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Cerhan, James R.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7482-178X

Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic

Citations 708

Early progression of disease in follicular lymphoma is a robust correlate but not a surrogate for overall survival
Bachy, Emmanuel , Cerhan, James R. , Salles, Gilles , Cerhan, James R , Salles, Gilles A , Bachy, Emmanuel

Blood Advances | March 17, 2021 | Volume: 5 | Issue: 6 | Pages: 1729-1732

10.1182/bloodadvances.2020003797 Get It

Aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs, statins and risk of non‐Hodgkin lymphoma
Liebow, Mark , Thompson, Carrie A. , Nowakowski, Grzegorz S. , Call, Timothy G. , Macon, William R. , Cerhan, James R. , Cerhan, James R , Larson, Melissa C. , Kay, Neil E. , Habermann, Thomas M. , Slager, Susan L.

International Journal of Cancer | March 1, 2021 | Volume: 149 | Issue: 3 | Pages: 535-545

10.1002/ijc.33541 Get It

AbstractNon‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and statin drugs may protect against the development of non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), but data are limited, particularly for NHL subtypes. Furthermore, some in vitro, animal and epidemiologic data suggest there may be a synergistic effect of these two agents, but there has been no test of this hypothesis in NHL. We evaluated the self‐reported use of NSAIDs and statins in a clinic‐based study of 1703 NHL patients and 2199 frequency‐matched controls. Unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusted for potential confounding variables. We observed an inverse association of regular use of low‐dose aspirin with risk of NHL (OR = 0.82; 95% CI 0.70‐0.96) that was stronger with longer duration of use (P < .01). There were no associations for use of regular or extra‐strength aspirin, ibuprofen, other NSAIDs, statins or other cholesterol‐lowering drugs with NHL risk, while an inverse association with COX‐2 inhibitors was equivocal. There was also no interaction of low‐dose aspirin and statins on NHL risk. Inverse associations of similar magnitude to all NHL were observed for regular use of low‐dose aspirin with diffuse large B‐cell, follicular, marginal zone and all other lymphomas, although not all associations were statistically significant. In conclusion, low‐dose aspirin but not regular/extra strength aspirin, other NSAIDs or statin use was associated with lower risk of NHL. Beyond the potential for the primary prevention of NHL, these data also point to a role of anti‐platelet or other effects of low‐dose aspirin in lymphomagenesis that warrant follow‐up.
Common genetic polymorphisms contribute to the association between chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and non-melanoma skin cancer
Besson, Caroline , Moore, Amy , Wu, Wenting , Vajdic, Claire M. , Sanjosé, Sílvia de, Camp, Nicola J. , Smedby, Karin E. , Morton, Lindsay M. , Brewer, Jerry D., Han, Jiali , Berndt, Sonja I. , Link, Brian K. , Wang, Sophia , Staines, Anthony , Melbye, Mads , Diver, W. Ryan , Vermeulen, Roel , Kleinstern, Geffen , Clavel, Jacqueline , Miligi, Lucia , Cerhan, James R , Han, Jiali , Link, Brian K , Vajdic, Claire M , Morton, Lindsay M , Wang, Sophia S , Clavel, Jacqueline , Shanafelt, Tait D. , Zablotska, Lydia B. , Engels, Eric A. , Cerhan, James R. , Slager, Susan L.

International Journal of Epidemiology | February 19, 2021 | Volume: 50 | Issue: 4 | Pages: 1325-1334

