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Clinical Trials |
Leukemia Service, Departments of Medicine and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Cornell University Medical College, New York, New York 10021 [J. G. J., T. D., T-J. Y., D. A. S.], and Protein Design Labs, Inc., Fremont, California 94555 [L.D.]
| ABSTRACT |
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| INTRODUCTION |
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) on chromosome 17
(1, 2, 3)
. Detection of PML/RAR-
fusion mRNA by RT-PCR
amplification is useful in establishing the diagnosis of APL,
predicting response to therapy, and predicting relapse
(4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
. All-trans-RA or 9-cis-RA
induces remission in up to 95% of patients, most of whom have minimal
residual disease detectable by RT-PCR before receiving additional
therapy (13, 14, 15, 16)
. Therefore, serial monitoring of bone
marrow using RT-PCR enables the effect of postremission therapy to be
assessed in patients who are in clinical complete remission but remain
at risk for relapse. M195 is a mouse monoclonal antibody that binds CD33, a cell surface glycoprotein found on most myeloid leukemias and clonogenic leukemia progenitors (17 , 18) . Although CD33 is expressed on committed myelomonocytic and erythroid progenitor cells, it is not found on mature granulocytes or nonhematopoietic tissues (19 , 20) . Early trials showed that M195 rapidly targets leukemia cells in patients and that 131I-labeled M195 can eliminate large leukemic burdens (21, 22, 23) . Lower doses of 131I-labeled M195 had activity against minimal residual disease in patients with APL in second remission (24) . However, this therapy was limited by myelosuppression due to the nonspecific cytotoxicity of 131I and by formation of human antimouse antibodies that prevented repeated dosing.
Humanized M195 (HuM195), constructed by grafting complementarity-determining regions of murine M195 into a human IgG1 framework and backbone, mediates leukemia cell killing in vitro by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (25 , 26) . It displayed rapid targeting of leukemia cells and a pharmacology similar to that of murine M195 in a Phase I trial, but without significant immunogenicity, thereby allowing the administration of multiple doses (27) . Treatment with supersaturating doses of native HuM195 produced a complete remission in 1 of 10 patients with advanced myeloid leukemias and reduced the percentage of bone marrow blasts in another 3 patients (28) . We studied the ability of HuM195 to eliminate minimal residual disease detectable by RT-PCR in patients with APL.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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Treatment.
On entering the study, patients received 3 mg/m2
HuM195 by i.v. infusion over a 4060-min period twice weekly for six
doses. Acetaminophen and diphenhydramine were given before each
treatment to prevent infusion-related toxicity. Patients enrolled after
induction with RA alone received three cycles of consolidation
chemotherapy. The first cycle consisted of 200
mg/m2/day cytarabine by continuous i.v. infusion
for 5 days and 12 mg/m2 idarubicin i.v. for 3
days. Subsequent courses were repeated every 68 weeks and consisted
of cytarabine for 4 days and idarubicin for 2 days at the same doses.
Patients entering the study after induction with concomitant RA and
chemotherapy received only the second and third chemotherapy courses as
described above. Patients enrolled after the administration of
consolidation therapy received additional cycles of chemotherapy so
that a total of three courses were given. After the completion of
chemotherapy, six monthly courses of maintenance with two doses of
HuM195 given 34 days apart were administered.
Patients in second or greater remission or in molecular relapse were treated with six doses of HuM195 over 3 weeks as described above. After this therapy, appropriate candidates proceeded to bone marrow or peripheral blood progenitor cell transplantation. The remaining patients received maintenance with HuM195 as described above. These patients did not receive additional consolidation chemotherapy because they relapsed after standard treatment. One patient in second remission was treated on an earlier protocol in which maintenance with HuM195 was continued for 1 year. Patients were treated on protocols approved by the Institutional Review Board and the Food and Drug Administration after informed consent was obtained.
RT-PCR Analysis.
