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Phase I/Phase II study of blinatumomab in pediatric patients with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia

  • Arend Von Stackelberg
  • , Franco Locatelli
  • , Gerhard Zugmaier
  • , Rupert Handgretinger
  • , Tanya M. Trippett
  • , Carmelo Rizzari
  • , Peter Bader
  • , Maureen M. O'brien
  • , Benôit Brethon
  • , Deepa Bhojwani
  • , Paul Gerhardt Schlegel
  • , Arndt Borkhardt
  • , Susan R. Rheingold
  • , Todd Michael Cooper
  • , Christian M. Zwaan
  • , Phillip Barnette
  • , Chiara Messina
  • , Ǵerard Michel
  • , Steven G. Dubois
  • , Kuolung Hu
  • Min Zhu, James A. Whitlock, Lia Gore

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

560 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Purpose Blinatumomab is a bispecific T-cell engager antibody construct targeting CD19 on B-cell lymphoblasts. Weevaluated the safety, pharmacokinetics, recommended dosage, and potential for efficacy of blinatumomab in children with relapsed/refractory B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL). Methods This open-label study enrolled children , 18 years old with relapsed/refractory BCP-ALL in a phase I dosage-escalation part and a phase II part, using 6-week treatment cycles. Primary end points were maximum-tolerated dosage (phase I) and complete remission rate within the first two cycles (phase II). Results We treated 49 patients in phase I and 44 patients in phase II. Four patients had dose-limiting toxicities in cycle 1 (phase I). Three experienced grade 4 cytokine-release syndrome (one attributed to grade 5 cardiac failure); one had fatal respiratory failure. The maximum-tolerated dosage was 15 mg/m2d. Blinatumomab pharmacokinetics was linear across dosage levels and consistent among age groups. On the basis of the phase I data, the recommended blinatumomab dosage for children with relapsed/refractory ALL was 5 mg/m2d for the first 7 days, followed by 15 mg/m2d thereafter. Among the 70 patients who received the recommended dosage, 27 (39%; 95% CI, 27% to 51%) achieved complete remission within the first two cycles, 14 (52%) of whom achieved complete minimal residual disease response. The most frequent grade $ 3 adverse events were anemia (36%), thrombocytopenia (21%), and hypokalemia (17%). Three patients (4%) and one patient (1%) had cytokine-release syndrome of grade 3 and 4, respectively. Two patients (3%) interrupted treatment after grade 2 seizures. Conclusion This trial, which to the best of our knowledge was the first such trial in pediatrics, demonstrated antileukemic activity of single-agent blinatumomab with complete minimal residual disease response in children with relapsed/refractory BCP-ALL. Blinatumomab may represent an important new treatment option in this setting, requiring further investigation in curative indications.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4381-4389
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Clinical Oncology
Volume34
Issue number36
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Dec 2016
Externally publishedYes

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