10.1093/ije/dyab042 Get It

AbstractBackgroundEpidemiological studies have demonstrated a positive association between chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC). We hypothesized that shared genetic risk factors between CLL and NMSC could contribute to the association observed between these diseases.MethodsWe examined the association between (i) established NMSC susceptibility loci and CLL risk in a meta-analysis including 3100 CLL cases and 7667 controls and (ii) established CLL loci and NMSC risk in a study of 4242 basal cell carcinoma (BCC) cases, 825 squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cases and 12802 controls. Polygenic risk scores (PRS) for CLL, BCC and SCC were constructed using established loci. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).ResultsHigher CLL-PRS was associated with increased BCC risk (OR4th-quartile-vs-1st-quartile = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.02–1.24, Ptrend = 0.009), even after removing the shared 6p25.3 locus. No association was observed with BCC-PRS and CLL risk (Ptrend = 0.68). These findings support a contributory role for CLL in BCC risk, but not for BCC in CLL risk. Increased CLL risk was observed with higher SCC-PRS (OR4th-quartile-vs-1st-quartile = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.08–1.38, Ptrend = 1.36 × 10–5), which was driven by shared genetic susceptibility at the 6p25.3 locus.ConclusionThese findings highlight the role of pleiotropy regarding the pathogenesis of CLL and NMSC and shows that a single pleiotropic locus, 6p25.3, drives the observed association between genetic susceptibility to SCC and increased CLL risk. The study also provides evidence that genetic susceptibility for CLL increases BCC risk.
Polygenic Risk Score and Risk of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Monoclonal B-Cell Lymphocytosis (MBL), and MBL Subtypes
Kleinstern, Geffen , Weinberg, J. Brice , Robinson, Dennis P. , Vachon, Celine M. , Lesnick, Connie , Call, Timothy G. , Brander, Danielle M. , Hanson, Curtis A. , Furman, Richard R. , Shanafelt, Tait, Parikh, Sameer A. , Braggio, Esteban , Norman, Aaron D. , Rabe, Kari G. , Vachon, Celine M. , Olson, Janet E. , Cerhan, James R. , Kay, Neil E. , Slager, Susan L.

Blood | February 8, 2021 | Volume: 136 | Issue: Supplement 1 | Pages: 35-36

10.1182/blood-2020-136548 Get It

Background MBL is a precursor to chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and is subclassified into low-count (LC) MBL (absolute B-cell count&lt;0.5x109/L) and high-count (HC) MBL (absolute B-cell count between 0.5 and 5x109/L). We previously reported that a polygenic risk score (PRS) based on a weighted average of 41 CLL-susceptibility variants was associated with risk of both MBL and CLL among a cohort of individuals from CLL families. Here we evaluate this PRS in an independent cohort of MBL and CLL individuals of European ancestry (EA), all of whom were ascertained agnostic to CLL family-history status. We also evaluate the PRS by MBL subtype (LC/HC), and in African American (AA) CLL cases and controls. Methods We genotyped 535 EA MBLs (139 HC-MBL, 396 LC-MBLs), 735 CLLs (640 EA, 95 AA), and 2,866 controls (2,631 EA, 235 AA) from the Mayo Clinic CLL Resource, Duke University, and Weill Cornell Medical College. We computed the CLL-PRS for each individual and used logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals, adjusting for age and sex. To assess discriminatory accuracy, we computed the c-statistic. Among EA individuals, we calculated a trend test among LC-MBL, HC-MBL, and CLL risk using the P-value for heterogeneity from a polytomous logistic regression analysis. Moreover, we plotted a boxplot for the PRS among controls, LC-MBL, HC-MBL, and EA CLL, as well as for AA CLL cases and controls, and tested the statistical difference using the Kruskal Wallis test and Mann-Whitney test, respectively. Results We found a significant association of PRS with overall MBL risk (OR=1.87, P=1.1x10-28) with