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The bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) family of proteins are important epigenetic regulators involved in promoting gene expression of critical oncogenes. BET inhibitors have been demonstrated to repress c-Myc expression, and were initially shown to have efficacy in a number of c-Myc-dependent hematologic malignancies. Recent studies have now revealed a broader role for BET inhibitors in hematologic malignancies. In this review, we summarize the efficacy of BET inhibitors in preclinical models of acute leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. We also summarize recent results of clinical trials utilizing BET inhibitors in hematologic malignancies, characterize potential resistance mechanisms to BET inhibitors, and discuss potential combination therapies with BET inhibitors in patients with hematologic malignancies.

We report the results from a multicenter retrospective study of 69 adult patients who underwent haploidentical blood or marrow transplantation (haplo-BMT) with post-transplantation cyclophosphamide (PTCy) for chronic phase myelofibrosis. The median age at BMT was 63 years (range, 41–74). Conditioning regimens were reduced intensity in 54% and nonmyeloablative in 39%. Peripheral blood grafts were used in 86%. The median follow-up was 23.1 months (range, 1.6–75.7). At 3 years, the overall survival, relapse-free survival (RFS), and graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD)-free-RFS were 72% (95% CI 59–81), 44% (95% CI 29–59), and 30% (95% CI 17–43). Cumulative incidences of non-relapse mortality and relapse were 23% (95% CI 14–34) and 31% (95% CI 17–47) at 3 years. Spleen size ≥22 cm or prior splenectomy (HR 6.37, 95% CI 2.02–20.1, P = 0.002), and bone marrow grafts (HR 4.92, 95% CI 1.68–14.4, P = 0.004) were associated with increased incidence of relapse. Cumulative incidence of acute GVHD grade 3–4 was 10% at 3 months and extensive chronic GVHD was 8%. Neutrophil engraftment was reported in 94% patients, at a median of 20 days (range, 14–70). In conclusion, haplo-BMT with PTCy is feasible in patients with myelofibrosis. Splenomegaly ≥22 cm and bone marrow grafts were associated with a higher incidence of relapse in this study.

Background: GSK3326595 is a potent, selective, reversible protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) inhibitor under investigation for treatment of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML), and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In preclinical models of AML, PRMT5 inhibition decreased proliferation and increased cell death, supporting additional clinical research in myeloid neoplasms. Objectives: To determine the clinical activity, safety, tolerability, dosing, additional measures of clinical activity, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of GSK3326595. Design: In part 1 of this open-label, multicenter, multipart, phase I/II study, adults with relapsed/refractory myeloid neoplasms (e.g., MDS, CMML, and AML) received monotherapy with 400 or 300 mg oral GSK3326595 once daily. Study termination occurred prior to part 2 enrollment. Methods: Clinical activity was determined by the clinical benefit rate (CBR; proportion of patients achieving complete remission (CR), complete marrow remission (mCR), partial remission, stable disease (SD) >8 weeks, or hematologic improvement). Adverse events (AEs) were assessed by incidence and severity. Exploratory examination of spliceosome mutations was performed to determine the relationship between genomic profiles and clinical response to GSK3326595. Results: Thirty patients with a median age of 73.5 years (range, 47–90) were enrolled; 13 (43%) and 17 (57%) received 400 and 300 mg of GSK3326595, respectively. Five (17%) patients met CBR criteria: 4 (13%) with SD >8 weeks and 1 (3%) achieving mCR. Of five patients with clinical benefit: three had SRSF2 mutation, one U2AF1, and one was splicing factor wild-type. Frequent GSK3326595-related AEs were decreased platelet count (27%), dysgeusia (23%), fatigue (20%), and nausea (20%). GSK3326595 had rapid absorption, with a Tmax of approximately 2 h and a terminal half-life of 4–6 h. Conclusion: GSK3326595 monotherapy had limited clinical activity in heavily pretreated patients despite robust target engagement. The safety profile was broadly consistent with other published PRMT5 inhibitor studies. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03614728. Plain language summary A clinical study to determine the effectiveness and safety of a medication called GSK3326595 in patients with cancers that affect the blood and bone marrow What is this study about? This summary provides the results of a study performed to see how safe and effective treatment with a once daily, oral medication called GSK3326595 was in patients with blood and bone marrow cancers. What are PRMT5 inhibitors? GSK3326595 belongs to a class of medications known as PRMT5 inhibitors. PRMT5 is an enzyme that is involved in many processes in cells. In cancers, too much PRMT5 activity can cause excessive cell growth. This study was performed to see if blocking of PRMT5 by GSK3326595 would help treat patients with blood and bone marrow cancers. What patients were in this study? The patients included in this study had previously received many other cancer treatments. Most patients with these types of cancers have few treatment options and usually pass away due to their disease. What were the results? Five of the 30 patients (17%) included in the study had a response to treatment, including 4 patients with stable disease for more than 8 weeks and 1 patient with complete marrow remission for approximately 8 months. Of the 93% of patients that completed the study, 83% died. Ultimately, all 30 patients discontinued study treatment, mostly due to progression of their disease. The most frequent side effects related to GSK3326595 treatment that occurred in ⩾20% of patients were a decrease in the number of cells that help the blood clot, change in taste bud sense, fatigue, and nausea. The side effects caused by GSK3326595 were similar to what is seen with other PRMT5 inhibitors. Treatment with GSK3326595 provided limited benefits in this patient population and no future studies are planned for GSK3326595 at this time. Additional studies are needed for PRMT5 inhibitors, including combination therapies, to determine which patients with blood and bone marrow cancers could potentially benefit from treatment.

