European LeukemiaNet Research Articles

A high hematopoietic cell transplantation comorbidity Index (HCT-CI) does not impair outcomes after non-myeloablative allogeneic stem cell transplantation in acute myeloid leukemia patients 60 years or older

For most acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) offers the highest chance of cure. The introduction of less toxic non-myeloablative conditioning (NMA) regimes enabled older and/or comorbid patients to be consolidated with an allogeneic HSCT. While the hematopoietic cell transplantation comorbidity index (HCT-CI) predicted outcomes in many younger patient cohorts its impact in older AML patients receiving NMA-HSCT remains unknown. Here we analyzed 289 AML patients 60 years or older (median age 66, range 60-77 years) undergoing NMA-HSCT (2 or 3 Gray total body irradiation and 3 days of fludarabine 30 mg/m2). HCT-CI risk was low, intermediate, or high in 36%, 31%, and 33% of patients, respectively. Non-relapse mortality (NRM), cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR), and overall survival (OS) did not differ between HCT-CI groups. The HCT-CI also did not impact outcomes when considering the European LeukemiaNet 2017 risk at diagnosis or the measurable residual disease (MRD) status at HSCT. Notably, MRD-negative older NMA-transplanted AML patients had a beneficial OS of 49% after 5 years. Since a higher HCT-CI did not impair outcomes, age or comorbidities per se should not impede NMA-HSCT, presenting a feasible consolidation option for this group of AML patients.

Survival, response rates, and post-transplant outcomes in patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia aged 60-75 treated with high intensity chemotherapy vs. lower intensity targeted therapy

The United States Food and Drug Administration has approved several oral, targeted therapies for the treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in recent years. These agents are approved in patients with relapsed/refractory disease or as frontline therapy in patients who are ineligible for intensive chemotherapy based on age, performance status, or comorbidities. They are also being increasingly utilized frontline in patients of all ages and fitness levels through clinical trials and off label prescribing, but comparative treatment outcomes associated with intensive versus targeted therapy have not been extensively studied. We conducted a single center, retrospective analysis to address the impact of treatment intensity on survival in patients with AML aged 60-75 at diagnosis. This study included 127 patients, 73 of whom received high intensity chemotherapy at any point during treatment (any HiC) and 54 of whom received only low intensity targeted therapy (LITT only). Overall survival (OS) from treatment initiation did not differ significantly between the any HiC and LITT only groups (hazard ratio (HR) for death, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.41 to 1.09; P=0.11). The only three variables that were independently associated with superior OS were lower European Leukemia Net (ELN) risk classification, TP53 unmutated status, and receipt of transplant. Our data suggest that baseline genomic features and receipt of transplant are more important than treatment intensity in predicting survival in this patient population. They also highlight the vital role of transplant in older patients with AML regardless of treatment intensity utilized for remission induction. Larger studies are needed to further address this question, including prospective randomized trials.

Appropriate management of Polycythemia Vera with cytoreductive drug therapy: European LeukemiaNet 2021 recommendations

Appropriate management of Polycythemia Vera with cytoreductive drug therapy: European LeukemiaNet 2021 recommendations

AML-440 Prognosis of Molecularly-Defined Secondary Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients

