Diagnosis Of Myelodysplastic Syndrome Research Articles

Comparison of flow cytometry with other modalities in the diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome.

The myelodysplastic syndromes (MDSs) are heterogeneous myeloid malignancies, conventionally diagnosed by cytomorphology and cytogenetics, with an emerging role for flow cytometry. This study compared the performance of a 4-parameter flow cytometry scoring system, the Ogata Score, with other modalities in the diagnosis of MDS. Bone marrow aspirate and trephine biopsies from 238 patients performed to assess for possible MDS were analysed, and the flow cytometry score was retrospectively applied. The sensitivity and specificity of the flow cytometry score, the aspirate microscopy, the trephine microscopy with immunohistochemistry, and cytogenetic and molecular results were determined relative to the final diagnosis. The medical records of the 238 patients were reviewed to determine the final clinical diagnosis made at the time of the bone marrow examination. This final diagnosis of MDS, possible MDS or not MDS, was based on clinical features and laboratory tests, including all parameters of the bone marrow investigation, except for the flow cytometry score, which was only determined for this study. The flow cytometry score was 67.4% sensitive and 93.8% specific. Aspirate microscopy had higher sensitivity (83.7%) and similar specificity (92.0%), whereas trephine microscopy had similar sensitivity (66.3%) and specificity (89.4%) to flow cytometry. Although the flow cytometry score had a lower sensitivity than aspirate microscopy, in 18 patients (7.6% of the total) the flow cytometry score was positive for MDS, whereas aspirate microscopy was negative or inconclusive. The flow cytometry score and trephine microscopy exhibited reasonable sensitivity and high specificity, and complement aspirate microscopy in the assessment of MDS.

Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Newly Diagnosed Myelodysplastic Syndrome with MLL Aberrations

IntroductionMixed lineage leukemias (MLL) are an extremely aggressive subset of leukemias that are inherently resistant to several therapies. MLL aberrations (deletion KMT2A and MLL rearrangements) are extremely rare in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and little is known regarding their clinical course or outcomes. The aim of the study is to determine the natural course of the disease in our patient population.MethodsA retrospective cytogenetic database search of patients presenting to a tertiary cancer center from January 2005 to February 2021 with the diagnosis of MDS and CMML with presence of MLL aberrations was conducted. Deletion KMT2A was defined as deletion of 11q23 on cytogenetic studies. Patients who had received prior therapy with hypomethylating agents (HMAs), cytarabine-based regimens, or intensive chemotherapy were excluded. The International Working Group 2006 criteria was used for response assessment. Progression-free survival (PFS) was calculated from date of diagnosis to date of progression from MDS to AML. Overall survival (OS) was determined from the date of diagnosis to the date of death or last follow-up visit.ResultsBetween January 2005 to February 2021, 3369 patients (pts) with the diagnosis of MDS (n=2761) and CMML (n=608) were identified. Of these, 30 pts had MLL aberrations with 18 pts with MLL rearrangements (MLL r) and 12 pts with deletion 11q23 (del-KMT2A). Baseline characteristics are present in Table 1.Among 18 pts with MLL r MDS, 6 pts did not undergo any therapy at our institution. Of the remaining 12, 9 (75%) pts received HMA based therapy, 1 (8%) patient (pt) proceeded to allogeneic stem cell transplant(allo-HSCT) and 2 (17%) pts received intensive chemotherapy (idarubicin, fludarabine and cytarabine). Of the 9 pts who received HMA therapy, 5 (56%) pts had transformation to AML, 2 (22%) pts achieved CR and underwent allo-HSCT, 1 (11%) pt had persistent disease and 1 (11%) developed concurrent metastatic sarcoma and stopped treatment. Out of the 2 (22%) pts who underwent allo-HSCT, 1 pt received maintenance HMA post-transplant but relapsed with transformation to AML after 9 months, and the other was lost to follow up. 1 (11%) pt who had persistent disease received intensive chemotherapy and went into CR and subsequently underwent double umbilical cord transplant and continues to remain in CR. The 2 (17%) pts who received intensive chemotherapy frontline both went into CR, but one developed concurrent malignancy and stopped treatment. The other pt was transitioned to HMA therapy but relapsed with transformation to AML. The 1 patient who received frontline allo-HSCT relapsed with transformation to AML after 5 months. The overall median follow-up duration was 24 months with a median OS of 10 months (Figure 1) and a median PFS of 3.5 months(Figure 2).12 pts with del-KMT2A were identified, out of which 2 pts did not receive treatment. Of the remaining 10 pts, 8 (80%) received HMA based therapy and 2 (20%) pts received investigational treatments. Of the 8 pts who received HMA therapy, 1 (12.5%) achieved CR and remains in CR, 4 (50%) pts had no response, 2 (25%) had hematological improvement (HI) but one died of other causes and the other elected to stop treatment, 1 (12.5%) pt had transformation to AML. Of the 4 pts with no response, 2 pts elected to stop treatment, with 1 developing concurrent malignancy. Of the remaining 2 pts, 1 pt was placed on an investigational agent and had progression to AML and the other was placed on lenalidomide and then an investigational agent, but ultimately pursued hospice. Of the 2 pts on investigational agents both had persistent disease and one patient died and the other elected to stop treatment due to concurrent illness. The overall median follow-up duration was 154 months with a median OS of 16 months (Figure 1) and median PFS of 8 months (Figure 2). Clinical course is presented in Table 2.ConclusionPrognosis of patients with MLL alterations and MDS is very poor. MLL r MDS had worse outcomes with rapid transformation to AML compared to del-KMT2A. New therapies are needed for this group of patients. [Display omitted] DisclosuresIssa: Syndax Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Research Funding; Kura Oncology: Consultancy, Research Funding. Sasaki: Novartis: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Daiichi-Sankyo: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Jabbour: Amgen, AbbVie, Spectrum, BMS, Takeda, Pfizer, Adaptive, Genentech: Research Funding. Kantarjian: Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; Immunogen: Research Funding; Aptitude Health: Honoraria; Ascentage: Research Funding; Amgen: Honoraria, Research Funding; Daiichi-Sankyo: Research Funding; Pfizer: Honoraria, Research Funding; Jazz: Research Funding; Astellas Health: Honoraria; Astra Zeneca: Honoraria; Ipsen Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria; KAHR Medical Ltd: Honoraria; NOVA Research: Honoraria; Precision Biosciences: Honoraria; BMS: Research Funding; AbbVie: Honoraria, Research Funding; Taiho Pharmaceutical Canada: Honoraria.

Real-World Evidence on Treatment Utilization in Lower-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes: Findings from a Medical Record Review in the United States

Introduction: Patients diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are at an increased risk for developing infections, bleeding events, cardiopulmonary complications, and progressing to acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Patients with lower-risk MDS experience a mean life-year loss of about 6 years, and the main focus of treatment is on management of cytopenias, in particular anemia. Currently, limited real-world evidence exists on prevailing treatment patterns and outcomes in lower-risk MDS in the United States (US).Methods: In this retrospective, non-interventional review of medical records, eligible patients (≥ 18 years of age) with diagnosis of lower-risk MDS (with or without ring sideroblasts and with single-lineage or multilineage dysplasia) between July 1, 2013 and September 30, 2018, were identified by participating clinicians. Patients with prior history of AML or other malignant neoplasms were excluded. This is an ongoing study in the US and interim data are described. Study measures descriptively summarized patient demographics, clinical characteristics at MDS diagnosis, and utilization of medication treatments for the management of anemia.Results: Data from medical records of 50 patients with lower-risk MDS were abstracted by 26 hematologist-oncologists in the US. Participating clinicians had been managing treatment for hematology/oncology patients for an average (standard deviation [SD]) of 16.3 (6.7) years, 53.9% practiced in an academic hospital or cancer center, and 46.2% practiced in a community setting. The mean (SD) age for patients with lower-risk MDS at diagnosis was 64.2 (9.9) years, 64.0% were male, 70.0% were White, and 60% were insured primarily through Medicare. Most patients (54.0%) had Low-risk MDS (as categorized by Revised International Prognostic Scoring System) followed by Very low-risk (28.0%), and Intermediate-risk (18.0%) at initial diagnosis. The most common gene mutations observed were JAK2 (22.0%) and ASXL1 (8.0%). The most common karyotype abnormalities observed were del(5q) (28.0%), −Y (14.0%), and del(7q) (12.0%). During the 12 months before diagnosis of lower-risk MDS, cardiac complications were observed among 18.0% of patients, and 58.0% of patients were either current or former smokers at the time of diagnosis of lower-risk MDS. At the time of data abstraction, mean (SD) follow-up time was 39.6 (21.6) months, and 46 (92.0%) patients had received ≥ 1 line of treatment for MDS-associated anemia. Of these 46 patients, 93.5% received first-line treatment with an erythropoietin-stimulating agent (ESA). In the first-line, most patients received ESA monotherapy (n = 37; 80.4%) followed by ESA-based combination therapy (n = 6; 13.0%), lenalidomide only (n = 2; 4.4%), and azacitidine (n = 1; 2.2%). All 18 patients who received a second-line treatment had received an ESA-based first-line treatment. Second-line treatments received were ESA-based treatment (n = 5; 27.8%), lenalidomide only (n = 5; 27.8%), luspatercept only (n = 4; 22.2%), azacitidine only (n = 3; 16.7%), and filgrastim only (n = 1; 5.6%). Third-line treatment was only observed in 3 patients.Conclusions: In this ongoing study, current analysis for 50 patients with lower-risk MDS in the US showed ESA-based regimens were the most common first-line therapy. ESA-based treatment was again utilized as second-line therapy among some patients who were previously treated with ESA. DisclosuresGerming: Janssen: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Other: advisory activity, Research Funding. Goyal: RTI Health Solutions: Other: Full-time employee of RTI Health Solutions, which is business unit of RTI International, a non-profit research organization, which received funding from BMS to conduct this study.. Yucel: BMS: Current Employment, Current holder of individual stocks in a privately-held company. Parikh: RTI-Health Solutions: Other: Full-time employee of RTI-HS, which received funding to conduct this study from BMS.. Jimenez: RTI Health Solutions: Current Employment. Sluga-O'Callaghan: RTI Health Solutions: Current Employment. Tang: Bristol-Myers Squibb: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Hughes: BMS: Current Employment. Diez-Campelo: Takeda Oncology: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau.

