Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies are effective in many hematologic malignancies; however, adverse events including cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and immune effector cell–associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) can affect a significant number of patients. Those who develop refractory CRS or ICANS have few treatment options. Siltuximab, a monoclonal antibody binding circulating interleukin-6, has been proposed to have clinical activity in both CRS and ICANS. We conducted a multicenter retrospective analysis of siltuximab treatment for CRS and ICANS after CAR-T therapy in a real-world cohort from 6 academic centers. Fifty-four patients were evaluated. Sixteen patients had CRS previously treated with tocilizumab and 17 patients had ICANS previously treated with steroids. Of the patients with CRS at the time of siltuximab, 75% had improvement in CRS grade. Of the patients with ICANS at the time of siltuximab, 60% had improvement in ICANS grade. To our knowledge, this is the largest cohort of patients treated with siltuximab for CRS and/or ICANS after CAR-T therapies. Siltuximab appeared to be effective for both CRS and ICANS, including previously treated toxicities. These data support the use of siltuximab in CRS and ICANS as well as provide rationale for future prospective studies.

PURPOSE: On the basis of the results of the ZUMA-3 trial, brexucabtagene autoleucel (brexu-cel), a CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, gained US Food and Drug Administration approval in October 2021 for adults with relapsed/refractory (R/R) B-cell ALL (B-ALL). We report outcomes of patients treated with brexu-cel as a standard therapy. METHODS: We developed a collaboration across 31 US centers to study adults with B-ALL who received brexu-cel outside the context of a clinical trial. Data were collected retrospectively from October 2021 to October 2023. Toxicities were graded per American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy guidelines for cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and immune effector cell–associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS). RESULTS: At the time of data lock, 204 patients had undergone apheresis and 189 were infused. Median follow-up time was 11.4 months. Forty-two percent of patients received brexu-cel in morphologic remission and would have been ineligible for participation in ZUMA-3. After brexu-cel, 151 achieved complete remission (CR), of which 79% were measurable residual disease (MRD) negative remissions. Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 9.5 months and median overall survival was not reached. Grade 3-4 CRS or ICANS occurred in 11% and 31%, respectively. In multivariable analysis, patients receiving consolidative hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT; hazard ratio, 0.34 [95% CI, 0.14 to 0.85]) after brexu-cel had superior PFS compared with those who did not receive any consolidation or maintenance therapy. CONCLUSION: Similar to ZUMA-3, high rates of MRD-negative CR were observed after brexu-cel treatment for R/R B-ALL. The use of HCT as consolidation after brexu-cel resulted in improved PFS.

Liquid biopsy provides real-time data about prognosis and actionable mutations in metastatic breast cancer (MBC). The aim of this study was to explore the combination of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) analysis and circulating tumour cells (CTCs) enumeration in estimating target organs more susceptible to MBC involvement. This retrospective study analysed 88 MBC patients characterised for both CTCs and ctDNA at baseline. CTCs were isolated through the CellSearch kit, while ctDNA was analysed using the Guardant360 NGS-based assay. Sites of disease were collected on the basis of imaging. Associations were explored both through uni- and multivariate logistic regression and Fisher's exact test and the random forest machine learning algorithm. After multivariate logistic regression, ESR1 mutation was the only significant factor associated with liver metastases (OR 8.10), while PIK3CA was associated with lung localisations (OR 3.74). CTC enumeration was independently associated with bone metastases (OR 10.41) and TP53 was associated with lymph node localisations (OR 2.98). The metastatic behaviour was further investigated through a random forest machine learning algorithm. Bone involvement was described by CTC enumeration and alterations in ESR1, GATA3, KIT, CDK4 and ERBB2, while subtype, CTC enumeration, inflammatory BC diagnosis, ESR1 and KIT aberrations described liver metastases. PIK3CA, MET, AR, CTC enumeration and TP53 were associated with lung organotropism. The model, moreover, showed that AR, CCNE1, ESR1, MYC and CTC enumeration were the main drivers in HR positive MBC metastatic pattern. These results indicate that ctDNA and CTCs enumeration could provide useful insights regarding MBC organotropism, suggesting a possible role for future monitoring strategies that dynamically focus on high-risk organs defined by tumourbiology.

