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- Moreau, Philippe, et al.
(author)
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Oral Ixazomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone for multiple myeloma
- 2016
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In: New England Journal of Medicine. - 0028-4793 .- 1533-4406. ; 374:17, s. 1621-1634
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND Ixazomib is an oral proteasome inhibitor that is currently being studied for the treatment of multiple myeloma. METHODS In this double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial, we randomly assigned 722 patients who had relapsed, refractory, or relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma to receive ixazomib plus lenalidomide-dexamethasone (ixazomib group) or placebo plus lenalidomide-dexamethasone (placebo group). The primary end point was progression-free survival. RESULTS Progression-free survival was significantly longer in the ixazomib group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 14.7 months (median progression-free survival, 20.6 months vs. 14.7 months; hazard ratio for disease progression or death in the ixazomib group, 0.74; P = 0.01); a benefit with respect to progression-free survival was observed with the ixazomib regimen, as compared with the placebo regimen, in all prespecified patient subgroups, including in patients with high-risk cytogenetic abnormalities. The overall rates of response were 78% in the ixazomib group and 72% in the placebo group, and the corresponding rates of complete response plus very good partial response were 48% and 39%. The median time to response was 1.1 months in the ixazomib group and 1.9 months in the placebo group, and the corresponding median duration of response was 20.5 months and 15.0 months. At a median follow-up of approximately 23 months, the median overall survival has not been reached in either study group, and follow-up is ongoing. The rates of serious adverse events were similar in the two study groups (47% in the ixazomib group and 49% in the placebo group), as were the rates of death during the study period (4% and 6%, respectively); adverse events of at least grade 3 severity occurred in 74% and 69% of the patients, respectively. Thrombocytopenia of grade 3 and grade 4 severity occurred more frequently in the ixazomib group (12% and 7% of the patients, respectively) than in the placebo group (5% and 4% of the patients, respectively). Rash occurred more frequently in the ixazomib group than in the placebo group (36% vs. 23% of the patients), as did gastrointestinal adverse events, which were predominantly low grade. The incidence of peripheral neuropathy was 27% in the ixazomib group and 22% in the placebo group (grade 3 events occurred in 2% of the patients in each study group). Patient-reported quality of life was similar in the two study groups. CONCLUSIONS The addition of ixazomib to a regimen of lenalidomide and dexamethasone was associated with significantly longer progression-free survival; the additional toxic effects with this all-oral regimen were limited.
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2. |
- Ray, Arghya, et al.
(author)
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A novel alkylating agent Melflufen induces irreversible DNA damage and cytotoxicity in multiple myeloma cells
- 2016
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In: British Journal of Haematology. - : Wiley. - 0007-1048 .- 1365-2141. ; 174:3, s. 397-409
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Our prior study utilized both invitro and invivo multiple myeloma (MM) xenograft models to show that a novel alkylator melphalan-flufenamide (Melflufen) is a more potent anti-MM agent than melphalan and overcomes conventional drug resistance. Here we examined whether this potent anti-MM activity of melflufen versus melphalan is due to their differential effect on DNA damage and repair signalling pathways via -H2AX/ATR/CHK1/Ku80. Melflufen-induced apoptosis was associated with dose- and time-dependent rapid phosphorylation of -H2AX. Melflufen induces -H2AX, ATR, and CHK1 as early as after 2h exposure in both melphalan-sensitive and -resistant cells. However, melphalan induces -H2AX in melphalan-sensitive cells at 6h and 24h; no -H2AX induction was observed in melphalan-resistant cells even after 24h exposure. Similar kinetics was observed for ATR and CHK1 in meflufen- versus melphalan-treated cells. DNA repair is linked to melphalan-resistance; and importantly, we found that melphalan, but not melflufen, upregulates Ku80 that repairs DNA double-strand breaks. Washout experiments showed that a brief (2h) exposure of MM cells to melflufen is sufficient to initiate an irreversible DNA damage and cytotoxicity. Our data therefore suggest that melflufen triggers a rapid, robust, and an irreversible DNA damage which may account for its ability to overcome melphalan-resistance in MM cells.
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3. |
- Wickström, Malin, et al.
(author)
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Melflufen : a peptidase-potentiated alkylating agent in clinical trials
- 2017
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In: Oncotarget. - : IMPACT JOURNALS LLC. - 1949-2553. ; 8:39, s. 66641-66655
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aminopeptidases like aminopeptidase N (APN, also known as CD13) play an important role not only in normal cellular functioning but also in the development of cancer, including processes like tumor cell invasion, differentiation, proliferation, apoptosis, motility, and angiogenesis. An increased expression of APN has been described in several types of human malignancies, especially those characterized by fast-growing and aggressive phenotypes, suggesting APN as a potential therapeutic target. Melphalan flufenamide ethyl ester (melflufen, previously denoted J1) is a peptidase-potentiated alkylating agent. Melflufen readily penetrates membranes and an equilibrium is rapidly achieved, followed by enzymatic cleavage in aminopeptidase positive cells, which results in trapping of less lipophilic metabolites. This targeting effect results in very high intracellular concentrations of its metabolite melphalan and subsequent apoptotic cell death. This results in a potency increase (melflufen vs melphalan) ranging from 10- to several 100-fold in different in vitro models. Melflufen triggers a rapid, robust, and an irreversible DNA damage which may account for its ability to overcome melphalan-resistance in multiple myeloma cells. Furthermore, anti-angiogenic properties of melflufen have been described. Consequently, it is hypothesized that melflufen could provide better efficacy but no more toxicity than what is achieved with melphalan, an assumption so far supported by experiences from hollow fiber and xenograft studies in rodents as well as by clinical data from patients with solid tumors and multiple myeloma. This review summarizes the current preclinical and clinical knowledge of melflufen.
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