The Incidence and Impact of Clostridioides Difficile Infection (CDI) on Outcomes after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplant (alloHCT) - a CIBMTR Study

Introduction: CDI is common after alloHCT mainly due to the frequent use of antibiotics before and during transplant. CDI is reported in 13 to 18% of recipients after alloHCT and in 6 to 8% after autologous HCT, mainly in the first-month post HCT. The determination of incidence and impact of CDI on HCT outcomes will help further our understanding towards the prevention and management of CDI post HCT.Methods: Using the CIBMTR dataset, we examined all patients aged two years and older who received first alloHCT for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), Acute Lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) from related or unrelated donors between 2013 and 2018 at US centers. Stem cell sources included HLA-matched marrow, peripheral blood (PBSC), and umbilical cord blood (UCB) (4/6 or higher). The objective was to study the impact of CDI by day 100 on transplant outcomes by one year compared to the control cohort (without documented CDI from the same centers). Multivariable analyses were performed using Cox proportional hazard model for overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), Transplant related mortality (TRM), Infection-related mortality (IRM), chronic GVHD, and relapse. Both aGVHD preceding CDI and CDI preceding aGVHD were analyzed. Due to overlap in the onset of CDI and aGVHD, an interaction of these time-dependent events in some models were noted necessitating incorporation of a composite variable (CV - CDI+aGVHD) for OS, TRM, IRM, and cGVHD models.Results: A total of 826 patients with CDI and 6723 controls from 127 centers were analyzed. The cumulative incidence of CDI by day 100 following alloHCT was 18.7% (99% CI: 15% - 22.7%) and 10.2% (99% CI: 9.2% - 11.1%) in pediatric and adult patients, respectively [Figure 1]. The median time to diagnosis of CDI was 13 days (0 - 100). Recurrent CDI by 1 year occurred in 15% of patients. Myeloablative conditioning with total body irradiation (compared to Reduced-intensity/non-myeloablative (RIC/NMA) conditioning) and lower gastrointestinal GVHD preceding the diagnosis of CDI were risk factors for CDI. A diagnosis of MDS was associated with a lower risk of CDI. There was significant overlap in the onset of aGVHD and CDI [Figure 2] such that for patients with both CDI and aGVHD [n=378], 115 (30%) had aGVHD prior to CDI, and 70% were diagnosed with CDI first.CV - CDI + aGVHD was associated with a statistically significant increase in IRM and TRM and a decrease in OS. Specifically, CDI was associated with a 2.58-fold [99% CI: 1.43 - 4.66; p<0.001] increase in IRM which increased to >4 fold when CV-CDI + aGVHD was considered, irrespective of whether aGVHD preceded CDI or vice versa [CDI first: 4.88 (99% CI: 2.38 - 9.97), p<0.001; aGVHD first 4.15 (99% CI: 1.46 - 11.80), p = 0.0005]. CDI alone was not associated with increased risk of cGVHD [0.85 (99%CI: 0.66-1.09), p=0.0921], and the CV - CDI+aGVHD had similar risk of cGVHD as aGVHD without CDI. CDI had no impact on relapse or DFS.Conclusion: CDI tightly overlaps with aGVHD. Not surprisingly, the combination of CDI and aGVHD is associated with decreased overall survival and increased TRM. More concerning is that patients having both aGVHD and CDI had a >4-fold increased risk of death due to any infection. Our results highlight the burden and impact of CDI after alloHCT and the critical need to develop new/improved strategies for prevention in alloHCT recipients. [Display omitted] DisclosuresChemaly: Other: Other: Compensation: I am a consultant and advisor on companies who are developing new agents such as Merck, Ansun, and Janssen. Dandoy: Omeros: Other: Consulted and received Honorarium. Perales: Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria; Sellas Life Sciences: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria; Cidara: Honoraria; Equilium: Honoraria; Incyte: Honoraria, Other; Karyopharm: Honoraria; Kite/Gilead: Honoraria, Other; Medigene: Honoraria; Merck: Honoraria; Miltenyi Biotec: Honoraria, Other; MorphoSys: Honoraria; Nektar Therapeutics: Honoraria, Other; NexImmune: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria, Other; Omeros: Honoraria; Servier: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria. Riches: BioIntelect: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Other: Payment; ATARA Biotherapeutics: Other: Payment. Ustun: novartis: Honoraria; Blueprint: Honoraria.

A Nationwide Survey of Lower Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes in Japan

A Nationwide Survey of Lower Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes in Japan

Evaluating Venetoclax Treatment Duration When Combined with Hypomethylating Agents in Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia or Myelodysplastic Syndromes

Evaluating Venetoclax Treatment Duration When Combined with Hypomethylating Agents in Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia or Myelodysplastic Syndromes

Outcomes for Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation in Secondary AML Are Inferior to De Novo AML and Are Independent of the Disease Risk Index

BackgroundPatients with secondary acute myeloid leukaemia (sAML), defined as AML that follows a diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome or myeloproliferative neoplasm, are known to have a poor prognosis with conventional chemotherapy alone, when compared to de novo AML (dnAML). Allogeneic stem cell transplant offers the best chance of cure due to the often chemo-resistant nature of sAML, although there are limited studies assessing the outcome of allografting in this patient population. The Disease Risk Index (DRI) is a clinical decision tool which assists in determining the balance of transplant risk versus benefit, however validation studies to date have not evaluated the DRI in patients with sAML.MethodsA retrospective analysis of 211 patients with dnAML or sAML who underwent allogeneic stem cell transplant between 1 st January 1998 and 31 st July 2015 at St Vincent's Hospital or Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney Australia, was undertaken. Cases were identified from the Australasian Bone Marrow Transplant Recipient Registry, with additional data collected by medical record review.Overall survival (OS) probability was calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Non-relapse mortality (NRM) and relapse incidence (RI) were estimated by cumulative incidence with “death without relapse” and “relapse” as competing risks. A Cox proportional hazards model was used for multivariate regression, with results expressed as hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence intervals.ResultsOf the 211 eligible patients, 63 (30%) had a diagnosis of sAML, compared to 148 with dnAML. Of those with sAML, 74% had antecedent MDS and 26% an MPN. Patients with sAML had an older median age (55 vs 44 years, p<0.001), more often had HCT-CI >3 (p=0.003), and more commonly had at least one cytogenetic abnormality (p=0.026). A myeloablative conditioning regimen was used in 35.3% and 66.0% of s- and dn- AML respectively. Grade II or greater acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) occurred in 39.7% of sAML and 29% of dnAML, with chronic GVHD reported in 60.3% and 64.5% respectively. OS at 1 year was 48.5% in sAML and 71.6% in dnAML (HR 1.93 [95%CI 1.32-2.97, p=0.0001]). Multivariate analysis accounting for disease risk index (DRI) as a co-factor identified sAML as an independent adverse risk factor for OS (HR 2.13 [95%CI 1.31-3.45], p=0.002). Compared to dnAML, sAML was associated with higher rates of disease relapse (HR 2.21 [95%CI 1.20-4.05], p=-0.011).Figure 1: Transplant outcomes (A) Overall survival dnAML vs sAML (B) Cumulative incidence of relapse at 1 year dnAML vs sAMLConclusionsPatients with sAML experience poorer outcomes following allogeneic stem cell transplant than those with dnAML. Whilst the DRI stratifies AML based on cytogenetic risk and stage, our study identifies sAML as a prognostic marker independent of risk ascribed by the DRI. This has not been reported previously and if replicated, suggests the need for development of an independent prognostic model to capture the adverse risk in the sAML patient cohort. Importantly, despite poor outcomes, the lack of alternate management strategies still makes allogeneic stem cell transplant the only potential curative therapy. [Display omitted] DisclosuresHamad: Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Greenwood: Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Servier: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding.

