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Second-generation immunomodulatory agents, such as lenalidomide, have a more favourable side-effect profile than the first-generation thalidomide, but their optimum combination and duration for patients with newly diagnosed transplant-ineligible myeloma (ND-TNE-MM) has not been defined. The most appropriate delivery and dosing regimens of these therapies for patients at advanced age and frailty status is also unclear. The Myeloma XI study compared cyclophosphamide, thalidomide and dexamethasone (CTDa) to cyclophosphamide, lenalidomide and dexamethasone (CRDa) as induction therapy, followed by a maintenance randomisation between ongoing therapy with lenalidomide or observation for patients with ND-TNE-MM. CRDa deepened response but did not improve progression-free (PFS) or overall survival (OS) compared to CTDa. However, analysis by age group highlighted significant differences in tolerability in older, frailer patients that may have limited treatment delivery and impacted outcome. Deeper responses and PFS and OS benefits with CRDa over CTDs were seen in patients aged ≤70 years, with an increase in toxicity and discontinuation observed in older patients. Our results highlight the importance of considering age and frailty in the approach to therapy for patients with ND-TNE-MM, highlighting the need for prospective validation of frailty adapted therapy approaches, which may improve outcomes by tailoring treatment to the individual.

Predicting patient outcome in multiple myeloma remains challenging despite the availability of standard prognostic biomarkers. We investigated outcome for patients relapsing early from intensive therapy on NCRI Myeloma XI. Relapse within 12 months of autologous stem cell transplant was associated with markedly worse median progression-free survival 2 (PFS2) of 18 months and overall survival (OS) of 26 months, compared to median PFS2 of 85 months and OS of 91 months for later relapsing patients despite equal access to and use of subsequent therapies, highlighting the urgent need for improved outcome prediction and early intervention strategies for myeloma patients.

The optimal way to use immunomodulatory drugs as components of induction and maintenance therapy for multiple myeloma is unresolved. We addressed this question in a large phase III randomized trial, Myeloma XI. Patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (n = 2042) were randomized to induction therapy with cyclophosphamide, thalidomide, and dexamethasone (CTD) or cyclophosphamide, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone (CRD). Additional intensification therapy with cyclophosphamide, bortezomib and dexamethasone (CVD) was administered before ASCT to patients with a suboptimal response to induction therapy using a response-adapted approach. After receiving high-dose melphalan with autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT), eligible patients were further randomized to receive either lenalidomide alone or observation alone. Co-primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). The CRD regimen was associated with significantly longer PFS (median: 36 vs. 33 months; hazard ratio [HR], 0.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.75-0.96; P = 0.0116) and OS (3-year OS: 82.9% vs. 77.0%; HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.63-0.93; P = 0.0072) compared with CTD. The PFS and OS results favored CRD over CTD across all subgroups, including patients with International Staging System stage III disease (HR for PFS, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.58-0.93; HR for OS, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.56-1.09), high-risk cytogenetics (HR for PFS, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.43-0.84; HR for OS, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.42-1.15) and ultra high-risk cytogenetics (HR for PFS, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.41-1.11; HR for OS, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.34-1.25). Among patients randomized to lenalidomide maintenance (n = 451) or observation (n = 377), maintenance therapy improved PFS (median: 50 vs. 28 months; HR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.37-0.60; P < 0.0001). Optimal results for PFS and OS were achieved in the patients who received CRD induction and lenalidomide maintenance. The trial was registered with the EU Clinical Trials Register (EudraCT 2009-010956-93) and ISRCTN49407852.

The presence of disseminated tumor cells in breast cancer patient bone marrow aspirates predicts decreased recurrence-free survival. Although it is appreciated that physiologic, pathologic, and therapeutic conditions impact hematopoiesis, it remains unclear whether targeting hematopoiesis presents opportunities for limiting bone metastasis. Using preclinical breast cancer models, we discovered that marrow from mice treated with the bisphosphonate zoledronic acid (ZA) are metastasis-suppressive. Specifically, ZA modulated hematopoietic myeloid/osteoclast progenitor cell (M/OCP) lineage potential to activate metastasis-suppressive activity. Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) promoted ZA resistance by redirecting M/OCP differentiation. We identified M/OCP and bone marrow transcriptional programs associated with metastasis suppression and ZA resistance. Analysis of patient blood samples taken at randomization revealed that women with high-plasma G-CSF experienced significantly worse outcome with adjuvant ZA than those with lower G-CSF levels. Our findings support discovery of therapeutic strategies to direct M/OCP lineage potential and biomarkers that stratify responses in patients at risk of recurrence. Significance: Bone marrow myeloid/osteoclast progenitor cell lineage potential has a profound impact on breast cancer bone metastasis and can be modulated by G-CSF and bone-targeting agents. Cancer Res; 78(18); 5300–14. ©2018 AACR.

Summary In the Medical Research Council (MRC) Myeloma IX trial (ISRCTN684564111) patients were randomised to sodium clodronate or zoledronic acid and induction treatment: cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin and dexamethasone (CVAD) or cyclophosphamide, thalidomide and dexamethasone (CTD) followed by autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) in the intensive pathway; attenuated CTD or melphalan and prednisolone (MP) in the non‐intensive pathway. Subsequent randomisation allocated patients to either thalidomide or observation. The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) quality of life (QoL) questionnaires, QLQ‐C30 and QLQ‐MY24, were administered at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months and annually thereafter, enabling the effect of sequential treatment on patient‐reported health‐related QoL (HR‐QoL) to be investigated. The protocol specified four subscales of interest: Pain, Fatigue, Global Health Status/Quality of Life and Physical Functioning at 3, 6 and 12 months that were compared using linear models. The intensive pathway showed significant differences in favour of CTD for Fatigue at 3 months and Physical Functioning at 12 months. The non‐intensive pathway and maintenance phase reported significant differences at 3 months; Pain (improved with attenuated CTD) and Global Health status/Quality of Life (improved with observation). The improved outcomes in MRC Myeloma IX were accompanied by some beneficial and few detrimental effects on HR‐QoL.

Introduction In Multiple Myeloma (MM) the emergence of treatment resistant clones is a characteristic feature of relapse and this is particularly so for high-risk cases. A key driver event mediating progression, risk status and relapse is gain(1q) (1q+). We report on the impact of 1q+ on the genetic profile seen at first relapse in a uniformly treated, newly diagnosed series of 56 patients enrolled to the NCRI Myeloma XI Trial. Methods We included 56 high risk patients, defined as relapse within 30 months of maintenance randomisation (median 19 months, range 8-51). Of the 56 patients, 30 received lenalidomide maintenance and 26 were observed. Whole exome sequencing was conducted at presentation and relapse to a median depth of 122x for tumour samples and 58x for controls. Libraries were prepared using the SureSelectQXT sample prep kit and SureSelect Clinical Research Exome kit. MuTect was used to determine gene variants and SciClone clustering was undertaken to map mutation variant allele frequencies. MANTA was used to determine translocations and Sequenza for copy number aberrations. Clonal structure and mechanisms of clonal evolution were assessed using kernel density estimation of the cancer clonal fraction for all mutations. Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank tests (2-sided) were used to determine the significance between paired data sets, including mutational load. Fishers exact test was used to determine the difference between two nominal variables. Results We looked at mutational, structural and clonal evolution events in all patients based on 1q+ status at relapse. At diagnosis, 34% (19/56) patients had evidence of 1q+, increasing to 46% (26/56) at relapse, with all patients harbouring 1q+ at presentation having the lesion at relapse. There was a significantly higher non-synonymous mutational load at relapse in patients with 1q+, 107 vs 126 (p=0.047), compared to those without 1q+, 36 vs 44 (p=0.140). Twenty two genes known to be significant in MM and mutations within the genes known to be important in IMiD mechanism of action were reviewed. Of the patients with 1q+, 92% (24/26) had at least one mutation during the course of the disease, compared to 77% in those without 1q+ (p=0.15). The impact on tumour suppressor gene regions including deletions of chromosome 1p, 13, 14 and 17p was analyzed. Of the patients with 1q+, 77% (20/26) of patients had a deletion of one of these regions during the disease course, compared to 57% (17/30) of patients without 1q+ (p=0.16). At relapse a change in the profile of these lesions was noted in 23% (6/26) patients with 1q+, compared to 20% (6/30) patients without 1q+ (p=1). Translocations involving MYC (t MYC) were also determined and found in 27% (7/26) of patients with 1q+ and 27% (8/30) of patients without (p=1). As with 1q+, t MYC was always preserved at relapse. Mechanisms of evolution leading to relapse were established for all patients. Branching and linear evolution predominated, noted to be the mechanism leading to relapse in 88% (23/26) patients with 1q+ and 83% (25/30) without (p0.71). Stable evolution was noted in the remaining patients. 1q+ occurring as a new event at relapse was associated with branching or linear evolution in all patients (n=7), consistent with a change in clonal structure. Conclusion These data reveal that 1q+ is conserved throughout the disease course, suggesting it imparts a survival advantage and treatment resistant phenotype to the clone(s) containing it. The presence of 1q+ is associated with a significant increase in mutational load at relapse and a greater incidence of tumour suppressor gene structural deletions, mechanisms that may contribute to clonal evolution and therapeutic escape. Disclosures Jones: BMS/Celgene: Other: Conference fees; Janssen: Honoraria. Pawlyn: Celgene / BMS: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Honoraria; Sanofi: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Weinhold: Sanofi: Honoraria. Walker: Sanofi: Speakers Bureau; Bristol Myers Squibb: Research Funding. Cairns: Merck Sharpe and Dohme: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding; Celgene / BMS: Other: travel support, Research Funding. Kaiser: AbbVie: Consultancy; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy; BMS/Celgene: Consultancy, Other: Travel support, Research Funding; Amgen: Honoraria; Karyopharm: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy, Other: Educational support, Research Funding; GSK: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy, Other: Educational support. Cook: Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria; Karyopharm: Consultancy, Honoraria; BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria; Oncopeptides: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria. Drayson: Abingdon Health: Current holder of individual stocks in a privately-held company. Jackson: oncopeptides: Consultancy; takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; GSK: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; J and J: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; celgene BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Sanofi: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Davies: BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria; Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria. Morgan: BMS: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Jansen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Karyopharm: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Oncopeptides: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; GSK: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

Introduction In traditional analysis of cancer clinical trials, key endpoints such as progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) are often analysed separately. Using multistate models (MSMs) we can model these events simultaneously to holistically analyse the disease-treatment pathway. This provides meaningful estimates for the probability of disease progression and death at any point in the disease course, incorporating treatment and prognostic factors of interest. MSMs are also a useful tool to assess the relationship between how the time spent in one state affects the risk of transitioning to future states. In the context of myeloma (MM), this can be used to determine patient prognosis based on the time for which they remain in 1 st remission after initial treatment. Methods In the largest randomised trial of MM patients undertaken to date (NCRI Myeloma XI), newly diagnosed MM patients eligible for ASCT (NDMM TE) were randomised to induction, intensification and maintenance treatments. Maintenance randomisation, at ASCT+3 months, was to lenalidomide (R), lenalidomide plus vorinostat (RZ) or observation. Co-primary endpoints were PFS and OS analysed by Cox regression. An MSM was used for exploratory analysis of 1074 TE patients randomised to maintenance. Patients transitioned irreversibly between 4 states: 1 st remission, alive and in remission after 1 st progressive disease (PD1), alive and in remission after 2 nd PD (PD2) and dead (Figure 1). Time in 1 st remission was included as a covariate to assess the effect of early disease progression on subsequent state transitions ( Results The median follow-up from randomisation was 57m (interquartile range: 43-72m). MSM analysis found that a 1 st remission of At a snapshot at 5 years post-randomisation, those with a 1 st remission ≥18m had a 24.9% chance of being in the PD1 state, compared to just 6.4% and 1.1% in those with 1 st remissions of 12-18m and MSM analysis also found R and RZ were associated with a reduced risk of transition from 1 st remission to PD1 vs. observation (R HR 0.51, 95%CI 0.42-0.60; RZ HR 0.68, 95%CI 0.55-0.88), reflecting the results of the primary trial analysis of PFS. Primary trial analysis of OS found that R was associated with significantly longer OS than observation. However, MSM analysis found R was associated with an increased risk of death following both PD1 (HR 1.60, 95%CI 1.06-2.41) and PD2 (HR 1.46, 95%CI 1.03-2.07) vs. observation. This suggests that the OS benefit of R is gained by extending the time in 1 st remission. RZ was associated with increased risk of death without PD (HR 3.07, 95%CI 1.05-9.03) and death following PD2 (HR 1.49, 95%CI 0.99-2.26) vs. observation. The MSM also found that the expected duration in 1 st remission was longest for R and shortest for observation (R 56.7m, RZ 47.7m and obs. 38.6m). However, in the PD1 state (R 12.8m, RZ 15.7m and obs. 21.9m) and PD2 state (R 5.4m, RZ 7.3m and obs. 11.0m) this order was reversed, although the difference between the groups was reduced for later states. Discussion MSMs are a powerful tool for exploring the myeloma disease pathway, identifying associations between states and providing transition probabilities which can be easily interpreted to gain further insights to those obtained via traditional methods. MSMs are an effective method to visualise data, clearly demonstrating the association between early relapse post-ASCT and poor prognosis in NDMM. This work has expanded on the primary analysis of the maintenance randomised treatments in Myeloma XI, corroborating results previously observed and highlighting the potential effects of maintenance treatment on each stage of the disease pathway. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Craig: Celgene: Research Funding; Merck Sharpe & Dohme: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding. Pawlyn: Amgen: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene / BMS: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Kaiser: AbbVie: Consultancy; BMS/Celgene: Consultancy, Other: Travel support, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Other: Educational support, Research Funding; GSK: Consultancy; Karyopharm: Consultancy, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Other: Educational support; Pfizer: Consultancy; Amgen: Honoraria; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy. Olivier: Celgene / BMS: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding; Merck Sharpe and Dohme: Research Funding. Jones: Janssen: Honoraria; BMS/Celgene: Other: Conference fees. Drayson: Abingdon Health: Current holder of individual stocks in a privately-held company. Jenner: Takeda: Consultancy; Pfizer: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; BMS/Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Cook: Amgen: Consultancy; BMS/Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Research Funding; Sanofi: Consultancy; Karyopharm: Consultancy. Davies: BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria. Morgan: BMS: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Jansen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Karyopharm: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Oncopeptides: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; GSK: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Jackson: J and J: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; GSK: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; celgene BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; oncopeptides: Consultancy; Sanofi: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Cairns: Celgene / BMS: Other: travel support, Research Funding; Merck Sharpe and Dohme: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding.

