Feldman, Andrew L.

Abstract CD27, a costimulatory molecule on T cells, induces intracellular signals mediating cellular activation, proliferation, effector function, and cell survival on binding to its ligand, CD70. Varlilumab, a novel, first-in-class, agonist immunoglobulin G1 anti-CD27 antibody, mediates antitumor immunity and direct killing of CD27+ tumor cells in animal models. This first-in-human, dose-escalation, and expansion study evaluated varlilumab in patients with hematologic malignancies. Primary objectives were to assess safety and the maximum tolerated and optimal biologic doses of varlilumab. Secondary objectives were to evaluate pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, immunogenicity, and antitumor activity. In a 3 + 3 dose-escalation design, 30 patients with B-cell (n = 25) or T-cell (n = 5) malignancies received varlilumab (0.1, 0.3, 1, 3, or 10 mg/kg IV) as a single dose with a 28-day observation period, followed by weekly dosing (4 doses per cycle, up to 5 cycles, depending on tumor response). In an expansion cohort, 4 additional patients with Hodgkin lymphoma received varlilumab at 0.3 mg/kg every 3 weeks (4 doses per cycle, up to 5 cycles). No dose-limiting toxicities were observed. Treatment-related adverse events, generally grade 1 to 2, included fatigue, decreased appetite, anemia, diarrhea, and headache. Exposure was linear and dose-proportional across dose groups and resulted in increases in proinflammatory cytokines and soluble CD27. One patient with stage IV Hodgkin lymphoma experienced a complete response and remained in remission at >33 months with no further anticancer therapy. These data support further investigation of varlilumab for hematologic malignancies, particularly in combination approaches targeting nonredundant immune regulating pathways. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01460134.

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Adult mature T- and NK-cell neoplasms are a heterogeneous group of aggressive lymphomas comprising approximately 10% to 20% of all non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) with an estimated 5-year overall survival of 40%. Staging and treatment strategies are guided by malignant involvement on PET/CT scan and bone marrow (BM) biopsy. The Lugano Criteria, established in 2014, suggested that focal FDG uptake within the bone marrow was highly sensitive for both Hodgkin (HL) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) potentially obviating the need for a bone marrow biopsy if no lesions were seen. Limited data exist regarding the sensitivity of PET for BM involvement in T-cell lymphoma. This study compares PET/CT scans and repeat BM biopsy in patients who have undergone treatment for peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCL) by evaluating BM avidity on PET scans. METHODS: This is a single institution study using the Mayo Clinic Lymphoma Database between January 1, 2001 and January 1, 2015. We retrospectively identified all patients with a diagnosis of PTCL, biopsy proven BM involvement at diagnosis, and a concomitant PET for staging. Patients were then reviewed to assess completion of induction therapy and availability of both PET/CT and bone marrow results post-therapy. Evaluation for concordance and discordant BM involvement were then determined using BM biopsy as the gold standard. RESULTS: Sixteen patients had both PET/CT and BM biopsy after completing induction therapy. Median age at diagnosis was 63 years (range 34-72) and 69% were male. PTCL subtype was peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified in seven patients; ALK negative anaplastic large cell lymphoma in one patient; and angioimmunoblastic in 8 patients. Pre-treatment PET/CT scans demonstrated eight patients (50%) with false negative scans. Post-treatment biopsy results demonstrated that ten (62.5%) had biopsy proven residual bone marrow involvement after induction. Eight patients (50%) were found to have BM biopsy proven disease with a negative PET scan. Two patients (12.5%) had both positive BM biopsy and PET scans; 5 patients (31.3%) had negative BM biopsies and PET scans. One patient (6.25%) had a negative BM biopsy, but had a PET scan that revealed positive disease. This patient was considered to have had a false positive PET scan and indeed has remained in remission since April 2009 without any further relapse or treatment. Sensitivity of PET for BM involvement was very poor at 20% (2/10) with a specificity of 50% (2/4) (Table 1 and 2). CONCLUSIONS: This study in PTCL indicates that PET scans at the completion of therapy have a 50% false negative rate. These patients should not be assumed to have negative bone marrow involvement based solely on PET/CT scans. A bone marrow biopsy at the end of therapy is necessary in PTCL patients to confirm complete response. Table 1. Bone Marrow Involvement Pre-Therapy PET Scan Imaging PET Negative PET Positive Total Patients Bone Marrow Negative NA NA NA Bone Marrow Positive 8 8 16 Total Patients 8 (50%) 8 (50%) 16 Abbreviations: NA, not applicable. The study defined that all patients had to have a positive bone marrow at baseline to be eligible for the study. Table 2. Bone Marrow Involvement PET Negative PET Positive Total Patients Bone Marrow Negative 4 2 6 (37.5%) Bone Marrow Positive 8 2 10 (62.5%) Total Patients 12 (75%) 4 (25%) 16 Table 1 and 2. Involvement of bone marrow with peripheral T-cell lymphoma based on evaluation by PET scans versus bone marrow biopsy. Disclosures Maurer: Kite Pharma: Research Funding.