Mutations in ASXL1, BCOR, EZH2, SF3B1, SRSF2, STAG2, U2AF1 and ZRSR2 were proposed as secondary AML (sAML) defining mutations independent from the patients' history. We evaluated the prognostic impact of molecularly-defined sAML (msAML) patients in the context of the European LeukemiaNet (ELN) risk categories. 459 adult newly-diagnosed AML patients (median age 54) with available genetic and follow-up data were included. Patients received standard induction and consolidation chemotherapy or underwent allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT). Patients were classified as de-novo AML (dnAML), msAML carrying ≥ 1 sAML-defining mutations, and clinically-defined secondary AML (csAML) based on previous medical history and cytogenetics. 208 (45%) patients had dnAML, 155 (34%) msAML, and 96 (21%) csAML. 62 msAML patients overlapped with csAML. Of msAML patients, 104 (67%) had 1, 39 (25%) 2, and 12 (8%) 3 or more msAML-defining mutations. The most frequently mutated msAML-defining genes were ASXL1 (n=48, 31%) and SRSF2 (n=44, 28%). The likelihood to reach complete remission (CR) was higher for dnAML compared to msAML patients (92% vs 79%, P =.003), but there was no difference between csAML and msAML patients. The median follow-up of all patients was 5.56 years. The transplantation rate in first CR was similar in dnAML, msAML and csAML patients (33%, 37%, 44%, respectively). Overall survival (OS) was significantly worse in msAML compared to dnAML patients (median OS 3.3 years vs not reached, HR = 1.7, 95%CI 1.2-2.2, P<.001), also when ASXL1 mutated patients were excluded (HR = 1.7, 95%CI 1.2-2.4, P<.001). OS was similar in csAML vs dnAML and in msAML vs csAML patients. In the ELN favorable and intermediate risk groups msAML patients (n=19 and n=52) had a significantly worse OS compared to dnAML patients (n=66 and n=80) (HR=3.1 95%CI 1.5-6.3, P=.001 and HR=2, 95%CI 1.2-3.2, P=.008, respectively). OS was similar in the ELN adverse risk group between msAML (n=79) and dnAML patients (n=31). Accordingly, the ELN risk groups did not stratify OS in msAML patients. msAML-defining mutations identify a subgroup of dnAML patients with poor prognosis and reclassify 10% of all patients in our cohort from favorable/intermediate to the adverse risk group.

Contemporary evaluation of acute myeloid leukemia patients with long‐term survival exceeding 5 years

Define clinical and laboratory attributes of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with long-term survival exceeding five years and compare them with AML patients succumbing to disease within 2 years of diagnosis. A retrospective analysis of AML patients alive at least five years from the time of initial diagnosis. Baseline clinical data were compared with patients who died within 2 years of diagnosis. The long-term cohort consisted of 93 patients treated in 2007-2016 with a median follow-up duration of 7.7 years (range 5-13.6 years). European LeukemiaNet (ELN) 2017 favorable risk patients accounted for 60% of the cohort. All long-term survivors achieved remission following induction chemotherapy. Multivariate analysis showed that compared with 132 patients experiencing death within 2 years of diagnosis, long-term survivors were more likely to be of younger age [odds ratio (OR), 0.92; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.9-0.95; p< 0.001], have a lower initial WBC count (OR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.43-0.79; p= 0.0004), undergo an allogeneic stem cell transplantation (OR, 7.95; 95% CI, 3.07-20.59; p< 0.0001), and harbor favorable risk cytogenetics (OR, 0.03; 95% CI, 0.006-0.23; p= 0.0004). Long-term survival of AML is seen in a distinct demographic and biologic patient subset.

AML-108 SELECT-AML-1 Trial in Progress: A Phase 2 Study of Tamibarotene in Combination With Venetoclax and Azacitidine in Previously Untreated Adult Patients Selected for RARA-Positive AML who are Ineligible for Standard Induction Therapy

RARA-positive AML is a novel, genomically defined subset with an actionable target for treatment with tamibarotene, an oral and selective RARα agonist (McKeown 2017). In a previous trial in RARA-positive newly diagnosed (ND) AML patients ineligible for standard induction therapy, tamibarotene/azacitidine led to a CR/CRi rate of 61% with a rapid onset of response. The combination was generally well tolerated with no increase in myelosuppression compared to azacitidine alone (de Botton 2020). Responses were observed irrespective of mutations or cytogenetic risk. Approximately one-third of ND unfit AML patients do not respond to venetoclax, and nearly all patients eventually relapse (DiNardo 2020). Translational data suggest that RARA positivity, found in approximately 30% of patients in this AML subset (Vigil 2017), enriches for monocytic features reported to be associated with venetoclax resistance (Fiore 2020, Pei 2019). This suggests that the blood-based RARA biomarker selects for patients who may respond to tamibarotene and may be less likely to respond to venetoclax/azacitidine. The primary objectives are to characterize the safety of the combination and to compare the CR/CRi rate of tamibarotene/venetoclax/azacitidine versus venetoclax/azacitidine; the secondary objectives are to compare the CR rate, CR/CRh rate, duration of response, time to response, and overall survival. A phase 2, open-label, multi-center trial comparing the activity of tamibarotene/venetoclax/azacitidine with that of venetoclax/azacitidine in treatment-naive RARA+ unfit AML patients. This 3-part trial includes a safety lead-in, randomized efficacy study, and salvage arm. Following the safety lead-in, patients will be randomized 1:1 to receive tamibarotene/venetoclax/azacitidine or venetoclax/azacitidine. Clinical activity will be characterized by European LeukemiaNet criteria. Response rates and 95% exact binomial confidence intervals will be calculated by treatment group. In the salvage arm, tamibarotene will be added for patients randomized to venetoclax/azacitidine who experience progressive disease, treatment failure, or relapse. Patients will be treated with azacitidine at 75 mg/m2 IV/SC daily on days 1-7, venetoclax on days 1-28 per VENCLEXTA® (venetoclax) USPI, and tamibarotene 6 mg twice per day by mouth on days 8-28 of each 28-day cycle. SELECT-AML-1 (NCT04905407) opened in July 2021 with ongoing enrollment. U.S. and France.

