 (9%) with grade 3 and 2 (4%) with grade 4 neutropenia. Six (11%) pts had an immune-mediated AE including 1 (2%) with grade 4 pneumonitis. There were no treatment-related deaths. Conclusion: Together with the longer follow-up results of KN013, KN170, the largest prospective clinical trial in rrPMBCL, establishes the robust antitumor activity of pembrolizumab in this disease, with exceptionally durable responses and survival in responding patients. These results provided the basis for the FDA accelerated approval of pembrolizumab in patients with rrPMBCL. Disclosures Armand: Otsuka: Research Funding; Adaptive: Research Funding; Merck: Consultancy, Research Funding; Affimed: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy; Infinity: Consultancy; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Research Funding; Roche: Research Funding; Tensha: Research Funding. Rodig:Merck & Co., Inc.: Research Funding; Affimed Inc.: Research Funding; KITE Pharma: Research Funding; Bristol-Meyers-Squibb: Research Funding. Özcan:Jazz: Other: Travel support; Bayer: Research Funding; BMS: Honoraria; MSD: Other: travel support, Research Funding; Janssen: Other: Travel Support, Research Funding; Jazz: Other; Celgene: Other: Travel support, Research Funding; Roche: Honoraria, Research Funding; Archigen: Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; MSD: Research Funding; Abbvie: Other: Travel payment; Takeda: Honoraria, Other: Travel payment, Research Funding. Fogliatto:Novartis: Consultancy; Roche: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Honoraria, Research Funding. Walewski:Roche, Celegene, Takeda, Janssen-Cilag, and Servier: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Roche, Celgene, Takeda, Janssen-Cilag, and Servier: Honoraria; Roche, GSK/Novartis, Takeda, and Janssen-Cilag: Research Funding. Gulbas:Pfizer: Other: Travel expenses; Roche and Janssen: Honoraria; Gilead: Research Funding; Roche: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Ribrag:Incyte Corporation: Consultancy; MSD: Honoraria; NanoString Technologies: Consultancy, Honoraria; BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria; Roche: Honoraria, Other: travel; Infinity: Consultancy, Honoraria; epizyme: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen: Research Funding; pharmamar: Other: travel; Servier: Consultancy, Honoraria; argenX: Research Funding. Christian:Immunomedics: Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Merck: Research Funding; Acerta: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; Genentech: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Perini:Janssen and Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen and Takeda: Speakers Bureau; Janssen and Takeda: Other: Travel expenses. Salles:Merck: Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria; Roche: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; AbbVie: Honoraria; Acerta: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria; Pfizer: Honoraria; Morphosys: Honoraria; Servier: Honoraria; Amgen: Honoraria; Epizyme: Honoraria; Gilead: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria. Svoboda:Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Research Funding; Kyowa: Consultancy; Regeneron: Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Research Funding; KITE: Consultancy; Merck: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Research Funding. Chatterjee:Merck & Co., Inc.: Employment. Orlowski:Merck & Co., Inc.: Employment. Balakumaran:Amgen: Equity Ownership; Merck & Co., Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Shipp:Bayer: Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Honoraria; Merck: Research Funding. Zinzani:PFIZER: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; BMS: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Roche: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Astra Zeneca: Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Merck: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; SERVIER: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Celltrion: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Bayer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Merck: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; TG Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; TG Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bayer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; MSD: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; PFIZER: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Gilead: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Verastem: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau.

