Opinion statement
Approximately 40–45% of younger and 10–20% of older adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) will be cured with current standard chemotherapy. The outlook is particularly gloomy for patients with relapsed and/or refractory disease (cure rates no higher than 10%). Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), the only realistic hope of cure for these patients, is an option for only a minority. In recent years, much has been learned about the genomic and epigenomic landscapes of AML, and the clonal architecture of both de novo and secondary AML has begun to be unraveled. These advances have paved the way for rational drug development as new “drugable” targets have emerged. Although no new drug has been approved for AML in over four decades, with the exception of gemtuzumab ozogamycin, which was subsequently withdrawn, there is progress on the horizon with the possible regulatory approval soon of agents such as CPX-351 and midostaurin, the Food and Drug Administration “breakthrough” designation granted to venetoclax, and promising agents such as the IDH inhibitors AG-221 and AG-120, the smoothened inhibitor glasdegib and the histone deacetylase inhibitor pracinostat. In our practice, we treat most patients with relapsed/refractory AML on clinical trials, taking into consideration their prior treatment history and response to the same. We utilize targeted sequencing of genes frequently mutated in AML to identify “actionable” mutations, e.g., in FLT3 or IDH1/2, and incorporate small-molecule inhibitors of these oncogenic kinases into our therapeutic regimens whenever possible. In the absence of actionable mutations, we rationally combine conventional agents with other novel therapies such as monoclonal antibodies and other targeted drugs. For fit patients up to the age of 65, we often use high-dose cytarabine-containing backbone regimens. For older or unfit patients, we prefer hypomethylating agent-based therapy. Finally, all patients with relapsed/refractory AML are evaluated for allogeneic HSCT.
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Introduction
The treatment of relapsed/refractory (R/R) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains one of the most formidable challenges in oncology today. With a long-term disease-free survival of only approximately 30 to 40% after standard chemotherapy, and a paucity of treatment options besides the standard cytarabine and anthracyclines, disease persistence or recurrence occurs in most patients with AML. Outcomes for patients with relapsed or refractory AML are poor, with overall survival (OS) estimated at no more than 10% at 3 years [1, 2]. In physically fit patients, intensive chemotherapy (IC) with the goal of achieving a second complete remission (CR2) so as to proceed to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is often given, but long-term survival rates remain low, because of the common failure to achieve the necessary response required to achieve the desired “bridge to transplant” and the comorbidities, age considerations, residual toxicities, limited availability of donors, and other factors that limit this approach for a large majority of patients. Thus, the notion that patients can frequently be salvaged with this approach has been termed a “myth” by some experts [3]. Low-intensity therapies, e.g., epigenetic modifiers, are typically offered to patients who are deemed ineligible to receive IC because of age or comorbidities, as in the frontline setting, but in the salvage setting are palliative at best in most instances.
In recent years, better understanding of the molecular complexity and biology of AML has led to the development of new strategies to treat AML. Many new agents from different therapeutic classes have been investigated in patients with R/R AML, with particular interest in nonchemotherapeutic strategies. Although no new drugs have been approved for the treatment of AML for over 50 years (with the exception of gemtuzumab ozogamycin, GO, Mylotarg which was eventually withdrawn from the market) [4], the improved OS seen in phase III trials of CPX-351 (Vyxeos™) [5••] and the fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) inhibitor, midostaurin, [6••] in secondary and FLT3-mutated AML, respectively, in the frontline setting, have made approval of these agents likely. In this manuscript, we review some of the most notable recent advances in the treatment of R/R AML, with a focus on those with the most mature or promising clinical data. It is important to emphasize that the list of agents included is by necessity partial and incomplete. This deficiency, however, highlights the very active and promising ongoing research that will undoubtedly break the impasse that has characterized the treatment of AML in the last 50 years.
Cytotoxic Chemotherapy: Novel Agents and Combinations
Vosaroxin
Vosaroxin is a first-in-class, anti-cancer quinolone derivative that inhibits topoisomerase II and intercalates DNA, inducing cell cycle arrest and p53-independent apoptosis [7]. Preclinical evidence of synergism with cytarabine [8] and encouraging results in an early phase combination trial [9] led to the phase III, placebo-controlled, VALOR study in 711 patients with AML in first relapse after or refractory to 1 or 2 cycles of previous anthracycline-containing induction chemotherapy [10••]. Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive cytarabine (1 g/m2 on days 1–5) in combination with vosaroxin (90 mg/m2 on days 1 and 4 in cycle 1; 70 mg/m2 in subsequent cycles) or placebo. Median OS (the primary endpoint) was 7.5 months in the vosaroxin group and 6.1 months in the placebo group (p = 0.061) [10]. Complete remission (CR) rates were significantly higher in the vosaroxin group (30 versus 16%, p < 0.0001). Thirty- and 60-day mortality rates were virtually identical in the two groups, although grade ≥3 adverse events (AEs) such as febrile neutropenia (FN), neutropenia, stomatitis, hypokalemia, bacteremia, sepsis, and pneumonia were all more frequent in the vosaroxin cohort [10]. Treatment-related serious AEs (SAEs) occurred in 33 and 17% of patients in the vosaroxin and placebo cohorts, respectively. A number of prespecified secondary and subgroup analyses showed significantly improved OS in the vosaroxin group. Older patients and those with early relapse derived the greatest benefit from vosaroxin and cytarabine [10]. The survival benefit seen in patients ≥60 years of age (median 7.1 versus 5 months, p = 0.003) was maintained after a median of 39.9 months of follow-up and was particularly pronounced among those with refractory disease or early relapse [11]. Additionally, post hoc, exploratory analyses showed OS benefits in patients with unfavorable cytogenetic abnormalities and those with FLT3 mutations. The trial did not meet its primary endpoint; thus, vosaroxin has not gained regulatory approval. However, vosaroxin remains an attractive agent for patients with AML. Promising results were reported in a single-arm, nonrandomized study in combination with decitabine in older patients in the frontline setting. This study identified 70 mg/m2 of vosaroxin on days 1 and 4 in combination with standard dose decitabine as the preferred dose [12•]. However, the combination of vosaroxin with low-dose cytarabine (LDAC) did not improve CR/complete remission with incomplete count recovery (CRi) rates or survival in a randomized comparison with LDAC alone in older, untreated adults with AML, mainly due to excess early mortality in the combination arm [13]. In this “pick a winner” trial, single-agent vosaroxin was also separately compared to LDAC; CR/CRi rates were similar, and 12-month OS was inferior in the vosaroxin group (12 versus 31%, p = 0.003) [13].
CPX-351 (Vyxeos™)
CPX-351 is a liposomal formulation of cytarabine and daunorubicin in a fixed molar ratio of 5:1 that may be particularly effective in secondary AML [14]. A phase II study randomized 125 patients with AML in first relapse after a first complete remission (CR1) of ≥1 month 2:1 to CPX-351 or investigators’ choice of first salvage chemotherapy [15]. CR/CRi rates were numerically higher with CPX-351, but 1-year OS was not significantly different (36 versus 27%, p = 0.33). However, patients categorized as poor risk by the European Prognostic Index (n = 85) appeared to benefit from CPX-351 (12-month OS 28 versus 9%, p = 0.02) [15]. These findings led to a randomized trial in which 309 patients aged 60 to 75 years with newly diagnosed secondary AML were randomized to receive CPX-351 (Vyxeos™; 100 units/m2 on days 1, 3, and 5) or standard chemotherapy (“7 + 3”; cytarabine 100 mg/m2/day on days 1–7 and daunorubicin 60 mg/m2/day on days 1–3). Treatment with CPX-351 resulted in improved OS (the primary endpoint of the study), with a median of 9.56 versus 5.95 months with standard chemotherapy (p = 0.005), as well as significantly higher response rates (CR/CRi rate 47.7 versus 33.3%; p = 0.016) [5••]. Thirty-day (5.9 versus 10.6%) and 60-day (13.7 versus 21.2%) mortality also favored CPX-351 [5••]. A more detailed discussion of this important first-line trial is outside the scope of this review focused on the treatment of R/R AML.
FLAM
Flavopiridol (alvocidib) is a pan-cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor that induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis and also transcriptionally downregulates the antiapoptotic protein, MCL-1, via inhibition of CDK9 [16]. Based on preclinical studies showing synergism with standard chemotherapeutic agents, the regimen of “timed sequential therapy” with flavopiridol, cytarabine, and mitoxantrone (FLAM) was developed [17, 18]. FLAM yielded significantly superior CR rates in comparison to 7 + 3 (70 versus 46%, p = 0.003) in a randomized, phase II study in newly diagnosed, younger adults with intermediate and poor risk AML, although no differences in OS or event-free survival (EFS) were observed [19]. Because of flavopiridol’s effects on MCL-1, which is critical to the development and maintenance of AML [20••], an ongoing phase II trial (NCT02520011) of the FLAM regimen in patients with R/R AML is restricted to patients who have evidence of MCL-1 dependence of their AML by a specific BH3-profiling assay that uses the proapoptotic “BH3-only” protein, Noxa, which antagonizes MCL-1 [21]. Flavopiridol has received “orphan drug” designation from the FDA for AML [22].