Serial bone marrow aspirates were analyzed using previously described
RT-PCR techniques to detect PML/RAR-
rearrangements with a
sensitivity of approximately 1 in 104 cells
(5
, 9)
. We examined samples before patients began
treatment with HuM195, after initial antibody therapy, after each
consolidation chemotherapy course, and periodically thereafter.
Plasma HuM195 Levels and HAHA Response.
Plasma levels of HuM195 were measured before and 5 min after each
HuM195 infusion by an ELISA. This assay uses a version of the
"double-antibody sandwich" technique with a high-affinity mouse
anti-idiotypic antibody to M195 (30)
. We used a previously
described double antigen ELISA to detect HAHA (27)
.
Specificity of HAHA was assessed by competition of the patients serum
with a panel of monoclonal antibodies sharing various regions of
homology with HuM195 and unrelated controls.
Historical Controls and Statistical Analysis.
We compared newly diagnosed patients entered on this study with a group
of historical control patients treated at Memorial Hospital immediately
before the initiation of the current trial. This group consisted of 50
consecutively diagnosed patients with APL who attained clinical
complete remission with all-trans-RA (n =
49) or 9-cis-RA (n = 1) and then received
consolidation chemotherapy, generally with three courses of cytarabine
and idarubicin, as described above (16
, 31
, 32)
. The
median follow-up duration is 62 months (range, 8104+ months). The
2 test was used to compare molecular remission
rates between groups. To ensure that these groups were comparable, we
included patients who received induction solely with RA for this
analysis. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to determine the probability
of disease-free survival. Comparison of disease-free survival duration
between groups was performed using the log-rank test. For uniformity
among groups, this analysis was limited to patients induced with RA
followed by either two or three cycles of consolidation chemotherapy.
| RESULTS |
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Molecular Remission Induction.
Among the 27 patients treated in first remission, 25 had minimal
residual disease detectable by RT-PCR before receiving HuM195. One of
these patients (patient 24) received consolidation chemotherapy before
enrolling on study. Patients were considered evaluable for response
only if adequate RNA samples were obtained for RT-PCR analysis. After
six doses of HuM195, 11 of the 22 evaluable patients (50%) converted
to PCR negative before receiving any further therapy (Fig. 1A)
. Subsequently, all
remaining evaluable patients became RT-PCR negative with either one
(n = 9) or two (n = 1) courses of
consolidation chemotherapy.
|
rearrangement but remained in
clinical remission. She failed to respond to additional HuM195 and
relapsed clinically 1 month later.
Comparison of Molecular Remission Induction Rates with and without
HuM195.
To compare the molecular remission rates of patients treated with or
without HuM195, we limited the analysis to patients induced with RA
alone. In the current study, 21 patients received HuM195 after RA
induction followed by consolidation chemotherapy. Among the historical
control group, 43 patients were induced into remission with RA and then
maintained on the drug for 1 month before receiving consolidation
therapy. Patients were evaluable for response only if adequate RNA
samples were obtained for analysis.
At the time of clinical complete remission, 1 of the 21 patients (5%)
in the current study and 3 of the 40 evaluable patients (8%) in the
historical group were RT-PCR negative. One month after achieving
clinical remission with RA, 8 of 18 evaluable patients (44%) in the
current trial were RT-PCR negative after receiving HuM195 but before
the administration of chemotherapy (Fig. 2A)
. In previous trials, 7 of
34 patients (21%) who continued RA therapy alone for 1 month after
attaining clinical remission tested negative (P = 0.07;
Fig. 2B)
. All 19 evaluable patients (100%) treated on this
study had negative RT-PCR determinations after RA induction followed by
HuM195 and one course of consolidation chemotherapy (Fig. 2A)
. These results are comparable to the 36 of 40 patients
(90%) who were RT-PCR negative after RA induction and three
consolidation courses in earlier studies (Fig. 2B)
.