Genomic Rearrangements Involving Programmed Death Ligands Are Recurrent In Primary Mediastinal Large B-Cell Lymphoma

Article

Nov 2013

Introduction Primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL) is an aggressive malignancy commonly diagnosed in young adult females. In recent years, mutational and gene expression profiling has established genotypic and phenotypic similarity of PMBCL with both classical Hodgkin and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). In-depth analyses of genomes and transcriptomes have highlighted several inactivating mutations (SOCS1, TP53), chromosomal amplifications (2p, 9p, Xp, Xq) and translocations (CIITA) thought to be integral in establishing and/or maintaining the PMBCL phenotype. Programmed death ligands (PDL) 1 (CD274) and 2 (PDCD1LG2), which are located on chromosome 9p24.1, are two emerging genes of interest that have been shown to be altered in PMBCL and can induce T-cell anergy by binding to the receptor, programmed death 1. Here, we describe the recurrence of chromosomal rearrangements of the PDL locus in various B-cell lymphomas and explore the association of these rearrangements with transcript levels. Methods To establish the frequency of CD274 and PDCD1LG2 aberration, we conducted fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) on 551 clinical samples and 20 established cell lines using in-house break-apart probes. Epstein-Barr virus encoded RNA in situ hybridization was also carried out on the clinical cohort. The clinical cases, sourced from the British Columbia Cancer Agency’s Centre for Lymphoid Cancer tissue repository, consisted of 125 PMBCLs, 216 DLBCLs, 130 primary DLBCL of the central nervous system (PCNSL), 12 nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin lymphomas (NLPHL) and 68 follicular lymphomas (FL) with diagnoses based on the WHO classification. The DLBCL cohort could be further subdivided into 134 nodal DLBCLs and 82 testicular DLBCLs (T-DLBCL). Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was subsequently conducted on 17 cell lines and a clinical sub-cohort of 76 samples, for which fresh-frozen material was available, to determine the effect of mutations on transcript expression. We then characterized the PDL aberrations of two clinical PMBCL cases and three cell lines (DEV, L-428, L-1236), at base pair resolution, by applying the bioinformatic tools, nFuse, deFuse and destruct to both newly produced and previously published whole genome (WGS) and whole transcriptome (RNA-seq) libraries. Results FISH revealed a PDL locus (9p24.1) break-apart frequency of 20% (25/125) in PMBCL. There were no differences in any known clinical parameters or frequency of Epstein-Barr virus positivity between positive and negative PDL break-apart cases. Break-apart frequencies in other malignancies were calculated to be 3% in DLBCL, 7% in T-DLBCL and 1% in PCNSL; no positive cases were identified in either NLPHL or FL. The proportion of break-apart positive cases was significantly higher in PMBCL as compared to the other lymphomas surveyed (P < 0.05). Further, in agreement with the published literature, we observed an amplification frequency of the PDL locus in 36% (45/125) of PMBCLs. qRT-PCR established that PDCD1LG2 transcript levels were significantly higher in cases with 9p24.1 locus rearrangements compared to copy number neutral (P = 0.0003), gain (P = 0.001) and amplified cases (P = 0.005). Likewise, CD274 transcript levels were significantly higher in rearranged cases compared to copy number neutral cases (P = 0.03). Following the analysis of WGS and RNA-seq libraries, we were able to characterize four novel fusion transcripts involving the 9p24.1 locus: PDCD1LG2-NRG1 (PMBCL clinical case), PDCD1LG2-IGHV7-81 (L-1236), CIITA-PDCD1LG2 (DEV) and KIAA1432-CLDN14 (L-428). Aberrations involving both NRG1 and CIITA have previously been implicated in breast cancer and B-cell lymphomas, respectively. We also identified a translocation in another PMBCL clinical case with breakpoints in the intergenic spaces near LRMP and CD274, though this rearrangement did not produce a fusion transcript. Conclusion Taken together, our findings show that rearrangement of the PDL locus is recurrent in PMBCL, characteristic of PMBCL and leads to overexpression of PDL transcripts. Given the well-referenced function of PDLs in repressing the anti-tumor response, these data suggest that targeting the PDL axis in a subgroup of B-cell lymphomas holds clinical promise. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Prediction of Primary Treatment Outcome Using Gene Expression Profiling of Pre-Treatment Biopsies Obtained from Childhood and Adolescent Hodgkin Lymphoma Patients