Epigenetic Therapy: New Agents and Targets
Guadecitabine
Guadecitabine (SGI-110) is a second-generation hypomethylating agent (HMA) that is a dinucleotide of decitabine and deoxyguanosine, making it resistant to deamination by cytidine deaminase [23•]. In a phase 1 trial that enrolled patients with either R/R AML (n = 74) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS, n = 19) and tested various schedules of guadecitabine administered subcutaneously, a maximal tolerated dose (MTD) was not identified in patients with AML, while among those with MDS, 90 mg/m2/day for five consecutive days every 4 weeks was defined as the MTD (DLTs at the 125 mg/m2/day dose level included grade 4 cytopenias and FN, resulting in one case in grade 5 sepsis) [23•]. Potent dose-related DNA demethylation occurred on the daily × 5 regimen, reaching a plateau at 60 mg/m2, which was thus the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) [23•]. Six patients each with AML and MDS responded. In a phase II trial, patients with R/R AML received either 10 days (n = 53) or 5 days (n = 50) of guadecitabine per cycle; additionally, those receiving 5 days were randomized to receive either 60 or 90 mg/m2/day [24]. Patients receiving the drug for 10 days per cycle received 60 mg/m2/day. CR rates were 19 and 6%, respectively, in the 10- and 5-day groups (p = 0.074). When comparing the sum of CR, CRi, and complete remission with incomplete platelet recovery (CRp) rates (designated the composite CR (CRc) rate), the percentages were 30 and 16% in the 10- and 5-day groups, respectively (p = 0.106). The longer 10-day dosing induced significantly more potent and longer demethylation and led also to significantly more anemia and thrombocytopenia. Median OS was 7.1 months with 10-day dosing and 5.7 months with 5-day dosing (p = 0.505). There were no significant differences in 30- or 60-day mortality between the two schedules [24]. Significantly worse OS was observed among patients with performance status 2, poor risk cytogenetics, and those enrolled within 6 months from their previous therapy [25]. An identically designed phase II trial of guadecitabine was conducted in the frontline setting in patients with AML who were not candidates for IC [26]. There were no major differences in clinical responses, demethylation, OS, or safety between 60 and 90 mg/m2/day on the 5-day regimen [27], or between the 5- and 10-day cohorts for the composite primary endpoint (CR + CRi + CRp), median OS, grade ≥3 AEs, or 30-, 60-, and 90-day all-cause mortality; response rates and median OS were numerically higher in the 5-day cohort [26]. Based upon these findings, guadecitabine is currently being tested in treatment-naive patients with AML in a pivotal phase III trial using the 60 mg/m2/day for 5 days schedule (ASTRAL-1, NCT02348489). Based on the upregulation by HMAs of tumor-associated antigens and of programmed death ligand-1/2 (PD-L1/2) as a possible mechanism of escape from immune surveillance, an ongoing trial combines guadecitabine with the anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody atezolizumab for the treatment of patients with treatment-naive or R/R AML (NCT02892318).
Other Epigenetic Modifiers
A major focus in epigenetics research in recent years has been on the development of targeted therapies against epigenetic “readers” called bromodomains [28, 29]. Their mechanism of action in AML appears to involve induction of hexamethylene bisacetamide-inducible protein 1 (HEXIM1) [30]. Several small-molecule inhibitors of bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) proteins have been developed, e.g., FT1101, GSK525762, and MK-8628 (OTX015). In a phase I trial of OTX015 (MK-8628), 3 of 36 patients with R/R AML achieved CR/CRp lasting 2 to 5 months [31]. Preclinical studies have suggested synergism between BET and FLT3 or histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors [32, 33]. Such combinations will be entering the clinic in the near future. Another epigenetic target of interest, especially in mixed lineage leukemia (MLL)-rearranged AML, is the histone lysine (H3K79) methyltransferase disruptor of telomeric silencing 1-like (DOT1L) [34••, 35••]. Pinometostat (EPZ-5676) is a potent and highly selective inhibitor of DOT1L currently in early stages of clinical development [36]. In a first-in-human (FIH) phase I trial, an MTD was not identified and pharmacodynamic evidence of target inhibition and clinical responses (including CRs) were observed in heavily pretreated patients with MLL-rearranged leukemias across a range of doses [36]. Interestingly, DOT1L may also be a therapeutic target in DNMT3A-mutated AML [37], which has been shown to carry an adverse prognosis [38•]. Inhibitors of lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) may reactivate the all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) differentiation pathway in AML, and there is preclinical evidence of synergism between ATRA and the LSD1 inhibitor, tranylcypromine, a regimen that may also target leukemia-initiating cells [39]. A number of clinical trials are exploring ATRA/LSD1 inhibitor combinations in R/R AML (NCT02842827, NCT02273102, NCT02261779, NCT02717884). Synergism between LSD1 inhibitors and HDAC inhibitors against AML has also been demonstrated, both in vitro and in vivo [40]. In a FIH phase I trial, the first-in-class LSD1 inhibitor, Ory-1001, was found to be well-tolerated; objective responses were seen in 5 of 14 (36%) patients with R/R AML in an extension cohort at a dose of 140 μg/m2/day [41].
Antibody-Drug Conjugates, Bispecific T-Cell Engagers, and Dual Affinity Retargeting Molecules
CD33-Targeted ADCs
GO (Mylotarg®) is an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) targeted to CD33 that consists of a monoclonal antibody against CD33 linked to a semisynthetic derivative of the cytotoxic antibiotic, calicheamicin. It was approved by the FDA in May 2000 for older (≥60) patients with CD33-expressing AML in first relapse, based on a 26% overall response rate (ORR) in this population [42•]. Among 142 patients in untreated first relapse (median age 61), the CR/CRp rate was 30% (16% CRs) [42•]. Unfortunately, however, a confirmatory phase III trial conducted by the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) found no benefit to the addition of GO to standard “7 + 3” induction chemotherapy in 595 younger (18–60) patients with newly diagnosed AML, in terms of CR rate, relapse-free or overall survival [43•]. Of note, the dose of daunorubicin used in this trial during induction was only 45 mg/m2/day on days 1–3. There was also no improvement in disease-free survival with the use of GO post-consolidation among patients remaining in CR after consolidation [43•]. In contrast to the findings of the SWOG trial [43•], a number of other phase III trials have documented a survival benefit for this agent with little to no increase in toxicity [44••, 45••, 46••]. The improved OS seen with the addition of GO to IC appears restricted to patients with nonadverse cytogenetics [47•]. An in-depth discussion of these trials in the upfront setting is not presented here, but GO is expected to become available again soon, based on these data.
Like GO, vadastuximab talirine (SGN-33A) is also a CD33-directed ADC that employs pyrrolobenzodiazepine instead of calicheamicin, the toxin attached to the anti-CD33 antibody in GO. Pyrrolobenzodiazepine is not known to be associated with liver toxicity, thus eliminating the potential for hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD, also known as sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS)) seen with GO [48•]. Thirty-four patients with AML that had relapsed after achievement of CR1 and 52 who had declined IC (40 of whom had received 1–2 prior low-intensity therapies, predominantly HMAs) participated in a phase I trial of SGN-33A [48•]. Most patients had intermediate (51%) or adverse (31%) cytogenetics, and 54% had AML with MDS-related changes. DLTs included grade 4 hematologic toxicity, grade 3 mucositis and pulmonary embolism, and grade 5 sepsis. The most frequent grade ≥3 AEs included febrile neutropenia (FN, 69%), thrombocytopenia (29%), and anemia (23%). Fatigue (48%), decreased appetite (28%), constipation, diarrhea, dyspnea, nausea (26% each), and peripheral edema (25%) were common. Thirty-day mortality was 6%, and 40 mcg/kg every 4 weeks was declared the RP2D. Of 21 patients treated at this dose and evaluable for efficacy, 7 (33%) (3 treatment-naive; (14%)) achieved CR/CRi [48•]. A phase I study of vadastuximab talirine (10 mcg/kg) in combination with an HMA (azacitidine or decitabine) for 5 days every 4 weeks in previously untreated patients with AML who declined or were unfit for IC reported a CR/CRi rate of 73% among evaluable patients (n = 49) with 30- and 60-day mortality of 2 and 8%, respectively [49]. This agent has also been combined safely with IC in both the induction [50] and consolidation [51] settings in younger, newly diagnosed and post-remission [51, 54•] patients, respectively, as well as administered alone as maintenance after IC and/or HSCT [51]. In combination with 7 + 3 induction chemotherapy, vadastuximab talirine produced a CR/CRi rate of 78%, 94% of which occurred with 1 cycle and 74% of which were MRD-negative, among 40 evaluable, newly diagnosed patients with AML, with 30- and 60-day mortality of 0 and 7%, respectively [50]. IMGN779 is yet another CD33-targeted ADC that utilizes a different toxin (DGN462, a novel alkylating agent); this drug is currently in a phase I trial for patients with R/R AML (NCT02674763).
Anti-CD33 BiTE®s
A novel approach to targeting CD33, expression of which is nearly universal on myeloblasts, uses bispecific T-cell engager (BiTE®) technology. AMG 330 is a CD33/CD3 BiTE antibody that recruits and expands T-cells that efficiently lyse autologous blasts in primary AML samples [52•]. At least in some cell lines, epigenetic modifiers, e.g., panobinostat (HDAC inhibitor) and azacitidine increase CD33 expression and augment AMG 330-induced cytotoxicity [53•]. AMG 330, currently in a FIH phase I trial (NCT02520427), has been shown to significantly prolong survival of xenograft mouse models of human FLT3-mutated AML [54•]. Interestingly, in preclinical studies, AMG 330 cytotoxicity against primary AML cells is higher in specimens from newly diagnosed patients and those with favorable-risk disease [55]. AMG 330 strongly upregulates programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) on primary AML cells in a cytokine-dependent manner, and blockade of the programmed death 1 (PD-1)/PD-L1 axis significantly enhances AMG 330-mediated cell lysis, T-cell proliferation, and interferon-γ secretion, making a compelling argument for combining this agent with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 monoclonal antibodies [56].
Targeting CD123
The interleukin-3 (IL-3) receptor alpha chain, CD123, is highly and differentially (but not exclusively) expressed in leukemic progenitors compared with normal hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. JNJ-63709178 is a humanized CD123 x CD3 “DuoBody” that is being studied in a FIH phase I trial in patients with R/R AML (NCT02715011). A conceptually similar but structurally distinct strategy to target CD123 involves the use of dual affinity re-targeting (DART) molecules that are generated from antibodies to CD3 and CD123 and redirect T-cells against AML blasts [57•]. MGD006 is a CD3 x CD123 DART currently in a phase I trial in R/RAML and higher risk MDS (NCT02152956). Xmab®14045 is a bispecific monoclonal antibody that binds to both CD3 on T-cells and CD123 on tumor cells via separate antigen recognition and binding sites, thereby cross-linking them to induce potent cell lysis of CD123+ myeloblasts in AML; this agent is now in a broad, phase I trial in patients with R/R CD123+ hematologic malignancies (NCT02730312). SL-401 is a fusion protein consisting of a truncated diphtheria toxin conjugated to IL-3 that represents another mechanism of therapeutically targeting CD123. SL-401 is under phase I/II evaluation in AML, both in the R/R setting (NCT02113982) and as consolidation for patients in CR1 (NCT02270463). In the limited experience reported to date, best response in the R/R AML population has been stable disease (SD) [58]. CSL362 (JNJ-56022473) is an anti-CD123 monoclonal antibody engineered to bind with high affinity to CD16 on natural killer (NK) cells, leading to enhanced antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). This agent is now in a phase II clinical trial in combination with decitabine (versus decitabine alone) for previously untreated patients with AML for whom IC is not considered appropriate (NCT02472145).
