Sally Arai

All Publications

• Successful treatment of thrombocytopenia with daratumumab after allogeneic transplant: a case report and literature review. Blood advances Migdady, Y., Ediriwickrema, A., Jackson, R. P., Kadi, W., Gupta, R., Socola, F., Arai, S., Martin, B. A. 2020; 4 (5): 815–18

  View details for DOI 10.1182/bloodadvances.2019001215

  View details for PubMedID 32119735

• Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation for Adult Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Significant Increase in Survival in the Post-Targeted Immunotherapy Era Muffly, L., Arai, S., Johnston, L., Lowsky, R., Meyer, E. H., Miklos, D. B., Negrin, R. S., Rezvani, A., Shiraz, P., Shizuru, J. A., Sidana, S., Weng, W., Cunanan, K. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2020: S106

  View details for Web of Science ID 000516887900144

• Organ responses with daratumumab therapy in previously treated AL amyloidosis. Blood advances Chung, A. n., Kaufman, G. P., Sidana, S. n., Eckhert, E. n., Schrier, S. L., Lafayette, R. A., Arai, S. n., Witteles, R. M., Liedtke, M. n. 2020; 4 (3): 458–66

  Abstract

  Immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis (AL amyloidosis) involves deposition of abnormally folded light chains into a wide range of tissues causing organ dysfunction, including in the heart and kidney. Daratumumab, a CD38-targeted antibody, has recently demonstrated efficacy in producing hematologic responses in previously treated disease. However, data on survival outcomes and organ responses to daratumumab are lacking. Seventy-two patients with previously treated AL amyloidosis who received daratumumab monotherapy with dexamethasone were retrospectively evaluated. With a median follow-up of 27 months, 2-year overall survival (OS) was 86.9% (median OS, not reached) and 2-year time-to-next treatment or death (TTNT)-free survival was 62% (median TTNT, not reached). Forty of 52 evaluable patients achieved a hematologic response (77%), with >60% of patients achieving a very good partial response or better; median time-to-hematologic response was 1 month. Fifty-seven patients (79%) had cardiac involvement, and 55% of evaluable patients achieved a cardiac response, with a median response time of 3.2 months among responders. Cardiac responses were associated with an improvement in OS, with landmark analysis for cardiac responses at 3 months trending toward statistical significance (100% vs 55% at 30 months, P = .051). Forty-seven patients (65%) had renal involvement, and 52% of evaluable patients achieved a renal response, with a median response time of 6 months among responders; there was no significant difference in OS between renal responders and nonresponders. This study demonstrates that daratumumab is highly effective in the treatment of previously treated AL amyloidosis, and a significant proportion of patients can achieve deep hematologic responses, as well as improvements in organ function.

  View details for DOI 10.1182/bloodadvances.2019000776

  View details for PubMedID 32027745

• Outcomes in Patients With Cardiac Amyloidosis Undergoing Heart Transplantation. JACC. Heart failure Barrett, C. D., Alexander, K. M., Zhao, H. n., Haddad, F. n., Cheng, P. n., Liao, R. n., Wheeler, M. T., Liedtke, M. n., Schrier, S. n., Arai, S. n., Weisshaar, D. n., Witteles, R. M. 2020

  Abstract

  The purpose of this study is to report outcomes after heart transplantation in patients with cardiac amyloidosis based on a large single-center experience.Cardiac amyloidosis causes significant morbidity and mortality, often leading to restrictive cardiomyopathy, progressive heart failure, and death. Historically, heart transplantation outcomes have been worse in patients with cardiac amyloidosis compared with other heart failure populations, in part due to the systemic nature of the disease. However, several case series have suggested that transplantation outcomes may be better in the contemporary era, likely in part due to the availability of more effective light chain suppressive therapies for light chain amyloidosis.This study examined all patients seen between 2004 and 2017, either at the Stanford University Medical Center or the Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center, who were diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis and ultimately underwent heart transplantation. This study examined pre-transplantation characteristics and post-transplantation outcomes in this group compared with the overall transplantation population at our center.During the study period, 31 patients (13 with light chain amyloidosis and 18 with transthyretin [ATTR] amyloidosis) underwent heart transplantation. Patients with ATTR amyloidosis were older, were more likely to be male, had worse baseline renal function, and had longer waitlist times compared with both patients with light chain amyloidosis and the overall transplantation population. Post-transplantation, there were no differences in post-operative bleeding, renal failure, infection, rejection, or malignancy. There was no significant difference in mortality between patients who underwent heart transplantation for amyloid cardiomyopathy and patients who underwent heart transplantation for all other indications.In carefully selected patients with cardiac amyloidosis, heart transplantation can be an effective therapeutic option with outcomes similar to those transplanted for other causes of heart failure.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jchf.2019.12.013

  View details for PubMedID 32387068

• Grading cardiac response in AL amyloidosis: implications for relapse and survival BRITISH JOURNAL OF HAEMATOLOGY Eckhert, E., Witteles, R., Kaufman, G., Lafayette, R., Arai, S., Schrier, S., O'Shaughnessy, M., Liedtke, M. 2019; 186 (1): 144–46

  View details for DOI 10.1111/bjh.15717

  View details for Web of Science ID 000472576700020

• Transplantation of donor grafts with defined ratio of conventional and regulatory T cells in HLA-matched recipients JCI INSIGHT Meyer, E. H., Laport, G., Xie, B. J., MacDonald, K., Heydari, K., Sahaf, B., Tang, S., Baker, J., Armstrong, R., Tate, K., Tadisco, C., Arai, S., Johnston, L., Lowsky, R., Muffly, L., Rezvani, A. R., Shizuru, J., Weng, W., Sheehan, K., Miklos, D., Negrin, R. S. 2019; 4 (10)

  View details for DOI 10.1172/jci.insight.127244

  View details for Web of Science ID 000468146300016

• Three prophylaxis regimens (tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and cyclophosphamide; tacrolimus, methotrexate, and bortezomib; or tacrolimus, methotrexate, and maraviroc) versus tacrolimus and methotrexate for prevention of graft-versus-host disease with haemopoietic cell transplantation with reduced-intensity conditioning: a randomised phase 2 trial with a non-randomised contemporaneous control group (BMT CTN 1203). The Lancet. Haematology Bolanos-Meade, J., Reshef, R., Fraser, R., Fei, M., Abhyankar, S., Al-Kadhimi, Z., Alousi, A. M., Antin, J. H., Arai, S., Bickett, K., Chen, Y., Damon, L. E., Efebera, Y. A., Geller, N. L., Giralt, S. A., Hari, P., Holtan, S. G., Horowitz, M. M., Jacobsohn, D. A., Jones, R. J., Liesveld, J. L., Logan, B. R., MacMillan, M. L., Mielcarek, M., Noel, P., Pidala, J., Porter, D. L., Pusic, I., Sobecks, R., Solomon, S. R., Weisdorf, D. J., Wu, J., Pasquini, M. C., Koreth, J. 2019; 6 (3): e132–e143

  Abstract

  BACKGROUND: Prevention of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) without malignant relapse is the overall goal of allogeneic haemopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). We aimed to evaluate regimens using either maraviroc, bortezomib, or post-transplantation cyclophosphamide for GvHD prophylaxis compared with controls receiving the combination of tacrolimus and methotrexate using a novel composite primary endpoint to identify the most promising intervention to be further tested in a phase 3 trial.METHODS: In this prospective multicentre phase 2 trial, adult patients aged 18-75 years who received reduced-intensity conditioning HCT were randomly assigned (1:1:1) by random block sizes to tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and post-transplantation cyclophosphamide (cyclophosphamide 50 mg/kg on days 3 and 4, followed by tacrolimus starting on day 5 and mycophenolate mofetil starting on day 5 at 15 mg/kg three times daily not to exceed 1 g from day 5 to day 35); tacrolimus, methotrexate, and bortezomib (bortezomib 1·3 mg/m2 intravenously on days 1, 4, and 7 after HCT); or tacrolimus, methotrexate, and maraviroc (maraviroc 300 mg orally twice daily from day -3 to day 30 after HCT). Methotrexate was administered as a 15 mg/m2 intravenous bolus on day 1 and 10 mg/m2 intravenous bolus on days 3, 6, and 11 after HCT; tacrolimus was given intravenously at a dose of 0·05 mg/kg twice daily (or oral equivalent) starting on day -3 (except the post-transplantation cyclophosphamide, as indicated), with a target level of 5-15 ng/mL. Tacrolimus was continued at least until day 90 and was tapered off by day 180. Each study group was compared separately to a contemporary non-randomised prospective cohort of patients (control group) who fulfilled the same eligibility criteria as the trial, but who were treated with tacrolimus and methotrexate at centres not participating in the trial. The primary endpoint (GvHD-free, relapse-free survival [GRFS]) was defined as the time from HCT to onset of grade 3-4 acute GvHD, chronic GvHD requiring systemic immunosuppression, disease relapse, or death. The study was analysed by modified intention to treat. The study is closed to accrual and this is the planned analysis. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02208037.FINDINGS: Between Nov 17, 2014, and May 18, 2016, 273 patients from 31 US centres were randomly assigned to the three study arms: 89 to tacrolimus, methotrexate, and bortezomib; 92 to tacrolimus, methotrexate, and maraviroc; 92 to tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and post-transplantation cyclophosphamide; and six were excluded. Between Aug 1, 2014, and Sept 14, 2016, 224 controls received tacrolimus and methotrexate. Controls were generally well matched except for more frequent comorbidities than the intervention groups and a different distribution of types of conditioning regimens used. Compared with controls, the hazard ratio for GRFS was 0·72 (90% CI 0·54-0·94; p=0·044) for tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and post-transplantation cyclophosphamide, 0·98 (0·76-1·27; p=0·92) for tacrolimus, methotrexate, and bortezomib, and 1·10 (0·86-1·41; p=0·49) for tacrolimus, methotrexate, and maraviroc. 238 patients experienced grade 3 or 4 toxicities: 12 (13%) had grade 3 and 67 (73%) grade 4 events with tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and post-transplantation cyclophosphamide; ten (11%) had grade 3 and 68 (76%) had grade 4 events with tacrolimus, methotrexate, and bortezomib; and 18 (20%) had grade 3 and 63 (68%) had grade 4 events with tacrolimus, methotrexate, and maraviroc. The most common toxicities were haematological (77 [84%] for tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and post-transplantation cyclophosphamide; 73 [82%] for tacrolimus, methotrexate, and bortezomib; and 78 [85%] for tacrolimus, methotrexate, and maraviroc) and cardiac (43 [47%], 44 [49%], and 43 [47%], respectively).INTERPRETATION: Tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and post-transplantation cyclophosphamide was the most promising intervention, yielding the best GRFS; this regimen is thus being prospectively compared with tacrolimus and methotrexate in a phase 3 randomised trial.FUNDING: US National Health, Lung, and Blood Institute; National Cancer Institute; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease; and Millennium Pharmaceuticals.

  View details for PubMedID 30824040

• A Changing Landscape of Mortality for Systemic Light Chain Amyloidosis. JACC. Heart failure Barrett, C. D., Dobos, K. n., Liedtke, M. n., Tuzovic, M. n., Haddad, F. n., Kobayashi, Y. n., Lafayette, R. n., Fowler, M. B., Arai, S. n., Schrier, S. n., Witteles, R. M. 2019

  Abstract

  The purpose of this study was to address the overall trends in mortality since the adoption of modern therapies for treatment of systemic amyloidosis, and to reconsider the prognostic significance of individual components of the current staging system.Systemic light chain (AL) amyloidosis involves deposition of immunoglobulin light chains in organs throughout the body and is known to have the highest mortality when significant cardiac involvement is present. Survival has historically been poor but may be improving as systemic therapies continue to advance. This study assesses whether recent advancements in light chain directed therapy have led to improved survival in patients with systemic AL amyloidosis.We reviewed all cases of patients who were evaluated for a new diagnosis of AL amyloidosis at the Stanford Amyloid Center between 2009 and 2016. Patients' stage at diagnosis was determined according to the most commonly used staging system. Clinical data, overall survival from diagnosis, and the independent influence of each component of the staging system were analyzed.At total of 194 patients were identified with a new diagnosis of systemic AL amyloidosis. Median overall survival was 59 months and 6 months for stage 3 and 4 patients, respectively. Median overall survival was not reached in stage 1 and 2 groups, as survival was >50% by the end of the study. Mean overall survival was 118 months, 76 months, 64 months, and 27 months in Stages 1, 2, 3, and 4 patients, respectively. Although N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide and troponin I concentrations had large effects on prognosis, differences in serum free light chains (dFLC) on initial staging laboratory results ≥18 mg/dl, part of the current staging system, did not contribute significantly to prognosis for values ≥5 mg/dl.Survival for patients with systemic AL amyloidosis has improved for patients at all stages of disease in the present era of rapid advancements in light chain-reducing therapies. Cardiac biomarkers at diagnosis, but not baseline dFLC ≥18 mg/dl, continue to provide important prognostic information.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jchf.2019.07.007

  View details for PubMedID 31606365

• Nonmyeloablative TLI-ATG conditioning for allogeneic transplantation: mature follow-up from a large single-center cohort. Blood advances Spinner, M. A., Kennedy, V. E., Tamaresis, J. S., Lavori, P. W., Arai, S. n., Johnston, L. J., Meyer, E. H., Miklos, D. B., Muffly, L. S., Negrin, R. S., Rezvani, A. R., Shizuru, J. A., Weng, W. K., Hoppe, R. T., Strober, S. n., Lowsky, R. n. 2019; 3 (16): 2454–64

  Abstract

  Nonmyeloablative total lymphoid irradiation and antithymocyte globulin (TLI-ATG) conditioning is protective against graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), while retaining graft-versus-tumor activity across various hematologic malignancies. We report our comprehensive experience using TLI-ATG conditioning in 612 patients with hematologic malignancies who underwent allogeneic transplantation at Stanford University from 2001 to 2016. All patients received granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-mobilized peripheral blood grafts and cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil for GVHD prophylaxis. The median age was 60 years (range, 21-78), with a median follow-up of 6.0 years (range, 1.0-16.4). Common diagnoses included acute myeloid leukemia (AML; n = 193), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS; n = 94), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL; n = 80), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL; n = 175), and Hodgkin lymphoma (HL; n = 35). Thirty-four percent of patients had a comorbidity index ≥3, 30% had a high to very high disease risk index, and 56% received unrelated donor grafts, including 15% with HLA-mismatched donors. Ninety-eight percent underwent transplant in the outpatient setting, and 57% were never hospitalized from days 0 through 100. The 1-year rates of nonrelapse mortality (NRM), grade II-IV acute GVHD, and extensive chronic GVHD were 9%, 14%, and 22%, respectively. The 4-year estimates for overall and progression-free survival were 42% and 32% for AML, 30% and 21% for MDS, 67% and 43% for CLL, 68% and 45% for NHL, and 78% and 49% for HL. Mixed chimerism correlated with the risk of relapse. TLI-ATG conditioning was well tolerated, with low rates of GVHD and NRM. Durable remissions were observed across hematologic malignancies, with particularly favorable outcomes for heavily pretreated lymphomas. Several efforts are underway to augment donor chimerism and reduce relapse rates while maintaining the favorable safety and tolerability profile of this regimen.

  View details for DOI 10.1182/bloodadvances.2019000297

  View details for PubMedID 31427277

• Transplantation of donor grafts with defined ratio of conventional and regulatory T cells in HLA-matched recipients. JCI insight Meyer, E. H., Laport, G. n., Xie, B. J., MacDonald, K. n., Heydari, K. n., Sahaf, B. n., Tang, S. W., Baker, J. n., Armstrong, R. n., Tate, K. n., Tadisco, C. n., Arai, S. n., Johnston, L. n., Lowsky, R. n., Muffly, L. n., Rezvani, A. R., Shizuru, J. n., Weng, W. K., Sheehan, K. n., Miklos, D. n., Negrin, R. S. 2019; 4 (10)

  Abstract

  BACKGROUNDIn preclinical murine and early clinical studies of hematopoietic cell transplantation, engineering of donor grafts with defined ratios of CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ Tregs to conventional T cells (Tcons) results in the prevention of graft-versus-host disease and improved immune reconstitution. The use of highly purified primary graft Tregs for direct cell infusion has potential advantages over impure immunomagnetic selection or culture expansion, but has not been tested clinically. We performed a phase I study of the timed addition of CD34-selected hematopoietic stem cells and Tregs, followed by Tcons for the treatment of patients with high-risk hematological malignancies.METHODSWe present interim evaluation of a single-center open phase I/II study of administration of human leukocyte-matched Tregs and CD34-selected hematopoietic cells, followed by infusion of an equal ratio of Tcons in adult patients undergoing myeloablative hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) for high-risk or active hematological malignancies. Tregs were purified by immunomagnetic selection and high-speed cell sorting.RESULTSHere we report results for the first 12 patients who received Tregs of between 91% and 96% purity. Greater than grade II GVHD was noted in 2 patients in the first cohort of 5 patients, who received cryopreserved Tregs, but neither acute nor chronic GVHD was noted in the second cohort of 7 patients, who received fresh Tregs and single-agent GVHD prophylaxis. Patients in the second cohort appeared to have normal immune reconstitution compared with patients who underwent transplantation and did not develop GVHD.CONCLUSIONOur study shows that the use of highly purified fresh Tregs is clinically feasible and supports continued investigation of the strategy.TRIAL REGISTRATIONClinicalTrials.gov NCT01660607.FUNDINGNIH NHBLI R01 HL114591 and K08HL119590.

