Bone Marrow Blast Percentage Research Articles

Real World Outcomes of Patients with Secondary Acute Myeloid Leukemia Undergoing Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation after Induction with Liposomal Daunorubicin-Cytarabine (CPX-351)

Background: Liposomal Daunorubicin-Cytarabine (CPX-351 or Vyxeos), is approved for upfront treatment of adult and pediatric patients with secondary Acute Myeloid Leukemia (sAML) based on results of a randomized phase 3 trial comparing CPX-351 to conventional chemotherapy with 7+3 regimen. The study showed CPX-351 treated patients demonstrated superior complete remission (CR) rates and overall survival (OS) [Lancet et al JCO 2018]. In this study, a higher proportion of CPX-351 treated patients underwent allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT), and landmark OS analysis favored CPX-351 treated patients (HR=0.46; 95% CI: 0.24-0.89; p=0.009). Herein, we reviewed City of Hope (COH) and University of California Los Angeles Medical Center (UCLA) database for patients with sAML who underwent allogeneic HCT after CPX-351 induction to investigate OS and disease-free survival (DFS) outcomes of alloHCT in CPX-351 treated patients and to investigate if HCT outcomes are impacted by achievement of pre-HCT measurable residual disease (MRD) negative remission. Methods: We conducted a multi-center retrospective review of 38 consecutive patients who received CPX-351-based induction before allogeneic HCT to treat sAML, at COH (n=10) and UCLA (n=28), between 2017-2021. The primary endpoint was 2-year OS and DFS in all patients. Secondary outcomes included MRD-ve complete remission (CR) after CPX-351 induction. CR was defined as <5% blasts in bone marrow (BM) aspirates. CR with with hematologic recovery (CRh) was defined as absolute neutrophil counts >1000/µL and platelets ≥100,000/µL. Patients without CRh were categorized as CR with incomplete blood recovery (CRi). MRD assessment was done on day-28 BM aspirate using multiparametric flow cytometric (FC) assay with lower limit of sensitivity of 0.01%. OS was defined as the time from the start of therapy to death and patients were censored if alive at the last follow-up, DFS was defined as the time interval from the date of response to relapse or death, whichever occurred first, and patients were censored at the last follow-up if still leukemia free. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize patient demographics, and disease characteristics. Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank test were used to evaluate OS and LFS. Results: Patients' demographic and disease features are summarized in Table 1. Briefly, the median age at diagnosis was 65 years (range: 14-77) and median blast percentage in BM at diagnosis was 34% (range: 20-69%). Based on ELN criteria, 25 patients (66%) had adverse risk, 12 (32%) had intermediate risk and one (2.6%) had favorable risk AML. sAML was due to antecedent hematologic disorder (AHD) in majority of patients (n=32; 84%), therapy related in four (10%) and MDS-related changes (MRC) in two patients (5.3%). Following Vyxeos treatment, the composite CR rate (CRh+CRi) was 76% (CRh in 25, CRi in 4 patients) and 9 patients (23%) were refractory to upfront therapy. Pre-HCT MRD status was available for majority of patients (n=34; 89%). MRD negative remission by FC was achieved in 58% (20/34) patients (Table 2). The 1- and 2-years OS was 65% (95% CI: 48-78%) and 54% (95% CI: 36-68%), respectively and the 1- and 2-years DFS was 58% (95% CI: 41-71) and 50% (95%CI: 33-64%), respectively (Figure 1). In the 34 patients with available pre-HCT MRD data, no significant difference in OS (50% vs 58%; p=0.4) or DFS (50% vs 48%; p=0.93) was observed based on pre-HCT MRD status. More patients with who were MRD-positive after induction (50%; 7/14) received myeloablative conditioning (MAC) regimen compared to only 15% (3/20) of patients with MRD negative remission. Conclusion: CPX-351 induction in patients with sAML is associated with high MRD negative remission and promising 2-year OS/DFS after allogeneic HCT. In patients with MRD positive remission status after CPX-351 induction, MAC conditioning regimens may be preferred to reduce relapse incidence after alloHCT.

The Co-Occurrence of bZIP in-Frame CEBPA-Mutation with Unfavorable Genetic Abnormalities Is Associated with a Poor Prognosis in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

In a previous study (SY Ahn et al, Cancer Res Treat 2023), we reported that the presence of only the basic leucine zipper in-frame mutation (bZIP in-f) CEBPA is associated with favorable outcomes in patients with CEBPAdouble mutations. However, when bZIP in-fCEBPAmutations were accompanied by certain mutations in chromatic/DNA modifiers, cohesion complex, and splicing genes, patients exhibited inferior overall survival (OS). FLT3-ITD or additional cytogenetic abnormalities is known to rarely co-occur with CEBPA mutation in patients with AML. In cases where both bZIP in-fCEBPA and FLT3-ITD coexist, there are conflicting aspects in risk stratification, and research on its prognostic significance is limited. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the prognostic significances of the co-occurrence of bZIP in-fCEBPAmutation with unfavorable genetic abnormalities in acute myeloid leukemia. In 832 patients who were diagnosed with AML excluding acute promyelocytic leukemia and underwent intensive induction therapy, 98 (11.8%) had bZIP in-fCEBPA. Among 98 patients with bZIP in-fCEBPA, eight cases had FLT3-ITD (5 with low allelic ratio, 3 with high allelic ratio), 19 patients had unfavorable genetic mutations according to the 2022 European LeukemiaNet guidelines, and 10 patients had non-favorable cytogenetic abnormalities as detected in diagnostic samples. We observed no clinical differences in features such as age, sex, WBC count, bone marrow blast percentage at diagnosis based on the co-occurrence unfavorable genetic abnormalities (unfavorable-gene). Among the 98 patients with bZIP in-f CEBPA, 30 out of 37 patients with unfavorable-gene achieved complete remission (CR) after induction therapy, and 55 out of 61 without unfavorable genetic abnormalities showed CR (p=0.20). Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation was proceeded at first CR in 21 out of 37 unfavorable-gene group, and 35 out of 61 bZIP in-fCEBPAonly group ( p=1.00). In the survival analysis, patients with FLT3-ITD, unfavorable genetic co-mutated, or non-favorable cytogenetic abnormalities with bZIP in-fCEBPA showed inferior OS (p=0.036) (Fig. A). Due to the limited number of patients for analysis, we classified them into two group: the unfavourable-gene group and bZIP in-fCEBPAonly group. We observed that the unfavourable-gene group had a poor OS compared to the bZIP in-fCEBPAonly group (HR 2.71, 95 CI; 1.32-5.55, p=0.007) (Fig.B). On multivariate analysis, unfavorable-gene group was only poorrisk factor for OS. Despite the inclusion of a relatively small number of patients, our study demonstrates that when co-occurrence of bZIP in-fCEBPA withunfavourable genetic abnormalities, it results in a poor prognosis. To confirm its clinical significance, further validation with a larger patient population is necessary.

