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CLINICAL OBSERVATIONS, INTERVENTIONS, AND THERAPEUTIC TRIALS
From the Skin Tumour Unit, St John's Institute of
Dermatology, St Thomas' Hospital; and the Department of Public Health
Sciences, Guy's, King's and St Thomas' School of Medicine, King's
College, London, United Kingdom.
Data were analyzed from 23 patients with Sézary syndrome
(defined by erythroderma, more than 10% circulating atypical
mononuclear cells, and peripheral blood T-cell clone) undergoing
monthly extracorporeal photopheresis as the sole therapy for up to 1 year. The cohort showed a significant reduction of skin scores during
treatment (P = .001). Thirteen patients (57%) achieved a
reduction in skin score greater than 25% from baseline at 3, 6, 9, or
12 months (responders). Reduction in skin score correlated with
reduction in the Sézary cell count as a percentage of total white
cell count (P = .03). Responders and nonresponders were
compared. None of the measured parameters was significantly different
between the 2 groups. It was assessed whether any of the baseline
parameters predicted outcome. A higher baseline lymphocyte count was
significantly associated with a decrease in skin score at 6 months
(P < .05). A higher baseline Sézary cell count as
a percentage of total white cell count predicted a subject was more
likely to be a responder after 6 months of treatment
(P = .021). No other parameters predicted responder
status. These data show that the modest falls in CD4, CD8, and
Sézary cell counts were seen in all patients and might have
resulted from lymphocyte apoptosis. This mechanism could explain the
more favorable response seen in patients with higher percentages
of Sézary cells in the peripheral blood. Alternatively, minimum
tumor burden might be required for the induction of a cytotoxic
response. Analysis of tumor-specific cytotoxic T cells is needed to
investigate these possibilities further.
(Blood. 2001;98:1298-1301) Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) has been
used to treat cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) for more than 10 years.
In ECP, photosensitized peripheral blood lymphocytes are exposed to
ultraviolet A radiation in an extracorporeal circuit and reinfused into
the patient. Photosensitization of the lymphocytes is achieved by administering 8 methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) by mouth to the patient 2 hours
before leukopheresis or by exposing the lymphocytes to another
photosensitizing agent, such as Uvadex (Therakos, West Chester, PA)
(soluble 8-MOP), during the extracorporeal circuit. The efficacy of ECP
in CTCL was first reported by Edelson et al in 1987.1
Since then, studies have reported the therapeutic benefit of ECP in
CTCL,2-10 though the response data have been variable.11 This is thought to result from differences in
the entry criteria, patient selection, and intervals between diagnosis and treatment. The ECP mode of action has been the subject of considerable interest.12,13 Release of tumor necrosis
factor (IFN)- Additional work by Edelson's group13 has shown that
photoactivated 8-MOP treatment causes an increase in antigen display by
transformed lymphocytes. This increase in the expression of immunogenic
peptides at the cell surface is thought to be driven by the degradation
of cytoplasmic proteins into small peptides and the subsequent
transport of these peptides to the major histocompatibility complex
class I molecules in the endoplasmic reticulum, a process that is
enhanced by 8-MOP. It is suggested that ECP increases the
immunogenicity of tumor-derived peptides and that the combination of
ECP-damaged neoplastic cells with antigen-presenting cells induces an
enhanced cytotoxic response by autologous CD8 lymphocytes against the
CD4+ T-cell clones. Although Berger et al17
have shown that tumor-derived peptides are capable of eliciting a
cytotoxic response in vitro, the same process has not been demonstrated
in vivo, and the immunogenicity of tumor-derived peptides is likely to
vary among patients. Most patients with Sézary syndrome who
receive ECP have been pretreated with chemotherapy, and many receive
concurrent treatment with IFN- In addition, this is the first study to correlate laboratory data
with the clinical response to ECP of patients with erythrodermic CTCL
in whom a clonal population has been confirmed in all cases by T-cell
receptor (TCR) gene analysis of peripheral blood samples. Vonderheid et
al9 measured serum soluble interleukin (IL)-2 receptor
levels in 36 patients with erythrodermic CTCL during therapy with ECP,
but in 8 of these patients no peripheral blood T-cell clone was
demonstrated using Southern blot analysis of the T-cell receptor gene.
Although serum-soluble IL-2 receptor levels correlated with disease
activity, they did not predict response to ECP. By contrast, Gottlieb
et al4 reported that an absence of Sézary
cells was a factor predicting nonresponse to ECP, whereas
Heald et al18 reported a poor clinical response in patients
with a low initial CD8 count. However, neither study used clonality as
an entry criterion, and there is no agreed upon or reproducible
biologic assay for predicting response to ECP. We correlated skin score
with laboratory parameters and examined which baseline variables might
predict a favorable response to ECP.