TP53-mutant acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in adults is a high-risk subtype with poor outcomes, yet its molecular landscape and clinical implications remain incompletely defined. In this multi-institutional study of 830 adult ALL patients treated at eight academic centers between 2010 and 2024, we demonstrated that TP53 mutations are independent predictors of inferior overall survival in both B-ALL (median, 1.9 vs 5 years) and T-ALL (1.6 vs 9.5 years), irrespective of age, biologic disease subtype, or therapy. Genomic profiling revealed that >90% of TP53 mutations were DNA-binding domain missense variants, frequently co-occurring with hypodiploidy in B-ALL and NOTCH1/FBXW7 mutations in T-ALL. Unlike myeloid malignancies, biallelic TP53 mutations did not worsen outcomes, and variant type (missense vs truncating) did not influence survival. TP53-mutant B-ALL exhibited higher CD20 positivity than TP53-wild type B-ALL (65% vs 31%) but had inferior responses to conventional chemotherapy. Novel immunotherapies (e.g., inotuzumab/blinatumomab) or venetoclax-containing combination regimens improved remission rates, yet relapses were common, often with CD19/CD20/CD22 loss (triple-negative) or acquisition of new mutations. Allogeneic transplantation in first remission trended toward survival benefit (median, 3.3 vs 2.2 years). These findings underscore TP53-mutant ALL as a distinct, chemo-resistant entity necessitating tailored approaches, with antigen escape highlighting challenges of immunotherapy durability.

To examine the prescribing patterns and outcomes of antithrombotic regimens after venous stent placement. A total of 87 patients who received inferior vena cava or iliofemoral venous stents were included in the study. A retrospective review was performed to determine the antithrombotic regimens and the subsequent rates of in-stent restenosis, stent thrombosis, and bleeding. The prescribing patterns of specific antithrombotic regimens were highly variable. In-stent restenosis and stent thrombosis events were observed in 13 of 63 patients (21%) with available follow-up imaging, while major bleeding events were noted in 6 of 87 patients (7%). Triple therapy appeared to reduce the odds of in-stent restenosis/ stent thrombosis when compared to dual antiplatelet therapy (OR = 0.07, P = 0.01). Substantial variability exists in antithrombotic therapy following venous stenting at our institution. This study demonstrated a reduction of in-stent restenosis/thrombosis events when utilizing triple therapy compared to antiplatelet-only regimens. However, larger prospective trials are needed to more accurately determine the relative risks and benefits of each antithrombotic regimen.

Novel functions and involvement of circFARSA have not been reported in pancreatic cancer; in addition, its inhibitor screening has not yet been conducted. The purpose of this study was to (1) verify circFARSA as a novel anti-cancer target for pancreatic cancer and (2) to prepare a novel anti-pancreatic cancer agent targeting circFARSA. In this study, we designed and synthesized a small interfering RNA (siRNA, named siRNA-circFARSA), which specifically inhibits circFARSA expression. Using liposomes and porous silicon nanoparticles (pSiNPs) as siRNA delivery system, we prepared liposome-siRNA-circFARSA and pSiNP-PEI-siRNA-circFARSA and investigated their anti-cancer mechanism by quantitative real-time PCR and western blotting. Cell proliferation curves and transwell migration assays were performed to investigate the effect of siRNAs proliferation and migration capabilities of cancer cells. Patient-derived tumor xenograft mouse models were used to investigate the anti-cancer effects in vivo. The data showed that both liposome-siRNA-circFARSA and pSiNP-PEI-siRNA-circFARSA (Si: 0.7 µg/mL) significantly inhibited the proliferation and migration of pancreatic cancer cells in vitro. However, the biological safety and in vivo anti-cancer effects of pSiNP-PEI-siRNA-circFARSA (Si: 22.4 µg/mL) were higher than those of liposome-siRNA-circFARSA. The results showed that siRNA-circFARSA could inhibit the expression of circFARSA and then BCL-2 protein expression, thereby leading to pancreatic cancer cell apoptosis after transportation into pancreatic cancer cells. Therefore, this study provides tools for pancreatic cancer treatment in the future, as it (1) verified circFARSA as a novel target for pancreatic cancer treatment, and (2) prepared a novel anti-pancreatic cancer agent (pSiNP-PEI-siRNA-circFARSA).