Abstract The tumor microenvironment in B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) plays an important role in supporting the growth and survival of malignant lymphocytes. In contrast, the extent to which this is true in T-cell NHL is less clear. While professional monocytederived antigen-presenting cells (MDC) are required for T-cell activation and survival, a growing body of evidence demonstrates that MDC may promote the survival of malignant T cells. Immunohistochemical staining of skin biopsies from cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) patients (n=11) demonstrated a rich infiltrate of CD68+ macrophages and CD1a+ dendritic cells (DC). As these cells are derived from CD14+ monocytes, we examined the role of monocytes in promoting survival in malignant T cells obtained from CTCL patients (n=9). Initially, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were either depleted of CD14+ monocytes (>85% depleted) or mock-depleted prior to being cultured. Viability of malignant CD4+CD7− T cells was determined by Annexin V/7-AAD staining. While 90.9% (S.D. +/− 0.4%) of mock-depleted malignant T cells were viable, only 73.9% (S.D. +/− 1.3%) of monocyte-depleted cells remained viable, suggesting that monocytes may promote the survival of malignant T cells. In a similar fashion, HuT-78 cells (Sézary Syndrome cell line) were cocultured with CD14+ monocytes from normal donors. Compared with HuT-78 cells alone, the presence of CD14+ monocytes resulted in a 2.7 fold increase in thymidine incorporation (n=5; S.D. +/− 0.6). This is largely due to cytokine production, as the same experiment performed with a transwell insert resulted in a 2.1 fold increase in HuT-78 thymidine incorporation (n=5; S.D. +/− 0.4). Similar results were obtained using additional Sézary Syndrome (i.e. SeAx) and Mycosis Fungoides (i.e. MyLa) cell lines. Monocytes obtained from normal donors were subsequently cultured and cell-free conditioned media was obtained 48 hours later. Media supplemented with monocyte-conditioned media (monocyte-CM) prevented the induction of apoptosis in CTCL cell lines as measured by thymidine incorporation, trypan blue exclusion and Annexin V/propidium iodide staining. This affect was monocyte-specific, as neither T-cell nor B-cell conditioned media were observed to promote survival of CTCL cell lines. Furthermore, monocyte-CM had no affect on resting or anti-CD3 activated normal T cells. We next cultured malignant T cells obtained from PBMC (n=6) or skin biopsies (n=3) from CTCL patients in the presence or absence of monocyte-CM and assessed cell viability by Annexin V staining. 32.1% (S.D. +/− 14.7%) and 60.5% (S.D. +/− 21.5%) of malignant T cells isolated from PBMC remained viable in the absence or presence of monocyte-CM, respectively; 13.0% (S.D. +/− 10.8%) of malignant T cells isolated from skin biopsies remained viable, compared with 26.5% (S.D. +/− 8.2%) of cells grown in the presence of monocyte-CM (p=.03). Given the prevalence of MDC within CTCL-involved skin and their potential role in promoting the survival of malignant T cells, one may predict that malignant T cells may recruit monocytes in a chemokinedependent fashion. Therefore, cell-free conditioned media from CTCL cell lines (HuT- 78, SeAx, MyLa) was collected and used to promote monocyte chemotaxis in a standard chemotaxis assay. Only neutralization of CCL5 (RANTES) was capable of abrogating monocyte chemotaxis, demonstrating that the production of CCL5 by malignant