Outcomes of patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma treated with Bexxar with or without external-beam radiotherapy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2012;82:1122-1127. [PMID: 21570217 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2010.09.044]

Real World Long-term Follow-up Experience with Yttrium-90 ibritumomab tiuxetan in Previously Untreated Patients with Low-Grade Follicular Lymphoma and Marginal Zone Lymphoma

INTRODUCTION

Yttrium-90 ibritumomab tiuxetan [(90)Y-IT] is a CD20-targeted radio-immuno conjugate. Clinical trials of (90)Y-IT as a first-line stand-alone treatment in follicular lymphoma (FL) and/or marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) showed high efficacy. However, long-term survival outcomes and toxicities are not well-defined.

METHODS

We report a retrospective single-institution, multi-center study of (90)Y-IT in previously untreated low grade (LG)-FL and MZL at Mayo Clinic Cancer Center between January 2000 and October 2019. We selected patients with LG-FL and MZL who received standard-dose (90)Y-IT as a single agent in the first line setting.

RESULTS

The cohort (n = 51) consists of previously untreated LG-FL (n = 41) or MZL (n = 10). Median follow-up was 5.3 years (95% CI; 4.2, 6.2). Overall response rate (ORR) was 100% with complete response rate (CR) of 94%. Continuous CR was observed in 59% patients who had more than 2 years of follow-up. Long-term CR (>7 years) was seen in 25% of patients. Median progression free survival (mPFS) for the whole cohort was not reached (NR) (95% CI; 4.9, NR). Bulky disease was associated with shorter median PFS of 3.5 years (CI 95%; 0.8, 4.9) compared to non-bulky disease NR (CI 95%; 5.8, NR), P = .02. The incidence of grade 3 or higher thrombocytopenia, neutropenia and anemia were 47%, 37%, and 4% respectively. No therapy-related myelodysplasia or acute myeloid leukemia were observed.

CONCLUSION

Long real-life follow-up showed that single-agent (90)Y-IT is highly efficacious with durable long-term survival in previously untreated LG-FL and MZL without significant risk for secondary malignancies.

Combination radionuclide therapy: A new paradigm

Targeted molecular radionuclide therapy (MRT) has shown its potential for the treatment of cancers of multiple origins. A combination therapy strategy employing two or more distinct therapeutic approaches in cancer management is aimed at circumventing tumor resistance by simultaneously targeting compensatory signaling pathways or bypassing survival selection mutations acquired in response to individual monotherapies. Combination radionuclide therapy (CRT) is a newer application of the concept, utilizing a combination of radiolabeled molecular targeting agents with chemotherapy and beam radiation therapy for enhanced therapeutic index. Encouraging results are reported with chemotherapeutic agents in combination with radiolabeled targeting molecules for cancer therapy. With increasing awareness of the various survival and stress response pathways activated after radionuclide therapy, different holistic combinations of MRT agents with radiosensitizers targeting such pathways have also been explored. MRT has also been studied in combination with beam radiotherapy modalities such as external beam radiation therapy and carbon ion radiation therapy to enhance the anti-tumor response. Nanotechnology aids in CRT by bringing together multiple monotherapies on a single nanostructure platform for treating cancers in a more precise or personalized way. CRT will be a key player in managing cancers if correctly tailored to the individual patient profile. The success of CRT lies in an in-depth understanding of the radiobiological principles and pathways activated in response.

Priming radioimmunotherapy with external beam radiation in patients with relapsed low grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of priming salvage radioimmunotherapy (RIT) with a low dose of external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) in patients with relapsed low grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma (LG-NHL).

METHODS

Patients who received salvage RIT with or without 2 × 2 Gy EBRT between March 2009 and February 2013 were retrospectively reviewed at a single institution. Planning target volume (PTV) for EBRT was created by adding a 1-2 cm expansion to the gross tumor volume depending on the anatomical location. Kaplan-Meier method via log-rank was employed to analyze the endpoints freedom from progression (FFP) and overall survival (OS).

RESULTS

We identified 22 patients who received salvage RIT without chemotherapy with a median follow up of 34 months. Of these, 9 (41%) patients were treated with EBRT immediately prior to RIT, and 13 (59%) received salvage RIT alone. Median FFP was not reached in patients who underwent combination treatment, while it was 9 months for patients treated with RIT alone (p = 0.02). OS for all patients at 36 months was 80.3% with no significant difference between the two groups (p = 0.88). On univariate analysis, the addition of EBRT was associated with improved FFP [hazard ratio (HR) = 4.17; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.24-19.1; p = 0.02)]. No long term toxicities were reported in both groups.

