We retrospectively analyzed the effectiveness of ruxolitinib in patients with myelofibrosis (MF) in real clinical practice in Russia. The study included 42 patients with MF with an average age of 56 years from 10 inpatient and outpatient clinics. The majority of patients (55 %) belonged to the intermediate risk group 1 on the DIPSS scale, 86 % had massive splenomegaly and 88 % had constitutional symptoms. The average initial dose of ruxolitinib was 15 mg twice a day. At the time of analysis, 74 % of patients continued taking ruxolitinib with an average duration of therapy of 20 months. A decrease in the palpable size of the spleen by at least 50 % was recorded in 36 % and 46 % of patients assessed after 3 and 6 months of treatment, respectively. A correlation was found between OV, initial splenomegaly and splenic response after 3 months of therapy. It should be noted that no deaths were recorded in patients with a decrease in the size of the spleen by ≥ 50 %. There were no cases of discontinuation of treatment due to side effects. In general, in our retrospective study, ruxolitinib effectively controlled constitutional symptoms and reduced the size of the spleen in patients with MF. An early splenic response after 3 months of therapy is apparently a prognostic factor for OS, and a decrease in the size of the spleen by less than 25 % should be considered as treatment ineffectiveness in patients with MF taking ruxolitinib.

Currently we are facing a revolution in therapy of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, related to the development of novel target drugs, which have markedly improved treatment results in all groups of patients. While inhibitors of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (ibrutinib, acalabrutinib etc.) and phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase isoforms (idelalisib, umbralisib etc.) are currently in the spotlight, much less attention is paid to antiapoptotic protein inhibitors such as venetoclax. In this review we summarize the results of venetoclax clinical studies in CLL as monotherapy and in combinations. The drug is distinguished by a high rate of complete responses and minimal residual disease eradication in high risk CLL patients, as well as a favorable toxicity profile. This makes it an ideal component of non-genotoxic regimens, aimed at the cure of the disease. В последние годы в терапии хронического лимфолейкоза (ХЛЛ) произошла революция, связанная с появлением новых таргетных препаратов, которые существенно улучшили результаты лечения всех групп больных ХЛЛ. При этом ингибиторы тирозинкиназы Брутона (ибрутиниб, акалабрутиниб и др.) и изоформ фосфатидилинозитол-3-киназы (иделалисиб, умбралисиб и др.) находятся на пике популярности, в то время как ингибиторам антиапоптотических белков (венетоклакс) уделяется незаслуженно мало внимания. В данном обзоре мы представляем результаты клинических исследований венетоклакса в монотерапии и комбинированных схемах при ХЛЛ. Отличительной чертой данного препарата является высокая частота достижения полных ответов и эрадикации минимальной остаточной болезни у пациентов с ХЛЛ высокого риска, а также хорошо контролируемый профиль токсичности, что делает его идеальным компонентом негенотоксичных режимов, нацеленных на полное излечение заболевания.

Background. In patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) the eradication of minimal residual disease (MRD) is a prognostic factor of overall survival (OS) and progressionfree survival (PFS). IGHV mutational status has also independent prognostic value. Aim. To analyse the impact of mutational status and MRD eradication in CLL patients after first-line standard BR (ben-damustine + rituximab) immunochemotherapy. Materials & Methods. The prospective study included patients with immunophenotypically confirmed CLL who had not previously received anticancer therapy. All patients were treated by BR combination from 2012 to 2015. MRD level was determined in 109 patients after completing the 3rd and the 6th treatment courses. IGHV mutational status data were available for 98 patients. IGHV mutational status was evaluated in accordance with ERIC recommendations. MRD was assessed by standardized method of 4-color flow cytometry. Results. MRD negativity was achieved in 37 (34 %) out of 109 patients. MRD eradication correlated with the best PFS (p = 0.04). IGHV mutational status had a statistically significant impact on PFS (p = 0.02). In patients with MRD-nega-tive response and IGHV mutation no unfavorable events occurred during the period of monitoring. Conversely, PFS rates in MRD-negative patients having no IGHV mutation and in MRD-positive patients with mutation were significantly worse. MRD eradication resulted in statistically significant improvement of PFS rates after completing 3 treatment courses, compared with the cases with MRD persistence regardless of residual malignant clone level (p = 0.01). Conclusion. BR therapy as first-line treatment statistically improved PFS in patients who achieved MRD-negative remission after completing the 3rd treatment course. PFS was significantly higher in MRD-negative patients with IGHV mutation after 6 treatment courses. MRD negativity resulting from 6 BR therapies in patients having no / GHV mutation was not accompanied by PFS improvement. It follows that by itself MRD negativity cannot be considered to be a universal prognostic factor.