Genomic-Based Machine Learning Towards Prediction of the Etiology of Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes

Genetic testing has been increasingly used to assist with differential diagnosis of acquired vs inherited bone marrow failure syndromes (IBMFS), a group of rare and heterogeneous diseases. However, the assay is still costly and not routinely available for many hematologists. To improve decision-making for genetic testing, we developed a genomic-based machine-learning model based on a two-step data-driven clustering and classification process to predict the likelihood of BMF patients having either an acquired or inherited disease based on 27 clinical and laboratory variables recorded at initial clinical encounter.Clinical records from two independent cohorts of patients screened for pathogenic variants in genes associated with IBMFS were included in this study: the NIH cohort with 441 consecutive patients followed at the NHLBI and NCI, and the USP cohort with 172 consecutive patients from the Medical School of Ribeirão Preto/USP. In a binary target classification, cases were labeled as inherited if they had a pathogenic/likely pathogenic disease-causing variant and as acquired when they had benign or likely benign variants or negative genetic test, regardless of patients' clinical diagnoses. K-means clustering was first applied to resolve our highly dimensional data into two main clusters (Clusters A and B). An optimized bootstrap aggregation ensemble Cluster A specific was trained with cases from the NIH cohort (n=359). The model was then validated with Cluster A cases from the external USP cohort (n=127). The binary classification task was utilized to predict the etiology of BMF cases, labeled as acquired or inherited depending on patients' genomic data.At first, unsupervised clustering separately grouped datasets into Cluster A, the largest group mostly represented by aplastic anemia (AA), and Cluster B, those underrepresented in our cohort including some classical IBMFS at early disease onset. The ensemble model Cluster A-specific was accurate to predict the BMF etiology in 88% of cases, correctly predicting inherited and likely immune BMF in 72% and 92% of cases, respectively. Out of the 27 initial clinical variables included in the model, 25 were found to be important for prediction. Telomere length (TL), age, and clinical variables were most important for the model's predictive accuracy, highlighting that a comprehensive history and physical examination encompassing all organ systems is imperative. Based on our model, genetic testing must be considered for patients in Cluster A predicted to have inherited disease and also for patients in Cluster B as no specific model was available but they were more likely to have IBMFS in comparison to Cluster A (50% vs 30%). We also recommend genetic screening in patients from Cluster A predicted to have acquired disease who are children (age <18 years who may not have clinical signs of IBMFS), have consanguinity in the family, have a diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndromes with or without suspicion for familial predisposition to myeloid malignancies (all cases where the model had limited prediction). A model without TL, an assay that can also be limited in low-resource centers, underperformed for prediction of inherited cases with sensitivity of 55%, highlighting the importance of TL measurement for the model's performance.Our machine-learning model reproduced the clinical knowledge used by clinicians specialized in BMF and accurately predicted BMF etiology in 88% of cases. The model was particularly accurate for differential diagnosis of immune AA in adults, which may allow for selections of patients in whom rapidly starting immunosuppression rather than waiting weeks for genetic results is preferable. Clinical variables were strong predictors and adult patients with severe AA rarely had an inherited disease without a positive family history, a suggestive phenotype of IBMFS, or consanguinity being present. The generalizability of our model indicates that this tool can be used by hematologists not specialized in BMF to prioritize patients that would benefit from genetic testing. TL was a top predictor and a key variable for this model's accuracy. Implementation of TL measurement may be critical for differential diagnosis of BMF, especially in low-resource centers where genetic testing is not feasible or readily available. We plan to continue adding to the model to better predict IBMFS cases that were underrepresented in the current cohort. DisclosuresCalado: Instituto Butantan: Consultancy; Agios: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Alexion Brasil: Consultancy; Novartis Brasil: Honoraria; Team Telomere, Inc.: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; AA&MDS International Foundation: Research Funding. Young: Novartis: Research Funding.

Geographic Disparities in Cardiovascular Death Among Patients with Myelodysplastic Syndromes

Introduction:Acquired somatic mutations in hematopoietic stem cells lead to myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and are also associated with accelerated atherosclerosis. In subjects without MDS, these mutations constitute a potent cardiovascular risk factor: clonal hematopoiesis (CH). In a previous analysis, we demonstrated that an MDS diagnosis was an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to propensity matched non-cancer controls. CVD is the most common non-cancer cause of death in MDS, and rural residence has been independently associated with many CVD risk factors. However, there are no studies examining the association of geographic disparities and cardiovascular death in patients with MDS.Methods:We identified adult patients diagnosed with MDS between 2001 and 2016 using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. MDS risk was classified as low, intermediate or high, using International Classification of Diseases for Oncology 3 rd Edition (ICDO-3) codes. Rural and urban populations were categorized using the US Department of Agriculture's Rural-Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC). Primary cause of death reported to State Registries (SEER COD recode) was used to estimate cause-specific survival, calculated from date of MDS diagnosis to date of CVD-related death. Cases with missing data on any key variable were excluded from analysis. SEER*Stat version 8.3.9 was used to calculate incidence rates. Chi-square and t-test were used to compare categorical and continuous variables, respectively. Survival analyses employed the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank tests. Multivariable Cox-proportional hazards repression estimated the association of rural residence with CVD death adjusting for age, sex, race, ethnicity, MDS risk, and geographic location. SAS version 9.4 was used for statistical analysis.Results:We included 52,750 patients with MDS, 56.8% were male and 84.8% were white. Low, intermediate and high histologic risk were seen in 18.7%, 64.4% and 16.9% respectively. Most patients were from urban areas (88%), however the estimated incidence rate for MDS was 6.7 per 100,000 per population at risk in both urban and rural populations. The rural MDS population was younger (median age 75 vs 77 years, p<0.004) and had a higher proportion of whites (90.5% vs 84%, p<0.001), but no difference in MDS risk distribution was noted by rurality (Table 1). Unadjusted analyses revealed a trend towards lower overall survival in the rural MDS population (24 vs 25 months, p=0.051). After adjusting for age, sex, race, ethnicity, MDS risk and area of residence, rural subjects with MDS had a 12% increased hazard (HR 1.12, 95%CI 1.03 - 1.22) for CVD-related death compared to urban subjects (Figure 1). Further, the adjusted HR for CVD-related death was 1.23 (CI95% 1.01 - 1.50) for those who lived in the most rural areas (RUCC codes 8 and 9, less than 2,500 urban population). Among young MDS patients (age<65), those residing in rural areas had a higher proportion of CVD-related death (6% vs 4.7%, p=0.031) and significantly shorter CVD-specific survival compared to urban patients (Figure 2). MDS histologic risk was also a significant factor in the multivariable model (Table 2). Compared to low risk MDS, patients with intermediate and high risk had adjusted HR for CVD-related death of 1.17 (95%CI 1.11 - 1.24) and 1.2 (95%CI 1.09 - 1.32), respectively. Other factors significantly associated with increased hazard for CVD-related death in the adjusted model were advancing age and male sex.Discussion:In a large population-based study, we found that rural area of residence is significantly associated with a higher burden of CVD-related death in subjects with MDS, after adjusting for demographic risk factors and MDS risk classification. Although aging is an important issue in rural areas, the geographical disparities in CVD-related death among MDS patients are not explained by age alone and the difference was notable in young MDS patients. These findings should prompt hematologists caring for patients with MDS from rural areas to rigorously evaluate and address CVD risk factors. As novel treatments improve cancer-specific survival in MDS, marginalized populations with different CVD risk profiles may be disproportionally affected by the cardiovascular risk from CH, which should be considered when developing MDS surveillance programs. [Display omitted] DisclosuresNo relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Allogeneic STEM Cell Transplantation in 45 Patients with Myelodysplastic Syndrome: Single-Center Analysis