  View details for PubMedID 31092732

• Grading cardiac response in AL amyloidosis: implications for relapse and survival. British journal of haematology Eckhert, E., Witteles, R., Kaufman, G., Lafayette, R., Arai, S., Schrier, S., O'Shaughnessy, M., Liedtke, M. 2018

  View details for PubMedID 30569572

• Nonmyeloablative Allogeneic Transplantation Using TLI-ATG Conditioning for Lymphoid and Myeloid Malignancies: Mature Follow-up from a Large, Single Institution Cohort Spinner, M. A., Kennedy, V. E., Tamaresis, J. S., Lavori, P. W., Elder, L. V., Arai, S., Johnston, L. J., Meyer, E. H., Miklos, D. B., Muffly, L. S., Negrin, R. S., Rezvani, A. R., Shizuru, J. A., Weng, W., Hoppe, R. T., Strober, S., Lowsky, R. AMER SOC HEMATOLOGY. 2018

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood-2018-99-113597

  View details for Web of Science ID 000454842804265

• A Case Report of Refractory Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP) Following Reduced Intensity Conditioning (RIC) Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT) for Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) Successfully Treated with Off-Label Use of Daratumumab Migdady, Y., Gupta, R., Ediriwickrema, A., Socola, F., Arai, S., Martin, B. A. AMER SOC HEMATOLOGY. 2018

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood-2018-99-116560

  View details for Web of Science ID 000454842805252

• Elevated Axicabtagene Ciloleucel (CAR-19) Expansion By Immunophenotyping Is Associated with Toxicity in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Spiegel, J. Y., Sahaf, B., Hossain, N., Frank, M. J., Claire, G., Abramian, M., Latchford, T., Villa, B., Cancilla, J., Oak, J., Natkunam, Y., Long, S. R., Arai, S., Johnston, L. J., Lowsky, R., Meyer, E. H., Muffly, L. S., Negrin, R. S., Rezvani, A. R., Shizuru, J. A., Weng, W., Kong, K. A., Mackall, C. L., Miklos, D. B. AMER SOC HEMATOLOGY. 2018

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood-2018-99-113261

  View details for Web of Science ID 000454837601285

• Hedgehog Pathway Inhibitor for Treatment of Steroid-Refractory Sclerodermatous Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease (GVHD) Gupta, R., Albabtain, A., Arai, S., Kwong, B., Weng, W. AMER SOC HEMATOLOGY. 2018

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood-2018-99-113915

  View details for Web of Science ID 000454842801189

• Graded Cardiac Response Correlates with Relapse and Survival in AL Amyloidosis Eckhert, E., Witteles, R., Kaufman, G., Lafayette, R., Arai, S., Schrier, S., O'Shaughnessy, M., Liedtke, M. AMER SOC HEMATOLOGY. 2018

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood-2018-99-113577

  View details for Web of Science ID 000454842804139

• Donor-derived MDS/AML in families with germline GATA2 mutation BLOOD Galera, P., Hsu, A. P., Wang, W., Droll, S., Chen, R., Schwartz, J. R., Klco, J. M., Arai, S., Maese, L., Zerbe, C., Parta, M. J., Young, N. S., Holland, S. M., Hickstein, D. D., Calvo, K. R. 2018; 132 (18): 1994–98

  View details for PubMedID 30232126

• Amphiregulin modifies the Minnesota Acute Graft-versus-Host Disease Risk Score: results from BMT CTN 0302/0802 BLOOD ADVANCES Holtan, S. G., DeFor, T. E., Panoskaltsis-Mortari, A., Khera, N., Levine, J. E., Flowers, M. D., Lee, S. J., Inamoto, Y., Chen, G. L., Mayer, S., Arora, M., Palmer, J., Cutler, C. S., Arai, S., Lazaryan, A., Newell, L. F., Jagasia, M. H., Pusic, I., Wood, W. A., Renteria, A. S., Yanik, G., Hogan, W. J., Hexner, E., Ayuk, F., Holler, E., Bunworasate, U., Efebera, Y. A., Ferrara, J. M., Pidala, J., Howard, A., Wu, J., Bolanos-Meade, J., Ho, V., Alousi, A., Blazar, B. R., Weisdorf, D. J., MacMillan, M. L. 2018; 2 (15): 1882–88

  Abstract

  Amphiregulin (AREG) is an epidermal growth factor receptor ligand that can restore integrity to damaged intestinal mucosa in murine models of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD). We previously reported that circulating AREG is elevated in late-onset aGVHD (occurring after 100 days posttransplant), but its clinical relevance in the context of aGVHD risk is unknown. We measured AREG in 251 aGVHD onset blood samples from Blood and Marrow Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN) primary treatment trials and determined their association with GVHD severity, day 28 complete or partial response (CR/PR) to first-line therapy, overall survival (OS), and nonrelapse mortality (NRM). Every doubling of plasma AREG was associated with a 33% decrease in the odds of day 28 CR/PR (odds ratio [OR], 0.67; P < .01). An AREG threshold of 33 pg/mL or greater divided patients with Minnesota standard-risk (SR) aGVHD into a distinct group with a significantly lower likelihood of: day 28 CR/PR (72% vs 85%; P = .02); greater 2-year NRM (42% vs 15%; P < .01); and inferior OS (40% vs 66%; P < .01). High AREG ≥ 33 pg/mL also stratified patients with Minnesota high-risk (HR) aGVHD: day 28 CR/PR (54% vs 83%; P = .03) and 2-year NRM (53% vs 11%; P < .01), with a trend toward inferior 2-year OS (37% vs 60%; P = .09). High-circulating AREG (≥33 pg/mL) reclassifies patients into HR subgroups and thereby further refines the Minnesota aGVHD clinical risk score.

  View details for PubMedID 30087106

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC6093743

• Design and Patient Characteristics of the Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease Response Measures Validation Study BIOLOGY OF BLOOD AND MARROW TRANSPLANTATION Lee, S. J., Flowers, M. D., Storer, B., Onstad, L., Kurukulasuriya, C., Jagasia, M., Hamilton, B., Chen, G., Cutler, C., Broady, R., Arora, M., Pidala, J., Alousi, A., Arai, S., Sarantopoulos, S., Jaglowski, S., Chronic GVHD Consortium 2018; 24 (8): 1727–32

  Abstract

  In 2014, the National Institutes of Health sponsored the second Consensus Development Project on Criteria for Clinical Trials in Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease (GVHD). The purpose was to update recommendations about key elements of chronic GVHD research, including definitions for diagnosis, severity scoring, and response measures, based on empirical data published since the first 2005 Consensus Conference. The most significant modifications were to the response assessments, based on studies demonstrating difficulty with the first consensus definitions. The Response Measures Validation Study is a multicenter, prospective cohort study of patients who are starting initial or subsequent treatments for chronic GVHD. The aim of the study is to evaluate the performance of the 2014 response measures and determine whether any other combination of assessments is superior. Clinical data, clinician assessments, patient-reported outcomes, and research samples are collected at enrollment and 3, 6, and 18 months later, and whenever another chronic GVHD systemic treatment is added. The target enrollment of 368 evaluable patients from 12 transplantation centers has been reached. This report describes the rationale, design, and methods of the Chronic GVHD Response Measures Validation Study, and invites other investigators to collaborate with the Consortium to analyze data or specimens.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.bbmt.2018.02.010

  View details for Web of Science ID 000443668100028

  View details for PubMedID 29476954

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC6103904

• Final results from a defibrotide treatment-IND study for patients with hepatic veno-occlusive disease/sinusoidal obstruction syndrome BRITISH JOURNAL OF HAEMATOLOGY Kernan, N. A., Grupp, S., Smith, A. R., Arai, S., Triplett, B., Antin, J. H., Lehmann, L., Shore, T., Ho, V. T., Bunin, N., Iacobelli, M., Liang, W., Hume, R., Tappe, W., Soiffer, R., Richardson, P. 2018; 181 (6): 816–27

  Abstract

  Hepatic veno-occlusive disease/sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (VOD/SOS) is a potentially life-threatening complication of haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) conditioning and chemotherapy. Defibrotide is approved for treatment of hepatic VOD/SOS with pulmonary or renal dysfunction [i.e., multi-organ dysfunction (MOD)] after HSCT in the United States and severe VOD/SOS after HSCT in patients aged older than 1 month in the European Union. Defibrotide was available as an investigational drug by an expanded-access treatment programme (T-IND; NCT00628498). In the completed T-IND, the Kaplan-Meier estimated Day +100 survival for 1000 patients with documented defibrotide treatment after HSCT was 58·9% [95% confidence interval (CI), 55·7-61·9%]. Day +100 survival was also analysed by age and MOD status, and post hoc analyses were performed to determine Day +100 survival by transplant type, timing of VOD/SOS onset (≤21 or >21 days) and timing of defibrotide treatment initiation after VOD/SOS diagnosis. Day +100 survival in paediatric patients was 67·9% (95% CI, 63·8-71·6%) and 47·1% (95% CI, 42·3-51·8%) in adults. All patient subgroups without MOD had higher Day +100 survival than those with MOD; earlier defibrotide initiation was also associated with higher Day +100 survival. The safety profile of defibrotide in the completed T-IND study was similar to previous reports.

  View details for PubMedID 29767845

• Infusion of donor-derived CD8(+) memory T cells for relapse following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation BLOOD ADVANCES Muffly, L., Sheehan, K., Armstrong, R., Jensen, K., Tate, K., Rezvani, A. R., Miklos, D., Arai, S., Shizuru, J., Johnston, L., Meyer, E., Weng, W., Laport, G. G., Negrin, R. S., Strober, S., Lowsky, R. 2018; 2 (6): 681–90

  Abstract

  Murine models showed that CD8+CD44hi memory T (TM) cells could eradicate malignant cells without inducing graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). We evaluated the feasibility and safety of infusing freshly isolated and purified donor-derived phenotypic CD8+ TM cells into adults with disease relapse after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Phenotypic CD8 TM cells were isolated after unmobilized donor apheresis using a tandem immunomagnetic selection strategy of CD45RA depletion followed by CD8+ enrichment. Fifteen patients received CD8+ TM cells at escalating doses (1 × 106, 5 × 106, or 10 × 106 cells per kg). Thirteen received cytoreduction before CD8+ TM cell infusion, and 9 had active disease at the time of infusion. Mean yield and purity of the CD8+ TM infusion were 38.1% and 92.8%, respectively; >90% had CD8+ T effector memory phenotype, cytokine expression, and secretion profile. No adverse infusional events or dose-limiting toxicities occurred; GVHD developed in 1 patient (grade 2 liver). Ten patients (67%) maintained or achieved response (7 complete response, 1 partial response, 2 stable disease) for at least 3 months after infusion; 4 of the responders had active disease at the time of infusion. With a median follow-up from infusion of 328 days (range, 118-1328 days), median event-free survival and overall survival were 4.9 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 1-19.3 months) and 19.6 months (95% CI, 5.6 months to not reached), respectively. Collection and enrichment of phenotypic CD8+ TM cells is feasible, well tolerated, and associated with a low incidence of GVHD when administered as a manipulated infusion of donor lymphocytes in patients who have relapsed after HCT. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01523223.

  View details for PubMedID 29572391

• Phase I/II Trial for Patients with Advanced Hematologic Malignancies Undergoing Myeloablative Allogeneic HCT with a T Cell Depleted Graft with Infusion of Conventional T Cells and Regulatory T Cells Meyer, E., Laport, G. G., Tantsura, I., Tang, S., Sahaf, B., Rangarajan, K., Armstrong, R., Tate, K., Tudisco, C., Sheehan, K., Arai, S., Johnston, L., Muffly, L., Lowsky, R., Rezvani, A., Weng, W., Miklos, D., Negrin, R. S. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2018: S145

  View details for Web of Science ID 000425476000186

• Amphiregulin Modifies the Minnesota Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease Risk Score: Results from BMT CTN Acute Gvhd Therapy Trials Holtan, S. G., Defor, T. E., Howard, A., Pidala, J. A., Levine, J. E., Wu, J., Khera, N., Lee, S. J., Bolanos-Meade, J., Ho, V. T., Alousi, A. M., Inamoto, Y., Chen, G. L., Arora, M., Palmer, J., Flowers, M. E., Cutler, C., Renteria, A. S., Lukez, A., Arai, S., Lazaryan, A., Hogan, W. J., Newell, L. F., Jagasia, M., Wood, W. A., Krupski, M., Yanik, G. A., Bunworasate, U., Hexner, E. O., Ayuk, F., Holler, E., Mayer, S., Pusic, I., Duong, H. K., Efebera, Y. A., Ferrara, J., Blazar, B. R., Mortari, A., Weisdorf, D. J., MacMillan, M. L. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2018: S177–S178

  View details for Web of Science ID 000425476000235

• Donor Derived MDS/AML in Patients with Germline GATA2 Mutations Galera, P., Hsu, A., Wang, W., Schwartz, J. R., Klco, J., Arai, S., Holland, S. M., Hickstein, D., Calvo, K. NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. 2018: 516–17

  View details for Web of Science ID 000429308603316

• Anti-Platelet-Derived Growth Factor Receptor Alpha Chain Antibodies Predict for Response to Nilotinib in Steroid-Refractory or -Dependent Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease BIOLOGY OF BLOOD AND MARROW TRANSPLANTATION Chen, G. L., Carpenter, P. A., Broady, R., Gregory, T. K., Johnston, L. J., Storer, B. E., Beumer, J. H., Qiu, J., Cerda, K., Le, R., Otani, J. M., Liu, H., Ross, M. A., Arai, S., Flowers, M. D., McCarthy, P. L., Miklos, D. B. 2018; 24 (2): 373–80

  Abstract

  Imatinib has clinical activity in chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD), a significant complication of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant. Nilotinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets the same receptors as imatinib but with different affinities. We tested the hypothesis that nilotinib is safe and has clinical activity in cGVHD. Thirty-three participants were enrolled in a phase I/II dose escalation and dose extension clinical trial of nilotinib for the treatment of steroid-refractory or- dependent cGVHD (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01155817). We assessed safety, clinical response, and pretreatment anti-platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha chain (anti-PDGFRA) antibody levels. The 200-mg dose was identified as the maximum tolerated dose and used for the phase II dose extension study. At 6 months the incidence of failure-free survival (FFS), cGVHD progression, and nilotinib intolerance resulting in its discontinuation was 50%, 23%, and 23%, respectively. cGVHD responses in skin, joints, and mouth were observed at 3 and 6 months based on improvement in respective National Institutes of Health organ severity scores. Pretreatment anti-PDGFRA antibody levels ≥ .150 optical density as measured by ELISA correlated with longer FFS time (P < .0005) and trended with time until cGVHD progression (P < .06) but not drug intolerance. Nilotinib may be effective for corticosteroid-resistant or -refractory cGVHD in some patients, but its use is limited by intolerable side effects. Selection of patients with high pretreatment anti-PDGFRA antibody levels might improve the risk-to-benefit ratio of nilotinib and better justify its side effects.

  View details for PubMedID 29051021

• Association of Socioeconomic Status with Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease Outcomes BIOLOGY OF BLOOD AND MARROW TRANSPLANTATION Hamilton, B. K., Rybicki, L., Arai, S., Arora, M., Cutler, C. S., Flowers, M. D., Jagasia, M., Martin, P. J., Palmer, J., Pidala, J., Majhail, N. S., Lee, S. J., Khera, N. 2018; 24 (2): 393–99

  Abstract

  Chronic graft-versus host disease (GVHD) is a chronic and disabling complication after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). It is important to understand the association of socioeconomic status (SES) with health outcomes in patients with chronic GVHD because of the impaired physical health and dependence on intensive and prolonged health care utilization needs in these patients. We evaluated the association of SES with survival and quality of life (QOL) in a cohort of 421 patients with chronic GVHD enrolled on the Chronic GVHD Consortium Improving Outcomes Assessment study. Income, education, marital status, and work status were analyzed to determine the associations with patient-reported outcomes at the time of enrollment, nonrelapse mortality (NRM), and overall mortality. Higher income (P = .004), ability to work (P < .001), and having a partner (P = .021) were associated with better mean Lee chronic GVHD symptom scores. Higher income (P = .048), educational level (P = .044), and ability to work (P < .001) also were significantly associated with better QOL and improved activity. In multivariable models, higher income and ability to return to work were both significantly associated with better chronic GVHD Lee symptom scores, but income was not associated with activity level, QOL, or physical/mental functioning. The inability to return to work (hazard ratio, 1.82; P = .019) was associated with worse overall mortality, whereas none of the SES indicators were associated with NRM. Income, race, and education did not have statistically significant associations with survival. In summary, we did not observe an association between SES variables and survival or NRM in patients with chronic GVHD, although we found some association with patient-reported outcomes, such as symptom burden. Higher income status was associated with less severe chronic GVHD symptoms. More research is needed to understand the psychosocial, biological, and environmental factors that mediate this association of SES with major HCT outcomes.