Highlights • Contemporary information on the pattern of disease recurrence in breast cancer provides useful information for planning clinical trials of novel adjuvant strategies. • Bone metastases remain the most frequent site for metastasis from stage II-III breast cancer. • The annual rates of disease recurrence and bone metastasis specifically are about 3% and 1% respectively in this intermediate to high-risk population. • Zoledronate reduces bone metastasis but has adverse effects on extra-skeletal recurrences in women who have not passed through menopause and/or have adverse histological features., Aim The prognosis for women with breast cancer has improved markedly over recent decades. However, mortality from breast cancer remains high and, for those developing metastatic disease, curative therapy is not possible. Here, we report the frequency and distribution of disease recurrence(s) in a large population of women with AJCC stage II/III breast cancer and evaluate the impact of adjuvant treatment with the bisphosphonate zoledronate on clinical outcomes. Patients and methods In the context of the AZURE study (ISRCTN7981382), 3359 patients with histologically confirmed stage II/III breast cancer were randomised to receive standard adjuvant treatment ± zoledronate for five years. Patients were followed up for 10 years and all patients with recurrent disease in that time identified. The site of first recurrence, the first distant recurrence site(s) and bone metastasis at any time were recorded and outcomes in the control and zoledronate treatment groups compared. Survival after recurrence was also evaluated. Results In the study population as a whole, disease recurrence at a median follow-up of 117 months occurred in 1010/3359 (30%) women with a relatively constant rate of disease relapse of around 3% per year. 727 (72%) first recurrences were at distant sites, 178 locoregional (18%) and 105 (10%) both locoregional and distant relapses occurred synchronously. Bone was the most frequent first recurrence site occurring in 463 (14%) of all patients and was the only distant metastatic site in 265 (7.9%). 69% of the control group who developed recurrent disease had bone metastases identified. Bone metastases were more frequent in those with oestrogen receptor (ER) positive disease and recurrences overall, especially at visceral sites, were more likely with ER negative disease. Zoledronate reduced bone metastases in both ER subgroups but increased the proportion with extra-skeletal metastases, particularly in women who were not definitely postmenopausal at study entry. Adjuvant zoledronate also reduced bone metastases after recurrence at an extra-skeletal site. Conclusions This analysis provides contemporary information on the frequency and pattern of recurrences after treatment for stage II/III breast cancer that may be of value in planning future adjuvant trials. It confirms the ongoing importance of bone metastases and describes in detail for the first time the effects of adjuvant zoledronate on the pattern of metastasis.

BACKGROUND: Myeloma is consistently preceded by premalignant monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS). In >5% of MGUS patients there is a second MGUS clone (biclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance; BGUS), yet, at myeloma diagnosis, presentation of biclonal gammopathy myeloma (BGMy) is considered less frequent, implying that myeloma eradicates coexisting MGUS.METHODS: In the largest study of its kind, we assessed BGMy frequency amongst 6399 newly diagnosed myeloma patients enrolled in recent UK clinical trials.RESULTS: Compared to expected prevalence (i.e., >5% of MGUS have BGUS), only 58 of 6399 (0.91%) newly diagnosed myeloma patients had BGMy, indicating myeloma typically eliminates coexistent MGUS. In these 58 BGMy cases, the MGUS plasma cell clone was greatly suppressed in size compared to typical levels observed in conventional MGUS; contrarily, the MGUS clone did not inhibit the myeloma plasma cell clone in BGMy.CONCLUSION: Myeloma eliminates the majority of competing MGUS, and when it does not, the MGUS clone is substantially reduced in size.British Journal of Cancer advance online publication, 20 July 2017; doi:10.1038/bjc.2017.229 www.bjcancer.com.

This study aims to guide the integration of serum free light chain (sFLC) tests into clinical practice, including a new rapid test (Seralite(®) ). Blood and urine analysis from 5573 newly diagnosed myeloma patients identified 576 light chain only (LCO) and 60 non-secretory (NS) cases. Serum was tested by Freelite(®) and Seralite(®) at diagnosis, maximum response and relapse. 20% of LCO patients had urine FLC levels below that recommended for measuring response but >97% of these had adequate sFLC levels (oligosecretory). The recommended Freelite(®) sFLC ≥100 mg/l for measuring response was confirmed and the equivalent Seralite(®) FLC difference (dFLC) >20 mg/l identified. By both methods, ≥38% of NS patients had measurable disease (oligosecretory). Higher sFLC levels were observed on Freelite(®) at all time points. However, good clinical concordance was observed at diagnosis and in response to therapy. Achieving at least a very good partial response according to either sFLC method was associated with better patient survival. Relapse was identified using a Freelite(®) sFLC increase >200 mg/l and found 100% concordance with a corresponding Seralite(®) dFLC increase >30 mg/l. Both Freelite(®) and Seralite(®) sensitively diagnose and monitor LCO/oligosecretory myeloma. Rapid testing by Seralite(®) could fast-track FLC screening and monitoring. Response by sFLC assessment was prognostic for survival and demonstrates the clinical value of routine sFLC testing.

This abstract was not presented at the symposium.

Purpose: Breast cancer bone metastases are incurable, highlighting the need for new therapeutic targets. After colonizing bone, breast cancer cells remain dormant, until signals from the microenvironment stimulate outgrowth into overt metastases. Here we show that endogenous production of IL1B by tumor cells drives metastasis and growth in bone. Experimental Design: Tumor/stromal IL1B and IL1 receptor 1 (IL1R1) expression was assessed in patient samples and effects of the IL1R antagonist, Anakinra, or the IL1B antibody canakinumab on tumor growth and spontaneous metastasis were measured in a humanized mouse model of breast cancer bone metastasis. Effects of tumor cell–derived IL1B on bone colonization and parameters associated with metastasis were measured in MDA-MB-231, MCF7, and T47D cells transfected with IL1B/control. Results: In tissue samples from >1,300 patients with stage II/III breast cancer, IL1B in tumor cells correlated with relapse in bone (HR = 1.85; 95% CI, 1.05–3.26; P = 0.02) and other sites (HR = 2.09; 95% CI, 1.26–3.48; P = 0.0016). In a humanized model of spontaneous breast cancer metastasis to bone, Anakinra or canakinumab reduced metastasis and reduced the number of tumor cells shed into the circulation. Production of IL1B by tumor cells promoted epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (altered E-Cadherin, N-Cadherin, and G-Catenin), invasion, migration, and bone colonization. Contact between tumor and osteoblasts or bone marrow cells increased IL1B secretion from all three cell types. IL1B alone did not stimulate tumor cell proliferation. Instead, IL1B caused expansion of the bone metastatic niche leading to tumor proliferation. Conclusions: Pharmacologic inhibition of IL1B has potential as a novel treatment for breast cancer metastasis.

Adjuvant bisphosphonates improve disease outcomes in postmenopausal early breast cancer (EBC) but the long-term effects are poorly described. The AZURE trial (ISRCTN79831382) was designed to determine whether adjuvant zoledronic acid (ZOL) improves disease outcomes in EBC. Previous analyses showed no effect on overall outcomes but identified benefits in postmenopausal women. Here we present the long-term risks and benefits of adjuvant ZOL with 10-years follow-up. Patients and methods: 3360 patients with stage II/III breast cancer were included in an academic, international, phase III, randomized, open label trial. Patients were followed up on a regular schedule until 10 years. Patients were randomized on a 1:1 basis to standard adjuvant systemic therapy +/− intravenous ZOL 4 mg every 3–4 weeks x6, and then at reduced frequency to complete 5 years treatment. The primary outcome was disease free survival (DFS). Secondary outcomes included invasive DFS (IDFS), overall survival (OS), sites of recurrence, skeletal morbidity and treatment outcomes according to primary tumor amplification of the transcription factor, MAF. Pre-planned subgroup analyses focused on interactions between menopausal status and treatment effects. Results: With a median follow up of 117 months [IQR 70.4–120.4), DFS and IDFS were similar in both arms (HRDFS = 0.94, 95%CI = 0.84–1.06, p = 0.340; HRIDFS = 0.91, 95%CI = 0.82–1.02, p = 0.116). However, outcomes remain improved with ZOL in postmenopausal women (HRDFS = 0.82, 95%CI = 0.67–1.00; HRIDFS = 0.78, 95%CI = 0.64–0.94). In the 79% of tested women with a MAF FISH negative tumor, ZOL improved IDFS (HRIDFS = 0.75, 95%CI = 0.58–0.97) and OS HROS = 0.69, 95%CI = 0.50–0.94), irrespective of menopause. ZOL did not improve disease outcomes in MAF FISH + tumors. Bone metastases as a first DFS recurrence (BDFS) were reduced with ZOL (HRB-DFS = 0.76, 95%CI = 0.63–0.92, p = 0.005). ZOL reduced skeletal morbidity with fewer fractures and skeletal events after disease recurrence. 30 cases of osteonecrosis of the jaw in the ZOL arm (1.8%) have occurred. Conclusions: Disease benefits with adjuvant ZOL in postmenopausal early breast cancer persist at 10 years of follow-up. The biomarker MAF identified a patient subgroup that derived benefit from ZOL irrespective of menopausal status.

Background Carfilzomib is a second-generation irreversible proteasome inhibitor that is efficacious in the treatment of myeloma and carries less risk of peripheral neuropathy than first-generation proteasome inhibitors, making it more amenable to combination therapy. Methods and findings The Myeloma XI+ trial recruited patients from 88 sites across the UK between 5 December 2013 and 20 April 2016. Patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma eligible for transplantation were randomly assigned to receive the combination carfilzomib, lenalidomide, dexamethasone, and cyclophosphamide (KRdc) or a triplet of lenalidomide, dexamethasone, and cyclophosphamide (Rdc) or thalidomide, dexamethasone, and cyclophosphamide (Tdc). All patients were planned to receive an autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) prior to a randomisation between lenalidomide maintenance and observation. Eligible patients were aged over 18 years and had symptomatic myeloma. The co-primary endpoints for the study were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) for KRdc versus the Tdc/Rdc control group by intention to treat. PFS, response, and safety outcomes are reported following a planned interim analysis. The trial is registered (ISRCTN49407852) and has completed recruitment. In total, 1,056 patients (median age 61 years, range 33 to 75, 39.1% female) underwent induction randomisation to KRdc (n = 526) or control (Tdc/Rdc, n = 530). After a median follow-up of 34.5 months, KRdc was associated with a significantly longer PFS than the triplet control group (hazard ratio 0.63, 95% CI 0.51–0.76). The median PFS for patients receiving KRdc is not yet estimable, versus 36.2 months for the triplet control group (p < 0.001). Improved PFS was consistent across subgroups of patients including those with genetically high-risk disease. At the end of induction, the percentage of patients achieving at least a very good partial response was 82.3% in the KRdc group versus 58.9% in the control group (odds ratio 4.35, 95% CI 3.19–5.94, p < 0.001). Minimal residual disease negativity (cutoff 4 × 10−5 bone marrow leucocytes) was achieved in 55% of patients tested in the KRdc group at the end of induction, increasing to 75% of those tested after ASCT. The most common adverse events were haematological, with a low incidence of cardiac events. The trial continues to follow up patients to the co-primary endpoint of OS and for planned long-term follow-up analysis. Limitations of the study include a lack of blinding to treatment regimen and that the triplet control regimen did not include a proteasome inhibitor for all patients, which would be considered a current standard of care in many parts of the world. Conclusions The KRdc combination was well tolerated and was associated with both an increased percentage of patients achieving at least a very good partial response and a significant PFS benefit compared to immunomodulatory-agent-based triplet therapy. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov ISRCTN49407852., Graham Jackson and co-workers study a combination induction treatment including carfilzomib for patients with transplant-eligible myeloma., Author summary Why was this study done? Although outcomes for myeloma patients have improved over recent decades, many patients will eventually relapse, and finding new treatment regimens that keep patients in first remission for longer is imperative. Treatment combinations aim to target myeloma using different mechanisms of action. This aims to prevent resistant cells remaining and leading to relapse. Carfilzomib has been shown to be effective in the treatment of relapsed myeloma when given in combination with lenalidomide. We performed this study to compare the outcomes of newly diagnosed myeloma patients treated with the combination carfilzomib, lenalidomide, dexamethasone, and cyclophosphamide (KRdc) to those of patients treated with immunomodulatory-agent-based triplet control combinations. What did the researchers do and find? A total of 1,056 patients with newly diagnosed myeloma were randomised between KRdc and control. Patients receiving the quadruplet KRdc combination were more likely to achieve at least a very good partial response and had longer progression-free survival than patients receiving control treatments. Side effects were not significantly increased with the quadruplet combination compared to control. What do the findings mean? The results suggest that KRdc can elicit deep responses and long periods of progression-free survival with tolerable side effects in newly diagnosed myeloma patients. Further studies are needed to compare KRdc to combinations of other new agents for the treatment of newly diagnosed myeloma patients.