We analyzed data on a cohort of 23 patients with Sézary
syndrome, defined by erythroderma with compatible skin histology, more
than 10% circulating atypical lymphocytes, and peripheral blood T-cell
clone. TCR gene analysis of peripheral blood samples was undertaken
using polymerase chain reaction single-strand conformational polymorphism analysis of the TCR- There were 23 patients (15 men, 8 women) whose mean age was 69.3 years
(range, 43-83 years). Five patients had previously undergone
intravenous chemotherapy, and 5 others had received oral chemotherapy
with chlorambucil. All systemic treatment had been discontinued at
least 6 weeks before photopheresis was started. The same treatment
protocol was used in all patients. Patients had been given ECP as a
sole systemic therapy on 2 consecutive days each month for at least 6 months using a UVAR photopheresis system (Therakos). The amount of
blood removed from the patient and put through the extracorporeal
circuit was calculated by machine and was based on the patient's
hematocrit level. Soluble 8-MOP (Uvadex; Therakos) was used as a
photosensitizing agent, in a concentration of 20 µg/mL, and was mixed
with the patient's blood during the ECP circuit, averting the need for
measuring serum levels. The volume of Uvadex (Therakos) required was
calculated according to the following formula: [Vol Uvadex (20 µg/mL) (mL) = Vol blood collected from patient (mL) × 0.017].
Patients were assessed before therapy and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months
after its initiation. On each of these occasions, skin score was
recorded as previously described.1 Responders were defined
as those who achieved at least a 25% reduction in skin score from
baseline, and nonresponders were defined as those who did not.
Peripheral blood samples were also taken and analyzed for total white
cell count, lymphocyte count, CD4 count, CD8 count, and Sézary
count, as described above.
Statistical methodology
Twenty-three patients completed 6 months of ECP as a sole
therapy, and 8 were classified as responders at this stage. Twelve patients completed 12 months of ECP without adjuvant therapy, and 8 of
these were responders at this stage. Overall, 13 of the 23 patients who
entered the trial were responders at 3, 6, 9, or 12 months. Three
different analyses were performed. In the first analysis, changes in
skin score were correlated with different parameters over the course of
the study. The cohort showed a significant reduction in skin score
(P = .001) during treatment with ECP, with a mean of 6.4 U/mo. Reduction in skin score was positively and significantly
associated with a reduction in the Sézary count as a percentage
of total white cell count (P = .03). Positive, but not
statistically significant, correlations were found between reduction in
skin score and reduction in absolute CD4 count (P = .24),
CD8 count (P = .085), and absolute Sézary cell count (P = .082).
The second analysis undertaken was to compare responders and
nonresponders. Neither the absolute change in total white cell count,
lymphocyte count, CD4 count, CD8 count, or absolute Sézary count
was significantly different between responders and nonresponders at 6 months. Data on the absolute and proportional Sézary counts during treatment for responders and nonresponders are shown in Table
1. Neither age nor sex of the patients
was significantly associated with responder status. Mean age of
responders was 68.2 years compared with 63.3 years in nonresponders.
The difference of 4.9 years was not statistically significant
(unpaired t test P = .24; 95% confidence
interval [CI], 3.5 to 13.4 years). The percentage of responders among
male patients was 47% (7 of 15), and among female patients it was 75%
(6 of 8). The difference (28%) was not statistically significant
(P = .19; 95% CI, 11.5% to 68%). Previous
administration of chemotherapy was not associated with responder
status. Ten patients had undergone prior chemotherapy, and 6 were
classified as responders. Other clinical parameters, such as
lymphadenopathy and presence of coexistent tumors, were not related to
responder status.
In the third analysis, we assessed whether any baseline variable predicted change in skin score or responder status at 6 or 12 months. The only baseline variable that had a significant association with skin score at 6 months was the baseline lymphocyte count. A 1 U increase in baseline lymphocyte count (× 109/L) was associated with a mean reduction in skin score of 6 U at 6 months (P = .046; 95% CI, 0.1-12.0). No baseline variable was significantly associated with skin score at 12 months, though there were only 12 subjects in this analysis compared to 23 in the 6-month analysis, so statistical significance was harder to achieve. The only baseline variable that significantly predicted responder
status at 6 months was the baseline Sézary count as a percentage of total white cell count (Figure 1). A
1% increase in the Sézary count as a percentage of total white
cell count at baseline was associated with an odds ratio of 1.07 of
becoming a responder (P = .021; 95% CI, 1.01-1.14). None
of the parameters was significantly associated with responder status at
12 months, though again the numbers here were smaller.
