Background Relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is an aggressive cancer with a median overall survival of less than 6 months. We aimed to assess the response to single-agent selinexor, an oral selective inhibitor of nuclear export, in patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL who had no therapeutic options of potential clinical benefit. Methods SADAL was a multicentre, multinational, open-label, phase 2b study done in 59 sites in 19 countries. Patients aged 18 years or older with pathologically confirmed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 2 or less, who had received two to five lines of previous therapies, and progressed after or were not candidates for autologous stem-cell transplantation were enrolled. Germinal centre B-cell or non-germinal centre B-cell tumour subtype and double or triple expressor status were determined by immunohistochemistry and double or triple hit status was determined by cytogenetics. Patients received 60 mg selinexor orally on days 1 and 3 weekly until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. The study was initially designed to evaluate both 60 mg and 100 mg twice-weekly doses of selinexor; however, the 100 mg dose was discontinued in the protocol (version 7.0) on March 29, 2017, when an improved therapeutic window was observed at 60 mg. Primary outcome was overall response rate. The primary outcome and safety were assessed in all patients who received 60 mg selinexor under protocol version 6.0, or enrolled under protocol versions 7.0 or higher and received at least one dose of selinexor. This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02227251 (active but not enrolling).

Background: In this work, we assessed the efficacy and safety of brentuximab vedotin (BV) plus ESHAP (BRESHAP) as secondline therapy for Relapsed/Refractory Hodgkin lymphoma (RRHL) to improve the results before autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT).Patients and methods: This was a multicenter, open-label, phase I-II trial of patients with RRHL after first-line chemotherapy. Treatment had three 21-day cycles of etoposide, solumedrol, high-dose AraC, and cisplatin. BV was administered at three dose levels (0.9, 1.2, and 1.8 mg/kg) intravenous on day -1 to 3 þ 3 cohorts of patients. Final BV dose was 1.8 mg/kg. Responding patients proceeded to ASCT, followed by three BV courses (1.8 mg/kg, every 21 days). Main end points for evaluation were maximum tolerable dose and overall and complete response (CR) before ASCT.Results: A total of 66 patients were recruited (median age 36 years; range 18-66): 40 were primary refractory, 16 early relapse and 10 late relapse. There were 39 severe adverse events were reported in 22 patients, most frequently fever (n ¼ 25, 35% neutropenic), including 3 deaths. Grade 3-4 hematological toxicity presented in 28 cases: neutropenia (n ¼ 21), thrombocytopenia (n ¼ 14), and anemia (n ¼ 7). Grade !3-4 extrahematological adverse events (!5%) were non-neutropenic fever (n ¼ 13) and hypomagnesaemia (n ¼ 3). Sixty-four patients underwent stem-cell mobilization; all collected >2Â10e6/kg CD34þ cells (median 5.75; range 2.12-33.4). Overall response before transplant was 91% (CI 84% to 98%), including 70% (CRs 95% CI 59% to 81%). 60 patients were transplanted with no failure engraftments. Post-transplant response was CR in 49 patients (82% CI 73% to 91%) and partial responses in six (10% CI 5% to 15%). After a mean follow-up of 27 months, the 30-month time to treatment to failure was 74% (95% CI 68% to 80%), progression-free survival 71% (95% CI 65% to 77%), and overall survival 91% (CI 84% to 98%). Conclusion:BRESHAP looks a safe and effective pre-transplant induction regimen, does not jeopardize transplant and allows long-term remissions and survival.

SummarySplenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) is a rare B-cell malignancy, with no standard treatment other than splenectomy. Rituximab has shown encouraging results. We therefore retrospectively assessed 43 patients from two centres, who received rituximab, either alone or with chemotherapy. All patients responded, 34/43 (79%) achieving a complete response (CR), compared with 3/10 (30%) after chemotherapy without rituximab (P = 0Á005). Of these 10 patients, 9 (90%) subsequently achieved a CR after rituximab (P = 0Á02). Rituximab monotherapy appeared equally as effective as rituximab combination therapy (90% vs. 79% CR, P = 0Á7) with significantly less toxicity (12Á5% vs. 83%, P = 0Á002). Splenectomized patients were more likely to obtain a CR with rituximab (16/16, 100%) than unsplenectomized patients (18/27, 67%, P = 0Á008). Disease-free survival (DFS) at 3 years was better after rituximab than after splenectomy alone [79% (95% confidence interval 60-89) vs. 29% (8-54), Hazard ratio (HR) 0Á28 (0Á12-0Á68), P = 0Á003] and better than after chemotherapy without rituximab [25% (4-55), HR 0Á21 (0Á08-0Á51), P = 0Á0004]. Survival at 3 years after rituximab was 98%. In summary, the CR and DFS rates after rituximab, given alone or with chemotherapy, were significantly better than after chemotherapy without rituximab in the same patients, with manageable toxicity. Rituximab, with or without splenectomy, should be considered for the treatment of SMZL.