Background: Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) includes a group of clonal myeloid neoplasms characterized by cytopenias due to ineffective hematopoiesis, abnormal blood and marrow cell morphology, and an increased risk of transformation to acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is the only potentially curative therapeutic option for patients with MDS.Aim: To analyze the clinical features and evolution of the MDS patients who underwent to HCT in our institution.Methods: Between July 2006 to January 2021, forty-five patients with MDS underwent allogeneic HCT at the Institut Català d'Oncologia, Hospital Duran i Reynals in Barcelona. Median age at HCT was 56 years (range 35 - 69 years). Thirty-two patients (64%) were male. The diagnosis of patients according to the 2016 WHO classification was: 22% MDS-MLD, 29% MDS-EB-1, 18% MDS-EB-2, 20% CMML, 4% MDS with isolated del(5q) and 7% unclassifiable MDS. Seven patients (15%) underwent allogeneic HCT after progression to AML. Treatments received before the transplant were: chemotherapy AML-like 11 patients (24%) and Azacitidine 24 patients (53%). Ten patients (23%) underwent HCT upfront.Results: Median time from diagnosis to allogeneic HCT was 5 months (range 2 - 12 months). Donors were: matched related (MRD) 17 (38%), matched unrelated (MUD) 12 (27%) and haploidentical 16 (35%). For HLA-MRD transplants, 12 patients received busulfan and fludarabine, 2 patients received TBI and cyclophosphamide, and 3 received busulfan, cyclophosphamide and thiotepa. All of them received tacrolimus or cyclosporine with methotrexate. For HLA-MUD transplants, 7 patients received busulfan and fludarabine, 1 received busulfan and cyclophosphamide, 2 received fludarabine and melphalan, and 2 received busulfan, cyclophosphamide and thiotepa. Six patients received tacrolimus or cyclosporine with methotrexate, 3 patients received tacrolimus with sirolimus and 3 patients received posttransplant cyclophosphamide . For recipients of haploidentical transplants, 6 patients received fludarabine, busulfan and cyclophosphamide, 4 patients received busulfan, thiotepa and fludarabine, 5 patients received fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and TBI and 1 patient received TBI and cyclophosphamide. All patients received tacrolimus or cyclosporine with mycophenolate and posttransplant cyclophosphamide. Five patients (11%) received myeloablative conditioning and 40 patients (89%) received a reduced intensity conditioning regimen. According to graft soure,5 patients (11%) received bone marrow grafts and 40 patients (89%) received peripheral blood grafts. Grade II-IV acute GVHD at day +100 was observed in 19/41 patients (39%) and chronic GVHD in 15/35 patients (42%). Four patients (8%) presented veno occlusive disease. Cytomegalovirus reactivation was reported in 19/38 (50%), and possible/probable invasive fungal infection was reported in 4/49 (8.2%) patients. Median follow-up from MDS diagnosis was 47 months (range 9 - 252 months). At the time of last follow up, 23 patients (51%) are still alive. Median overall survival (OS) was 20 months (range 2 - 180 months). Median progression-free survival (PFS) after transplant was 17 months (range 3 - 180 months). No significant differences were found in OS between the donor types (P = .234) (Figure 1). However, there was a trend for improved PFS in the MRD group, with 2-year PFS of 88%, 58% and 66% for MRD, MUD, and haploidentical recipients, respectively (P = .084) (Figure 2).Summary/Conclusion: Although statistical power is limited, these data suggests that MRD should be the first choice as donor transplant. MUD and haploidentical donors are an acceptable approach for patients without an HLA-matched donor. [Display omitted] DisclosuresMussetti: GILEAD: Other: Clinical trials participation, Research Funding; TAKEDA: Honoraria; NOVARTIS: Honoraria, Other: Clinical trials participation. Sureda: Roche: Other: Support for attending meetings and/or travel; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Bluebird: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Mundipharma: Consultancy; GSK: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; MSD: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; BMS/Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Support for attending meetings and/or travel, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Support for attending meetings and/or travel, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Kite, a Gilead Company: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Arnan: Jazz: Other: Participation in clinical trials; Takeda: Other: Participation in clinical trials; BMS/Celgene: Consultancy, Other: Participation in clinical trials; Novartis: Consultancy, Other: Participation in clinical trials; Astellas: Consultancy.

Contribution of Next Generation Flow (NGF) Cytometry in Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP): Utility for the Differential Diagnosis with Myelodysplastic Syndromes

Background: Primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an immune-mediated acquired disorder characterized by impaired production and increased destruction of platelets with an elevated risk of bleeding. At present, diagnosis of primary ITP still remains one of exclusion with a need to discard other causes of isolated thrombocytopenia, in the absence of robust and accurate clinical and laboratory diagnostic criteria. For the diagnosis of ITP, a bone marrow (BM) study may be useful to differentiate between ITP and other diseases, such as myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Next generation flow (NGF) has emerged as a potential useful tool in these settings.Aim: In this study (FCR-PTI-2017-01) we prospectively evaluated the potential utility of NGF analysis of BM and peripheral blood (PB) for more accurate diagnosis of ITP vs MDS.Methods: 62 patients presenting with isolated thrombocytopenia and classified as ITP (n=20), MDS (n= 11) or inconclusive, i.e. unclassifiable, (n= 25) by BM cytomorphology, were studied. PB (n=47) and BM (n=62) analysis by NGF was blindly performed in parallel for the ITP, MDS and unclassifiable patient groups using the EuroFlow 8-colour AML/MDS classification antibody panel followed by automated analysis against pre-existing flow cytometry databases of normal healthy donor PB and BM immunophenotypic profiles. NGF BM and PB results were then compared with the BM cytomorphological diagnosis. In parallel, epidemiological data from patients were recorded in an electronic case report form (eCRF) and analyzed afterwards.Results: By cytomorphology, expert hematologists were able to conclude an ITP or MDS diagnosis in only 31 cases (55.3%). 62 BM and 48 PB samples with isolated thrombocytopenia were evaluated by NGF. Our 62 patients were allocated in 4 immunophenotypic groups attending to different BM variables observed: maturation blockades, abnormal antigen expression and cross lineage markers. Thus, we observed normal phenotype cases (n=10), isolated (unilineage) alterations (n=24), mild multilineage (>1) alterations (n=20) and severe multilineage (MDS-like) phenotypes (n=8). Cytomorphology diagnosed our cases as ITP, MDS or unclassifiable with a median number of alterations observed by BM NGF of 4 (IQR, 3-6), 2 (IQR, 1-6) and 4 (IQR, 3-5) respectively. For ITP cytomorphology group, NGF demonstrated numerous BM alterations being monocytic alterations (n=17, 94%) the most frequent finding observed. MDS presumed cases were also associated with monocytic alterations (50%) with a frequent decrease in neutrophil precursors (40%). On the contrary, when cytomorphology was not capable to establish a diagnosis, NGF showed a mixture of alterations with no clear predominance of none of them (table 1). Similarly to our work with BM NGF, we looked into a potential correlation of cytomorphology with PB NGF phenotypes. Thus, we observed a median number of alterations of 4 (IQR, 3-5), 4 (IQR, 2-4) and 4 (IQR, 3-5) in ITP, MDS and inconclusive cytomorphology groups. Increased platelet size and upregulated CD41, CD61 and CD63 glycoprotein (GP) expression were the most characteristic findings of ITP cohort. MDS subtype depicted an increased platelet size and overexpression of CD41. Downregulation of GP was restricted to patients with MDS-like phenotypes. (table 2). Nearly statistical significant differences at significance level of 90% were observed between cytomorphology and BM NGF results (p=0.179) (table 3), between platelet score and BM NGF findings (p=0.118) and also, among morphology, BM NGF and platelet score (p=0.179). Nevertheless, cytomorphology and PB NGF showed no statistical differences between them (p=0.206) (table 4).Conclusions: Limitations of BM cytomorphology when facing an isolated thrombocytopenia were demonstrated here. However, normal or unilineage BM NGF alterations may lead us to an ITP diagnosis while mild or severe multilineage BM phenotypes may correlate good with MDS. PB platelet GP expression allowed us to classify our patients in six groups (Gonzalez-Lopez/Matarraz platelet score) which may help ITP diagnosis when this score is low. Comparison of BM cytomorphology, BM NGF and PB NGF techniques at diagnosis showed statistically nearly comparable results (p=0.179), with a bigger amount of patients needed to confirm this trend. All these NGF findings may lead us to better address ITP at diagnosis. [Display omitted] DisclosuresGonzalez-Lopez: Novartis: Other: Advisoryboard and speakers honoraria, Research Funding; Amgen: Other: Advisory board and speakers honoraria, Research Funding; Sobi: Other: Advisory board honoraria; Grifols: Other: Advisory board honoraria.