Impact of Residence in an Agricultural Zone on AML Characteristics

Background: Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is associated with several well-established risk factors. These include cigarette smoking, exposure to benzene, to ionizing radiation, and previous exposure to chemotherapy. Interestingly, studies have observed higher incidence rates of AML in farming regions, suggesting that farming activities and related exposures, such as pesticides, may increase the risk. However, data regarding the potential variations in clinical, cytogenetic, and molecular profiles between individuals living in rural and urban areas are lacking. Therefore, we aim to specifically examine the characteristics and the outcomes of AML patients living in agricultural areas. Patients and methods: We performed a retrospective analysis including 315 patients newly diagnosed with AML from two French institutions, namely Amiens University Hospital and Lille University Hospital, from 2008 to 2013. We collected patient demographics, along with comprehensive data encompassing clinical and biological information, including cytogenetics and molecular data. The data was obtained from the Observatoire des Hauts-de-France, enabling a comprehensive and exhaustive review of the AML cases in this specific region. We geocoded the patients' residential addresses. This process involved linking the patient's location to the corresponding agricultural areas per municipality, by using geographical information from the French Ministry of Agriculture's statistics department (AGRESTE, https://www.agreste.agriculture.gouv.fr). This enabled us to establish a connection between the patients' locations and the specific agricultural regions they resided in. We categorized the population into terciles based on the proportion of local companies engaged in farming activities. Results: Approximately one-third (n=108) of patients were living in areas with less than 1.3% of farm companies, one-third (n=102) lived in regions with a percentage ranging from 1.3% to 6.9%, while the remaining third (n=105) lived in areas where the proportion of farm companies exceeded 6.9%. Sex ratio (p=0.7) and median age at diagnosis (60 vs 60.5 vs 58 years, p=0.5) were similar between the 3 groups. There was no difference in body mass index (BMI), smoking activity, alcohol consumption and performance status score between the three groups. At baseline, there was no difference in blood counts (hemoglobin, platelets, leukocytes, and circulating blasts levels), bone marrow blasts percentage, AML type (de novo vs. post MDS or MPN), or WHO classification between the 3 groups. Regarding cytogenetic abnormalities, people living on agricultural lands had fewer normal karyotypes (27% vs 33% and 43%, p=0.045) and more MLL rearrangement (20% vs 8% and 5%, p=0.013). However, there was no difference in the SWOG and ELN 2017 classifications. Regarding molecular characteristics, NPM1 mutations were found less frequently in people living in agricultural regions (13% vs 30% and 29%, p=0.021). There was no difference for FLT3-ITD positivity and CEBPA mutation. There was no difference in complete remission rate and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation treatment though we could underline an especially low rate of HSCT in the < 1.3% group. OS was also similar between the three groups (Table 1.). Conclusions: Our study showed a correlation between living in agricultural areas and a higher prevalence of unfavorable cytogenetic and molecular features in AML patients, although clinical outcomes remain unchanged. These findings suggest that the proximity to agricultural activities could have an impact on leukemogenesis, by increasing the rate of MLL rearrangements and chromosomic abnormalities.

Idarubicin Versus Daunorubicin Versus Mitoxantrone for Induction Chemotherapy in Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Patient Registration Study of Turkish Society of Hematology-Acute Myeloid Leukemia Working Group

Introduction: Standard induction chemotherapy in newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) includes a combination of standard-dose cytarabine and an anthracycline (idarubicin [IDA], daunorubicin [DNR], or mitoxantrone [MXR]). Anthracycline selection is still not standardized, and the impact of anthracycline selection on survival and response in patients with adverse genetic risk is of interest. The study aimed to retrospectively compare the effectiveness of induction regimens with respect to anthracycline preference. Methods: The study population was recruited from the Turkish AML Registry project database based on documentation of newly diagnosed AML and induction chemotherapy with IDA, DAU, or MXR in combination with cytarabine. Patients diagnosed before 31 August 2022 were received typical “7 + 3” induction chemotherapy containing 3 days of IDA, DAU, or MXR. Results: The study included 317 newly diagnosed AML patients (median age 51; range, 18 - 79; 55.2% male). Of the patients, IDA was administered in 266 (83.9%), DNR in 42 (13.2%), and MXR in 9 (2.8%). The three anthracycline treatment groups were similar between age, gender, type of AML by the World Health Organization (WHO), and risk classification by 2017 European LeukemiaNet (ELN) when evaluated according to the baseline disease characteristics. At the time of diagnosis, although the median white blood cell levels were 19 x 10 9/L (0.4 - 355) in the IDA, 7.8 x 10 9/L (0.7 - 357.2) in the DAU, and 5.5 x 10 9/L (0.6 - 34) in the MXR therapy group (p = 0.019); the hemoglobin and platelet levels and bone marrow blast percentage were similar between the treatment groups. FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 internal tandem duplication ( FLT3-ITD) (p = 0.561) and Nucleophosmin 1 gene ( NPM1) (p = 0.430) mutation frequencies were also similar between treatment groups. Morphological complete remission (CR) was documented in 65% of all evaluable patients. Among the patient groups, CR was 67.7% for IDA, 50% for DNR, and 55.6% for MXR (p = 0.081). In univariate analysis (Table 1), significant predictors of overall survival (OS) were age ≥60 years (p <0.001), acute leukemias of ambiguous lineage (p <0.001), presence of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) (p = 0.012), and FLT3-ITD mutation (p = 0.018); no significant interaction was noted between NPM1 mutation and OS (p = 0.059). Additionally, when idarubicin was taken as a reference, there was no meaningful relationship between anthracycline type and OS (p values for daunorubicin and mitoxantrone were 0.145 and 0.356, respectively). In multivariate analysis (Table 1), age ≥60 years (p = 0.001), acute leukemias of ambiguous lineage (p = 0.007), and the presence of DIC (p = 0.040) remained significant. After a median follow-up of 29.8 months, 32.5% relapse cases were documented and similarly distributed among IDA (33.1%), DNR (31%), and MXR (22.2%) therapy groups (p = 0.771). During the same period, allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) was documented in 10.9% and 26.2% of patients treated for IDA and DNR, respectively. No patient progressed to AHSCT in the MXR arm (p <0.001). In the study, 142 (44.8%) deaths were reported, and there was a 48.5%, 26.2%, and 22.2% mortality rate between the IDA, DNR, and MXR treatment groups, respectively. There was no significant difference in OS by anthracycline type in both the study cohort and age group <60 years (Figures 1A and 1B). There was also no significant difference in OS in patients with the adverse genetic risk group and <60 years age group with adverse genetic risk, according to 2017ELN (Figures 1C and 1D). The results may have been influenced by the number of patients in the treatment groups of the retrospective study and by differences in fitness levels that needed to be measured systematically. Conclusions: We are encouraged that our findings mostly agree with previously published studies and that IDA, DNR, and MXR offer comparable survival values in the research and the younger patient groups. In the future, the ever-changing treatment environment in patient groups with targetable mutations makes choosing the optimal anthracycline for induction chemotherapy in AML much more difficult.