AML-463 AML in Jordan: Analysis According to 2017 European LeukemiaNet Risk Stratification

Cytogenetic features are the main stay to define prognosis and treatment in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Gene mutations detected by next generation sequencing (NGS) were adopted by the European Leukemia Network (ELN) 2017 risk stratification and changed the therapeutic approach, especially in the intermediate risk category. Here, we report cytogenetic and molecular features of Jordanian AML patients as well as the impact of adopting ELN 2017 risk stratification on survival from a single center in Jordan. Medical records of adult patients with the diagnosis of AML from January 2009 till June 2021 in King Hussein Cancer Center were reviewed. Patients were divided into two cohorts: cohort -1 with no available NGS and cohort -2 with NGS. ELN 2010 and ELN 2017 guidelines were used to risk stratify patients in cohort-1 and cohort-2 respectively. Survival analyses were performed using Kaplan-Meier method. 265 subjects were identified. 135 patients were included in cohort-1 (median age of 39 years) and 130 in cohort -2 (median age of 42 years). High intensity induction was given to 119(88%) patients in cohort-1 and 120 (92%) patients in cohort -2. Among cohort-1 patients, risk stratification was favorable in 13 (9.6%), intermediate in 93 (68.9%) and poor in 29 (21.5%) while in cohort-2, they were 29 (22.3%), 52(40%) and 49 (37.7%) respectively. Allogeneic stem cell transplant (allo-SCT) was done for 84 (62.2%) patients in cohort -1 and 61 (47%) patients in cohort-2. After a median follow up of 35 months (range: 2.4-129 months), median overall survival (OS) was 23 months and leukemia free survival (LFS) was 37 months. 2-year OS and LFS were 50% (43.4,55.8) and 58% (51.0,65) respectively. There was no significant difference in the 2-year OS between the two cohorts (54% versus 48%; P=0.129), but cohort-2 patients had better LFS (63% versus 51%; P=0.03), and a lower 2-year cumulative incidence of relapse (37% versus 49%, P-0.03). Adoption of ELN-2017 risk stratification in Jordanian AML patients markedly increased the percentage of patients in the high and favorable risk categories and contributed improving leukemia free survival as well as decreasing the incidence of relapse.

Intensified cytarabine dose during consolidation in adult AML patients under 65 years is not associated with survival benefit: real-world data from the German SAL-AML registry