  View details for PubMedID 29032275

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5767523

• Potential Association of Anti-CCR4 Antibody Mogamulizumab and Graft-vs-Host Disease in Patients With Mycosis Fungoides and Sézary Syndrome. JAMA dermatology Dai, J. n., Almazan, T. H., Hong, E. K., Khodadoust, M. S., Arai, S. n., Weng, W. K., Kim, Y. H. 2018

  View details for PubMedID 29800117

• The Cost of Hematopoietic Stem-Cell Transplantation in the United States AMERICAN HEALTH AND DRUG BENEFITS Broder, M. S., Quock, T. P., Chang, E., Reddy, S. R., Agarwal-Hashmi, R., Arai, S., Villa, K. F. 2017; 10 (7): 366–73

  Abstract

  Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) requires highly specialized, resource-intensive care. Myeloablative conditioning regimens used before HSCT generally require inpatient stays and are more intensive than other preparative regimens, and may therefore be more costly.To estimate the costs associated with inpatient HSCT according to the type of the conditioning regimen used and other potential contributors to the overall cost of the procedure.We used data from the Truven Health MarketScan insurance claims database to analyze healthcare costs for pediatric (age <18 years) and adult (age ≥18 years) patients who had autologous or allogeneic inpatient HSCT between January 1, 2010, and September 23, 2013. We developed an algorithm to determine whether conditioning regimens were myeloablative or nonmyeloablative/reduced intensity.We identified a sample of 1562 patients who had inpatient HSCT during the study period for whom the transplant type and the conditioning regimen were determinable: 398 patients had myeloablative allogeneic HSCT; 195 patients had nonmyeloablative/reduced-intensity allogeneic HSCT; and 969 patients had myeloablative autologous HSCT. The median total healthcare cost at 100 days was $289,283 for the myeloablative allogeneic regimen cohort compared with $253,467 for the nonmyeloablative/reduced-intensity allogeneic regimen cohort, and $140,792 for the myeloablative autologous regimen cohort. The mean hospital length of stay for the index (first claim of) HSCT was 35.6 days in the myeloablative allogeneic regimen cohort, 26.6 days in the nonmyeloablative/reduced-intensity allogeneic cohort, and 21.8 days in the myeloablative autologous regimen cohort.Allogeneic HSCT was more expensive than autologous HSCT, regardless of the regimen used. Myeloablative conditioning regimens led to higher overall costs than nonmyeloablative/reduced-intensity regimens in the allogeneic HSCT cohort, indicating a greater cost burden associated with inpatient services for higher-intensity preparative conditioning regimens. Pediatric patients had higher costs than adult patients. Future research should involve validating the algorithm for identifying conditioning regimens using clinical data.

  View details for PubMedID 29263771

• Validation of the Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation-Specific Comorbidity Index in Nonmyeloablative Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation BIOLOGY OF BLOOD AND MARROW TRANSPLANTATION Veeraputhiran, M., Yang, L., Sundaram, V., Arai, S., Lowsky, R., Miklos, D., Meyer, E., Muffly, L., Negrin, R., Rezvani, A., Shizuru, J., Weng, W., Johnston, L. 2017; 23 (10): 1744–48

  Abstract

  The Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT)-Specific Comorbidity Index (HCT-CI) has been extensively studied in myeloablative and reduced-intensity conditioning regimens, with less data available regarding the validity of HCT-CI in nonmyeloablative (NMA) allogeneic transplantation. We conducted a retrospective analysis to evaluate the association between HCT-CI and nonrelapse mortality (NRM) and all-cause mortality (ACM) in patients receiving the total lymphoid irradiation and antithymocyte globulin (TLI/ATG) NMA transplantation preparative regimen. We abstracted demographic and clinical data from consecutive patients, who received allogeneic HCT with the TLI/ATG regimen between January 2008 and September 2014, from the Stanford blood and marrow transplantation database. We conducted univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models to evaluate the association between HCT-CI and NRM and ACM. In all, 287 patients were included for analysis. The median age of the patients was 61 (range, 22 to 77) years. The median overall survival was 844 (range, 374 to 1484) days. Most patients had Karnofsky performance score of 90 or above (85%). Fifty-two (18%) patients relapsed within 3 months and 108 (38%) patients relapsed within 1 year, with a median time to relapse of 163 (range, 83 to 366) days. Among the comorbidities in the HCT-CI identified at the time of HCT, reduced pulmonary function was the most common (n = 89), followed by prior history of malignancy (n = 39), psychiatric condition (n = 38), and diabetes (n = 31). Patients with higher HCT-CI scores had higher mortality risks for ACM (hazard ratio [HR], 1.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.22 to 3.14 for HCT-CI score 1 or 2 and HR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.11 to 3.08 for HCT-CI score ≥ 3, compared with 0, respectively). Among individual HCT-CI variables, diabetes (HR, 2.31; 95% CI, 1.79 to 2.89; P = .003) and prior solid tumors (HR, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.02 to 3.00; P = .043) were associated with a higher risk of ACM. Higher HCT-CI scores were significantly associated with higher risk of death. HCT-CI is a valid tool for predicting ACM in NMA TLI/ATG allogeneic HCT.

  View details for PubMedID 28668491

• Daratumumab yields rapid and deep hematologic responses in patients with heavily pretreated AL amyloidosis BLOOD Kaufman, G. P., Schrier, S. L., Lafayette, R. A., Arai, S., Witteles, R. M., Liedtke, M. 2017; 130 (7): 900–902

  Abstract

  The majority of patients with immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis (AL) fail to achieve a complete response (CR) to standard light chain suppressive chemotherapy, and almost all patients eventually experience hematologic relapse and progression of organ involvement. Additional well-tolerated treatment options are needed. We present our retrospective experience of 25 consecutive previously treated AL patients who received daratumumab, a CD38-directed monoclonal antibody approved for the treatment of multiple myeloma. Daratumumab was administered at 16 mg/kg weekly for 8 weeks, then every 2 weeks for 8 doses, and then every 4 weeks. Patients had received a median of 3 prior lines of therapy, with a previous hematologic CR in only 5 patients. The overall hematologic response rate to daratumumab was 76%, including CR in 36% and very good partial response in 24%. Median time to response was 1 month. Therapy was well tolerated, even among the 72% of patients with cardiac AL involvement. Grade 1-2 infusion reactions occurred in 15 patients, but no grade 3 or 4 reactions were observed. Daratumumab is a highly effective agent that produced rapid and deep hematologic responses without unexpected toxicity in our cohort of heavily pretreated AL patients.

  View details for PubMedID 28615223

• An endpoint associated with clinical benefit after initial treatment for chronic graft-versus-host disease. Blood Martin, P. J., Storer, B. E., Inamoto, Y., Flowers, M. E., Carpenter, P. A., Pidala, J., Palmer, J., Arora, M., Jagasia, M., Arai, S., Cutler, C., Lee, S. J. 2017

  Abstract

  No gold standard has been established as a primary endpoint in trials of initial treatment for chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), and evidence showing the association of any proposed primary endpoint with clinical benefit has not been conclusively demonstrated. To address this gap, we analyzed outcomes in a cohort of 328 patients enrolled in a prospective, multicenter, observational study within 3 months after diagnosis of chronic GVHD. Complete and partial response, stable disease and progressive disease were defined according to the 2014 NIH Consensus Development Conference on Criteria for Clinical Trials in Chronic Graft-versus-host Disease. Success was defined as complete or partial response with no secondary systemic treatment or recurrent malignancy at 1 year after enrollment. Success was observed in less than 20% of the patients. The burden of disease manifestations at 1 year was lower for patients in this category than for those with stable or progressive disease. Systemic treatment ended earlier and subsequent mortality was lower among patients with complete or partial response than among those with stable or progressive disease and those who had received secondary systemic treatment. We conclude that survival with a complete or partial response and no previous secondary systemic treatment or recurrent malignancy at 1 year after initial systemic therapy is associated with clinical benefit, a critical characteristic for consideration as a primary endpoint in a pivotal clinical trial. This prospective observational study was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT00637689.

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood-2017-03-775767

  View details for PubMedID 28495794

• HLA-mismatched unrelated donor transplantation using TLI-ATG conditioning has a low risk of GVHD and potent antitumor activity. Blood advances Spinner, M. A., Fernández-Viña, M. n., Creary, L. E., Quinn, O. n., Elder, L. n., Arai, S. n., Johnston, L. J., Meyer, E. H., Miklos, D. B., Muffly, L. S., Negrin, R. S., Shizuru, J. A., Weng, W. K., Laport, G. G., Strober, S. n., Lowsky, R. n., Rezvani, A. R. 2017; 1 (17): 1347–57

  Abstract

  Many patients lack a fully HLA-matched donor for hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), and HLA mismatch is typically associated with inferior outcomes. Total lymphoid irradiation and antithymocyte globulin (TLI-ATG) is a nonmyeloablative conditioning regimen that is protective against graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), and we hypothesized that the protective effect would extend beyond HLA-matched donors. We report outcomes for all consecutively transplanted patients at Stanford University from December 2001 through May 2015 who received TLI-ATG conditioning and HCTs from 8 to 9 out of 10 HLA-mismatched unrelated donors (MMUDs, N = 72) compared with 10 out of 10 HLA-matched unrelated donors (MUDs, N = 193). The median age of the patients was 60 years with a median follow-up of 2 years, and there was a similar distribution of lymphoid and myeloid malignancies in both cohorts. There were no significant differences between MMUD and MUD cohorts in overall survival (46% vs 46% at 5 years, P = .86), disease-free survival (38% vs 28% at 5 years, P = .25), nonrelapse mortality (17% vs 12% at 2 years, P = .34), acute GVHD grades III-IV (6% vs 3% at day +100, P = .61), or chronic GVHD (39% vs 35% at 5 years, P = .49). There was a trend toward less relapse in the MMUD cohort (45% vs 60% at 5 years, hazard ratio: 0.71, P = .094), which was significant for patients with lymphoid malignancies (29% vs 57% at 5 years, hazard ratio: 0.55, P = .044). Achieving full donor chimerism was strongly associated with lower relapse rates. TLI-ATG conditioning may overcome the traditionally poorer outcome associated with HLA-mismatched donors and may be particularly well suited for patients with lymphoid malignancies who lack HLA-matched donors.

  View details for PubMedID 29296777

• Late acute graft-versus-host disease: a prospective analysis of clinical outcomes and circulating angiogenic factors BLOOD Holtan, S. G., Khera, N., Levine, J. E., Chai, X., Storer, B., Liu, H. D., Inamoto, Y., Chen, G. L., Mayer, S., Arora, M., Palmer, J., Flowers, M. E., Cutler, C. S., Lukez, A., Arai, S., Lazaryan, A., Newell, L. F., Krupski, C., Jagasia, M. H., Pusic, I., Wood, W., Renteria, A. S., Yanik, G., Hogan, W. J., Hexner, E., Ayuk, F., Holler, E., Watanaboonyongcharoen, P., Efebera, Y. A., Ferrara, J. L., Panoskaltsis-Mortari, A., Weisdorf, D., Lee, S. J., Pidala, J. 2016; 128 (19): 2350-2358

  Abstract

  Late acute (LA) graft vs. host disease (GVHD) is persistent, recurrent, or new onset acute GVHD symptoms occurring after 100 days post-allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). The aim of this analysis is to describe the onset, course, morbidity, mortality, and examine angiogenic factors associated with LA GVHD. A prospective cohort of patients (n=909) was enrolled as part of an observational study within the Chronic GVHD Consortium. Eighty-three patients (11%) developed LA GVHD at a median of 160 (interquartile range, IQR 128-204) days after HCT. While 51/83 (61%) achieved complete or partial response to initial therapy by 28 days, median failure free survival was only 7.1 months (95% confidence interval 3.4-19.1 months), and estimated overall survival (OS) at two years was 56%. Given recently described alterations of circulating angiogenic factors in classic acute GVHD, we examined whether alterations in such factors could be identified in LA GVHD. We first tested cases (n-55) and controls (n=50) from the Chronic GVHD Consortium and then validated the findings in 37 cases from Mount Sinai Acute GVHD International Consortium. Plasma amphiregulin (AREG, an epidermal growth factor [EGF] receptor ligand) was elevated, and the AREG/EGF ratio ≥ median was associated with inferior OS and increased NRM in both cohorts. Elevation of AREG was detected in classic acute GVHD, but not chronic GVHD. These prospective data characterize the clinical course of LA GVHD, and demonstrate alterations in angiogenic factors that make LA GVHD biologically distinct from chronic GVHD.

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood-2015-09-669846

  View details for PubMedID 27625357

• Clinicopathologic Threshold of Acute Colorectal Graft-versus-Host Disease ARCHIVES OF PATHOLOGY & LABORATORY MEDICINE Gomez, A. J., Arai, S., Higgins, J. P., Kambham, N. 2016; 140 (6): 570-577

  Abstract

  -Colon biopsies are often used to determine the presence and severity of acute gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease following bone marrow transplant.-To establish a threshold consensus within our institution on the number of crypt apoptotic bodies (CAB) indicative of grade 1 acute colorectal graft-versus-host disease, we retrospectively reviewed colon biopsies from posttransplant patients and incorporated clinical and endoscopic findings to validate recently proposed minimum criteria for grade 1 graft-versus-host disease as 7 or more CAB per 10 contiguous crypts.-Eighty-one biopsies performed for suspected graft-versus-host disease from 74 individual patients were initially stratified based on their prior (prestudy) diagnoses: no significant abnormality, grade 1 graft-versus-host disease, and descriptive diagnoses mentioning increased apoptosis. A chart review was performed to assess the clinical and endoscopic impression at the time of biopsy and to determine the subsequent management and outcome.-Twenty-six biopsies with an average of 3 CAB were considered true-negative cases, and 32 biopsies with an average of 9.75 CAB were considered true-positive cases (t = 3.95999, P < .001). True-negative cases had an average density of 1.36 CAB per crypt, and true-positive cases had an average density of 2.97 CAB per crypt (t = 3.950178, P < .001).-A threshold of 7 or more CAB per 10 contiguous crypts promotes appropriate treatment of grade 1 acute graft-versus-host disease after other diagnostic entities are excluded. Although this threshold is 100% specific to grade 1 acute colorectal graft-versus-host disease after other histologic mimics are excluded, this threshold has a low sensitivity (59.4%) as patients with less than 7 CAB per 10 contiguous crypts constitute a heterogeneous group.

  View details for DOI 10.5858/arpa.2015-0187-OA

  View details for Web of Science ID 000377101500013

  View details for PubMedID 27232349

• Clinical activity of ponatinib in a patient with FGFR1-rearranged mixed-phenotype acute leukemia. Leukemia Khodadoust, M. S., Luo, B., Medeiros, B. C., Johnson, R. C., Ewalt, M. D., Schalkwyk, A. S., Bangs, C. D., Cherry, A. M., Arai, S., Arber, D. A., Zehnder, J. L., Gotlib, J. 2016; 30 (4): 947-950

  View details for DOI 10.1038/leu.2015.136

  View details for PubMedID 26055304

• Oral chronic GVHD outcomes and resource utilization: a subanalysis from the chronic GVHD consortium. Oral diseases Yuan, A., Chai, X., Martins, F., Arai, S., Arora, M., Correa, M. E., Pidala, J., Cutler, C. S., Lee, S. J., Treister, N. S. 2016; 22 (3): 235-240

  Abstract

  This study evaluated the extent to which oral chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) consensus assessments are predictive of management across institutions with and without oral medicine (OM) centers, and whether ancillary care guidelines are followed within clinical practice.Longitudinal oral cGVHD data were abstracted from the cGVHD Consortium, and additional mouth-specific management data were analyzed across five transplant centers.Seventy-nine patients with 656 visits were observed for a median of 7.1 months with one visit per follow-up month. Ancillary therapies for oral cGVHD were prescribed for 67% of patients for a median of 0.46 months (per follow-up month) at OM centers and 0.78 months at non-OM centers. Patients treated with ancillary therapy were more likely to have an National Institutes of Health (NIH) mouth score of ≥1 (P < 0.001, odds ratio: 5.1) and mouth pain (P = 0.01, odds ratio: 2.6). The odds ratios of receiving ancillary therapy from OM experts were higher than transplant physicians (53%; P = 0.03).Oral cGVHD consensus assessments corresponding with ancillary therapy use were mouth pain and NIH mouth score, with higher odds ratios of receiving therapy from OM experts. Ancillary care guidelines for oral cGVHD are reflected in academic clinical practice with respect to utilization of recommended prescriptions.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/odi.12429

  View details for PubMedID 26708609

• Long-awaited news for hepatic veno-occlusive disease. Blood Arai, S. 2016; 127 (13): 1630-1631

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood-2016-02-694943

  View details for PubMedID 27034420

• Phase 3 trial of defibrotide for the treatment of severe veno-occlusive disease and multi-organ failure. Blood Richardson, P. G., Riches, M. L., Kernan, N. A., Brochstein, J. A., Mineishi, S., Termuhlen, A. M., Arai, S., Grupp, S. A., Guinan, E. C., Martin, P. L., Steinbach, G., Krishnan, A., Nemecek, E. R., Giralt, S., Rodriguez, T., Duerst, R., Doyle, J., Antin, J. H., Smith, A., Lehmann, L., Champlin, R., Gillio, A., Bajwa, R., D'Agostino, R. B., Massaro, J., Warren, D., Miloslavsky, M., Hume, R. L., Iacobelli, M., Nejadnik, B., Hannah, A. L., Soiffer, R. J. 2016; 127 (13): 1656-1665

  Abstract

  Hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD), also called sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS), is a potentially life-threatening complication of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Untreated hepatic VOD/SOS with multi-organ failure (MOF) is associated with >80% mortality. Defibrotide has shown promising efficacy treating hepatic VOD/SOS with MOF in phase 2 studies. This phase 3 study investigated safety and efficacy of defibrotide in patients with established hepatic VOD/SOS and advanced MOF. Patients (n = 102) given defibrotide 25 mg/kg per day were compared with 32 historical controls identified out of 6867 medical charts of HSCT patients by blinded independent reviewers. Baseline characteristics between groups were well balanced. The primary endpoint was survival at day +100 post-HSCT; observed rates equaled 38.2% in the defibrotide group and 25% in the controls (23% estimated difference; 95.1% confidence interval [CI], 5.2-40.8;P= .0109, using a propensity-adjusted analysis). Observed day +100 complete response (CR) rates equaled 25.5% for defibrotide and 12.5% for controls (19% difference using similar methodology; 95.1% CI, 3.5-34.6;P= .0160). Defibrotide was generally well tolerated with manageable toxicity. Related adverse events (AEs) included hemorrhage or hypotension; incidence of common hemorrhagic AEs (including pulmonary alveolar [11.8% and 15.6%] and gastrointestinal bleeding [7.8% and 9.4%]) was similar between the defibrotide and control groups, respectively. Defibrotide was associated with significant improvement in day +100 survival and CR rate. The historical-control methodology offers a novel, meaningful approach for phase 3 evaluation of orphan diseases associated with high mortality. This trial was registered atwww.clinicaltrials.govas #NCT00358501.

