Publications by authors named "Roger Owen"

Peripheral neuropathy (PN) is a significant cause of morbidity associated with Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM). The phase 3 ASPEN study compared the efficacy and safety of zanubrutinib with ibrutinib in patients with WM. This ad hoc analysis examined treatment outcomes with zanubrutinib or ibrutinib on PN symptoms associated with WM in patients enrolled in ASPEN.

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  • The study evaluates the effectiveness of a treatment regimen (ixazomib, thalidomide, and dexamethasone) followed by maintenance with ixazomib after salvage autologous hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) for patients with relapsed multiple myeloma, compared to observation.
  • Conducted as part of a larger trial (Myeloma XII) across 79 UK hospitals, it involved patients aged 18+ with measurable disease and certain health criteria, randomized into two treatment groups.
  • The primary measurement for effectiveness was progression-free survival, with safety assessments also being conducted, and a total of 206 patients participated in this phase of the trial.
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The optimal therapeutic approach for relapsed/refractory (R/R) Waldenström's Macroglobulinaemia (WM) has not been clearly defined, especially after treatment with chemoimmunotherapy (CIT) and covalent Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors (cBTKi). The PembroWM trial is a multi-centre, phase II, single-arm study assessing the safety, tolerability and efficacy of rituximab with pembrolizumab in R/R WM patients who had received at least one prior line of treatment, with all having relapsed post-CIT and most also exposed to cBTKi. A total of 17 patients were enrolled, with a median age of 70, and median of three prior lines of therapy with 15 either refractory or intolerant of a cBTKi.

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  • The ASPEN study is a Phase III clinical trial that compares the effectiveness of two drugs, zanubrutinib and ibrutinib, in treating patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM).
  • A total of 201 patients participated, with 102 receiving zanubrutinib and 99 receiving ibrutinib, and the outcomes were evaluated using patient-reported questionnaires.
  • Results indicated that zanubrutinib led to better improvements in health-related quality of life, particularly regarding symptoms like diarrhea and nausea/vomiting, as well as overall physical functioning and fatigue in patients who achieved a very good partial response to treatment.
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There remains a lack of consensus as to the most appropriate primary therapy in Waldenstrőm macroglobulinemia (WM). We evaluated a novel bortezomib-based combination and developed a sensitive WM-specific flow cytometry assay (limit of detection 0.004% of leucocytes) to assess bone marrow (BM) response.

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  • The phase 3 ASPEN trial compared the effectiveness of two BTK inhibitors, zanubrutinib and ibrutinib, in treating Waldenström macroglobulinemia, analyzing genetic mutations' impact on treatment response.
  • The study found that patients with mutations in CXCR4 and TP53 had poorer responses and survival rates but those treated with zanubrutinib generally showed better outcomes than those given ibrutinib.
  • Overall, the research indicated that zanubrutinib offers improved clinical outcomes for patients with specific mutations compared to ibrutinib, highlighting the importance of genetic testing in treatment decision-making.
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  • - Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (WM) is characterized as a type of lymphoma involving IgM monoclonal gammopathy and requires evidence of lymphoplasmacytic leukemia in the bone marrow for diagnosis.
  • - Immunophenotyping and genotyping are crucial for accurately diagnosing WM and distinguishing it from similar diseases like marginal zone lymphoma and multiple myeloma.
  • - The text emphasizes the need for standardized methodologies in mutational analysis for WM diagnosis and suggests exploring the diagnostic value of certain gene mutations that are not routinely assessed.
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Background: Early trials of long-term lenalidomide use reported an increased incidence of second primary malignancy (SPM), including acute myeloid leukaemia and myelodysplastic syndrome. Later, meta-analysis suggested the link to be secondary to lenalidomide in combination with melphalan.

Methods: Myeloma XI is a large, phase III randomised trial in-which lenalidomide was used at induction and maintenance, in transplant eligible (TE) and non-eligible (TNE) newly diagnosed patients (NCT01554852).

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  • The phase III ASPEN study showed that zanubrutinib is as effective as ibrutinib but has better safety for treating patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM).
  • In a long-term follow-up, zanubrutinib demonstrated higher rates of very good partial response and complete response compared to ibrutinib in both cohorts of WM patients.
  • Adverse events like diarrhea, muscle spasms, and hypertension were more common with ibrutinib, while zanubrutinib had a lower risk of treatment-related discontinuation.
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Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-driven B cell neoplasms arise from the reactivation of latently infected B cells. In a subset of patients, EBV was seen to drive a polymorphous lymphoproliferative disorder (LPD) in which B cell differentiation was retained. In this work, spontaneous EBV reactivation following B cell mitogen stimulation was shown to provide a potential model of polymorphic EBV-driven LPD.