PurposeHigher doses of cytarabine appear to improve long-term outcome in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), in particular for younger patients. To this end, the optimal dosage of single-agent cytarabine in consolidation therapy remains elusive. Here, we assessed the impact of different dosages of cytarabine consolidation after 7 + 3 induction on outcome in a large real-world data set from the German Study Alliance Leukemia-Acute Myeloid Leukemia (SAL-AML) registry.MethodsPatients between 18 and 64 years of age, registered between April 2005 and September 2020, who attained complete remission after intensive induction and received at least one consolidation cycle with intermediate (IDAC) or high-dose cytarabine (HiDAC) were selected. To account for differences in patient and disease characteristics between both groups, the average treatment effect was estimated by propensity score weighting.ResultsSix-hundred-forty-two patients received HiDAC consolidation with median dosage of 17.6 (IQR (interquartile range), 16.5–18.0) g/m2 for a median number of 3 cycles (IQR, 2–3), whereas 178 patients received IDAC consolidation with 5.9 (IQR, 5.7–8.6) g/m2 for a median of 2 cycles (IQR, 1–3). Both groups differed significantly in some important characteristics (age, sex, cytogenetic risk group, ECOG performance status, disease status, HCT-CI, number of induction cycles). After propensity score weighting for differences in patient and disease characteristics, relapse-free survival after 2 years was comparable between HiDAC-treated (55.3%) and IDAC-treated (55.6%) patients (HR = 0.935, p = 0.69). Moreover, no significant differences in overall survival were observed after 2 years (84.7 vs. 80.6%, HR = 1.101, p = 0.65). Notably, more patients treated with IDAC received allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation in first remission (37.6 vs. 19.8%, p < 0.001). Censoring for allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation in first remission revealed no significant survival difference with regard to cytarabine dosage. Considering only of European LeukemiaNet (ELN) favorable-risk AML patients, there was no significant difference in outcome. Of note, significantly more patients treated with HiDAC suffered from ≥ 3 CTCAE infectious complications (56.7 [95%-CI 52.8–60.6%] vs. 44.1% [95%-CI 36.6–51.7%]; p = 0,004). The rate of other ≥ 3 CTCAE non-hematological toxicities and secondary malignancies was comparable in both treatment groups.ConclusionsThis retrospective analysis suggests no significant benefit of high-dose cytarabine compared to intermediate dosages in consolidation for AML patients under 65 years of age, independent of ELN risk group.Trial registrationNCT03188874.

Incidence of Invasive Fungal Infections in Patients With Previously Untreated Acute Myeloid Leukemia Receiving Venetoclax and Azacitidine.

BackgroundAcute myeloid leukemia (AML) is associated with poor prognosis, particularly in elderly patients with comorbidities. Combining azacitidine (AZA) with BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax (VEN) demonstrated significant improvement in outcomes for newly-diagnosed AML patients compared to AZA alone. However, this regimen is myelosuppressive, and the incidence of invasive fungal infections (IFIs) and impact of antifungal prophylaxis are not well defined.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study evaluated newly-diagnosed AML patients treated with VEN/AZA at the University of Colorado Hospital from January 2014 to August 2020. Patients with history of prior IFI were excluded. Primary outcome was IFI incidence during VEN/AZA therapy. χ2 and Fisher exact tests assessed the impact of patient demographics, AML-specific risk factors, and receipt of antifungal prophylaxis on IFI incidence.Results144 VEN/AZA-treated AML patients were included in the study. 25 (17%) patients developed IFI: 8% (n = 2) “proven,” 24% (n = 6) “probable,” and 68% (n = 17) “possible” per European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer and the Mycoses Study Group Education and Research Consortium criteria. There was no statistically significant association between IFI incidence with age, sex, or European LeukemiaNet classification. 10 patients received antifungal prophylaxis; none developed IFI. IFI incidence rate per 1000 patient-days was greatest 0–9 days after starting VEN/AZA, at 8.39.ConclusionsIncidence of “proven” and “probable” IFI in our VEN/AZA-treated AML cohort was 5.6%, in-line with incidence rates reported by recent similar studies. Furthermore, IFI incidence decreased as days from starting VEN/AZA therapy increased.

Survival prediction optimization of acute myeloid leukaemia based on T-cell function-related genes and plasma proteins.

