These results suggest that pediatric-inspired therapy markedly improves the outcome of adult patients with ALL, at least until the age of 45 years.

Few therapeutic options are available for patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph 1 ) B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who progress after failure of tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) 2based therapy. Here, we evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of blinatumomab in patients with relapsed or refractory Ph 1 ALL. Patients and MethodsThis open-label phase II study enrolled adults with Ph 1 ALL who had relapsed after or were refractory to at least one second-generation or later TKI or were intolerant to second-generation or later TKIs and intolerant or refractory to imatinib. Blinatumomab was administered in 28-day cycles by continuous intravenous infusion. The primary end point was complete remission (CR) or CR with partial hematologic recovery (CRh) during the first two cycles. Major secondary end points included minimal residual disease response, rate of allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation, relapse-free survival, overall survival, and adverse events (AEs). ResultsOf 45 patients, 16 (36%; 95% CI, 22% to 51%) achieved CR/CRh during the first two cycles, including four of 10 patients with the T315I mutation; 88% of CR/CRh responders achieved a complete minimal residual disease response. Seven responders (44%) proceeded to allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation, including 55% (six of 11) of transplantation-naïve responders. Median relapse-free survival and overall survival were 6.7 and 7.1 months, respectively. The most frequent AEs were pyrexia (58%), febrile neutropenia (40%), and headache (31%). Three patients had cytokine release syndrome (all grade 1 or 2), and three patients had grade 3 neurologic events, one of which (aphasia) required temporary treatment interruption. There were no grade 4 or 5 neurologic events. ConclusionSingle-agent blinatumomab showed antileukemia activity in high-risk patients with Ph 1 ALL who had relapsed or were refractory to TKIs. AEs were consistent with previous experience in Ph -ALL.

Key Points• In adult ALL, oncogenetic markers and minimal residual disease levels are independent outcome predictors.• Both factors should be used for individual treatment stratification.With intensified pediatric-like therapy and genetic disease dissection, the field of adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has evolved recently. In this new context, we aimed to reassess the value of conventional risk factors with regard to new genetic alterations and early response to therapy, as assessed by immunoglobulin/T-cell receptor minimal residual disease (MRD) levels. The study was performed in 423 younger adults with Philadelphia chromosome-negative ALL in first remission (265 B-cell precursor [BCP] and 158 T-cell ALL), with cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) as the primary end point. In addition to conventional risk factors, the most frequent currently available genetic alterations were included in the analysis. A higher specific hazard of relapse was independently associated with postinduction MRD level ‡10 24 and unfavorable genetic characteristics (ie, MLL gene rearrangement or focal IKZF1 gene deletion in BCP-ALL and no NOTCH1/FBXW7 mutation and/or N/K-RAS mutation and/or PTEN gene alteration in T-cell ALL). These 2 factors allowed definition of a new risk classification that is strongly associated with higher CIR and shorter relapse-free and overall survival. These results indicate that genetic abnormalities are important predictors of outcome in adult ALL not fully recapitulated by early response to therapy. Patients included in this study were treated in the multicenter GRAALL-2003 and GRAALL-2005 trials. Both trials were registered at

Because a pediatric-inspired Group for Research on Adult Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (GRAALL) protocol yielded a markedly improved outcome in adults with Philadelphia chromosome-negative ALL, we aimed to reassess the role of allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) in patients treated in the GRAALL-2003 and GRAALL-2005 trials. In all, 522 patients age 15 to 55 years old and presenting with at least 1 conventional high-risk factor were candidates for SCT in first complete remission. Among these, 282 (54%) received a transplant in first complete remission. At 3 years, posttransplant cumulative incidences of relapse, nonrelapse mortality, and relapse-free survival (RFS) were estimated at 19.5%, 15.5%, and 64.7%, respectively. Time-dependent analysis did not reveal a significant difference in RFS between SCT and no-SCT cohorts. However, SCT was associated with longer RFS in patients with postinduction minimal residual disease (MRD) ≥10(-3) (hazard ratio, 0.40) but not in good MRD responders. In B-cell precursor ALL, SCT also benefitted patients with focal IKZF1 gene deletion (hazard ratio, 0.42). This article shows that poor early MRD response, in contrast to conventional ALL risk factors, is an excellent tool to identify patients who may benefit from allogeneic SCT in the context of intensified adult ALL therapy. Trial GRAALL-2003 was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT00222027; GRAALL-2005 was registered as #NCT00327678