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Among the eight patients treated in second or third remission or in molecular relapse, five patients relapsed clinically after 427 months. Four of these patients achieved remission with additional therapy and remain disease free. Patient 11 died with relapsed APL after 15 months. The remaining three patients underwent autologous bone marrow transplantation after they failed to achieve molecular remission with six infusions of HuM195. The disease-free and overall survival times of this group range from 432+ months and 656+ months, respectively, with a median follow-up duration of 31 months. A previous series of relapsed patients treated without HuM195 had a median disease-free survival duration of 311 months (24) .
Adverse Effects.
HuM195 infusions were generally associated with few or no side effects
(Table 3)
. The most common adverse
reactions included low-grade fever, nausea, and chills and were usually
seen within 2 h after completion of the infusion and only after
the first dose. These reactions were effectively treated with
acetaminophen, diphenhydramine, and meperidine. Therapy was
administered entirely in the outpatient setting. Mild neutropenia
(usually grade 1) and thrombocytopenia (grade 1) lasting for 37 days
occurred in six patients, likely because of CD33 expression by normal
hematopoietic progenitor cells. No episodes of neutropenic fever were
observed. Five patients also developed transient postural hypotension
requiring the administration of i.v. fluids.
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| DISCUSSION |
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fusion transcript appears necessary for
patients with APL to achieve long-term remissions (8, 9, 10, 11, 12
, 33) . After induction of clinical remission with RA alone,
however, the majority of patients will test positive for the
PML/RAR-
rearrangement, and without additional therapy, all patients
will relapse. In our historical group, only 8% of patients treated
solely with RA were RT-PCR negative at the time clinical complete
remission was first documented. When therapy with RA was continued for
1 month after attaining clinical remission, 21% of these patients
achieved molecular remission. In the current study, therapy with RA
followed by HuM195 given during the month after clinical complete
remission was documented produced molecular remissions in 44% of
patients. This result compares favorably with the molecular remission
rate achieved using RA alone in the historical group with a statistical
significance of P = 0.07. A prospective, randomized
trial with greater patient numbers will ultimately be needed to prove a
significant improvement in molecular remission rates with the addition
of HuM195 to RA. Using a similar strategy, Mandelli et al.(34)
reported that induction with combined
all-trans-RA and idarubicin produced molecular
remissions in 61% of patients before the administration of
consolidation therapy. At least 90% of newly diagnosed patients with APL will become RT-PCR negative after receiving RA induction followed by multiple courses of consolidation chemotherapy (8 , 9 , 11) . In this study, all 19 evaluable patients (100%) tested RT-PCR negative after RA induction, HuM195 treatment, and one course of consolidation chemotherapy. This is comparable to the 90% of patients treated on earlier studies who were RT-PCR negative after RA induction and three intensive consolidation courses with combination chemotherapy. Similarly, Diverio et al. (12) reported that 96% of patients achieved a molecular remission after induction with all-trans-RA and idarubicin followed by three cycles of consolidation chemotherapy. These data suggest that postremission HuM195 could potentially reduce the number of consolidation chemotherapy courses required to achieve long-term remissions and thereby decrease therapy-related morbidity.
After treatment with RA and chemotherapy, approximately 75% of patients with newly diagnosed APL will achieve long-term remissions (31 , 32 , 34, 35, 36) . Among patients treated with all-trans-RA induction followed by two cycles of consolidation chemotherapy, Tallman et al. (37) report the estimated probability of disease-free survival after 1, 2, and 3 years to be 87%, 70%, and 67%, respectively. Mandelli et al. (34) report 1- and 2-year disease-free survival rates of 83% and 79% for patients induced with combined all-trans-RA and idarubicin followed by three cycles of chemotherapy. Fenaux et al. (38) noted an event-free survival rate of 77% at 2 years for patients treated with all-trans-RA induction followed by two courses of consolidation chemotherapy and 84% for patients treated with concomitant all-trans-RA and chemotherapy as induction followed by two cycles of consolidation. Among patients treated in earlier studies with RA induction and consolidation chemotherapy at our institution, the estimated probabilities of disease-free survival at 1, 2, and 3 years were 86%, 80%, and 76%, respectively. In the current study for all newly-diagnosed patients treated with RA, HuM195, and chemotherapy, the 1-, 2-, and 3-year disease-free survival rates were 100%, 89%, and 89%, respectively. Although not statistically significant, these results suggest that the addition of HuM195 to postremission chemotherapy may extend disease-free survival times. Larger patient numbers, a longer follow-up duration, and prospective randomized trials will be necessary to prove a statistically significant benefit to this approach.