good discrimination (c-statistic=0.72). Significant associations were also found for LC-MBL (OR=1.75, P=7.5x10-19, c-statistic=0.72), HC-MBL (OR=2.22, P=1.4x10-17, c-statistic=0.74), and CLL of EA (OR=2.60, P=1.2x10-62, c-statistic=0.78), with a significant difference among these cohorts (Figure 1.A) and a significant positive trend across these cohorts (Pheterogeneity=8.4x10-6). Although we observed a 33% increased risk of CLL in AA (c-statistic=0.57), the PRS was borderline significant (P=0.07, Figure 1.B). Conclusion The CLL-PRS is a strong prediction-tool for risk of CLL and MBL among individuals of EA. Future studies are needed to improve the PRS for AAs including performing GWAS of AA in order to identify CLL-susceptibility SNPs that are more representative within known CLL loci and to discover novel CLL loci that are unique for AAs. Disclosures Parikh: GlaxoSmithKline: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria, Research Funding; Ascentage Pharma: Research Funding; AbbVie: Honoraria, Research Funding; Merck: Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Research Funding; Genentech: Honoraria; Pharmacyclics: Honoraria, Research Funding; MorphoSys: Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Honoraria, Research Funding; Verastem Oncology: Honoraria. Braggio:DASA: Consultancy; Bayer: Other: Stock Owner; Acerta Pharma: Research Funding. Brander:Genentech: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other, Research Funding; Juno/Celgene/BMS: Other, Research Funding; MEI Pharma: Other, Research Funding; Ascentage: Other, Research Funding; ArQule: Consultancy, Other, Research Funding; NCCN: Other; Teva: Consultancy, Honoraria; Tolero: Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other, Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy, Other; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Other; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other, Research Funding; Tolero: Research Funding; Teva: Consultancy, Honoraria; DTRM: Other, Research Funding; BeiGene: Other, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Other; NCCN: Other; Verastem: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other, Research Funding. Cerhan:NanoString: Research Funding; BMS/Celgene: Research Funding. Kay:Astra Zeneca: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Agios Pharma: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sunesis: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Acerta Pharma: Research Funding; Juno Theraputics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Morpho-sys: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Rigel: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Cytomx: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Tolero Pharmaceuticals: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Bristol Meyer Squib: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; MEI Pharma: Research Funding; Abbvie: Research Funding; Oncotracker: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Dava Oncology: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Furman:Acerta: Consultancy; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Research Funding; Beigene: Consultancy; Abbvie: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy; Sunesis: Consultancy; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Verastem: Consultancy; Incyte: Consultancy; Genentech: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Loxo Oncology: Consultancy; Oncotarget: Consultancy. Shanafelt:Mayo Clinic: Patents & Royalties: and other intellectual property; Genentech, Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company, AbbVie, GlaxoSmithKline, and Merck: Research Funding.
Body Mass Index and Survival of Patients with Lymphoma
Robinson, Dennis P. , Thompson, Carrie A. , Flowers, Christopher R. , Chihara, Dai , Larson, Melissa C. , Maurer, Matthew J. , Casulo, Carla , Link, Brian K. , Habermann, Thomas M. , Feldman, Andrew L. , Cerhan, James R. , Morton, Lindsay M.