Molecularly Targeted Therapy: Isocitrate Dehydrogenase 1/2 (IDH1/2) Inhibitors
Mutations in IDH1 and IDH2 each occur in approximately 8–12% of patients with AML; are generally associated with older age, intermediate-risk cytogenetics, FLT3 and nucleophosmin 1 (NPM1) mutations; and appear not to have an adverse impact on prognosis [59]. However, these mutant enzymes produce an abnormal oncometabolite, 2-hydroxyglutarate (2-HG), instead of the normal metabolite, α-ketoglutarate (α-KG). 2-HG inhibits the α-KG-dependent enzyme, ten-eleven translocation 2 (TET2), leading to a hypermethylated genome with a resultant block in differentiation [60••]. A number of small-molecule inhibitors of mutant IDH1 and/or IDH2 have been developed, of which AG-120 (IDH1 inhibitor) and AG-221 (IDH2 inhibitor) are the most advanced. IDHENTIFY is a phase III clinical trial of AG-221 versus standard of care for older patients with R/R AML harboring an IDH2 mutation (NCT02577406). In a phase I/II trial (NCT01915498), 198 patients with an IDH2-mutated hematologic malignancy (70% R/R AML, 17% untreated AML, 7% MDS, 6% other) received AG-221 once or twice daily in continuous 28-day cycles [61•]. Most (64%) patients with R/R AML had received ≥2 prior therapies. An MTD was not reached. The most common AG-221-related AEs were indirect hyperbilirubinemia (19%) and nausea (18%). Objective responses were seen in 52 of 128 (41%) efficacy-evaluable R/R AML patients (CR in 18%, CRp and CRi in 1% each, morphologic CR in 6% and partial remission (PR) in 15%), with a median response duration of 6 months [61•]. Improvements in the absolute neutrophil count (ANC) occurred in 56% of R/R AML patients. Responses may occur as early as the first cycle and in many instances have been sustained for 24+ months. However, the allelic burden of mutant IDH2 did not decrease in responders [61•]. A similar trial was conducted in patients with advanced, IDH1-mutated, hematologic malignancies using the IDH1 inhibitor AG-120 (NCT02074839) [62•]. A MTD was not reached in the dose escalation phase up to a dose of 1200 mg daily. Most AEs were grade 1 or 2, the most common being diarrhea (23%), fatigue (22%), and fever (22%); FN (11%) was the most frequent grade ≥3 AE. The overall response rate (ORR) was 36% with a median duration of 5.6 months, and the CR rate 18% [62•]. Three dose expansion cohorts are currently enrolling at 500 mg daily: R/R AML (n = 125), untreated AML (n = 25), and other IDH1-mutated advanced hematologic malignancies (n = 25) [62•]. Plasma levels of 2-HG have been identified as a useful biomarker of the biologic and clinical activity of these inhibitors as they typically go down significantly upon administration of the IDH inhibitor. An important phenomenon is the development of a differentiation syndrome in the first few weeks of therapy, characterized by a rapid increase in blasts that is followed by maturation with subsequent decrease and a corresponding increase in neutrophils. Both AG-221 and AG-120 are being explored in combination with standard IC (NCT02632708) and azacitidine (NCT02677922), respectively, for fit and unfit adults with newly diagnosed IDH1/2-mutated AML. IDH305 and FT-2102 are other inhibitors of mutant IDH1 that are currently undergoing phase I testing in advanced malignancies (including AML, NCT02381886) and AML (NCT02719574) with IDH1 R132 mutations, respectively. Preliminary data from an ongoing phase I trial in patients with advanced, IDH1-mutated malignancies suggest that IDH305 has a favorable safety profile and promising antitumor activity in IDH1-mutated R/R AML (ORR = 33%, n = 21) [63]. AG-881 is an inhibitor of both mutant IDH1 and IDH2 that exhibits excellent blood-brain barrier penetration and is under investigation in separate phase I trials in IDH1/2-mutated advanced hematologic malignancies (NCT02492737) and solid tumors (e.g., gliomas, cholangiocarcinoma, NCT02481154).
Molecularly Targeted Therapy: FLT3 Inhibitors
FLT3 mutations are encountered in approximately 30–35% of cases of AML. These include internal tandem duplications (ITD) that occur in approximately 25% of patients with AML, and point mutations, most frequently at residue D835 affecting the tyrosine kinase domain (TKD), in 5–10% [64]. While FLT3-ITD is clearly associated with high relapse rates and poor outcomes, the prognostic significance of TKD mutations is less well understood and inconsistent across studies [64]. Remarkably, although the subject of intense investigation for many years, no FLT3 inhibitor is specifically approved for AML, although this is expected to change in light of positive OS data with midostaurin from the RATIFY trial (discussed below) [6••]. A number of FLT3 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have been developed, and these may be subdivided into type I (e.g., crenolanib, midostaurin) or type II (e.g., sorafenib, quizartinib, ponatinib) inhibitors depending on the conformation of the kinase to which they bind (Table 1) [65]. The five FLT3 inhibitors with the most clinical data available are discussed individually below. Other FLT3 inhibitors, including FLX925 and E6201, are in earlier phases of clinical testing (NCT02335814, NCT02418000).
Sorafenib
The multi-kinase inhibitor sorafenib (Nexavar®), approved for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular and renal cell carcinoma, is a potent inhibitor of FLT3-ITD but not wild-type FLT3 or D835-mutated FLT3 [66]. Its efficacy was first reported in the phase 1 setting, demonstrating rapid reduction in blast count and some instances of CRi, but rarely CR, and with typically short-lived responses. Studies of sorafenib in conjunction with LDAC in the upfront setting in unselected patients with AML resulted in modest clinical benefit [67,68,69]. Encouraging results were reported in a phase I/II trial (n = 43; 40 of them with FLT3-ITD, 6 not previously treated) of sorafenib, 400 mg twice daily continuously, administered in combination with azacitidine, 75 mg/m2/day on days 1–7 of each monthly cycle [70•]. The ORR was 46%, with 16% CR, 27% CRi, and 3% PR and a median time to response of 2 months (2 cycles). The median duration of response (DOR) was 2.3 months, and six patients were bridged to allogeneic HSCT [70•]. The commercial availability of both sorafenib and azacitidine makes this a commonly used regimen for patients with R/R (or newly diagnosed if unfit for IC) FLT3-ITD+ AML who are unable to enroll on a clinical trial of a FLT3 inhibitor. While the addition of sorafenib to IC has been reported to yield CR/CRp rates as high as 95% among newly diagnosed younger patients with FLT3-ITD+ AML [71], two placebo-controlled trials of the addition of sorafenib to IC in unselected patients with previously untreated AML reached opposite conclusions. Serve et al. found no benefit of adding sorafenib to 7 + 3 induction chemotherapy followed by up to 2 cycles of intermediate-dose cytarabine consolidation among elderly patients with AML, including in the FLT3-ITD+ subgroup, and higher toxicity during induction in the sorafenib arm [72]. In contrast, Rollig et al. reported significantly improved EFS, at the expense of increased toxicity, with the addition of sorafenib to 7 + 3 induction followed by 3 cycles of high-dose cytarabine (HiDAC) consolidation in a trial in younger subjects with AML that also used “maintenance” sorafenib for 12 months [73••]. Maintenance sorafenib may have a role in decreasing the risk of relapse after allogeneic HSCT for patients with R/R FLT3-ITD+ AML [74].
Midostaurin
Midostaurin (formerly PKC412) is another multi-kinase inhibitor that inhibits FLT3 and is active in patients with both FLT3-mutated and wild-type AML [75, 76]. Midostaurin 75 mg three times daily induced a ≥50% reduction in circulating and/or bone marrow (BM) blast count in 14 of 20 patients (70%) with FLT3-mutated R/R AML or high-grade MDS who were not candidates for IC [75]. In a phase IIb trial, 95 patients with AML or MDS with either wild-type (n = 60) or mutated (n = 35) FLT3 were randomized to receive oral midostaurin, 50 or 100 mg twice daily [76]. Seventy-one percent of patients with FLT3-mutant and 42% of those with FLT3 wild-type disease achieved ≥50% reduction in circulating or BM blasts [76]. Midostaurin was well-tolerated, and there were no differences in toxicity or response rate according to the dose of midostaurin.
Preclinical studies showed synergism between hypomethylating agents and midostaurin against FLT3-ITD AML [77]. The combination of midostaurin and azacitidine was evaluated in a phase I/II study (n = 54) in patients with AML (95%) or MDS (5%) [78]. Although patients were eligible regardless of their mutation status, 74% of patients had a FLT3 mutation (68% ITD alone, 6% with both ITD and D835). Seventy-six percent had received prior therapy (median, 2 prior regimens; 43% had received a HMA and 24% a FLT3 TKI). The ORR was 26% (CR and PR in 1 patient each, CRi in 6 patients and a morphologic leukemia-free state (MLFS) in 6). Among patients with FLT3-ITD not previously treated with FLT3 inhibitors, the ORR was 33%. Overall, 79% of patients had a reduction (median 68% reduction) in BM blast percentage from baseline, with 53% of patients experiencing a ≥50% reduction. The combination was well-tolerated, with some reduction (median 15%) in cardiac ejection fraction (EF) seen in 6 (11%) patients, all of whom had predisposing factors [78]. A phase I study was also performed in 16 patients with AML (8 newly diagnosed, 8 relapsed, 2 with FLT3-ITD) of the combination of midostaurin and decitabine [77]. Based on the clinical activity observed in a phase IB trial evaluating the combination of midostaurin with 7 + 3 induction and HiDAC consolidation in younger, newly diagnosed patients with AML (80% CR rate with midostaurin 50 mg twice daily, 74% in FLT3-wild type and 92% in FLT3-mutated patients) [79], the phase III RATIFY (Cancer and Leukemia Group B 10603) trial (n = 717) was conducted and recently reported. All patients had FLT3 mutations, and midostaurin (50 mg twice daily) or placebo was administered on days 8–22 during both 7 + 3 induction (daunorubicin, 60 mg/m2 on days 1–3, and cytarabine, 200 mg/m2 on days 1–7) and HiDAC consolidation (3 g/m2 every 12 h on days 1, 3, and 5), as well as maintenance for a year [6••]. Despite similar CR rates in the two arms, the trial showed statistically significant benefits in both EFS and OS for patients treated with midostaurin across FLT3 mutation subtypes. While a detailed discussion of this frontline study is outside the scope of this review, these results establish midostaurin in combination with standard chemotherapy as standard therapy for younger, newly diagnosed patients with FLT3-ITD AML [6••].