   Purpose of Review Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a serious complication after allogeneic HCT. Recently, several pivotal studies have been conducted demonstrating significant improvements in the management of GVHD. Here, we review important trials pertaining to GVHD prevention, acute GVHD treatment, and treatment of steroid refractory acute and chronic GVHD. Recent Findings Clinical trials in preventing GVHD demonstrate lower rates of severe acute GVHD and chronic GVHD with post-transplant cyclophosphamide. For acute GVHD, lower risk acute GVHD appears amenable to steroid-sparing therapies, such as sirolimus and itacitinib. Combinations with novel agents such as itolizumab appear promising for high risk acute GVHD. For steroid-refractory acute GVHD, ruxolitinib should be considered first line therapy. For chronic GVHD requiring therapy beyond steroids, ruxolitinib, belumosudil, and ibrutinib are now available and should be considered. Summary Increasingly, GVHD has become a manageable complication after allogeneic HCT potentially translating to greater success with allogeneic HCT in the future.

Acute GVHD (aGVHD) is a significant complication after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), occurring in up to 70% of HCT recipients. Steroidrefractory aGVHD represents a subset of patients failing initial therapy and is particularly morbid, with only 30% of patients surviving long term. Better therapies are urgently required for these patients. Here, we discuss recent advancements in the management of SR-aGVHD. We review the currently available therapies for SR-aGVHD including the results of the REACH1 and REACH2 trials, which provide the basis for the use of ruxolitinib for the treatment of SR-aGVHD. We additionally discuss newer agents under clinical investigation and will highlight the niche these agents may fill to further improve outcomes in aGVHD patient care. Keywords: stem cell transplantation, hematopoietic, graft-vs-host disease, ruxolitinib, steroid refractory

The reduced risk of chronic graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) with posttransplant cyclophosphamide (ptCy) in the setting of haploidentical related donor and more recently, with HLA-matched related and matched and mismatched unrelated donor allogeneic transplantation has been established. There is, however, paucity of data to show if ptCy impacts chronic GVHD pathogenesis, its phenotype and evolution after HCT regardless of the donor status. We examined the differences in chronic GVHD incidence and presentation in 314 consecutive patients after receiving their first allogeneic transplantation (HCT) using ptCy-based GVHD prophylaxis (ptCy-HCT; n = 120; including 95 with haploidentical related donor) versus conventional calcineurin inhibitor-based prophylaxis (CNI-MUD; n = 194) between 2012 and 2019. The 1-year cumulative incidence of all-grade chronic GVHD and moderate/severe chronic GVHD was 24% and 12%, respectively, after ptCy-HCT and 40% and 23% in the CNI-MUD recipients (p = 0.0003 and 0.007). Multivariable analysis confirmed that use of CNI-based GVHD prophylaxis and peripheral blood stem cell graft as the risk factors for chronic GVHD. The cumulative incidence of visceral (involving ≥1 of the following organs: liver, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, serous membranes) chronic GVHD was significantly higher with CNI-MUD vs. ptCy-HCT (27% vs. 15% at 1 year, p = 0.009). The incidence of moderate/severe visceral chronic GVHD was 20% in CNI-MUD group vs. 7.7% in the ptCy-HCT group at 1 year (p = 0.002). In addition, significantly fewer ptCy-HCT recipients developed severe chronic GVHD in ≥3 organs (0.8%) vs. 8.8% in the CNI-MUD group at 1-year posttransplant (p = 0.004). There was no significant different in relapse, non-relapse mortality, and relapse-free and overall survival between the two groups. Further investigation is needed to confirm that reduced risk and severity of chronic GVHD, less visceral organ distribution with ptCy-HCT leads to improved quality of life.