Publications by authors named "Kelda Gardner"

Proteins created from recurrent fusion genes like CBFB-MYH11 are prevalent in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), often necessary for leukemogenesis, persistent throughout the disease course, and highly leukemia specific, making them attractive neoantigen targets for immunotherapy. A nonameric peptide derived from a prevalent CBFB-MYH11 fusion protein was found to be immunogenic in HLA-B*40:01+ donors. High-avidity CD8+ T cell clones isolated from healthy donors killed CBFB-MYH11+ HLA-B*40:01+ AML cell lines and primary human AML samples in vitro.

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Few patients with cancer, including those with acute myeloid leukemia and high-grade myeloid neoplasms, participate in clinical trials. Broadening standard eligibility criteria may increase clinical trial participation. In this retrospective single-center analysis, we identified 442 consecutive newly diagnosed patients from 2014 to 2016.

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To improve patient quality of life and reduce health care costs, many conditions formerly thought to require inpatient care are now treated in the outpatient setting. Outpatient induction chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) may confer similar benefits. This possibility prompted a pilot study to explore the safety and feasibility of intensive outpatient initial or salvage induction chemotherapy administration for adults with AML and high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).

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Outcomes with "7 + 3" are often unsatisfactory in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Trials demonstrating improved outcomes with high-dose cytarabine, addition of cladribine, or escalated anthracycline doses prompted a phase 1/2 study (NCT02044796) of G-CSF, cladribine, high-dose cytarabine, and dose-escalated mitoxantrone (GCLAM) in adults with newly-diagnosed AML or other high-grade myeloid neoplasms. One hundred and twenty-one patients, median age 60 (range 21-81) years, were enrolled.

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Importance: Adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) typically remain hospitalized after induction or salvage chemotherapy until blood cell count recovery, with resulting prolonged inpatient stays being a primary driver of health care costs. Pilot studies suggest that outpatient management following chemotherapy might be safe and could reduce costs for these patients.

Objective: To compare safety, resource utilization, infections, and costs between adults discharged early following AML or MDS induction or salvage chemotherapy and inpatient controls.

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Prior study of the combination of clofarabine and high dose cytarabine with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) priming (GCLAC) in relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia resulted in a 46% rate of complete remission despite unfavorable risk cytogenetics. A multivariate analysis demonstrated that the remission rate and survival with GCLAC were superior to FLAG (fludarabine, cytarabine, G-CSF) in the relapsed setting. We therefore initiated a study of the GCLAC regimen in the upfront setting in a multicenter trial.

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Adults with newly diagnosed or relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) commonly receive intensive chemotherapy to achieve disease remission. In the United States and many other countries, it is standard practice that these patients remain hospitalized "preemptively" until blood count recovery, owing to the risk for overwhelming infections and bleeding during pancytopenia. This care policy requires hospitalization for an average of 3 to 4 weeks after completion of chemotherapy.

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Background: Hospital admission for neutropenic fever in patients with AML is a standard practice. However, discharge practices vary once patients become afebrile, with many patients hospitalized until rise in the absolute neutrophil count (ANC) to >500 (ANC recovery). Data to support this practice are sparse.

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Epigenetic therapeutics such as the histone deacetylase inhibitor, vorinostat, and the DNA methyltransferase I inhibitor, azacitidine, enhance gemtuzumab ozogamicin efficacy in vitro. We therefore investigated vorinostat/azacitidine/gemtuzumab ozogamicin in 52 adults aged 50 years or over with acute myeloid leukemia requiring therapy for first relapse (remission duration ≤ 12 months) or primary refractory disease in a phase I/II trial. Vorinostat and gemtuzumab ozogamicin were escalated step-wise during the phase I portion of the trial.

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Due to infectious and bleeding risks, adults with acute myeloid leukemia or high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes typically remain hospitalized after remission induction chemotherapy until blood count recovery. Here, we explored the medical and financial effects of discharge immediately after chemotherapy completion with close outpatient follow up. Within 12 months, 15 patients fulfilling both medical and logistical criteria were discharged early, whereas 5 patients meeting medical criteria only served as inpatient controls.

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