NPM1-Mutated Myeloid Neoplasms: Updated Outcomes with High-Intensive Chemotherapy Regardless of the Blast Percentage

Background: The most recent World Health Organization (WHO) classification has stablished NPM1-mutated myeloid neoplasms (MNs) to be acute myeloid leukemia (AML) regardless of bone marrow (BM) blast percentage. In contrast, the new International Consensus Classification (ICC) considers NPM1-mutant MNs as AML only in the presence of ≥10% BM blasts. Previous studies from our group and others have reported favorable outcomes of NPM1-mutant MNs with <20% blasts when treated with intensive chemotherapy. Here we seek to further evaluate clinical outcomes of this group of pts. Methods: We retrospectively re-evaluated the patient's characteristics, disease features and outcomes in patients with NPM1-mutated oligoblastic AML (<20% blasts) (oligo-AML). In addition, we also evaluated the clinicopathological characteristics in a cohort of patients with secondary NPM1-mutated AML (sAML), the majority of which had received treatment before progressing to AML. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate the overall survival (OS), event-free survival (EFS) and relapse-free survival (RFS). Results: We identified 54 patients with NPM1-mutated oligo-AML. Median age was 62 years (range, 19-87) and most of them were female (59%). Median bone marrow (BM) blasts was 10%. Most patients could have been classified as CMML-2 (7/54, 13%), MDS-EB1 (7/54, 13%) and MDS-EB2 (24/54, 44%), based on the 2016 WHO classification. Median NPM1 variant allele frequency (VAF) was 0.38 (range, 0.05-0.52) and 38 patients (70%) had normal karyotype. These patients harbored a median of 1 co-mutation (range, 0-5), predominantly DNA methylation pathway, such as DNMT3A (31%) or TET2 (23.5%), or RAS pathway, mainly NRAS (25.5%), but rarely exhibited mutations in other functional pathways (Figure 1). Twenty-three patients (43%) progressed to AML with >20% BM blasts within a median of 10.7 months. Of 54 patients, 46 patients (82%) received chemotherapy-based regimens [61% low-intensity chemotherapy (LI-Chemo) based on hypomethylating agents or low-dose cytarabine and 21% high-intensity chemotherapy (HI-Chemo)] and 21 patients (39%) received a stem cell transplant (SCT). With a median follow up of 67.6 months (LI-Chemo of 48.3 months; HI-Chemo of 71.4 months), the median OS, EFS and RFS was 30.4 months, 30.4 months and 14.7 months for the LI-Chemo group, respectively, but median OS, EFS and RFS were not reached (NR) for HI-Chemo group. However, when compared by age, patients with <60 years had trends to have better OS with LI-Chemo or HI-Chemo than patients aged ≥60 years (Figure 2). In addition, 5 patients received chemotherapy-based regimens with venetoclax, however improved OS was only seen when combined with HI-Chemo and SCT (n=2, with a median OS NR without deaths, likely related to younger people). In parallel, we identified 31 patients with NPM1-mutated sAML progressed from oligo-AML. Median age was 67 years (range, 31-83) and female were 58%. Median BM blasts was 40%. Median NPM1 VAF was 0.38 (range, 0.02-0.56). Most patients did not exhibit clonal cytogenetic evolution and remained with a diploid karyotype (65%). Seventy-four percent of patients (17 out of 23 tested) had known prior NPM1-mutated oligo-AML, and in 6 patients NPM1 mutation was acquired at progression. Median number of co-mutations were 3 (range, 0-7). DNTM3A (65%) or TET2 (33.3%) mainly co-occurred with RAS pathway mutations, and in particular FLT3-ITD (26.7%) or FLT3-TKD (13.3%) (Figure 1). Eleven of 31 patients (36%) received LI-Chemo regimens, whereas 15 of 31 patients (48%) had HI-Chemo regimens. Nine patients (29%) underwent SCT. With a median follow up of 39.6 months (LI-Chemo of 55.5 months; HI-Chemo of 39.4 months), the median OS, EFS and RFS was 11.4 months, 12.4 months and NR for LI-Chemo, respectively; and 13.2 months, 6.5 months and NR for HI-Chemo, respectively. No significant differences were seen depending on the number of therapies received for previous oligo-AML. Previously untreated patients who received a venetoclax-based regimen with SCT had prolonged survival (n=4, median OS NR, with median follow up of 41 months). Conclusions: NPM1-mutated acute myeloid leukemia can be treated as such irrespective of blasts burden. For these cases, especially young patients, should be treated with intensive chemotherapy and subsequent allogeneic stem cell transplant as a clear curative approach.

Naturally Selected CD7-Targeted Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-T Cell Therapy for Refractory/Relapsed Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Phase I Clinical Trial

Introduction Refractory or relapsed (r/r) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is associated with a relatively poor prognosis, even in patients who undergo allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT), emphasizing the critical need for novel therapies. Approximately 30% of AML patients express CD7 on their leukemic blasts and malignant progenitor cells. Naturally selected CD7 CAR-T (NS7CAR-T) therapy has shown significant efficacy with a favorable safety profile in T-cell lymphoid malignancies. In a phase I clinical study (https://clinicaltrials.gov NCT04938115), we investigated the safety and efficacy of CAR-T therapy for treating r/r AML patients with CD7-positive disease. Methods Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were obtained from either the patients themselves (n=9) or the transplant donor (n=1) in cases of relapse post-transplant. T-cells were then purified using CD3+ magnetic beads. The second-generation CD7CAR with a 4-1BB costimulatory domain was manufactured following the manufacturer's protocol. Before the CAR-T cell infusion, bridging therapies were permitted for patients with rapid disease progression. All patients received intravenous fludarabine (30mg/m 2/d) and cyclophosphamide (300mg/m 2/d) lymphodepletion chemotherapy for three consecutive days (Day -5 to Day -3). The median time from leukapheresis to CAR-T cell infusion was 15 days. Results Between June 2021 and January 2023, we enrolled 10 patients with CD7-positive r/r AML (CD7 expression >50% with good intensity) and administered NS7CAR-T cell infusions, with 4 receiving a low dose (5×10 5/kg) and 6 receiving a medium dose (1×10 6/kg). Table 1 displays the characteristics of the enrolled patients, revealing a median age of 34 years (7-63 years) and median bone marrow (BM) blasts percentage by flow cytometry (FCM) of 17.0% (2.0-72.7%) at enrollment. One patient presented with diffuse extramedullary disease (EMD). Before enrollment, patients had undergone a median of 9 (range: 3-17) prior lines of therapy. Seven patients had a history of allo-HSCT and the median interval period from the prior transplant to relapse was 12.5 months (3.5-19.5 months). Following infusion, the median peak of circulating NS7CAR-T cells was 2.72×10 5 copies/μg (0.671~5.41×10 5 copies/μg) genomic DNA, which occurred around Day 21 (Day 14 - Day 21) based on q-PCR, with 64.68% (40.08%~92.02%) occurring on Day 17 (Day 11 - Day 21) according to FCM. The median transduction efficiency of the products was 95.6% (70.4%-98.5%). At four weeks post NS7CAR-T cell infusion, 7/10 (70%) patients achieved complete remission (CR) in BM, and 6 of them attained minimal residual disease (MRD)-negative CR. Three patients showed no remission (NR), including 1 with EMD who had partial remission (PR) based on PET-CT evaluation on Day 35. All NR patients were found lost CD7. The median observation time was 178 days (28-752 days). Among the 7 patients who achieved CR, 3 who relapsed from prior transplants underwent consolidative 2 nd allo-HSCT about 2 months after CD7 CAR T-cell infusion. Two patients remained in leukemia-free survival on day 752 and day 315, respectively, while 1 patient died on day 241 due to transplant-related mortality. Among the other 4 patients without consolidative allo-HSCT, 3 relapsed on day 47, day 83, and day 115, respectively (all 3 patients were found to have CD7 loss), and 1 patient died from lung infection. Post-infusion, the majority of patients (80%) experienced mild cytokine release syndrome (CRS), with 7 displaying grade I and 1 having grade II CRS, while 2 patients (20%) experienced grade III CRS. None of the patients had neurotoxicity. Among the 7 patients with prior allo-HSCT, 1 who had a relapse approximately 100 days after prior allo-HSCT developed mild skin graft-versus-host disease following CAR-T therapy. Conclusion Our study highlights the NS7CAR-T therapy as a promising approach for achieving a favorable initial CR in CD7-positive AML patients, even in those who have undergone extensive prior treatments and experienced relapse post allo-HSCT. It potentially could serve as a bridging therapy before transplant. CD7 loss is a major issue either in NR patients or relapsed patients. The safety profile of NS7CAR-T therapy was manageable. However, to comprehensively assess the efficacy of NS7CAR-T in treating CD7-positive AML, further data from a larger cohort of patients and longer follow-up time are essential.