Introduction: Immunoparesis, or suppression of polyclonal immunoglobulins, is a common issue in multiple myeloma (MM). Prior studies have shown that the degree of IgM immunoparesis is prognostic for survival, as patients with the most severe IgM immunoparesis at diagnosis have the poorest survival outcomes. Little is known regarding the cause of this immunoparesis, with many assuming it is due to tumor bulk alone. More recent data has suggested that MM can be divided into subgroups with distinct biologies and outcomes based on etiological cytogenetic abnormalities. These include hyperdiploidy and translocation t(11;14), t(4;14), t(14;16), or t(14;20), with the latter three groups being associated with high-risk disease. We hypothesized that the different etiological cytogenetic abnormalities drive bone marrow microenvironmental changes, resulting in different degrees of immunoparesis and subgroup-dependent effects on clinical outcomes. Methods: We performed a retrospective review of newly diagnosed MM patients enrolled in the MRC Myeloma IX and Cancer Research UK Myeloma XI trials. Patients with hyperdiploidy, t(11;14), t(4;14), t(14;16), or t(14;20) were included in the analysis. Polyclonal IgG, IgA, and IgM levels were measured at diagnosis, and the normal range was established by the 5th - 95th percentiles of adults over age 45 years in the UK: IgG 6 - 16 g/L, IgA 0.8 - 4 g/L, and IgM 0.5 - 2 g/L. Cytogenetic abnormalities were determined by FISH, multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA), or next generation sequencing (NGS). Overall survival (OS) was defined as time from date of trial entry to date of death, or censored at date last known to be alive. Progression-free survival (PFS) was defined as time from date of trial entry to progression or death, or censored at date last known to be alive and progression-free. Results: The study included 985 patients, of whom 47% were at least age 65 years and 61.1% were male. The most common MM subtype was IgG (63.4%), followed by IgA (24.5%), light chain only (8.4%), IgD (1.9%), oligosecretory (1.0%), IgM (0.5%), and non-secretory (0.3%). Hyperdiploidy represented 58.9% of cases, with t(11;14) seen in 18.2%, and t(4;14), t(14;16), or t(14;20) seen in 22.9%. The MM subtype was not distributed evenly amongst the different etiological cytogenetic abnormalities with IgG overrepresented in the hyperdiploid subgroup (69.4%), compared to 11% in t(11;14) and 19.5% in high-risk cases. IgA was overrepresented in high-risk cases (45.2%), compared to 41.1% in hyperdiploidy and 13.7% in t(11;14). The high-risk subgroup had more immunoparesis compared to the hyperdiploid and t(11;14) subgroups (median polyclonal IgG 3.0 vs. 3.8 vs. 3.9 g/L, IgA 0.2 vs. 0.4 vs. 0.2 g/L, IgM 0.1 vs. 0.2 vs. 0.2 g/L, respectively). There were also significantly more patients in the high-risk subgroup with polyclonal immunoglobulin levels below the normal range compared to the hyperdiploid and t(11;14) subgroups (IgG 96.9% vs. 86.0% vs. 88.2%, p = 0.0045; IgA 89.9% vs. 77.1% vs. 92.4%, p < 0.0001; IgM 94.0% vs. 88.9% vs. 92.7%, p < 0.0001). With median follow up of 77 months, the overall median PFS and OS were 19 months and 53 months, respectively. As expected, patients in the high-risk subgroup had significantly lower PFS and OS (14 and 35 months, respectively, p < 0.001), compared to the hyperdiploid (21 and 60 months) and t(11;14) subgroups (22 and 53 months). The effect of the degree of immunoparesis on PFS depended on the cytogenetic subgroup. Using polyclonal IgM as a continuous variable, Cox regression analysis demonstrated a significant effect on PFS in patients with hyperdiploidy (HR 0.482, 95% CI 0.325 - 0.717, p = 0.0003). No difference was seen in the t(11;14) (HR 0.610, 95% CI 0.262 - 1.418, p = 0.2507) or high-risk subgroups (HR 1.087, 95% CI 0.505 - 2.341, p = 0.8304). Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that the etiological cytogenetic subgroup influences the degree and clinical impact of immunoparesis in newly diagnosed MM patients. A significant proportion of patients with t(4;14), t(14;16), or t(14;20) have IgG, IgA, and IgM levels below the normal range compared to patients with hyperdiploidy and t(11;14). This suggests that the underlying genetic abnormality (i.e., NSD2, C-MAF, and MAF-B, respectively) drives changes in the bone marrow microenvironment remodeling the plasma cell niche, resulting in suppression of normal plasma cell function and immunoglobulin levels. Disclosures Cairns: Celgene: Other: Travel Support; Celgene, Amgen, Merck: Research Funding. Menzies:Celgene, Amgen, Merck: Research Funding. Pawlyn:Takeda: Consultancy, Other: Travel expenses; Janssen: Honoraria, Other: Travel expenses; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel expenses; Amgen: Consultancy, Other: Travel expenses. Morgan:Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Karyopharm: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria; GSK: Consultancy, Honoraria. Cook:Karyopharm: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; IQVIA: Research Funding; Sanofi: Consultancy; Amgen: Consultancy; Roche: Consultancy. Kaiser:Bristol-Myers Squibb, Chugai, Janssen, Amgen, Takeda, Celgene, AbbVie, Karyopharm, GlaxoSmithKline: Consultancy; Janssen, Amgen, Celgene, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Takeda: Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb/Celgene, Janssen, Karyopharm: Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb, Takeda: Other: Travel expenses. Owen:Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Takeda: Honoraria, Other: Travel expenses; Janssen: Consultancy, Other: Travel expenses. Jackson:Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Gsk: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Davies:Sanofi: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Adaptive Biotech: Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Oncopeptides: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene/BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding.

We designed a mathematical model to describe and quantify the mechanisms and dynamics of tumor growth, cell-kill and resistance as they affect durations of benefit after cancer treatment. Our aim was to explore how treatment efficacy may be related to primary tumor characteristics, with the potential to guide future trial design and appropriate selection of therapy. Assuming a log-normal distribution of both resistant disease and tumor doubling times generates disease-free survival (DFS) or invasive DFS curves with specific shapes. Using a multivariate mathematical model, both treatment and tumor characteristics are related to quantified resistant disease and tumor regrowth rates by allowing different mean values for the influence of different treatments or clinical subtypes on these two log-normal distributions. Application of the model to the CALGB 9741 adjuvant breast cancer trial showed that dose-dense therapy was estimated to achieve an extra 3/4 log of cell-kill compared to standard therapy, but only in patients with more rapidly growing ER-negative tumors. Application of the model to the AZURE trial of adjuvant bisphosphonate treatment suggested that the 5-year duration of zoledronic acid was adequate for ER-negative tumors, but may not be so for ER-positive cases, with increased recurrences after ceasing the intervention. Mathematical models can identify different effects of treatment by subgroup and may aid in treatment design, trial analysis, and appropriate selection of therapy. They may provide a more appropriate and insightful tool than the conventional Cox model for the statistical analysis of response durations. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10549-016-3684-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The emergence of treatment resistant sub-clones is a key feature of relapse in multiple myeloma. Therapeutic attempts to extend remission and prevent relapse include maximizing response and the use of maintenance therapy. We used whole exome sequencing to study the genetics of paired samples taken at presentation and at relapse from 56 newly diagnosed patients, following induction therapy, randomized to receive either lenalidomide maintenance or observation as part of the Myeloma XI trial. Patients included were considered high risk, relapsing within 30 months of maintenance randomization. Patients achieving a complete response had predominantly branching evolutionary patterns leading to relapse, characterized by a greater mutational burden, an altered mutational profile, bi-allelic inactivation of tumor suppressor genes, and acquired structural aberrations. Conversely, in patients achieving a partial response, the evolutionary features were predominantly stable with a similar mutational and structural profile seen at both time points. There were no significant differences between patients relapsing after lenalidomide maintenance versus observation. This study shows that the depth of response is a key determinant of the evolutionary patterns seen at relapse. This trial is registered at clinicaltrials.gov identifier: 01554852.

Introduction: Multiple myeloma (MM) is more common in men than women but the mechanism(s) driving this are not understood. In our previous study (Myeloma IX) we found sex disparities in the cytogenetic lesions present in myeloma cells at the time of diagnosis and that female sex was associated with reduced overall survival in the context of treatment with traditional chemotherapy (CVAMP/MP) and thalidomide combinations. Here, we evaluate sex differences in almost 4000 patients recruited to the UK NCRI Myeloma XI trial, in which treatment exposure to lenalidomide predominated. Methods: Myeloma XI recruited newly diagnosed patients of all ages, with pathways for transplant eligible (TE) and ineligible (TNE) patients. An induction randomisation compared the triplet combination of cyclophosphamide, lenalidomide and dexamethasone to a similar combination with thalidomide (CRD vs CTD). Eligible patients underwent autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) and in both pathways a maintenance randomisation compared lenalidomide (+/-vorinostat) until disease progression versus observation. We compared baseline characteristics of males and females using Fisher's Exact test for categorical characteristics and the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test for continuous characteristics with p1 lesion present. Results: Of 3894 patients enrolled in the trial 2268 (58%) were male and 1626 (42%) were female, in keeping with the known sex disparity in MM. There was no difference in the median age, WHO performance status, ethnicity and most laboratory values of the two groups. Females were more likely to have the molecular risk lesions t(14;16) and del(17p) and had proportionately more HiR and UHiR disease, Table 1. Despite these differences, PFS and OS from induction randomisation did not significantly differ (PFS: Males 25 months, [95% CI 24, 26], Females 24 months, [95% CI 22, 25] and OS: Males 67 months, [95% CI 62, 70], Females 70 months, [95% CI 64, 74]). Molecular lesions that have been associated with outcome remained prognostic in both sexes, with a stepwise reduction in PFS and OS with cumulative risk lesions. PFS: Males SR 29 months, HiR 23 months, UHiR 16 months (p < 0.0001), Females SR 27 months, HiR 18 months, UHiR 17 months (p = 0.0007); OS: Males SR 77 months, HiR 59 months, UHiR 34 months (p < 0.0001), Females SR 82 months, HiR 54 months, UHiR 41 months (p < 0.0001). There was, however, no significant difference in PFS or OS when we compared males and females with a given cytogenetic lesion or cytogenetic risk. There was a significant difference in the proportion of patients of either sex who continued through the trial and underwent ASCT in the TE pathway (Males 72%, Females 67%; p = 0.031), but no significant difference in those that entered the maintenance randomisation (TE: Males 56%, Females 50%, p = 0.107; TNE Males 45%, Females 42%, p = 0.249). There was no significant PFS or OS difference by sex when analysed within each treatment pathway (TE, TNE), induction regimen (CTD, CRD) and maintenance approach (lenalidomide maintenance, observation). Conclusions: Females had a higher proportion of the adverse molecular risk lesions del(17p) and t(14;16) and were more likely to have HiR and UHiR disease. In the context of Myeloma XI trial treatment this did not correspond to a difference in PFS or OS, either overall or within the induction or maintenance randomisation treatment options (even though males were more likely to undergo ASCT). This suggests that in women the treatment delivered may have been able to overcome some of the adverse effect of the risk lesions present or that other factors affecting outcome were more important. on behalf of the NCRI Haematological Oncology Clinical Studies Group. Disclosures Cairns: Celgene, Amgen, Merck, Takeda: Other: Research Funding to Institution. Davies:Janssen, Celgene: Other: Research Grant, Research Funding; Amgen, Celgene, Janssen, Oncopeptides, Roche, Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Consultant/Advisor. Boyd:Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria. Cook:Celgene, Janssen-Cilag, Takeda: Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen, Takeda, Sanofi, Karyopharm, Celgene: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Drayson:Abingdon Health: Consultancy, Equity Ownership. Gregory:Abbvie, Janssen: Honoraria; Amgen, Merck: Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding. Jenner:Abbvie, Amgen, Celgene, Novartis, Janssen, Sanofi Genzyme, Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Jones:Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding. Kaiser:Takeda, Janssen, Celgene, Amgen: Honoraria, Other: Travel Expenses; Celgene, Janssen: Research Funding; Abbvie, Celgene, Takeda, Janssen, Amgen, Abbvie, Karyopharm: Consultancy. Owen:Celgene, Janssen: Honoraria; Celgene, Janssen: Consultancy; Celgene: Research Funding; Janssen: Other: Travel expenses. Russell:DSI: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Jazz: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Pfizer Inc: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Astellas: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Morgan:Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene Corporation, Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen, Janssen, Takeda, Celgene Corporation: Other: Travel expenses; Celgene Corporation, Janssen: Research Funding. Jackson:Celgene, Amgen, Roche, Janssen, Sanofi: Honoraria. Pawlyn:Amgen, Celgene, Takeda: Consultancy; Amgen, Janssen, Celgene, Takeda: Other: Travel expenses; Amgen, Celgene, Janssen, Oncopeptides: Honoraria. OffLabel Disclosure: CTD/CRD induction therapy for myeloma, Lenalidomide maintenance 10mg 21/28 days