Interactions between acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) cells and immune cells are postulated to corelate with outcomes of AML patients. However, data on T-cell function-related signature are not included in current AML survival prognosis models. We examined data of RNA matrices from 1611 persons with AML extracted from public databases arrayed in a training and three validation cohorts. We developed an eight-gene T-cell function-related signature using the random survival forest variable hunting algorithm. Accuracy of gene identification was tested in a real-world cohort by quantifying cognate plasma protein concentrations. The model had robust prognostic accuracy in the training and validation cohorts with five-year areas under receiver-operator characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.67-0.76. The signature was divided into high- and low-risk scores using an optimum cut-off value. Five-year survival in the high-risk groups was 6%-23% compared with 42%-58% in the low-risk groups in all the cohorts (all p values &lt;0.001). In multivariable analyses, a high-risk score independently predicted briefer survival with hazard ratios of death in the range 1.28-2.59. Gene set enrichment analyses indicated significant enrichment for genes involved in immune suppression pathways in the high-risk groups. Accuracy of the gene signature was validated in a real-world cohort with 88 pretherapy plasma samples. In scRNA-seq analyses most genes in the signature were transcribed in leukaemia cells. Combining the gene expression signature with the 2017 European LeukemiaNet classification significantly increased survival prediction accuracy with a five-year AUROC of 0.82 compared with 0.76 (p &lt; 0.001). Our T-cell function-related risk score complements current AML prognosis models.

Impact on Outcome of Minimal Residual Disease after Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation with Fludarabine, Amsacrine, and Cytosine Arabinoside-Busulfan Conditioning: A Retrospective Monocentric Study

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) after conditioning with a sequential association of fludarabine, amsacrine, and cytosine arabinoside (FLAMSA) followed by a reduced-intensity conditioning regimen has emerged for patients with high-risk acute myeloid leukemia (AML), especially in refractory or relapsing patients. Here we aimed to address retrospectively the impact of pretransplantation minimal residual disease (MRD) by flow cytometry on the outcomes of high-risk AML patients who underwent allo-HSCT after sequential FLAMSA-busulfan (FLAMSA-Bu)-based conditioning regimens. We included 165 high-risk AML patients who underwent transplantation after FLAMSA-BU in this retrospective single-center "real life" study. All patients received in vivo T cell depletion with antithymocyte globulin (5 mg/kg). MRD detection was based on a leukemia-associated immunophenotype using the European LeukemiaNet recommendations, with a threshold of .1%. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using R version 4.1.1 (R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria). With a median follow-up of 4.0 years post-transplantation, the median overall survival (OS) was 54.9 months. Overall, 41 patients (24.8%) relapsed post-transplantation, with a resulting cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) of 26.7% at 2 years and 34.0% at 5 years. Detectable MRD preceding allo-HSCT and refractory status were associated with worse median OS and CIR rates compared with patients without detectable MRD; however, OS was not significantly different between pre-HSCT MRD-positive and refractory patients (median, .7 year versus 2.0 years; P=.3). Conversely, pre-HSCT MRD negativity was associated with a reduced 2-year CIR. Neither European LeukemiaNet risk stratification nor age had a significant influence on OS. In the multivariate analysis, only pre-HSCT MRD positivity and lower conditioning regimen intensity were significantly associated with a poorer OS. The cumulative incidence of extensive chronic graft-versus-host disease at 2 years was 26.15%. The estimated nonrelapse mortality (NRM) of the entire cohort at 2 years was 23.1%, with age and unrelated donor identified as risk factors for higher NRM. Our data ahow that FLAMSA-Bu conditioning did not reverse the pejorative effect of detectable pre-HSCT MRD, suggesting that such patients should be offered alternative strategies before HSCT to reach deeper remission.

Broad genomic workup including optical genome mapping uncovers a DDX3X: MLLT10 gene fusion in acute myeloid leukemia.

In acute myeloid leukemia (AML), treatment decisions are currently made according to the risk classification of the European LeukemiaNet (ELN), which is based on genetic alterations. Recently, optical genome mapping (OGM) as a novel method proved to yield a genome-wide and detailed cytogenetic characterization at the time of diagnosis. A young female patient suffered from a rather unexpected aggressive disease course under FLT3 targeted therapy in combination with induction chemotherapy. By applying a “next-generation diagnostic workup“ strategy with OGM and whole-exome sequencing (WES), a DDX3X: MLLT10 gene fusion could be detected, otherwise missed by routine diagnostics. Furthermore, several aspects of lineage ambiguity not shown by standard diagnostics were unraveled such as deletions of SUZ12 and ARPP21, as well as T-cell receptor recombination. In summary, the detection of this particular gene fusion DDX3X: MLLT10 in a female AML patient and the findings of lineage ambiguity are potential explanations for the aggressive course of disease. Our study demonstrates that OGM can yield novel clinically significant results, including additional information helpful in disease monitoring and disease biology.