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood-2015-10-676924

  View details for PubMedID 26825712

• Late Acute and Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation. Biology of blood and marrow transplantation Arora, M., Cutler, C. S., Jagasia, M. H., Pidala, J., Chai, X., Martin, P. J., Flowers, M. E., Inamoto, Y., Chen, G. L., Wood, W. A., Khera, N., Palmer, J., Duong, H., Arai, S., Mayer, S., Pusic, I., Lee, S. J. 2016; 22 (3): 449-455

  Abstract

  Several distinct graft-versus-host disease (GVHD)-related syndromes have been defined by the National Institutes of Health Consensus Conference. We enrolled a prospective cohort of 911 hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) recipients at 13 centers between March 2011 and May 2014 to evaluate 4 GVHD syndromes: late acute GVHD (aGVHD), chronic GVHD (cGVHD), bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome, and cutaneous sclerosis. The median age at HCT was 53.7 years. The majority of patients received a peripheral blood stem cell transplant (81%) following nonmyeloablative or reduced-intensity conditioning (55%). Pediatric age group and use of bone marrow and umbilical cord blood grafts were underrepresented in our cohort (≤11%). The cumulative incidence of late aGVHD (late onset and recurrent) was 10% at a median of 5.5 months post-HCT, that of cGVHD was 47% at a median of 7.4 months, that of bronchiolitis obliterans was 3% at a median of 12.2 months, and that of cutaneous sclerosis was 8% at a median onset of 14.0 months. Late aGVHD and bronchiolitis obliterans had particularly high nonrelapse mortality of 23% and 32%, respectively, by 2 years after diagnosis. The probability of late aGVHD- and cGVHD-free, relapse-free survival was 38% at 1 year post-HCT and 26% at 2 years post-HCT. This multicenter prospective study confirms the high rate of late aGVHD and cGVHD syndromes and supports the need for continuous close monitoring and development of more effective GVHD treatment strategies to improve HCT success.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.bbmt.2015.10.018

  View details for PubMedID 26541363

• A Randomized Phase II Crossover Study of Imatinib or Rituximab for Cutaneous Sclerosis after Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation. Clinical cancer research Arai, S., Pidala, J., Pusic, I., Chai, X., Jaglowski, S., Khera, N., Palmer, J., Chen, G. L., Jagasia, M. H., Mayer, S. A., Wood, W. A., Green, M., Hyun, T. S., Inamoto, Y., Storer, B. E., Miklos, D. B., Shulman, H. M., Martin, P. J., Sarantopoulos, S., Lee, S. J., Flowers, M. E. 2016; 22 (2): 319-327

  Abstract

  Cutaneous sclerosis occurs in 20% of patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and can compromise mobility and quality of life.We conducted a prospective, multicenter, randomized, two-arm phase II crossover trial of imatinib (200 mg daily) or rituximab (375 mg/m(2) i.v. weekly × 4 doses, repeatable after 3 months) for treatment of cutaneous sclerosis diagnosed within 18 months (NCT01309997). The primary endpoint was significant clinical response (SCR) at 6 months, defined as quantitative improvement in skin sclerosis or joint range of motion. Treatment success was defined as SCR at 6 months without crossover, recurrent malignancy or death. Secondary endpoints included changes of B-cell profiles in blood (BAFF levels and cellular subsets), patient-reported outcomes, and histopathology between responders and nonresponders with each therapy.SCR was observed in 9 of 35 [26%; 95% confidence interval (CI); 13%-43%] participants randomized to imatinib and 10 of 37 (27%; 95% CI, 14%-44%) randomized to rituximab. Six (17%; 95% CI, 7%-34%) patients in the imatinib arm and 5 (14%; 95% CI, 5%-29%) in the rituximab arm had treatment success. Higher percentages of activated B cells (CD27(+)) were seen at enrollment in rituximab-treated patients who had treatment success (P = 0.01), but not in imatinib-treated patients.These results support the need for more effective therapies for cutaneous sclerosis and suggest that activated B cells define a subgroup of patients with cutaneous sclerosis who are more likely to respond to rituximab.

  View details for DOI 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-15-1443

  View details for PubMedID 26378033

• Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation after failed autologous transplant for lymphoma using TLI and anti-thymocyte globulin conditioning BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION Rezvani, A. R., Kanate, A. S., Efron, B., Chhabra, S., Kohrt, H. E., Shizuru, J. A., Laport, G. G., Miklos, D. B., Benjamin, J. E., JOHNSTON, L. J., Arai, S., Weng, W., Negrin, R. S., Strober, S., Lowsky, R. 2015; 50 (10): 1286-1292

  Abstract

  We describe 47 patients with lymphoma and failed prior autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) who received TLI-ATG (anti-thymocyte globulin) conditioning followed by allogeneic HCT. Thirty-two patients had non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL; diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (n=19), T-cell NHL (n=6), mantle cell lymphoma (n=4) or other B-cell subtypes (n=3)), and 15 had Hodgkin lymphoma. The median follow-up was 4.9 (range, 2.1-11.9) years. The cumulative incidence of grade II-IV acute GvHD at day +100 was 12%, and the cumulative incidence of extensive chronic GvHD at 1 year was 36%. The 3-year cumulative incidences of overall survival (OS), PFS and non-relapse mortality (NRM) were 81%, 44% and 7%, respectively. Fifteen patients died (relapse, n=10; NRM, n=5). Among the 25 patients with relapse after allogeneic HCT, 11 (44%) achieved durable (>1 year) CRs following donor lymphocyte infusion or chemoradiotherapy. The majority of surviving patients (75%; n=24) were able to discontinue all immunosuppression. For patients with relapsed lymphoma after autologous HCT, allogeneic HCT using TLI-ATG conditioning is a well-tolerated, predominantly outpatient therapy with low NRM (7% at 3 years), a low incidence of GvHD, durable disease control and excellent OS (81% at 3 years).

  View details for DOI 10.1038/bmt.2015.149

  View details for PubMedID 26146806

• Cyclophosphamide conditioning in patients with severe aplastic anaemia given unrelated marrow transplantation: a phase 1-2 dose de-escalation study LANCET HAEMATOLOGY Anderlini, P., Wu, J., Gersten, I., Ewell, M., Tolar, J., Antin, J. H., Adams, R., Arai, S., Eames, G., Horwitz, M. E., McCarty, J., Nakamura, R., Pulsipher, M. A., Rowley, S., Leifer, E., Carter, S. L., DiFronzo, N. L., Horowitz, M. M., Confer, D., Deeg, H. J., Eapen, M. 2015; 2 (9): E367-E375

  Abstract

  The optimum preparative regimen for unrelated donor marrow transplantation in patients with severe aplastic anaemia remains to be established. We investigated whether the combination of fludarabine, anti-thymocyte globulin, and total body irradiation (TBI) would enable reduction of the cyclophosphamide dose to less than 200 mg/kg while maintaining engraftment and having a survival similar to or better than that with standard regimens using a cyclophosphamide dose of 200 mg/kg (known to be associated with significant organ toxicity) for unrelated donor transplantation for severe aplastic anaemia. We have previously shown that cyclophosphamide at 150 mg/kg resulted in excess toxicity and its omission (0 mg/kg) resulted in unacceptable graft failure (three of three patients had secondary graft failure). Here we report results for the 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg cohorts.In a multicentre phase 1-2 study, patients (aged ≤65 years) with severe aplastic anaemia, adequate organ function, and an unrelated adult marrow donor HLA matched at the allele level for HLA A, B, C, and DRB1 or mismatched at a single HLA locus received bone marrow grafts from unrelated donors. All patients received anti-thymocyte globulin (rabbit derived 3 mg/kg per day, intravenously, on days -4 to -2, or equine derived 30 mg/kg per day, intravenously, on days -4 to -2), fludarabine (30 mg/m(2) per day, intravenously, on days -5 to -2), and TBI (2 Gy). Cyclophosphamide dosing started at 150 mg/kg and was de-escalated in steps of 50 mg/kg (to 100 mg/kg, 50 mg/kg, and 0 mg/kg). The primary endpoint was the selection of the optimum cyclophosphamide dose based on assessments of graft failure (primary or secondary), toxicity, and early death during 100 days of follow-up after the transplant; this is the planned final analysis for the primary endpoint. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00326417.96 patients had bone marrow transplant. At day 100, 35 (92%) of 38 patients were engrafted and alive in the cyclophosphamide 50 mg/kg cohort and 35 (85%) of 41 in the 100 mg/kg cohort. Cyclophosphamide 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg resulted in posterior means for fatality without graft failure of 0·7% (credible interval 0-3·3) and 1·4% (0-4·9), respectively. Three patients (8%) had graft failure with cyclophosphamide 50 mg/kg and six (15%) with cyclophosphamide 100 mg/kg. Four (11%) patients had major regimen-related toxicity with cyclophosphamide 50 mg/kg and nine (22%) with cyclophosphamide 100 mg/kg. The most common organ toxicity was pulmonary (grade 3 or 4 dyspnoea or hypoxia including mechanical ventilation), and occurred in three (8%) and four (10%) patients given cyclophosphamide 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg, respectively.Cyclophosphamide at 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg with TBI 2 Gy, fludarabine, and anti-thymocyte globulin results in effective conditioning and few early deaths after unrelated donor transplantation for severe aplastic anaemia. These doses of cyclophosphamide provide a framework for further regimen optimisation strategies.US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and National Cancer Institute.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000362075100007

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4861234

• Failure-free survival in a prospective cohort of patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease HAEMATOLOGICA Palmer, J., Chai, X., Martin, P. J., Weisdorf, D., Inamoto, Y., Pidala, J., Jagasia, M., Pavletic, S., Cutler, C., Vogelsang, G., Arai, S., Flowers, M. E., Lee, S. J. 2015; 100 (5): 690-695

  Abstract

  Failure-free survival, defined as the absence of relapse, non-relapse mortality or addition of another systemic therapy, has been proposed as a potential endpoint for clinical trials, but its use has only been reported for single-center studies. We measured failure-free survival in a prospective observational cohort of patients (n=575) with both newly diagnosed and existing chronic graft-versus-host disease from nine centers. Failure was observed in 389 (68%) patients during the observation period. The median follow up of all patients was 30.9 months, and the median failure-free survival was 9.8 months (63% at 6 months, 45% at 1 year, and 29% at 2 years). Of the variables measured at enrollment, ten were associated with shorter failure-free survival: higher National Institutes of Health 0-3 skin score, higher National Institutes of Health 0-3 gastrointestinal score, worse range of motion summary score, lower forced vital capacity (%), bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome, worse quality of life, moderate to severe hepatic dysfunction, absence of treatment for gastric acid, female donor for male recipient, and prior grade II-IV acute graft-versus-host disease. Addition of a new systemic treatment, the major cause of failure, was associated with an increased risk of subsequent non-relapse mortality (hazard ratio=2.06, 95% confidence interval: 1.29-3.32; P<0.003) and decreased survival (hazard ratio=1.51, 95% confidence interval: 1.04-2.18; P<0.03). These results show that fewer than half of patients on systemic treatment will be failure-free survivors at 1 year, and fewer than a third will reach 2 years without experiencing failure. Better treatments are needed for chronic graft-versus-host disease. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT00637689.

  View details for DOI 10.3324/haematol.2014.117283

  View details for PubMedID 25715403

• Outcomes after heart transplantation for amyloid cardiomyopathy in the modern era. American journal of transplantation Davis, M. K., Kale, P., Liedtke, M., Schrier, S., Arai, S., Wheeler, M., Lafayette, R., Coakley, T., Witteles, R. M. 2015; 15 (3): 650-658

  Abstract

  We conducted a review of patients undergoing heart transplantation (HT) at our institution for amyloid cardiomyopathy (ACM) between 2008 and 2013. Complete follow-up was available for all patients. Nineteen patients with ACM underwent HT during the study period, accounting for 9.4% of all HT performed at our institution during this period. Amyloid subtype was light chain (AL) in 9 patients and transthyretin (ATTR) in 10 (2 wild-type, 7 familial, 1 unknown). Eight of nine patients with AL amyloidosis began chemotherapy prior to HT, six have resumed chemotherapy since HT, and five have undergone autologous stem cell transplantation. Most recent free light chain levels in AL patients decreased by a median of 85% from peak values. Only one patient developed recurrent graft amyloidosis, occurring at 3.5 years post-HT and asymptomatic. After a median follow-up of 380 days, 17 (89.5%) patients are alive. To our knowledge, this is the largest single-center series reported of ACM patients undergoing HT in the modern era. Our results suggest that acceptable outcomes following HT can be achieved in the short-to-intermediate term and that this is a feasible option for end-stage ACM with careful patient selection and aggressive control of amyloidogenic light chains in AL patients.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/ajt.13025

  View details for PubMedID 25648766

• National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Project on Criteria for Clinical Trials in Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease: I. The 2014 Diagnosis and Staging Working Group Report. Biology of blood and marrow transplantation Jagasia, M. H., Greinix, H. T., Arora, M., Williams, K. M., Wolff, D., Cowen, E. W., Palmer, J., Weisdorf, D., Treister, N. S., Cheng, G., Kerr, H., Stratton, P., Duarte, R. F., McDonald, G. B., Inamoto, Y., Vigorito, A., Arai, S., Datiles, M. B., Jacobsohn, D., Heller, T., Kitko, C. L., Mitchell, S. A., Martin, P. J., Shulman, H., Wu, R. S., Cutler, C. S., Vogelsang, G. B., Lee, S. J., Pavletic, S. Z., Flowers, M. E. 2015; 21 (3): 389-401 e1

  Abstract

  The 2005 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Conference proposed new criteria for diagnosing and scoring the severity of chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). The 2014 NIH consensus maintains the framework of the prior consensus with further refinement based on new evidence. Revisions have been made to address areas of controversy or confusion, such as the overlap chronic GVHD subcategory and the distinction between active disease and past tissue damage. Diagnostic criteria for involvement of mouth, eyes, genitalia, and lungs have been revised. Categories of chronic GVHD should be defined in ways that indicate prognosis, guide treatment, and define eligibility for clinical trials. Revisions have been made to focus attention on the causes of organ-specific abnormalities. Attribution of organ-specific abnormalities to chronic GVHD has been addressed. This paradigm shift provides greater specificity and more accurately measures the global burden of disease attributed to GVHD, and it will facilitate biomarker association studies.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.bbmt.2014.12.001

  View details for PubMedID 25529383

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4329079

• National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Project on Criteria for Clinical Trials in Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease: I. The 2014 Diagnosis and Staging Working Group report. Biology of blood and marrow transplantation Jagasia, M. H., Greinix, H. T., Arora, M., Williams, K. M., Wolff, D., Cowen, E. W., Palmer, J., Weisdorf, D., Treister, N. S., Cheng, G., Kerr, H., Stratton, P., Duarte, R. F., McDonald, G. B., Inamoto, Y., Vigorito, A., Arai, S., Datiles, M. B., Jacobsohn, D., Heller, T., Kitko, C. L., Mitchell, S. A., Martin, P. J., Shulman, H., Wu, R. S., Cutler, C. S., Vogelsang, G. B., Lee, S. J., Pavletic, S. Z., Flowers, M. E. 2015; 21 (3): 389-401 e1

