Citations 264

THE MUTATIONAL LANDSCAPE OF DOUBLE/TRIPLE‐HIT HIGH‐GRADE B‐CELL LYMPHOMA WITH BCL2 REARRANGEMENT (DH/TH‐BCL2) – AN LLMPP PROJECT

Hematological Oncology | June 17, 2021 | Volume: 39 | Issue: S2 | Pages: No page available

10.1002/hon.65_2879

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE GENETIC LANDSCAPE OF HIGH‐GRADE B‐CELL LYMPHOMA, NOS – AN LLMPP PROJECT

Hematological Oncology | June 17, 2021 | Volume: 39 | Issue: S2 | Pages: No page available

10.1002/hon.13_2880

THE TOPOLOGY OF MYC REARRANGEMENTS IN DOUBLE‐HIT LYMPHOMA IS CONSTRAINED BY THE PRECEDING IGH‐BCL2 REARRANGEMENT – AN LLMPP PROJECT

Hematological Oncology | June 17, 2021 | Volume: 39 | Issue: S2 | Pages: No page available

10.1002/hon.64_2879

Body mass index and survival of patients with lymphoma

Leukemia & Lymphoma | June 14, 2021 | Volume: 62 | Issue: 11 | Pages: 2671-2678

10.1080/10428194.2021.1929956 | PMID 34121594

The Level of Physical Activity before and after Lymphoma Diagnosis Impacts Overall and Lymphoma-Specific Survival