In general, biological therapies designed to act on minimal disease require large randomized trials to evaluate their effects. Because APL is characterized by a detectable molecular marker whose presence directly correlates with relapse, this disease serves as a model in which one can assess the activity of immunotherapy in a relatively brief period of time using RT-PCR techniques. In this study, 50% of the patients with newly diagnosed APL who had positive RT-PCR determinations before receiving HuM195 became negative after antibody therapy alone. These data suggest that HuM195 has activity against minimal residual disease in APL and that its use overcomes the nonspecific myelosuppression and immunogenicity seen in earlier studies with 131I-labeled M195 (22, 23, 24) . Moreover, these results support the investigation of postremission therapy with HuM195 in other subtypes of acute myelogenous leukemia and myeloid leukemias in general, where molecular markers of residual disease may not be available.
The effect of maintenance therapy with HuM195 after the completion of chemotherapy is difficult to assess without a randomized trial because the molecular marker for residual disease is almost always undetectable after completion of consolidation chemotherapy. Nevertheless, Fenaux et al. (38) and Tallman et al. (37) have reported that maintenance with RA and/or chemotherapy prolongs remission duration in patients with newly diagnosed APL. These studies provide the rationale for the study of HuM195 in the postchemotherapy setting.
Only one molecular remission was observed among eight patients (13%) with APL in second or greater remission, suggesting that the optimal time for treatment with HuM195 may be in newly diagnosed disease. No differences in antigen expression were noted among the relapsed patients. The lower molecular remission rate in relapsed patients may be explained in part by a quantitative difference in the level of residual APL in patients with newly diagnosed and relapsed disease after remission induction. Additionally, resistance to immunologically mediated mechanisms of cytotoxicity may account for the difference in molecular remission rates. In vitro studies showed that multidrug resistance cell lines created by continuous selection with vincristine or by retroviral infection were resistant to complement-mediated cytotoxicity by HuM195. This resistance was found to be related to an elevated intracellular pH observed in the multidrug resistance cell lines (39) .
This study suggests that HuM195 has activity against minimal residual disease in APL. Multiple doses of HuM195 can be administered safely to patients after remission induction and appear to eliminate minimal residual disease detectable by RT-PCR in some patients. The use of postremission HuM195 after induction with RA could potentially reduce the number of consolidation chemotherapy courses required for long-term remissions. Combinations of HuM195 with other active agents, such as arsenic trioxide (40) , may further decrease or eliminate the need for consolidation chemotherapy in APL. This study provides the rationale for monoclonal antibody-based therapy for residual or reduced disease in various malignancies.
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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| FOOTNOTES |
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1 Supported in part by Grants FD-R-00764 and
FD-R-000925-01 from the Orphan Products Division, Food and Drug
Administration; NIH Grants RO1 CA55349 and PO1 33049; and Grant EDT-47
from the American Cancer Society. J. G. J. is the recipient of a
Clinical Oncology Career Development Award from the American Cancer
Society. D. A. S. is a Translational Investigator of the Leukemia
Society of America. ![]()
2 To whom requests for reprints should be
addressed, at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue,
New York, NY 10021. Phone: (212) 639-2955; Fax: (212) 772-8441. ![]()
3 The abbreviations used are: APL, acute
promyelocytic leukemia; RA, retinoic acid; RT-PCR, reverse
transcription-PCR; RAR, retinoic acid receptor; HAHA, human antihuman
antibody. ![]()
Received 5/14/99; revised 10/12/99; accepted 10/27/99.
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