Background Early trials of long-term lenalidomide (len) use reported an increased incidence of second primary malignancy (SPM), particularly AML and MDS. Later, meta-analysis suggested the link to be secondary to len in combination with melphalan. Myeloma XI is a large phase III randomised trial in-which len is used as an induction and maintenance therapy. We have previously reported on early SPM incidence in the context of this trial and shown that haematological SPM (hSPM) incidence was not increased in association with len (Cumulative incidence 0.7% at 3 years). We have also published data showing that maintenance len is associated with improved survival in post-transplant patients. Here we present for the first time, a long-term analysis of SPM incidence in 4358 patients who have received maintenance therapy versus observation in the context of the Myeloma XI trial. Methods Myeloma XI is a phase III, randomised, multi-centre, parallel group design, open-label trial comparing thalidomide, len, carfilzomib and bortezomib combinations and len as maintenance treatment in NDMM patients. The trial includes transplant eligible (TE) and transplant non-eligible (TNE) pathways. TE patients received high dose melphalan supported by autologous stem cell transplantation if they achieve a very good partial response or better. Patients in both pathways were randomised to maintenance with len (+/- vorinostat) or active observation. Since May 2010, 4358 patients have been treated and assigned to induction. Median follow up is now 68 months (IQ range 49-83), with over 1100 patients enrolled for more than 5 years. A total of 1971 patients have entered maintenance with 1137 randomised to len and 834 observation (median 24 cycles (range 1-97)). Results The median time to SPM development from induction is 41.6 months (range 1.4 - 97.1). Cumulative incidence of all SPMs is 4.1% (95% CI 3.5, 4.7), 7.4% (6.6, 8.3) and 10.8% (9.5, 12.1) at three, five and seven years respectively (figure 1). 378 SPMs have been reported in 318 patients, 180 (57%) treated in the TNE pathway (IR 9.9%) and 138 (43%) in the TE pathway (IR 5.5%). The average age at the time of SPM is 78 and 68 for the TNE and TE pathways, respectively. Of the patients who developed an SPM 195 (61%) did so following maintenance randomisation. The incidence was highest in those receiving len based maintenance (n=145, IR 10.8%). In the observation arm 50 patients developed an SPM (IR 5.6%). The median time to SPM development from maintenance randomisation was 43 months in those receiving len and 40 months in the observation only group. One hundred and ten of the patients who developed an SPM following maintenance randomisation were in the TNE pathway with 77 patients receiving len. The overall incidence of SPM development in TNE patients receiving len maintenance is 15.4% and 9.9% for observation. Within the TE arm 85 SPM cases developed following maintenance randomisation with 68 patients receiving len. The overall incidence of SPM development in the TE patients treated with len maintenance is 7.7% and 3.1% for observation. Of the remaining patients 98, (31%) developed an SPM during induction and twenty five (8%) following induction but prior to maintenance. Forty eight patients developed a hSPM (IR 1.1%), MDS (n=20), AML (n=13), BLCBL (n=6), B-ALL (n=4), CML (n=1), mixed phenotype leukaemia (n=1), T-ALL (n=1), Burkitt lymphoma (n=1) and Hodgkin's Lymphoma (n=1). Of these cases, 35 patients were TE pathway treated, with 25 receiving lenlidomide maintenance (IR 2.8%). The median time to hSPM development in the TE patients was 51.8 months. The remaining 13 cases occurred in the TNE treated patients with 7 receiving lenalidomide maintenance (IR 1.4%). The median time to hSPM development in the TNE patients was 42.3 months. Of the remaining cases, 107 patients developed non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) (TE n34, IR 1.3% / TNE n73, IR 4.0%) and 181 patients developed solid tumours (TE n78, IR 3.1% / TNE n103, IR 5.6%). Forty one patients developed >1 SPM. Outcome analysis is underway and will be presented at the meeting. Conclusions The overall incidence of SPM is highest in TNE patients receiving lenalidomide maintenance but hSPM rates remain low. This suggests that advanced age is a considerable risk factor for the development of second cancers, particularly NMSC. Second haematological cancers were low in all groups, irrespective of maintenance allocation. Disclosures Jones: Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding. Cairns:Celgene, Amgen, Merck, Takeda: Other: Research Funding to Institution. Pawlyn:Amgen, Celgene, Takeda: Consultancy; Amgen, Celgene, Janssen, Oncopeptides: Honoraria; Amgen, Janssen, Celgene, Takeda: Other: Travel expenses. Davies:Amgen, Celgene, Janssen, Oncopeptides, Roche, Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Consultant/Advisor; Janssen, Celgene: Other: Research Grant, Research Funding. Jenner:Abbvie, Amgen, Celgene, Novartis, Janssen, Sanofi Genzyme, Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Kaiser:Takeda, Janssen, Celgene, Amgen: Honoraria, Other: Travel Expenses; Celgene, Janssen: Research Funding; Abbvie, Celgene, Takeda, Janssen, Amgen, Abbvie, Karyopharm: Consultancy. Mottram:Celgene, Amgen, Merck, Takeda: Other: Research Funding to Institution. Drayson:Abingdon Health: Consultancy, Equity Ownership. Cook:Celgene, Janssen-Cilag, Takeda: Honoraria, Research Funding; Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squib, GlycoMimetics, Seattle Genetics, Sanofi: Honoraria; Janssen, Takeda, Sanofi, Karyopharm, Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Gregory:Amgen, Merck: Research Funding; Abbvie, Janssen: Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding. Owen:Celgene, Janssen: Honoraria; Celgene, Janssen: Consultancy; Celgene: Research Funding; Janssen: Other: Travel expenses. Boyd:Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria. Jackson:Celgene, Amgen, Roche, Janssen, Sanofi: Honoraria. Morgan:Celgene Corporation, Janssen: Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene Corporation, Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen, Janssen, Takeda, Celgene Corporation: Other: Travel expenses.

Background: Immunomodulatory (IMiD) compounds are effective therapies for multiple myeloma (MM) acting via modulation of the CUL4 E3-ubiquitin ligase cereblon. Based on their structure individual IMiD compounds have different substrate specificities altering both their efficacy and side effect profile. These mechanistic differences impact the optimum sequencing of these agents as induction and maintenance. Within the UK NCRI Myeloma XI trial we compared triplet induction regimens containing Lenalidomide (Len) or Thalidomide (Thal) and maintenance treatment with Len or observation. With extensive long term follow up data we have explored the interaction of the induction and maintenance use of Thal and Len before and after ASCT. Methods: Myeloma XI is a multicenter, randomized controlled trial for newly diagnosed MM, with pathways for transplant eligible (TE) and non-eligible patients. TE patients were randomized between Len or Thal plus cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone (CRD vs CTD) continued for a minimum of 4 cycles and to max. response. For patients with a suboptimal response there was a subsequent randomization to intensification with a proteasome inhibitor containing triplet or no further therapy prior to ASCT. A maintenance randomization at 3 months post ASCT compared Len till disease progression vs observation (Obs). Analyses by molecular risk strata were pre-specified in the protocol. Adverse cytogenetic abnormalities were defined as gain(1q), t(4;14), t(14;16), t(14;20), or del(17p): standard risk (SR, no adverse cytogenetic abnormalities), high risk (HiR, one adverse cytogenetic abnormality), or ultra-high risk (UHiR, two or more adverse cytogenetic abnormalities). Results: 2042 TE patients were randomized to CRD n=1021 and CTD n=1021. After a median follow up of 68 months (interquartile range 49-83) for the induction randomization, 1378 PFS and 728 OS primary endpoint events had occurred. Patients received a median (range) of 5 (1-18) cycles of CRD and 5 (1-13) cycles of CTD induction therapy. There were higher rates of haematological toxicity with CRD and peripheral neuropathy with CTD. CRD induction was associated with a significantly improved median PFS (hazard ratio (HR) 0.86, 95%CI 0.77, 0.96, CRD 36 months vs CTD 33 months, P=0.005, Figure 1A) and median OS (HR 0.81, 95%CI 0.70, 0.93, CRD 96 months vs CTD 85 months, P=0.004, Figure 1B). Responses were deeper with CRD (>=VGPR 65.3%, PR 24.5%) than CTD (>=VGPR 52.8%, PR 33.2%) and depth of response was associated with outcome. Significant heterogeneity in PFS outcome was identified between molecular risk groups with HiR and UHiR benefiting most from induction with CRD rather than CTD (SR HR 0.99 [95%CI 0.79, 1.24], HiR HR 0.58 [0.44, 0.78], UHiR HR 0.60 [0.38, 0.94], P.het 0.01). 897 TE patients were randomized to Len (n=496) and Obs (n=401). After a median follow up of 68 months (interquartile range 51-84) for the maintenance randomization, 527 PFS primary endpoint events had occurred. Lenalidomide was associated with a significant improvement in PFS compared to observation (median PFS Len 64 [54,76] vs Obs 32 [28,36], HR 0.52 [0.45,0.61], P Optimum outcomes were seen in those receiving Len as both induction and maintenance therapy (Figure 1C). Patients receiving CRD induction followed by Len maintenance (CRD-R) had a median PFS of 77 months [56, 86] compared to CTD-R 64 [49, 74], CRD-Obs 37 [33, 42] and CTD-Obs 44 [38, 51]. Conclusions: In this study the use of Len as both induction and maintenance was associated with the best outcomes irrespective of cytogenetic risk group. With long term follow up CRD induction for newly diagnosed transplant eligible myeloma patients was associated with both a PFS and OS benefit compared to CTD and was better tolerated. The PFS impact of CRD was particularly notable in patients with high and ultra-high risk disease. Lenalidomide maintenance was associated with significantly longer PFS than observation across all risk groups. on behalf of the NCRI Haematological Oncology Clinical Studies Group Disclosures Jackson: Celgene, Amgen, Roche, Janssen, Sanofi: Honoraria. Pawlyn:Amgen, Celgene, Janssen, Oncopeptides: Honoraria; Amgen, Celgene, Takeda: Consultancy; Amgen, Janssen, Celgene, Takeda: Other: Travel expenses. Cairns:Celgene, Amgen, Merck, Takeda: Other: Research Funding to Institution. Jones:Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding. Kishore:Celgene, Takeda, Janssen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Celgene, Jazz, Takeda: Other: Travel expenses. Garg:Janssen, Takeda, Novartis: Other: Travel expenses; Janssen: Honoraria; Novartis, Janssen: Research Funding. Lindsay:Celgene: Other: personal fees and non-financial support ; Takeda: Other: personal fees and non-financial support ; Amgen: Other: non-financial support. Russell:Jazz: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Pfizer Inc: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; DSI: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Astellas: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Jenner:Abbvie, Amgen, Celgene, Novartis, Janssen, Sanofi Genzyme, Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Cook:Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Karyopharm: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Drayson:Abingdon Health: Consultancy, Equity Ownership. Owen:Janssen: Other: Travel expenses; Celgene, Janssen: Honoraria; Celgene, Janssen: Consultancy; Celgene: Research Funding. Gregory:Abbvie, Janssen: Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Amgen, Merck: Research Funding. Kaiser:Takeda, Janssen, Celgene, Amgen: Honoraria, Other: Travel Expenses; Celgene, Janssen: Research Funding; Abbvie, Celgene, Takeda, Janssen, Amgen, Abbvie, Karyopharm: Consultancy. Davies:Amgen, Celgene, Janssen, Oncopeptides, Roche, Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Consultant/Advisor; Janssen, Celgene: Other: Research Grant, Research Funding. Morgan:Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene Corporation, Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen, Janssen, Takeda, Celgene Corporation: Other: Travel expenses; Celgene Corporation, Janssen: Research Funding. OffLabel Disclosure: CTD/CRD induction therapy and Lenalidomide maintenance 10mg 21/28 days