Quizartinib
Quizartinib (formerly AC220) is a potent FLT3 inhibitor with increased selectivity for this kinase [80]. Inhibition of other kinases such as c-KIT requires approximately tenfold higher concentrations in preclinical studies. In a FIH phase I study, 76 patients with R/R AML received quizartinib, irrespective of FLT3 mutation status [81]. 23 (30%) patients responded, with 2 achieving CR, 3 CRp, 5 CRi and 13 PR. The ORR was 53% among patients with FLT3-ITD patients (one CR, one CRp, two CRis, five PRs), 14% among FLT3-ITD− negative patients and 22% among those with unknown FLT3 status. As with other FLT3 inhibitors, responses to single-agent quizartinib are typically transient. The DLT was QT prolongation, and the MTD was 200 mg/day. Drug-related AEs that occurred at a frequency of >10% included nausea (16%), prolonged QT interval (12%), vomiting (11%), and dysgeusia (11%); most were grade ≤2 [81]. In a large phase II study (n = 333), the safety and efficacy of quizartinib monotherapy was examined in two cohorts: older (≥60) patients with AML that had relapsed within a year or was refractory to first-line chemotherapy [82], and younger adults with AML R/R to second-line salvage chemotherapy or relapsed after HSCT [83]. In both cohorts, high rates of composite CR (CRc = CR + CRp + CRi) were observed for FLT3-ITD+ patients (54% in the older cohort and 44% in the younger cohort); importantly, approximately one third of patients in the younger cohort (8% in the older cohort) were successfully bridged to HSCT [82, 83]. A comparison of the outcomes of 97 FLT3-ITD+ patients from the younger cohort with those of 183 matched patients from the UK Medical Research Council/National Cancer Research Institute database suggested an improvement in OS in the patients receiving quizartinib [84]. In an effort to minimize the incidence of grade ≥3 QT prolongation with this agent (13 and 10%, respectively, in the older and younger cohorts above), 76 patients with R/R FLT3-ITD+ AML were randomized 1:1 to receive either 30 or 60 mg daily of quizartinib in another phase II study. These reduced doses yielded response rates nearly identical to those reported with higher doses, with CRc of approximately 50% in both arms, while the incidence of grade 3 QT prolongation decreased significantly to 3% at the lowest dose [85]. In this trial, 29% of patients treated at 30 mg/day and 37% of those receiving 60 mg/day (33% overall) were successfully bridged to HSCT. Quizartinib is now being investigated in a pivotal phase III trial versus salvage chemotherapy in subjects with FLT3-ITD AML refractory to prior therapy or in early first relapse (QUANTUM-R, NCT02039726), and a placebo-controlled, phase III study of quizartinib in combination with IC for previously untreated, younger (18–75) patients with FLT3-ITD AML (QuANTUM-First, NCT02668653). It is also being studied in a phase II study in combination with azacitidine or LDAC in older (≥60) patients with newly diagnosed, FLT3-ITD+ myeloid leukemias or in patients of any age receiving first salvage treatment (NCT01892371). The phase I portion of this study enrolled patients with R/R AML, MDS, or chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) irrespective of FLT3 mutation and salvage status. Results in the first 52 patients (12 in phase I, 40 in phase II; 38 in the azacitidine arm, 14 in the LDAC arm) included an ORR of 67% overall and 73% in patients with FLT3-ITD (n = 48) [86]. Like sorafenib, quizartinib has been studied in the post-transplant maintenance setting in patients with FLT3-ITD+ AML and reported to reduce relapse rates in comparison to historical controls [87].
Crenolanib
The emergence of resistance-conferring point mutations in the kinase domain of FLT3, e.g., at the D835 residue, under the selective pressure of type II FLT3 inhibitors (e.g., sorafenib, quizartinib) occurs in approximately 20–25% of patients [88, 89••, 90]. Molecular docking studies have suggested that D835 mutations primarily confer resistance by stabilizing an active Asp-Phe-Gly in (“DFG-in”) kinase conformation unfavorable to the binding of type II FLT3 TKIs, which target a “DFG-out” inactive conformation [65]. Crenolanib is a next-generation, type I, pan-FLT3 inhibitor with activity against TKD point mutations, including D835 and F691, that confer resistance to highly potent type II inhibitors like quizartinib [91•, 92•, 93•]. Crenolanib (100 mg three times daily or 200 mg/m2/day in three divided doses) was tested in a phase II study in patients with R/R FLT3-mutated AML [94•]. Among 18 de novo AML patients who were FLT3-TKI-naive, the ORR was 50% (39% CRi + 11% PR) and median OS was 234 days. Thirty-six de novo AML patients had received prior FLT3 inhibitor therapy; the ORR in this cohort was 31% (17% CRi + 14% PR) and median OS 94 days. Crenolanib provided only transient benefit to patients with secondary FLT3-mutated AML (n = 11, median OS 55 days) [94•]. The safety of adding crenolanib, 100 mg three times daily, to both idarubicin/HiDAC (in the R/R setting) and 7 + 3 induction plus HiDAC consolidation (in the upfront setting) has been demonstrated [95, 96]. In the former study, 13 patients received idarubicin (12 mg/m2/day for 3 days) plus HiDAC (1.5 g/m2/day for 4 days (for 3 days if over 60 years of age), followed by crenolanib [95]. Responding patients could proceed to HSCT or receive consolidation with cytarabine (750 mg/m2/day for 3 days) and idarubicin (8 mg/m2/day for 2 days), followed by crenolanib. Patients could then continue on maintenance crenolanib unless they received an allograft. No DLTs were observed at any of the dose levels explored, and no dose reductions were required [95]. All nonhematologic AEs were grade 1 in severity. The ORR among 11 evaluable patients was 36%. Among the six patients who had received ≤2 prior AML therapies, the ORR was 67% (all CR or CRi) and median OS was 259 days [95]. Several studies are ongoing investigating crenolanib in combination with IC in newly diagnosed (NCT02283177) and R/R (NCT02400281, NCT02298166) FLT3-mutated AML. NCT02400281 also contains an arm in which crenolanib is combined with azacitidine for patients with R/R FLT3-mutated AML. Additionally, single-agent crenolanib is being investigated as maintenance post-HSCT (NCT02400255).
Gilteretinib
Gilteretinib (formerly ASP-2215) is a highly selective FLT3 and AXL inhibitor that displays activity against both FLT3-ITD and D835 mutations, as well as the “gatekeeper” mutation F691 with minimal activity against wild-type FLT3 [97]. In a FIH phase I/II trial (NCT02014558) in patients with R/R AML, the drug was found to be well-tolerated across a range of doses (20–300 mg), and antileukemic activity was seen in patients with FLT3-mutated AML treated at doses ≥80 mg daily [98]. Several dose levels were then expanded with subjects with FLT3-mutated AML. Out of a total of 252 patients with R/R AML in this trial (Chrysalis), 159 had FLT3-ITD, 13 had a D835 mutation, and 16 had both. Diarrhea (16%) and fatigue (15%) were the most common treatment-related AEs of any grade [99•]. Only 11 patients (<5%) had a maximum post-baseline-corrected QT interval >500 ms. Among 169 patients with FLT3-mutated AML who received doses ≥80 mg/day, the ORR was 52% (55% in FLT3-ITD+ subjects, 17% in D835 mutant subjects, and 62% in subjects with both mutations). The ORR was higher (56%) in patients without prior TKI exposure than among those with prior TKI exposure (42%). Median OS was ∼31 weeks [99•]. There are a number of ongoing studies of gilteritinib in FLT3-mutant AML, including a phase III, randomized trial which is investigating the efficacy of gilteretinib versus salvage chemotherapy in the R/R setting (NCT02421939). In newly diagnosed AML patients, gilteretinib is being investigated in combination with IC without regard to FLT3 mutational status (NCT02236013, NCT02310321) and with azacitidine (NCT02752035) for those with mutant FLT3 not eligible for IC. Finally, for patients with FLT3 ITD AML, it is also being studied as maintenance therapy in first CR after induction and consolidation therapy (NCT02927262) and after HSCT (NCT02997202).
Other Targeted Therapies
Venetoclax
Venetoclax (Venclexta™) is a “BH3-mimetic” antagonist of the antiapoptotic protein, BCL-2, with high efficacy in relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia, including in patients with a 17p deletion, for whom it is currently approved [100••]. Venetoclax efficiently caused on-target cell death through induction of the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis in AML cell lines, primary patient samples, and murine primary xenografts [101••]. In a phase II study in patients with R/R AML or deemed unfit for IC, venetoclax produced an ORR of 19% and demonstrated antileukemic activity in an additional 19% of patients [102•]. Common AEs included nausea, diarrhea and vomiting (all grades), FN, and hypokalemia (grade 3/4) [102•]. The FDA has granted venetoclax “breakthrough” designation in AML. In a phase IB study in treatment-naive older (≥65) patients with cytogenetically intermediate or poor risk AML ineligible for IC, the combination of venetoclax with an HMA (azacitidine or decitabine) yielded an ORR of 76% [103••]. It was higher (82%) in patients with IDH1/2 mutations, an abnormality that had been shown in preclinical studies to confer enhanced susceptibility to BCL-2 inhibition [104••]. The most common treatment-emergent AEs (TEAEs) were nausea (54%), FN (41%), diarrhea (44%), decreased appetite (33%), and peripheral edema (31%). FN (41%) and neutropenia (33%) were the most common grade 3/4 TEAEs, but no DLT were reported [103••]. A similar trial has been conducted with venetoclax in combination with LDAC (NCT02287233). The ORR was 75% in this 20-patient study, with most responses (14 of 15) being CR/CRi [105]. The 12-month OS was 74.7% for all patients and 86.7% among the responders. Febrile neutropenia (35%), hypertension (20%), and hypophosphatemia (20%) constituted the most common nonhematologic grade 3/4 AEs [105].