Blood | April 6, 2021 | Volume: 130 | Issue: Suppl_1 | Pages: 914-914

10.1182/blood.v130.suppl_1.914.914

Abstract Introduction: Although increased physical activity (PA) is associated with improved quality of life in cancer survivors, knowledge about the impact of PA on survival in lymphoma patients is limited. We studied the impact of usual adult PA and PA at 3 years after diagnosis on overall (OS) and lymphoma-specific (LSS) survival in lymphoma patients. Methods: Lymphoma patients were prospectively enrolled within 9 months of diagnosis into the Lymphoma SPORE Molecular Epidemiology Resource (MER) cohort. At baseline, patients reported their usual level of mild, moderate and strenuous PA during most of their adult life and (for survivors) again at the 3 year follow-up (FU3), which we used to calculate the Godin Leisure Score Index (LSI). At FU3, patients also self-reported change in PA since diagnosis as increase, decrease or no change. LSI was modeled as a continuous score (per 10-point change) and by tertile. Survival was measured as time from diagnosis (for baseline PA) and time from FU3 (for FU3 PA) until death due to any cause and due to lymphoma. We evaluated the association of PA with outcome using Kaplan-Meier curves as well as hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) from Cox models stratified by lymphoma subtype and adjusted for age and sex (and baseline PA for change models). Results: Of 4087 patients enrolled in the MER at the Mayo Clinic from 2002-2012, 3129 had baseline PA data (3060 evaluable for LSI), and 1845 (1395 evaluable for LSI) had FU3 PA data. In the baseline cohort, 57.6% of the patients were male. The median age at diagnosis was 62 years (range 18-92 years). The majority had ECOG performance status <2 (95%), no B-symptoms (85.8%) and advanced disease (63% stage III-IV) at diagnosis. The subtypes included were CLL/small lymphocytic (25.9%), follicular (18.1%), diffuse large B-cell (16.8%), marginal zone (8.1%), Hodgkin (6.9%), mantle cell (4.8%), T-cell (5%) and other (14.3%) lymphomas. The median LSI was 28 (range 0-57) at baseline and 25 (range 0-67) at FU3 with a median change in LSI of -2 (range -57 to 61). At a median follow-up of 84 months from diagnosis (IQR 59-119 months) in the cohort with baseline PA, there were 806 total deaths (271 in pts with FU3 PA) and 423 lymphoma deaths (104 in pts with FU3 PA). When analyzed as a continuous variable, baseline LSI was associated with OS (HR 0.95, 95% CI 0.91-0.99) and LSS (HR 0.95, 95% CI 0.90-1.01). LSI by tertiles was associated with OS (p<0.0001, Figure 1a), and patients in the high LSI compared to the low LSI tertile had superior OS (HR 0.81, 95% CI 0.68-0.97) and LSS (HR 0.81, 95% CI 0.63-1.04). For prognosis after 3 years, continuous LSI at FU3 was also associated with superior OS (HR 0.84, 95% CI 0.77-0.92) and LSS (HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.65-0.89). LSI at FU3 by tertiles was associated with OS (p<0.0001, Figure 1b), and patients in the high LSI compared to the low LSI tertile had superior OS (HR 0.51, 95% CI 0.34-0.77) and LSS (HR 0.33, 95% CI 0.16-0.67). A change in LSI from baseline to FU3 PA was associated with superior OS (HR 0.84, 95% CI 0.76-0.92) and LSS (HR 0.74, 95% CI 0.64-0.87) after FU3. Change in LSI by tertiles was associated with OS (p=0.0007, Figure 1c). Compared to patients with stable LSI (change of LSI between -10 and 5 points from baseline, n=429), patients who increased LSI by > 5 (n=464) had improved OS (HR 0.67, 95% CI 0.45-1.00) and LSS (HR 0.47, 95% CI 0.23, 0.94), while patients who decreased LSI by >10 (n=477) had no association with OS or LSS. Self-reported change in PA from baseline to FU3 was associated with OS (p<0.0001, Figure 1d); compared to no change, an increase in PA was not associated with OS (HR 0.79, 95% CI 0.42-1.48) or LSS (OR 0.73, 0.26-2.07), while a reduction in PA was associated with inferior OS (HR 1.94, 95% CI 1.49-2.53) and LSS (HR 2.51, 95% CI 1.62-3.88). After excluding patients with any events through FU3, the associations for the PA change and OS remained significant for change in LSI (HR 0.91, 95%CI 0.83-1.00) and self-reported decrease in PA (HR 1.83, 95%CI 1.32-2.53). Conclusions: Patients with a higher level of usual PA during adult life have significantly better OS and LSS after lymphoma diagnosis compared to those who are less physically active. Higher PA in 3-year survivors is also associated with improved survival, while a reduction in physical activity is associated with worse outcomes. These data support an important role for PA in lymphoma survivorship and also provide a strong rationale for a PA intervention trial in lymphoma patients. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Cohen: LAM Therapeutics, Inc: Research Funding; Takada: Research Funding; Infinity: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bioinvent: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bristol Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Abbvie: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Genentech: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Flowers: Spectrum: Consultancy; OptumRx: Consultancy; Acerta: Research Funding; Onyx: Research Funding; Janssen Pharmaceutical: Research Funding; V Foundation: Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Research Funding; National Cancer Institute: Research Funding; Burroughs Welcome Fund: Research Funding; Genentech/Roche: Consultancy, Research Funding; Gilead: Consultancy; Research to Practice: Research Funding; Millennium/Takeda: Research Funding; National Institutes Of Health: Research Funding; Prime Oncology: Research Funding; Educational Concepts: Research Funding; Abbvie: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy; Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group: Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Infinity: Research Funding; Bayer: Consultancy; Clinical Care Options: Research Funding. Cerhan: Janssen: Other: Scientific Advisory Board (REMICADELYM4001); Janssen: Other: Multiple Myeloma Registry Steering .
The Impact of Upfront Autologous Transplant on the Survival of Adult Patients with ALCL and PTCL-NOS According to Their ALK, DUSP22 and TP63 Gene Rearrangement Status - a Joined Nordic Lymphoma Group and Mayo Clinic Analysis