Digital morphology in hematology diagnosis and education: The experience of the European LeukemiaNet WP10

Hematological diagnostics is based on increasingly precise techniques of cellular and molecular analysis. The correct interpretation of the blood and bone marrow smears observed under an optical microscope still represents a cornerstone. Precise quantitative and qualitative cytomorphological criteria have recently been codified by up-to-date guidelines for diagnosing hematopoietic neoplasms. Morphological analysis has found formidable support in digital reproduction techniques, which have simplified the circulation of images for educational or consultation purposes. From 2007 to 2019, the Working Group WP10 of European LeukemiaNet (ELN) used, in annual exercises, digital images to support training in cytomorphology and verify harmonization and comparability in the interpretation of blood and bone marrow smears. We describe the design, development, and results of this program, which had 741 participants in-person or remotely, to which 2055 questions were submitted regarding the interpretation of cytomorphological images. We initially used circulation and presentation of digital microphotographs and then introduced a virtual microscopy (VM). Virtual slides were obtained using a whole slide imaging technique, similar to the one largely used in histopathology, to produce digitized scans of consecutive microscopic fields and reassembles them to obtain a complete virtual smear by stitching. Participants were required to identify cells in labeled fields of view of the virtual slides to obtain a morphological diagnosis. This work has demonstrated substantial improvements in diagnostic accuracy and harmonization with the VM technique. Between-observer concordance increased from 62.5% to 83.0%. The integrity of the digitalized film image, which provides a general context for cell abnormalities, was the main factor for this outcome.

A Focus on Intermediate-Risk Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Sub-Classification Updates and Therapeutic Challenges.

Simple SummaryRisk stratification models, including the European LeukemiaNet 2017 and 2022 guidelines, categorize newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients into several subgroups of distinct genetic characteristics and disease outcomes. The intermediate-risk group remains the most heterogenous group, as most AML patients fall into it (i.e., a basket category) by virtue of not fulfilling criteria that identify specific entities (e.g., core-binding factor AML, TP53 mutations, complex karyotypes) of well-recognized prognostic significance. In this review, we aim to discuss the latest updates on intermediate-risk definition and highlight the therapeutic advances and challenges that warrant refining the prognostic classification of this category.Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) represents a heterogeneous group of hematopoietic neoplasms deriving from the abnormal proliferation of myeloid progenitors in the bone marrow. Patients with AML may have highly variable outcomes, which are generally dictated by individual clinical and genomic characteristics. As such, the European LeukemiaNet 2017 and 2022 guidelines categorize newly diagnosed AML into favorable-, intermediate-, and adverse-risk groups, based on their molecular and cytogenetic profiles. Nevertheless, the intermediate-risk category remains poorly defined, as many patients fall into this group as a result of their exclusion from the other two. Moreover, further genomic data with potential prognostic and therapeutic influences continue to emerge, though they are yet to be integrated into the diagnostic and prognostic models of AML. This review highlights the latest therapeutic advances and challenges that warrant refining the prognostic classification of intermediate-risk AML.

Low-dose dasatinib 50 mg/day versus standard-dose dasatinib 100 mg/day as frontline therapy in chronic myeloid leukemia in chronic phase: A propensity score analysis.

Low-dose dasatinib is safe and effective in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in chronic phase (CML-CP). No randomized trials have compared the outcome with standard-dose dasatinib. This study aims to compare the outcome of patients with CML-CP treated with frontline dasatinib 50 versus 100 mg/day. We analyzed 233 patients with newly diagnosed CML-CP treated with low-dose dasatinib (N=83) or standard-dose dasatinib (N=150). Propensity score analysis with 1:1 matching was performed and identified 77 patients in each cohort without significant baseline differences. Response rates were reported as the cumulative incidences of complete cytogenetic response, major molecular response (MMR), molecular response (MR)4, and MR4.5. Failure-free survival (FFS), event-free survival (EFS), transformation-free survival (TFS), and overall survival (OS) were also compared. Patients on low-dose dasatinib with suboptimal response by European LeukemiaNet (ELN) 2013 criteria had the option to increase the dose to 100 mg/day. The overall median follow-up time was 60 months. The 3-year MMR rates were 92% and 84% for low-dose and standard-dose dasatinib, respectively (p=.23). Dasatinib 50 mg/day induced higher cumulative incidence of MR4 (77% vs. 66%; p=.04) and MR4.5 (77% vs. 62%; p=.02) at 3 years. The 4-year FFS, EFS and OS rates were 89% versus 77% (p=.04), 95% versus 92% (p=.06), and 97% versus 96% (p=.78) with low-dose and standard-dose dasatinib, respectively. The rate of any grade pleural effusion was 5% with dasatinib 50 mg/day compared to 21% with 100 mg/day. Dasatinib 50 mg/day is at least as effective as 100 mg/day with a better safety profile and drug exposure.