MDM2 (HDM2) Inhibitors
Pharmacologic inhibition of murine double minute 2 (MDM2, or its human homolog, HDM2), a physiologic antagonist of p53, activates p53 and induces apoptosis or cell cycle arrest in wild-type p53-expressing AML; however, this strategy is not useful against mutant p53 [106]. The level of pretreatment MDM2 protein expression in leukemic blasts appears to be an important biomarker for prediction of response to the MDM2 inhibitor, idasanutlin (RG7388), among patients with R/R AML [107]. A phase IB trial in 75 patients with R/R AML [108] explored the combination of idasanutlin once or twice a day for 5 days and cytarabine 1 g/m2/day for 6 days. In the dose escalation phase (n = 23), patients could be R/R or untreated but not candidates for IC. The CR rate was 25%, the CRc rate was 29%, and when patients achieving MLFS were also considered, the rate was 33% [108]. The median DOR was 6.4 months [108]. A phase III placebo-controlled trial in patients with R/R AML in combination with cytarabine (NCT02545283) is currently underway. DS-3032b is another MDM2 inhibitor currently in a phase I trial (NCT02319369) in advanced hematological malignancies. The MTD was determined to be 160 mg daily on a 21/28 days schedule [109]. Reduction in bone marrow blasts by the end of cycle 1 (4 weeks) was seen in 15 of 38 patients with R/R AML or high-risk MDS. CR was achieved in two patients with AML, and one patient with MDS achieved a marrow CR with platelet improvement [109]. Ninety-three percent of patients experienced a grade ≥3 TEAE. The most common TEAEs (any grade) were nausea (73%), diarrhea (57%), vomiting (33%), fatigue (37%), anemia (33%), thrombocytopenia (33%), neutropenia (20%) hypotension (30%), hypokalemia (23%), and hypomagnesemia (20%) [109].
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
Immune checkpoints refer to a number of inhibitory pathways that are critical for maintaining self-tolerance and modulating physiological immune responses in order to minimize collateral tissue damage. These pathways are often co-opted by tumor cells to escape immune-mediated destruction [110]. The immune checkpoint pathways consisting of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) and its ligands CD80 and CD86, as well as the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and its ligands PD-L1 and PD-L2 have come to the forefront given that their blockade has been clinically efficacious in numerous different tumor types such as melanoma, lung cancer, head and neck cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and urothelial and renal cell carcinoma (reviewed in [111]).
In a phase I/IB study, the anticytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) antibody, ipilimumab, was administered to 28 patients with hematologic malignancies that had relapsed post-allogeneic HSCT [112••]. CRs occurred in four patients with extramedullary AML and one patient with MDS evolving into AML, all at a dose of 10 mg/kg (every 3 weeks for 4 doses, then every 12 weeks for up to 60 weeks) [112••]. Immune-related AEs were reported in six patients (21%; one of them grade 5), and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) precluding further administration of ipilimumab in four (14%) [112••]. There is preclinical evidence for upregulation of CTLA-4 and both PD-1 and its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, on T-cells and neoplastic cells by azacitidine in AML and MDS [113, 114]. Based on this, the combination of azacitidine and the anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody, nivolumab, is under investigation in patients with R/R AML and older patients (>65) with newly diagnosed AML (NCT02397720). Preliminary results on the first 51 patients, all with R/R AML, enrolled to this trial were recently presented [115•]. Of 35 response-evaluable patients, 6 (17%) obtained CR/CRi, 5 (14%) had hematologic improvement (HI), 9 (26%) had ≥50% BM blast reduction, and 3 (9%) had SD for >6 months. The median OS of 9.3 months observed in this study compared favorably to that reported for historical patients treated with azacitidine-based salvage protocols at the MD Anderson Cancer Center (4.1 months). Immune-related AEs (grade 3/4 in 14% and grade 2 in 12%) responded rapidly to steroids in 12 of 13 episodes and these patients were successfully re-challenged with nivolumab, but one patient died from grade 4 pneumonitis/epiglottitis [115•]. There is also preclinical evidence that blockade of the inhibitory killer-cell immunoglobulin receptors (KIRs), which negatively regulate NK cell-mediated killing of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I-expressing tumors, may have antileukemic effects [116]. Twenty-one patients with relapsed AML have been treated with the combination of the anti-KIR monoclonal antibody lirilumab and azacitidine in an ongoing phase IB/II study [117]. No DLTs were observed and lirilumab 3 mg/kg was established as the RP2D in combination with standard dose azacitidine. Of 12 patients evaluable for response, 1 achieved CR and 1 CRi, 2 had ≥50% BM blast reduction, and 2 HI lasting >6 months. Immune-related AEs occurred in three (14%) patients, all of whom responded rapidly to steroids and were re-challenged safely with lirilumab [117].
Rational Combinations
While targeted approaches to specific molecular abnormalities are attractive, AML is a molecularly complex disease with multiple aberrant pathways involved. It is therefore unlikely that blockade of any one specific pathway will lead to prolonged remissions and cures in more than a fraction of the patient population. Thus, combination strategies are likely to be the required to improve outcome. To date, most of the combinations have used a targeted agent combined with standard agents such as anthracyclines, cytarabine, or hypomethylating agents. Rationally designed combinations that will more specifically and directly alter the biology of the disease are required. The number of such rational combinations possible is virtually limitless. The discussion that follows will focus on some promising approaches that have been shown to be synergistic in laboratory studies, some of which are being pursued in clinical trials (Table 2). This presentation should be considering only a sampling of what is to come rather than an exhaustive discussion of such approaches or a declaration of partiality for specific combinations.
As noted previously, IDH1/2 mutations induce BCL-2 dependence in AML [104••]. The production by mutant IDH enzymes of 2-HG instead of the normal metabolite, α-KG, creates a dependence of the IDH-mutated cells on glutamine as their primary source of α-KG, which can be exploited therapeutically by pharmacologic inhibitors of glutaminase. Thus, IDH-mutated AML may be particularly sensitive to glutaminase inhibition [118•]. Glutamine levels also control mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) in AML cells, and glutaminase inhibitors, e.g., CB-839, can reduce OXPHOS, leading to leukemic cell proliferation arrest and apoptosis [119•]. Inhibition of glutaminase by CB-839 activates mitochondrial apoptosis and sensitizes leukemic cells to venetoclax [119•]. These preclinical observations provide a compelling rationale for combining glutaminase inhibitors with BCL-2 antagonists in the clinic.
The major mediator of resistance to BCL-2/-xL inhibition in AML is the antiapoptotic protein, MCL-1 [120]. There is, thus, significant interest in combining venetoclax with drugs that downregulate MCL-1, such as mitogen-activated protein kinase (MEK) inhibitors [121] or sorafenib [122]. Synergism has also been demonstrated between venetoclax and idasanutlin, both in vitro and in vivo [123]. These findings form the basis of an ongoing phase I/II clinical trial (NCT02670044) investigating the combination of venetoclax with cobimetinib, a MEK inhibitor, and with idasanutlin in older patients (≥60) with R/R AML who are not eligible for IC. While MEK inhibitors have limited single-agent activity in R/R AML (with perhaps some preference for patients with RAS mutations) [124], synergistic induction of apoptosis is seen in AML cells with combined blockade of MEK and MDM2 [125]. FLT3 signals downstream to members of the BCL-2 family, and synergistic induction of cell death in AML cell lines by the combination of sorafenib and the BCL-2/-xL inhibitor, ABT-737, has been shown [126]. Accordingly, combining sorafenib with venetoclax might improve the outcome observed with FLT3 inhibitors alone in patients with FLT3-ITD, and may increase the observed responses to FLT3 inhibitors such as quizartinib and gilteritinib seen among patients with wild-type FLT3. MDM2 inhibitors also potentiate apoptosis induction by FLT3 inhibitors through multiple mechanisms [127, 128]. Similar to MDM2 inhibition, another therapeutic strategy to stabilize wild-type p53 is pharmacologic inhibition of chromosomal region maintenance 1 (CRM1), a nuclear export receptor, blockade of which results in nuclear retention of p53 [129]. Selective inhibitors of nuclear export (SINEs) synergize with MDM2 inhibitors in apoptosis induction of patient-derived AML cells [129]. NCT02530476 is an ongoing phase I/II study of sorafenib plus the SINE, selinexor (KPT-330), in patients with R/R FLT3-mutated AML. Studies of selinexor in combination with quizartinib and with MDM2 inhibitors in R/R AML are planned. Sequential treatment of AML blasts with decitabine followed by selinexor (decitabine “priming”) enhances the antileukemic effects of selinexor, possibly through re-expression of tumor suppressor proteins, e.g., CDKN1A and FOXO3A, that are epigenetically silenced by DNA methylation [130]. These preclinical findings were translated to a phase I clinical trial in 24 patients with R/R (n = 19) or previously untreated (n = 5, age ≥ 60, unfit) AML (NCT02093403) [131]. The rate of CR/CRi/marrow CR was 80% in older, untreated and 21% in R/R AML patients. However, selinexor has considerable toxicities, which were somewhat ameliorated by twice weekly, flat (60 mg) dosing [131].
Pevonedistat (MLN4924) is a first-in-class inhibitor of protein neddylation that is active against AML cell lines, primary patient specimens, and xenograft models [132], and also exhibits modest single-agent efficacy in patients with R/R AML [133•]. Pevonedistat synergizes with azacitidine in AML cells [134] and is currently being evaluated in combination with azacitidine (versus azacitidine alone) in a randomized, phase II clinical trial in patients with low blast count AML, MDS, or CMML (NCT02610777). In a separate, dose-escalation study in treatment-naive patients with AML ≥60 years of age, the MTD of the combination was found to be 20 mg/m2/day of pevonedistat, administered on days 1, 3, and 5, along with 75 mg/m2/day of azacitidine, administered on days 1–5, 8, and 9 in 4-week cycles [135]. The ORR was 60% among 52 evaluable patients (18 CR + 5 CRi + 8 PR) with a median DOR of 8.3 months; 6-month survival was 52% after a median follow-up of 16.4 months [135]. A clinical trial of pevonedistat in combination with the HDAC inhibitor, belinostat, in R/R AML is planned based on in vitro and in vivo evidence of synergism [136].