The Impact of BMI on Next Generation Sequencing Panels for Patients with Myelodysplastic Syndromes

Introduction:The usage of cytogenetics and next generation sequencing (NGS) has become more prominent in recent years for risk stratification of patients (pts) with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Management of these patients is a multi-faceted endeavor which requires understanding of how MDS genetics interacts with a patient's lifestyle and co-morbidities. Obesity rates in the United States continue to rise; the current rate in Virginia is 30% (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC). This study analyzed whether body mass index (BMI) at diagnosis was correlated with the number or type of MDS mutations seen on initial NGS and whether obesity influenced outcomes stratified by individual mutations.Methods:Adult pts diagnosed with MDS at the University of Virginia from August 2012 to December 2019 who had cytogenetics and NGS panels done prior to initiation of MDS therapy were included. Any patient without the aforementioned initial diagnostic information was excluded. MDS disease characteristics, treatment type, comorbidities, and patient demographics were assessed including weight, height, and BMI (categories defined per CDC) at time of diagnosis. The primary aim of this analysis was to evaluate the association of BMI with the number and type of mutations on NGS panel at diagnosis. Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests were used to explore the difference in BMI by presence of 13 mutations of interest: ASXL1, DNMT3A, FLT3, IDH1, IDH2, NPM1, NRAS, SETBP1, SF3B1, SRSF2, TET2, TP53, and U2AF1. The Spearman correlation coefficient was used to assess the relationship between BMI and total number of mutations. Kaplan-Meier estimates, log rank tests, and Cox proportional hazard models were used for time-to-event analyses. All analyses were performed using SAS 9.2 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC).Results:143 MDS pts met inclusion criteria with a median age at diagnosis of 69 (range 39-87) and 60.7% (n=88) were male. The median weight was 81.3 kg and the median BMI at diagnosis was 27.7 kg (range 16.04-52.66). There were 29 pts in the normal BMI class (20%), 4 pts in the underweight class (3%), 38 pts in the obese class (26%), and 72 pts in the overweight class (50%). By IPPS-R risk scoring system, 64 pts were low or very low risk (44%), 39 pts intermediate risk (27%), and 41 pts high or very high risk (29%).There was no difference in the median number of mutations across BMI groups with a spearman correlation coefficient of 0.05 (Figure 1). However, the median BMI was significantly lower in patients with the NPM1 mutation versus those without (p=0.04), diagnosed prior to the WHO re-classification of these patients to acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Presence of the NPM1 mutation in MDS is also associated with worse PFS and an increased hazard ratio of 9.4 (p=0.0003), likely behaving similarly to AML. In comparison, presence of the SF3B1 mutation was found to be protective wherein patients who lacked the mutation had an increased hazard ratio of 6.0 (p=0.0133). BMI alone did not predict for progression free survival (PFS) or overall survival (OS); this was also true regardless of patient residency based on zip code. However, obese patients exhibiting the NPM1 and SF3B1 had better PFS (Figure 2). Moreover, the landmark analysis indicates among patients who are alive and free of progression at 20 months after MDS diagnosis, overweight patients exhibit better PFS than normal/underweight or obese patients (p=0.0192) (Figure 3).Conclusion:While BMI in pts with MDS does not appear to predict the gross number of NGS mutations, NPM1 mutations occurred more often in pts with low BMIs. Overweight pts who did not progress by 20 months have a better PFS. Prospective and larger retrospective studies are needed to expand on the findings that BMI may have an unexplored potential in stratifying pts with newly diagnosed MDS. [Display omitted] DisclosuresNo relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

U2AF1 and Other Splicing Factor Gene Mutations in Telomere Biology Disorders Are Associated with Hematologic Neoplasia and Worse Overall Survival

Introduction: Telomere Biology Disorders (TBD) are due to germline variants in telomere maintenance and repair genes. Clinical manifestations include bone marrow failure (BMF), liver and lung fibrosis, and risk of cancer, especially myeloid neoplasia. We characterized clinical phenotype, pathology, and clonal landscape of patients with TBD and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) or acute leukemia (AL). We assessed if somatic variants in myeloid cancer genes are associated with MDS/AL or overall survival (OS).Methods: Patients (n=109) from the National Institutes of Health and University of São Paulo (NIH/USP) (n=91) or MD Anderson (MDA) (n=18) met TBD clinical criteria or had a pathogenic/likely pathogenic germline variant in a telomere maintenance/repair gene. All patients gave informed consent. Clinical characteristics and details of hematologic malignancy were collected. MDS was defined using WHO 2016 criteria. In the NIH/USP cohort, somatic variants in myeloid cancer genes were assessed in peripheral blood using error-corrected DNA sequencing (ECS; minimum variant allele frequency [VAF] of 0.5%) and in the MDA cohort patients were screened by targeted amplicon-based next-generation sequencing (minimum VAF of 2%). Serial samples were available in 31 (41%) patients.Results: Eighteen out of 109 (17%) patients from both the NIH/USP and MDA cohorts had a diagnosis of MDS/AL, developing in patients with TERC (n=8/31; 25%), TERT (n=8/48; 16%), RTEL1 (n=1/5; 20%), and DKC1 (n=1/2; 50%). Karyotypes were normal diploid (n=6), chromosome 1 abnormality (n=5), trisomy 8 (n=2), deletion 20q (n=1), complex (n=2), monosomy 7 (n=1) and deletion 7q (n=1). Six patients had >5% blasts. Four patients had concurrent liver fibrosis and 9 had pulmonary fibrosis. Somatic mutation data at time of MDS/AL was available for 16/18 patients; splicing factor genes (n=14) were most frequent, seen in 11 (69%) patients, with U2AF1 predominating (n=7; 44% of patients) (Figure 1A). More than 1 mutation was present in 12/16 (75%) of patients. One patient developed AML 6 years after MDS diagnosis . U2AF1 variants were also present in 8 patients without MDS/AL; 5 had no sequential samples and 3 had stable mutations over 2 (n=2) and 4 (n=1) years. Recurrent variants in U2AF1 were present at p.S34 (n=12) and p.Q157 (n=2). Median U2AF1 variant allele fraction (measured in NIH/USP cohort only) was 23% in patients with MDS/AL compared to 7% in those without.Variant association analysis was confined to NIH/USP cohort due to DNA sequencing assay differences; data were available in 75 patients. Patients were divided into groups defined by specific variants at any time of sampling; “Clonal-hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential / aplastic anemia (CHIP/AA) associated” (DNMT3A, TET2, ASXLI, or BCOR/L1), “MDS-associated” (containing splicing factor genes, RUNX1, SETBP1, ETV1, KRAS, STAG2, GATA2/1, TP53), “PPM1D” (containing PPM1D), and a subgroup, “Splicing factors” (U2AF1, ZRSR2, SF3B1, SRSF2). Patients with MDS-associated variants (Figure 1A; p=0.02), particularly splicing factors (Figure 1B; p=0.007) more likely had or later developed MDS/AL, compared to patients without somatic variants or in other variant groups. MDS/AL was not associated with PPM1D or CHIP/AA-associated variants. OS from time of first detected somatic variant was lower in the MDS-associated variant group (Figure 1C p=0.013) compared to those without variants at time of first assessment; this was not the case for CHIP/AA-associated variants or PPM1D. Patients with somatic variants (median ages 36, 41, and 42 for PPM1D, CHIP/AA-associated, and MDS-associated respectively) were significantly older than patients without variants (median age 24) though ages were similar within variant groups.Conclusion: Splicing factor gene variants predominate the clonal landscape of TBD-associated hematologic malignancy; U2AF1 p.S34 is recurrent and can occur in the absence of neoplasia. Splicing factor gene variants such as U2AF1 in the peripheral blood may be potential biomarkers for hematologic malignancy in TBD patients. PPM1D, previously associated with therapy-related MDS, is commonly mutated in TBD but does not associate with MDS/AL. OS was decreased in patients with MDS-associated variants but not with PPM1D or CHIP/AA-associated variants. Further study of U2AF1 variants in TBD patients may give insight to the underlying drivers of MDS/AL. [Display omitted] DisclosuresDiNardo: Agios/Servier: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Notable Labs: Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; ImmuneOnc: Honoraria, Research Funding; Bristol Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Research Funding; Forma: Honoraria, Research Funding; GlaxoSmithKline: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria; Foghorn: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene, a Bristol Myers Squibb company: Honoraria, Research Funding. Calado: Novartis Brasil: Honoraria; Instituto Butantan: Consultancy; AA&MDS International Foundation: Research Funding; Alexion Brasil: Consultancy; Agios: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Team Telomere, Inc.: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Young: Novartis: Research Funding.