Blood | February 8, 2021 | Volume: 136 | Issue: Supplement 1 | Pages: 2-3

10.1182/blood-2020-139402 Get It

Background: Obesity is increasing worldwide, with the highest prevalence in the United States. High or low body mass index (BMI) is a well-established risk factor for increased all-cause mortality and also has been associated with cancer-specific mortality. However, the impact of BMI on survival following diagnosis with lymphoma currently remains controversial. We leveraged a prospective cohort of lymphoma patients to assess the relationship of BMI two years prior to diagnosis (BMI-2), at diagnosis (BMI-dx), and three-years post-diagnosis (BMI+3) with lymphoma-specific survival (LSS) as the primary endpoint and with event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) as secondary endpoints. Patient and Method: Patients were prospectively enrolled at lymphoma diagnosis to the SPORE Molecular Epidemiology Resource (MER) cohort at Mayo Clinic and University of Iowa from 2002-2015. BMI-2 and BMI+3 were self-reported in patient questionnaires, while BMI-dx was extracted from the medical chart. Patients with extreme BMI (BMI &lt;14 and BMI ≥50) were excluded from the analysis. BMI change from BMI-2 to BMI-dx and from BMI-dx to BMI+3 was categorized as no change (-5% to 5%), decrease (&gt;-5%), and increase (&gt;+5%). Person-time at risk was assessed from lymphoma diagnosis until death or last follow-up, except for analyses of BMI change from BMI-dx to BMI+3, which started person-time at risk when the 3-year (+/- 6 months) follow-up questionnaire was returned. Cause of death was assigned by a study clinician. For all lymphoma patients combined and in the most common subtypes, we evaluated the association of BMI at each time point and change in BMI with EFS, LSS, and OS using hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) from multivariable adjusted Cox models. Results: A total of 4,009 lymphoma patients (including 670 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma [DLBCL], 689 follicular lymphoma [FL] and 1018 chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma [CLL/SLL] and 1,632 others) with data on BMI-dx were included. Among them, 2,955 patients had BMI-2 and 2,004 had BMI+3 and were evaluable for change in BMI. The median age of all patients at diagnosis was 61 years (range 18-92 years), and 94% of patients had ECOG performance status &lt;2. At the time of diagnosis, 28% were normal weight (BMI 18.5-25), 1% were underweight (BMI &lt;18.5), 39% were overweight (BMI 25-30) and 32% were obese (BMI ≥30). With a median follow-up of 108 months from diagnosis (IQR 83-143 months), 1320 deaths were observed, 48% of which were due to lymphoma. Patients with FL who were obese at BMI-2 had significantly shorter LSS (HR: 3.02, 95%CI: 1.43-6.41, p=0.004). Associations between obesity at BMI-2 and LSS were not evident for DLBCL (HR: 1.04, 95%CI: 0.62-1.76, p=0.879) or CLL/SLL (HR: 1.10, 95%CI: 0.71-1.70, p=0.668) (Table). BMI-dx was not associated with LSS in any lymphoma patients, except that DLBCL patients who were underweight at BMI-dx (n=10) experienced shorter LSS (HR: 3.52, 95%CI: 1.22-10.1, p=0.020). This correlated significantly with presence of B symptoms (p=0.004) and may signify aggressive disease. Across all subtypes, &gt;5% decrease in BMI from BMI-2 to BMI-dx was associated with significantly shorter LSS in patients with (HR: 2.02, 95%CI: 1.65-2.48, p&lt;0.001). However, only for FL patients, &gt;5% increase in BMI from BMI-dx to BMI+3 also was associated with significantly shorter LSS in subsequent years (HR: 3.74, 95%CI: 1.30-10.8, p=0.014). The associations reported for LSS generally were similar for EFS and OS. Conclusions: FL patients with obesity prior to diagnosis or who experienced increasing BMI after the diagnosis had significantly shorter LSS. The impact of weight control after the diagnosis of FL patient outcomes warrants investigation. Figure Disclosures Maurer: Celgene / BMS: Research Funding; Kite: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Morphosys: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Nanostring: Research Funding; Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Flowers:Leukemia and Lymphoma Society: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Denovo Biopharma: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; BeiGene: Consultancy; Kite: Research Funding; Bayer: Consultancy; Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group: Research Funding; Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas: Research Funding; National Cancer Institute: Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Research Funding; V Foundation: Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Research Funding; Burroughs Wellcome Fund: Research Funding; Millennium/Takeda: Consultancy, Research Funding; Acerta: Research Funding; Spectrum: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics/Janssen: Consultancy; Karyopharm: Consultancy; OptumRx: Consultancy; Gilead: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genentech, Inc./F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd: Consultancy, Research Funding. Cerhan:NanoString: Research Funding; BMS/Celgene: Research Funding.
Beyond Mortality: Health-Related Quality of Life in Adolescent and Young Adult Patients with Lymphoma: A Longitudinal Study
Love, Tanzy , Lu, Xiang , Yost, Kathleen J. , Cohen, Jonathon B. , Flowers, Christopher R. , Thompson, Carrie A. , Casulo, Carla , Larson, Melissa C. , Rosenthal, Allison , Habermann, Thomas M. , Link, Brian K. , Feldman, Andrew L. , Slager, Susan L. , Cerhan, James R.