Cell cycle checkpoint dysfunction is universal in neoplastic cells, and a synthetic lethal therapeutic strategy that exploits this phenomenon is the combination of checkpoint kinase (e.g., Chk1, Wee1) inhibitors with DNA-damaging chemotherapy to trigger cell death by “mitotic catastrophe” [137]. The development of some Chk1 inhibitors, e.g., MK-8776, has been discontinued [138], but newer, potentially more potent ones, such as LY2606368, are in clinical trials in R/R AML in combination with IC (NCT02649764). There also exists strong preclinical rationale to combine inhibitors of Chk1 or Wee1 with HDAC inhibitors [139, 140], and a phase I clinical trial, primarily in R/R AML patients, of the combination of the Wee1 inhibitor, MK-1775, and belinostat is ongoing (NCT02381548).
Conclusion
After a long drought of new drug approvals in AML, regulatory approval of several new agents is expected in 2017. The OS benefit seen with some of these agents has brought renewed hope to investigators, physicians and patients. A comprehensive discussion of all the drugs in development for R/R AML is beyond the scope of this review. Table 3 lists some additional agents not covered in the text that are currently in clinical trials for patients with R/R AML. There are yet other agents, such as the histone deacetylase inhibitor pracinostat [141•], and the smoothened (Hedgehog pathway) inhibitor glasdegib [142••], which have shown great promise in previously untreated patients and are expected to be active in salvage settings as well. It is expected that with our improved understanding of the biology of AML and our ability to translate this knowledge into effective therapies, the outcome of patients with AML will improve in a more definitive way in the coming years. Challenges in the definition of relevant endpoints, adequate clinical trial design, access to ever more costly drugs, and others still have to be addressed to make this reality more universal.
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Lancet JE, Cortes JE, Hogge DE, Tallman MS, Kovacsovics TJ, Damon LE, Komrokji R, Solomon SR, Kolitz JE, Cooper M, Yeager AM, Louie AC, Feldman EJ. Phase 2 trial of CPX-351, a fixed 5:1 molar ratio of cytarabine/daunorubicin, vs cytarabine/daunorubicin in older adults with untreated AML. Blood. 2014;123:3239–46.
Cortes JE, Goldberg SL, Feldman EJ, Rizzeri DA, Hogge DE, Larson M, Pigneux A, Recher C, Schiller G, Warzocha K, Kantarjian H, Louie AC, Kolitz JE. Phase II, multicenter, randomized trial of CPX-351 (cytarabine:daunorubicin) liposome injection versus intensive salvage therapy in adults with first relapse AML. Cancer. 2015;121(2):234–42.
Bose P, Simmons GL, Grant S. Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor therapy for hematologic malignancies. Expert Opin Investig Drugs. 2013;22:723–38.
Bible KC, Kaufmann SH. Cytotoxic synergy between flavopiridol (NSC 649890, L86-8275) and various antineoplastic agents: the importance of sequence of administration. Cancer Res. 1997;57:3375–80.
Karp JE, Ross DD, Yang W, Tidwell ML, Wei Y, Greer J, Mann DL, Nakanishi T, Wright JJ, Colevas AD. Timed sequential therapy of acute leukemia with flavopiridol: in vitro model for a phase I clinical trial. Clin Cancer Res. 2003;9:307–15.
Zeidner JF, Foster MC, Blackford AL, Litzow MR, Morris LE, Strickland SA, Lancet JE, Bose P, Levy MY, Tibes R, Gojo I, Gocke CD, Rosner GL, Little RF, Wright JJ, Doyle LA, Smith BD, Karp JE. Randomized multicenter phase II study of flavopiridol (alvocidib), cytarabine, and mitoxantrone (FLAM) versus cytarabine/daunorubicin (7 + 3) in newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia. Haematologica. 2015;100:1172–9.
•• Glaser SP, Lee EF, Trounson E, Bouillet P, Wei A, Fairlie WD, Izon DJ, Zuber J, Rappaport AR, Herold MJ, Alexander WS, Lowe SW, Robb L, Strasser A. Anti-apoptotic Mcl-1 is essential for the development and sustained growth of acute myeloid leukemia. Genes Dev. 2012;26:120–5. Elegant preclinical work showing the critical role of MCL-1 in the development and maintenance of AML.
Del Gaizo Moore V, Letai A. BH3 profiling—measuring integrated function of the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway to predict cell fate decisions. Cancer Lett. 2013;332(2):202–5.
Bose P, Grant S. Orphan drug designation for pracinostat, volasertib and alvocidib in AML. Leuk Res. 2014;38:862–5.
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Roboz GJ, Ravandi F, Kropf P, Yee K, O’Connell C, Griffiths EA, Stock W, Garcia-Manero G, Jabbour EJ, Daver N, Pemmaraju N, Issa JP, Walsh K, Rizzieri D, Lunin S, Naim S, Hao Y, Azab M, Kantarjian HM. Comparison of efficacy and safety of 5-day and 10-day schedules of SGI-110, a novel subcutaneous (SC) hypomethylating agent (HMA), in the treatment of relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (r/r AML). Ann Oncol. 2014;25(suppl_4):iv327–39.
Daver N, Kantarjian HM, Roboz GJ, Kropf PL, Yee KWL, O’Connell C, Griffiths EA, Jabbour EJ, Stock W, Walsh K, Rizzieri DA, Berdeja JG, Su XY, Azab M, Issa JP. Long term survival and clinical complete responses of various prognostic subgroups in 103 relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (r/r AML) patients treated with guadecitabine (SGI-110) in phase 2 studies. Blood. 2016;128:904.
Kantarjian HM, Roboz GJ, Kropf PL, KWL Y, O’Connell C, Tibes R, Walsh K, Podeltsev NA, Griffiths EA, Jabbour EJ, Garcia-Manero G, Rizzieri DA, Stock W, Savona MR, Rosenblat T, Berdeja JG, Wilson L, Lowder JN, Taverna P, Hao Y, Azab M, Issa JP. Comparison of efficacy and safety results in 103 treatment-naïve acute myeloid leukemia (TN-AML) patients not candidates for intensive chemotherapy using 5-day and 10-day regimens of guadecitabine (SGI-110), a novel hypomethylating agent (HMA). Blood. 2015;126:458.
Yee K, Daver N, Kropf P, Tibes R, O’Connell C, Roboz G, Walsh K, Pemmaraju N, Rosenblat T, Berdeja J, Lunin S, Chung W, Issa JP, Naim S, Taverno P, Hao Y, Azab M, Kantarjian H. Results of a randomized multicenter phase 2 study of a 5-day regimen of SGI-110, a novel hypomethylating agent, in treatment naïve elderly acute myeloid leukemia not eligible for intensive therapy. 2014:S647-S647.
Belkina AC, Denis GV. BET domain co-regulators in obesity, inflammation and cancer. Nat Rev Cancer. 2012;12:465–77.
Dawson MA, Kouzarides T, Huntly BJ. Targeting epigenetic readers in cancer. N Engl J Med. 2012;367:647–57.
Devaraj SG, Fiskus W, Shah B, Qi J, Sun B, Iyer SP, Sharma S, Bradner JE, Bhalla KN. HEXIM1 induction is mechanistically involved in mediating anti-AML activity of BET protein bromodomain antagonist. Leukemia. 2016;30:504–8.
Berthon C, Raffoux E, Thomas X, Vey N, Gomez-Roca C, Yee K, Taussig DC, Rezai K, Roumier C, Herait P, Kahatt C, Quesnel B, Michallet M, Recher C, Lokiec F, Preudhomme C, Dombret H. Bromodomain inhibitor OTX015 in patients with acute leukaemia: a dose-escalation, phase 1 study. Lancet Haematol. 2016;3:e186–95.
Fiskus W, Sharma S, Qi J, Shah B, Devaraj SG, Leveque C, Portier BP, Iyer SP, Bradner JE, Bhalla KN. BET protein antagonist JQ1 is synergistically lethal with FLT3 tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) and overcomes resistance to FLT3-TKI in AML cells expressing FLT-ITD. Mol Cancer Ther. 2014.
Fiskus W, Sharma S, Qi J, Valenta JA, Schaub LJ, Shah B, Peth K, Portier BP, Rodriguez M, Devaraj SG, Zhan M, Sheng J, Iyer SP, Bradner JE, Bhalla KN. Highly active combination of BRD4 antagonist and histone deacetylase inhibitor against human acute myelogenous leukemia cells. Mol Cancer Ther. 2014;13:1142–54.
•• Bernt KM, Zhu N, Sinha AU, Vempati S, Faber J, Krivtsov AV, Feng Z, Punt N, Daigle A, Bullinger L, Pollock RM, Richon VM, Kung AL, Armstrong SA. MLL-rearranged leukemia is dependent on aberrant H3K79 methylation by DOT1L. Cancer Cell. 2011;20:66–78. Preclinical work identifying DOT1L as a novel therapeutic target in MLL-rearranged leukemia.
•• Daigle SR, Olhava EJ, Therkelsen CA, Majer CR, Sneeringer CJ, Song J, Johnston LD, Scott MP, Smith JJ, Xiao Y, Jin L, Kuntz KW, Chesworth R, Moyer MP, Bernt KM, Tseng JC, Kung AL, Armstrong SA, Copeland RA, Richon VM, Pollock RM. Selective killing of mixed lineage leukemia cells by a potent small-molecule DOT1L inhibitor. Cancer Cell. 2011;20:53–65. Preclinical activity of a novel, small-molecule antagonist of DOT1L against MLL-rearranged leukemia.
Stein EM, Garcia-Manero G, Rizzieri DA, Tibes R, Berdeja JG, Jongen-Lavrencic M, Altman JK, Dohner H, Thomson B, Blakemore SJ, Daigle S, Fine G, Waters NJ, Krivstov AV, Koche R, Armstrong SA, Ho PT, Lowenberg B, Tallman MS. A phase 1 study of the DOT1L inhibitor, pinometostat (EPZ-5676), in adults with relapsed or refractory leukemia: safety, clinical activity. Exposure Target Inhibition Blood. 2015;126:2547.
