Smeland, Knut B.

Background: Splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) is a rare indolent disease with a median overall survival (OS) of more than 10 years, although a proportion of patients may develop aggressive histology transformation. In a previous report from this large, international dataset, the 10-year cumulative incidence of transformation was 17% (95% 13-21) and in another study of 186 patients, the 10-year cumulative incidence was 14%Click or tap here to enter text.. In this report, we focus on risk factors for transformation as well as clinical characteristics and outcomes of transformed SMZL (tSMZL). Patients and methods: Adults diagnosed with SMZL in 2000-2018 were identified through regional or nationwide population-based registries or from hospital registries. Only patients likely to have SMZL as defined by Matutes et al. were included. Those with discordant lymphoma and/or transformation at diagnosis were excluded. Medical records were reviewed by local clinicians with experience in hematology/oncology, and detailed information on clinical characteristics, treatment lines, and outcomes was collected. Only histologically confirmed high-grade transformations (HT) were included. OS was defined as the time from transformation to death or censoring at last follow-up. Additional analyses stratified by treatment exposure prior to HT and treatment of HT were conducted. Multivariable Cox analyses were performed to determine clinicopathological features associated with transformation and OS. Results: Out of 940 patients with SMZL, 111 developed HT during a median follow-up of 9.1 years. The median time from diagnosis to HT was 3.4 years with an interquartile range of 1.6-7.4 years. Median age at HT was 71 years. Patients with HT shared similar baseline characteristics to those without in terms of age at diagnosis (66.4 vs 67.6), f:m ratio (1.5 vs 1.1) and ECOG ³2 (7.2% vs 7.4%). The 5-yr OS from the time of HT was 42% (CI 95%, 32-54). Of the 111 patients with tSMZL, a complete treatment history from SMZL diagnosis until HT was available for 88 included in the following analyses. By the time of HT, 46 had not received any prior systemic therapy (37 only splenectomy, 9 no therapy), 6 patients had received rituximab alone or combined with splenectomy, and 36 patients had received chemotherapy alone or as part of combined modality treatment. In a uni- and multivariable models for HT, we assessed age, treatment at diagnosis, sex, extra-hilar lymphadenopathy, and extranodal involvement. In both the uni- and multivariable model, age >70 (HR 1.9, 95% CI: 1.1-3.4), immediate treatment including splenectomy (HR 2.0, 95% CI: 1.05-3.6), and extra-hilar lymphadenopathy (HR 1.9, 95% CI: 1.1-3.3) were associated with higher HT hazard, while extranodal involvement (HR 0.23, 95% CI: 0.06-0.84) was associated with a lower HT hazard. At the time of first-line treatment, multivariable analysis revealed similar results and with no association between risk of transformation and treatment strategy (i.e splenectomy alone, rituximab monotherapy or chemotherapy with /without rituximab or splenectomy, and other). At the time of HT, patients who had been previously treated with chemotherapy had an inferior 5-year OS of 24% (95%CI: 13-44%) versus 54% (95%CI: 41-71%) for those who had not received chemotherapy prior to HT. In contrast, there was no difference in the survival of patients that transformed less than or more than 24 months from diagnosis with 5-year OS after HT of 35% (95%CI 20-60%) and 45% (95%CI, 33-61%) respectively. In a multivariable Cox regression analyses of age at time of HT, sex, time since last treatment <24 months, chemo-exposure in previous treatment lines and anthracycline-containing therapy (+/-R) at the time of HT, only prior chemo-exposure was borderline associated with poorer OS (HR 1.8, 95%CI: 0.9-3.5). Conclusion: Patients with SMZL face a notable risk of developing tSMZL over time. Patients in need of immediate treatment at first SMZL diagnosis, age >70 and extrahilar lymphadenopathy had a higher risk of tSMZL and outcomes at the time of HT were poor if patients had been exposed to prior chemotherapy after adjustment for age, sex, and time since last treatment.