Dose Escalation of HLA-A2-WT1 CD3 T-Cell Bispecific Antibody in a Phase I Study in Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

Background: RO7283420 (RG6007) is a 2+1 TCR-like (TCR-L) T-cell bispecific (TCB) antibody targeting CD3 and the RMFPNAPYL peptide of Wilms Tumor 1 (WT1) protein presented by the major histocompatibility complex-I HLA-A*02 on acute myeloid leukemia (AML) blasts and other antigen presenting cells. The pre-clinical evaluation of RO7283420 in our in vivo humanized AML xenografts and ex vivo AML co-culture models showed strong T-cell mediated AML cell killing (Augsberger C, et al. Blood 2021). A Phase 1 dose-escalation (DE) study (NCT04580121) evaluated the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, anti-drug antibodies (ADAs), and anti-leukemic activity of RO7283420 in patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) AML. Methods: In this open-label, multi-center study, DE was performed using a 3+3 design. Patients received RO7283420 every 3 weeks (Q3W, n=46), or every week (QW, n=4) as intravenous (IV) infusions. Preliminary anti-leukemic activity included response assessment according to European Leukemia Net (ELN) response categories (adapted from Döhner H, et al. Blood 2017). Results: As of 13 April 2023, 50 HLA-A2+ R/R AML patients received at least one dose of RO7283420. Patients had a median age of 65.5 years (range 35-84), presented with ECOG of 0 (56%) or 1 (38%) or 2 (6%), and 58% were male. Median prior line of therapy was 2 (range 1-5). Overall, 58% of patients had relapsed and 42% had primary refractory disease. According to the ELN 2017 risk stratification, patients were of adverse (48%), intermediate (38%) or favorable (8%) risk category, for 6% of patients the risk category missing. The most common genetic abnormalities reported were RUNX1 (21%), ASXL1 (17%), TP53 (10.6%), FLT3-ITD (6.4%) and NPM1 (6.4%) of the 47 patients tested. Median bone marrow blast percentage at baseline was 35% (range 3-90%), while the median of circulating blast was 17% (range 0-88%). Study patients received RO7283420 IV at 13 different dose levels, ranging from a Minimum Anticipated Biological Effect Level (MABEL) of 0.15 mg (flat) to 18 mg Q3W (with a preceding weekly 1/3 mg ‘double step-up’ during Cycle 1) and one QW dose level with 9 mg preceded by a 1/3 mg step-up. Maximum tolerated dose was reached at 1/3/12 mg double step-up Q3W. Explored alternative QW schedule was not tolerable at 1/3/9 mg. The most common (≥20%) adverse events (AEs) were cytokine release syndrome (CRS) occurring in 34 (68%), pneumonia 14 (28%), pyrexia 13 (26%), febrile neutropenia 13 (26%), hyperglycemia 12 (24%), hypokalemia 11 (22%), and nausea 10 (20%) of patients. Eight dose limiting toxicities (DLTs) were reported: five G3 CRS (at 1/3, 2/12, 1/6/12 mg dose levels), G3 stomatitis (at 1/3/12 mg), G3 myositis (at 1/3/18 mg), and G4 thrombocytopenia (at 1/3/18 mg). Eleven patients (22%) experienced Grade 5 AEs with pneumonia, sepsis, and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) reported in >1 patient; all Grade 5 events were considered unrelated to RO728342 except 1 (at 1/3/9 mg) of 2 HLH events. IV PK has been overall dose-linear and characterized by a terminal half-life of 29 to 84 hours and a clearance of 58 to 92 mL/h. Preliminary ADA incidence within the study population was 19%. In the dose ranges tested, a trend for study drug exposure-dependent blast reduction was observed in blood, while a clear exposure-response relationship could not be established with BM blast reduction. Furthermore, our preliminary pharmacodynamic analysis identified expansion of naive and memory CD8 T cells in blood and activated CD8+ T cells in bone marrow, in line with the expected mode of action (MoA) of RO7283420. Preliminary efficacy signals were observed with 3 complete responses (CR), including 1 CR with incomplete blood count recovery. Conclusions: RO7283420 is the first TCR-L TCB antibody evaluated in AML. We observed pharmacodynamic evidence of T-cell activation and expansion in the clinic, in line with the expected MoA of TCBs, however, at the explored doses, no clear exposure-response relationship and only a modest clinical activity were observed. The safety profile was shown to be consistent with the other TCBs and R/R AML population. Based on the totality of data, the study was discontinued.

