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BACKGROUND: The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO)-Magnitude of Clinical Benefit Scale (MCBS) has been accepted as a robust tool to evaluate the magnitude of clinical benefit reported in trials for oncological therapies. However, the ESMO-MCBS hitherto has only been validated for solid tumours. With the rapid development of novel therapies for haematological malignancies, we aimed to develop an ESMO-MCBS version that is specifically designed and validated for haematological malignancies. METHODS: ESMO and the European Hematology Association (EHA) initiated a collaboration to develop a version for haematological malignancies (ESMO-MCBS:H). The process incorporated five landmarks: field testing of the ESMO-MCBS version 1.1 (v1.1) to identify shortcomings specific to haematological diseases, drafting of the ESMO-MCBS:H forms, peer review and revision of the draft based on re-scoring (resulting in a second draft), assessment of reasonableness of the scores generated, final review and approval by ESMO and EHA including executive boards. RESULTS: Based on the field testing results of 80 haematological trials and extensive review for feasibility and reasonableness, five amendments to ESMO-MCBS were incorporated in the ESMO-MCBS:H addressing the identified shortcomings. These concerned mainly clinical trial endpoints that differ in haematology versus solid oncology and the very indolent nature of nevertheless incurable diseases such as follicular lymphoma, which hampers presentation of mature data. In addition, general changes incorporated in the draft version of the ESMO-MCBS v2 were included, and specific forms for haematological malignancies generated. Here we present the final approved forms of the ESMO-MCBS:H, including instructions. CONCLUSION: The haematology-specific version ESMO-MCBS:H allows now full applicability of the scale for evaluating the magnitude of clinical benefit derived from clinical studies in haematological malignancies.

Background: Several commercial and academic autologous chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) products targeting CD19 have been approved in Europe for relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, high-grade B-cell lymphoma and mantle cell lymphoma. Products for other diseases such as multiple myeloma and follicular lymphoma are likely to be approved by the European Medicines Agency in the near future. Design: The European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT)-Joint Accreditation Committee of ISCT and EBMT (JACIE) and the European Haematology Association collaborated to draft best practice recommendations based on the current literature to support health care professionals in delivering consistent, high-quality care in this rapidly moving field. Results: Thirty-six CAR-T experts (medical, nursing, pharmacy/laboratory) assembled to draft recommendations to cover all aspects of CAR-T patient care and supply chain management, from patient selection to long-term follow-up, post- authorisation safety surveillance and regulatory issues. Conclusions: We provide practical, clinically relevant recommendations on the use of these high- cost, logistically complex therapies for haematologists/oncologists, nurses and other stakeholders including pharmacists and health sector administrators involved in the delivery of CAR-T in the clinic. Keywords: B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B ALL) ; CAR T-cells ; cytokine release syndrome (CRS) ; immune effector cell associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) ; large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) ; multiple myeloma (MM).

Aim: Evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and health utility impact of single-agent selinexor in heavily pretreated patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Patients & methods: Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT)-Lymphoma and EuroQoL five-dimensions five-levels data collected in the single-arm Phase IIb trial SADAL (NCT02227251) were analyzed with mixed-effects models. Results: Treatment responders maintained higher FACT-Lymphoma (p ≤ 0.05), FACT-General (p < 0.05) and EuroQoL five-dimensions five-levels index scores (p < 0.001) beginning in cycle 3. The estimated difference in health state utilities for treatment response and progressive disease was both statistically significant and clinically meaningful (mean difference: 0.07; p = 0.001). Conclusion: In patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, objective response to selinexor was associated with HRQoL maintenance, reduction in disease-related HRQoL decrements and higher health utilities. © 2021 Patrick Daniele.

Leukemic stem cells (LSCs) are an emerging target of curative anti-leukemia therapy. In acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), LSCs frequently express CD34 and often lack CD38. However, little is known about markers and targets expressed in ALL LSCs. We have examined marker- and target expression profiles in CD34+/CD38- LSCs in patients with Ph+ ALL (n = 22) and Ph- ALL (n = 27) by multi-color flow cytometry and qPCR. ALL LSCs expressed CD19 (B4), CD44 (Pgp-1), CD123 (IL-3RA), and CD184 (CXCR4) in all patients tested. Moreover, in various subgroups of patients, LSCs also displayed CD20 (MS4A1) (10/41 = 24%), CD22 (12/20 = 60%), CD33 (Siglec-3) (20/48 = 42%), CD52 (CAMPATH-1) (17/40 = 43%), IL-1RAP (13/29 = 45%), and/or CD135 (FLT3) (4/20 = 20%). CD25 (IL-2RA) and CD26 (DPPIV) were expressed on LSCs in Ph+ ALL exhibiting BCR/ABL1p210, whereas in Ph+ ALL with BCR/ABL1p190, LSCs variably expressed CD25 but did not express CD26. In Ph- ALL, CD34+/CD38- LSCs expressed IL-1RAP in 6/18 patients (33%), but did not express CD25 or CD26. Normal stem cells stained negative for CD25, CD26 and IL-1RAP, and expressed only low amounts of CD52. In xenotransplantation experiments, CD34+/CD38- and CD34+/CD38+ cells engrafted NSG mice after 12-20 weeks, and targeting with antibodies against CD33 and CD52 resulted in reduced engraftment. Together, LSCs in Ph+ and Ph- ALL display unique marker- and target expression profiles. In Ph+ ALL with BCR/ABL1p210, the LSC-phenotype closely resembles the marker-profile of CD34+/CD38- LSCs in chronic myeloid leukemia, confirming the close biologic relationship of these neoplasms. Targeting of LSCs with specific antibodies or related immunotherapies may facilitate LSC eradication in ALL.