Begna, Kebede H.

e18559 Background: Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of myeloid neoplasms defined by ineffective hematopoiesis, dysplastic morphologic features, and variable risks of progression to acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Refractory anemia with ring sideroblasts (RARS) is a subtype of MDS defined by < 5% basts and > 15% ring sideroblasts (per 2008 WHO). Because RARS is a lower risk disease which does not frequently require HMA therapy, very little is known about the effects of HMA on RARS. Methods: A total of 1325 MDS patients’ data from 1993-2016 at Mayo Clinic were reviewed after appropriate IRB approval was obtained. All cases had their bone marrow slides reviewed at our center. Patients were considered for our study if they received HMA for their RARS. Response was identified based on MDS IWG 2006 criteria. Prognostic factors were analyzed by univariate and multivariate analyses. Survival estimates were calculated using Kaplan-Meier curves. Results: 168 of the initial 1325 patient were RARS (14%); only 14 (8%) were treated with HMA. Median age was 72 years (range, 51-85); half were males, with median overall survival of 91.3 months. The median number of ring sideroblasts (RS) at diagnosis was 40% (range 10-85%). Of the 14 patients, 11 (79%) received azacitidine (AZA), 2 (14%) decitabine (DAC) and one received both (7%). The median number of cycles for AZA was 6.5 (range, 2-28) vs 6 cycles for DAC (range, 1-24). Of the 14 patients receiving HMA, only 3 responded (21%) achieving hematologic improvement. All 3 responders received AZA. 6 of the 14 RARS patients (43%) had their bone marrow biopsy repeated after HMA therapy, 3 of whom were among the responders to AZA therapy and 3 were non-responders. In 5 patients, ring sideroblasts decreased after HMA therapy by a median of 15% (range 0-80); they remained the same in 1 patient; one patient who had developed AML had a decrease in RS from 85% to 5%. Conclusions: RARS is a low-risk subtype of MDS that is infrequently treated with HMA (8% in our study). Response rate to HMA (21%) was inferior to known rates in MDS. HMA therapy seems to decrease the number of ring sideroblasts irrespective of response. RARS patients should be treated on clinical trials if available.

e18514 Background: Standard induction therapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) includes “cytarabine and anthracycline”. Anthracyclines are known to cause acute, subacute and chronic cardiac complications ( Lefrak , EA et al, Cancer 1973:32(2):302-314; Singal, PK et al, NEJM 1998;339(13):900-905). It is recommended to do base line cardiac function assessment with echocardiogram prior to induction therapy containing anthracycline. This study was done to find the frequency of changes made in avoiding anthracycline usage following this evaluation. Methods: The Mayo clinic data base was interrogated to identify patients with newly diagnosed AML who underwent echocardiogram prior to anthracycline containing induction chemotherapy. Echocardiogram results, including left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), diastolic dysfunction, valvular disease, and any resultant treatment alterations were reviewed. Results: Three hundred twenty six patients were identified. The median (range) age was 61 (17-82) years and 62% were male. The median (range) LVEF was 65% (30-87), and 3 (0.9%) patients had LVEF < 50% (range 30-47%). Of these 3 patients, 1 had 4 vessel CABG a decade ago, his EF was 46% and treated with full dose idarubicin; 2 of them presented with blastic crisis, 1 had EF 46% and improved to 51% after 5 days and then given daunorubicin, the other one had an EF of 30% and treated with 50% dose reduced cytarabine alone. Sixty five (23%) patients had previous chemotherapy or radiation exposure, including 24 (7.4 %) with previous anthracycline, 14 (4.3%) had prior radiation to the chest wall. No patient with previous chemotherapy or radiation exposure had a reduced LVEF. Conclusions: Echocardiography prior to anthracycline therapy rarely detects abnormal LVEF. Screening echo may be helpful in those presented with leukemic blastic crisis or had previous exposure to chemo-radiation.