PURPOSE Patients diagnosed with advanced-stage Hodgkin lymphoma (aHL) have historically been risk-stratified using the International Prognostic Score (IPS). This study investigated if a machine learning (ML) approach could outperform existing models when it comes to predicting overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). PATIENTS AND METHODS This study used patient data from the Danish National Lymphoma Register for model development (development cohort). The ML model was developed using stacking, which combines several predictive survival models (Cox proportional hazard, flexible parametric model, IPS, principal component, penalized regression) into a single model, and was compared with two versions of IPS (IPS-3 and IPS-7) and the newly developed aHL international prognostic index (A-HIPI). Internal model validation was performed using nested cross-validation, and external validation was performed using patient data from the Swedish Lymphoma Register and Cancer Registry of Norway (validation cohort). RESULTS In total, 707 and 760 patients with aHL were included in the development and validation cohorts, respectively. Examining model performance for OS in the development cohort, the concordance index (C-index) for the ML model, IPS-7, IPS-3, and A-HIPI was found to be 0.789, 0.608, 0.650, and 0.768, respectively. The corresponding estimates in the validation cohort were 0.749, 0.700, 0.663, and 0.741. For PFS, the ML model achieved the highest C-index in both cohorts (0.665 in the development cohort and 0.691 in the validation cohort). The time-varying AUCs for both the ML model and the A-HIPI were consistently higher in both cohorts compared with the IPS models within the first 5 years after diagnosis. CONCLUSION The new prognostic model for aHL on the basis of ML techniques demonstrated a substantial improvement compared with the IPS models, but yielded a limited improvement in predictive performance compared with the A-HIPI.

Introduction: Splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) is a rare, indolent disease. There is no universally accepted standard therapy and long-term outcome data are limited. Rituximab monotherapy is increasingly used over splenectomy in the first-line setting despite a paucity of comparative studies. In the absence of randomized trials, large-scale international real-world data studies are critical to evaluate outcomes of different treatment interventions and to understand the natural history of SMZL in the rituximab-era. Methods: Adult patients with SMZL diagnosed between Jan 1 st 2000 and Dec 31 st 2018 were identified using regional/nationwide population-based registries or hospital registries in Europe, the UK, North America, and Australia. Medical records and pathology reports from eligible patients were reviewed locally by clinicians with specialty experience in hemato-oncology. SMZL cases were required to meet the diagnostic criteria by Matutes et al. Detailed data on clinico-pathological features, comorbidities, treatments (including treatment intention), treatment responses and survival outcomes were entered in a central study database. Overall survival (OS) was defined as time from diagnosis until death from any cause or censoring at last follow-up unless stated otherwise. Event-free survival (EFS) was defined as the time from diagnosis until histological transformation, initiation of new chemotherapy or death from any cause. Survival probabilities were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier estimator. Cumulative risk of transformation was estimated with death as a competing risk. Primary endpoints were 10-year OS and 5-year EFS respectivly. Results: A total of 934 patients from 25 sites were included. Median age at diagnosis was 68 years (IQR 60-76) and 54% were female. Bone marrow involvement was present in 96% (564/590) of