  Abstract

  The 2005 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Conference proposed new criteria for diagnosing and scoring the severity of chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). The 2014 NIH consensus maintains the framework of the prior consensus with further refinement based on new evidence. Revisions have been made to address areas of controversy or confusion, such as the overlap chronic GVHD subcategory and the distinction between active disease and past tissue damage. Diagnostic criteria for involvement of mouth, eyes, genitalia, and lungs have been revised. Categories of chronic GVHD should be defined in ways that indicate prognosis, guide treatment, and define eligibility for clinical trials. Revisions have been made to focus attention on the causes of organ-specific abnormalities. Attribution of organ-specific abnormalities to chronic GVHD has been addressed. This paradigm shift provides greater specificity and more accurately measures the global burden of disease attributed to GVHD, and it will facilitate biomarker association studies.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.bbmt.2014.12.001

  View details for PubMedID 25529383

• Increasing Incidence of Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease in Allogeneic Transplantation: A Report from the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research. Biology of blood and marrow transplantation Arai, S., Arora, M., Wang, T., Spellman, S. R., He, W., Couriel, D. R., Urbano-Ispizua, A., Cutler, C. S., Bacigalupo, A. A., Battiwalla, M., Flowers, M. E., Juckett, M. B., Lee, S. J., Loren, A. W., Klumpp, T. R., Prockup, S. E., Ringdén, O. T., Savani, B. N., Socié, G., Schultz, K. R., Spitzer, T., Teshima, T., Bredeson, C. N., Jacobsohn, D. A., Hayashi, R. J., Drobyski, W. R., Frangoul, H. A., Akpek, G., Ho, V. T., Lewis, V. A., Gale, R. P., Koreth, J., Chao, N. J., AlJurf, M. D., Cooper, B. W., Laughlin, M. J., Hsu, J. W., Hematti, P., Verdonck, L. F., Solh, M. M., Norkin, M., Reddy, V., Martino, R., Gadalla, S., Goldberg, J. D., McCarthy, P. L., Pérez-Simón, J. A., Khera, N., Lewis, I. D., Atsuta, Y., Olsson, R. F., Saber, W., Waller, E. K., Blaise, D., Pidala, J. A., Martin, P. J., Satwani, P., Bornhäuser, M., Inamoto, Y., Weisdorf, D. J., Horowitz, M. M., Pavletic, S. Z. 2015; 21 (2): 266-274

  Abstract

  Although transplant practices have changed over the last decades, no information is available on trends in incidence and outcome of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) over time. This study used the central database of the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) to describe time trends for cGVHD incidence, nonrelapse mortality, and risk factors for cGVHD. The 12-year period was divided into 3 intervals, 1995 to 1999, 2000 to 2003, and 2004 to 2007, and included 26,563 patients with acute leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia, and myelodysplastic syndrome. Multivariate analysis showed an increased incidence of cGVHD in more recent years (odds ratio = 1.19, P < .0001), and this trend was still seen when adjusting for donor type, graft type, or conditioning intensity. In patients with cGVHD, nonrelapse mortality has decreased over time, but at 5 years there were no significant differences among different time periods. Risk factors for cGVHD were in line with previous studies. This is the first comprehensive characterization of the trends in cGVHD incidence and underscores the mounting need for addressing this major late complication of transplantation in future research.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.bbmt.2014.10.021

  View details for PubMedID 25445023

• Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant for normal karyotype AML: indirect evidence of selection for adverse molecular profile. Bone marrow transplantation Percival, M. M., Medeiros, B. C., Tian, L. n., Robeson, S. n., Laport, G. G., Johnston, L. J., Shizuru, J. A., Miklos, D. B., Arai, S. n., Weng, W. K., Negrin, R. S., Lowsky, R. n. 2015

  View details for PubMedID 25893457

• Association of severity of organ involvement with mortality and recurrent malignancy in patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease HAEMATOLOGICA Inamoto, Y., Martin, P. J., Storer, B. E., Palmer, J., Weisdorf, D. J., Pidala, J., Flowers, M. E., Arora, M., Jagasia, M., Arai, S., Chai, X., Pavletic, S. Z., Vogelsang, G. B., Lee, S. J. 2014; 99 (10): 1618-1623

  Abstract

  The National Institutes of Health global score for chronic graft-versus-host disease was devised by experts but was not based on empirical data. We hypothesized that analysis of prospectively collected data would enable derivation of a more accurate model for estimating mortality risk. We analyzed 574 adult patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease enrolled in a multicenter, observational study, using multivariate time-varying analysis accounting for serial changes in severity of involvement of eight individual organ sites over time. In the training set, severity of skin, mouth, gastrointestinal tract, liver and lung involvement were independently associated with the risk of non-relapse mortality. Weighted mortality points were assigned to individual organs based on the hazard ratios and were summed. The population was divided into three risk groups based on the total mortality points. The three new risk groups were validated in an independent validation set, but did not show better discriminative performance than the National Institutes of Health global score. As compared to a moderate or mild global score, a severe global score was associated with increased risks of non-relapse and overall mortality across time but not with a decreased risk of recurrent malignancy. The National Institutes of Health global score predicts patients' mortality risk throughout the course of their chronic graft-versus-host disease. Further research is required in order to improve outcomes in patients with severe chronic graft-versus-host disease, since their risk of mortality remains elevated.

  View details for DOI 10.3324/haematol.2014.109611

  View details for Web of Science ID 000343038500026

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4181259

• Association of severity of organ involvement with mortality and recurrent malignancy in patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease. Haematologica Inamoto, Y., Martin, P. J., Storer, B. E., Palmer, J., Weisdorf, D. J., Pidala, J., Flowers, M. E., Arora, M., Jagasia, M., Arai, S., Chai, X., Pavletic, S. Z., Vogelsang, G. B., Lee, S. J. 2014; 99 (10): 1618-1623

  Abstract

  The National Institutes of Health global score for chronic graft-versus-host disease was devised by experts but was not based on empirical data. We hypothesized that analysis of prospectively collected data would enable derivation of a more accurate model for estimating mortality risk. We analyzed 574 adult patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease enrolled in a multicenter, observational study, using multivariate time-varying analysis accounting for serial changes in severity of involvement of eight individual organ sites over time. In the training set, severity of skin, mouth, gastrointestinal tract, liver and lung involvement were independently associated with the risk of non-relapse mortality. Weighted mortality points were assigned to individual organs based on the hazard ratios and were summed. The population was divided into three risk groups based on the total mortality points. The three new risk groups were validated in an independent validation set, but did not show better discriminative performance than the National Institutes of Health global score. As compared to a moderate or mild global score, a severe global score was associated with increased risks of non-relapse and overall mortality across time but not with a decreased risk of recurrent malignancy. The National Institutes of Health global score predicts patients' mortality risk throughout the course of their chronic graft-versus-host disease. Further research is required in order to improve outcomes in patients with severe chronic graft-versus-host disease, since their risk of mortality remains elevated.

  View details for DOI 10.3324/haematol.2014.109611

  View details for PubMedID 24997150

• Total lymphoid irradiation-antithymocyte globulin conditioning and allogeneic transplantation for patients with myelodysplastic syndromes and myeloproliferative neoplasms. Biology of blood and marrow transplantation Benjamin, J., Chhabra, S., Kohrt, H. E., Lavori, P., Laport, G. G., Arai, S., Johnston, L., Miklos, D. B., Shizuru, J. A., Weng, W., Negrin, R. S., Lowsky, R. 2014; 20 (6): 837-843

  Abstract

  Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo HCT) is the only curative therapy for the myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), but treatment toxicity has been a barrier to its more widespread use. The nonmyeloablative regimen of total lymphoid irradiation (TLI) and antithymocyte globulin (ATG) permits the establishment of donor hematopoiesis necessary for the graft-versus-malignancy effect and is protective against acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD), but it has minimal direct cytotoxicity against myeloid diseases. We explored the use of TLI-ATG conditioning to treat 61 patients with allo HCT for MDS (n = 32), therapy-related myeloid neoplasms (n = 15), MPN (n = 9), and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (n = 5). The median age of all patients was 63 years (range, 50 to 73). The cumulative incidence of aGVHD grades II to IV was 14% (95% confidence interval [CI], 4% to 23%) and for grades III to IV, 4% (95% CI, 0 to 9%), and it did not differ between patients who received allografts from related or unrelated donors. The cumulative incidence of nonrelapse mortality (NRM) at 100 days, 12 months, and 36 months was 0%, 7%, and 11%. Overall survival and progression-free survival were 41% (95% CI, 29% to 53%) and 35% (95% CI, 23% to 48%), respectively. The safety and tolerability of TLI-ATG, as exemplified by its low NRM, provides a foundation for further risk-adapted or prophylactic interventions to prevent disease progression.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.bbmt.2014.02.023

  View details for PubMedID 24607552

• Assessment of Joint and Fascia Manifestations in Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease ARTHRITIS & RHEUMATOLOGY Inamoto, Y., Pidala, J., Chai, X., Kurland, B. F., Weisdorf, D., Flowers, M. E., Palmer, J., Arai, S., Jacobsohn, D., Cutler, C., Jagasia, M., Goldberg, J. D., Martin, P. J., Pavletic, S. Z., Vogelsang, G. B., Lee, S. J., Carpenter, P. A. 2014; 66 (4): 1044-1052

  Abstract

  To investigate the usefulness of various scales for evaluating joint and fascia manifestations in patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation, and to compare the scales in terms of simplicity of use and ability to yield reliable and clinically meaningful results.In a prospective, multicenter, longitudinal, observational cohort of patients with chronic GVHD (n = 567), we evaluated 3 scales proposed for assessing joint status: the National Institutes of Health (NIH) joint/fascia scale, the Hopkins fascia scale, and the Photographic Range of Motion (P-ROM) scale. Ten other scales were also tested for assessment of symptoms, quality of life, and physical functions.Joint and fascia manifestations were present at study enrollment in 164 (29%) of the patients. Limited range of motion was most frequent at the wrists or fingers. Among the 3 joint assessment scales, changes in the NIH scale correlated with both clinician- and patient-perceived improvement of joint and fascia manifestations, with higher sensitivity than the Hopkins fascia scale. Changes in all 3 scales correlated with clinician- and patient-perceived worsening, but the P-ROM scale was the most sensitive in this regard. Onset of joint and fascia manifestations was not associated with subsequent mortality.Joint and fascia manifestations are common in patients with chronic GVHD and should be assessed carefully in these patients. Our results support the use of the NIH joint/fascia scale and P-ROM scale to assess joint and fascia manifestations. The NIH scale better captures improvement, while the P-ROM scale better captures worsening. The utility of these scales could also be tested in the rheumatic diseases.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/art.38293

  View details for Web of Science ID 000337361000031

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4014356

• Pulmonary symptoms measured by the national institutes of health lung score predict overall survival, nonrelapse mortality, and patient-reported outcomes in chronic graft-versus-host disease. Biology of blood and marrow transplantation Palmer, J., Williams, K., Inamoto, Y., Chai, X., Martin, P. J., Tomas, L. S., Cutler, C., Weisdorf, D., Kurland, B. F., Carpenter, P. A., Pidala, J., Pavletic, S. Z., Wood, W., Jacobsohn, D., Arai, S., Arora, M., Jagasia, M., Vogelsang, G. B., Lee, S. J. 2014; 20 (3): 337-344

  Abstract

  The 2005 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Conference recommended assessment of lung function in patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) by both pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and assessment of pulmonary symptoms. We tested whether pulmonary measures were associated with nonrelapse mortality (NRM), overall survival (OS), and patient-reported outcomes (PRO). Clinician and patient-reported data were collected serially in a prospective, multicenter, observational study. Available PFT data were abstracted. Cox regression models were fit for outcomes using a time-varying covariate model for lung function measures and adjusting for patient and transplantation characteristics and nonlung chronic GVHD severity. A total of 1591 visits (496 patients) were used in this analysis. The NIH symptom-based lung score was associated with NRM (P = .02), OS (P = .02), patient-reported symptoms (P < .001) and functional status (P < .001). Worsening of NIH symptom-based lung score over time was associated with higher NRM and lower survival. All other measures were not associated with OS or NRM; although, some were associated with patient-reported lung symptoms. In conclusion, the NIH symptom-based lung symptom score of 0 to 3 is associated with NRM, OS, and PRO measures in patients with chronic GVHD. Worsening of the NIH symptom-based lung score was associated with increased mortality.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.bbmt.2013.11.025

  View details for PubMedID 24315845

• Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator placement in patients with cardiac amyloidosis HEART RHYTHM Varr, B. C., Zarafshar, S., Coakley, T., Liedtke, M., Lafayette, R. A., Arai, S., Schrier, S. L., Witteles, R. M. 2014; 11 (1): 158-162

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.hrthm.2013.10.026

  View details for PubMedID 24121001

• Minimal residual disease monitoring with high-throughput sequencing of T cell receptors in cutaneous T cell lymphoma. Science translational medicine Weng, W., Armstrong, R., Arai, S., Desmarais, C., Hoppe, R., Kim, Y. H. 2013; 5 (214): 214ra171-?

  Abstract

  Mycosis fungoides (MF) and the leukemic presentation Sézary syndrome (SS) are clonal T cell lymphomas arising from the skin and are considered noncurable with standard therapies. To develop a specific and sensitive monitoring tool, we tested the ability of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) of T cell receptors (TCRB) to monitor minimal residual disease (MRD) after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) or skin samples. The rearranged TCRβ loci were amplified using Vβ- and Jβ-specific primers, followed by HTS, to generate up to 1,000,000 reads spanning the CDR3 region of individual cells. Malignant clones were identified in diagnostic samples in all cases by a dominant CDR3 sequence. Before transplant, four patients had circulating Sézary cells by the routine flow cytometry, which was confirmed by TCRB HTS. Although the flow cytometry found no detectable Sézary cells, malignant clones were detected by TCRB HTS in all other six cases. Five patients achieved "molecular remission" in blood between +30 and +540 days after transplant. Four of these patients also achieved molecular clearance in skin after transplant. Experiments using blood samples spiked with purified Sézary cells demonstrated that TCRB HTS can detect Sézary cells at the level of 1 in 50,000 PBMCs, which is more sensitive than standard diagnostics. We have thus demonstrated the utility of TCRB HTS to assess MRD with increased sensitivity and specificity compared to other current methodologies, and to monitor response to therapy in this MF/SS patient population.

  View details for DOI 10.1126/scitranslmed.3007420

  View details for PubMedID 24307695

• Minimal Residual Disease Monitoring with High-Throughput Sequencing of T Cell Receptors in Cutaneous T Cell Lymphoma SCIENCE TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE Weng, W., Armstrong, R., Arai, S., Desmarais, C., Hoppe, R., Kim, Y. H. 2013; 5 (214)

  Abstract

  Mycosis fungoides (MF) and the leukemic presentation Sézary syndrome (SS) are clonal T cell lymphomas arising from the skin and are considered noncurable with standard therapies. To develop a specific and sensitive monitoring tool, we tested the ability of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) of T cell receptors (TCRB) to monitor minimal residual disease (MRD) after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) or skin samples. The rearranged TCRβ loci were amplified using Vβ- and Jβ-specific primers, followed by HTS, to generate up to 1,000,000 reads spanning the CDR3 region of individual cells. Malignant clones were identified in diagnostic samples in all cases by a dominant CDR3 sequence. Before transplant, four patients had circulating Sézary cells by the routine flow cytometry, which was confirmed by TCRB HTS. Although the flow cytometry found no detectable Sézary cells, malignant clones were detected by TCRB HTS in all other six cases. Five patients achieved "molecular remission" in blood between +30 and +540 days after transplant. Four of these patients also achieved molecular clearance in skin after transplant. Experiments using blood samples spiked with purified Sézary cells demonstrated that TCRB HTS can detect Sézary cells at the level of 1 in 50,000 PBMCs, which is more sensitive than standard diagnostics. We have thus demonstrated the utility of TCRB HTS to assess MRD with increased sensitivity and specificity compared to other current methodologies, and to monitor response to therapy in this MF/SS patient population.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000328057800011

  View details for PubMedID 24307695

• Comorbidity burden in patients with chronic GVHD BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION Wood, W. A., Chai, X., Weisdorf, D., Martin, P. J., Cutler, C., INAMOTO, Y., WOLFF, D., Pavletic, S. Z., Pidala, J., Palmer, J. M., Arora, M., Arai, S., Jagasia, M., Storer, B., Lee, S. J., Mitchell, S. 2013; 48 (11): 1429-1436

  Abstract

  Chronic GVHD (cGVHD) is associated with mortality, disability and impaired quality of life. Understanding the role of comorbidity in patients with cGVHD is important both for prognostication and potentially for tailoring treatments based on mortality risks. In a prospective cohort study of patients with cGVHD (n=239), we examined the performance of two comorbidity scales, the Functional Comorbidity Index (FCI) and the Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation-specific Comorbidity Index (HCT-CI). Both scales detected a higher number of comorbidities at cGVHD cohort enrollment than pre-hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) (P<0.001). Higher HCT-CI scores at the time of cGVHD cohort enrollment were associated with higher non-relapse mortality (HR: 1.21:1.04-1.42, P=0.01). For overall mortality, we detected an interaction with platelet count. Higher HCT-CI scores at enrollment were associated with an increased risk of overall mortality when the platelet count was ≤ 100,000/μL (HR: 2.01:1.20-3.35, P=0.01), but not when it was >100,000/μL (HR: 1.05:0.90-1.22, P=0.53). Comorbidity scoring may help better to predict survival outcomes in patients with cGVHD. Further studies to understand vulnerability unrelated to cGVHD activity in this patient population are needed.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/bmt.2013.70

  View details for Web of Science ID 000326887900010

  View details for PubMedID 23665819

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3937964

• Lenalidomide, melphalan and dexamethasone in a population of patients with immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis with high rates of advanced cardiac involvement. Haematologica Dinner, S., Witteles, W., Afghahi, A., Witteles, R., Arai, S., Lafayette, R., Schrier, S. L., Liedtke, M. 2013; 98 (10): 1593-1599

  Abstract

  Immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis remains incurable despite recent therapeutic advances, and is particularly difficult to treat in patients with amyloid cardiomyopathy. Based on evidence of activity in multiple myeloma, we designed a pilot study of an oral regimen of lenalidomide in combination with dexamethasone and low dose melphalan in order to evaluate its safety and efficacy in patients with amyloidosis, including those with advanced cardiac involvement. Twenty-five patients were enrolled. Ninety-two percent of patients had cardiac involvement by amyloidosis, and 36% of patients met criteria for Mayo Clinic cardiac stage III disease. Patients received up to 9 cycles of treatment, consisting of lenalidomide 10 mg/day orally on days 1 - 21 (28 day cycle); melphalan 0.18mg/kg orally on days 1-4; and dexamethasone 40 mg orally on days 1, 8, 15, 22. High rates (33%) of cardiac arrhythmias and low rates of treatment completion (12.5%) were observed. Ten patients died during the study, all within the first several months of treatment due to acute cardiac events. The overall hematologic response rate was 58%, however organ responses were seen in only 8% of patients. Overall survival at one year was 58%. While we confirmed the hematologic response rates observed with similar regimens, front line treatment with melphalan, lenalidomide and dexamethasone was toxic, ineffective, and did not alter survival outcomes for patients with high risk cardiac disease. Our data highlight the importance of developing novel treatment approaches for amyloid cardiomyopathy. The trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT00890552).