Limited data exist on patients with Sézary syndrome in whom
a T-cell clone has been demonstrated and who have been treated with ECP
alone. The use of chemotherapy or adjuvant therapy with IFN- We monitored a number of laboratory parameters during treatment and correlated these with clinical outcome. We also attempted to find baseline variables that would predict a favorable response to ECP. Response rates found in this study were lower than those reported previously in erythrodermic disease.1-6 However, our response rates were consistent with more recent studies that have demonstrated T-cell clones in all or most patients treated.8,9 Edelson et al1 classified their patients on the basis of reduction in skin score as follows: responders had a 25% or more reduction in skin score from baseline, whereas those with a less than 25% reduction in skin score from baseline were classified as treatment failures or as unchanged. On this basis, Edelson et al1 reported that 83% of patients with erythrodermia responded to photopheresis. In our study, 13 of 23 patients (57%) were classified as responders (more than 25% reduction in skin score from baseline) at 3, 6, 9, or 12 months. This compares with a complete or partial response (more than 50% reduction in skin score from baseline) rate of 33% reported by Vonderheid et al9 and a previous study from our own group8 that reported 53% of patients achieved more than 25% reduction in skin score from baseline. The latter study included 11 of the patients involved in this study; the other patients were not included in this study because of incomplete laboratory data or concurrent chemotherapy during treatment with ECP. We also found that a greater clinical response is achieved in those patients with a higher proportion of neoplastic cells. A higher baseline Sézary cell count as a percentage of total white cell count predicted responder status at 6 months, and a higher baseline lymphocyte count was significantly associated with a decrease in skin score. This would support the concept of a minimum tumor burden necessary for ECP to be successful, but it does not clarify its mode of action. Edelson et al's hypothesis1 that ECP induces an autologous cytotoxic T-cell response against the CD4+ neoplastic clone is consistent with results of previous studies showing that low baseline CD8 counts predict a poor response to ECP.18 In our cohort, however, the mean CD8 count at baseline was 0.38, and we found no significant difference in baseline CD8 count between responders and nonresponders and no correlation between CD8 count and skin score. Studies in which it was found to be predictive did not use the presence of a circulating T-cell clone as an entry criterion, and this might have led to the inclusion of patients with reactive erythroderma and circulating Sézary cells. Responders and nonresponders had decreases in CD4 and CD8 counts that were not significantly different from each other and occurred independently of clinical response. Blaydon and Taylor16 have shown that all patients undergo lymphocyte apoptosis to some degree while undergoing ECP and that this begins in the machine itself and is presumably independent of any host immune response. This might be expected to produce modest drops in lymphocyte counts in all patients. If one accepts the mode of action proposed for photopheresis by Edelson et al and others,12,13,17 there are several reasons ECP might fail to induce an immune response. First, the mixing of large numbers of tumor cells and antigen-presenting cells occurs only during the ECP procedure, which lasts for only 3 hours on 2 successive days each month. Thereafter, the processing of apoptotic tumor cells by dendritic cells occurs in vivo and is likely to be highly variable and dependent on the integrity of the host immune response. Second, reinfusion of antigen directly into the peripheral blood is probably not the most effective method of inducing a cytotoxic response. Certainly, studies in malignant melanoma demonstrate a better response if tumor lysate is injected directly into tissue such as skin or lymph node.20 Third, not all tumor-derived peptides will be equally immunogenic, and some may not elicit a cytotoxic response at all. The fact that cytotoxicity assays are positive with selected clones in vitro17 does not imply that the same process occurs in every patient in vivo. This may in fact explain why so few patients develop flulike symptoms after the ECP procedure. Our data do not exclude the possibility that a cytotoxic response is induced in a minority of patients undergoing ECP, but this would require the identification of expanded tumor-specific CD8 subsets before and after the ECP procedure. Our group is focusing on sequencing the TCR-
Submitted November 17, 2000; accepted April 2, 2001.
The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. Therefore, and solely to indicate this fact, this article is hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. section 1734.
Reprints: R. Russell-Jones, Skin Tumour Unit, St John's Institute of Dermatology, St Thomas' Hospital, Lambeth Palace Rd, London SE1 7EH, United Kingdom; e-mail: russelljones{at}btinternet.com.
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© 2001 by The American Society of Hematology.
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D. R. Couriel, C. Hosing, R. Saliba, E. J. Shpall, P. Anderlini, B. Rhodes, V. Smith, I. Khouri, S. Giralt, M. de Lima, et al. Extracorporeal photochemotherapy for the treatment of steroid-resistant chronic GVHD Blood, April 15, 2006; 107(8): 3074 - 3080. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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E. D. Seaton, R. M. Szydlo, E. Kanfer, J. F. Apperley, and R. Russell-Jones Influence of extracorporeal photopheresis on clinical and laboratory parameters in chronic graft-versus-host disease and analysis of predictors of response Blood, August 15, 2003; 102(4): 1217 - 1223. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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J. Lundin, H. Hagberg, R. Repp, E. Cavallin-Stahl, S. Freden, G. Juliusson, E. Rosenblad, G. Tjonnfjord, T. Wiklund, and A. Osterborg Phase 2 study of alemtuzumab (anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody) in patients with advanced mycosis fungoides/Sezary syndrome Blood, June 1, 2003; 101(11): 4267 - 4272. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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S. R. Stevens, E. D. Baron, S. Masten, and K. D. Cooper Circulating CD4+CD7- Lymphocyte Burden and Rapidity of Response: Predictors of Outcome in the Treatment of Sezary Syndrome and Erythrodermic Mycosis Fungoides With Extracorporeal Photopheresis Arch Dermatol, October 1, 2002; 138(10): 1347 - 1350. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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