CONCLUSIONS

RIT outcomes and effects were improved with addition of low-dose EBRT immediately prior to it, in the treatment of relapsed LG-NHL with no additional toxicity. This study is hypothesis-generating and the findings should be validated in prospective studies.

Safety and efficacy of radioimmunotherapy (RIT) in treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in the community setting

INTRODUCTION

Radioimmunotherapy (RIT) is a unique therapeutic modality that combines biologic and radiolytic mechanisms to induce tumor kill. RIT is underutilized in the community outpatient setting.

METHODS

This is an institutional review of patients treated with RIT at St. John Hospital and Medical Center (SJH&MC) 2003-2011. RIT agents were dosed according to recommended guidelines. Response was assessed using the Revised Response Criteria for Malignant Lymphoma and toxicity was assessed using the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events. The primary aim was to assess overall response rate (ORR) and overall survival (OS). The secondary aim was to assess the impact of variable host and disease factors on the ORR to RIT and OS.

RESULTS

Forty-eight patients were treated with RIT within the specified period at SJH&MC; of which 52% with follicular lymphoma (FL) and 46% with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The majority of patients had relapsed or refractory disease (98%). Median duration of follow-up was 17 months. The ORR was 73% with 44% complete remission (CR) rate and OS of 48 months. The ORR was 79% with 58% CR rate and OS of 82 months among FL patients. Among DLBCL patients, the ORR was 65% with 30% CR rate and OS of 39 months. Response to last therapy before RIT was the only significant predictor of response to RIT and a significant predictor of OS in multivariate analyses. Prior exposure to EBRT did not predict response or survival in multivariate analyses. Toxicity was manageable and predominantly hematologic.

CONCLUSIONS

RIT is effective and feasible for use in the community outpatient setting.

ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PATIENT CARE

Patients with B-cell NHL can safely receive RIT close to home. With some coordination of effort, it is not difficult for community-based cancer centers to implement this treatment modality.

An overview of translational (radio)pharmaceutical research related to certain oncological and non-oncological applications

Translational medicine pursues the conversion of scientific discovery into human health improvement. It aims to establish strategies for diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Cancer treatment is difficult. Radio-pharmaceutical research has played an important role in multiple disciplines, particularly in translational oncology. Based on the natural phenomenon of necrosis avidity, OncoCiDia has emerged as a novel generic approach for treating solid malignancies. Under this systemic dual targeting strategy, a vascular disrupting agent first selectively causes massive tumor necrosis that is followed by iodine-131 labeled-hypericin (¹²³I-Hyp), a necrosis-avid compound that kills the residual cancer cells by crossfire effect of beta radiation. In this review, by emphasizing the potential clinical applicability of OncoCiDia, we summarize our research activities including optimization of radioiodinated hypericin Hyp preparations and recent studies on the biodistribution, dosimetry, pharmacokinetic and, chemical and radiochemical toxicities of the preparations. Myocardial infarction is a global health problem. Although cardiac scintigraphy using radioactive perfusion tracers is used in the assessment of myocardial viability, searching for diagnostic imaging agents with authentic necrosis avidity is pursued. Therefore, a comparative study on the biological profiles of the necrosis avid ¹²³I-Hyp and the commercially available ^99mTc-Sestamibi was conducted and the results are demonstrated. Cholelithiasis or gallstone disease may cause gallbladder inflammation, infection and other severe complications. While studying the mechanisms underlying the necrosis avidity of Hyp and derivatives, their naturally occurring fluorophore property was exploited for targeting cholesterol as a main component of gallstones. The usefulness of Hyp as an optical imaging agent for cholelithiasis was studied and the results are presented. Multiple uses of automatic contrast injectors may reduce costs and save resources. However, cross-contaminations with blood-borne pathogens of infectious diseases may occur. We developed a radioactive method for safety evaluation of a new replaceable patient-delivery system. By mimicking pathogens with a radiotracer, we assessed the feasibility of using the system repeatedly without septic risks. This overview is deemed to be interesting to those involved in the related fields for translational research.