Rau RE, Rodriguez BA, Luo M, Jeong M, Rosen A, Rogers JH, Campbell CT, Daigle SR, Deng L, Song Y, Sweet S, Chevassut T, Andreeff M, Kornblau SM, Li W, Goodell MA. DOT1L as a therapeutic target for the treatment of DNMT3A-mutant acute myeloid leukemia. Blood. 2016;128:971–81.
• Ley TJ, Ding L, Walter MJ, McLellan MD, Lamprecht T, Larson DE, Kandoth C, Payton JE, Baty J, Welch J, Harris CC, Lichti CF, Townsend RR, Fulton RS, Dooling DJ, Koboldt DC, Schmidt H, Zhang Q, Osborne JR, Lin L, O’Laughlin M, McMichael JF, Delehaunty KD, McGrath SD, Fulton LA, Magrini VJ, Vickery TL, Hundal J, Cook LL, Conyers JJ, Swift GW, Reed JP, Alldredge PA, Wylie T, Walker J, Kalicki J, Watson MA, Heath S, Shannon WD, Varghese N, Nagarajan R, Westervelt P, Tomasson MH, Link DC, Graubert TA, DiPersio JF, Mardis ER, Wilson RK. DNMT3A mutations in acute myeloid leukemia. N Engl J Med. 2010;363:2424–33. Important paper highlighting the prognostic importance of DNMT3A mutations in AML.
Schenk T, Chen WC, Gollner S, Howell L, Jin L, Hebestreit K, Klein HU, Popescu AC, Burnett A, Mills K, Casero Jr RA, Marton L, Woster P, Minden MD, Dugas M, Wang JC, Dick JE, Muller-Tidow C, Petrie K, Zelent A. Inhibition of the LSD1 (KDM1A) demethylase reactivates the all-trans-retinoic acid differentiation pathway in acute myeloid leukemia. Nat Med. 2012;18:605–11.
Fiskus W, Sharma S, Shah B, Portier BP, Devaraj SG, Liu K, Iyer SP, Bearss D, Bhalla KN. Highly effective combination of LSD1 (KDM1A) antagonist and pan-histone deacetylase inhibitor against human AML cells. Leukemia. 2014;28:2155–64.
Somervaille T, Salamero O, Montesinos P, Willekens C, Simon JAP, Pigneux A, Recher C, Popat R, Molinero C, Mascaro C, Maes T, Bosch F. Safety, phamacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics (PD) and preliminary activity in acute leukemia of Ory-1001, a first-in-class inhibitor of lysine-specific histone demethylase 1A (LSD1/KDM1A): initial results from a first-in-human phase 1 study. Blood. 2016;128:4060.
• Sievers EL, Larson RA, Stadtmauer EA, Estey E, Lowenberg B, Dombret H, Karanes C, Theobald M, Bennett JM, Sherman ML, Berger MS, Eten CB, Loken MR, van Dongen JJ, Bernstein ID, Appelbaum FR, Mylotarg Study Group. Efficacy and safety of gemtuzumab ozogamicin in patients with CD33-positive acute myeloid leukemia in first relapse. J Clin Oncol. 2001;19:3244–54. The study that led to the original FDA approval of gemtuzumab ozogamycin for AML.
• Petersdorf SH, Kopecky KJ, Slovak M, Willman C, Nevill T, Brandwein J, Larson RA, Erba HP, Stiff PJ, Stuart RK, Walter RB, Tallman MS, Stenke L, Appelbaum FR. A phase 3 study of gemtuzumab ozogamicin during induction and postconsolidation therapy in younger patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Blood. 2013;121:4854–60. The study that led to the withdrawal of gemtuzumab ozogamycin.
•• Burnett AK, Hills RK, Milligan D, Kjeldsen L, Kell J, Russell NH, Yin JA, Hunter A, Goldstone AH, Wheatley K. Identification of patients with acute myeloblastic leukemia who benefit from the addition of gemtuzumab ozogamicin: results of the MRC AML15 trial. J Clin Oncol. 2011;29:369–77. Demonstration that the survival advantage with gemtuzumab ozogamycin is restricted to patients with favorable and non-adverse cytogenetics.
•• Burnett AK, Russell NH, Hills RK, Kell J, Freeman S, Kjeldsen L, Hunter AE, Yin J, Craddock CF, Dufva IH, Wheatley K, Milligan D. Addition of gemtuzumab ozogamicin to induction chemotherapy improves survival in older patients with acute myeloid leukemia. J Clin Oncol. 2012;30:3924–31. Phase III trial from the UK demonstrating improved survival with the addition of gemtuzumab ozogamycin to chemotherapy in older patients with newly diagnosed AML.
•• Castaigne S, Pautas C, Terre C, Raffoux E, Bordessoule D, Bastie JN, Legrand O, Thomas X, Turlure P, Reman O, de Revel T, Gastaud L, de Gunzburg N, Contentin N, Henry E, Marolleau JP, Aljijakli A, Rousselot P, Fenaux P, Preudhomme C, Chevret S, Dombret H. Acute Leukemia French Association. Effect of gemtuzumab ozogamicin on survival of adult patients with de-novo acute myeloid leukaemia (ALFA-0701): a randomised, open-label, phase 3 study. Lancet. 2012;379:1508–16. Randomized phase III trial from France demonstrating improved survival with the addition of gemtuzumab ozogamycin to chemotherapy in patients with newly diagnosed AML.
• Hills RK, Castaigne S, Appelbaum FR, Delaunay J, Petersdorf S, Othus M, Estey EH, Dombret H, Chevret S, Ifrah N, Cahn JY, Recher C, Chilton L, Moorman AV, Burnett AK. Addition of gemtuzumab ozogamicin to induction chemotherapy in adult patients with acute myeloid leukaemia: a meta-analysis of individual patient data from randomised controlled trials. Lancet Oncol. 2014;15:986–96. Meta-analysis (including the negative SWOG trial) documenting the survival advantage conferred by the addition of gemtuzumab ozogamycin to induction chemotherapy in patients with AML without adverse cytogenetics.
• Stein AM, Walter RB, Erba HP, Fathi AT, Advani AS, Lancet JE, Ravandi F, Kovacsovics TJ, DeAngelo DJ, Bixby D, Faderl S, Jillela AP, O’Meara MM, Zhao B, Stein EM. A phase 1 trial of SGN-CD33A as monotherapy in patients with CD33-positive acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Blood. 2015;126:324. Single-agent data with a novel, CD33 antibody-drug conjugate in relapsed/refractory AML.
Fathi AT, Erba HP, Lancet JE, Stein EM, Ravandi F, Faderl S, Walter RB, Advani AS, DeAngelo DJ, Kovacsovics TJ, Jillela AP, Bixby D, Levy M, O’Meara MM, Ho P, Stein AS. Vadastuximab talirine plus hypomethylating agents: a well-tolerated regimen with high remission rate in frontline older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Blood. 2016;128:591.
Erba HP, Levy M, Vasu S, Stein AS, Fathi AT, Maris MB, Advani AS, Faderl S, Smith SE, Wood B, Walter RB, Yang J, Donnellan WB, Feldman EJ, Voellinger JL, Ravandi F. A phase 1b study of vadastuximab talirine in combination with 7 + 3 induction therapy for patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Blood. 2016;128:211.
Yang J, Ravandi F, Advani AS, Vasu S, Walter RB, Faderl S, Stein AS, Erba HP, Fathi AT, Donnellan WB, Levy MY, Smith SE, Wood B, Feldman EJ, Voellinger JL, Maris MB. A phase 1b study of vadastuximab talirine as maintenance and in combination with standard consolidation for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Blood. 2016;128:340.
• Krupka C, Kufer P, Kischel R, Zugmaier G, Bogeholz J, Kohnke T, Lichtenegger FS, Schneider S, Metzeler KH, Fiegl M, Spiekermann K, Baeuerle PA, Hiddemann W, Riethmuller G, Subklewe M. CD33 target validation and sustained depletion of AML blasts in long-term cultures by the bispecific T-cell-engaging antibody AMG 330. Blood. 2014;123:356–65. Preclinical activity of a novel, CD33-targeted BiTE® in AML.
• Laszlo GS, Gudgeon CJ, Harrington KH, Dell’Aringa J, Newhall KJ, Means GD, Sinclair AM, Kischel R, Frankel SR, Walter RB. Cellular determinants for preclinical activity of a novel CD33/CD3 bispecific T-cell engager (BiTE) antibody, AMG 330, against human AML. Blood. 2014;123:554–61. Preclinical activity of a novel, CD33-targeted BiTE® in AML.
• Friedrich M, Henn A, Raum T, Bajtus M, Matthes K, Hendrich L, Wahl J, Hoffmann P, Kischel R, Kvesic M, Slootstra JW, Baeuerle PA, Kufer P, Rattel B. Preclinical characterization of AMG 330, a CD3/CD33-bispecific T-cell-engaging antibody with potential for treatment of acute myelogenous leukemia. Mol Cancer Ther. 2014;13:1549–57. Preclinical activity of a novel, CD33-targeted BiTE® in AML.
Harrington KH, Gudgeon CJ, Laszlo GS, Newhall KJ, Sinclair AM, Frankel SR, Kischel R, Chen G, Walter RB. The broad anti-AML activity of the CD33/CD3 BiTE antibody construct, AMG 330, is impacted by disease stage and risk. PLoS One. 2015;10:e0135945.
Krupka C, Kufer P, Kischel R, Zugmaier G, Lichtenegger FS, Kohnke T, Vick B, Jeremias I, Metzeler KH, Altmann T, Schneider S, Fiegl M, Spiekermann K, Bauerle PA, Hiddemann W, Riethmuller G, Subklewe M. Blockade of the PD-1/PD-L1 axis augments lysis of AML cells by the CD33/CD3 BiTE antibody construct AMG 330: reversing a T-cell-induced immune escape mechanism. Leukemia. 2016;30:484–91.
• Al-Hussaini M, Rettig MP, Ritchey JK, Karpova D, Uy GL, Eissenberg LG, Gao F, Eades WC, Bonvini E, Chichili GR, Moore PA, Johnson S, Collins L, DiPersio JF. Targeting CD123 in acute myeloid leukemia using a T-cell-directed dual-affinity retargeting platform. Blood. 2016;127:122–31. Preclinical paper introducing the DART technology for therapy of AML.
