Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) pathogenesis is deeply rooted in the concept of clonal evolution, in which hematopoietic stem cells experience an initial genetic insult, followed by the sequential acquisition of mutations leading to various disease phenotypes. Through natural selection, a malignant clone can diversify and propagate with time. Aside from clonal evolution, a number of time-honored principles of molecular oncology account for the initiation and maintenance of AML. These principles include loss of heterozygosity, genomic instability, epigenomic disruption, deregulation of signaling pathways, anti-apoptotic mechanisms, and oncogene addiction. Such tenets of cancer biology not only explain AML cellular behavior but also may inform target validation in AML. Herein, we highlight the current state of targeted therapeutics, including the 14 novel agents (beyond 7+3 chemotherapy) approved by the Food and Drug Administration, in the context of these tenets and discuss future prospects by leveraging current knowledge of AML genomics. Such therapeutic concepts, including synthetic lethality, are especially relevant to TP53-mutant AML, as there are no unique therapies that have received regulatory approval for this subset to date. We emphasize the emerging role of single-cell genomics and multi-omics toward better understanding of AML biology and development of future successful AML therapies.
Clonal hematopoiesis-related outcomes associated with radioligand therapy in prostate cancer: A “real-world” analysis.
5045 Background: Radioligand therapy with radium-223 (Rad) and lutetium-177 (Plu) demonstrates notable hematologic toxicities in patients (pts) with prostate cancer (PC), including myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Delivery of ionizing radiation to the bone microenvironment is a known risk factor for accelerating clonal hematopoiesis, although the incidence of clonal cytopenias with these agents is not well characterized. We hypothesized that pts treated with Rad and/or Plu would have higher risk of clonal cytopenia of undetermined significance (CCUS) vs matched controls in the “real-world”. Methods: We performed a retrospective study using de-identified aggregate data from the TriNetX US Research Collaborative Network from January 2010 to December 2025. Adult males with PC who received ≥1 administration of Plu and/or Rad were included; pts with prior myeloid malignancy were excluded. Primary outcomes were incidence of CCUS and MDS. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed based on age, race, prior diagnosis of leukopenia, anemia, thrombocytopenia, or pancytopenia. Risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. Results: We identified 2,569 pts treated with Plu alone and 2,007 treated with Rad alone and compared them with pts with advanced PC without exposure to either agent (unexposed control) (Table 1). After PSM, the incident risk of CCUS was greater in Rad-exposed pts (RR 2.62, 95% CI 1.45 – 4.73, p < 0.001) while Plu was not associated with a significant increase in CCUS or MDS. Direct comparison after PSM (n=1,433) demonstrated lower risk of pancytopenia (RR 0.46, 95% CI 0.37 – 0.56, p <0.001) and CCUS (RR 0.41, 95% CI 0.20 – 0.81, p =0.008) in Plu vs Rad. In unadjusted analysis, pts receiving both Plu and Rad had increased incidence of CCUS vs Plu alone (RR= 3.64, 95% CI 1.87 - 7.07, p <0.001) and higher risk of MDS vs either agent alone. Conclusions: This “real-world” analysis demonstrates that compared with unexposed controls, Rad – but not Plu – is associated with an increased risk of CCUS. Treatment with Plu and Rad portends a higher risk of CCUS than Plu alone, as well higher risk of MDS than either drug alone. Study limitations include its retrospective nature, missing/ unknown data (e.g. bone marrow and mutation analysis), and potential selection and confounding biases. As treatment sequencing evolves for pts with metastatic PC, further evaluation of clonal hematopoiesis, MDS/AML with adequate sample size and follow up in this population is warranted. ¹⁷⁷Lu-PSMA-617 Exposed(n = 2,569) Unexposed(n =2,569 ) Risk Ratio (95% CI) p -value CCUS 1.03% (26) 0.67% (17) 1.54 (0.84 – 2.82) 0.16 MDS 0.94% (24) 0.55% (14) 1.72 (0.89 – 3.32) 0.10 Radium-223 Exposed(n = 2,007) Unexposed(n = 2,007) Risk Ratio (95% CI) p -value CCUS 1.97% (39) 0.75 (15) 2.62 (1.45 – 4.73) <0.001 MDS 0.85% (17) 0.75% (15) 1.13 (0.57 – 2.26) 0.72