No Evidence that CD33 rs12459419 Polymorphism Predicts Gemtuzumab Ozogamicin Response in Consolidation Treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients: Experience of the PETHEMA Group.

Gemtuzumab ozogamicin (GO) is a conjugate of a monoclonal antibody and calicheamicin, which has been reapproved for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). AML patients with the CD33 rs12459419 CC genotype might benefit from the addition of GO to intensive treatment in contrast to patients with CT/TT genotypes. Nevertheless, contradictory results have been reported. We sought to shed light on the prediction of GO response in AML patients with rs12459419 polymorphism who were treated with GO in the consolidation (n = 70) or reinduction (n = 20) phase. The frequency distribution of the rs12459419 polymorphism in the complete cohort of patients was 44.4% (n = 40), 50% (n = 45), and 5.6% (n = 5) for CC, CT, and TT genotypes, respectively. Regarding the patients treated with GO for consolidation, we performed a Kaplan-Meier analysis of overall survival and relapse-free survival according to the rs12459419 polymorphism (CC vs. CT/TT patients) and genetic risk using the European Leukemia Net (ELN) 2010 risk score. We also carried out a Cox regression analysis for the prediction of overall survival, with age and ELN 2010 as covariates. We found no statistical significance in the univariate or multivariate analysis. Additionally, we performed a global Kaplan-Meier analysis for the patients treated with GO for reinduction and did not find significant differences; however, our cohort was too small to draw any conclusion from this analysis. The use of GO in consolidation treatment is included in the approval of the compound; however, evidence regarding its efficacy in this setting is lacking. Rs12459419 polymorphism could help in the selection of patients who might benefit from GO. Regrettably, in our cohort, the rs12459419 polymorphism does not seem to be an adequate tool for the selection of patients who might benefit from the addition of GO in consolidation cycles.

Evaluation of the Stellae-123 prognostic gene expression signature in acute myeloid leukemia.

Risk stratification in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has been extensively improved thanks to the incorporation of recurrent cytogenomic alterations into risk stratification guidelines. However, mortality rates among fit patients assigned to low or intermediate risk groups are still high. Therefore, significant room exists for the improvement of AML prognostication. In a previous work, we presented the Stellae-123 gene expression signature, which achieved a high accuracy in the prognostication of adult patients with AML. Stellae-123 was particularly accurate to restratify patients bearing high-risk mutations, such as ASXL1, RUNX1 and TP53. The intention of the present work was to evaluate the prognostic performance of Stellae-123 in external cohorts using RNAseq technology. For this, we evaluated the signature in 3 different AML cohorts (2 adult and 1 pediatric). Our results indicate that the prognostic performance of the Stellae-123 signature is reproducible in the 3 cohorts of patients. Additionally, we evidenced that the signature was superior to the European LeukemiaNet 2017 and the pediatric clinical risk scores in the prediction of survival at most of the evaluated time points. Furthermore, integration with age substantially enhanced the accuracy of the model. In conclusion, Stellae-123 is a reproducible machine learning algorithm based on a gene expression signature with promising utility in the field of AML.

Ferroptosis-related gene signature predicts the clinical outcome in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia patients and refines the 2017 ELN classification system.