BackgroundProtein biomarkers with associations with the activity and outcomes of diseases are being identified by modern proteomic technologies. They may be simple, accessible, cheap and safe tests that can inform diagnosis, prognosis, treatment selection, monitoring of disease activity and therapy and may substitute for complex, invasive and expensive tests. However, their potential is not yet being realised.Design and methodsThe study consisted of three workstreams to create a framework for research: workstream 1, methodology – to define current practice and explore methodology innovations for biomarkers for monitoring disease; workstream 2, clinical translation – to create a framework of research practice, high-quality samples and related clinical data to evaluate the validity and clinical utility of protein biomarkers; and workstream 3, the ELF to Uncover Cirrhosis as an Indication for Diagnosis and Action for Treatable Event (ELUCIDATE) randomised controlled trial (RCT) – an exemplar RCT of an established test, the ADVIA Centaur® Enhanced Liver Fibrosis (ELF) test (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Ltd, Camberley, UK) [consisting of a panel of three markers – (1) serum hyaluronic acid, (2) amino-terminal propeptide of type III procollagen and (3) tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1], for liver cirrhosis to determine its impact on diagnostic timing and the management of cirrhosis and the process of care and improving outcomes.ResultsThe methodology workstream evaluated the quality of recommendations for using prostate-specific antigen to monitor patients, systematically reviewed RCTs of monitoring strategies and reviewed the monitoring biomarker literature and how monitoring can have an impact on outcomes. Simulation studies were conducted to evaluate monitoring and improve the merits of health care. The monitoring biomarker literature is modest and robust conclusions are infrequent. We recommend improvements in research practice. Patients strongly endorsed the need for robust and conclusive research in this area. The clinical translation workstream focused on analytical and clinical validity. Cohorts were established for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and renal transplantation (RT), with samples and patient data from multiple centres, as a rapid-access resource to evaluate the validity of biomarkers. Candidate biomarkers for RCC and RT were identified from the literature and their quality was evaluated and selected biomarkers were prioritised. The duration of follow-up was a limitation but biomarkers were identified that may be taken forward for clinical utility. In the third workstream, the ELUCIDATE trial registered 1303 patients and randomised 878 patients out of a target of 1000. The trial started late and recruited slowly initially but ultimately recruited with good statistical power to answer the key questions. ELF monitoring altered the patient process of care and may show benefits from the early introduction of interventions with further follow-up. The ELUCIDATE trial was an ‘exemplar’ trial that has demonstrated the challenges of evaluating biomarker strategies in ‘end-to-end’ RCTs and will inform future study designs.ConclusionsThe limitations in the programme were principally that, during the collection and curation of the cohorts of patients with RCC and RT, the pace of discovery of new biomarkers in commercial and non-commercial research was slower than anticipated and so conclusive evaluations using the cohorts are few; however, access to the cohorts will be sustained for future new biomarkers. The ELUCIDATE trial was slow to start and recruit to, with a late surge of recruitment, and so final conclusions about the impact of the ELF test on long-term outcomes await further follow-up. The findings from the three workstreams were used to synthesise a strategy and framework for future biomarker evaluations incorporating innovations in study design, health economics and health informatics.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN74815110, UKCRN ID 9954 and UKCRN ID 11930.FundingThis project was funded by the NIHR Programme Grants for Applied Research programme and will be published in full inProgramme Grants for Applied Research; Vol. 6, No. 3. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

Summary Background Multiple myeloma is consistently preceded by monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), which is usually only treated by a form of anti-multiple myeloma therapy if it is causing substantial disease through deposition of secreted M proteins. However, studies comparing how MGUS and multiple myeloma plasma cell clones respond to these therapies are scarce. Biclonal gammopathy multiple myeloma is characterised by the coexistence of an active multiple myeloma clone and a benign MGUS clone, and thus provides a unique model to assess the responses of separate clones to the same anti-multiple myeloma therapy, in the same patient, at the same time. We aimed to identify how MGUS and multiple myeloma plasma cell clones responded to anti-multiple myeloma therapy in patients newly diagnosed with biclonal gammopathy multiple myeloma. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, we identified patients with biclonal gammopathy multiple myeloma by central laboratory analysis of 6399 newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma enrolled in three UK clinical trials (Myeloma IX, Myeloma XI, and TEAMM) between July 7, 2004, and June 2, 2015. In addition to the inclusion criteria of these trials, our study necessitated at trial entry the presence of two distinct M proteins in immunofixation electrophoresis. The primary endpoint was difference in response achieved with anti-multiple myeloma therapy on MGUS (which we defined as M2) and multiple myeloma (M1) clones—overall, within patients, and between therapy types—with international therapy response criteria assessed with χ 2 analyses. We analysed by intention to treat. Findings 44 patients with biclonal gammopathy multiple myeloma with IgG or IgA MGUS clones were subsequently identified from the three trials and then longitudinally monitored. 41 (93%) of M1 clones had a response to therapy (either complete response, very good partial response, partial response, or minor response) compared with only 28 (64%) of M2 clones (p=0·0010). For the 20 patients who received intensive therapy, there was no difference between the proportion of responding clones in M1 (19 [95%]) and M2 (15 [75%], p=0·13). However, for the 17 patients who received non-intensive therapy, 16 (94%) of M1 clones had a response compared with ten [59%] of M2 clones (p=0·031). When examining clones within the same patient, 30 (68%) of 44 individual patients had different levels of responses within the M1 and M2 clones. One patient exhibited M2 progression to myeloma and subsequently died. Interpretation These results show that, in patients with biclonal gammopathy multiple myeloma, anti-multiple myeloma therapies exert a greater depth of response against multiple myeloma plasma cell clones than MGUS plasma cell clones. Although some MGUS clones exhibited a complete response, many did not respond, which suggests that the underlying features that render multiple myeloma plasma cells susceptible to therapy are present in only some MGUS plasma cell clones. To determine MGUS clone susceptibly to therapy, future studies might seek to identify, with biclonal gammopathy multiple myeloma as an investigative model, the genetic and epigenetic alterations that affect whether MGUS plasma cell clones are responsive to anti-multiple myeloma therapy. Funding National Institute of Health Research, Medical Research Council, and Cancer Research UK.

We measured immunosuppression at myeloma diagnosis and assessed the impact on survival in 5826 UK myeloma trial patients. Polyclonal immunoglobulin levels were below normal in 85% of patients and above normal in only 0.4% of cases for IgA, 0.2% for IgM and no cases for IgG. Immunoparesis had a greater impact in recent trials: median overall survival (OS) was up to 3 years longer for patients without immunoparesis compared to the old trials, less than 1 year longer. Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 39%, 36% and 57% longer for patients with normal IgG, IgA and IgM levels, respectively. The depth of IgM suppression, but not the depth of IgG or IgA suppression, was prognostic for survival: the most severely suppressed IgM tertile of patients OS was 0.9 years shorter than those in the top tertile, and 2.6 years shorter than OS of those with normal IgM levels (p = .007). The degree of suppression of polyclonal IgM levels below normal was associated with worse PFS (p = .0002). Infection does not appear to be the main mechanism through which immunoparesis affects survival. We hypothesise that IgM immunoparesis impacts through a combination of being associated with more aggressive disease and reduced immune surveillance against relapse.

There is a significant unmet need in effective therapy for relapsed myeloma patients once they become refractory to bortezomib and lenalidomide. While data from the front line setting suggest bendamustine is superior to melphalan, there is no information defining optimal bendamustine dose in multiply-treated patients. We report a multi-centre randomized two-stage phase 2 trial simultaneously assessing deliverability and activity of two doses of bendamustine (60 mg/m2 vs. 100 mg/m2) days 1 and 8, thalidomide (100 mg) days 1-21 and low dose dexamethasone (20 mg) days 1, 8, 15 and 22 of a 28-d cycle. Ninety-four relapsing patients were treated on trial, with a median three prior treatment lines. A pre-planned interim deliverability and activity assessment led to closure of the 100 mg/m2 arm due to excess cytopenias, and led to amendment of entry criteria for cytopenias. Non-haematological toxicities including thromboembolism and neurotoxicity were infrequent. In the 60 mg/m2 arm, treatment was deliverable in 61.1% subjects and the partial response rate was 46.3% in the study eligible population, with 7.5 months progression-free survival. This study demonstrates bendamustine at 60 mg/m2 twice per month with thalidomide and dexamethasone is deliverable for repeated cycles in heavily pre-treated myeloma patients and has substantial clinical activity.

Background: Early phase trials are essential in drug development, determining appropriate dose levels and assessing preliminary activity. These trials are undertaken by industry and academia, with increasing collaborations between the two. There is pressure to perform these trials quickly, safely, and robustly. However, there are inherent differences between developing and managing early phase, compared to late phase, drug trials. This article describes an approach to establishing an academically led early phase trial portfolio, highlighting lessons learned and sharing experiences. Methods: In 2009, the University of Leeds Clinical Trials Research Unit became the Clinical Trials Coordinating Office for Myeloma UK’s phase I and II trials. We embarked on a transition from working extensively in phase III to early phase trials development and conduct. This involved evaluating and revising our well-established standard operating procedures, visiting other academic early phase units, and developing essential new documentation and processes. Results: A core team of trial and data managers and statisticians was established to facilitate expertise and knowledge retention. A detailed training plan was implemented focussing on essential standard practices for early phase. These included pharmacovigilance, recruitment, trial design and set-up, data and site monitoring, and oversight committees. Training in statistical methods for early phase trials was incorporated. Conclusion: Initial scoping of early phase trial management and conduct was essential in establishing this early phase portfolio. Many of the processes developed were successful. However, regular review and evaluation were implemented to enable changes and ensure efficiencies. It is recommended that others embarking on this venture build on the experiences described in this article.

BackgroundThe conventional frontline therapy for fit patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and rituximab (FCR). Rituximab (Mabthera®, Roche Products Ltd) targets the CD20 antigen, which is expressed at low levels in CLL. The standard dose of rituximab in CLL (375 mg/m2in cycle 1 and 500 mg/m2in cycles 2–6) was selected based on toxicity data only. Small doses of rituximab (as low as 20 mg) have biological activity in CLL, with an immediate reduction in circulating CLL cells and down-regulation of CD20. Phase II trials had suggested improved efficacy with the addition of mitoxantrone to FCR. The key assumption for the Attenuated dose Rituximab with ChemoTherapy In CLL (ARCTIC) trial was that the addition of mitoxantrone to fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and low-dose rituximab would be more effective than conventional FCR.ObjectivesTo assess whether fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, mitoxantrone and low-dose rituximab (FCM-miniR) (100 mg of rituximab per cycle) was non-inferior to FCR in frontline CLL. Complete response (CR) rate was the primary end point, with the secondary end points being progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), overall response rate, eradication of minimal residual disease (MRD), safety and cost-effectiveness.DesignARCTIC was a UK multicentre, randomised, controlled, open, Phase IIB non-inferiority trial in previously untreated CLL. A total of 206 patients with previously untreated CLL who required treatment, according to the International Workshop on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia criteria, were to be randomised to FCR or FCM-miniR. There was an independent Data Monitoring and Ethics Committee (DMEC) with a pre-planned interim efficacy assessment on 103 participants.ResultsThe DMEC’s interim analysis led to early trial closure. Although the response rates in both arms were higher than anticipated, FCM-miniR had a lower CR rate than FCR. This was partly attributable to the higher toxicity associated with mitoxantrone. A total of 100 participants completed FCR, 79 completed FCM-miniR and 21 commenced FCM-miniR but switched to FCR following DMEC recommendations. The CR rate for participants receiving FCR was 76%, compared with 55% for FCM-miniR (adjusted odds ratio 0.37; 95% confidence interval 0.19 to 0.73). Key secondary end points also showed that FCR was superior, with more participants achieving MRD negativity (57% for FCR vs. 46% for FCM-miniR). More participants experienced a serious adverse reaction with FCM-miniR compared with FCR (50% vs. 41%). At a median of 37.3 months’ follow-up, the PFS and OS rates are good compared with previous studies, with no significant difference between the treatment arms. The economic analysis indicates that because FCM-miniR is less effective than FCR, FCM-miniR is not expected to be cost-effective over a lifetime horizon, producing a mean cost-saving of –£7723, a quality-adjusted life-year loss of –0.73 and a resulting incremental net monetary loss of –£6780.ConclusionsFCM-miniR is less well tolerated, with poorer response rates, than FCR, partly owing to the additional toxicity associated with mitoxantrone. In view of this, FCM-miniR will not be taken forward into a larger definitive Phase III trial. The trial demonstrated that oral FCR yields extremely high response rates compared with historical series with intravenous chemotherapy.Future workWe shall compare the results of ARCTIC with those of the ADMIRE (Does the ADdition of Mitoxantrone Improve Response to FCR chemotherapy in patients with CLL?) trial, which compared FCR with FCM-R to assess the efficacy of low- versus standard-dose rituximab, allowing for the toxicity associated with mitoxantrone.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN16544962.FundingThis project was funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full inHealth Technology Assessment; Vol. 21, No. 28. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