Frequency of Chromosomal Translocations Are Significantly Higher in Therapy Related Myeloid Neoplasm As Compared to Primary MDS

Background: Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a heterogeneous group of disorders with variable outcomes. Acquired chromosome abnormalities in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are among the most valuable determinants of prognosis. However, chromosomal translocations are rare in MDS, and their prognostic implication is not well known. To elucidate factors driving chromosomal translocations in MDS, we compared the frequency of MDS patients with and without prior exposure to DNA damaging cytotoxic therapies.Methods: We evaluated diagnostic bone marrow metaphase cytogenetic data of MDS patients enrolled in South Australian MDS/AML registry data. Appropriate Institutional Review Board approval was obtained. Diagnosis and subclassification of MDS were done according to World Health Organization (WHO) 2016 criteria and risk stratified according to the revised International Prognostic Scoring System (R-IPSS) (Greenberg et al., 2012). Standard G-banding method was used for cytogenetic analysis.To decipher changes induced by cytotoxic therapy (CT) from that of myeloid neoplasm in general, we compared cytogenetic profile of three carefully selected cohorts: (i) tMN, in which a myeloid neoplasm occurred in a cancer survivor following exposure to cytotoxic (n = 206, 15.5%); (ii) myeloid neoplasm developing in unrelated cancer survivors with NO prior exposure to CT (a diagnosis of primary MN and another cancer; pMN+Ca) (n =148, 12%). This would include myelodysplastic syndrome or acute myeloid leukemia diagnosed in patients managed with surgical resection of breast cancer and NO exposure to CT; (iii) primary MDS without preceding independent cancer and/or exposure to CT (pMDS) (n = 893,72.5%)Results: The median age of 1247 patients analyzed was 72.50 (IQR 64.9 to 79) and 64% patients were male. Majority of patients were diagnosed with pMDS (n=893; 72.5%), while 206 (15.5%) and 148 (12%) were classified as t-MN and pMN+Ca respectively.Ten percent (114/1247) patients harbored translocations at the time of diagnosis. The most frequent chromosomes involved in translocation are chromosome 1 (37/114, 34.5%), 3 (15/114, 13.8%), 5 (6/114= 5.3%) (Fig.1A). Most common chromosome partners for translocation with chromosome 1 were chromosome 3, 7 and 21.The frequency of chromosomal translocations in patients with monsomal (55/114, 48%) and complex (70/114, 61%) karyotype were higher than patients without. There is a clear relationship in incidence of chromosomal translocations with increasing IPSS-R scores. The frequency of translocations in the Very high risk IPSS-R risk category was significantly higher compared to patients with Very low risk category (27% vs.1.1%).Importantly, frequency of chromosomal translocations was significantly higher in t-MN as compared pMN+Ca and P-MN patients who were not exposed to DNA damaging cytotoxic therapies prior to their diagnosis (17% vs. 4% vs. 8%, P=0.0004; Fig 1B). Notably, the survival of patients with chromosomal translocation was significantly poorer as compared to patients without translocation (Fig.1C). Poor OS of patients with translocation is most probably due to association with complex karyotype (Fig.1D).Conclusion: This comprehensive analysis demonstrates that chromosomal translocations are observed in 10% of MDS patients. Chromosomal translocations are significantly higher in patients who had prior exposure to cytotoxic therapy as compared to patients without. [Display omitted] DisclosuresHiwase: Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; AbbVie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

Oral Decitabine/Cedazuridine in Patients with Lower Risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome: A Longer-Term Follow-up of from the Ascertain Study

▪Background/Introduction:Lower-risk (IPSS low risk and Int-1) myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are typically treated supportively to address cytopenias. DNA methyltransferase inhibitors (DNMTi) such as azacitidine and decitabine (DEC) are FDA-approved for higher risk MDS patients (pts), and while the DEC USPI includes IPSS Int-1 pts, it is not widely used in this population. Approved intravenous (IV) or subcutaneous (SC) regimens require 5-7 days of treatment every month burdening older cancer pts due to daily travel and treatment time and may increase potential risk from pandemic SARS-CoV-2 infection. Because DNMTis are rapidly degraded by cytidine deaminase (CDA) in the gut and liver, oral availability has only been recently possible. A randomized study with CC-486, an oral formulation of azacitidine, in the Int-1 population showed a median overall survival (mOS) of approximately 17 months for both placebo and treated patients (Garcia-Manero, 2021). Oral DEC 35 mg/cedazuridine 100 mg (ASTX727) or DEC-C, is an oral fixed dose combination (FDC) of DEC and the CDA inhibitor cedazuridine (CED) resulting in equivalent exposure (99%; 90% CI 93% to 106%) to standard IV DEC 20 mg/m 2 for 5 days in an intra-patient randomized cross-over study (Garcia-Manero et al, ASH 2019). Here, we present data on patients with lower risk MDS from that study.Methods:We used a randomized cross over design with pts randomized 1:1 in the first 2 cycles to either Sequence A: (DEC 35 mg/ CED 100 mg in Cycle 1 and IV DEC at 20 mg/m 2 in Cycle 2), or Sequence B (IV DEC in Cycle 1 and oral DEC/CED in Cycle 2). Cycles were repeated every 28 days unless delays were needed, and all patients received oral DEC-C in Cycles 3+ until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. We conducted an intra-patient comparison of DEC PK (DEC AUC equivalence over 5 days of dosing). Pts were eligible as per the FDA-approved label of IV DEC (MDS pts by FAB classification including CMML, or MDS IPSS Intermediate-1, 2 or high-risk pts). Clinical endpoints were best response as assessed by an independent expert panel according to IWG 2006 response criteria, transfusion independence (TI), overall survival (OS), and safety.Results:Of the 133 pts treated in ASCERTAIN, 69 had a diagnosis of lower-risk MDS (93% Int-1, 7% LR). Median age was 70.0 years (range 45-87), 65% were male, median weight was 84 kg (range 50-127), median baseline hematologic parameters were: hemoglobin 89 g/L (range 69.8-146.5), WBCs 1.50 X 10 9/L (range 0.11-7.1), platelets (plt) 86 x 10 9/L (range 5-703), bone marrow blasts 4% (range 0-18), cytogenetics: 7 (10.1%) poor-risk, 21 (30.4%) intermediate risk, 37 (53.6%) better-risk, 4 (5.7%) missing or not evaluable. 27(39%) of the pts were RBC transfusion dependent (TD) and 6 (9%) plt TD. 17 (25%) had received prior MDS treatment, 3% prior DNMTi. Pts received a median of 9 cycles of therapy (range 1-28). Treatment-emergent adverse events of CTCAE Gr 3 or higher in >10% of pts, independent of relationship to ASTX727, included cytopenias (neutropenia [59%], thrombocytopenia [58%], anemia [48%], leukopenia [26%]), febrile neutropenia (32%), and pneumonia (19%). Sixteen pts (23%) achieved Complete Response (CR), 18 (26%) had marrow CR (mCR), including 9 (13%) with hematologic improvement (HI). Overall Response rate (ORR; CR + PR+ mCR + HI) was 57%. Of those RBC or plt TD at baseline, 13 (48%) became RBC TI and 4 (67%) became plt TI. With approximately 32 months of median follow up, neither median leukemia-free survival (mLFS) nor mOS had been reached (Figure 1). Twelve pts (17%) went on to allogeneic stem cell transplant.Conclusions:Oral decitabine/cedazuridine given as a FDC in MDS pts produced equivalent PK exposure to 20 mg/m 2 IV DEC; in lower risk MDS pts with treatment indicated, the agent was generally well-tolerated with prolonged treatment and could result in mLFS and mOS which exceeds 32 months. This FDC and other dosing regimens of oral DEC-C should be further studied in this patient population.