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The online version of this article has a Supplementary Appendix. BackgroundGiving antifungal therapy exclusively to selected patients with persistent febrile neutropenia may avoid over-treatment without increasing mortality. The aim of this study was to validate an innovative diagnostic and therapeutic approach based on assessing patients' risk profile and clinical criteria in order to select those patients requiring antifungal therapy. The efficacy of this approach was compared to that of universal empirical antifungal therapy. Design and MethodsThis was a prospective study which included all consecutive adult hematology patients with neutropenia and fever refractory to 5 days of empirical antibacterial therapy admitted to a teaching hospital in Spain over a 2-year period. A diagnostic and therapeutic approach based on clinical criteria and risk profile was applied in order to select patients for antifungal therapy. The sensitivity, specificity and negative predictive value of this approach and also the overall success rate, according to the same criteria of efficacy described in classical clinical trials, were analyzed. ResultsEighty-five episodes were included, 35 of them (41.2%) in patients at high risk of invasive fungal infections. Antifungal therapy was not indicated in 33 episodes (38.8%). The overall incidence of proven and probable invasive fungal infections was 14.1%, all of which occurred in patients who had received empirical antifungal therapy. The 30-day crude mortality rate was 15.3% and the invasive fungal infection-related mortality rate was 2.8% (2/72). The overall success rate following the diagnostic and therapeutic approach was 36.5% compared with 33.9% and 33.7% obtained in the trial by Walsh et al. The sensitivity, specificity and negative predictive value of the study approach were 100%, 52.4% and 100%, respectively. ConclusionsBased on the high negative predictive value of this diagnostic and therapeutic approach in persistent febrile neutropenia patients with hematologic malignancies or patients who have received a hematopoietic stem cell transplant, the approach is useful for identifying patients who are not likely to develop invasive fungal infection and do not, therefore, require antifungal therapy. The effectiveness of the strategy is similar to that of universal empirical antifungal therapy reported in controlled trials. Haematologica 2012;97(3):464-471. doi:10.3324/haematol.2011