those assessed, anemia (Hb <12g/dL for women or <13g/dL for men) in 58%, LDH >UNL in 46%, lymphocytosis (>5 x10 9/L) in 34%, and B-symptoms in 34%. Treatment data were available for 97% of patients. Median follow-up was 9.1 years (range 0-23). Watch and wait was the initial strategy in 28% and 88% of patients received at least one line of treatment during follow-up with the most common being splenectomy (45%), immuno-chemotherapy (19%) or rituximab monotherapy (8%). Fifteen percent received “other” treatments (i.e., combinations of listed therapies and/or radiation). The overall response rate to first-line treatment was 88% (95%CI: 85-90%) with 61% (95%CI: 57-64%) achieving CR. Second line (2L) therapy was needed in 34% during follow-up, 3L in 20% and 4L+ in 9%. The 5-year EFS and OS for all patients were 61% (95%CI: 57-65%) and 77% (95%CI: 74-80%) respectively. The 10-year OS and lymphoma-specific mortality (with non-SMZL deaths as competing risk) estimates were 60% (95%CI: 57-64%) and 11% (95%CI: 9-14%) respectively. The 5-year OS after 2L and 3L were 61% (95%CI: 55-68%) and 51% (95%CI: 42-61%) respectively (figure 1). The 10-year cumulative risk of histological transformation was 17% (95%CI: 13-21%), with 5-year post-transformation OS of 42% (32-54%). At the time of transformation, 60% were chemo-naive and 52% had never been treated for SMZL. The 5-year OS for chemo-naive patients with transformation was 54% (95%CI: 41-71%) versus 24% (95% CI: 13-44%) for transformations after (immuno)chemotherapy (p = 0.01). When comparing patients intended for treatment in first line with splenectomy (n=312) versus rituximab (n=70), patients treated with splenectomy more frequently presented with extra-hilar lymphadenopathy (35% vs 18%), splenomegaly (92% vs 87%) and anemia (64% vs 48%). OS was similar for the two groups (Figure 2, p = 0.53). The 5-year EFS were 63% (95%CI: 57-68%) and 64% (95%CI: 54-77%), respectively (p = 0.31). Conclusions: To date, this is the largest real-world study of SMZL with detailed treatment and outcome data. The study shows that histological transformation was not uncommon with 10-year risk of 17%. However, outcomes for the entire cohort were excellent irrespective of initial treatment and both OS and EFS were similar after first line rituximab versus splenectomy. Long-term survival remained relatively high even following multiple lines of therapy.

SummaryNon‐endemic Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is a rare germinal centre B‐cell‐derived malignancy with the genetic hallmark of MYC gene translocation and with rapid tumour growth as a distinct clinical feature. To investigate treatment outcomes, loss of lifetime and relapse risk in adult BL patients treated with intensive immunochemotherapy, retrospective clinic‐based and population‐based lymphoma registries from six countries were used to identify 264 real‐world patients. The median age was 47 years and the majority had advanced‐stage disease and elevated LDH. Treatment protocols were R‐CODOX‐M/IVAC (47%), R‐hyper‐CVAD (16%), DA‐EPOCH‐R (11%), R‐BFM/GMALL (25%) and other (2%) leading to an overall response rate of 89%. The two‐year overall survival and event‐free survival were 84% and 80% respectively. For patients in complete remission/unconfirmed, the two‐year relapse risk was 6% but diminished to 0·6% for patients reaching 12 months of post‐remission event‐free survival (pEFS12). The loss of lifetime for pEFS12 patients was 0·4 (95% CI: −0·7 to 2) months. In conclusion, real‐world outcomes of adult BL are excellent following intensive immunochemotherapy. For pEFS12 patients, the relapse risk was low and life expectancy similar to that of a general population, which is important information for developing meaningful follow‐up strategies with increased focus on survivorship and less focus on routine disease surveillance.

