Medicine (RMH) - Research Publications
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ItemIbrutinib protects T cells in patients with CLL from proliferation-induced senescence(BMC, 2021-11-22)BACKGROUND: The development of Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors (BTKi) for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) has provided a highly effective and relatively non-toxic alternative to conventional chemotherapy. Some studies have shown that BTKi can also lead to improvements in T cell immunity in patients despite in vitro analyses suggesting an immunosuppressive effect of BTKi on T cell function. METHODS: In this study, we examined both the in vitro effect and long-term in vivo effect of two clinically available BTKi, ibrutinib and zanubrutinib. Additional in vitro assessments were undertaken for a third BTKi, acalabrutinib. Immune subset phenotyping, cytokine secretion, T cell degranulation and proliferation assays were performed on peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from untreated CLL patients, and CLL patients on long-term (> 12 months) BTKi treatment. RESULTS: Similar to prior studies we observed that long-term BTKi treatment normalises lymphocyte subset frequency and reduces PD-1 expression on T cells. We also observed that T cells from patients taken prior to BTKi therapy showed an abnormal hyper-proliferation pattern typical of senescent T cells, which was normalised by long-term BTKi treatment. Furthermore, BTKi therapy resulted in reduced expression of the T cell exhaustion markers PD-1, TIM3 and LAG3 in late generations of T cells undergoing proliferation. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, these findings indicate that there are critical differences between the in vitro effects of BTKi on T cell function and the effects derived from long-term BTKi exposure in vivo. Overall long-term exposure to BTKi, and particularly ibrutinib, resulted in improved T cell fitness in part due to suppressing the abnormal hyper-proliferation of CLL T cells and the associated development of T cell senescence.
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ItemTreatment of patients with Waldenstrom macroglobulinaemia: clinical practice guidelines from the Myeloma Foundation of Australia Medical and Scientific Advisory Group(WILEY, 2017-01)Waldenström macroglobulinaemia (WM) is an indolent B-cell malignancy characterised by the presence of immunoglobulin M (IgM) paraprotein and bone marrow infiltration by clonal small B lymphocytes, plasmacytoid lymphocytes and plasma cells. The symptoms of WM are protean, often follow an asymptomatic phase and may include complications related to the paraneoplastic effects of IgM paraprotein. The revised 2016 World Health Organization classification includes the MYD88 L265P mutation, which is seen in >90% of cases, within the diagnostic criteria for WM. While treatment of WM has often been considered together with other indolent B cell lymphomas, there are unique aspects of WM management that require specific care. These include the unreliability of IgM and paraprotein measurements in monitoring patients prior to and after treatment, the lack of correlation between disease burden and symptoms and rituximab-induced IgM flare. Moreover, while bendamustine and rituximab has recently been approved for reimbursed frontline use in WM in Australia, other regimens, including ibrutinib- and bortezomib-based treatments, are not funded, requiring tailoring of treatment to the regional regulatory environment. The Medical and Scientific Advisory Group of the Myeloma Foundation Australia has therefore developed clinical practice guidelines with specific recommendations for the work-up and therapy of WM to assist Australian clinicians in the management of this disease.
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ItemHigh prevalence of antibiotic allergies in cladribine-treated patients with hairy cell leukemia - lessons for immunopathogenesis and prescribing(TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2019-12-06)The relationship between hematological malignancy and chemotherapy on the prevalence of antibiotic allergy label (AAL) is ill-defined. We performed a multicenter retrospective case-control study comparing AAL rates among cladribine-treated hairy cell leukemia (C-HCL) cases, non-HCL cladribine-treated controls (control-1), and fludarabine-treated controls (control-2). The prevalence of AALs in C-HCL patients was 60%, compared with control-1 (14%, p < .01) and control-2 patients (25%, p < .01). The predominant phenotype was maculopapular exanthem (92%). The drugs implicated in AAL causality in C-HCL patients included beta-lactams (81%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (58%), and allopurinol (69%). C-HCL patients demonstrate high rates of AAL, potentially due to immune dysregulation, impacting beta-lactam utilization.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableCOVID-19 vaccination in haematology patients: an Australian and New Zealand consensus position statement(WILEY, 2021-05)Australia and New Zealand have achieved excellent community control of COVID-19 infection. In light of the imminent COVID-19 vaccination roll out in both countries, representatives from the Haematology Society of Australia and New Zealand and infectious diseases specialists have collaborated on this consensus position statement regarding COVID-19 vaccination in patients with haematological disorders. It is our recommendation that patients with haematological malignancies, and some benign haematological disorders, should have expedited access to high-efficacy COVID-19 vaccines, given that these patients are at high risk of morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 infection. Vaccination should not replace other public health measures in these patients, given that the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination, specifically in patients with haematological malignancies, is not known. Given the limited available data, prospective collection of safety and efficacy data of COVID-19 vaccination in this patient group is a priority.