Blood | February 7, 2021 | Volume: 136 | Issue: Supplement 1 | Pages: 7-8

10.1182/blood-2020-141052 Get It

Introduction: Lymphoma is the most common cancer among adolescents and young adults (AYAs). We examined changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and its predictors in AYA patients (pts). Patients and Methods: We identified AYA pts (aged 18-39) enrolled 2002-2015 in a prospective cohort of pts with newly diagnosed lymphoma from the University of Iowa and Mayo Clinic Molecular Epidemiology Resource, part of the Lymphoma Epidemiology of Outcomes cohort. Enrollment could occur prior to or after initiation of treatment. We measured HRQoL using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) questionnaire at baseline, 12, and 24 months. FACT-G yields five HRQoL domain scores: emotional well-being (EWB), functional WB (FWB), physical WB (PWB), social/family WB (SFWB), and total FACT-G score (a sum of the domains). Pts completing &lt;80% of the FACT-G questions were excluded. Linear mixed models with random subject intercepts estimated changes in FACT-G scores from baseline. The covariates in multivariate analysis were lymphoma subtype, stage, and treatment. Interaction effects between treatment (chemotherapy and/or radiation) and subtype were added to the model. We calculated effect sizes (ES) for the magnitude of mean change scores: 0.2, 0.5, and 0.8 were considered small, medium, and large ESs, respectively. Only ESs for mean score differences with p&lt;0.05 are reported. Results: We identified 467 pts; median age at diagnosis was 30 years, median follow up was 5.9 years. 53% of pts completed the baseline FACT-G assessment pre-treatment, 47% completed after treatment began. Pts assessed after treatment initiation had lower baseline total FACT-G (ES -0.25), FWB (ES -0.27), and PWB scores (-0.46); but baseline EWB was higher in pts assessed prior to treatment (ES 0.20). There was no association between HRQoL scores at baseline or over time and lymphoma subtype, stage, or treatment type, or interactions. Total FACT-G scores modestly improved over time, ES 0.32 at 1 year and ES 0.45 at 2 years after enrollment. EWB, FWB, and PWB also improved over time (ES 0.36, 0.44, 0.30 at 1 year; and 0.49, 0.56, 0.38 at 2 years, respectively). SFWB scores slightly worsened over time (ES -0.24 at 1 year and -0.12 at 2 years). Conclusions: AYA pts with lymphoma had higher baseline total FACT-G scores, FWB and PWB prior to therapy initiation compared to after initiation. HRQoL improved from diagnosis through the first 2 years after diagnosis, except for SFWB. Neither stage, lymphoma subtype, nor treatment type affected change in HRQoL. The lack of improvement in SFWB suggests social interventions and future studies should examine factors impacting SFWB in AYA pts. Disclosures Cohen: Genentech, BMS, Novartis, LAM, BioInvent, LRF, ASH, Astra Zeneca, Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; Janssen, Adicet, Astra Zeneca, Genentech, Aptitude Health, Cellectar, Kite/Gilead, Loxo: Consultancy. Flowers:Leukemia and Lymphoma Society: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; National Cancer Institute: Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Research Funding; Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas: Research Funding; Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group: Research Funding; Burroughs Wellcome Fund: Research Funding; Kite: Research Funding; V Foundation: Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Research Funding; Millennium/Takeda: Consultancy, Research Funding; Acerta: Research Funding; Spectrum: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics/Janssen: Consultancy; Karyopharm: Consultancy; OptumRx: Consultancy; Gilead: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genentech, Inc./F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd: Consultancy, Research Funding; Denovo Biopharma: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; BeiGene: Consultancy; Bayer: Consultancy. Cerhan:BMS/Celgene: Research Funding; NanoString: Research Funding.
High-Dimensional and Single-Cell Transcriptome Analysis of AITL Tumor Microenvironment Reveals Gross Expansion of Novel Dysfunctional CD8+ T Cell Populations, Global Shift in B Cell Phenotypes
Pritchett, Joshua C. , Ansell, Stephen M. , Pritchett, Joshua , Yang, Zhi-Zhang , Kim, Hyojin , Villasboas, José C. , Feldman, Andrew L. , Cerhan, James R.