Article

Dec 2015

Introduction: Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a common malignancy of children and adolescents and is highly curable with a 5-year overall survival (OS) rate of > 97%, yet dose-intensified chemotherapy regimens in combination with radiation therapy come with a high cost in form of long-term toxicity and morbidity (Castellino et al., Blood 2011). This major clinical challenge has resulted in the evaluation of risk-adapted treatment regimens in clinical trials aiming to achieve the optimal equilibrium between high survival rates and prevention of treatment-related toxicity. However, risk stratification is currently limited to the use of clinical factors as there are no validated integral biomarkers that can be employed to either improve risk stratification or as surrogate markers of treatment outcome in pediatric HL. The aim of our study was to perform gene expression profiling (GEP) to uncover disease biology underlying treatment response and develop a prognostic model to tailor first-line therapy in pediatric HL. Methods: We selected 203 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue (FFPET) specimens from patients enrolled in a randomized phase 3 clinical trial (AHOD0031) of the Children's Oncology Group (COG) based on the availability of archived FFPET blocks. That trial was designed to assess the value of early chemotherapy response for tailoring subsequent therapy in intermediate-risk pediatric HL. We performed GEP on RNA extracted from pre-treatment FFPET biopsies using NanoString technology and a customized codeset encompassing probes for 784 genes. These genes were either previously reported to be associated with prognosis and outcome in HL or represent the cellular diversity of the tumor microenvironment. Event free survival (EFS) and OS were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Gene expression data were used to develop a predictive model for EFS using penalized Cox regression with parameters trained using leave-one-out cross-validation. Results: Of the 203 tissue samples obtained from the Biopathology Center at the Cooperative Human Tissue Network, 182 (89.7%) passed quality assurance testing, similar to the pass rate achieved for adult HL samples obtained from the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group trial E2496 (Scott et al., JCO 2013). We applied our previously published 23-gene predictor for OS (Scott et al., JCO 2013), developed using biopsies from adult HL patients to our pediatric cohort. After calibrating the new codeset, 53 patients were classified as "high-risk" and 129 as "low-risk". Importantly, the model failed to predict inferior outcomes in the "high-risk" group (5-year OS 100% vs 95%, log-rank P = 0.125; 5-year EFS 82% vs 70%, log-rank P = 0.159), with patients in the "high risk" group trending to have superior outcomes than the "low risk" patients. Moreover, only 2 genes from this model, IFNG and CXCL11, were significantly associated with EFS in univariate Cox regression analysis (P = 0.003 and 0.048, respectively) but with inverse hazard ratios in the pediatric group compared to adult patients. Therefore, we sought to develop a novel EFS predictive model for pediatric patients treated in the AHOD0031 trial. Using univariate Cox regression we identified 79 genes significantly associated with EFS (raw P < 0.05). Using the expression of these 79 genes as the input to penalized Cox regression, we developed a 16-gene model to predict EFS in our training cohort. Using an optimized cut-off for the model score, 31% of patients were designated high-risk and had significantly inferior post-treatment outcome (5-year EFS 38% vs 89%, log-rank P < 0.0001). When multivariate analyses were performed including our EFS-model score, disease stage and initial treatment response as variables, only the model score was significantly associated with EFS (P < 0.0001, HR 11.3 (95% CI 5.5-23.4)). Conclusions: Failure of the GEP-based model developed in adult HL suggests distinct biology underlies treatment failure in the pediatric age group. We describe the development of a novel predictive model for EFS in intermediate-risk pediatric HL patients that will be validated in an independent cohort of patients treated in the AHOD0031 trial. Successful validation of the model may provide a clinically relevant biomarker for pediatric and adolescent HL patients allowing refinement of risk stratification and the combination of molecular and clinical risk factors at diagnosis. Disclosures Scott: Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria; NanoString: Patents & Royalties: Inventor on a patent that NanoString has licensed.

