Continued azacitidine therapy beyond time of first response improves quality of response in patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes.

Background: In the AZA-001 trial, azacitidine (75 mg/m(2) /d subcutaneously for Days 1-7 of every 28-day cycle) demonstrated improved survival compared with conventional care regimens in patients with International Prognostic Scoring System-defined intermediate-2- or high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome and World Health Organization-defined acute myeloid leukemia with 20% to 30% bone marrow blasts.

Methods: This secondary analysis of the AZA-001 phase 3 study evaluated the time to first response and the potential benefit of continued azacitidine treatment beyond first response in responders.

Results: Overall, 91 of 179 patients achieved a response to azacitidine; responding patients received a median of 14 treatment cycles (range, 2-30).

Telomere length in myelodysplastic syndromes.

The relationship between telomere length (TL) and predisposition to myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) remains unclear. We compared peripheral blood leukocyte (PBL) TL among cases of histologically confirmed MDS (n = 65) who were treatment-naive with no prior cancer history to age-matched controls (n = 63). Relative TL was measured in PBLs and saliva by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and in CD15+ and CD19+ cells by flow cytometry-fluorescence in situ hybridization (flow-FISH).

A phase 2 study of lenalidomide monotherapy in patients with deletion 5q acute myeloid leukemia: Southwest Oncology Group Study S0605.

Older acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with a chromosome 5q deletion have poor outcomes with conventional chemotherapy. This phase 2 study explored the safety and efficacy of single-agent lenalidomide in previously untreated older AML patients with del(5q) who declined standard chemotherapy. Patients were treated with lenalidomide 50 mg daily for 28 days as induction therapy and 10 mg daily for 21 days of a 28-day cycle as maintenance until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Incidence of the myelodysplastic syndromes using a novel claims-based algorithm: high number of uncaptured cases by cancer registries.

The myelodysplastic syndromes (MDSs) are hematologically diverse hematopoietic stem cell malignancies primarily affecting older individuals. The incidence of MDS in the United States is estimated at 3.3 per 100 000; however, evidence suggests underreporting of MDS to centralized cancer registries.

Shifting attention in viewer- and object-based reference frames after unilateral brain injury.

The aims of the present study were to investigate the respective roles that object- and viewer-based reference frames play in reorienting visual attention, and to assess their influence after unilateral brain injury. To do so, we studied 16 right hemisphere injured (RHI) and 13 left hemisphere injured (LHI) patients. We used a cueing design that manipulates the location of cues and targets relative to a display comprised of two rectangles (i.

Perceptions of disease state, treatment outcomes, and prognosis among patients with myelodysplastic syndromes: results from an internet-based survey.

Purpose: Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDSs) are a heterogenous group of clonal hematopoietic disorders affecting approximately 60,000 people in the U.S. Little information is available regarding how aware MDS patients are of their disease severity, prognosis, and treatment outcomes.

Management of lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes: the art and evidence.

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) represent a spectrum of bone marrow failure with variable outcome. Patients with "lower-risk" disease have an expected median survival measured in years, and a low risk of leukemia progression. Patients with "higher-risk" MDS, on the other hand, have expected survival measured in months without treatment and rapid leukemia progression.

Outcomes after induction chemotherapy in patients with acute myeloid leukemia arising from myelodysplastic syndrome.

Background: Secondary acute myeloid leukemia (AML) from an antecedent myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS)/myeloproliferative neoplasm is associated with a poor prognosis. The authors evaluated predictive factors in patients with secondary AML treated with anthracycline-based induction therapy.

Methods: This was a retrospective review of secondary AML patients treated with induction therapy.

Identification of a risk dependent microRNA expression signature in myelodysplastic syndromes.

The myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) display both haematological and biological heterogeneity with variable leukaemia potential. MicroRNAs play an important role in tumour suppression and the regulation of self-renewal and differentiation of haematopoietic progenitors. Using a microarray platform, we evaluated microRNA expression from 44 patients with MDS and 17 normal controls.

Biology and treatment of the 5q- syndrome.

The 5q- syndrome is a unique subtype of myelodysplastic syndromes typified by a relatively indolent course and responsiveness to lenalidomide. Here, we review the salient biologic features of this disease. Hemizygous deletion of a segment of chromosome 5q is believed to be the disease-initiating event.

Prognostic impact of SNP array karyotyping in myelodysplastic syndromes and related myeloid malignancies.