Automated Digital Morphometry of Peripheral Blood Smears Detects Both Infrequent Events and Cellular Population Patterns in Myelodysplastic Syndrome

Background: Complete Blood Count (CBC) analytical capacity is falling short of recognizing informative RBC morphology or WBC dysplastic morphological changes. Current morphologic peripheral blood smear (PBS) analysis is performed manually using a semi-quantitative scale on a limited number of cells introducing high degree of subjectivity and low sensitivity. The novel Full-Field Morphology (FFM) technology developed by Scopio Labs performs PBS analysis on a significantly larger scale of 1000 fields of 100X view in a routine manner, allowing a precise and highly sensitive automated quantification of cellular and sub-cellular morphological parameters. Current diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is based on invasive bone marrow aspirate, followed by subjective morphological analysis. In this study, we applied this digital morphometric approach to compare PBS morphology of MDS patients with age-matched controls.Methods: 32 MDS (average age 80+10, [range 41-97] y, F:M ratio 14:18) and 30 age-matched control (average age 79+9, [range 65-100] y, F:M ratio 13:17) PBS were scanned by the Scopio Labs system, and evaluated according to three distinct morphological features with known significance in MDS: blast percentage per 100 or 1000 WBC; neutrophil cytoplasmic granulation per 1000 neutrophils; RBC morphology of at least 150,000 RBC. Quantitative determination of neutrophils granulation, was measured by Granulation Index (GI, between 0-1) and GI Distribution Width (GIDW, between 0-1). RBC measurements included the quantitative measurements of RBC size, namely macro- and microcytosis, and RBC contour changes (deformation), i.e. the percent of RBC that deviate from normal RBC shape.Results: The mean GI of MDS samples was 0.36+0.15, [range 0.14-0.63] (Fig. 1A middle, Fig. 1E), significantly (p<10 -4) lower compared with the mean GI of age-matched control samples 0.53+0.10, [range 0.24-0.64] (Fig. 1A top, Fig. 1E). Mean GI were highly diverse among MDS samples compared with age-matched controls (Fig. 1E), but with no significant differences in GIDW (not shown). Interestingly, two sub-populations of neutrophils were detected in some of the MDS samples, differ in their mean GI (0.26 for one sub-population, 0.52 for the second one, Fig. 1A bottom). Such fingerprint, suggesting the presence of an abnormal and normal clones, was not detected in the control samples. Percentage of blasts was determined per 100 or 1000 WBC counts/sample (Fig. 1B). Blasts were detected in 13/32 (41%) of MDS samples compared with 1/30 (3%) of age-matched controls, when counts were performed per 100 WBC. However, when 1000 WBC were analysed, blasts were detected in 27/32 (84%) of MDS samples compared with 6/30 (20%) of age matched controls, a highly significant difference (p<10 -6). The percentage of blasts per 1000 WBC counts/sample of MDS samples was 0.92+1.35, [range 0-5] %, significantly (P<0.0008) higher compared with the percentage of blasts per 1000 WBC counts/sample of age-matched control samples 0.02+0.05, [range 0-0.2] % (Fig. 1E). RBC analysis revealed significant differences between MDS and age-matched samples (Fig. 1C). As expected, mean RBC size (49+4, [range 41-59] mm 2 MDS; 45+3, [range 40-51] mm 2 age matched) and % of macrocytosis (17+15, [range 2-60] % MDS; 3+4, [range 0-15] % age matched) were significantly (p<10 -5) higher in the MDS samples compared with the age matched controls (Fig. 1E). We found that MDS PBS contained significantly (p<10 -6) higher number of abnormally-shaped RBC (8+1, [range 5-12] %), compared with age-matched controls (6+1, [range 5-8] %) (Fig. 1E). Representative summaries of morphometric analyses of MDS and age-matched control are shown in figure 1D. Representative PBS scans of MDS and control samples are available in https://demo.scopiolabs.com/?_org=VCdaE756rjYwZW3Z#/scans.Conclusion:Our study demonstrates that FFM-based digital PBS analysis enables the detection and quantification of unique WBC and RBC morphologic alterations associated with MDS. The expanding therapeutic options for MDS, including for patients at early disease stages, makes the establishment of an accurate diagnosis of MDS, even at early stages, to be highly important. The proposed novel digital imaging technology opens the opportunity to screen patients, diagnose them early, based on peripheral blood morphology, and potentially, monitor their responsiveness to therapy. [Display omitted] DisclosuresKatz: Scopio Labs: Consultancy. Karni: Scopio Labs: Current Employment. Shimoni: Scopio Labs: Current Employment. Natan: Scopio Labs: Current Employment. Shaham: Scopio Labs: Current Employment. Pozdnyakova: Scopio Labs: Consultancy. Mittelman: Janssen · Roche · Novartis · Takeda · Medison / Amgen · Neopharm / Celgene / BMS · Abbvie · Gilead: Research Funding; Novartis · Takeda · Fibrogen · Celgene / BMS · Onconova · Geron: Other: Clini; Onconova · Novartis · Takeda · Silence: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; MDS HUB: Consultancy; Celgene / BMS · Novartis: Speakers Bureau. Avivi: Novartis: Speakers Bureau; Kite, a Gilead Company: Speakers Bureau.

Germline and Somatic Variants Co-Ocurrence Profile in Early Onset Adult Myelodysplastic Syndromes without a Preexisting Disorder

Germline and Somatic Variants Co-Ocurrence Profile in Early Onset Adult Myelodysplastic Syndromes without a Preexisting Disorder

Real-World Study of CPX-351 Treatment Outcomes for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in England

Introduction: CPX-351 (US: Vyxeos ®; Europe: Vyxeos ® Liposomal) is a dual-drug liposomal encapsulation of daunorubicin and cytarabine in a synergistic 1:5 molar ratio. Since November 2018, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended its use for adults with newly diagnosed, therapy-related AML (t-AML) or AML with myelodysplasia-related changes (AML-MRC) due to either prior myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS)/chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) or de novo AML with myelodysplasia-related cytogenetic changes. The key aims of this study were to utilize the Cancer Analysis System (CAS) database available through the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS) to describe the demographics and clinical characteristics of adults with AML in England who have received CPX-351, as well as to estimate overall survival (OS) and survival within stratifications of interest.Methods: The NCRAS systematically collects and curates population-level data about cancer diagnoses, treatments, and outcomes across England. Adults (aged ≥18 years) diagnosed with AML and treated with CPX-351 were included in this study. A diagnosis of t-AML or AML-MRC between January 2013 and March 2020 was determined either directly using International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, Third Edition (ICD-O-3) codes or indirectly using non-specific ICD-O-2, ICD-O-3, or ICD-10 AML codes in combination with either prior systemic anticancer therapy or radiotherapy (t-AML) or a prior diagnosis of MDS or CMML (AML-MRC; other AML-MRC subtypes could not be specifically identified and are included within the de novo AML subgroup). OS was measured from the date of diagnosis; a separate analysis of OS landmarked from the date of hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) was also performed. Within this preliminary analysis, no OS adjustments have been made to account for any COVID-19-related deaths.Results: A total of 172 patients with AML who were treated with CPX-351 were identified: 37 (22%) had t-AML, 57 (33%) had AML-MRC, and 78 (45%) had de novo AML. At diagnosis, the mean (standard deviation) age was 62.8 years (10.1), with 49/172 (28%) patients aged <60 years; 66% of patients were male; 87% were white; and most had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 or 1 (68%). Six (3%) patients had received azacitidine treatment for a prior malignancy. To date, 43/172 (25%) patients had undergone HCT overall, including 43/97 (44%) patients with ≥3 months of follow-up.The cut-off date for OS was December 31, 2020, giving a median (interquartile range) follow-up of 11.2 months (3.6, 16.9). Overall, 91 patients had died, with an estimated median OS (95% confidence interval [CI]) of 16.6 months (11.0, not estimable) and probability of survival (95% CI) at 1 and 2 years of 0.54 (0.47, 0.62) and 0.39 (0.30, 0.50), respectively (Figure 1). Early mortality rates were 7% at 30 days and 15% at 60 days. When OS was landmarked from the date of HCT, median OS was not reached, with a probability of survival (95% CI) at 1 year of 0.74 (0.62, 0.89; Figure 2). When stratified by age, estimated median OS (95% CI) was not reached for patients aged <60 years and 12.8 months (8.9, 17.6) for patients aged ≥60 years. In a treatment patterns analysis that evaluated second-line treatments after CPX-351, 68 patients died without salvage therapy and 64 were alive without receiving subsequent therapy by the end of the study period. The most common salvage treatments were fludarabine, cytarabine, idarubicin, and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (FLAG-Ida; n = 15), daunorubicin plus cytarabine (DA)-based therapy (n = 6), and azacitidine alone (n = 7). Of the 43 patients who received an HCT, 6 (14%) underwent HCT following salvage therapy.Conclusions: This is the largest study to date examining the real-world outcomes for patients with AML who were treated with CPX-351. The estimated median OS of 16.6 months is consistent with reported real-world outcomes for CPX-351 in French and Italian studies. Median OS has not been reached in patients aged <60 years or when landmarked from the date of HCT. Once the CAS database has been updated, these analyses will be repeated to increase follow-up and patient numbers and to determine the impact of COVID-19 on OS following CPX-351 treatment. [Display omitted] DisclosuresLegg: Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Doubleday: IQVIA Inc., which was contracted by Jazz Pharmaceuticals for the conduct of this analysis: Current Employment. Reich: IQVIA Inc., which was contracted by Jazz Pharmaceuticals for the conduct of this analysis: Current Employment. Lambova: IQVIA Inc., which was contracted by Jazz Pharmaceuticals for the conduct of this analysis: Current Employment. Medalla: Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company.