Long-Term Follow-up and T Cell Characteristics of Patients with ASXL1-Mutated Relapsed or Refractory MDS or CMML Treated with Guadecitabine and Atezolizumab

Background Treatment of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) or chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) after failure of a hypomethylating agent (HMA) remains an unmet need. We and others demonstrated a modest overall response rate (ORR) to the combination of immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI) and an HMA in such patients; a promising overall survival (OS) compared to historical data (5-6 months) was seen in some, but not all, studies. Our study and that of Daver et al. suggested that patients with ASXL1 mutations, in particular, may benefit from the addition of ICI. We conducted a Phase I/II clinical trial evaluating the addition of a programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor, atezolizumab, to a subcutaneous prodrug of the HMA decitabine, guadecitabine. We evaluated the presence of common driver mutations in CD3- bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMC) and CD3+ T lymphocytes. Among 27 tested patients, 12 had the ASXL1 mutations in the myeloid compartment and, of those, 5 patients' T cells carried the exact same mutation at a variant allele frequency (VAF) of >10%. Both patients with complete remission in the study (n=2) carried the mutation in both compartments (co-mutated) and median OS was significantly better for co-mutated patients (not reached) than for those with CD3- BMMC (myeloid) mutations (9.5 months) or wild type ASXL1 (16.5 months). Herein we report long-term follow-up of this cohort of patients, along with T cell programmed death-1 (PD-1) expression analyzed based on mutational status. Methods Details of the trial design and correlative plan are published. In the published study we used a VAF cutoff of 2% (1% for TP53) for BMMC and 10% for CD3+ T lymphocytes for the panel of 40 commonly mutated genes. In the current study we also evaluated patients with a T cell ASXL1 VAF of 5-10%. Patients have been followed for progression and survival every 6 months. Demographic and disease characteristics and outcome data were compared based on ASXL1 mutation status. Previously obtained T lymphocyte PD-1 expression data from samples obtained pre-treatment (PRE), during cycle 2 (EARLY) and after cycle 3 or 4 (LATE) were analyzed based on ASXL1 mutation status. Results Among 27 patients from 4 centers with DNA available for genetic analysis, 15 had no ASXL1 mutation ( ASXL1 WT), 5 had ASXL1 mutations restricted to the myeloid lineage, and 7 had ASXL1 mutations in both the myeloid and T-cell populations ( ASXL1 co-mutated). Two co-mutated patients had T cell VAFs of 5-10% and 5 had VAFs>10% (Figure 1). No baseline characteristic by ASXL1 mutational status was significantly associated with response to study treatment, though 6 of 7 co-mutated patients (vs 3/5 myeloid-only patients) had not responded to first-line HMA (refractory). With a median follow-up time of 64.9 months, median survival times were 48.9 months (15.1, 64.9+) for co-mutated patients with T cell VAF >10%, 34.9 months (8.5, NR) for co-mutated patients including those with T cell VAF of >5%, 16.4 months (3.3, 27.3) for ASXL1 WT patients, and 9.5 months (2.1, 35) for myeloid-only patients (Figure 2). This was statistically significant after adjusting for age and ECOG performance status at study entry, diagnosis, baseline bone marrow blast percentage, and number of prior chemotherapy regimens using the likelihood ratio test from multivariate analysis for overall survival (P = 0.008). Early treatment-induced upregulation of CD8 + T cell PD1 was observed in the ASXL1 WT, before returning to baseline levels. This upregulation was more pronounced in the ASXL1 co-mutated group beginning at a lower baseline and peaking at a higher MFI and was statistically significant (P = 0.0098). No significant treatment-induced change in PD-1 expression was noted in the myeloid-only subset. Discussion In patients with relapsed or refractory MDS or CMML, the presence of an ASXL1 mutation in both myeloid and T lymphocyte compartments, as compared to WT or myeloid-only mutations, was associated with a significantly longer median OS when treated with the combination of ICI and HMA. Significant upregulation of PD-1 was noted in T lymphocytes from both wild-type and co-mutated patients. The effect of mutant ASXL1 on T cell responsiveness to ICI deserves further investigation; patients with ASXL1-mutated HMA-refractory myeloid malignancies may benefit from ICI.

A Single Center, 10-Year Experience of CALGB-10403 Regimen in AYA Population with Philadelphia-Chromosome Negative Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

INTRODUCTION: The use of pediatric-inspired regimens for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has now become the standard of care in adolescents and adults (AYA). One such regimen, CALGB 10403, had higher rates of event free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) compared with historical controls using adult ALL regimens. It was shown to be feasible and efficacious in fit patients up to the age of 40 (Wendy Stock et al., Blood 2019). In 2012, based on emerging data on the improved efficacy of pediatric-inspired regimens in AYA patients, CALGB 10403 was adopted as the standard-of-care regimen in this population at Karmanos Cancer Institute (KCI), an adult cancer treatment center. Here we report our single center, real world experience of using this regimen in a Philadelphia chromosome negative (Ph-) AYA population, approximately 10 years after its adoption. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective chart review of consecutive AYA (ages 18-39) patients with Ph- ALL treated with CALGB 10403 regimen between January 2012 and June 2023 at KCI. Patients who received alternative regimens due to distance from KCI were excluded. Baseline demographic, clinical and molecular characteristics were noted. High-risk cytogenetics were defined as KMT2A rearrangements, hypodiploidy with a chromosome number ≤43, and complex karyotype. Testing for Ph-like ALL was not available in most patients. Beginning in 2019, clonoSEQ assay was used to test for minimal residual disease (MRD), with MRD negativity defined at a threshold of less than 10 -4. Incidence of adverse effects and treatment related mortality were reported to describe safety. Complete response (CR) rate, OS and PFS were used as efficacy outcomes. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to estimate OS and PFS. RESULTS: A total of 17 Ph- AYA patients were treated at KCI with a median age at diagnosis of 25 years (range 18-34). Males and females had a near equal representation (47% and 53%). The patients were predominantly White (64%). The majority of patients had a good ECOG performance status of 0 or 1 (88%). The diagnosis was B-ALL in 9 (53%) and T-ALL in 8 (47%) patients. High risk cytogenetics were present in 3 (80%) of the evaluable patients. None of the patients had CNS involvement at diagnosis. Baseline laboratory parameters expressed as medians were bone marrow blast percentage 80%, WBC count 9.2 x1000/mm 3, hemoglobin 8.4 g/dL, platelets 109 x1000/mm 3, and LDH 480. The median duration of follow-up was 54 months. 15 (88%) patients had CR with induction, and MRD was negative in 4 (57%) of the 7 evaluable patients. 2 (12%) patients had primary refractory disease. One of the patients with refractory disease underwent further therapy with blinatumomab, inotuzumab, CAR-T and allogeneic stem cell transplantation and is alive at 16 months from diagnosis. Another underwent salvage with hyper-CVAD and allogeneic stem cell transplant, and is currently alive at 88 months from diagnosis. Two additional patients were MRD positive after induction (course I) but subsequently attained MRD negativity. One of these eventually relapsed 7.5 months from diagnosis with a mixed phenotypic (T/myeloid) leukemia and died at 10 months, while the other is currently under treatment. An additional patient with CR1 and unknown MRD status had CNS relapse at 35 months, underwent successful hyper-CVAD, reintroduction of intrathecal chemotherapy and allo-HSCT salvage and is alive at 122 months. The 5-year PFS and OS were 74.5% and 94% respectively and the medians were not reached for both. Noteworthy adverse effects include neutropenic fever (65%), liver function tests (LFT) abnormalities (70%), and neuropathy from vincristine (70%). Peg-asparaginase administration was associated with pancreatitis in 12%, thromboembolism in 30% and hypersensitivity reactions in 24% requiring switching to alternative forms of asparaginase products (erwinia and Rylaze). These toxicities were manageable and there were no treatment-related deaths in our cohort. CONCLUSIONS: The pediatric-inspired regimen CALGB 10403 was safe and efficacious in our AYA Ph- ALL population with no deaths due to treatment and a 5-year overall survival of 94%. Toxicities, especially from peg-asparaginase, should be closely monitored. While most patients will attain durable remission/cure, the minority with refractory or relapsed disease can still be successfully salvaged to achieve long term survival.