Background: The prognostic roles of ferroptosis-related mRNAs (FG) and lncRNAs (FL) in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (P-AML) patients remain unclear. Methods: RNA-seq and clinical data of P-AML patients were downloaded from the TARGET project. Cox and LASSO regression analyses were performed to identify FG, FL, and FGL (combination of FG and FL) prognostic models, and their performances were compared. Tumor microenvironment, functional enrichment, mutation landscape, and anticancer drug sensitivity were analyzed. Results: An FGL model of 22 ferroptosis-related signatures was identified as an independent parameter, and it showed performance better than FG, FL, and four additional public prognostic models. The FGL model divided patients in the discovery cohort (N = 145), validation cohort (N = 111), combination cohort (N = 256), and intermediate-risk group (N = 103) defined by the 2017 European LeukemiaNet (ELN) classification system into two groups with distinct survival. The high-risk group was enriched in apoptosis, hypoxia, TNFA signaling via NFKB, reactive oxygen species pathway, oxidative phosphorylation, and p53 pathway and associated with low immunity, while patients in the low-risk group may benefit from anti-TIM3 antibodies. In addition, patients within the FGL high-risk group might benefit from treatment using SB505124_1194 and JAK_8517_1739. Conclusion: Our established FGL model may refine and provide a reference for clinical prognosis judgment and immunotherapies for P-AML patients.

IMPACT OF COMPREHENSIVE GENOMIC PROFILING NGS PANELS IN PRECISION ONCOLOGY: THE CITY OF HOPE CMDL EXPERIENCE

The City of Hope (COH) Comprehensive Cancer Center provides a multidisciplinary, collaborative environment where basic, clinical, and translational research intersect and is recognized as one of the leaders in cancer treatment. The COH Clinical Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory (CMDL) has been a pioneer in molecular diagnostics with over twenty years of clinical experience in both somatic and germline molecular testing. The CMDL has been offering multiple next generation sequencing (NGS)-based comprehensive genomic profiling panels, HopeSeq Panels, for many years to guide clinicians in diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic strategies in cancer treatment by providing expanded coverage for the clinical trials and the gene targets which are recommended and cited by the professional organizations including the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Leukemia Net (ELN), the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO). Being a designated laboratory for the NCI-ComboMATCH study by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), these comprehensive genomic profiling panels have strengthened COH’s leading position in cancer research and treatment and have further expanded its position as a leading provider of Precision Oncology. The comprehensive genomic profiles of each patient are reviewed in daily multidisciplinary genomic tumor board meetings by an expert team which includes molecular pathologists, clinical molecular geneticists, hematopathologists and clinicians prior to reporting to ensure the variants are appropriately classified based on AMP/ACMG guidelines in the context of the patient’s cancer.&nbsp;

Validation of thrombotic risk factors in 1381 patients with essential thrombocythaemia: A multicentre retrospective real-life study.

Thrombosis and haemorrhage are frequent in patients with essential thrombocythaemia (ET). The 2016 revised International Prognostic Score for Thrombosis in Essential Thrombocythaemia-thrombosis (r-IPSET-t) score stratifies patients into very-low- (VLR), low- (LR), intermediate- (IR) and high-risk (HR) groups. We validated the r-IPSET-t in the biggest population of patients with ET (n=1381) to date and found it to be a better fit than the earlier IPSET-t score. With an average follow-up of 87.7 months, there were 0.578 thrombotic events/person-year and 0.286 bleeding events/person-year after diagnosis. The 10-year thrombosis-free survival was 88% and 99% for the r-IPSET-t LR and VLR groups (p < 0.001). Cytoreduction was a thrombotic risk factor in younger patients (aged <60 years, hazard ratio 9.49, p=0.026; aged ≥60 years, hazard ratio 1.04, p=0.93). In multivariable Cox regression analysis, anti-aggregation after diagnosis was protective for thrombosis (hazard ratio 0.31, p=0.005) but a risk factor for major bleeding (hazard ratio 10.56, p=0.021). Of the IPSET-t HR and LR groups, 132/780 and 249/301 were re-classified as LR and VLR respectively (p < 0.001). The European LeukemiaNET (ELN) does not recommend aspirin for VLR patients but in this real-life analysis 83.1% of VLR patients received it. Our results validate the r-IPSET-t score as more predictive for thrombosis than the ELN-recommended IPSET-t and raise concerns about unnecessary cytoreductive and anti-aggregative therapy.