Sweet K, Pemmaraju N, Lane AA, Stein AM, Vasu S, Blum W, Rizzieri D, Wang ES, Rowinsky EK, Szarek M, Brooks CL, Disalvatore S, Liu D, Duvic M, Schwartz J, Konopleva M. Lead-in stage results of a pivotal trial of SL-401, an interleukin-3 receptor (IL-3R) targeting biologic, in patients with blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) or acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Blood. 2015;126:3795.
DiNardo CD, Ravandi F, Agresta S, Konopleva M, Takahashi K, Kadia T, Routbort M, Patel KP, Mark B, Pierce S, Garcia-Manero G, Cortes J, Kantarjian H. Characteristics, clinical outcome, and prognostic significance of IDH mutations in AML. Am J Hematol. 2015;90:732–6.
•• Figueroa ME, Abdel-Wahab O, Lu C, Ward PS, Patel J, Shih A, Li Y, Bhagwat N, Vasanthakumar A, Fernandez HF, Tallman MS, Sun Z, Wolniak K, Peeters JK, Liu W, Choe SE, Fantin VR, Paietta E, Lowenberg B, Licht JD, Godley LA, Delwel R, Valk PJ, Thompson CB, Levine RL, Melnick A. Leukemic IDH1 and IDH2 mutations result in a hypermethylation phenotype, disrupt TET2 function, and impair hematopoietic differentiation. Cancer Cell. 2010;18:553–67. Seminal paper describing the role of mutant IDH1/2 enzymes in AML pathogenesis.
• Stein EM, Dinardo CD, Altman JK, Collins R, De Angelo DJ, Kantarjian HM, Sekeres MA, Fathi AT, Flinn IW, Frankel A, Levine RL, Medeiros BC, Patel MR, Pollyea DA, Roboz GJ, Stone RM, Swords RT, Tallman MS, Yen K, Attar EC, Xu Q, Tosolini A, Mei JM, Thakurta A, Knight RD, de Botton S. Safety and efficacy of AG-221, a potent inhibitor of mutant IDH2 that promotes differentiation of myeloid cells in patients with advanced hematologic malignancies: results of a phase 1/2 trial. Blood. 2015;126:323. Promising single-agent data with the IDH2 inhibitor AG221 in patients with R/R AML.
• Dinardo CD, de Botton S, Pollyea DA, Stein EM, Fathi AT, Roboz GJ, Collins R, Swords RT, Flinn IW, Altman JK, Tallman MS, Kantarjian HM, Derti A, Goldwasser M, Prahl M, Wu B, Yen K, Agresta S, Stone RM. Molecular profiling and relationship with clinical response in patients with IDH1 mutation-positive hematologic malignancies receiving AG-120, a first-in-class potent inhibitor of mutant IDH1, in addition to data from the completed dose escalation portion of the phase 1 study. Blood. 2015;126:1306. Promising single-agent data with the IDH1 inhibitor AG120 in patients with R/R AML.
Dinardo CD, Schimmer AD, Yee KWL, Hochhaus A, Carvajal RD, Janku F, Bedard P, Carpio C, Wick A, Schwartz GK, Schoffski P, Wen P, van den Bent MJ, Rosenthal M, O’Keefe J, Chen X, Pagliarini R, Schuck V, Myers A, Wei A. A phase I study of IDH305 in patients with advanced malignancies including relapsed/refractory AML and MDS that harbor IDH1 R132 mutations. Blood. 2016;128:1073.
Kindler T, Lipka DB, Fischer T. FLT3 as a therapeutic target in AML: still challenging after all these years. Blood. 2010;116:5089–102.
Smith CC, Lin K, Stecula A, Sali A, Shah NP. FLT3 D835 mutations confer differential resistance to type II FLT3 inhibitors. Leukemia. 2015;29:2390–2.
Zhang W, Konopleva M, Shi YX, McQueen T, Harris D, Ling X, Estrov Z, Quintas-Cardama A, Small D, Cortes J, Andreeff M. Mutant FLT3: a direct target of sorafenib in acute myelogenous leukemia. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2008;100:184–98.
Borthakur G, Kantarjian H, Ravandi F, Zhang W, Konopleva M, Wright JJ, Faderl S, Verstovsek S, Mathews S, Andreeff M, Cortes JE. Phase I study of sorafenib in patients with refractory or relapsed acute leukemias. Haematologica. 2011;96:62–8.
Crump M, Hedley D, Kamel-Reid S, Leber B, Wells R, Brandwein J, Buckstein R, Kassis J, Minden M, Matthews J, Robinson S, Turner R, McIntosh L, Eisenhauer E, Seymour L. A randomized phase I clinical and biologic study of two schedules of sorafenib in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome or acute myeloid leukemia: a NCIC (National Cancer Institute of Canada) Clinical Trials Group Study. Leuk Lymphoma. 2010;51:252–60.
Macdonald DA, Assouline SE, Brandwein J, Kamel-Reid S, Eisenhauer EA, Couban S, Caplan S, Foo A, Walsh W, Leber B. A phase I/II study of sorafenib in combination with low dose cytarabine in elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia or high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome from the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group: trial IND.186. Leuk Lymphoma. 2013;54:760–6.
• Ravandi F, Alattar ML, Grunwald MR, Rudek MA, Rajkhowa T, Richie MA, Pierce S, Daver N, Garcia-Manero G, Faderl S, Nazha A, Konopleva M, Borthakur G, Burger J, Kadia T, Dellasala S, Andreeff M, Cortes J, Kantarjian H, Levis M. Phase 2 study of azacytidine plus sorafenib in patients with acute myeloid leukemia and FLT-3 internal tandem duplication mutation. Blood. 2013;121:4655–62. A useful combination of commercially available drugs for patients with FLT3-ITD AML.
Ravandi F, Arana Yi C, Cortes JE, Levis M, Faderl S, Garcia-Manero G, Jabbour E, Konopleva M, O’Brien S, Estrov Z, Borthakur G, Thomas D, Pierce S, Brandt M, Pratz K, Luthra R, Andreeff M, Kantarjian H. Final report of phase II study of sorafenib, cytarabine and idarubicin for initial therapy in younger patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Leukemia. 2014;28:1543–5.
Serve H, Krug U, Wagner R, Sauerland MC, Heinecke A, Brunnberg U, Schaich M, Ottmann O, Duyster J, Wandt H, Fischer T, Giagounidis A, Neubauer A, Reichle A, Aulitzky W, Noppeney R, Blau I, Kunzmann V, Stuhlmann R, Kramer A, Kreuzer KA, Brandts C, Steffen B, Thiede C, Muller-Tidow C, Ehninger G, Berdel WE. Sorafenib in combination with intensive chemotherapy in elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia: results from a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. J Clin Oncol. 2013;31:3110–8.
•• Rollig C, Serve H, Huttmann A, Noppeney R, Muller-Tidow C, Krug U, Baldus CD, Brandts CH, Kunzmann V, Einsele H, Kramer A, Schafer-Eckart K, Neubauer A, Burchert A, Giagounidis A, Krause SW, Mackensen A, Aulitzky W, Herbst R, Hanel M, Kiani A, Frickhofen N, Kullmer J, Kaiser U, Link H, Geer T, Reichle A, Junghanss C, Repp R, Heits F, Durk H, Hase J, Klut IM, Illmer T, Bornhauser M, Schaich M, Parmentier S, Gorner M, Thiede C, von Bonin M, Schetelig J, Kramer M, Berdel WE, Ehninger G. Study Alliance Leukaemia. Addition of sorafenib versus placebo to standard therapy in patients aged 60 years or younger with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukaemia (SORAML): a multicentre, phase 2, randomised controlled trial. Lancet Oncol. 2015;16:1691–9. A placebo-controlled, phase II, randomized trial showing a survival benefit for the addition of sorafenib to chemotherapy in younger, unselected patients with newly diagnosed AML.
Chen YB, Li S, Lane AA, Connolly C, Del Rio C, Valles B, Curtis M, Ballen K, Cutler C, Dey BR, El-Jawahri A, Fathi AT, Ho VT, Joyce A, McAfee S, Rudek M, Rajkhowa T, Verselis S, Antin JH, Spitzer TR, Levis M, Soiffer R. Phase I trial of maintenance sorafenib after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 internal tandem duplication acute myeloid leukemia. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2014;20:2042–8.
Stone RM, DeAngelo DJ, Klimek V, Galinsky I, Estey E, Nimer SD, Grandin W, Lebwohl D, Wang Y, Cohen P, Fox EA, Neuberg D, Clark J, Gilliland DG, Griffin JD. Patients with acute myeloid leukemia and an activating mutation in FLT3 respond to a small-molecule FLT3 tyrosine kinase inhibitor, PKC412. Blood. 2005;105:54–60.
Fischer T, Stone RM, Deangelo DJ, Galinsky I, Estey E, Lanza C, Fox E, Ehninger G, Feldman EJ, Schiller GJ, Klimek VM, Nimer SD, Gilliland DG, Dutreix C, Huntsman-Labed A, Virkus J, Giles FJ. Phase IIB trial of oral midostaurin (PKC412), the FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 receptor (FLT3) and multi-targeted kinase inhibitor, in patients with acute myeloid leukemia and high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome with either wild-type or mutated FLT3. J Clin Oncol. 2010;28:4339–45.
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This work was supported in part by the MD Anderson Cancer Center Support Grant No. P30 CA016672 from the National Institutes of Health.
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Prithviraj Bose has received research funding through a grant from Celgene Corporation.
Pankit Vachhani declares that he has no conflict of interest.
Jorge E. Cortes has received research funding through grants from Arog, Celator, Pfizer, Novartis, Tolero, Janssen, FORMA Therapeutics, Daiichi, Astellas, and Bristol-Myers Squibb; and has received compensation from Celator, Pfizer, Novartis, Janssen, Aegios, Astellas, and Bristol-Myers Squibb for service as a consultant.
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Bose, P., Vachhani, P. & Cortes, J.E. Treatment of Relapsed/Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Curr. Treat. Options in Oncol. 18, 17 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11864-017-0456-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11864-017-0456-2