Currently we are facing a revolution in therapy of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, related to the development of novel target drugs, which have markedly improved treatment results in all groups of patients. While inhibitors of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (ibrutinib, acalabrutinib etc.) and phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase isoforms (idelalisib, umbralisib etc.) are currently in the spotlight, much less attention is paid to antiapoptotic protein inhibitors such as venetoclax. In this review we summarize the results of venetoclax clinical studies in CLL as monotherapy and in combinations. The drug is distinguished by a high rate of complete responses and minimal residual disease eradication in high risk CLL patients, as well as a favorable toxicity profile. This makes it an ideal component of non-genotoxic regimens, aimed at the cure of the disease.

Aim. To estimate ibrutinib efficacy in the treatment of early CLL relapses and in patients with > 2 lines of preceding therapy. Analysis of treatment results in patients with del(17p) and monitoring of minimal residual disease (MRD) and ibrutinib safety profile. Materials & Methods. The analysis included the results of ibrutinib treatment in 31 patients with CLL. Twenty eight patients were treated by bendamustine and fludarabine containing regimens. The median prior treatment lines were 2 (range 1-10). The indications for the treatment initiation were the first early relapse in 51 % of cases (n = 16) and a relapse after 2 and more lines of therapy in 49 % of cases (n = 15). Ibrutinib was administered in mono- (n = 15) and combined therapy (n = 14) as well as in the R-BAC scheme (n = 2). Using FISH analysis del(17p) was found in 9 patients (34 %). Results. Within the median follow up of 18 months (range 7-42+) the overall survival (OS) rate was reported to be 87 %, and the progression-free survival (PFS) rate was 77 %. The maximum MRD after a year of ibrutinib treatment was observed in case of combination with immunochemother-apy (e.g., R-BAC). Within the period of 18 months OS rate was 100 %, in the patient group with early relapses and 66 % in the group with a relapse after 2 and more therapy lines (p = 0.02). Within the same examination period PFS was significantly higher (94 %) in the patient group with early relapses compared to the previously treated patients (60 %) (p = 0.034). The most common adverse events were grade 1-2 purpura (30 %), grade 1-2 diarrhea (10 %), atrial fibrillation paroxysms (10 %) and arterial hypertension (10 %). Severe infectious complications registered in 6 % (n = 3) patients were successfully solved in the course of combined antibacterial and antimycotic treatment. Conclusion. Ibrutinib was shown to be effective drug for treatment of relapsed CLL. The OS and PFS values were more favourable in patients with early relapses compared to the patients with relapses after > 2 lines of therapy prior to ibrutinib treatment. The maximum elimination of the tumor clone was observed after combined ibrutinib/immunochemotherapy treatment. The tolerance of ibrutinib was reported to be satisfactory with acceptable toxicity profile. No mortality due to infection complications was observed.

Currently we are facing a revolution in therapy of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, related to the development of novel target drugs, which have markedly improved treatment results in all groups of patients. While inhibitors of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (ibrutinib, acalabrutinib etc.) and phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase isoforms (idelalisib, umbralisib etc.) are currently in the spotlight, much less attention is paid to antiapoptotic protein inhibitors such as venetoclax. In this review we summarize the results of venetoclax clinical studies in CLL as monotherapy and in combinations. The drug is distinguished by a high rate of complete responses and minimal residual disease eradication in high risk CLL patients, as well as a favorable toxicity profile. This makes it an ideal component of non-genotoxic regimens, aimed at the cure of the disease.

Background & Aims. The IGHV gene mutation status is a constant biological feature of tumor cells in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). This parameter is an important predictor of the efficacy of immunochemotherapy. It was included into the CLL international prognostic index CLL-IPI developed recently. The aim is to evaluate the prognostic significance of the BR regimen in patients with different variants of the B-cell receptor (BCR) structure. Methods. The study examined immediate and delayed treatment outcomes for 183 CLL patients included in a Russian, prospective, observational BEN-001 trial (NCT02110394). The median age was 61 years (range: 35-79); 53/179 (29.6 %) patients were older than 65; and 14/179 (7.8 %) patients were older than 75. Prevalence of males (110/179, 61.5 %) in the male/female ratio (1.6:1.0) was observed. Most patients had advanced disease: Binet B 116/173 (67 %) or Binet C 38/173 (22 %). The patients received the first-line therapy according to the BR regimen at standard doses in 36 hematological institutions in the Russian Federation over the period from 2012 until 2015. The genome DNA isolated from mononuclear leukocytes in the peripheral blood was used to assess the mutation status of the IGHV-genes. Results. The study demonstrated that unmutated CLL (> 98 % of homology to germline gene) is associated with worsening of the event-free and overall survival rates most of all; at that, the complete remission rate and the MRD-free survival rate were the same. Conclusion. It is reasonable to analyze the IGHV mutation status in all patients prescribed with the BR regimen as the first-line therapy.