Blood | February 6, 2021 | Volume: 136 | Issue: Supplement 1 | Pages: 42-43

10.1182/blood-2020-137219 Get It

BACKGROUND: Angioimmunoblastic T cell lymphoma (AITL) has a unique histological profile comprised of a relatively small number of malignant CD4+ T-cells of TFH phenotype inter-mixed with an extensive infiltrate of multi-lineage immune cells. In our study, we have utilized mass cytometry, high-dimensional analysis, and single-cell transcriptome analysis to provide novel insights into the unique phenotypes that comprise this intra-tumoral microenvironment. We then extended this work to explore clinical associations including peripheral serum analysis of AITL patients and normal controls. To our knowledge, this represents the first such analysis of its kind in AITL. METHODS: We designed two novel CyTOF antibody (Ab) panels to identify and characterize cells of T, B, NK, monocyte and fDC lineages. Samples analyzed included a cohort of 25 biopsy specimens from 8 histologically confirmed AITL patients (5 lymph node (LN), 3 spleen (SP)) and 17 normal controls across key comparator immune tissue types (7 LN, 6 SP, 4 tonsil (TL)). Extensive high-dimensional analysis of CyTOF data was then performed to provide novel insights into key phenotypes and trends of malignant and non-malignant populations in AITL. We then performed CITE-Seq on control and AITL samples to gain further insight into the RNA transcriptome of key T cell populations at the cellular level. Finally, peripheral serum analysis of cytokines, soluble immune receptors, and ligands were then measured by multiplex ELISA from a separate cohort of 22 samples (5 AITL, 17 control) distinct from the individuals analyzed in the original high-dimensional study cohort. RESULTS: While the presence of "reactive" CD8+ populations is a known histologic hallmark of AITL, we describe the gross expansion of novel CD8+ populations with distinctive immunophenotypic features which have not previously been detailed in this malignancy. Using single-cell protein expression data from CyTOF, these expanded CD8+ populations can be broadly categorized as "effector memory" (CCR7-, CD45RO+, CD45RA-) and further characterized phenotypically by markers of progressive exhaustion, checkpoint inhibition, and terminal differentiation (PD1++, TIGIT++, ICOS+, TIM3+). Further analysis of the single-cell transcriptome from these expanded CD8+ populations via CITE-Seq revealed an expression signature consistent with dysfunction and limited cytotoxic activity (including significant down-regulation of granzyme, perforin, and IFN-g) when compared to benign and malignant controls. Interestingly, when compared to CD8+ populations of identical phenotype found in control tissues, these cells also featured marked upregulation of XCL2 and XCL1 in AITL. Additionally, global shifts in infiltrating CD19+ B cell phenotypes were seen in AITL, marked specifically by diminished expression of both CXCR5 and CD73. Finally, soluble PD-1 and other key immune molecules implicated in the expanded tumor microenvironment were found to be significantly increased in the peripheral serum of AITL patients compared to controls (1567.9 pg/mL (1109.3 S.E.) in AITL vs 29.79 (8.84 S.E.) in controls; P&lt;0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: High-dimensional and single-cell transcriptome analysis of the AITL microenvironment yielded several novel insights which have not been previously described in this malignancy. Highlights include the gross expansion of distinct CD8+ populations - the majority of which are of an exhausted, dysfunctional phenotype featuring marked upregulation of XCL2 and XCL1 - and the global loss of CXCR5 and CD73 expression among AITL CD19+ B cell populations. Taken together, this suggests the presence of aberrant non-malignant immune subsets within the AITL microenvironment which may contribute to novel mechanisms of immune escape. Disclosures Cerhan: NanoString: Research Funding; BMS/Celgene: Research Funding. Ansell:Bristol Myers Squibb: Research Funding; ADC Therapeutics: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; Regeneron: Research Funding; Affimed: Research Funding; AI Therapeutics: Research Funding; Trillium: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding.
Clonal Somatic Mutations Are a Biomarker for Inferior Prognosis in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma
Sarangi, Vivekananda , Cahn, Elliot, Martin, Peter , Nowakowski, Grzegorz S. , Huang, Chuican , Asmann, Yan W. , Gandhi, Anita K. , Novak, Anne J. , Boddicker, Nicholas , Desai, Pinkal , Shah, Meera , Maurer, Matthew J. , Link, Brian K. , Witzig, Thomas E. , Feldman, Andrew L. , Habermann, Thomas M. , Slager, Susan L. , Towfic, Fadi , Cerhan, James R.