Introduction: Non-endemic Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is a rare and highly aggressive B-cell malignancy, of whom a substantial number are adolescents and young adults (AYAs). In this particular group of patients, the balance between efficacy and long-term toxicities is of major concern, due to the long expected remaining lifetime. In this study, we investigated the outcomes for AYA patients treated with intensive immunochemotherapy. Patients and methods: Patients were identified through queries to clinic based and population-based lymphoma registries from six countries (Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and USA). All diagnoses were confirmed by local investigators; patients with classical BL histology plus detectable MYC translocation, were included. Patients between 18 and 39 years of age at diagnosis treated with intensive immunochemotherapy (DA-EPOCH-R or more intensively) were evaluated in pre-specified age groups. All treatment protocols included rituximab. Overall survival (OS) was defined as the time from diagnosis until death from any cause or censoring, while event-free survival (EFS) was defined as the time from diagnosis until unplanned re-treatment, progression/relapse, death, or censoring, whichever came first. Response evaluation was assessed using established response criteria based on CT and/or PET/CT imaging. Survival curves were computed using the Kaplan-Meier estimator. The cumulative incidence of relapse in patients reaching complete remission (CR) or CR unconfirmed (CRu) was computed by Aalen-Johansen estimator. The 5-year restricted loss of lifetime (RLOL) was defined as the area between the patient and general population survival curves until 5-years. The general population survival was retrieved from publicly available lifetables stratified on age, sex, calendar year, and country. Results: In total, 108 AYA BL patients were included. The median age was 30 years, ranging between 18 and 39 and 82% were male. The majority had advanced stage disease (Ann Arbor stage III-IV, 76%), extranodal involvement (87%), and elevated LDH (67%). Seven patients (6%) had CNS involvement at the time of diagnosis. The chemotherapy regimens used were CODOX-M/IVAC (51%), BFM/GMALL (34%), hyper-CVAD (7%), DA-EPOCH (5%), and others (3%). Among 74 patients for whom data on tumor lysis were available, 10 (14%) developed clinical tumor lysis upon start of chemotherapy, all presenting with advanced stage and extranodal disease. The response rate was 91% (89 in CR/CRu and 2% in partial remission). At a median follow-up of 53 months, 15 had an event and 10 died. The 2-year OS and EFS for the total population was 92% (87-97%, Figure 1) and 88% (82-94%), respectively. For 13 patients aged 18-21 2-year OS and EFS were both 100%, while 2-year OS and EFS for 43 patients aged 22-30 were 98% (93-100%) and 93% (85-100%), respectively. The 2-year OS and EFS for patients aged 31-39 were 86% (76-96%) and 80% (69-91%), respectively. For patients in CR/CRu and available date of response evaluation, the 2-year post-remission OS was 99% (97-100%) and the 2-year relapse risk was 2% (0-5%), with no relapses after 6 months. Compared to the general population, the RLOL was 0.8 months (-0.5-2.2 months). Nine patients did not respond to primary treatment (SD or PD), all which belonged to the age group 31-40 years (P<0.001 versus age group 18-30 years). The oldest age group had an inferior OS compared to younger patients (P=0.008), largely due to non-responders having poor subsequent survival with a 1-year OS of 33%. Conclusion: The outcomes of AYA BL patients following intensive immunochemotherapy are excellent with high remission rates and low risk of relapse in general. However, even among young patients age remained prognostic, with patients 31 years or older having inferior OS and lower response rate to first-line treatment. In patients achieving CR, survival was similar to that of the general population over the median follow-up of 4.5 years, illustrating the need to focus on survivorship issues in these individuals. Figure 1: Overall survival for BL patients following intensive immunochemotherapy for all patients and for age groups (18-21, 22-30, and 31-39 years). Figure 1 Disclosures Jørgensen: Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Roche: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Holte:Novartis: Honoraria, Other: Advisory board. Molin:Roche Holding AG: Honoraria; Merck & Co., Inc.: Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria; Takeda Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria. Ekstroem Smedby:Takeda: Honoraria, Other: Grant funding, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria, Other: Grant funding, Research Funding; Janssen Cilag: Honoraria, Other: Grant funding, Research Funding. Song:Takeda: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria; Amgen: Honoraria. Gerrie:Lundbeck, Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Honoraria. Cheah:Roche, Janssen, MSD, Gilead, Loxo Oncology, Acerta, BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Roche: Other: Travel expenses; Celgene, Roche, Abbvie: Research Funding. El-Galaly:Roche: Employment, Other: Travel support; Takeda: Other: Travel support.