Introduction: 30% of Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL) patients are refractory or relapse (RR) after first line therapy. Salvage chemotherapy followed by high-dose chemotherapy and with Autologous Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation (APBSCT) can cure many patients, but those who are transplanted with active disease detectable by PET-CT have a very poor prognosis. Therefore, the current challenge in HL is to improve the results of the pre-transplant chemotherapy. We and others have demonstrated that the addition of Brentuximab Vedotin (BV) to chemotherapy can produce very good results. Objectives: We conducted a phase II trial to assess response rate with combined Brentuximab vedotin and ESHAP chemotherapy [BRESHAP] as 2nd line therapy for RRHL prior to APBSCT (ClinicalTrials.gov #NCT02243436). Methods: Primary efficacy endpoint was the proportion of complete responses (CR) pre-APBSCT. A prior phase I step was carried out to establish the appropriate dosis. Final treatment consisted of Brentuximab Vedotin (1.8 mg/m2/day IV, D1), Etoposide (40 mg/m2/day IV, D1-4), Solumedrol (250 mg/day IV, D1-4), High dose AraC (2 g/m2 IV, D5) and cisPlatin (25 mg/m2/day IV, D1-4). Results: Patients with relapsed or refractory classical HL (cHL) after one prior line of therapy were eligible. 66 patients were included in the trial. There were 35 females and 31 males, with a median age of 36 years (18-66). At inclusion, 40 patients were considered primary refractory, 16 as early relapses (complete remission -CR- shorter than 1 year) and 10 as late relapses. Currently, all patients have completed the pre-transplant therapy. During that period, there were 22 Severe Adverse Events (SAEs) reported in 15 patients: Fever in 13 occasions (neutropenic in seven, and non-neutropenic in six), hypomagnesemia and gastrointestinal alterations (n=2) and pneumothorax, skin lesions, left ventricular function reduction and pulmonary embolism [PE](n=1). There were 2 deaths: non-neutropenic abdominal sepsis and PE. Grade 3-4 hematologic toxicity presented in 22 cases: neutropenia (n=18), thrombocytopenia (n=12), and anemia (n=5). Grade 3-4 extrahematologic adverse events present in ≥5% of cases were non-neutropenic fever (n=8) and hypomagnesemia (n=3). All patients except three underwent stem cell mobilization after the 1st (n=15), 2nd (n=36) or 3rd (n=12) cycle using subcutaneous G-CSF 5 mcg/Kg/12 h. for 5 days. All patients collected >2·10e6/Kg peripheral blood CD34+ cells in all cases (median 5.75, range 2.12-33.4). The number of harvesting procedures was one in 47 patients, two in 13, three in 2 and four in 1. The transplant has been done in 61 patients, with data are available from 47: all engrafted with a median of 9&10 days for neutrophil and platelet recovery, respectively. No major events were registered during transplant period, except for one patient who died at day +110 due to pneumonia. Overall pre-transplant response was 96%, including a 70% and 26% complete and partial remission rates, respectively. Of these forty-seven patients, 37 (80%) were in metabolic CR after transplant and 3 (7%) in PR; six patients were considered as non-responders (13%) and went out of the trial. At a mean follow-up of 11 months, 7 patients have progressed, rendering a projected progression free survival of 87% at one year. Six patients have already died: three due to progression, and the three already mentioned above (PE, abdominal sepsis and pneumonia). With a mean follow-up of 11 months, the projected overall survival was 90% at one year (cause specific, 96%). Conclusions: BRESHAP is a highly effective regimen for remission induction prior to transplant in patients with refractory or relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma. The addition of BV to the conventional chemotherapy did not resulted in a higher toxicity for the pre- and post-transplant periods and it did not hamper the collection of PBSC. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Key Points• DLBCL patients carrying the HLA-B44 supertype have a worse progression-free and overall survival after R-CHOP-like treatment.• The HLA-DRB1*01 allele increases the risk of DLBCL development.Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is an aggressive disease influenced by genetic and environmental factors. The role of the HLA system in tumor antigen presentation could be involved in susceptibility and disease control. We analyzed the phenotypic frequencies of HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C, HLA-DRB1, and HLA-DQB1 in 250 DLBCLs, comparing them with 1940 healthy individuals. We also evaluated the influence of HLA polymorphisms on survival in those patients treated with curative intention using cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone (CHOP)-like regimen without (n 5 64, 26%) or with (n 5 153, 61%) rituximab. DLBCL patients have a higher phenotypic frequency of HLA-DRB1*01 (29% vs 19.5%, P 5 .0008, Pc 5 .0104) and a lower frequency of HLA-C*03 (6.4% vs 17.9%, P < .0005, Pc 5 .007) compared with healthy individuals. Irrespective of the age-adjusted International Prognostic Index, those patients receiving a CHOP-like plus rituximab regimen and carrying the HLA-B44 supertype had worse 5-year progression-free (54% vs 71%, P 5 .019) and 5-year overall (71% vs 92%, P 5 .001) survival compared with patients without this supertype. Our data suggest that some HLA polymorphisms influence the development and outcome of DLBCL, allowing the identification of an extremely good-risk prognostic subgroup. However, these results are preliminary and need to be validated in order to exclude a possible population effect. (Blood. 2013;122(8):1448-1454 IntroductionSeveral genetic polymorphisms have been associated with susceptibility or prognosis in various B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) subtypes.1,2 In recent years, genome-wide association studies have identified 6p21.3 as a risk region for susceptibility of different lymphomas, such as follicular lymphoma [3][4][5] or Hodgkin lymphoma. 6,7 The HLA system, located in this region, plays a key role in antitumor immune responses and lymphoma-cell apoptosis 8 and so may be essential for neoplasia control. Previous studies have shown a relationship between HLA polymorphisms and susceptibility to certain hematologic malignancies such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia, multiple myeloma, and acute lymphoblastic leukemia.9-11 However, there is little information about the relationship between HLA polymorphisms and susceptibility to developing B-NHL or their outcomes.12-16 Focusing on diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), some associations between HLA specificities and this B-NHL subtype have been described, as well as with other genetic polymorphisms. Shorter progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) have been observed in DLBCL patients lacking the HLA-DR2 or carrying TNF -308A.13 In addition, OS is shorter in those patients carrying the C*07-B*08-LTA1 252G -TNF -308A haplotype 14 or the HLA-C*07:01. 16 However, these studies considered patients treated before...

Characteristics of Spanish ITP patients are comparable to those from other countries. Although a high response rate to first-line treatments is observed, at 1 year, the disease persists in around one quarter of patients. Overall therapeutic management in Spain conforms to current recommendations, except for an excessive duration of corticosteroids therapy.