Summary Background Adjuvant use of bisphosphonates can reduce the incidence of bone metastases in early breast cancer. Recurrence and survival seem to be improved only in postmenopausal patients, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We investigated whether MAF amplification (a biomarker for bone metastasis) in primary tumours could predict the treatment outcomes of adjuvant zoledronic acid. Methods The study population included patients enrolled in the international, open-label, randomised, controlled, phase 3 AZURE trial at eligible UK sites who had stage II or III breast cancer and who gave consent for use of their primary tumour samples. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive standard adjuvant systemic therapy alone (control group) or with zoledronic acid every 3–4 weeks for six doses, then every 3–6 months until the end of 5 years. Minimisation took into account the number of involved axillary lymph nodes, clinical tumour stage, oestrogen-receptor status, type and timing of systemic therapy, menopausal status, statin use, and treating centre. The primary endpoint was disease-free survival; the secondary endpoint, invasive-disease-free survival, was the primary disease endpoint for the analysis in this report. MAF amplification was assessed by fluorescence in-situ hybridisation of two cores of breast tumour tissue in a microarray, done in a central laboratory by technicians unaware of treatment assignment. We used multivariate analyses to assess disease outcomes by intention to treat. We also assessed interactions between MAF -positive status and menopausal status on efficacy of zoledronic acid. The AZURE trial is registered with the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Registry, number ISRCTN79831382. Findings 1739 AZURE patients contributed primary tumour samples, of whom 865 (50%) had two assessable cores (445 in the control groups and 420 in the zoledronic acid group). 184 (21%) tumours were MAF positive (85 in the control groups and 99 in the zoledronic acid group) and the remaining tumours were MAF negative. At a median follow-up of 84·6 months (IQR 72·0–95·8), MAF status was not prognostic for invasive-disease-free survival in the control group ( MAF -positive vs MAF -negative: hazard ratio [HR] 0·92, 95% CI 0·59–1·41), but was in the zoledronic acid group (0·52, 0·36–0·75). In patients with MAF -negative tumours, zoledronic acid was associated with higher invasive-disease-free survival than was control treatment (HR 0·74, 95% CI 0·56–0·98), but not in patients who had MAF -positive tumours. Additionally, among 121 patients not postmenopausal at randomisation with MAF -positive tumours, zoledronic acid was associated with lower invasive-disease-free survival (HR 2·47, 95% CI 1·23–4·97) and overall survival (2·27, 95% CI 1·04–4·93) than control treatment. Interpretation MAF status can predict likelihood of benefit from adjuvant zoledronic acid and merits further investigation as a potential companion diagnostic. Funding Novartis Global and Inbiomotion.

Intraclonal heterogeneity was recently described in multiple myeloma (MM), but its full impact on disease progression and relapse has not been entirely explored. The immunoglobulin type produced by myeloma cells provides an excellent marker to follow changes in clonal substructure over time. We have prospectively evaluated serial paraprotein and serum free light chain (FLC) measurements and found that 258 of 520 and 54 of 520 patients who presented with a whole paraprotein relapsed with paraprotein only (PO) and "FLC escape," respectively. The median overall survival of PO patients was longer, when compared with patients whose relapse manifested as an increase in FLC both alone and with a whole paraprotein, as a result of a significantly shorter survival from relapse of the latter groups. These observations fit a model in which 1 clone is able to produce a complete antibody, whereas the other secretes only FLC; the type of relapse represents the outgrowth of different clones, some of which are more resistant to therapy. To our knowledge, this is the largest series describing patients who have relapsed with FLC escape and highlights the importance of monitoring FLC when there is a suspicion of clinical relapse. This study was registered at www.isrctn.org as ISRCTN68454111.

Bisphosphonates are recommended in patients with osteolytic lesions secondary to multiple myeloma. We report on the safety of bisphosphonate therapy with long-term follow-up in the Medical Research Council Myeloma IX study. Patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma were randomised to zoledronic acid (ZOL; 4 mg intravenously every 21-28 d) or clodronate (CLO; 1600 mg/d orally) plus chemotherapy. Among 1960 patients (5.9-year median follow-up), both bisphosphonates were well tolerated. Acute renal failure events were similar between groups (ZOL 5.2% vs. CLO 5.8% at 2 years; incidence plateaued thereafter). The overall incidence of confirmed osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) was low, but higher with ZOL (ZOL 3.7% vs. CLO 0.5%; P < 0.0001). ONJ events were generally low grade and most occurred between 8 and 30 months (median time to ONJ, 23.7 months). Among 10 patients with ONJ recovery data, four patients in the ZOL group completely recovered, two patients improved, and three patients experienced no improvement; one CLO patient experienced no improvement. Dental surgery or trauma preceded ONJ in six ZOL patients. The incidence of renal adverse events was similar for ZOL and CLO. ONJ incidence remained low and was lower with CLO compared to ZOL. We have seen no further ONJ cases to date.

Purpose: Epigenetic dysregulation is known to be an important contributor to myeloma pathogenesis but, unlike other B-cell malignancies, the full spectrum of somatic mutations in epigenetic modifiers has not been reported previously. We sought to address this using the results from whole-exome sequencing in the context of a large prospective clinical trial of newly diagnosed patients and targeted sequencing in a cohort of previously treated patients for comparison. Experimental Design: Whole-exome sequencing analysis of 463 presenting myeloma cases entered in the UK NCRI Myeloma XI study and targeted sequencing analysis of 156 previously treated cases from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (Little Rock, AR). We correlated the presence of mutations with clinical outcome from diagnosis and compared the mutations found at diagnosis with later stages of disease. Results: In diagnostic myeloma patient samples, we identify significant mutations in genes encoding the histone 1 linker protein, previously identified in other B-cell malignancies. Our data suggest an adverse prognostic impact from the presence of lesions in genes encoding DNA methylation modifiers and the histone demethylase KDM6A/UTX. The frequency of mutations in epigenetic modifiers appears to increase following treatment most notably in genes encoding histone methyltransferases and DNA methylation modifiers. Conclusions: Numerous mutations identified raise the possibility of targeted treatment strategies for patients either at diagnosis or relapse supporting the use of sequencing-based diagnostics in myeloma to help guide therapy as more epigenetic targeted agents become available. Clin Cancer Res; 22(23); 5783–94. ©2016 AACR.

Introduction Multi-agent induction chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) is a standard of care for younger patients with multiple myeloma, aimed at maximising the depth and duration of first response (PFS1). However, the duration of PFS1 is variable between patients. Improved understanding of how to identify high risk patients who relapse early and the ability to design strategies applicable to their biology represents the central aim of personalized medicine approaches for MM. This landmarked analysis of the Myeloma XI trial was designed to identify the characteristics of patients with PFS1 of less than a year after ASCT. Patients and methods In MXI patients were randomised to induction therapy with CTD (cyclophosphamide, thalidomide and dexamethasone) or RCD (lenalidomide, cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone) and +/- CVD (bortezomib, cyclophosphamide, dexamethasone) intensification in patients with Patients who completed ASCT were identified with very early relapse (PFS1 Results Of 1274 patients receiving ASCT: 178 (14%) relapsed within 12m and 1096 (86%) thereafter. There were higher rates of ≥VGPR in the PFS1≥12m group (70% vs 59%) and in both groups most patients responded at ≥PR (PFS1 Inferior outcomes continued for the PFS1 As PFS1 Discussion Nearly three quarters of those with PFS1 Disclosures Bygrave: Amgen: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria, Other: Travel Support; Janssen: Honoraria, Other: Travel support; Celgene: Honoraria, Other: Travel support, Research Funding. Pawlyn:Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel Support; Celgene Corporation: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel support; Takeda Oncology: Consultancy, Other: Travel support; Janssen: Honoraria, Other: Travel support. Davies:Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; MMRF: Honoraria; ASH: Honoraria; TRM Oncology: Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Consultancy. Cairns:Merck Sharp and Dohme: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding. Striha:MSD: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Abbvie: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding. Hockaday:Millenium: Research Funding; MSD: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding; Abbvie: Research Funding. Jones:Celgene: Honoraria, Other: Travel support, Research Funding. Kishore:Celgene: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria, Other: travel support. Garg:Amgen: Honoraria, Other: Travel Support; Takeda: Other: Travel Grant; Novartis: Other: travel support, Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria. Williams:Janssen: Honoraria, Other: Travel support, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Honoraria, Other: Travel Support, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Honoraria, Other: Travel support; Amgen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Karunanithi:Janssen: Other: Travel support, Research Funding; Celgene: Other: Travel support, Research Funding. Lindsay:Celgene: Honoraria, Other: Travel support; BMS: Consultancy, Other: Travel support; Takeda: Other: Travel support; Janssen: Consultancy; Novartis: Other: Travel support. Jenner:Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Chugai: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: travel support, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel support, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Cook:Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlycoMimetics, Celgene, Janssen and Takeda and Sanofi: Honoraria; Celgene, Janssen and Takeda: Research Funding. Drayson:Abingdon Health: Equity Ownership, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Owen:Takeda: Honoraria, Other: Travel Support; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Other: Travel support. Gregory:Janssen: Honoraria; Amgen: Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Merck Sharp and Dohme: Research Funding. Morgan:Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria; BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria. Jackson:Amgen: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria; Chugai: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria. Kaiser:Chugai: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Other: Travel support; Takeda: Consultancy, Other: Travel Support; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding.

INTRODUCTION Features of high risk myeloma (MM) have been studied in detail but patients with longer term responses to first-line therapy are less well characterised. Identification of common features of this group may support optimised management. Here we analysed clinical and genetic characteristics of long-term responders of 4,249 trial patients from the UK MRC Myeloma IX (M-IX) and NCRI Myeloma XI (M-XI) trials. PATIENTS AND METHODS In M-IX patients were randomised between alkylating therapy (CVAD or MP) and thalidomide-based induction therapy (CTD). M-XI patients were randomised between thalidomide and lenalidomide based induction (CTD vs CRD) and a response-based bortezomib (CVD) intensification. Fitter patients received HD-Mel+ASCT consolidation. Patients were then randomised to thalidomide (M-IX) or lenalidomide (M-XI) maintenance or observation. Trials included symptomatic, newly diagnosed patients based on CRAB criteria. This analysis included 1,921 My-IX and 2,328 My-XI patients with median follow-up of 73 and 61 months (m), respectively. Genetic profiling was available for 1,866 patients. Patients with a long-term response post induction (PFS≥48m) were identified and their baseline characteristics, responses and treatment compared to those with PFS RESULTS In M-IX, 283 (25.8%) of transplant-eligible (TE) patients had PFS ≥48m whereas 58 (7%) of transplant non-eligible (TNE) patients reached PFS≥48m. In M-XI 410 (34.2%) patients had PFS≥48m for TE and 116 (10.2%) for TNE. Extended progression free survival translated to overall survival (OS) benefit with a median post progression OS of 36.9m for PFS≥48m vs 16.7m for PFS Clinical factors including ISS I (P The proportion of patients with a high risk lesion (Adverse translocation, Gain(1q) or Del(17p)) were lower in the PFS≥48m group than The majority of patients with PFS ≥48m showed ≥VGPR after induction +/- consolidation: 211 (76.4%) and 340 (84%) of PFS ≥48m patients in the TE arms and 26 (49.1%) and 87 (76.3%) in the TNE arms of M-IX and M-XI, respectively. 86.7% of patients who achieved a ≥VGPR had a PFS ≥48m in the absence of high risk lesions compared to 72.8% with any high risk lesion present (P=0.004). Some patients with PFS≥48m had only reached PR after induction; 56 (20.3%) and 57 (14.1%) of PFS ≥48m patients in the TE arm and 15 (28.3%) and 24 (21.1%) in the TNE arms of M-IX and M-XI, respectively. Baseline factors that were associated with still being able to achieve PFS≥48m from induction after only achieving a PR included the lack of high risk genetic lesions (P CONCLUSIONS Response assessment after induction+/-HD-Mel consolidation with baseline factors can define a patient group with superior outcomes in both TE and TNE patients and may influence future treatment strategies of MM patients undergoing first line therapy. Further analyses including modelling of predictors of response duration are ongoing and will be presented at the conference. Disclosures Shah: Celgene: Other: Travel, Accommodation expenses; Sanofi: Other: Travel and Accommodation expenses. Striha:Janssen: Research Funding; Abbvie: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; MSD: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding. Hockaday:Celgene: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding; Abbvie: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; MSD: Research Funding; Millenium: Research Funding. Pawlyn:Celgene Corporation: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel support; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel Support; Janssen: Honoraria, Other: Travel support; Takeda Oncology: Consultancy, Other: Travel support. Jenner:Takeda: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Drayson:Abingdon Health: Equity Ownership, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Owen:Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Takeda: Honoraria, Other: Travel Support; Janssen: Consultancy, Other: Travel Support. Gregory:Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Merck Sharp and Dohme: Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria; Amgen: Research Funding. Morgan:Janssen: Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding. Davies:Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria. Cook:Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Seattle Genetics: Honoraria; Glycomimetics: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celgene Corporation: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Cairns:Celgene: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding; Merck Sharp and Dohme: Research Funding. Jackson:Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Merck Sharp and Dohme: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel Support, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel Support, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Kaiser:Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy, Other: travel support; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Chugai: Consultancy; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Other: travel support; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding.