PD-1 Blockade with Pembrolizumab in Patients with Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma after Brentuximab Vedotin Failure: Safety, Efficacy, and Biomarker Assessment

Article

Dec 2015

Introduction: The PD-1 pathway provides an important mechanism of immune evasion and an actionable therapeutic target for many tumors. Classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) frequently contains genetic amplification at the 9p24.1 locus, resulting in the overexpression of the PD-1 ligands PD-L1 and PD-L2 on the tumor cell surface. cHL may therefore have a unique sensitivity to PD-1 blockade. Pembrolizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that blocks the interaction of PD-1 with its ligands and can restore antitumor immune activity in several solid tumors. Based on its possible genetically driven dependence on PD-1, cHL was included as an independent expansion cohort in the KEYNOTE-013 study (NCT01953692), a phase 1b multicenter multicohort trial of pembrolizumab in patients with hematologic malignancies. Updated results of the cHL cohort are presented. Methods: This cohort enrolled patients with relapsed or refractory cHL. Patients had to have relapsed after, be ineligible for, or refused autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). In addition, patients were required to have relapsed after or be refractory to brentuximab vedotin (BV) treatment. Pembrolizumab was administered intravenously at a dose of 10 mg/kg every 2 weeks for up to 2 years or until confirmed progression or unacceptable toxicity. Response was assessed by computed tomography and positron emission tomography scans after 12 weeks of treatment and every 8 weeks thereafter, using International Harmonization Project 2007 criteria. The primary objectives were safety and complete remission (CR) rate; secondary objectives were progression-free survival, overall survival, overall response rate (ORR), duration of response (DOR), and biomarker assessments. Biomarkers included PD-L1/PD-L2 expression in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue; flow cytometry evaluating absolute and relative numbers of circulating NK cells and T-cell subsets (naive and memory T cells, activated T cells, and regulatory T cells); and gene expression using the NanoString platform. Results: At the time of data cutoff on May 26, 2015, 31 patients were evaluable for analysis. Median (range) age was 32 (20-67) years. 68% of patients had received ≥4 prior lines of therapy, 71% had failed prior ASCT, and by design 100% had failed prior BV. The most common treatment-related AEs were hypothyroidism (16%), diarrhea (13%), nausea (13%), and pneumonitis (10%). Five patients had grade 3 related AEs; no grade 4 AEs or treatment-related deaths occurred. ORR among the 31 patients was 65% (90% CI, 48-79). Five patients (16%) achieved CR, 15 (48%) partial remission, and 7 (23%) stable disease as their best response. With a median follow-up of 9.7 (1.3-17.5) months, the median DOR had not been reached (0+ to 13.4+ months). As of the data cutoff, 14 patients (45%) remained on treatment; 2 (6%) patients discontinued for toxicity, 12 (39%) for progression, and 3 (10%) for other reasons. Of the 20 responses, 14 are ongoing. Eleven patients had evaluable pretreatment tumor tissue (archival or obtained for study). Among them, 10 (91%) were PD-L1+ by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Among 6 available tumor samples obtained at week 13, 4 (57%) were PD-L1+. Additionally, 10/10 patients assessed for PD-L2 expression by IHC showed high levels of PD-L2 staining. Based on flow cytometry analyses, a significant increase was observed at the 13-week time point in the absolute number of circulating total lymphocytes, T cells (CD4 and CD8 subsets), as well as NK cells. NanoString RNA profiling of pre- and posttreatment blood samples showed that several prespecified gene expression signatures were significantly upregulated with treatment, including the 10-gene IFN-γ-induced signature, the 18-gene expanded immune signature, and the 13-gene TCR signature. Conclusion: PD-1 blockade with pembrolizumab was associated with a favorable safety profile and a high response rate in a very heavily pretreated cohort of patients with cHL. Responses appear durable with ongoing follow-up. Biomarker analyses confirm the frequent presence of PD-L1 and PD-L2 in tumors and further suggest that pembrolizumab results in an expansion of circulating T- and NK-cell populations, as well as in activation of IFN-γ and other pathways involved in regulation and differentiation of immune cells. Those biomarkers may be tested in larger ongoing studies for their relationship with treatment outcomes. Disclosures Armand: Merck: Consultancy, Research Funding; Sequenta, Inc.: Research Funding; Infinity: Consultancy, Research Funding; BMS: Research Funding. Off Label Use: The PD-1 pathway is an important mechanism of immune evasion for many tumors. Pembrolizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that blocks the interaction of PD-1 with its ligands PD-L1 and PD-L2 on the tumor cell surface and, based upon pembrolizumab's antitumor immune activity in several solid tumors, it may be an effective option for treating hematological malignancies.. Shipp:Bayer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Gilead: Consultancy; Sanofi: Research Funding; BMS: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Merck: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Ribrag:Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Servier: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Pharmamar: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Zinzani:Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; J&J: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Snyder:Merck: Employment, Equity Ownership. Ricart:Merck: Employment; Pfizer Inc.: Equity Ownership. Balakumaran:Merck: Employment, Equity Ownership; Amgen: Equity Ownership. Moskowitz:Seattle Genetics: Honoraria, Research Funding; Genentech: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pharmacyclics: Research Funding; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Merck: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding.