Features of the TCR repertoire associate with patients' clinical and molecular characteristics in acute myeloid leukemia.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant remains the most effective strategy for patients with high-risk acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Leukemia-specific neoantigens presented by the major histocompatibility complexes (MHCs) are recognized by the T cell receptors (TCR) triggering the graft-versus-leukemia effect. A unique TCR signature is generated by a complex V(D)J rearrangement process to form TCR capable of binding to the peptide-MHC. The generated TCR repertoire undergoes dynamic changes with disease progression and treatment. Here we applied two different computational tools (TRUST4 and MIXCR) to extract the TCR sequences from RNA-seq data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and examine the association between features of the TCR repertoire in adult patients with AML and their clinical and molecular characteristics. We found that only ~30% of identified TCR CDR3s were shared by the two computational tools. Yet, patterns of TCR associations with patients' clinical and molecular characteristics based on data obtained from either tool were similar. The numbers of unique TCR clones were highly correlated with patients' white blood cell counts, bone marrow blast percentage, and peripheral blood blast percentage. Multivariable regressions of TCRA and TCRB median normalized number of unique clones with mutational status of AML patients using TRUST4 showed significant association of TCRA or TCRB with WT1 mutations, WBC count, %BM blast, and sex (adjusted in TCRB model). We observed a correlation between TCRA/B number of unique clones and the expression of T cells inhibitory signal genes (TIGIT, LAG3, CTLA-4) and foxp3, but not IL2RA, CD69 and TNFRSF9 suggestive of exhausted T cell phenotypes in AML. Benchmarking of computational tools is needed to increase the accuracy of the identified clones. The utilization of RNA-seq data enables identification of highly abundant TCRs and correlating these clones with patients' clinical and molecular characteristics. This study further supports the value of high-resolution TCR-Seq analyses to characterize the TCR repertoire in patients.

AML with CEBPA mutations: A comparison of ICC and WHO-HAEM5 criteria in patients with 20% or more blasts

AML with CEBPA mutation and AML with in-frame bZIP CEBPA mutations define favorable-risk disease entities in the proposed 5th edition of the World Health Organization Classification (WHO-HAEM5) and the International Consensus Classification (ICC), respectively. However, the impact of these new classifications on clinical practice remains unclear. We sought to assess the differences between the ICC and WHO-HAEM5 for AML with CEBPA mutation. 741 AML patients were retrospectively analyzed. Cox proportional-hazard regression was used to identify factors predictive of outcome. A validation cohort from the UK-NCRI clinical trials was used to confirm our findings. 81 (11%) AML patients had CEBPA mutations. 39 (48%) patients met WHO-HAEM5 criteria for AML with CEBPA mutation, among which 30 (77%) had biallelic CEBPA mutations and 9 (23%) had a single bZIP mutation. Among the 39 patients who met WHO-HAEM5 criteria, 25 (64%) also met ICC criteria. Compared to patients only meeting WHO-HAEM5 criteria, patients with in-frame bZIP CEBPA mutations (ie. meeting both WHO-HAEM5 and ICC criteria) were younger, had higher bone marrow blast percentages and CEBPA mutation burden, infrequently harboured 2022 ELN high-risk genetic features and co-mutations in other genes, and had superior outcomes. The associations in clinicopathological features and outcomes between the CEBPA-mutated groups were validated in the UK-NCRI cohort. Our study indicates that in-frame bZIP CEBPA mutations are the critical molecular aberrations associated with favorable outcomes in AML patients treated with curative intent chemotherapy. Compared to WHO-HAEM5, the ICC identifies a more homogenous group of CEBPA-mutated AML patients with favorable outcomes.

Definitions, Biology, and Current Therapeutic Landscape of Myelodysplastic/Myeloproliferative Neoplasms.

Myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasms (MDS/MPN) are hematological disorders characterized by both proliferative and dysplastic features. According to the 2022 International Consensus Classification (ICC), MDS/MPN consists of clonal monocytosis of undetermined significance (CMUS), chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML), atypical chronic myeloid leukemia (aCML), MDS/MPN with SF3B1 mutation (MDS/MPN-T-SF3B1), MDS/MPN with ring sideroblasts and thrombocytosis not otherwise specified (MDS/MPN-RS-T-NOS), and MDS/MPN-NOS. These disorders exhibit a diverse range of genetic alterations involving various transcription factors (e.g., RUNX1), signaling molecules (e.g., NRAS, JAK2), splicing factors (e.g., SF3B, SRSF2), and epigenetic regulators (e.g., TET2, ASXL1, DNMT3A), as well as specific cytogenetic abnormalities (e.g., 8 trisomies, 7 deletions/monosomies). Clinical studies exploring therapeutic options for higher-risk MDS/MPN overlap syndromes mostly involve hypomethylating agents, but other treatments such as lenalidomide and targeted agents such as JAK inhibitors and inhibitors targeting PARP, histone deacetylases, and the Ras pathway are under investigation. While these treatment modalities can provide partial disease control, allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (allo-BMT) is the only potentially curative option for patients. Important prognostic factors correlating with outcomes after allo-BMT include comorbidities, splenomegaly, karyotype alterations, and the bone marrow blasts percentage at the time of transplantation. Future research is imperative to optimizing therapeutic strategies and enhancing patient outcomes in MDS/MPN neoplasms. In this review, we summarize MDS/MPN diagnostic criteria, biology, and current and future treatment options, including bone marrow transplantation.

Evaluation of Conventional Karyotyping, Lactate Dehydrogenase Levels, White Blood Cells count, and Bone Marrow Blast Percentage as Good Prognostic Tests in Patients Diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Evaluation of Conventional Karyotyping, Lactate Dehydrogenase Levels, White Blood Cells count, and Bone Marrow Blast Percentage as Good Prognostic Tests in Patients Diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Survival outcomes with CPX-351 vs 7+3 by baseline bone marrow blast percentage in older adults with newly diagnosed high-risk or secondary acute myeloid leukemia: A 5-year follow-up study.