Background Darwinian evolution drives multiple myeloma (MM) and leads to diversity both within and between patients. This suggests the need for combinations of agents with different mechanisms of action targeting sub-clonal populations to maximize the depth of response and improve outcomes. Approaches to maximize response pre-transplant include the use of sequential pre-transplant consolidation with a different agent in sub-optimal responders or intensifying upfront combinations whilst aiming to minimize additional toxicities. Carfilzomib is a novel irreversible inhibitor of the proteasome that has been suggested to have greater activity than bortezomib, with deeper responses and improved outcomes. The Myeloma XI phase III randomized trial for newly diagnosed MM patients compared intensified induction with the quadruplet KCRD vs a response adapted approach of sequential triplet therapies for transplant-eligible MM patients. Methods KCRD was given in 28 day cycles (carfilzomib (K) 36mg/m2 IV d1-2, 8-9,15-16 (20mg/m2 #1d1-2), cyclophosphamide (C) 500mg PO d1,8, lenalidomide (R) 25mg PO d1-21, dexamethasone (D) 40mg PO d1-4,8-9,15-16), CRD in 28 day cycles (C 500mg PO d1,8, R 25mg PO d1-21, D 40mg PO d1-4, 12-15) or CTD in 21 day cycles (C 500mg PO d1,8,15 thalidomide (T) 100-200mg PO daily, D 40mg PO d1-4,12-15). All induction regimens were continued for a minimum of 4 cycles and to maximum response. Suboptimal responders (MR/PR) to CTD/CRD were randomized between pre-transplant intensification with a proteasome inhibitor (bortezomib, CVD) containing triplet or no further therapy prior to ASCT, patients with refractory disease (SD/PD) all received CVD. For all patients a maintenance randomization 3 months post ASCT compared lenalidomide given to disease progression to observation. Cytogenetic data, centrally analyzed, was available for a representative subset of patients. High-risk was classified as presence of t(4;14), t(14;16), t(14;20), del(17p) or gain(1q) and ultra-high risk the presence of more than one lesion. 1056 patients underwent induction randomization between December 2013 and April 2016 and were allocated to CTD n=265, CRD n=265, KCRD n=526. The groups were well matched across baseline variables with median age 61 (range 33-75). The median follow up for this analysis is 34.5 months. The independent data monitoring and ethics committee recommended immediate release of the data following an interim analysis. Results Intention to treat analysis of the initial induction regimens found that KCRD was associated with a significantly longer PFS than triplet therapy (HR 0.63, 95%CI 0.51, 0.76, median PFS KCRD NR vs CTD/CRD 36.2 months, p All regimens were well tolerated with no significant additional toxicity due to the quadruplet regimen. KCRD was administered for a median of 4 cycles, CRD 5 cycles and CTD 6 cycles. Grade 3+ neutropenia occurred in 16.4% KCRD, 22.3% CRD and 12.8% CTD patients and thrombocytopenia in 8.4% KCRD, 2.3% CRD and 1.2% CTD patients. A higher proportion of patients receiving KCRD induction were able to undergo ASCT than those who received response-adapted induction. In an analysis restricted to those who had completed ASCT, KCRD induction was still associated with a significantly longer PFS. An exploratory analysis compared the patients receiving KCRD to patients in the CTD/CRD arm who had received the optimum response-adapted approach (i.e. excluding those randomized to no CVD following MR/PR). The quadruplet was associated with significantly longer PFS than using a response adapted sequential triplet approach (HR 0.64, 95% CI 0.52, 0.78, p Conclusions This large randomized study of a carfilzomib containing quadruplet combination, KCRD, demonstrates that it is well tolerated and associated with deep responses both pre- and post-transplant and has a significant PFS and PFS2 benefit compared to triplet therapy. The benefit of upfront intensification of treatment persisted even compared to triplets administered sequentially and including exposure to both lenalidomide and bortezomib. On behalf of the NCRI Haem-oncology CSG Disclosures Jackson: Merck Sharp and Dohme: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel Support, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel Support, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Davies:Takeda: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Consultancy; ASH: Honoraria; MMRF: Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; TRM Oncology: Honoraria. Pawlyn:Janssen: Honoraria, Other: Travel support; Celgene Corporation: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel support; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel Support; Takeda Oncology: Consultancy, Other: Travel support. Cairns:Merck Sharp and Dohme: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding. Striha:Amgen: Research Funding; Abbvie: Research Funding; MSD: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding. Hockaday:MSD: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding; Abbvie: Research Funding; Millenium: Research Funding. Collett:Amgen: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Merck Sharp and Dohme: Research Funding. Jones:Celgene: Honoraria, Other: Travel support, Research Funding. Kishore:Takeda: Honoraria, Other: travel support; Celgene: Honoraria. Garg:Novartis: Other: travel support, Research Funding; Amgen: Honoraria, Other: Travel Support; Janssen: Honoraria; Takeda: Other: Travel Grant. Williams:Amgen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria, Other: travel support, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Honoraria, Other: travel support, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Honoraria, Other: travel support, Speakers Bureau. Karunanithi:Janssen: Other: Travel support, Research Funding; Celgene: Other: Travel support, Research Funding. Lindsay:Takeda: Other: Travel support; BMS: Consultancy, Other: Travel support; Janssen: Consultancy; Celgene: Honoraria, Other: Travel support; Novartis: Other: Travel support. Jenner:Celgene: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Cook:Celgene Corporation: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Seattle Genetics: Honoraria; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Glycomimetics: Consultancy, Honoraria; Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Russell:Jazz Pharma: Speakers Bureau; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Kaiser:Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Other: travel support; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy, Other: travel support; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Chugai: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding. Drayson:Abingdon Health: Equity Ownership, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Owen:Janssen: Consultancy, Other: Travel support; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Takeda: Honoraria, Other: Travel Support. Gregory:Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria; Amgen: Research Funding; Merck Sharp and Dohme: Research Funding. Morgan:Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding.

Introduction The introduction of novel drugs has resulted in better outcome in Multiple Myeloma (MM). Disease progression, however, remains a major problem in the majority of patients. Recently, checkpoint inhibitor therapies have been applied, but T cell-mediated control is still poorly understood in MM. Parameters that control local anti-tumour immunity include, among others: presence of immune effector and suppressor cells; immune and metabolic checkpoints; and antigen presentation. These parameters are defined by unique immune markers, and recent technical advances have boosted typing of tumours according to these markers. We set out to evaluate whether overall survival in a large cohort of MM patients is associated with different categories of T cell evasion using transcriptomic analysis. Methods In the current study, we have analyzed gene expression data from 8 large MM trials, with a total number of 1654 patients. The HOVON65/GMMG-HD4, UAMS-TT2, MRC-IX non-intensive, and APEX trials represented a discovery set (1045 patients), whereas the HOVON87/NMSG18, MRC-IX intensive, UAMS-TT3, and UAMS-TT6 trials represented a validation set (609 patients). We defined gene sets for 7 categories of T cell evasion, including: presence of immune suppressor cells, immune checkpoints (and their ligands), metabolic checkpoints, stromal cells and their products, compromised antigen presentation, tumor cell death, and occurrence of oncogenic pathways. Gene expression analysis from pre-treatment bone marrow samples, purified for plasma cells followed 2 stages: first, we obtained ridge regression Cox models for overall survival (OS) for sets of genes that represent T cell evasion in the discovery set which were applied to the validation set; second, we tested each individual gene per gene set versus OS in Cox regression analysis. Bonferroni-Holm multiple testing adjustments were applied. For multivariate analyses age and ISS were included, which were available for all sets, except the TT6 trial. Results Gene models were trained for each gene set in the discovery set. Six models (all except antigen presentation) reached a significant association when applied to the validation set and were used for downstream analyses. The adjusted p values in the multivariate models are: immune checkpoints (and ligands) p= 6.5x10-6, cell death p = 1.9x10-5, oncogenic signaling p = 3.3x10-5, stromal cells and their products p = 3.8x10-5, metabolic checkpoints p = 0. 011, and immune suppressor cells p = 0.020. Analysing individual genes resulted in 34 genes that showed a significant association with OS in the discovery cohort and a remaining 7 genes in the validation cohort. These genes predominantly belonged to the family of immune checkpoint ligands. These genes were VISTA (HR 0.71; CI 0.62-0.82), CD40 (HR 0.75; CI 0.63-0.88), HVEM (HR 0.81; CI 0.71-0.92) and PDL1 (HR 0.78; CI 0.69-0.92). Notably, in a multivariate model, VISTA came out as an independent prognostic marker with a hazard ratio (HR): 0.72 [CI: 0.61-0.83]. Conclusion Immune transcriptomic analysis in a large cohort of patients reveals that OS in MM patients is related to expression of T cell co-signaling ligands, such as VISTA, CD40, HVEM, and PDL1. The expression of the checkpoint molecule VISTA remained independently associated with OS. In addition, another 5 categories of T cell evasion were shown to be significantly related to OS in both a discovery and validation set of patients. Collectively, these results stress the important role of T cell-mediated control of tumor cells in MM patients, and urge for a more detailed analysis in subgroups and individual patients in order to select the most effective (combination) therapies. Disclosures Zweegman: Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Celgene Corp.: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Gregory:Merck Sharp and Dohme: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria. Sonneveld:Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Amgen: Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria, Research Funding; Karyopharm: Honoraria, Research Funding; BMS: Honoraria, Research Funding.

Significant benefits for zoledronic acid (ZOL) over clodronate acid (CLO) were seen in the Medical Research Council Myeloma IX randomized trial. ZOL significantly reduced skeletal-related events (SREs), and improved progression-free survival and overall survival (OS), making it the bisphosphonate of choice for newly diagnosed myeloma patients. In this analysis of Myeloma IX data, we have investigated the impact of response on bone disease in 1111 transplant-eligible patients. At posttransplant day 100, complete response (CR) was seen in 48% of patients, very good partial response (VGPR) in 20%, and partial response (PR) in 23%. For patients in VGPR or less, ZOL was superior to CLO in reducing SREs (P = .048), whereas for patients in CR, both agents were equivalent (P = .83). For OS, ZOL was associated with a significant benefit in patients in PR (P = .0091). No difference in OS was seen with patients in CR (P = .91) or VGPR (P = .74). These findings indicate that response category posttransplant may influence the impact of bisphosphonate therapy.

Objectives To evaluate our clinical experience with percutaneous image-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of 200 renal tumours in a large tertiary referral university institution. Patients and Methods Image-guided RFA (ultrasonography or computed tomography [CT]) of 200 renal tumours in 165 patients from June 2004 to 2012 was prospectively evaluated. Institutional Review Board approval was granted. The treatment response and technical success were defined by absence of contrast enhancement within the tumour on contrast enhanced CT or magnetic resonance imaging. Both major and minor complications, glomerular filtration rate (GFR) before and after RFA, the management and outcomes of the complications, as well as oncological outcome were prospectively documented. Multivariate analysis was used to determine variables associated with major complications and also the percentage GFR change after RFA. The overall (OS), 5-year cancer-specific (CSS), local recurrence-free (LRFS) and metastasis-free survival (MFS) rates are presented using the Kaplan–Meier curves. Results In all, 200 tumours were RF ablated with a mean (range) tumour size of 2.9 (1–5.6) cm and the mean (range) patient age was 67.7 (21–88.6) years with a mean follow-up period of 46.1 months. The primary technical and overall technical success rate was 95.5% and 98.5%, respectively. Two independent predictors of successful RFA in a single sitting were tumour size (25% decreased in GFR. In all, 161 (98%) patients of the 165 patients have preservation of renal function. Any change in renal function after RFA was not influenced by tumour factors or solitary kidney status. In our clinical series, this yielded a 5-year OS, CSS, LRFS and MFS rates of 75.8%, 97.9%, 93.5% and 87.7% respectively. Conclusions Image-guided RFA is a safe, nephron sparing and effective treatment for small renal cell carcinoma (RCC) tumours with a low rate of recurrence and has good 5-year CSS and MFS rates.

Metastasis to bone, and indeed potentially to other sites, results from the numerous interactions between cancer cells, haematopoietic stem cells and normal bone cells within the bone marrow microenvironment. These interactions are in turn influenced by multiple endocrine, paracrine and physical factors. Bone-targeted treatments may modify the course of the disease via both direct and indirect inhibitory effects on this "vicious cycle" of growth factor and cytokine signalling between tumour and bone cells. Improvements in both disease free (DFS) and overall survival in women with early breast cancer have been demonstrated in several large randomised adjuvant trials of oral clodronate and intravenous zoledronic acid. The evidence for a beneficial impact on disease outcome is particularly strong in patients with low levels of reproductive hormones, including pre-menopausal women receiving ovarian suppression therapy and those who have passed through menopause at the time of diagnosis. A recent meta-analysis of postmenopausal women treated with adjuvant bisphosphonates showed an 18% improvement in DFS (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.82; 95%CI 0.74-0.92, 2P =

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a heterogeneous disease. International Staging System/fluorescence hybridization (ISS/FISH)-based model and gene expression profiles (GEP) are effective approaches to define clinical outcome, although yet to be improved. The discovery of a class of small non-coding RNAs (micro RNAs, miRNAs) has revealed a new level of biological complexity underlying the regulation of gene expression. In this work, 163 presenting samples from MM patients were analysed by global miRNA profiling, and distinct miRNA expression characteristics in molecular subgroups with prognostic relevance (4p16, MAF and 11q13 translocations) were identified. Furthermore we developed an "outcome classifier", based on the expression of two miRNAs (MIR17 and MIR886-5p), which is able to stratify patients into three risk groups (median OS 19.4, 40.6 and 65.3 months, P = 0.001). The miRNA-based classifier significantly improved the predictive power of the ISS/FISH approach (P = 0.0004), and was independent of GEP-derived prognostic signatures (P < 0.002). Through integrative genomics analysis, we outlined the potential biological relevance of the miRNAs included in the classifier and their putative roles in regulating a large number of genes involved in MM biology. This is the first report showing that miRNAs can be built into molecular diagnostic strategies for risk stratification in MM.