Azacitidine (AZA) for Patients with Vexas and Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS): Data from the French Vexas Registry

BackgroundMDS are associated in 10% to 25% of the cases with systemic inflammatory or auto-immune diseases (SIAD). The management of SIADs in this context includes glucocorticoids and biologics with variable response rates, but we and others found that hypomethylating agents, especially azacytidine (AZA), can have some efficacy in SIADs associated with lower risk MDS (Fraison, J.-B. et al. Leuk. Res. 43, 13-17 (2016).). The recently described VEXAS syndrome (Vacuoles, E1 Enzyme, X-linked, Autoinflammatory, Somatic syndrome) (Beck et al, NEJM 2020) an autoinflammatory disease characterized by somatic mutation of the UBA1 gene, is often associated with hematological disorders, especially MDS, and its treatment is often unsuccessfulBased on a French nationwide registry of patients with VEXAS syndrome, we described the efficacy and safety of AZA in VEXAS syndrome patients with concomitant MDS.PatientsA French nationwide registry of 116 patients with VEXAS syndrome was established in Jan 2021. We collected in this registry patient cases with concomitant MDS (according to WHO 2016) who received at least 1 full cycle of AZA (5 to 7 days).Major response of autoinflammatory disease to AZA was defined by at least 50% steroids dose reduction to less than 10 mg/day during at least one month, and minor response by at least 50% steroid dose reduction but to > 10 mg/day, during at least one month.ResultsOf the 58 patients with concomitant MDS included in the French VEXAS registry, 11 had received at least 1 cycle of AZA. All patients were males and median age was 64 (range 54-73), WHO : MDS MLD (n=6) , MDS SLD (n=1), MDS EB1 (n=4) ) ,R-IPSS low (n=7), intermediate (n=3) high (n=1). Median time from MDS diagnosis to AZA onset was 8 (range 0-88) months.VEXAS phenotype mostly included skin lesions (100%), fever (91%) and constitutional symptoms (91%). All patients, except one, were steroid dependent at AZA onset. In addition to steroids, patients had received a median of 1 immunosuppressive treatment (IST) (range 0-6).The median number of AZA cycles was 11 (range 2-35). Median follow up from AZA onset was 32 months (range 12-75). Five (46%) patients discontinued AZA before the end of follow-up, after 2 to 10 cycles due to failure (n=4) and persistent response after 6 cycles (n=1).Response of autoinflammatory disease to AZA was achieved in 5 patients (45%) including major response in 2 patients, and minor response in 3, while 6 patients had no response. Best response was observed after 4 cycles (n=4) and after 6 cycles (n=1). In responders, prednisone could be discontinued in 1 patient. Duration of response was 6, 8+, 12, 21, 27+ months (Median 16.5). Three of the 5 responders subsequently received another IST. Of 10 anemic and 5 thrombocytopenic patients,3 obtained erythroid and 2 obtained platelet response, respectively (IWG 2006 criteria).Two patients experienced serious adverse events during AZA treatment, including pneumocystis pneumonia (n=1), severe colitis and bacterial pneumonia (n=1).ConclusionsOur results, in a limited patient number, suggest that AZA can improve auto inflammatory symptoms in 45% of patients with VEXAS syndrome and underlying MDS, allowing decrease or even discontinuation of steroids, during a median time > 1 year, with concomitant hematological response in about 50% of the cases and limited side effects. A prospective study with more patients will be needed to confirm those results. DisclosuresComont: Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; BMS: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Speakers Bureau. Riviere: Octapharma: Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Terriou: Sanofi: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Terrier: LFB: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; MSD: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Astrazeneca: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; GlaxoSmithKline: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Georgin-Lavialle: Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Soby: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; BMS: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Fenaux: Syros Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria, Research Funding; Takeda: Honoraria, Research Funding; Abbvie: Honoraria, Research Funding; JAZZ: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene/BMS: Honoraria, Research Funding.

PIEZO1 Mutation May Determine Early Onset of Clinical Manifestation of Anemia of Myelodysplastic Syndromes

BACKGROUNDAnemia is the most frequent cytopenia in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), neoplastic diseases characterized by ineffective hematopoiesis and bone marrow dysplasia. MDS usually affect elderly individuals (median age in Italy 74 years), and quite rarely concern younger patients. It is of increasing interest to verify whether “young”, not therapy-related MDS patients carry germline (GM) predisposition, in order to optimize therapeutic and transplant choices. The best approach is to perform Whole Exome Sequencing (WES) instead of targeted next-generation sequencing (t-NGS) panel in cases in which MDS patients have no syndromic signs or any indicative sign of predisposing alterations. AIMWe considered a cohort of 21 consecutive MDS cases with age at diagnosis < 60 years and anemia, referred to our MDS Unit for a second opinion. METHODSAfter bone marrow (BM) re-evaluation and morphological confirmation of dysplasia compatible with MDS, we screened the 21 MDS patients by WES on BM-DNA or peripheral blood DNA (PB-DNA). For DNA sequencing, DNA libraries were sequenced using the NextSeq 550 Illumina System. Variant calling was carried out using GATK caller. T-NGS myeloid panel was in some cases applied to confirm somatic nature of mutations. Samples of 5/21 MDS patients and their relatives were further analyzed after WES by applying high-coverage t-NGS 86-gene custom panel for hereditary anemias on PB-DNA. WES of DNA extracted from saliva (S-DNA) samples was performed to provide a GM confirmation. In order to confirm pathogenic role in red blood cell (RBC) membrane defects of identified variants, we also performed the ektacytometry analysis that evaluates the erythrocyte deformability and the hydration status by subjecting them to an increasing osmotic gradient with constant shear stress. RESULTSFive of 21 MDS cases (23.8%) with symptomatic anemia (3 MDS-MLD, 1 MDS-SLD, 1 MDS with isolated del5q) were identified as carriers of variants suspected responsible of RBC membrane defects in both BM/PB-DNA and S-DNA samples, where no other germline myeloid predisposing alterations were demonstrated. MDS-associated somatic variants were present in 4/5 patients (KRAS, TET2, CBL, SRSF2, U2AF1, IDH2, with VAF >25 %). High coverage t-NGS analysis confirmed the presence of a heterozygous rare missense variant in PIEZO1 in probands 1 and 5; a heterozygous rare missense variant in PIEZO1 and ANK1 in proband 2; a heterozygous rare missense variant in PIEZO1 and SPTA1 in proband 3; a complex mode of inheritance in proband 4 with causative variants in G6PD, KCCN4, SPTB, and ABCB6 genes. PIEZO1 or KCNN4 gene variants result in erythrocyte dehydration and determine dehydrated hereditary stomatocytosis (DHS). Ektacytometry analysis showed a significant difference in the osmolarity curve of these patients, confirming the pathogenic role of the variants identified. Among these MDS suspected cases, only proband 4 was diagnostically re-categorized because of lack of acquired recurrent somatic mutations and presence of multiple alterations in erythroid genes causing dysplasia of erythroid precursors, masquerading as MDS. None of the patients presented a history of unexplained anemia before the onset of MDS, consistent with what shown for DHS1 patients with well-compensated hemolysis. Inheritance pattern of the identified variants according the study of the families confirmed the segregation of the pathogenic variants. CONCLUSIONOnset of de novo MDS in unusually young age should always prompt investigation of predisposing conditions. We suggest here that co-existence of inherited RBC membrane defects with MDS may determine earlier clinical manifestation of the clonal disease. Hereditary anemias, in particular xerocytosis, may mimic MDS morphology. In our study, among the 5 “young” MDS with concomitant inherited RBC membrane defect, one case did not finally confirm MDS diagnosis by karyotype or NGS myeloid mutation analysis. This case fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for combined hereditary hemolytic anemia: DHS2, G6PD deficiency, spherocytosis, familial pseudohyperkalemia 2, with multi-locus mode of inheritance that justifies the clinical condition (splenomegaly, hemolytic crisis, ascites). Addition of genetic testing for hereditary anemias beside assessment of germline predisposing variants may allow a more precise diagnosis in controversial cases of “young” MDS. DisclosuresSanna: Janssen: Consultancy; Abbvie: Consultancy; Astra Zeneca: Consultancy. Iolascon: Celgene: Other: Advisory Board; Bluebird Bio: Other: Advisory Board. Santini: Menarini: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Geron: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; BMS/Celgene: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Astex: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.