7027 Background: CPX-351, a dual-drug liposomal encapsulation of daunorubicin and cytarabine in a synergistic 1:5 molar ratio, is approved for newly diagnosed therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or AML with myelodysplasia-related changes in the US and Europe following positive efficacy and safety data from the pivotal phase 3 clinical trial (NCT01696084). A previous exploratory analysis of the trial data (median follow-up 20.7 months) showed improved survival outcomes with CPX-351 vs conventional 7+3 chemotherapy in adults with newly diagnosed high-risk or secondary AML (sAML) irrespective of baseline bone marrow (BM) blast percentage. Here we report 5-year follow-up data (median follow-up 60.9 months) to provide insights into the longer-term efficacy and safety of CPX-351 in these patient subgroups. Methods: Patients (60–75 years) with a pathologic diagnosis of AML (high-risk/sAML) per the WHO 2008 criteria (≥20% blasts in peripheral blood or BM) and an ECOG PS of 0–2 were randomized to receive CPX-351 or 7+3 chemotherapy. In these post hoc subgroup analyses at 5 years follow-up, overall survival (OS), event-free survival (EFS) and complete remission (CR) were assessed by baseline BM blast percentage. The analysis included patients with low ( < 20%) BM blasts to account for changes in blast count thresholds in the updated WHO AML classification. Results: Overall, median OS and EFS were longer with CPX-351 vs 7+3 in each subgroup; median OS was greatest in low blast subgroups for both treatments (Table). Higher CR rates were observed with CPX-351 vs 7+3 irrespective of baseline BM blasts. Median Kaplan-Meier (KM)-estimated survival rates increased with CPX-351 vs 7+3 across BM blast subgroups. The CPX-351 safety profile was comparable across BM blast subgroups and consistent with the known safety profile of 7+3. Conclusions: These 5-year follow-up data suggest that CPX-351 results in improved outcomes irrespective of baseline BM blast percentage vs conventional 7+3 chemotherapy in older adults with AML. Clinical trial information: NCT01696084 . [Table: see text]

LEP promoter methylation in the initiation and progression of clonal cytopenia of undetermined significance and myelodysplastic syndrome

BackgroundIdiopathic non-clonal cytopenia (ICUS) and clonal cytopenia (CCUS) are common in the elderly population. While these entities have similar clinical presentations with peripheral blood cytopenia and less than 10% bone marrow dysplasia, their malignant potential is different and the biological relationship between these disorders and myeloid neoplasms such as myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is not fully understood. Aberrant DNA methylation has previously been described to play a vital role in MDS and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) pathogenesis. In addition, obesity confers a poorer prognosis in MDS with inferior overall survival and a higher rate of AML transformation. In this study, we measured DNA methylation of the promoter for the obesity-regulated gene LEP, encoding leptin, in hematopoietic cells from ICUS, CCUS and MDS patients and healthy controls. We investigated whether LEP promoter methylation is an early event in the development of myeloid neoplasms and whether it is associated with clinical outcome.ResultsWe found that blood cells of patients with ICUS, CCUS and MDS all have a significantly hypermethylated LEP promoter compared to healthy controls and that LEP hypermethylation is associated with anemia, increased bone marrow blast percentage, and lower plasma leptin levels. MDS patients with a high LEP promoter methylation have a higher risk of progression, shorter progression-free survival, and inferior overall survival. Furthermore, LEP promoter methylation was an independent risk factor for the progression of MDS in a multivariate Cox regression analysis.ConclusionIn conclusion, hypermethylation of the LEP promoter is an early and frequent event in myeloid neoplasms and is associated with a worse prognosis.

Nelarabine, intensive L-asparaginase, and protracted intrathecal therapy for newly diagnosed T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in children and young adults (ALL-T11): a nationwide, multicenter, phase 2 trial including randomisation in the very high-risk group

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia has distinct biological characteristics and a poorer prognosis than B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. This trial aimed to reduce the rate of radiation and haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) while improving outcomes by adding nelarabine, intensified L-asparaginase, and protracted intrathecal therapy in the Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster (BFM)-type treatment. In this nationwide, multicenter, phase 2 trial, we enrolled patients with newly diagnosed T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (age <25 years at diagnosis) conducted by Japan Children's Cancer Group and Japan Adult Leukemia Study Group. Patients were stratified into standard-risk, high-risk, and very-high-risk groups according to prednisolone response, CNS status, and end-of-consolidation minimal residual disease. We used the Associazione Italiana di Ematologia Oncologia Pediatrica (AIEOP)-BFM-ALL 2000-backbone chemotherapy. Nelarabine (650 mg/m2 per day for 5 days) was given to high-risk and very high-risk patients. All patients received, until the measurement of end-of-consolidation minimal residual disease, an identical therapy schedule, which included the prednisolone pre-phase remission induction therapy with dexamethasone (10 mg/m2 per day, for 3 weeks [for patients <10 years] or for 2 weeks including a 7-day off interval [for patients ≥10 years]) instead of prednisolone, and consolidation therapy added with Escherichia coli-derived L-asparaginase. On the basis of the stratification, patients received different intensities of treatment; L-asparaginase-intensified standard BFM-type therapy for standard risk and nelarabine-added high risk BFM-type therapy for high risk. In the very high-risk group, patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to group A (BFM-based block therapy) and group B (another block therapy, including high-dose dexamethasone) stratified by hospital, age (≥18 years or <18 years), and end-of-induction bone marrow blast percentage of M1 (<5%) or M2 (≥5%, <25%)+M3 (≥25%). Cranial radiotherapy was limited to patients with overt CNS disease at diagnosis (CNS3; >5 white blood cells per μL with blasts) and patients with no evidence of CNS disease received protracted triple intrathecal therapy. Only very high-risk patients were scheduled to receive HSCT. The primary endpoint was 3-year event-free survival for the entire cohort and the proportion of patients with disappearance of minimal residual disease between randomly assigned groups A and B in the very high-risk group. Secondary endpoints were overall survival, remission induction rate, and occurrence of adverse events. 3 years after the completion of patient accrual, a primary efficacy analysis was performed in the full analysis set and the per-protocol set. This study is registered with the Japan Registry of Clinical Trials, jRCTs041180145. Between Dec 1, 2011, and Nov 30, 2017, of 349 eligible patients (median age 9 years [IQR 6-13]), 238 (68%) were male, and 28 (8%) patients had CNS3 status. 168 (48%) patients were stratified as standard risk, 103 (30%) as high risk, 39 (11%) as very high risk, and 39 (11%) as no risk (patients who had off protocol treatment before risk assessment. The composite complete remission (complete remission plus complete remission in suppression) rate after remission induction therapy was 89% (298 of 335 patients). HSCT was performed in 35 (10%) of 333 patients. With a median follow-up of 5·2 years (IQR 3·6-6·7), 3-year event-free survival was 86·4% (95% CI 82·3-89·7%) and 3-year overall survival was 91·3% (87·7-93·8%). The proportion of minimal residual disease disappearance was 0·86 (12 of 14 patients; 95% CI 0·57-0·98) in group A and 0·50 (6 of 12 patients, 0·21-0·79) in group B. Grade 3 peripheral motor neuropathy was seen in 11 (3%) of 349 patients and sensory neuropathy was seen in 6 (2%) patients. The most common grade 3 or worse adverse event was febrile neutropenia (294 [84%] of 349 patients). Treatment-related death occurred in three patients due to sepsis, gastric perforation, or intracranial haemorrhage during remission induction. The ALL-T11 protocol produced encouraging outcomes with acceptable toxicities despite limited cranial radiotherapy and HSCT use. Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan, and Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development. For the Japanese translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Clinical and genetic features of Japanese cases of MDS associated with VEXAS syndrome.