Single nucleotide polymorphism arrays (SNP-As) have emerged as an important tool in the identification of chromosomal defects undetected by metaphase cytogenetics (MC) in hematologic cancers, offering superior resolution of unbalanced chromosomal defects and acquired copy-neutral loss of heterozygosity. Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDSs) and related cancers share recurrent chromosomal defects and molecular lesions that predict outcomes. We hypothesized that combining SNP-A and MC could improve diagnosis/prognosis and further the molecular characterization of myeloid malignancies.

Reduced SMAD7 leads to overactivation of TGF-beta signaling in MDS that can be reversed by a specific inhibitor of TGF-beta receptor I kinase.

Even though myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are characterized by ineffective hematopoiesis, the molecular alterations that lead to marrow failure have not been well elucidated. We have previously shown that the myelosuppressive TGF-β pathway is constitutively activated in MDS progenitors. Because there is conflicting data about upregulation of extracellular TGF-β levels in MDS, we wanted to determine the molecular basis of TGF-β pathway overactivation and consequent hematopoietic suppression in this disease.

Salvage chemotherapy regimens for acute myeloid leukemia: Is one better? Efficacy comparison between CLAG and MEC regimens.

There is no standard salvage regimen for AML. We retrospectively compared two commonly used regimens at our institution: CLAG and MEC. The complete response rate (CR) was 37.

Demonstration of additional benefit in adding lenalidomide to azacitidine in patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes.

Lenalidomide and azacitidine are active in MDS patients, and may complement each other by targeting the bone marrow microenvironment and the malignant clone. A recent Phase I trial testing the lenalidomide and azacitidine combination yielded encouraging results; however, lenalidomide’s contribution was unclear. In this study, 18 higher-risk MDS patients were treated with the combination for seven cycles, after which lenalidomide was discontinued in eight patients who achieved a complete response, with azacitidine monotherapy continuing until disease progression.

Persistent malignant stem cells in del(5q) myelodysplasia in remission.

Background: The in vivo clinical significance of malignant stem cells remains unclear.

Methods: Patients who have the 5q deletion (del[5q]) myelodysplastic syndrome (interstitial deletions involving the long arm of chromosome 5) have complete clinical and cytogenetic remissions in response to lenalidomide treatment, but they often have relapse. To determine whether the persistence of rare but distinct malignant stem cells accounts for such relapses, we examined bone marrow specimens obtained from seven patients with the del(5q) myelodysplastic syndrome who became transfusion-independent while receiving lenalidomide treatment and entered cytogenetic remission.

Effects of azacitidine compared with conventional care regimens in elderly (≥ 75 years) patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes.

This analysis compared azacitidine (AZA) to conventional care regimens (CCR) and their associated overall survival (OS) and tolerability in the subset of 87 elderly (≥ 75 years) patients with higher-risk MDS (FAB: RAEB, RAEB-t, CMML and IPSS: Int-2 or High) from the AZA-001 trial. Patients were randomized to AZA (75 mg/m(2)/daysubcutaneously × 7 days every 28 days) (n=38) or CCR (n=49) and had median ages of 78 and 77 years, respectively. AZA significantly improved OS vs CCR (HR: 0.

Lenalidomide in myelodysplastic syndromes: an erythropoiesis-stimulating agent or more?

Anemia remains the most challenging clinical manifestation to treat in patients with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents are widely used to treat anemia in such patients, but less than one third respond to these agents, and the duration of response is often limited. Lenalidomide, a second-generation immunomodulatory drug (IMiD), is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for treatment of transfusion-dependent anemia in lower-risk MDS patients with deletion 5q chromosomal abnormality.

Management and supportive care measures for adverse events in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes treated with azacitidine*.

Objective: Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) treatment can initially worsen patients' clinical condition and they may discontinue therapy before achieving benefit. We present previously unpublished data from two large phase III trials describing common adverse events (AEs) associated with azacitidine and methods to manage them.

Methods: In the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) 9221 study, patients with any French-American-British (FAB) subtype of MDS were randomized to azacitidine or best supportive care (BSC).

Lenalidomide for treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes: current status and future directions.

Lenalidomide was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of transfusion-dependent lower-risk myelodysplastic syndrome patients with deletion (del) (5q) alone or with additional karyotype abnormalities. The approval was based on high rates of prolonged transfusion independence and complete cytogenetic response in this subset. In lower-risk non-del(5q) patients, meaningful erythroid responses also were reported with a low frequency of cytogenetic improvement, although inferior to that observed in the del(5q) patients.