Monitoring of FLT3 Phosphorylation and FLT3 Ligand Levels in Patients with FLT3-ITD Mutated Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Treated with Midostaurin within the AMLSG 16-10 Trial of the German-Austrian Study Group

Background: Target inhibition of FLT3 by therapy with the recently FDA- and EMA-approved multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) midostaurin can be monitored by plasma inhibitor activity (PIA) analysis by visualizing the level of target-dephosphorylation as previously described. When combining intensive chemotherapy with midostaurin, we have recently shown that the TKI achieves the lowest level of FLT3 phosphorylation (p-FLT3) at the end of the 1st induction cycle, indicating a deep target inhibition. However, sufficient inhibition could not be maintained during subsequent cycles by midostaurin in combination with chemotherapy, but it was reestablished during maintenance therapy with the TKI alone. Recent data indicate that this might be due to an increase in FLT3 ligand (FL) plasma levels induced by concomitant intensive chemotherapy. Aim: To individually measure the plasma levels of FL and to correlate the results with those from PIA analysis at defined time points during treatment in a large cohort of FLT3-ITD AML patients (pts) treated within our AMLSG 16-10 trial (NCT01477606). Methods: FL levels were measured in plasma samples from pts (age 18-70 years) with newly diagnosed FLT3-ITD positive AML obtained at defined time points during therapy in which PIA analyses were also previously performed. All pts were enrolled in the AMLSG 16-10 trial applying intensive standard chemotherapy in combination with midostaurin. For consolidation therapy allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo HCT) was intended whereas pts not eligible for allo HCT received 3 cycles of age-adapted high-dose cytarabine (HiDAC) in combination with midostaurin starting on day 6, followed by one year of midostaurin maintenance therapy for both groups. FL levels were measured at diagnosis, at day 15 and at the end of each treatment cycle, after allo HCT and monthly during maintenance therapy using a Quantikine® ELISA kit obtained from R&D Systems®. Results: So far, we have analyzed 709 plasma samples from 68 pts at the time of diagnosis (n=62), during (day 15, n=73) and after (n=83) 1st and 2nd induction cycle, during (day 15, n=69) and after (n=82) consolidation therapy, after allo HCT (n=36) as well as during maintenance therapy (n=304). The median level of FL at diagnosis was 5.2pg/ml (0 - 66.2pg/ml). At day 15 of the 1st induction cycle FL levels showed a drastic increase (median 1057.3pg/ml; 23.6 - 2287.8pg/ml) which maintained high at day 15 of each following con