VEXAS (vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory, somatic) syndrome is a new disease entity with autoinflammatory disorders (AID) driven by somatic variants in UBA1 that frequently co-exists with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Clinicopathological and molecular features of Japanese cases with VEXAS-associated MDS remain elusive. We previously reported high prevalence of UBA1 variants in Japanese patients with relapsing polychondritis, in which 5 cases co-occurred with MDS. Here, we report clinicopathological and variant profiles of these 5 cases and 2 additional cases of MDS associated with VEXAS syndrome. Clinical characteristics of these cases included high prevalence of macrocytic anemia with marked cytoplasmic vacuoles in myeloid/erythroid precursors and low bone marrow (BM) blast percentages. All cases were classified as low or very low risk by the revised international prognostic scoring system (IPSS-R). Notably, 4 out of 7 cases showed significant improvement of anemia by treatment with prednisolone (PSL) or cyclosporin A (CsA), suggesting that an underlying inflammatory milieu induced by VEXAS syndrome may aggravate macrocytic anemia in VEXAS-associated MDS. Targeted deep sequencing of blood samples suggested that MDS associated with VEXAS syndrome tends to involve a smaller number of genes and lower risk genetic lesions than classical MDS.

Analysis of 7 cases of pediatric acute myeloid leukemia with DEK-NUP214 fusion gene

Objective: To investigate the clinical features, treatment regime, and outcome of pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with DEK-NUP214 fusion gene. Methods: The clinical data, genetic and molecular results, treatment process and survival status of 7 cases of DEK-NUP214 fusion gene positive AML children admitted to the Pediatric Blood Diseases Center of Institute of Hematology & Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from May 2015 to February 2022 were analyzed retrospectively. Results: DEK-NUP214 fusion gene positive AML accounted for 1.02% (7/683) of pediatric AML diagnosed in the same period, with 4 males and 3 females. The age of disease onset was 8.2 (7.5, 9.5) years. The blast percentage in bone marrow was 0.275 (0.225, 0.480), and 6 cases were M5 by FAB classification. Pathological hematopoiesis was observed in all cases except for one whose bone marrow morphology was unknown. Three cases carried FLT3-ITD mutations, 4 cases carried NRAS mutations, and 2 cases carried KRAS mutations. After diagnosis, 4 cases received IAE induction regimen (idarubicin, cytarabine and etoposide), 1 case received MAE induction regimen (mitoxantrone, cytarabine and etoposide), 1 case received DAH induction regimen (daunorubicin, cytarabine and homoharringtonine) and 1 case received DAE induction regimen (daunorubicin, cytarabine and etoposide). Complete remission was achieved in 3 cases after one course of induction. Four cases who did not achieved complete remission received CAG (aclarubicin, cytarabine and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor), IAH (idarubicin, cytarabine and homoharringtonine), CAG combined with cladribine, and HAG (homoharringtonine, cytarabine and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor) combined with cladribine reinduction therapy, respectively, all 4 cases reached complete remission. Six patients received hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) after 1-2 sessions of intensive consolidation treatment, except that one case was lost to follow-up after complete remission. The time from diagnosis to HSCT was 143 (121, 174) days. Before HSCT, one case was positive for flow cytometry minimal residual disease and 3 cases were positive for DEK-NUP214 fusion gene. Three cases accepted haploid donors, 2 cases accepted unrelated cord blood donors, and 1 case accepted matched sibling donor. The follow-up time was 20.4 (12.9, 53.1) months, the overall survival and event free survival rates were all 100%. Conclusions: Pediatric AML with DEK-NUP214 fusion gene is a unique and rare subtype, often diagnosed in relatively older children. The disease is characterized with a low blast percentage in bone marrow, significant pathological hematopoiesis and a high mutation rate in FLT3-ITD and RAS genes. Low remission rate by chemotherapy only and very high recurrence rate indicate its high malignancy and poor prognosis. Early HSCT after the first complete remission can improve its prognosis.

Low leukemia burden improves blinatumomab efficacy in patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

A lower baseline bone marrow blast percentage (bBMB%) is associated with better outcomes in patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) receiving blinatumomab. The objective of this analysis was to investigate the association between bBMB% and treatment outcomes in relapsed/refractory (R/R) B-ALL. Data from five trials of blinatumomab for R/R B-ALL were pooled for analyses. Patients were placed in one of three groups: group 1, ≥50% bBMBs; group 2, ≥25% to <50% bBMBs; group 3, ≥5% to <25% bBMBs. Response and survival outcomes were compared between groups. Data from 683 patients (166 pediatric, 517 adult) were analyzed. Collectively, patients in groups 2 and 3 had significantly higher odds of achieving a complete remission (CR) (odds ratio [OR], 3.50 [95% confidence interval (CI), 2.23-5.48] and 3.93 [95% CI, 2.50-6.18], respectively; p<.001) and minimal/measurable residual disease response (OR, 2.61 and 3.37, respectively; p<.001) when compared with group 1 (reference). Groups 2 and 3 had a 37% and 46% reduction in the risk of death (hazard ratio [HR], 0.63 and 0.54, respectively; p<.001) and a 41% and 43% reduction in the risk of an event (relapse or death) (HR, 0.59 and 0.57, respectively; p<.001) compared with group 1. No significant differences in response or survival outcomes were observed between groups 2 and 3. Seven of nine patients whose bBMB% was lowered to <50% with dexamethasone achieved CR with blinatumomab. Any bBMB% <50% was associated with improved efficacy following blinatumomab treatment for R/R B-ALL.

The trace that is valuable: serum copper and copper to zinc ratio for survival prediction in younger patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukaemia

PurposeNo data on predicting the survival of AML patients based on the level of trace elements in the serum have been presented to date. The aims of this prospective cohort study were as follows: (i) to evaluate the serum Cu and Zn levels in people from Northeast China, (ii) to assess the association between the serum Cu level (SCL) and Cu to Zn ratio (SCZR) and clinical and nutrition data, and (iii) to investigate the predictive values of the SCL and SCZR in newly diagnosed de novo AML patients.MethodsA total of 105 newly diagnosed AML patients and 82 healthy controls were recruited. The serum Cu and Zn levels were determined by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry. The associations of SCL and SCZR with the survival of these AML patients were assessed by Cox proportional hazards models.ResultsBoth SCL and SCZR were positively related to the blast percentage of bone marrow and C-reactive protein, negatively related to albumin level and CEBPA double mutation and were significantly associated with worse overall survival and disease-free survival. Meanwhile, patients with higher SCL had worse CTCAE levels, and patients with higher SCZR showed less complete remission during the first course of induction chemotherapy. Moreover, higher SCZR was positively associated with ELN risk stratification, and was negatively associated with haemoglobin level and prognostic nutritional index (PNI).ConclusionThe SCL and SCZR are associated with long-term survival in patients with newly diagnosed AML undergoing intensive induction and may serve as important predictive biomarkers.