  View details for DOI 10.3324/haematol.2013.084574

  View details for PubMedID 23716538

• Measurement of oral chronic GVHD: results from the Chronic GVHD Consortium BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION Treister, N., Chai, X., Kurland, B., Pavletic, S., Weisdorf, D., Pidala, J., Palmer, J., Martin, P., INAMOTO, Y., Arora, M., Flowers, M., Jacobsohn, D., Jagasia, M., Arai, S., Lee, S. J., Cutler, C. 2013; 48 (8): 1123-1128

  Abstract

  Oral chronic GVHD (cGVHD) is a serious complication of alloSCT. Scales and instruments to measure oral cGVHD activity and severity have not been prospectively validated. The objective of this study was to describe the characteristics of oral cGVHD and determine the measures most sensitive to change. Patients enrolled in the cGVHD Consortium with oral involvement were included. Clinicians scored oral changes according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) criteria, and patients completed symptom and quality-of-life measures at each visit. Both rated change on an eight-point scale. Of the 458 participants, 72% (n=331) had objective oral involvement at enrollment. Lichenoid change was the most common feature (n=293; 89%). At visits where oral change could be assessed, 50% of clinicians and 56% of patients reported improvement, with worsening reported in 4-5% for both the groups (weighted kappa=0.41). Multivariable regression modeling suggested that the measurement changes most predictive of perceived change by clinicians and patients were erythema and lichenoid, NIH severity and symptom scores. Oral cGVHD is common and associated with a range of signs and symptoms. Measurement of erythema and lichenoid changes and symptoms may adequately capture the activity of oral cGVHD in clinical trials but require prospective validation.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/bmt.2012.285

  View details for Web of Science ID 000322819900018

  View details for PubMedID 23353804

• The prognostic value of diagnosing concurrent multiple myeloma in immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis BRITISH JOURNAL OF HAEMATOLOGY Dinner, S., Witteles, W., Witteles, R., Lam, A., Arai, S., Lafayette, R., George, T. I., Schrier, S. L., Liedtke, M. 2013; 161 (3): 367-372

  Abstract

  The prevalence and prognostic value of a concomitant diagnosis of symptomatic or asymptomatic multiple myeloma (MM), as defined by the current International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) criteria, in patients with immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis (AL), are unknown. We studied 46 consecutive patients with AL who underwent quantification of serum M-protein and clonal bone marrow plasma cells, as well as a comprehensive evaluation for end organ damage by MM. Using standard morphology and CD138 immunohistochemical staining, 57% and 80% of patients were found to have concomitant MM, respectively. Nine patients exhibited end organ damage consistent with a diagnosis of symptomatic MM. While overall survival was similar between AL patients with or without concurrent myeloma (1-year overall survival 68% vs. 87%; P = 0.27), a diagnosis of symptomatic myeloma was associated with inferior outcome (1-year overall survival 39% vs. 81%; P = 0.005). Quantification of bone marrow plasma cells by both standard morphology and CD138 immunohistochemistry identified a much higher prevalence of concurrent MM in patients with AL than previously reported. Evaluation of bone marrow plasma cell infiltration and presence of myeloma associated end organ damage could be clinically useful for prognostication of patients with AL.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/bjh.12269

  View details for PubMedID 23432783

• H-Y antigen-binding B cells develop in male recipients of female hematopoietic cells and associate with chronic graft vs. host disease PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Sahaf, B., Yang, Y., Arai, S., Herzenberg, L. A., Herzenberg, L. A., Miklos, D. B. 2013; 110 (8): 3005-3010

  Abstract

  B cells are known to play an important role in pathogenesis of human chronic graft vs. host disease (cGVHD). Our group has previously shown that IgG allo-antibodies recognize Y chromosome-encoded proteins (H-Y) and a dominant H-Y epitope, DEAD box protein (DBY-2) detectable 6-12 mo after transplant in male patients who receive grafts from female donors (F→M) hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Here we present FACS studies of peripheral blood mononuclear cells collected 6 mo after transplant showing that 16 of 28 (57%) F→M HCT patients have circulating donor B cells that express B-cell receptor (mainly IgM and Igλ) specific for DBY-2. The detection of these DBY-2 B cells 6 mo after HCT are associated with cGVHD development (P = 0.004). Specifically, 15 of 16 F→M with DBY-2 B cells developed cGVHD. In contrast, cGVHD developed in only 5 of the 12 who did not have DBY-2 B cells detected. This demonstrates circulating human B cells binding an alloantigen (DBY-2) and that these DBY-2-specific B cells appear before development of cGVHD in roughly half of the F→M patients. Our study suggests that detection of anti-DBY-2 B cells may predict cGVHD and that this prediction may have clinical utility. Validation of this hypothesis will require larger prospective studies.

  View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.1222900110

  View details for Web of Science ID 000315954400081

  View details for PubMedID 23382226

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3581974

• Defining a Hodgkin lymphoma population for novel therapeutics after relapse from autologous hematopoietic cell transplant. Leukemia & lymphoma Arai, S. n., Fanale, M. n., DeVos, S. n., Engert, A. n., Illidge, T. n., Borchmann, P. n., Younes, A. n., Morschhauser, F. n., McMillan, A. n., Horning, S. J. 2013; 54 (11): 2531–33

  View details for PubMedID 23617324

• Successful Surgical and Medical Treatment of Rhizopus Osteomyelitis Following Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation ORTHOPEDICS Vashi, N., Avedian, R., Brown, J., Arai, S. 2012; 35 (10): E1556-E1561

  Abstract

  Mucormycosis has been reported in otherwise healthy individuals; however, it is primarily seen in immunocompromised patients, such as those with diabetes mellitus, malignancy, or chronic graft-versus-host disease, and has a high mortality rate. Because most cases of mucormycosis are associated with contiguous rhinocerebral infection, only 5 cases of isolated musculoskeletal Rhizopus infection have been reported in the literature. One patient underwent hematopoietic cell transplant, which resulted in a fatal outcome.This article describes the successful treatment of isolated Rhizopus osteomyelitis in a patient who underwent hematopoietic cell transplant using a combined surgical and medical approach. A 33-year-old woman with pre-B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia underwent hematopoietic cell transplant with few complications but developed chronic graft-versus-host disease 8 months posttransplant. She was treated with high-dose steroids for 6 weeks before she was admitted for severe right tibial pain in the absence of trauma. Early detection, aggressive therapies, and a multidisciplinary surgical and medical team allowed for the microbiologically confirmed resolution of the infection. Treatment included multiagent antimicrobial therapy with amphotericin B, daptomycin, and ertapenem. Several surgical irrigation and debridement procedures were also performed, with the eventual placement of amphotericin-impregnated polymethylmethacrylate cement beads and small fragment titanium screws. The patient continued taking postoperative antifungal treatment for 7 months after discharge. Six months following the discontinuation of antifungal therapy, the team's multidisciplinary approach achieved a continued resolution of the patient's infection and a return to a fully ambulatory and radiographically proven recovery without limb loss.

  View details for DOI 10.3928/01477447-20120919-30

  View details for Web of Science ID 000309814600019

  View details for PubMedID 23027498

• Correlation between NIH composite skin score, patient-reported skin score, and outcome: results from the Chronic GVHD Consortium BLOOD Jacobsohn, D. A., Kurland, B. F., Pidala, J., Inamoto, Y., Chai, X., Palmer, J. M., Arai, S., Arora, M., Jagasia, M., Cutler, C., Weisdorf, D., Martin, P. J., Pavletic, S. Z., Vogelsang, G., Lee, S. J., Flowers, M. E. 2012; 120 (13): 2545-2552

  Abstract

  There are no validated criteria to measure skin response in chronic GVHD. In a prospectively assembled, multicenter cohort of patients with chronic GVHD (N = 458), we looked for correlation of change in several different scales recommended by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus with clinician and patient perception of change and overall survival. Of the clinician scales, the NIH composite 0-3 skin score was the only one that correlated with both clinician and patient perception of improvement or worsening. Of the patient-reported scales, the skin subscale of the Lee Symptom Scale was the only one that correlated with both clinician and patient perception of improvement or worsening. At study entry, NIH skin score 3 and Lee skin symptom score > 15 were both associated with worse overall survival. Worsening of NIH skin score at 6 months was associated with worse overall survival. Improvement in the Lee skin symptom score at 6 months was associated with improved overall survival. Our findings support the use of the NIH composite 0-3 skin score and the Lee skin symptom score as simple and sensitive measures to evaluate skin involvement in clinical trials as well as in the clinical monitoring of patients with cutaneous chronic GVHD.

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood-2012-04-424135

  View details for Web of Science ID 000311615800008

  View details for PubMedID 22773386

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3460679

• Fludarabine-Based Conditioning for Marrow Transplantation from Unrelated Donors in Severe Aplastic Anemia: Early Results of a Cyclophosphamide Dose Deescalation Study Show Life-Threatening Adverse Events at Predefined Cyclophosphamide Dose Levels BIOLOGY OF BLOOD AND MARROW TRANSPLANTATION Tolar, J., Deeg, H. J., Arai, S., Horwitz, M., Antin, J. H., McCarty, J. M., Adams, R. H., Ewell, M., Leifer, E. S., Gersten, I. D., Carter, S. L., Horowitz, M. M., Nakamura, R., Pulsipher, M. A., DiFronzo, N. L., Confer, D. L., Eapen, M., Anderlini, P. 2012; 18 (7): 1007-1011

  Abstract

  Excessive adverse events were encountered in a Phase I/II study of cyclophosphamide (CY) dose deescalation in a fludarabine-based conditioning regimen for bone marrow transplantation from unrelated donors in patients with severe aplastic anemia. All patients received fixed doses of antithymocyte globulin, fludarabine, and low-dose total body irradiation. The starting CY dose was 150 mg/kg, with deescalation to 100 mg/kg, 50 mg/kg, or 0 mg/kg. CY dose level 0 mg/kg was closed due to graft failure in 3 of 3 patients. CY dose level 150 mg/kg was closed due to excessive organ toxicity (n = 6) or viral pneumonia (n = 1), resulting in the death of 7 of 14 patients. CY dose levels 50 and 100 mg/kg remain open. Thus, CY at doses of 150 mg/kg in combination with total body irradiation (2 Gy), fludarabine (120 mg/m(2)), and antithymocyte globulin was associated with excessive organ toxicity.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.bbmt.2012.04.014

  View details for Web of Science ID 000305667900005

  View details for PubMedID 22546497

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3677744

• Prophylactic rituximab after allogeneic transplantation decreases B-cell alloimmunity with low chronic GVHD incidence BLOOD Arai, S., Sahaf, B., Narasimhan, B., Chen, G. L., Jones, C. D., Lowsky, R., Shizuru, J. A., Johnston, L. J., Laport, G. G., Weng, W., Benjamin, J. E., Schaenman, J., Brown, J., Ramirez, J., Zehnder, J. L., Negrin, R. S., Miklos, D. B. 2012; 119 (25): 6145-6154

  Abstract

  B cells are involved in the pathogenesis of chronic GVHD (cGVHD). We hypothesized that prophylactic anti-B-cell therapy delivered 2 months after transplantation would decrease allogeneic donor B-cell immunity and possibly the incidence of cGVHD. Therefore, in the present study, patients with high-risk chronic lymphocytic leukemia (n = 22) and mantle-cell lymphoma (n = 13) received a total lymphoid irradiation of 80 cGy for 10 days and antithymocyte globulin 1.5 mg/kg/d for 5 days. Rituximab (375 mg/m(2)) was infused weekly on days 56, 63, 70, and 77 after transplantation. The incidence of acute GVHD was 6%. The cumulative incidence of cGVHD was 20%. Nonrelapse mortality was 3%. Rituximab treatment after allogeneic transplantation significantly reduced B-cell allogeneic immunity, with complete prevention of alloreactive H-Y Ab development in male patients with female donors (P = .01). Overall survival and freedom from progression at 4 years for chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients were 73% and 47%, respectively; for mantle-cell lymphoma patients, they were 69% and 53%, respectively.

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood-2011-12-395970

  View details for PubMedID 22563089

• More Than a Frog in the Throat A Case Series and Review of Localized Laryngeal Amyloidosis ARCHIVES OF OTOLARYNGOLOGY-HEAD & NECK SURGERY Stevenson, R., Witteles, R., Damrose, E., Arai, S., Lafayette, R. A., Schrier, S., Afghahi, A., Liedtke, M. 2012; 138 (5): 509-511

  View details for PubMedID 22652951

• Sirolimus and mycophenolate mofetil as GVHD prophylaxis in myeloablative, matched-related donor hematopoietic cell transplantation BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION Johnston, L., Florek, M., Armstrong, R., McCune, J. S., Arai, S., Brown, J., Laport, G., Lowsky, R., Miklos, D., Shizuru, J., Sheehan, K., Lavori, P., Negrin, R. 2012; 47 (4): 581-588

  Abstract

  We investigated sirolimus and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) as GVHD prophylaxis in patients with advanced hematological malignancies receiving myeloablative hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) from HLA-identical sibling donors. On the basis of pre-study stopping rules, the trial was closed to accrual after enrollment of 11 adult patients. In all, 7 of the 11 patients received BU-containing preparative regimens. Sirolimus was discontinued in three patients because of the toxicity-related events of severe sinusoidal obstructive syndrome, portal vein thrombosis, altered mental status and in one patient because of the risk of poor wound healing. In all, 6 of the 11 patients developed grade II-IV acute GVHD (AGVHD) a median of 15.5 days post HCT. Two of three patients with grade IV AGVHD had sirolimus discontinued by 9 days post HCT. All patients responded to AGVHD therapy without GVHD-related deaths. There were two non-relapse- and two relapse-related deaths. At a median follow-up of 38 months (2-47 months), 7 of 11 patients were alive without disease. MMF and sirolimus GVHD prophylaxis did not reduce the risk of AGVHD, however, there were no GVHD-related deaths. The severe toxicities in the patients receiving the BU-containing preparative regimens limited the continued use of sirolimus and MMF for the prevention of AGVHD.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/bmt.2011.104

  View details for Web of Science ID 000302576700018

  View details for PubMedID 21552302

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3163055

• Tandem chemo-mobilization followed by high-dose melphalan and carmustine with single autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation for multiple myeloma BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION Chen, A. I., Negrin, R. S., McMillan, A., Shizuru, J. A., JOHNSTON, L. J., Lowsky, R., Miklos, D. B., Arai, S., Weng, W., Laport, G. G., Stockerl-Goldstein, K. 2012; 47 (4): 516-521

  Abstract

  Single autologous hematopoietic cell transplant (AHCT) with high-dose melphalan prolongs survival in patients with multiple myeloma but is not curative. We conducted a study of intensive single AHCT using tandem chemo-mobilization with CY and etoposide followed by high-dose conditioning with melphalan 200 mg/m(2) plus carmustine 15 mg/kg. One hundred and eighteen patients in first consolidation (CON1) and 58 patients in relapse (REL) were transplanted using this intensified approach. Disease response improved from 32% very good PR (VGPR)+CR pre-mobilization to 76% VGPR+CR post transplant in CON1. With a median follow-up of 4.7 years, the median EFS was 2.8 years, and the median OS was 5.1 years in CON1. OS from time of transplant was significantly shorter for REL (3.4 years) compared with CON1 (5.1 years; P=0.02). However, OS from time of diagnosis was similar in REL (6.1 years) and CON1 (6.0 years; P=0.80). The 100-day non-relapse mortality in the CON1 and REL groups was 0% and 7%, respectively. In summary, intensified single AHCT with tandem chemo-mobilization and augmented high-dose therapy is feasible in multiple myeloma and leads to high-quality response rates.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/bmt.2011.106