Key Points• Dasatinib, combined with lowintensity chemotherapy, gave 36% 5-year overall survival in Ph 1 ALL patients older than age 55 years.• Prospective monitoring of mutations may be useful to personalize therapy in Ph 1 ALL patients not eligible for intensive therapies. Prognosis of Philadelphia-positive (Ph 1) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in the elderly has improved during the imatinib era. We investigated dasatinib, another potent tyrosine kinase inhibitor, in combination with low-intensity chemotherapy. Patients older than age 55 years were included in the European Working Group on Adult ALL (EWALL) study number 01 for Ph + ALL (EWALL-PH-01 international study) and were treated with dasatinib 140 mg/day (100 mg/day over 70 years) with intrathecal chemotherapy, vincristine, and dexamethasone during induction. Patients in complete remission continued consolidation with dasatinib, sequentially with cytarabine, asparaginase, and methotrexate for 6 months. Maintenance therapy was dasatinib and vincristine/dexamethasone reinductions for 18 months followed by dasatinib until relapse or death. Seventy-one patients with a median age of 69 years were enrolled; 77% had a high comorbidity score. Complete remission rate was 96% and 65% of patients achieved a 3-log reduction in BCR-ABL1 transcript levels during consolidation. Only 7 patients underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. At 5 years, overall survival was 36% and up to 45% taking into account deaths unrelated to disease or treatment as competitors. Thirty-six patients relapsed, 24 were tested for mutation by Sanger sequencing, and 75% were T315I-positive. BCR-ABL1T315I was tested by allele-specific oligonucleotide reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction in 43 patients and detection was associated with short-term relapses. Ten patients (23%) were positive before any therapy and 8 relapsed, all with this mutation. In conclusion, dasatinib combined with low-intensity chemotherapy was well-tolerated and gave long-term survival in 36% of elderly patients with Ph 1 ALL. Monitoring of BCR-ABL1 T315I from diagnosis identified patients with at high risk of early relapse and may help to personalize therapy. (Blood. 2016;128(6):774-782)

Adding rituximab to the ALL chemotherapy protocol improved the outcome for younger adults with CD20-positive, Ph-negative ALL. (Funded by the Regional Clinical Research Office, Paris, and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00327678 .).

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is highly curable with the combination of alltrans retinoic acid (ATRA) and anthracyclinebased chemotherapy (CT), but very longterm results of this treatment, when CT should be added to ATRA and the role of maintenance treatment, remain uncertain. In our APL93 trial that included 576 newly diagnosed APL patients, with a median follow-up of 10 years, 10-year survival was 77%. Maintenance treatment significantly reduced 10-year cumulative incidence of relapses, from 43.2% to 33%, 23.4%, and 13.4% with no maintenance, maintenance using intermittent ATRA, continuous 6 mercaptopurine plus methotrexate, and both treatments, respectively (P < .001). Maintenance particularly benefited patients with white blood cell (WBC) count higher than 5 ؋ 10 9 /L (5000/L). Early addition of CT to ATRA significantly improved 10-year event-free survival (EFS), but without significant effect on overall survival (OS). The 10-year cumulative incidence of deaths in complete response (CR), resulting mainly from myelosuppression, was 5.7%, 15.4%, and 21.7% in patients younger than 55, 55 to 65, and older than 65 years, respectively, supporting the need for less myelosuppressive treatments, particularly for consolidation therapy. This study is registered at http:// clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00599937. (Blood.

Despite recent advancements, approximately 50% of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) do not respond to induction therapy (primary induction failure, PIF) or relapse after &lt;6 months (early relapse, ER). We have recently shown an association between an immune-infiltrated tumor microenvironment (TME) and resistance to cytarabine-based chemotherapy but responsiveness to flotetuzumab, a bispecific DART® antibody-based molecule to CD3ε and CD123. This study reports the results of a multicenter, open-label, phase 1/2 study of flotetuzumab in adults with relapsed/refractory AML. Eighty-eight AML patients were enrolled, 42 in dose-finding and 46 at the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) of 500ng/kg/day. Consistent with flotetuzumab's mode of action, the most frequent adverse events were infusion-related reactions (IRR)/cytokine release syndrome (CRS), the majority as grade 1-2. Stepwise dosing during week 1, pre-treatment dexamethasone, prompt use of tocilizumab and temporary dose reductions/interruptions successfully prevented severe IRR/CRS, resulting in acceptable tolerability. Clinical benefit accrued to PIF/ER AML patients, who showed an immune-infiltrated TME. Among 30 PIF/ER patients treated at the RP2D, the CR/CRh rate was 26.7%, with an overall response rate (CR/CRh/CRi) of 30.0%. In PIF/ER patients who achieved CR/CRh, median OS was 10.2 months (range 1.87-27.27), with 6- and 12-month survival rates of 75% (95%CI, 0.450-1.05) and 50% (95%CI, 0.154-0.846). Bone marrow transcriptomic analysis showed that a parsimonious 10-gene signature predicted complete responses to flotetuzumab (AUROC=0.904 versus 0.672 for the ELN risk classifier). Flotetuzumab represents an innovative experimental approach associated with acceptable safety and encouraging evidence of activity in PIF/ER AML patients. Trial registration number: NCT02152956.