Abstract Background: Non-endemic Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is a rare B-cell malignancy characterized by extreme tumor proliferation, frequent extranodal involvement, and the genetic hallmark of a MYC gene rearrangement. Despite an often dramatic initial presentation featuring tumor compression of vital organs and/or spontaneous tumor lysis syndrome, most patients who survive intensive immunochemotherapy induction are cured. Despite limited evidence of benefit, the current NCCN guidelines recommend that BL patients in CR are reviewed every 3 months for 2 years and every 6 months thereafter. Aims: To investigate outcomes, including relative survival and relapse risks conditional on event-free survival (EFS) milestones, in an international study of real-world BL patients treated with intensive immunochemotherapy. Patients and methods: This is a retrospective study of newly diagnosed BL patients identified from relevant population or hospital-based registers in Australia (Perth), Denmark (the Danish Lymphoma Registry), Sweden (the Swedish Lymphoma Registry) and Norway (Health Region South East). Patients who met the following criteria were included irrespective of HIV status: 1) age ≥18 years at diagnosis, 2) diagnosed during the period 2005-2017, 3) histology and immunohistochemistry consistent with BL, 4) MYC translocation detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and 5) intensive first line immunochemotherapy including rituximab (R-CHOEP or more intensive). Patient data were collected from registers and chart reviews. Overall survival (OS) was defined as time until death and EFS was defined as time to death, relapse/progression, or unplanned treatment, whichever came first. Prognostic features at baseline were evaluated using univariate Cox models with EFS as outcome. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs), conditional relative survival estimates, and relapse risks were computed for the subset of patients achieving complete remission (CR or CRu), with follow-up measured from response evaluation and from different EFS milestones. Results: In total, 159 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria of the study. The median age was 48 years (range 18-81) and the male:female ratio was 2.9. The baseline characteristics included stage III-IV (75%), elevated serum LDH (75%), extranodal involvement (83% - bone or bone marrow in 42% and CNS in 8%), B symptoms (60%), and ECOG performance score >1 (30%). The chemotherapy protocols used were CHOEP (2%), DA-EPOCH (13%), HYPER-CVAD (26%), CODOX-M/IVAC (28%), BFM or GMALL (31%), and others (1%). Clinical tumor lysis syndrome defined by severe electrolyte derangement, renal impairment, and/or cardiac arrhythmia, was noted in 16% of the patients, but no fatal episodes occurred. The overall response rate to first-line treatment was 88% (87% in CR/CRu) with 67% assessed by PET technology. The five-year EFS and OS estimates for the total population were 75% (95% CI 68-82%) and 82% (95% CI 76-88%), respectively, and the EFS and OS of patients <50 years of age were 81% (95% CI 71-90%) and 89% (95% CI 82-96%), respectively. In univariate analyses, age, advanced stage, and elevated LDH were associated with worse EFS. Among patients in CR/CRu (n=137), the 5-year EFS and OS from the time of response evaluation were 86% (95% CI 79-93%) and 91% (95% CI 86-96%), respectively. The 5-year cumulative incidence of relapse from the time of response assessment was 5% (95% CI 1-9%) in CR/CRu patients. The corresponding estimate was 3% (95% CI 0-6%) for patients alive after 6 months without events (EFS6), whereas no patients relapsed after 12 (EFS12, Figure 1). For CR/CRu patients, the 5-year relative survival after EFS6 and EFS12 was 97% (95% CI 93-102%) and 100% (95% CI 97-103%), respectively. In most subgroups, the SMRs gradually decreased with increased remission duration (Table 1). Conclusions: Outcomes of adult BL patients treated with intensive immunochemotherapy are excellent with no relapses occurring for patients reaching EFS12 and with a normalized relative survival after EFS6. For patients reaching EFS12, follow-up in late effects clinics, or discharging to primary care providers with a focus on survivorship issues rather than detection of recurrent lymphoma, should be considered. Updated analyses including patients from British Columbia (Canada) and the University of Iowa/Mayo Clinic SPORE MER register (USA) will be presented at the meeting. Disclosures Molin: Takeda Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria; Roche Holding AG: Honoraria; Merck & Co., Inc: Honoraria. Ekstroem Smedby:Janssen Pharmaceuticals: Other: The Department have recieved partial funding from Janssen Pharmaceuticals.