  View details for PubMedID 21602899

• Heart transplantation and cardiac amyloidosis: Approach to screening and novel management strategies JOURNAL OF HEART AND LUNG TRANSPLANTATION Varr, B. C., Liedtke, M., Arai, S., Lafayette, R. A., Schrier, S. L., Witteles, R. M. 2012; 31 (3): 325-331

  Abstract

  Limited data exist regarding screening methods and outcomes for orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT) in cardiac amyloidosis. As a result, uncertainty exists over the best approach to OHT for cardiac amyloidosis and for the timing of critical post-transplant therapies. This article reviews 6 patients who underwent OHT for cardiac amyloidosis at the Stanford University Amyloid Center from 2008 to present. All patients with light-chain amyloidosis received chemotherapy in the interval between OHT and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Five patients remain alive up to 25 months after OHT, without evidence of recurrent cardiac amyloid deposition. A novel strategy of OHT, followed by light-chain suppressive chemotherapy before autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant, is feasible for patients with light-chain amyloidosis.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.healun.2011.09.010

  View details for PubMedID 22051505

• Overlap subtype of chronic graft-versus-host disease is associated with an adverse prognosis, functional impairment, and inferior patient-reported outcomes: a Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease Consortium study HAEMATOLOGICA-THE HEMATOLOGY JOURNAL Pidala, J., Vogelsang, G., Martin, P., Chai, X., Storer, B., Pavletic, S., Weisdorf, D. J., Jagasia, M., Cutler, C., Palmer, J., Jacobsohn, D., Arai, S., Lee, S. J. 2012; 97 (3): 451-458

  Abstract

  The National Institutes of Health Consensus Conference proposed the term "overlap" graft-versus-host disease to describe the situation when both acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease are present.We examined whether the overlap subtype of graft-versus-host disease was associated with a different prognosis, functional limitations, or patient-reported outcomes compared to "classic" chronic graft-versus-host disease without any acute features.Prospective data were collected from 427 patients from nine centers. Patients were classified as having overlap (n=352) or classic chronic (n=75) graft-versus-host disease based on reported organ involvement. Overlap cases had a significantly shorter median time from transplantation to cohort enrollment (P=0.01), were more likely to be incident cases (P<0.001), and had a lower platelet count at onset of the graft-versus-host disease (P<0.001). Patients with overlap graft-versus-host disease had significantly greater functional impairment measured by a 2-minute walk test, higher symptom burden and lower Human Activity Profile scores. Quality of life was similar, except patients with overlap graft-versus-host disease had worse social functioning, assessed by the Short Form-36. Multivariable analysis utilizing time-varying covariates demonstrated that the overlap subtype of graft-versus-host disease was associated with worse overall survival (HR 2.1, 95% CI 1.1-4.7; P=0.03) and higher non-relapse mortality (HR 2.8, 95% CI 1.2-8.3; P=0.02) than classic chronic graft-versus-host disease.These findings suggest that the presence of acute features in patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease is a marker of adverse prognosis, greater functional impairment, and higher symptom burden.

  View details for DOI 10.3324/haematol.2011.055186

  View details for Web of Science ID 000301975700024

  View details for PubMedID 22058206

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3291602

• Adoptive Immunotherapy with Cytokine-Induced Killer Cells for Patients with Relapsed Hematologic Malignancies after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation BIOLOGY OF BLOOD AND MARROW TRANSPLANTATION Laport, G. G., Sheehan, K., Baker, J., Armstrong, R., Wong, R. M., Lowsky, R., Johnston, L. J., Shizuru, J. A., Miklos, D., Arai, S., Benjamin, J. E., Weng, W., Negrin, R. S. 2011; 17 (11): 1679-1687

  Abstract

  Donor leukocyte infusions induce remissions in some patients with hematologic malignancies who relapse after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT); however, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) remains the major complication of this strategy. Cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells are a unique population of cytotoxic T lymphocytes that express the CD3(+)CD56(+) phenotype and show marked up-regulation of the natural killer cell receptor NKG2D (CD314). CIK cells are non-major histocompatibility complex-restricted and NKG2D-dependent in target recognition and cytotoxicity. We explored the feasibility of ex vivo expansion of allogeneic CIK cells in patients with relapsed hematologic malignancies after allogeneic HCT. Eighteen patients (median age, 53 years; range, 20-69 years) received CIK cell infusions at escalating doses of 1 × 10(7) CD3(+) cells/kg (n = 4), 5 × 10(7) CD3(+) cells/kg (n = 6), and 1 × 10(8) CD3(+) cells/kg (n = 8). The median expansion of CD3(+) cells was 12-fold (range, 4- to 91-fold). CD3(+)CD56(+) cells represented a median of 11% (range, 4%-44%) of the harvested cells, with a median 31-fold (range, 7- to 515-fold) expansion. Median CD3(+)CD314(+) cell expression was 53% (range, 32%-78%) of harvested cells. Significant cytotoxicity was demonstrated in vitro against a panel of human tumor cell lines. Acute GVHD grade I-II was seen in 2 patients, and 1 patient had limited chronic GVHD. After a median follow-up of 20 months (range, 1-69 months) from CIK infusion, the median overall survival was 28 months, and the median event-free survival was 4 months. All deaths were due to relapsed disease; however, 5 patients had longer remissions after infusion of CIK cells than from allogeneic HCT to relapse. Our findings indicate that this form of adoptive immunotherapy is well tolerated and induces a low incidence of GVHD, supporting further investigation as an upfront modality to enhance graft-versus-tumor responses in high-risk patient populations.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.bbmt.2011.05.012

  View details for PubMedID 21664472

• A phase 1 study of imatinib for corticosteroid-dependent/refractory chronic graft-versus-host disease: response does not correlate with anti-PDGFRA antibodies BLOOD Chen, G. L., Arai, S., Flowers, M. E., Otani, J. M., Qiu, J., Cheng, E. C., McMillan, A., Johnston, L. J., Shizuru, J. A., Miklos, D. B. 2011; 118 (15): 4070-4078

  Abstract

  Stimulatory antiplatelet derived growth factor receptor α (PDGFRA) antibodies have been associated with extensive chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). We performed a phase 1 dose escalation trial of imatinib in corticosteroid-dependent/refractory cGVHD to assess the safety of imatinib and test the hypothesis that abrogation of PDGFRA signaling can ameliorate the manifestations of cGVHD. Fifteen patients were enrolled. Mean follow-up time was 56.6 weeks (range, 18-82.4 weeks). Imatinib 400 mg daily was associated with more frequent moderate to life-threatening adverse events than 200 mg daily. The main adverse events were nausea, edema, confusion, diarrhea, liver function test elevation, fatigue, and myalgia. The overall response rate was 40% (6 of 15). The treatment failure rate was 40% (6 of 15). Twenty percent (3 of 15) of subjects had stable disease. Of 4 subjects with phospho-PDGFRA and phospho-PDGFRB immunohistochemistry studies before and after treatment, inhibition of phosphorylation was observed in 3 but correlated with response in one. Anti-PDGFRA antibodies were observed in 7 of 11 evaluable subjects but correlated with clinical activity in 4. We conclude that cGVHD responds to imatinib through multiple pathways that may include PDGFRA signal transduction. This study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT00760981.

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood-2011-03-341693

  View details for Web of Science ID 000296282200013

  View details for PubMedID 21828142

• Global and organ-specific chronic graft-versus-host disease severity according to the 2005 NIH Consensus Criteria BLOOD Arai, S., Jagasia, M., Storer, B., Chai, X., Pidala, J., Cutler, C., Arora, M., Weisdorf, D. J., Flowers, M. E., Martin, P. J., Palmer, J., Jacobsohn, D., Pavletic, S. Z., Vogelsang, G. B., Lee, S. J. 2011; 118 (15): 4242-4249

  Abstract

  In 2005, the National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Project on Criteria for Clinical Trials in Chronic GVHD proposed a new scoring system for individual organs and an algorithm for calculating global severity (mild, moderate, severe). The Chronic GVHD Consortium was established to test these new criteria. This report includes the first 298 adult patients enrolled at 5 centers of the Consortium. Patients were assessed every 3-6 months using standardized forms recommended by the Consensus Conference. At the time of study enrollment, global chronic GVHD severity was mild in 10% (n = 32), moderate in 59% (n = 175), and severe in 31% (n = 91). Skin, lung, or eye scores determined the global severity score in the majority of cases, with the other 5 organs determining 16% of the global severity scores. Conventional risk factors predictive for onset of chronic GVHD and nonrelapse mortality in people with chronic GVHD were not associated with NIH global severity scores. Global severity scores at enrollment were associated with nonrelapse mortality (P < .0001) and survival (P < .0001); 2-year overall survival was 62% (severe), 86% (moderate), and 97% (mild). Patients with mild chronic GVHD have a good prognosis, while patients with severe chronic GVHD have a poor prognosis. This study was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as no. NCT00637689.

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood-2011-03-344390

  View details for PubMedID 21791424

• Short tandem repeat and human leukocyte antigen mutations or losses confound engraftment and typing analysis in hematopoietic stem cell transplants HUMAN IMMUNOLOGY Pereira, S., Vayntrub, T., Hiraki, D. D., Cherry, A. M., Arai, S., Dvorak, C. C., Grumet, F. C. 2011; 72 (6): 503-509

  Abstract

  Clonal chromosomal abnormalities are often found in the tumor cells of patients with malignancies. These abnormalities can cause downregulation of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) and instability of short tandem repeat (STR) DNA sequences, confounding HLA typing and/or engraftment analysis in hematopoietic stem cell transplants (HSCT). We describe here the abnormalities observed during testing of 600 HSCT patients. HLA molecular typing was performed by reference strand conformational analyses and/or sequence-based typing. STR testing was performed with 10 to 16 STR primer sets, following 1 to 4 informative loci in each patient. Eight patients exhibited either loss of heterozygosity (4 STR, 3 HLA) or STR length mutation (n = 1), and 5 of the 8 exhibited correlative cytogenetic abnormalities. Diagnoses were acute myelogenous leukemia (AML; n = 7) or myelofibrosis (MFIB: n = 1), yielding an 11% incidence of these chromosomal abnormalities among the subset of 72 AML/MFIB HSCT patients. These results highlight some of the problems encountered and the possibility for interpretive errors that can arise when analyzing molecular typing and engraftment data, particularly among AML/MFIB patients.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.humimm.2011.03.003

  View details for Web of Science ID 000291138900007

  View details for PubMedID 21463659

• Early CMV Viremia Is Associated with Impaired Viral Control following Nonmyeloablative Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation with a Total Lymphoid Irradiation and Antithymocyte Globulin Preparative Regimen BIOLOGY OF BLOOD AND MARROW TRANSPLANTATION Schaenman, J. M., Shashidhar, S., Rhee, C., Wong, J., Navato, S., Wong, R. M., Ho, D. Y., Arai, S., Johnston, L., Brown, J. M. 2011; 17 (5): 693-702

  Abstract

  The reconstitution of immune function after hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) plays an important role in the control of viral infections. Both donor and recipient cytomegalovirus (CMV) serostatus has been shown to contribute to effective immune function; however, the influence of a nonmyeloablative preparative (NMA) regimen using total lymphoid irradiation (TLI) and antithymocyte globulin (ATG) on antiviral immune reconstitution has not yet been described. In 117 recipients of NMA HCT patients following ATG and TLI, not unexpectedly, CMV viremia was seen in approximately 60% of the seropositive patients regardless of donor serostatus, and recipient seropositivity significantly increased the odds of CMV viremia after transplant in a multivariate analysis. The administration of ATG and TLI resulted in a strikingly earlier viremia in the posttransplant period when compared to the previously reported timing of viremia following myeloablative preparative regimens, especially for transplant recipients who were seropositive for CMV with seronegative donors. Furthermore, early viremia in the setting of a CMV naïve donor was associated with a delay in functional antiviral control. These observations demonstrate the dynamic nature of immunity in relation to CMV antigen exposure in the complex environment resulting from NMA conditions where both donor and residual recipient immune response affect viral control.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.bbmt.2010.08.010

  View details for Web of Science ID 000290061500012

  View details for PubMedID 20736077

• Patient-reported quality of life is associated with severity of chronic graft-versus-host disease as measured by NIH criteria: report on baseline data from the Chronic GVHD Consortium BLOOD Pidala, J., Kurland, B., Chai, X., Majhail, N., Weisdorf, D. J., Pavletic, S., Cutler, C., Jacobsohn, D., Palmer, J., Arai, S., Jagasia, M., Lee, S. J. 2011; 117 (17): 4651-4657

  Abstract

  Quality of life (QOL) after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is compromised by chronic GVHD. In a prospectively assembled multicenter cohort of adults with chronic GVHD (n = 298), we examined the relationship between chronic GVHD severity defined by National Institutes of Health (NIH) criteria and QOL as measured by the SF-36 and FACT-BMT instruments at time of enrollment. Chronic GVHD severity was independently associated with QOL, adjusting for age. Compared with population normative data, SF-36 scores were more than a SD (10 points) lower on average for the summary physical component score (PCS) and role-physical subscale, and significantly lower (with magnitude 4-10 points) for several other subscales. Patients with moderate and severe cGVHD had PCS scores comparable with scores reported for systemic sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and multiple sclerosis, and greater impairment compared with common chronic conditions including diabetes, hypertension, and chronic lung disease. Moderate to severe cGVHD as defined by NIH criteria is associated with significant compromise in multiple QOL domains, with PCS scores in the range of other systemic autoimmune diseases. Compromised QOL provides a functional assessment of the effects of chronic GVHD, and may be measured in cGVHD clinical studies using either the SF-36 or the FACT-BMT.

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood-2010-11-319509

  View details for Web of Science ID 000289984800031

  View details for PubMedID 21355084

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3099579

• Long-term outcomes in patients with high-risk myeloid malignancies following matched related donor hematopoietic cell transplantation with myeloablative conditioning of BU, etoposide and CY BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION Naik, S., Wong, R., Arai, S., Brown, J., Laport, G., Lowsky, R., Miklos, D., Shizuru, J., Blume, K., Negrin, R., Johnston, L. 2011; 46 (2): 192-199

  Abstract

  Patients with high-risk or advanced myeloid malignancies have limited effective treatment options. These include high-dose therapy followed by allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). We report a single-institution, long-term follow-up of 96 patients, median age 50 (range, 20-60) years, who received HLA-matched related HCT between 1992 and 2007. All patients were treated with a uniform preparatory regimen intended to enhance the widely used regimen of BU and CY that included: BU 16.0 mg/kg (days -8 to -5), etoposide 60 mg/kg (day -4), CY 60 mg/kg (day -2) with GVHD prophylaxis of CsA or FK506 and prednisone. Disease status at transplantation was high-risk AML (n=41), CML in second chronic phase or blast crisis (n=8), myelofibrosis and myeloproliferative disorders (n=8), and myelodysplasia (n=39). Thirty-six percent (n=35) of patients received BM whereas 64% (n=61) received G-CSF-mobilized PBPC. With a median follow-up of 5.6 years (range, 1.6-14.6 years) actuarial 5-year OS was 32% (95% CI 22-42) and 5-year EFS was 31% (95% CI 21-41). Relapse rate was 24% (95% CI 15-33) at 2 and 5 years. Nonrelapse mortality was 29% (95% CI 20-38) at day 100 and 38% (95% CI 29-47) at 1 year. Cumulative incidence of acute (grade II-IV) and extensive chronic GVHD was 27% (95% CI 18-36) and 29% (95% CI 18-40), respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in OS (31 vs 32%, P=0.89) or relapse rates (17 vs 28%, P=0.22) for recipients of BM vs PBPC, respectively. These results confirm that patients with high-risk or advanced myeloid malignancies can achieve long-term survival following myeloablative allogeneic HCT with aggressive conditioning.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/bmt.2010.114

  View details for PubMedID 20498648

• Complete donor T-cell engraftment 30 days after allogeneic transplantation predicts molecular remission in high-risk chronic lymphocytic leukaemia BRITISH JOURNAL OF HAEMATOLOGY Jones, C. D., Arai, S., Lowsky, R., Tyan, D. B., Zehnder, J. L., Miklos, D. B. 2010; 150 (5): 637-639

  View details for DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2141.2010.08252.x

  View details for Web of Science ID 000281060700020

  View details for PubMedID 20528878

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC2935248

• Phase I/II Trial of GN-BVC, a Gemcitabine and Vinorelbine-Containing Conditioning Regimen for Autologous Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation in Recurrent and Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma BIOLOGY OF BLOOD AND MARROW TRANSPLANTATION Arai, S., Letsinger, R., Wong, R. M., Johnston, L. J., Laport, G. G., Lowsky, R., Miklos, D. B., Shizuru, J. A., Weng, W., Lavori, P. W., Blume, K. G., Negrin, R. S., Horning, S. J. 2010; 16 (8): 1145-1154