Blood | February 6, 2021 | Volume: 136 | Issue: Supplement 1 | Pages: 26-27

10.1182/blood-2020-141726 Get It

Background Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma subtype with a 5-year survival of ~64%. While DLBCL is treated using immunochemotherapy (IC) with curative intent, 20%-40% of patients do not reach remission or relapse post IC. Clonal somatic mutations have been associated with aging, hematologic malignancies (predominately myeloid), and reduced OS in the general population. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of clonal somatic mutations with event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS). Methods We studied newly diagnosed DLBCL cases treated with IC who were enrolled in the Molecular Epidemiology Resource (MER) of the University of Iowa/Mayo Clinic Lymphoma Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE). Clinical and treatment data were abstracted from medical records and all patients were systematically followed for disease outcomes. Pre-treatment DNA was extracted from matched peripheral blood and paraffin-embedded tumor tissue, and whole exome sequencing was conducted at 100x coverage. From the peripheral blood, allele counts from GVCF files produced by HaplotypeCaller in GATK were extracted for 42 genes commonly associated with clonal hematopoiesis (e.g. DNMT3A, TET2, and ASXL1). Mutations were deemed clonal somatic if the population minor allele frequency was &lt;0.5% in ExAC and had a variant allele fraction (VAF) that deviated from 0.5 using a binomial distribution test at p&lt;0.001. Furthermore, mutations had to have a minimum alternate read count of at least 5 reads, a VAF greater than or equal to 10%, and met at least one of the following criteria: CAVA impact of "HIGH"; pathogenic/likely pathogenic per ClinVar; or reported in COSMIC at least 10 times. EFS was defined as time from diagnosis to disease progression, relapse, retreatment, or death due to any cause. The association of clonal somatic mutations with prognosis was estimated using Kaplan-Meier curves, and hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) from Cox regression. Associations were adjusted for age at diagnosis, sex, and the International Prognostic Index (IPI). Results The study consisted of 261 DLBCL patients treated with IC. The median age at diagnosis was 65 years (range 20-90) and 56% were male. With a median follow-up time of 5.1 years (range 0.1-15.0), there were 100 events and 80 deaths. A total of 17 (6.5%) patients had clonal somatic mutations, and16 patients were over the age of 60. A total of 8 (of 42) genes had clonal somatic mutations, with SF3B1, ASXL1, and TET2, being the most frequent (4 individuals per gene). VAFs ranged from 0.10 to 0.28 and none of the patients had multiple mutations. Additionally, the clonal somatic variants found in the peripheral blood were abscent in the tumor sample. Of the 17 patients with clonal somatic mutations, 12 had an event while 88 patients without a mutation had an event. In a univariate analysis, clonal somatic mutations were associated with inferior EFS (HR=2.55, 95% CI 1.39-4.68, p=0.002; Figure 1A). After adjusting for age, sex, and IPI, clonal somatic mutations remained associated with inferior EFS (HR=2.02, 95% CI 1.09-3.74, p=0.026). Clonal somatic mutations were also associated with inferior OS in the univariate analysis (HR=2.06, 95% CI 0.99-4.29, p=0.053), which attenuated after multivariate adjustment (HR=1.59, 95% CI: 0.76-3.34, p=0.22, Figure 1B). Although based on small numbers, mutations in SF3B1 were associated with inferior EFS (HR=3.25, 95% CI 1.16-9.12, p=0.025), but did not reach significance for OS (HR=2.56, 95% CI 0.78-8.38, p=0.120). Conclusions In this novel study of newly diagnosed DLBCL patients, clonal somatic mutations were identified in 6.5% of patients and were associated with inferior outcomes. Additional research is required at deeper sequencing to validate these findings and integration with tumor genomics is required to understand the prognosis of DLBCL patients with smaller clonal populations. Disclosures Shah: Dren Bio: Consultancy. Maurer:Celgene / BMS: Research Funding; Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Morphosys: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Kite: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Nanostring: Research Funding. Martin:Celgene: Consultancy; Karyopharm: Consultancy, Research Funding; Morphosys: Consultancy; Regeneron: Consultancy; Incyte: Consultancy; Kite: Consultancy; Cellectar: Consultancy; Bayer: Consultancy; Beigene: Consultancy; Sandoz: Consultancy; I-MAB: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy; Teneobio: Consultancy. Witzig:AbbVie: Consultancy; Incyte: Consultancy; Acerta: Research Funding; Karyopharm Therapeutics: Research Funding; Immune Design: Research Funding; Spectrum: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; MorphSys: Consultancy. Nowakowski:NanoString: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy; Curis: Consultancy; Kymera: Consultancy; Kite: Consultancy; Ryvu: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; MorphoSys: Consultancy, Research Funding; Celgene/BMS: Consultancy, Research Funding. Novak:Celgene/BMS: Research Funding. Cerhan:NanoString: Research Funding; BMS/Celgene: Research Funding.
Impact of Organ Function–Based Clinical Trial Eligibility Criteria in Patients With Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma: Who Gets Left Behind?
Khurana, Arushi , Mwangi, Raphael , Nowakowski, Grzegorz S. , Ansell, Stephen M. , LaPlant, Betsy, Link, Brian K. , Cerhan, James R. , Maurer, Matthew J. , Witzig, Thomas E. , Ansell, Stephen M , LaPlant, Betsy R, Link, Brian K , Cerhan, James R , Maurer, Matthew , Witzig, T.E. , Habermann, Thomas M.