Aim. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the BR regimen containing bendamustine in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who have not previously received specific therapy. Subjects and methods. The results of the Russian prospective observational multicenter study BEN-001 (2012-2015) covering 196 CLL patients from 34 centers of the Russian Federation were analyzed. The diagnosis was confirmed by the results of peripheral blood lymphocyte immunophenotyping. A centralized approach was employed to make IGHV gene mutational status analysis, FISH examination, and minimal residual disease according to standardized methods. Quality-of-life (QOL) indicators were estimated using the EQ-5D and FACT-Leu questionnaires. Survival rates were calculated applying by the Kaplan-Meier method. Results. The patients' median age was 61 years. 41% of patients had a decline in estimated creatinine clearance less than 70 ml/min/1.73 m(2). The combination of bendamustine and rituximab could achieve a common response in 83.2% of the patients, including complete remission in 59.7%. Eradication of minimal residual disease was achieved in 23 (27.4%) of 84 patients. Two year progression-free survival rates were 85.9%. The QOL indicators were noted to be improved during the treatment. Conclusion. The investigation shows the good tolerability of bendamustine when it is used in clinical practice. Due to the high cost of new drugs (ibrutinib, obinutuzumab, ofatumumab, etc.) and toxicity of the FCR regimen, the combination including bendamustine can be the best first-line therapy option for all CLL patients, regardless of their age and comorbidity.

Background & Aims. Flow cytometry is successfully used for diagnosis of malignant lymphoproliferative disorders. However, there are atypical cases that are difficult to interpret; thus, new markers relevant for the differential diagnosis are to be searched for. The aim is to analyze CD200 expression in patients with B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders. Materials & Methods. 187 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), 14 patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), 9 patients with marginal zone lymphoma (MZL), and 5 patients with hairy cell leukemia (HCL) were enrolled in the study. Neoplasm was not confirmed in 12 subjects. The patients underwent the following tests: CBC, immunophenotyping of peripheral blood or bone marrow lymphocytes, and a cytogenetic test. In some cases, an additional immunohistochemical test of bone marrow trepanobiopsy or lymph node biopsy samples was required. Results. In all cases of CLL and HCL, the CD200 expression was positive; mean fluorescence intensity was higher in these cases as compared to other groups. Negative expression of CD200 prevailed in MCL patients; however, at the same time 2 cases of intermediate and positive expression were reported, both showing moderate fluorescence intensity values. CD200 expression was heterogeneous in MZL patients. Conclusion. The CD200 negative expression excludes typical HCL and CLL. Additional cytogenetic and immunnohistoсhemical tests should be performed in such cases to verify the diagnosis, first of all, MCL or MZL.

Background & Aims. New schemes of the antitumor therapy of CLL resulted in improvement of survival of relatively young patients. However, the therapy outcomes of elderly patients are still unsatisfactory. Erroneous overestimation of expected toxicity of standard therapeutic regimens in some elderly patients may play a certain role, thus leading to prescription of less effective regimens. Therefore, the urgent problem is to find objective criteria for risk stratification in CLL. The aim of the study is to evaluate the prognostic significance of patient’s age and the CIRS-G index in elderly patients treated with fludarabine-containing regimens in first line treatment outside clinical trials. Methods. A retrospective analysis of 90 elderly CLL patients, treated with standard FC and FCR regimens in the clinic of internal medicine of the First St. Petersburg State Medical University from 2001 till 2011. The age median was 59 years (range from 43 to 78 years). The comorbidity index was determined for each patient using the CIRS-G score. Results. The overall response rate did not significantly differ between FC and FCR groups and was equal to 81.6 % and 93.4 %, respectively (p = 0.109). Complete remissions were achieved in 72.3 % of FCR group patients and only in 46.5 % of FC group patients (p = 0.018). The retrospective analysis of treatment tolerability in primary elderly patients with different CIRS-G scores in the routine clinical practice demonstrated that the index has no independent prognostic significance. Among all CIRS-G components (14 organs and systems), only renal and hepatic diseases demonstrated significant correlation with the overall survival rate (p < 0.001 and p = 0.028, respectively). Conclusion. The creatinine clearance value in the beginning of treatment is the most important predictor of FC and FCR regimen efficacy in elderly patients. The use of the comorbidity index with a 6-score threshold as a contraindication for fludarabine-containing regimens proved to be unjustified.