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ItemA multicenter retrospective comparison of induction chemoimmunotherapy regimens on outcomes in transplant-eligible patients with previously untreated mantle cell lymphoma(WILEY, 2019-08)Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is an uncommon and typically aggressive form of lymphoma. Although often initially chemosensitive, relapse is common. Several induction and conditioning regimens are used in transplant-eligible patients, and the optimal approach remains unknown. We performed an international, retrospective study of transplant-eligible patients to assess impact of induction chemoimmunotherapy and conditioning regimens on clinical outcomes. We identified 228 patients meeting inclusion criteria. Baseline characteristics were similar among the induction groups except for some variation in age. The type of induction chemoimmunotherapy received did not influence overall response rates (ORRs) (0.43), progression-free survival (PFS) (P > .67), or overall survival (OS) (P > .35) on multivariate analysis (PFS and OS). Delivery of autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) was associated with favorable PFS and OS (0.01) on univariate analysis only; this benefit was not seen on multivariate analysis-PFS (0.36) and OS (0.21). Compared with busulfan and melphalan (BuMel), the use of the carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine, melphalan (BEAM)-conditioning regimen was associated with inferior PFS (HR = 2.0 [95% CI 1.1-3.6], 0.02) but not OS (HR = 1.1 [95% CI 0.5-2.3], 0.81) on univariate analysis only. Within the limits of a retrospective study and modest power for some comparisons, type of induction therapy did not influence ORR, PFS, or OS for transplant-eligible patients with MCL. International efforts are required to perform randomized clinical trials evaluating chemoimmunotherapy induction regimens.
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ItemAutologous stem cell transplantation for untreated transformed indolent B-cell lymphoma in first remission: an international, multi-centre propensity-score-matched study(WILEY, 2020-12)High-dose chemotherapy (HDC) and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) are used as consolidation in first remission (CR1) in some centres for untreated, transformed indolent B-cell lymphoma (Tr-iNHL) but the evidence base is weak. A total of 319 patients with untreated Tr-iNHL meeting prespecified transplant eligibility criteria [age <75, LVEF ≥45%, no severe lung disease, CR by positron emission tomography or computed tomography ≥3 months after at least standard cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisolone with rituximab (R-CHOP) intensity front-line chemotherapy] were retrospectively identified. Non-diffuse large B-cell lymphoma transformations were excluded. About 283 (89%) patients had follicular lymphoma, 30 (9%) marginal-zone lymphoma and six (2%) other subtypes. Forty-nine patients underwent HDC/ASCT in CR1, and a 1:2 propensity-score-matched cohort of 98 patients based on age, stage and high-grade B-cell lymphoma with MYC, BCL2 and/or BCL6 rearrangements (HGBL-DH) was generated. After a median follow-up of 3·7 (range 0·1-18·3) years, ASCT was associated with significantly superior progression-free survival [hazard ratio (HR) 0·51, 0·27-0·98; P = 0·043] with a trend towards inferior overall survival (OS; HR 2·36;0·87-6·42; P = 0·1) due to more deaths from progressive disease (8% vs. 4%). Forty (41%) patients experienced relapse in the non-ASCT cohort - 15 underwent HDC/ASCT with seven (47%) ongoing complete remission (CR); 10 chimeric antigen receptor-modified T-cell (CAR-T) therapy with 6 (60%) ongoing CR; 3 allogeneic SCT with 2 (67%) ongoing CR. Although ASCT in CR1 improves initial duration of disease control in untreated Tr-iNHL, the impact on OS is less clear with effective salvage therapies in this era of CAR-T.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableImmune recovery in patients with mantle cell lymphoma receiving long-term ibrutinib and venetoclax combination therapy(AMER SOC HEMATOLOGY, 2020-10-13)Combination venetoclax plus ibrutinib for the treatment of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) has demonstrated efficacy in the relapsed or refractory setting; however, the long-term impact on patient immunology is unknown. In this study, changes in immune subsets of MCL patients treated with combination venetoclax and ibrutinib were assessed over a 4-year period. Multiparameter flow cytometry of peripheral blood mononuclear cells showed that ≥12 months of treatment resulted in alterations in the proportions of multiple immune subsets, most notably CD4+ and CD8+ effector and central memory T cells and natural killer cells, and normalization of T-cell cytokine production in response to T-cell receptor stimulation. Gene expression analysis identified upregulation of multiple myeloid genes (including S100 and cathepsin family members) and inflammatory pathways over 12 months. Four patients with deep responses stopped study drugs, resulting in restoration of normal immune subsets for all study parameters except myeloid gene/pathway expression, suggesting long-term combination venetoclax and ibrutinib irreversibly affects this population. Our findings demonstrate that long-term combination therapy is associated with immune recovery in MCL, which may allow responses to subsequent immunotherapies and suggests that this targeted therapy results in beneficial impacts on immunological recovery. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT02471391.