Journal of Clinical Oncology | February 2, 2021 | Volume: 39 | Issue: 15 | Pages: 1641-1649

10.1200/jco.20.01935 Get It

PURPOSE Exclusion of patients needing urgent treatment or requiring novel biomarkers before enrollment has impacted the ability to enroll real-world patients in frontline trials of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The impact of baseline organ function–based eligibility criteria on this effect and clinical trial exclusion is less well-understood. METHODS Consecutive patients with newly diagnosed lymphoma were enrolled from 2002 to 2015 into the Molecular Epidemiology Resource (MER) of the University of Iowa and Mayo Clinic Lymphoma Specialized Program of Research Excellence. The current analysis includes 1,265 patients with DLBCL receiving standard immunochemotherapy. Organ function parameters were identified from criteria for hemoglobin, absolute neutrophil count, platelet count, creatinine clearance, and bilirubin, as reported in frontline DLBCL trials. Abstracted laboratory values from MER were used to determine the percent (%) of patients excluded. Outcomes and cause-of-death analyses comparing ineligible and eligible groups in MER were conducted. An interactive online tool was developed to estimate exclusions based on organ function for future trial design. RESULTS Between 9% and 24% of MER patients with DLBCL receiving standard immunochemotherapy were excluded on the basis of baseline organ function alone. Ineligible patients based on organ function had significantly inferior event-free survival (hazard ratios, 1.67-2.16), overall survival (hazard ratios, 1.87-2.56), and event-free survival at 24 months (odds ratio, 1.71-2.16). Ineligible patients were more likely to die from lymphoma progression than increased therapy-related complications. CONCLUSION Current national and international trials exclude up to 24% of patients from participation on the basis of organ function alone. A significant difference in the outcomes, notably lymphoma-related death, suggests issues with generalization and potential exclusion of high-risk patients. These data will help future clinical trial development and meet US Food and Drug Administration and ASCO recommendations to increase trial accrual.
Natural history of monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis among relatives in CLL families
Lanasa, Mark C., Marti, Gerald E., Achenbach, Sara J., Camp, Nicola J. , Abbasi, Fatima , Kay, Neil E. , Vachon, Celine M. , Cerhan, James R. , Johnston, James B. , Call, Timothy G. , Rabe, Kari G. , Kleinstern, Geffen , Leis, José F., Brander, Danielle M. , Glenn, Martha, Curtin, Karen , Braggio, Esteban , Shanafelt, Tait D. , McMaster, Mary L. , Weinberg, J. Brice , Hanson, Curtis A. , Caporaso, Neil E., Boddicker, Nicholas J, Norman, Aaron D. , Chaffee, Kari G. , Kay, Neil E , Shanafelt, Tait D , Cerhan, James R , Braggio, Esteban , Slager, Susan L. , Vachon, Celine M. , Boddicker, Nicholas , Parikh, Sameer A. , Banerji, Versha , Ferrajoli, Alessandra

Blood | December 22, 2020 | Volume: 137 | Issue: 15 | Pages: 2046-2056

10.1182/blood.2020006322 Get It

Abstract Chronic lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL) has one of the highest familial risks among cancers. Monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (MBL), the precursor to CLL, has a higher prevalence (13%-18%) in families with 2 or more members with CLL compared with the general population (5%-12%). Although, the rate of progression to CLL for high-count MBLs (clonal B-cell count ≥500/µL) is ∼1% to 5%/y, no low-count MBLs have been reported to progress to date. We report the incidence and natural history of MBL in relatives from CLL families. In 310 CLL families, we screened 1045 relatives for MBL using highly sensitive flow cytometry and prospectively followed 449 of them. MBL incidence was directly age- and sex-adjusted to the 2010 US population. CLL cumulative incidence was estimated using Kaplan-Meier survival curves. At baseline, the prevalence of MBL was 22% (235/1045 relatives). After a median follow-up of 8.1 years among 449 relatives, 12 individuals progressed to CLL with a 5-year cumulative incidence of 1.8%. When considering just the 139 relatives with low-count MBL, the 5-year cumulative incidence increased to 5.7%. Finally, 264 had no MBL at baseline, of whom 60 individuals subsequently developed MBL (2 high-count and 58 low-count MBLs) with an age- and sex-adjusted incidence of 3.5% after a median of 6 years of follow-up. In a screening cohort of relatives from CLL families, we reported progression from normal-count to low-count MBL to high-count MBL to CLL, demonstrating that low-count MBL precedes progression to CLL. We estimated a 1.1% annual rate of progression from low-count MBL, which is in excess of that in the general population.