Efficacy and Safety of Cladribine in Adult Systemic Mastocytosis : A French Multicenter Study of 33 Patients.

Systemic mastocytosis (SM) is a myeloproliferative disabling disorder for which no consensual curative therapy is currently available. Recent preliminary experiences in small groups of patients using cladribine (2-CdA) were encouraging. We thus studied the efficacy and safety of 2-CdA in 33 patients enrolled in a compassionate program in France. Characteristics of patients were as follows: 19 male, 14 female, mean age 55y (17–76y), mean duration of disease 10 y (1m–71y). Treatment consisted in intravenous 2-CdA (1 to 6 cycles of 0.15 mg/kg/d administered in a 2-hour infusion or subcutaneously for 5 d, repeated at 4–12 weeks) for severe SM-related infiltration or symptoms. Patients were classified as having indolent SM (n=6), aggressive SM (n=22) or SM with an associated clonal hematologic non-MC-lineage (AHNMD) (n=4), mast cell leukemia (n=1). C-kit mutation analysis was performed in skin and/or bone marrow in 27 cases (D816V =24; WT=3). All failed previous symptomatic therapy and/or recombinant interferon-a (n=5). Evaluation was based according to consensus criteria (Valent et al. Leuk Research 2003). Major response, partial response and no response were observed in 24, 2, 7 patients, respectively. Mean time to best response was 4 months (1–12m), and mean duration of response was 16m (2–36). In responding patients skin lesions, hepatomegaly/ascitis, splenomegaly, bone involvement, peripheral blood cytopenia, major asthenia, flush, syncope/anaphylaxis, GI tract and pulmonary symptoms improved or disappeared. Treatment was overall well tolerated. Adverse events consisted mainly in peripheral blood cytopenia (n=10) with resolutive opportunistic infections in 2 patients. Although mast cell infiltration persisted in bone marrow, the patient with mast cell leukemia, responded to treatment with disappearance of circulating abnormal mast cells, and resolution of thrombocytopenia. Death was observed in 4 cases related to two disease progression and two acute myeloid leukemia.

Therefore, as a single agent, cladribine is an effective and safe treatment in symptomatic and agressive SM. In contrast with interferon, cladribine may induce regression of mast cell tumoral burden. However, cladribine is ineffective to improve AHNMD. Further work is warranted to define the optimal regimen with respect to dose and schedule, and the usefulness of maintenance cladribine therapy.