Ahmad Antar1, Mohamed A Kharfan-Dabaja2, Rami Mahfouz3, Ali Bazarbachi4. 1. Department of Internal Medicine/Hematology-Oncology, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon. 2. Blood and Marrow Transplantation, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL. 3. Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon. 4. Department of Internal Medicine/Hematology-Oncology, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon; Department of Cell Biology, Anatomy and Physiological Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon. Electronic address: bazarbac@aub.edu.lb.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 internal tandem duplication (FLT3-ITD) gene is one of the most frequently observed genetic alterations in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), with an incidence of about 20% to 30%. FLT3-ITD is significantly associated with a poor outcome, and offering an allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) is recommended for patients harboring this mutation. Sorafenib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor active against RAF, VEGF, and FLT3-ITD. It has been used in an off-label fashion in FLT3-ITD AML. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively assessed the successful use of sorafenib after allo-HCT in patients with FLT3-ITD AML. Six FLT3-ITD AML patients received sorafenib as posttransplantation maintenance therapy (n = 5) or as salvage therapy after a post-allo-HCT relapse (n = 1) and continued afterward. RESULTS: One patient developed myocardial infarction 100 days after initiation of sorafenib. Interestingly, skin graft versus host disease (grade II) was observed in 5 of 6 patients and generally occurred within few days after initiation of sorafenib, but it responded promptly to corticosteroid therapy in all patients. All 6 patients were alive and in complete remission at a median follow-up of 16 months (range, 10-29 months) since first induction and at a median follow-up of 12 months (range, 4-20 months) since initiation of sorafenib. Remarkably, the disease of all patients was in molecular remission. CONCLUSION: Sorafenib appears to be an effective maintenance therapy after allo-HCT in FLT3-ITD AML, with achievement of durable complete responses. This suggests an immunomodulatory effect of sorafenib in the posttransplantation setting and warrants a broader clinical evaluation of the use of maintenance sorafenib in FLT3-ITD AML.
BACKGROUND: The FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 internal tandem duplication (FLT3-ITD) gene is one of the most frequently observed genetic alterations in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), with an incidence of about 20% to 30%. FLT3-ITD is significantly associated with a poor outcome, and offering an allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) is recommended for patients harboring this mutation. Sorafenib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor active against RAF, VEGF, and FLT3-ITD. It has been used in an off-label fashion in FLT3-ITD AML. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively assessed the successful use of sorafenib after allo-HCT in patients with FLT3-ITD AML. Six FLT3-ITD AMLpatients received sorafenib as posttransplantation maintenance therapy (n = 5) or as salvage therapy after a post-allo-HCT relapse (n = 1) and continued afterward. RESULTS: One patient developed myocardial infarction 100 days after initiation of sorafenib. Interestingly, skin graft versus host disease (grade II) was observed in 5 of 6 patients and generally occurred within few days after initiation of sorafenib, but it responded promptly to corticosteroid therapy in all patients. All 6 patients were alive and in complete remission at a median follow-up of 16 months (range, 10-29 months) since first induction and at a median follow-up of 12 months (range, 4-20 months) since initiation of sorafenib. Remarkably, the disease of all patients was in molecular remission. CONCLUSION:Sorafenib appears to be an effective maintenance therapy after allo-HCT in FLT3-ITD AML, with achievement of durable complete responses. This suggests an immunomodulatory effect of sorafenib in the posttransplantation setting and warrants a broader clinical evaluation of the use of maintenance sorafenib in FLT3-ITD AML.
Authors: Andrew M Brunner; Shuli Li; Amir T Fathi; Martha Wadleigh; Vincent T Ho; Kerry Collier; Christine Connolly; Karen K Ballen; Corey S Cutler; Bimalangshu R Dey; Areej El-Jawahri; Sarah Nikiforow; Steven L McAfee; John Koreth; Daniel J Deangelo; Edwin P Alyea; Joseph H Antin; Thomas R Spitzer; Richard M Stone; Robert J Soiffer; Yi-Bin Chen Journal: Br J Haematol Date: 2016-07-19 Impact factor: 6.998
Authors: Nilanjan Ghosh; Xiaobu Ye; Hua-Ling Tsai; Javier Bolaños-Meade; Ephraim J Fuchs; Leo Luznik; Lode J Swinnen; Douglas E Gladstone; Richard F Ambinder; Ravi Varadhan; Satish Shanbhag; Robert A Brodsky; Ivan M Borrello; Richard J Jones; William Matsui; Carol Ann Huff Journal: Biol Blood Marrow Transplant Date: 2017-07-12 Impact factor: 5.742
Authors: Ann Dahlberg; Wendy Leisenring; Marie Bleakley; Soheil Meshinchi; K Scott Baker; Corinne Summers; Brandon Hadland; Colleen Delaney; Kanwaldeep Mallhi; Lauri Burroughs; Paul Carpenter; Ann Woolfrey Journal: Bone Marrow Transplant Date: 2019-01-22 Impact factor: 5.483
Authors: Kelly J Norsworthy; Amy E DeZern; Hua-Ling Tsai; Wesley A Hand; Ravi Varadhan; Steven D Gore; Ivana Gojo; Keith Pratz; Hetty E Carraway; Margaret Showel; Michael A McDevitt; Douglas Gladstone; Gabriel Ghiaur; Gabrielle Prince; Amy H Seung; Dina Benani; Mark J Levis; Judith E Karp; B Douglas Smith Journal: Leuk Res Date: 2017-08-30 Impact factor: 3.156