Tisagenlecleucel in relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients without measurable disease at infusion

Article

Jul 2019

Tisagenlecleucel demonstrated high rates of durable responses in adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (r/r DLBCL) in the JULIET trial. Most patients (92%) received bridging therapies to control disease after study entry and before tisagenlecleucel infusion. Here, we examine the efficacy and safety of tisagenlecleucel in the subset of 7 patients who achieved complete response (CR) after bridging therapy and before tisagenlecleucel infusion. Tisagenlecleucel rapidly expanded in all 7 patients, and the transgene levels were measurable for up to 2 years after infusion. After infusion, all 7 patients were still in CR at the month 3 evaluation, and 5 of 7 patients remained progression-free >12 months. Adverse events were similar to the overall JULIET population. Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) was reported in 4 of 7 patients (grade 2 = 2 and grade 3 = 2 using the Penn grading scale), and 1 patient experienced grade 1 neurotoxicity. No patient required tocilizumab or steroids for CRS management. These data provide preliminary evidence of tisagenlecleucel efficacy in patients with r/r DLBCL without detectable disease after bridging or salvage therapies and warrant further investigation of tisagenlecleucel as consolidative therapy in future trials. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT02445248.

PD-1 Blockade with Pembrolizumab for Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma after Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation

Article

Apr 2019

Autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) remains the standard of care for patients with relapsed/refractory (RR) classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) who respond to salvage chemotherapy. However, relapse after ASCT remains a frequent cause of treatment failure, with poor subsequent prognosis. Because cHL is uniquely vulnerable to programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) blockade, PD-1 blockade given as consolidation after ASCT could improve ASCT outcomes. We therefore conducted a multicohort phase 2 study of pembrolizumab in patients with RR cHL after ASCT, hypothesizing that it would improve the progression-free survival (PFS) at 18 months after ASCT (primary end point) from 60% to 80%. Pembrolizumab was administered at 200 mg IV every 3 weeks for up to 8 cycles, starting within 21 days of post-ASCT discharge. Thirty patients were treated on this study. The median age was 33 years, and 90% were high-risk by clinical criteria. Seventy-seven percent completed all 8 cycles. Toxicity was manageable, with 30% of patients experiencing at least 1 grade 3 or higher adverse event (AE), and 40% at least 1 grade 2 or higher immune-related AE. Two patients were lost to follow-up in complete remission at 12 months. The PFS at 18 months for the 28 evaluable patients was 82%, meeting the primary end point. The 18-month overall survival was 100%. In conclusion, pembrolizumab was successfully administered as post-ASCT consolidation in patients with RR cHL, and resulted in a promising PFS in a high-risk patient cohort, supporting the testing of this strategy in a randomized trial. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT02362997.

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