Purpose We investigated whether microRNA expression data from glioblastoma could be used to produce a profile that defines a bevacizumab responsive group of patients. Patients and methods TCGA microRNA expression data from tumors resected at first diagnosis of glioblastoma in patients treated with bevacizumab at any time during the course of their disease were randomly separated into training (n = 50) and test (n = 37) groups for model generation. MicroRNA-seq data for 51 patients whose treatment included bevacizumab in the BELOB trial were used as an independent validation cohort. Results Using penalized regression we identified 8 microRNAs as potential predictors of overall survival in the training set. We dichotomized the response score based on the most prognostic minimum of a density plot of the response scores (log-rank HR = 0.16, p = 1.2e−5) and validated the profile in the test cohort (one-sided log-rank HR = 0.34, p = 0.026). Analysis of the profile using all samples in the TCGA glioblastoma dataset, regardless of treatment received, (n = 473) showed that the prediction of patient benefit was not significant (HR = 0.84, p = 0.083) suggesting the profile is specific to bevacizumab. Further independent validation of our microRNA profile in RNA-seq data from patients treated with bevacizumab (alone or in combination with CCNU) at glioblastoma recurrence in the BELOB trial confirmed that our microRNA profile predicted patient benefit from bevacizumab (HR = 0.59, p = 0.043). Conclusion We have identified and validated an 8-microRNA profile that predicts overall survival in patients with glioblastoma treated with bevacizumab. This may be useful for identifying patients who are likely to benefit from this agent.

Purpose/Objective(s) Randomized controlled trials for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the anus have been successfully performed, despite the rarity of the disease. The RTOG 9811 and ACT2 trials demonstrated no improvement in cancer outcomes when neoadjuvant or adjuvant cisplatin 5FU chemotherapy was used. To capture as many anal cancer patients as possible in future clinical trials, we developed an umbrella of trials testing efficacy and acceptable morbidity across different loco-regional risk strata. Materials/Methods We formed a network of UK and international multi-disciplinary trialists and identified the following priorities:- i] the need for national consensus guidance for the introduction of intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) based on the successful principles and fractionation used in the ACT2 protocol prior to future trials; ii] to evaluate a strategy using selective chemoradiation therapy (CRT) after local excision of anal margin tumors; iii] to evaluate reduced dose CRT to the primary tumor in order to limit late effects whilst maintaining elective nodal irradiation in early stage disease; iv] to evaluate dose escalated CRT in locally advanced T3/4 and N+ stage disease. Results The PLATO (personalizing radiotherapy dose in anal cancer) umbrella trial comprising of the ACT3, 4 and 5 trials is funded by Cancer Research UK and is due to commence recruitment in Q3 2016.The ACT 3 trial (n = 90) is a non-randomized phase II study that will evaluate a strategy of local excision for T1N0 anal margin tumors with selective postoperative involved field CRT using 41.4 Gy in 23 fractions (F) and concurrent capecitabine reserved for patients with margins

Summary Background Panobinostat (a pan histone deacetylase inhibitor) is approved in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone for patients with relapsed multiple myeloma who have received two or more previous lines of therapy. We aimed to improve the safety of this combination and investigate efficacy by incorporating low-dose thalidomide, using sub-cutaneous weekly bortezomib, and determining the maximum tolerated dose of panobinostat in this regimen. Methods We did a phase 1/2, multicentre, open-label trial (MUK six) at four hospitals in the UK, enrolling patients with relapsed, or relapsed and refractory, multiple myeloma aged at least 18 years, with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 2 or less who had previously received 1–4 lines of therapy. Exclusion criteria included any antimyeloma treatment within 28 days of study drugs (except dexamethasone 160 mg >48 h before treatment). We used a rolling six escalation design to determine the maximum tolerated dose of panobinostat, and allocated patients to receive subcutaneous bortezomib 1·3 mg/m 2 , and oral thalidomide 100 mg, dexamethasone 20 mg, and panobinostat 10, 15, or 20 mg (escalated to 20 mg according to the escalation schedule). Treatment was given during a 21-day cycle (bortezomib on days 1 and 8; thalidomide every day; dexamethasone on days 1, 2, 8, and 9; and panobinostat on days 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, and 12) for 16 cycles in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients were permitted to come off study for autologous stem cell transplantation. The primary objective was to determine the maximum tolerated dose and recommended dose of panobinostat, and to estimate the proportion of patients with an overall response that was equal to a partial response or greater within 16 cycles of treatment at the recommended panobinostat dose in the modified intention-to-treat population. We assessed safety in all patients who received a trial drug (ie, bortezomib, thalidomide, dexamethasone, or panobinostat). This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02145715, and with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN59395590 and is closed to recruitment. Findings Between Jan 31, 2013, and Oct 30, 2014, we enrolled 57 eligible patients who received at least one dose of trial medication or any drug. One dose-limiting toxicity was reported (grade 3 hyponatremia at the 20 mg dose), therefore the maximum tolerated dose was not reached, and 20 mg was deemed to be the recommended dose. 46 patients were treated with panobinostat 20 mg (the intention-to-treat population). 42 patients (91%, 80% CI 83·4–96·2) of 46 achieved the primary endpoint of an overall response that was equal to a partial response or greater. Most adverse events were grade 1–2 with few occurrences of grade 3–4 diarrhoea or fatigue. The most common adverse events of grade 3 or worse in the safety population (n=57) were reduced neutrophil count (15 [26%]), hypophosphatemia (11 [19%]), and decreased platelet count (8 [14%]). 46 serious adverse events were reported in 27 patients; of 14 suspected to be related to the trial medication, seven (50%) were gastrointestinal disorders. Interpretation Panobinostat 20 mg in combination with bortezomib, thalidomide, and dexamethasone is an efficacious and well tolerated regimen for patients with relapsed multiple myeloma. Funding Novartis and Myeloma UK.

Stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is potentially curable, and surgery is considered to be the standard of care for patients with good performance status and minimal co-morbidity. However, a significant proportion of patients with stage I NSCLC have a poorer performance status and significant medical co-morbidity that make them at higher risk of morbidity and mortality from surgery. Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR), which uses modern radiotherapeutic techniques to deliver large doses of radiation, has shown superiority over conventional radiotherapy in terms of local control and toxicity and is a standard of care for patients with stage I NSCLC who are at too high risk for surgery. However, it is not known whether surgery or SABR is the most effective in patients with stage I NSCLC who are suitable for surgery but are less fit and at higher risk surgical complications. Previous randomised studies have failed to recruit in this setting, and therefore, a feasibility study is required to see whether a full randomised control trial would be possible. SABRTooth is a UK-based, multi-centre, open-label, two-group individually (1:1) randomised controlled feasibility study in patients with peripheral stage I NSCLC considered to be at higher risk from surgical resection. The study will assess the feasibility of conducting a definitive large-scale phase III trial. The primary objective is to assess recruitment rates to provide evidence that, when scaled up, recruitment to a large phase III trial would be possible; the target recruitment being 54 patients in total, over a 21-month period. There are multiple secondary and exploratory objectives designed to explore the optimum recruitment and data collection strategies to help optimise the design of a future phase III trial. To know whether SABR is a better, equivalent or inferior alternative to surgery for higher risk patients is a key question in lung cancer. Other studies comparing SABR to surgery have closed early due to poor recruitment, and therefore, the SABRTooth feasibility study has been designed around the UK National Health Service (NHS) cancer pathway incorporating many design features in order to maximise recruitment for a future definitive phase III trial. controlled-trials.com ISRCTN13029788

With immunochemotherapy, remission duration and survival in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia is dependent on the level of minimal residual disease (MRD) after treatment. This phase II trial assessed alemtuzumab consolidation post-chemotherapy in patients who responded with persistent low levels of detectable disease. Blood was screened for MRD using multi-parameter flow cytometry, 6-24 months post-chemotherapy. MRD-positive participants received alemtuzumab 30 mg subcutaneously 3 times weekly for 6 weeks. Following a marrow assessment, MRD-negative participants or non-responders stopped therapy and MRD-positive participants with 1 + log reduction had 6 more weeks of alemtuzumab. Alemtuzumab consolidation was received by 47 participants. One death and 19 of 22 serious adverse events reported from 17 (36%) participants were alemtuzumab-related. MRD eradication from blood and bone marrow was achieved in 39 (83%) participants at the end of consolidation, with 18 (38%) remaining MRD-negative in the blood 6 months later. Of the 18 participants who were MRD-negative at 6 months, the median time to MRD relapse was 46 months, which was similar to patients who were MRD-negative at baseline and were followed up. The 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of participants who were MRD-negative at 6 months was significantly better than MRD-positive participants [PFS: 78% vs. 39% (P = 0·010), OS: 89% vs. 64% (P = 0·029)].

Minimal residual disease (MRD) is a powerful determinant of overall outcome in multiple myeloma (MM). Previous studies have demonstrated that the presence of MRD at the traditional day 100 assessment point following autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) independently predicts for both progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS). This effect on outcome is demonstrable in patients achieving a complete response (CR) and in those with both high-risk and standard-risk cytogenetics.1–4 As a consequence, MRD assessment is currently being considered as a surrogate end point for survival in academic clinical trials and for regulatory drug approval.5,6 Surrogate end points are clearly desirable in MM given the increasing complexity of treatment schedules and continually improving complete response rates and survival, such that trials of up-front therapy require 5–10 years of follow up in order to demonstrate survival differences. Acceptance of MRD as an appropriate end point would also ideally require the demonstration that this effect was independent of the treatment received. We have, therefore, assessed the impact of induction regimen and MRD on outcome in the context of the Medical Research Council (MRC) Myeloma IX trial (ISRCTN68454111). MRC Myeloma IX was a multi-center, randomized phase III trial with protocol and clinical results previously reported.7,8 All patients provided written informed consent. This analysis involves 397 patients randomly assigned to CTD (cyclophosphamide, thalidomide, and dexamethasone; n=189) or CVAD (cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, and dexamethasone; n=208) for 4–6 cycles, then high-dose melphalan (HDM, 200 mg/m2) and ASCT. Bone marrow (BM) aspirates for MRD assessment were obtained at the end of induction (n=252) and at day 100 post ASCT (n=397). Patients were then randomly assigned to maintenance thalidomide (50–100 mg daily) or no further therapy. Flow cytometry for MRD detection was performed as reported previously. Briefly, we assessed 500,000 cells incubated with 6-color antibody combinations including CD138/CD38/CD45/CD19 with CD56/CD27 in all cases and CD81/CD117 in some cases as required.3 Statistical analyses were landmarked from date of MRD assessment, with a median follow up of 71 months. Fisher’s exact test was used to perform between-group comparisons and survival (OS and PFS) was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier and the log rank tests with a 5% significance level. We have previously reported that the CTD regimen showed superior categorical response rates to CVAD. Overall response rate was 82.5%: CTD versus 71.2% with CVAD (P

Altres ajuts: The study is funded by Myeloma UK, who receive funding from Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc., a subsidiary of Amgen Inc. Multiple myeloma is a plasma cell tumour with an annual incidence in the UK of approximately 40-50 per million i.e. about 4500 new cases per annum. The triple combination cyclophosphamide, bortezomib (Velcade®) and dexamethasone (CVD) is an effective regimen at relapse and has emerged in recent years as the standard therapy at first relapse in the UK. Carfilzomib has good activity as a single agent in the relapsed setting, and it is expected that efficacy will be improved when used in combination with dexamethasone and cyclophosphamide. MUK Five is a phase II open label, randomised, controlled, parallel group, multi-centre trial that will compare the activity of carfilzomib, cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone (CCD) with that of CVD, given over an equivalent treatment period (24 weeks), in participants with multiple myeloma at first relapse, or refractory to no more than 1 line of treatment. In addition, the study also aims to assess the utility of a maintenance schedule of carfilzomib in these participants. The primary objective of the trial is to assess whether CCD provides non-inferior activity in terms of ≥ VGPR rates at 24 weeks, and whether the addition of maintenance treatment with carfilzomib to CCD provides superior activity in terms of progression-free survival, as compared to CCD with no maintenance. Secondary objectives include comparing toxicity profiles, further summarizing and comparing the activity of the different treatment arms and analysis of the effect of each treatment arm on minimal residual disease status. The development of carfilzomib offers the opportunity to further explore the anti-tumour efficacy of proteasome inhibition and, based on the available evidence, it is important and timely to obtain data on the activity, toxicity and tolerability of this drug. In contrast to ongoing phase III trials, this phase II trial has a unique subset of participants diagnosed with multiple myeloma at first relapse or refractory to no more than 1 line of treatment and will also evaluate the utility of maintenance with carfilzomib for up to 18 months and investigate minimal residual disease status to provide information on depth of response and the prognostic impact thereof. The trial is registered under , December 2012.