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  • The OPTIMUM trial tested a combination treatment (Dara-CVRd) for newly diagnosed ultra-high-risk multiple myeloma patients before and after autologous stem-cell transplant (ASCT) and compared outcomes to another recent study (Myeloma XI).
  • The study involved screening patients for specific genetic risk markers to identify those with ultra-high-risk disease, who then received Dara-CVRd therapy, ASCT, and maintenance treatment.
  • Results showed that at 30 months, the OPTIMUM trial had significantly better progression-free survival (77%) and overall survival (83.5%) compared to the Myeloma XI trial (39.8% and 73.5% respectively), indicating the effectiveness of the treatment with
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Consensus Panel 4 (CP4) of the 11th International Workshop on Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia (IWWM-11) was tasked with reviewing the current criteria for diagnosis and response assessment. Since the initial consensus reports of the 2nd International Workshop, there have been updates in the understanding of the mutational landscape of IgM related diseases, including the discovery and prevalence of MYD88 and CXCR4 mutations; an improved recognition of disease related morbidities attributed to monoclonal IgM and tumor infiltration; and a better understanding of response assessment based on multiple, prospective trials that have evaluated diverse agents in Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia. The key recommendations from IWWM-11 CP4 included: (1) reaffirmation of IWWM-2 consensus panel recommendations that arbitrary values for laboratory parameters such as minimal IgM level or bone marrow infiltration should not be used to distinguish Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia from IgM MGUS; (2) delineation of IgM MGUS into 2 subclasses including a subtype characterized by clonal plasma cells and MYD88 wild-type, and the other by presence of monotypic or monoclonal B cells which may carry the MYD88 mutation; and (3) recognition of "simplified" response assessments that use serum IgM only for determining partial and very good partial responses (simplified IWWM-6/new IWWM-11 response criteria).

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Multiple myeloma (MM) and anti-MM therapy cause profound immunosuppression, leaving patients vulnerable to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and other infections. We investigated anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies longitudinally in ultra-high-risk patients with MM receiving risk-adapted, intensive anti-CD38 combined therapy in the Myeloma UK (MUK) nine trial. Despite continuous intensive therapy, seroconversion was achieved in all patients, but required a greater number of vaccinations compared to healthy individuals, highlighting the importance of booster vaccinations in this population.

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Prediction of individual patient benefit from lenalidomide (Len) maintenance after autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) remains challenging. Here, we investigated extended molecular profiling for outcome prediction in patients in the National Cancer Research Institute Myeloma XI (MyXI) trial. Patients in the MyXI trial randomized to Len maintenance or observation after ASCT were genetically profiled for t(4;14), t(14;16), t(14;20), del(1p), gain(1q), and del(17p) and co-occurrence of risk markers was computed.

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Lenalidomide is an effective maintenance agent for patients with myeloma, prolonging first remission and, in transplant eligible patients, improving overall survival (OS) compared to observation. The 'Myeloma XI' trial, for newly diagnosed patients, aimed to evaluate whether the addition of the histone deacetylase inhibitor vorinostat to the lenalidomide maintenance backbone could improve outcomes further. Patients included in this analysis were randomised to maintenance therapy with lenalidomide alone (10 mg/day on days 1-21 of each 28-day cycle), or in combination with vorinostat (300 mg/day on day 1-7 and 15-21 of each 28-day cycle) with treatment continuing until unacceptable toxicity or progressive disease.

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  • The study compares a treatment protocol for multiple myeloma involving carfilzomib without stem cell transplantation to the standard bortezomib protocol followed by stem cell transplant to determine if the new method is equally effective.
  • Conducted in 19 hospitals in the UK, the CARDAMON trial involved 281 patients and focused on key outcomes, including response rates and progression-free survival after treatment.
  • Preliminary findings showed that the trial successfully randomized patients and is designed to assess the safety and efficacy of the new treatment regimen over a two-year period.
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The diagnosis of Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (WM), an IgM-associated lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma, can be challenging due to the different forms of disease presentation. Furthermore, in recent years, WM has witnessed remarkable progress on the diagnostic front, as well as a deeper understanding of the disease biology, which has affected clinical practice. This, together with the increasing variety of tools and techniques available, makes it necessary to have a practical guidance for clinicians to perform the initial evaluation of patients with WM.

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Introduction: Multiple myeloma is a plasma cell malignancy that accounts for 1%-2% of newly diagnosed cancers.At diagnosis, approximately 20% of patients can be identified, using cytogenetics, to have inferior survival (high-risk). Additionally, standard-risk patients, with detectable disease (minimal residual disease (MRD)-positive) postautologus stem cell transplant (ASCT), fare worse compared with those who do not (MRD-negative).

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Immunoglobulin D (IgD) myeloma is a subtype often considered to have adverse features and inferior survival, but there is a paucity of data from large clinical studies. We compare the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with IgD myeloma from UK phase 3 myeloma trials analyzed in 2 groups: old (1980-2002) and recent (2002-2016) clinical trials, based on the time of adoption of novel myeloma therapies. Patients with IgD myeloma comprised 44 of 2789 (1.

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Introduction: Multiple myeloma is a bone marrow cancer, which predominantly affects older people. The incidence is increasing in an ageing population.Over the last 10 years, patient outcomes have improved.

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  • The study investigates the impact of minimal residual disease (MRD) on patient outcomes in multiple myeloma following autologous stem-cell transplant (ASCT) and how it interacts with maintenance therapy and molecular risk factors.
  • Data from the Myeloma XI trial revealed that MRD-negative patients exhibited significantly better progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) at 3 months and 9 months post-ASCT compared to MRD-positive patients.
  • Patients receiving lenalidomide maintenance therapy had higher rates of MRD conversion from positive to negative compared to those receiving no maintenance, with adverse effects on PFS and OS observed in patients with high-risk molecular characteristics.
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Scope: The objective of this guideline is to provide healthcare professionals with clear guidance on the management of patients with Waldenström macroglobulinaemia. In individual patients, circumstances may dictate an alternative approach.

Methodology: This guideline was compiled according to the British Society for Haematology (BSH) process at http://www.

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