7058 Background: The 2016 WHO classification includes myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasms, unclassifiable (MDS/MPN-U), as an MDS/MPN overlap syndrome not meeting criteria for well-defined entities such as CMML. No standard prognostication or treatment guidelines exist for such patients. Methods: We retrospectively identified MDS/MPN-U cases from 1990-2016 through our myeloid malignancies database. All bone marrow reports were reviewed to ensure compliance with 2016 WHO criteria. Clinical & cytogenetic parameters at diagnosis were assessed & compared with treatment outcomes. Results: Eighty nine patients met study criteria, with a median age of 69 years (range: 37-93); 58 (65%) males. Median follow-up was 22.2 months (range: 0-172), with 41 (46%) deaths & 13 (15%) leukemic transformations. Median OS was 24.8 months (range: 0-172). 43 (53%) patients had an abnormal karyotype, with common abnormalities being trisomy 8 (12%), complex karyotype (9%) & del (20q) (6%). Given the fewer types of abnormalities identified, the IPSS cytogenetic stratification was more effective than IPSS-R, with risk categorization including; 45 good (55%), 20 intermediate (25%) & 16 high risk (20%) respectively (8 unavailable). On univariate analysis, increased age (p = 0.05), decreased hemoglobin (p = 0.02), higher ANC (p = 0.03), circulating immature myeloid cells (p = 0.02), higher LDH (p = 0.009), absence of bone marrow ring sideroblasts (p = 0.001) & higher risk (intermediate & high) IPSS cytogenetic categories (p = 0.01) adversely impacted OS. In a multivariate model that included the aforementioned variables, higher risk IPSS cytogenetics retained a negative prognostic impact (p = 0.04). 28 patients received a median of 6 cycles (range: 1-21) of hypomethylating agent therapy (HMA), with an overall response rate of 18% (CR-3, PR-2). All responders had an abnormal karyotype (p = 0.01). However, HMA did not affect either OS or LFS. Conclusions: Intermediate & high risk IPSS cytogenetic categories independently & adversely impact survival in WHO defined MDS/MPN-U patients. HMA use did not impact OS; however, patients with abnormal karyotypes were more likely to respond.

e13073 Background: We observed several patients with a personal history of both RCC and myeloid malignancy, and aimed to explore a possible association, especially given the similarity in their epigenetic landscape, with both being characterized by widespread aberrant hypermethylation (Hu C et al, CCR 2014; Jiang Y et al, Blood 2009). Methods: Mayo Clinic’s ‘Advanced Cohort Explorer’ database was used to identify patients with a history of both RCC and a myeloid malignancy - Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML), Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPN), Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) - and to determine the clinical characteristics. The incidence of MDS in patients ≥65 years with a history of RCC was compared to that in the general population ≥65 years (SEER- Medicare database) as well as the general patient population at Mayo Clinic, using one sample test of proportions. Results: A total of 59 patients were identified, with both biopsy proven RCC and a myeloid malignancy during their life time (12 AML, 9 MPN, 9 low risk MDS and 29 intermediate- high risk MDS). The cohort was characterized by marked male predominance (4.4: 1). Median age at RCC diagnosis was 64 years (range 37-87) and myeloid malignancy was 75 years (range 44-90). 46/59 patients had the RCC antecedent, 10/59 concurrent and 3/59 subsequent to the myeloid malignancy with a median time of myeloid malignancy diagnosis after RCC diagnosis of 7.7 years. For patients ≥65 years, the risk of developing MDS with a history of stage I/II RCC and nephrectomy was 5.26 times that of the general population based on the SEER-Medicare database (Cogle, Blood 2011)(395/100,000 vs 75/100,000; p value < 0.001), and 3.07 times that of the general population at Mayo Clinic (395/100,000 vs 128.4/100,000; p value < 0. 001). Conclusions: We observed an association between RCC and myeloid malignancies, particularly MDS; with a history of RCC conferring a substantially increased risk of developing MDS. We hypothesize that the perturbation of epigenetic landscape in the form of widespread hypermethylation may explain, in part, the association between the two malignancies; and aim to explore the potential aberrancy of epigenetic regulators in our patient cohort with a genomic, epigenomic and transcriptomic analysis.

Key Points Mutation patterns in blast phase MPN, including paired sample analysis, point to specific mutations with potential pathogenetic relevance. RUNX1 mutations predict inferior survival in blast phase MPN, independent of specific treatment strategies.