Blood | April 6, 2021 | Volume: 130 | Issue: Suppl_1 | Pages: 822-822

10.1182/blood.v130.suppl_1.822.822

Abstract Introduction: Recent results from two independent patient series have shown that chromosomal rearrangements of DUSP22 (DUSP22r+) and TP63 (TP63r+) can predict outcome in ALK-negative anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALK-ALCL) and peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (PTCL-NOS) with morphologic features resembling ALK-ALCL (Parilla-Castellar E, Blood 2014; Pedersen MB, Blood 2017). While DUSP22r+ is predictive for excellent survival similar to that of ALK+ALCL after CHOP/CHOP-like therapy, the rarely occurring TP63r+ is associated with an aggressive clinical behavior and poor outcome. The largest subgroup, i.e. patients with neither ALK nor DUSP22 nor TP63 rearrangements (triple negative), show a 5 year (yr) overall survival (OS) intermediate between that of ALK-/DUSP22r+ and ALK-/TP63r+ patients. The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of upfront high-dose therapy with autologous stem cell transplant (HDT/ASCT) on outcome in adult ALCL and PTCL-NOS patients according to their ALK, DUSP22 and TP63 status. The survival results from the two published series were pooled with those of a Nordic Lymphoma Group trial, the NLG-T-01 (d'Amore et al, JCO 2012), where patients were treated with 1st line CHOEP/CHOP followed, in chemosensitive cases, by upfront HDT/ASCT. Methods: Fluorescence in situ hybridization was performed on sections of previously constructed tissue microarrays using break-apart probes for the DUSP22-IRF4 and TP63 loci and a dual-fusion probe for TBL1XR1/TP63 fusion [inv(3)(q26q28)]. Evaluation of DUSP22 and TP63 rearrangements was performed in a blinded fashion without knowledge of PTCL subtype, clinical course, or outcome. Three independent patient cohorts were included: (i) one from Mayo Clinic consisting of 31 DUSP22r-, ALK-ALCL and PTCL-NOS (triple negative: 25; TP63r+: 6); (ii) one from Denmark consisting of 93 DUSP22r-, ALK-ALCL and PTCL-NOS (triple negative: 90; TP63r+: 3); and one from the NLG-T-01 trial consisting of 46 ALK-ALCL and PTCL-NOS (triple negative: 37; TP63r+: 1; DUSP22r+: 8), leading to a total study population of 170 patients. ALK+ ALCL was not included in the analysis, since no patients with this histology entered the NLG-T-01 trial. Association of genetic subtype with OS was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional models for hazard rate ratios (HR). Significant differences were defined as P <0.05. Results: The eight DUSP22r+ patients (7 ALK-ALCL and 1 PTCL-NOS) from NLG-T-01 had a 5-yr OS of 83%, (95%CI 27-97), similar to that reported for DUSP22r+ in the Mayo and Danish cohorts (90% and 80%, respectively). No lymphoma-related events were observed in this subset. The only event was a septic death due to HDT-induced cytopenias in a patient who was in complete remission (CR). Among the 162 patients with DUSP22r-, ALK-ALCL and PTCL-NOS, those consolidated with HDT/ASCT (n=47) had a significantly better outcome (5-yr OS: 45%) than those treated with induction chemotherapy alone (5-yr OS: 30%) (n=115) (P=0.01). The patients in the HDT/ASCT group were younger (P<0.001) and had more advanced stage disease (P=0.002). The improvement in OS persisted when the analysis was limited to transplant eligible patients and adjusted for age and stage (HR 0.52 95%CI 29-91, P=0.023) or International Prognostic Index (IPI) groups (HR 0.49, 95%CI 20-82, P=0.006). Of the 10 TP63r+ patients found within the pooled cohort, 6 were transplant eligible. Of these, 5 were not transplanted (intention-to-treat) while one was (Nordic trial). The latter patient achieved a still ongoing long-term CR, while all others died of lymphoma progression. Conclusion: In ALK-ALCL and PTCL-NOS patients from the NLG-T-01 trial, DUSP22r+ was associated with a very good outcome, similar to that seen in DUSP22r+ patients who had not undergone upfront autologous transplant. This observation supports the impression that upfront HDT/ASCT may not be of benefit in these patients. TP63r+ predicted poor outcome in non-transplanted patients. The impact of HDT/ASCT in the TP63r+ setting could not be adequately evaluated, since only one patient from the NLG-T-01 trial cohort was found to be TP63r+. Notably, this patient was the only survivor of the TP63r+ subset. For DUSP22r-, ALK-ALCL and PTCL-NOS patients taken as one group, those who received upfront HDT/ASCT had a superior survival compared to their age- and IPI-matched non-transplanted counterparts. Disclosures Ellin: ROCHE: Consultancy, Research Funding; CTI: Consultancy. Mannisto: Roche: Honoraria, Other: Travel expence; Takeda: Honoraria, Other: Travel expence; Amgen: Other: Travel expence; Novartis: Other: Travel expence; Celgene: Other: Travel expence; Gilead: Other: Travel expence; Pfizer: Honoraria; SOBI: Honoraria. Cerhan: Janssen: Other: Scientific Advisory Board (REMICADELYM4001); Janssen: Other: Multiple Myeloma Registry Steering . Toldbod: Takeda Pharma: Honoraria.
Body Mass Index and Survival of Patients with Lymphoma

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

10.1182/blood-2020-139402

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 <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 (>-5%), and increase (>+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 <2. At the time of diagnosis, 28% were normal weight (BMI 18.5-25), 1% were underweight (BMI <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, >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<0.001). However, only for FL patients, >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

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

10.1182/blood-2020-141052

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 <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<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

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

10.1182/blood-2020-137219

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<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

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

10.1182/blood-2020-141726

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 <0.5% in ExAC and had a variant allele fraction (VAF) that deviated from 0.5 using a binomial distribution test at p<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.