  Abstract

  Autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation with augmented BCNU regimens is effective treatment for recurrent or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma (HL); however, BCNU-related toxicity and disease recurrence remain challenges. We designed a conditioning regimen with gemcitabine in combination with vinorelbine in an effort to reduce the BCNU dose and toxicity without compromising efficacy. In this phase I/II dose escalation study, the gemcitabine maximum tolerated dose (MTD) was determined at 1250 mg/m(2), and a total of 92 patients were treated at this dose to establish safety and efficacy. The primary endpoint was the incidence of BCNU-related toxicity. Secondary endpoints included 2-year freedom from progression (FFP), event-free survival (EFS), and overall survival (OS). Sixty-eight patients (74%) had 1 or more previously defined adverse risk factors for transplant (stage IV at relapse, B symptoms at relapse, greater than minimal disease pretransplant). The incidence of BCNU-related toxicity was 15% (95% confidence interval, 9%-24%). Only 2% of patients had a documented reduction in diffusing capacity of 20% or greater. With a median follow-up of 29 months, the FFP at 2 years was 71% and the OS at 2 years was 83%. Two-year FFP was 96%, 72%, 67%, and 14% for patients with 0 (n = 24), 1 (n = 37), 2 (n = 23), or 3 (n = 8) risk factors, respectively. Regression analysis identified PET status pretransplant and B symptoms at relapse as significant prognostic factors for FFP. This new transplant regimen for HL resulted in decreased BCNU toxicity with encouraging FFP and OS. A prospective, risk-modeled comparison of this new combination with other conditioning regimens is warranted.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.bbmt.2010.02.022

  View details for PubMedID 20197102

• Rituximab in hematopoietic cell transplantation EXPERT OPINION ON BIOLOGICAL THERAPY Arai, S., Miklos, D. B. 2010; 10 (6): 971-982

  Abstract

  The success of rituximab therapy in managing B cell malignancies supports its widespread application in both autologous and allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation.We searched the PubMed database using the terms rituximab, stem cell transplant, autologous, or allogeneic and limited the search to clinical trials in English. In total, 92 trials were identified and 16 were reviewed in detail for significance of rituximab intervention. In this review, we will examine rituximab's emerging roles in: i) in vivo graft purging; ii) maintenance following autologous transplantation; iii) allogeneic transplant conditioning; and iv) the rationale for its use in the treatment/prevention of chronic graft-versus-host disease and post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder.The reader will gain an understanding of the use of rituximab not only in transplants for B cell malignancies, but also its extension to other diseases where we are learning that B cells are involved in the pathogenesis.With rituximab firmly established in the non-transplant therapy of B cell malignancies, the new challenge in transplantation is how to incorporate the drug for optimum efficacy in those patients coming to transplant with relapse after rituximab-containing therapy.

  View details for DOI 10.1517/14712598.2010.485982

  View details for Web of Science ID 000277392300011

  View details for PubMedID 20420511

• TLI and ATG conditioning with low risk of graft-versus-host disease retains antitumor reactions after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation from related and unrelated donors BLOOD Kohrt, H. E., Turnbull, B. B., Heydari, K., Shizuru, J. A., Laport, G. G., Miklos, D. B., Johnston, L. J., Arai, S., Weng, W., Hoppe, R. T., Lavori, P. W., Blume, K. G., Negrin, R. S., Strober, S., Lowsky, R. 2009; 114 (5): 1099-1109

  Abstract

  A hematopoietic cell transplantation regimen was adapted from a preclinical model that used reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) and protected against graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) by skewing residual host T-cell subsets to favor regulatory natural killer T cells. One hundred eleven patients with lymphoid (64) and myeloid (47) malignancies received RIC using total lymphoid irradiation (TLI) and antithymocyte globulin (ATG) followed by the infusion of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-mobilized grafts. Included were 34 patients at least 60 years of age, 32 patients at high risk of lymphoma relapse after disease recurrence following prior autologous transplantation, and 51 patients at high risk of developing GVHD due to lack of a fully human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched related donor. Durable chimerism was achieved in 97% of patients. Cumulative probabilities of acute GVHD (grades II-IV) were 2 and 10% of patients receiving related and unrelated donor grafts. Nonrelapse mortality (NRM) at 1 year was less than 4%. Cumulative incidence of chronic GVHD was 27%. The 36-month probability of overall and event-free survival was 60% and 40%, respectively. Disease status at start of conditioning and the level of chimerism achieved after transplantation significantly impacted clinical outcome. The high incidence of sustained remission among patients with active disease at time of transplantation suggests retained graft-versus-tumor reactions. Active trial registration currently at clinicaltrials.gov under IDs of NCT00185640 and NCT00186615.

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood-2009-03-211441

  View details for PubMedID 19423725

• High prevalence of metabolic syndrome after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION Majhail, N. S., Flowers, M. E., Ness, K. K., Jagasia, M., Carpenter, P. A., Arora, M., Arai, S., Johnston, L., Martin, P. J., Baker, K. S., Lee, S. J., Burns, L. J. 2009; 43 (1): 49-54

  Abstract

  We conducted a cross-sectional study to estimate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome, a clustering of risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease, among 86 adults who had allogeneic hematopoietic-cell transplant (HCT) as compared with 258 age- and gender-matched US population controls selected from the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database. The median age at study enrollment was 50 years (range, 21-71), and patients were at a median of 3 years (range, 1-21) from HCT. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 49% (95% confidence intervals (CI), 38-60%) among HCT recipients, a 2.2-fold (95% CI, 1.3-3.6, P=0.002) increase compared with controls. The prevalence rates of elevated blood pressure and hypertriglyceridemia were significantly higher among HCT recipients than among controls, but the prevalence rates of abdominal obesity, elevated blood glucose and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were not. HCT survivors with metabolic syndrome were more likely to have microalbuminuria (43 vs 10%) and elevated creatinine (31 vs 11%). No patient, donor or transplant characteristics were associated with the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome. We conclude that metabolic syndrome occurs frequently among allogeneic HCT survivors who are seen by transplant physicians. Approaches to screening, prevention and management of metabolic syndrome should be developed for HCT recipients.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/bmt.2008.263

  View details for Web of Science ID 000262489800007

  View details for PubMedID 18724397

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC2628412

• Infusion of the allogeneic cell line NK-92 in patients with advanced renal cell cancer or melanoma: a phase I trial CYTOTHERAPY Arai, S., Meagher, R., Swearingen, M., Myint, H., Rich, E., Martinson, J., Klingemann, H. 2008; 10 (6): 625-632

  Abstract

  Renal cell cancer and malignant melanoma are two types of cancer that are responsive to immunotherapy. In this phase I dose-escalation study, the feasibility of large-scale expansion and safety of administering ex vivo-expanded NK-92 cells as allogeneic cellular immunotherapy in patients with refractory renal cell cancer and melanoma were determined.Twelve patients (aged 31-74 years) were enrolled, three per cohort at cell dose levels of 1x10(8)/m(2), 3x10(8)/m(2), 1x10(9)/m(2) and 3x10(9)/m(2). One treatment course consisted of three infusions. Eleven patients had refractory metastatic renal cell cancer; one patient had refractory metastatic melanoma.The NK-92 cells were expanded in X-Vivo 10 serum-free media supplemented with 500 U/mL Proleukin recombinant human interleukin-2 (rhIL-2), amino acids and 2.5% human AB plasma. Final yields of approximately 1x10(9) cells/culture bag (218-250xexpansion) over 15-17 days were achievable with >or=80% viability. Infusional toxicities of NK-92 were generally mild, with only one grade 3 fever and one grade 4 hypoglycemic episode. All toxicities were transient, resolved and did not require discontinuation of treatment. One patient was alive with disease at 4 years post-NK-92 infusion. The one metastatic melanoma patient had a minor response during the study period. One other patient exhibited a mixed response.This study establishes the feasibility of large-scale expansion and safety of administering NK-92 cells as allogeneic cellular immunotherapy in advanced cancer patients and serves as a platform for future study of this novel natural killer (NK)-cell based therapy.

  View details for DOI 10.1080/14653240802301872

  View details for Web of Science ID 000259762000009

  View details for PubMedID 18836917

• A cost-effectiveness analysis of adjuvant trastuzumab regimens in early HER2/neu-positive breast cancer JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY Kurian, A. W., Newton Thompson, R., Gaw, A. F., Arai, S., Ortiz, R., Garber, A. M. 2007; 25 (6): 634-641

  Abstract

  One-year adjuvant trastuzumab (AT) therapy, with or without anthracyclines, increases disease-free and overall survival in early-stage HER2/neu-positive breast cancer. We sought to evaluate the cost effectiveness of these regimens, which are expensive and potentially toxic.We used a Markov health-state transition model to simulate three adjuvant therapy options for a cohort of 49-year-old women with HER2/neu-positive early-stage breast cancer: conventional chemotherapy without trastuzumab; anthracycline-based AT regimens used in the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project B-31 and North Central Cancer Treatment Group N9831 trials; and the nonanthracycline AT regimen used in the Breast Cancer International Research group 006 trial. The base case used treatment efficacy measures reported in the randomized clinical trials of AT. We measured health outcomes in quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and costs in 2005 United States dollars (US dollars) and subjected results to probabilistic sensitivity analysis.In the base case, the anthracycline-based AT arm has an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of 39,982 dollars/QALY, whereas the nonanthracycline AT arm is more expensive and less effective; this result is insensitive to changes in recurrence rates, but if there is no benefit after 4 years, ICERs exceed 100,000 dollars/QALY for both AT arms. Results are moderately sensitive to variation in breast cancer survival rates and trastuzumab cost, and less sensitive to variations in cardiac toxicity.AT has an ICER comparable to those for other widely used interventions. Longer clinical follow-up is warranted to evaluate the long-term efficacy and toxicity of different AT regimens.

  View details for DOI 10.1200/JCO.2006.06.3081

  View details for Web of Science ID 000244384000006

  View details for PubMedID 17308268

• Natural killer cells: can they be useful as adoptive immunotherapy for cancer? Expert Opin Biol Ther Arai S, Klingemann H-G 2005; 5: 163-172
• Regulation of OX40 gene expression in graft-versus- host disease 20th International Congress of the Transplantation-Society Miura, Y., Thoburn, C. J., Bright, E. C., Arai, S., Hess, A. D. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2005: 57–61

  Abstract

  OX40 (CD134), a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, is expressed on activated T cells, including CD4(+)CD25(+) T regulatory (Treg) cells. To investigate the kinetics of OX40-OX40L in graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), OX40 mRNA transcript levels were temporally examined in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients undergoing either allogeneic (allo) bone marrow transplantation (alloBMT) or autologous (auto) BMT with the induction of autoGVHD by cyclosporine (CsA) treatment posttransplant. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis revealed that OX40 mRNA expression decreased significantly in PBMCs from patients with either alloGVHD or autoGVHD compared with healthy individuals. No differences were detected between patients developing alloGVHD and those who did not develop this posttransplant complication. On the other hand, a decrease in OX40 mRNA levels correlated directly with the development of autoGVHD. Moreover, the upregulation of OX40 gene expression coincided with the resolution of autoGVHD. Interestingly, expression of OX40 by CD4(+) T lymphocytes after stimulation with autoantigen (Ag) was significantly (>700-fold) increased with a concomitant increase in expression of the Foxp3 regulatory gene. Expression of OX40 was increased (maximum 11-fold) after allo-Ag via mixed-lymphocyte reaction response. CsA suppressed the upregulation of OX40 expression after allo-Ag in a dose-dependent manner. Taken together, these results suggest that the decrease in OX40 expression posttransplant includes the defective reconstitution of Treg cells, and the active inhibition of gene transcription by CsA.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.transproceed.2005.01.014

  View details for Web of Science ID 000228091300022

  View details for PubMedID 15808546

• Association of Foxp3 regulatory gene expression and graft-versus-host disease Blood Miura Y, Thoburn CJ, Bright EC, Phelps ML, Shin T, Matsui EC, Matsui WH, Arai S, Fuchs EJ, Vogelsang GB, Jones RJ, Hess AD 2004; 104: 2187-93
• Role of immunotherapy in stem cell transplantation INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEMATOLOGY Arai, S., Klingemann, H. G. 2003; 77 (1): 22-28

  Abstract

  Relapse of the underlying malignancy continues to be a major problem after both autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Over the years, it has been recognized that immune-mediated graft-versus-tumor effects are crucially involved in eliminating minimal disease and controlling its recurrence after stem cell transplantation. This recognition has led to a number of studies that have attempted to stimulate a cellular immune response in the recipient, especially after allogeneic transplantation. Immunotherapy after autologous transplantation has to take into consideration the fact that patients' immune cells frequently are compromised and tolerance to the host tumor may have developed. Hence, trials involving the administration of cytokines (such as with interleukin and interferon) have shown limited benefits. This situation is different for allogeneic transplantation for which the infusion of donor lymphocytes has shown disease regression, especially in patients with chronic leukemias. However, such treatment is effective only if the patient has limited disease, and severe graft-versus-host disease frequently has to be accepted as a complication. This fact has led investigators to pursue the generation of specific lymphocytes that can recognize tumor antigens but not necessarily induce graft-versus-host disease. Such studies are in the early stages, and although some promising results have been observed, it is unclear at this point if the antitumor effect can be separated sufficiently from the graft-versus-host disease mediated by allogeneic lymphocytes. More recently, it has been shown that natural killer (NK) cells can have an antitumor effect in myeloid malignancies, particularly if the cells are allogeneic and do not recognize self-HLA antigens. At this point, it appears that engineered T-lymphocytes and allogeneic NK cells may be useful in preventing or treating relapse after allogeneic transplantation. It remains to be seen if such novel cellular therapies can also be implemented after autologous transplantation via the use of engineered allogeneic immune cells.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000180669400004

  View details for PubMedID 12568296

• Poor outcome in steroid refractory GVHD with ATG treatment Biol Blood Marrow Transplant Arai S, Margolis J, Zahurak M, Anders V, Vogelsang GB 2002; 8: 155-60
• Mycophenolate mofetil for the prevention and treatment of graft-versus-host disease following stem cell transplantation: preliminary findings BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION Vogelsang, G. B., Arai, S. 2001; 27 (12): 1255-1262

  Abstract

  The therapeutic benefits of allogeneic stem cell transplantation in patients with hematologic disorders are limited by the significant morbidity and mortality of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Current agents for the prevention and treatment of GVHD have limited efficacy and often result in toxic side-effects. Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) is a new immunosuppressant with a selective mechanism of action. When employed following solid organ transplantation, MMF reduces the incidence and severity of acute rejection episodes. By selectively targeting activated lymphocytes, the active metabolite of MMF, mycophenolic acid (MPA), appears to augment the actions of standard immunosuppressant agents without adding overlapping toxicities. Studies of combination regimens that include MMF report that this agent permits a dose reduction of cyclosporine, tacrolimus, or corticosteroid, without increasing the incidence of acute rejection in solid organ transplants. Reports on the efficacy of MMF following stem cell transplantation in animal studies were mixed. However, the use of a non-myeloablative conditioning regimen with a post-graft immunosuppressive regimen of MMF and cyclosporine was able to sustain stable mixed chimeras in 60% to 80% of dogs who received hematopoietic grafts from DLA-identical littermates. MMF has demonstrated activity in preliminary clinical trials for GVHD prophylaxis, and treatment of acute or chronic GVHD. Larger clinical trials are warranted to determine the optimum dose and route of MMF administration for GVHD, as well as the comparative safety and efficacy of MMF-containing regimens.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000169873200005

  View details for PubMedID 11548843

• von Willebrand factor-cleaving protease activity and proteolysis of von Willebrand factor in bone marrow transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy The Hematology Journal Arai S, Allan C, Streiff M, Hutchins GM, Vogelsang GB, Tsai HM 2001; 2: 292-299
• Management of graft-versus-host disease BLOOD REVIEWS Arai, S., Vogelsang, G. B. 2000; 14 (4): 190-204

  Abstract

  The increasing number of allogeneic stem cell transplants, particularly those involving donors other than HLA-identical siblings, has made the management of acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) a continuing problem for transplant experts. There have been improvements in the prevention of acute GVHD with cyclosporine- and FK506-based combination therapies, as well as lymphocyte depletion. However, fewer than 50% of patients have durable improvement after initial treatment. FK506 and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) are promising salvage therapies in steroid-resistant GVHD, as are the anti-cytokine antibodies and the purine nucleoside analog, pentostatin. The incidence of chronic GVHD has unfortunately not decreased, despite advances in treatment of acute GVHD. Treatment of chronic GVHD involves treatment of the underlying immunologic process and supportive therapies. Initial therapy has tended to be cyclosporine and prednisone. Refractory patients have hope with combination MMF and FK506, etretinate, plaquenil, and nonpharmacologic approaches, such as PUVA. Supportive care is an integral part of chronic GVHD management with emphasis on infection control and symptom control. Death in chronic GVHD is still largely attributable to infection. The progress in therapies for GVHD has been encouraging, but the future of GVHD management lies in a better understanding of its pathogenesis.

  View details for DOI 10.1054/blre.2000.0137

  View details for Web of Science ID 000166387000003

  View details for PubMedID 11124107