Browsing by Subject "Dacarbazine"

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    Hodgkin lymphoma treatment with ABVD in the US and the EU: neutropenia occurrence and impaired chemotherapy delivery.
    (J Hematol Oncol, 2010-08-19) Schwenkglenks, Matthias; Pettengell, Ruth; Szucs, Thomas D; Culakova, Eva; Lyman, Gary H
    BACKGROUND: In newly diagnosed patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) the effect of doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine and dacarbazine (ABVD)-related neutropenia on chemotherapy delivery is poorly documented. The aim of this analysis was to assess the impact of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia (CIN) on ABVD chemotherapy delivery in HL patients. STUDY DESIGN: Data from two similarly designed, prospective, observational studies conducted in the US and the EU were analysed. One hundred and fifteen HL patients who started a new course of ABVD during 2002-2005 were included. The primary objective was to document the effect of neutropenic complications on delivery of ABVD chemotherapy in HL patients. Secondary objectives were to investigate the incidence of CIN and febrile neutropenia (FN) and to compare US and EU practice with ABVD therapy in HL. Pooled data were analysed to explore univariate associations with neutropenic events. RESULTS: Chemotherapy delivery was suboptimal (with a relative dose intensity < or = 85%) in 18-22% of patients. The incidence of grade 4 CIN in cycles 1-4 was lower in US patients (US 24% vs. EU 32%). Patients in both the US and the EU experienced similar rates of FN across cycles 1-4 (US 12% vs. EU 11%). Use of primary colony-stimulating factor (CSF) prophylaxis and of any CSF was more common in the US than the EU (37% vs. 4% and 78% vs. 38%, respectively). The relative risk (RR) of dose delays was 1.54 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.08-2.23, p = 0.036) for patients with vs. without grade 4 CIN and the RR of grade 4 CIN was 0.35 (95% CI 0.12-1.06, p = 0.046) for patients with vs. without primary CSF prophylaxis. CONCLUSIONS: In this population of HL patients, CIN was frequent and FN occurrence clinically relevant. Chemotherapy delivery was suboptimal. CSF prophylaxis appeared to reduce CIN rates.
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    Myeloablative temozolomide enhances CD8⁺ T-cell responses to vaccine and is required for efficacy against brain tumors in mice.
    (PLoS One, 2013) Sanchez-Perez, Luis A; Choi, Bryan D; Archer, Gary E; Cui, Xiuyu; Flores, Catherine; Johnson, Laura A; Schmittling, Robert J; Snyder, David; Herndon, James E; Bigner, Darell D; Mitchell, Duane A; Sampson, John H
    Temozolomide (TMZ) is an alkylating agent shown to prolong survival in patients with high grade glioma and is routinely used to treat melanoma brain metastases. A prominent side effect of TMZ is induction of profound lymphopenia, which some suggest may be incompatible with immunotherapy. Conversely, it has been proposed that recovery from chemotherapy-induced lymphopenia may actually be exploited to potentiate T-cell responses. Here, we report the first demonstration of TMZ as an immune host-conditioning regimen in an experimental model of brain tumor and examine its impact on antitumor efficacy of a well-characterized peptide vaccine. Our results show that high-dose, myeloablative (MA) TMZ resulted in markedly reduced CD4(+), CD8(+) T-cell and CD4(+)Foxp3(+) TReg counts. Adoptive transfer of naïve CD8(+) T cells and vaccination in this setting led to an approximately 70-fold expansion of antigen-specific CD8(+) T cells over controls. Ex vivo analysis of effector functions revealed significantly enhanced levels of pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion from mice receiving MA TMZ when compared to those treated with a lower lymphodepletive, non-myeloablative (NMA) dose. Importantly, MA TMZ, but not NMA TMZ was uniquely associated with an elevation of endogenous IL-2 serum levels, which we also show was required for optimal T-cell expansion. Accordingly, in a murine model of established intracerebral tumor, vaccination-induced immunity in the setting of MA TMZ-but not lymphodepletive, NMA TMZ-led to significantly prolonged survival. Overall, these results may be used to leverage the side-effects of a clinically-approved chemotherapy and should be considered in future study design of immune-based treatments for brain tumors.
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    Phase II trial of upfront bevacizumab and temozolomide for unresectable or multifocal glioblastoma.
    (Cancer Med, 2013-04) Lou, Emil; Peters, Katherine B; Sumrall, Ashley L; Desjardins, Annick; Reardon, David A; Lipp, Eric S; Herndon, James E; Coan, April; Bailey, Leighann; Turner, Scott; Friedman, Henry S; Vredenburgh, James J
    Patients with unresectable glioblastomas have a poor prognosis, with median survival of 6-10 months. We conducted a phase II trial of upfront 5-day temozolomide (TMZ) and bevacizumab (BV) in patients with newly diagnosed unresectable or multifocal glioblastoma. Patients received up to four cycles of TMZ at 200 mg/m(2) on days 1-5, and BV at 10 mg/kg on days 1 and 15 of a 28-day cycle. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed monthly. Therapy was continued as long as there was no tumor progression, grade 4 nonhematologic toxicity, or recurrent grade 4 hematologic toxicity after dose reduction. The primary end point was best tumor response as measured on MRI. Forty-one patients were accrued over 12 months; 39 had a full set of MRI scans available for evaluation. Assessment for best radiographic responses was as follows: partial responses in 24.4%, stable disease in 68.3%, and progressive disease in 2.4%. Treatment-related toxicities included seven grade 4 toxicities and one grade 5 toxicity (myocardial infarction). From this study, it was concluded that an upfront regimen of TMZ and BV for unresectable glioblastoma was well tolerated and provided a significant level of disease stabilization. Therapeutic toxicities were consistent with those seen in the adjuvant setting using these agents. The upfront approach to treatment of glioblastoma in the unresectable population warrants further investigation in randomized controlled phase III trials.