T cells promotes monocyte migration. Therefore, we examined serum CCL5 levels by ELISA from both normal donors (n=24) and CTCL patients (n=23) and found an approximately 3-fold elevation in serum CCL5 in CTCL patients (normal donors: mean CCL5 10.0 ng/mL; 95% CI 7.1–13.0; CTCL patients: mean 29.2 ng/mL; 95% CI 20.6–37.8; p<0.0001). Serial serum samples were available for 6 patients, 4 of whom had progressive disease. Serum CCL5 increased from a mean of 17.9 ng/mL before progression (S.D. +/− 7.0) to 44.8 ng/mL (S.D. +/− 20.0) after progression (p=.04). In contrast, serum CCL5 decreased by at least 50% in both patients with responsive disease. Our findings demonstrate that monocytes, recruited by malignant T cells in a CCL5-dependent fashion, promote the survival of lymphoma cells in CTCL, thus raising the possibility that targeting tumor-associated monocytes and MDC may represent a novel therapeutic strategy in CTCL.

Abstract Background: Germinal center B cell-like (GCB) DLBCL, as determined by gene expression profiling or immunohistochemistry, is more likely to be cured by initial conventional chemoimmunotherapy than non-germinal center B cell-like (non-GCB) DLBCL. For patients with relapsed or refractory chemosensitive DLBCL, high-dose chemotherapy and autologous hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplant is considered standard-of-care treatment, but it is unknown whether the outcome of these patients is similarly influenced by the subtype of DLBCL. We therefore explored the differences between patients with GCB and non-GCB DLBCL as regards their clinical features at relapse after first line therapy and their outcome following salvage autologous HSC transplant. Methods: Patients undergoing BEAM conditioning and autologous HSC transplantation for relapsed or refractory chemosensitive DLBCL at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN between 2001 and 2006 were included. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed for CD10, BCL-6 and MUM1 allowing classification in GCB and non-GCB-like DLBCL, as well as for BCL-2. GCB and non-GCB groups were compared in terms of known prognostic factors at time of progression and outcome after HSC transplant Results: Fifty-nine patients were included and had retrievable tumor samples to allow immunohistochemical analysis. Median follow-up of survivors was 25 months; median age at the time of transplant was 60 years (range 17–77); All patients had failed at least one previous anthracycline-based regimen (15 had refractory disease). Overall, 25/59 cases (42%) were positive for CD10, 32/58 (55%) for BCL-6, and 19/58 (32%) for MUM1. Thirty-two patients (54%) were classified as having GCB and 27 (46%) non-GCB-like DLBCL. Patients in the GCB and non-GCB group had similar time to progression (TTP) (median 12.5 months vs. 11 months, Wilcoxon P=0.81) after first line therapy and similar IPI-R scores (Chi-square, P=0.38). In univariate analysis, GCB and non-GCB did not differ in time to relapse after HSC transplant (log rank test P=0.77) or survival (log rank test P=0.48; figure). The lack of demonstrable difference in survival persisted even after correction for IPI-R and TTP, factors know to affect transplant outcome (Cox regression, RR=0.80 for GCB; P=0.28). BCL-2 was highly expressed in both GCB (81%) and non-GCB (96%) and did not correlate with outcome in the entire population nor in any of the two groups. Conclusion: Patients with chemosensitive relapsed or refractory GCB and non-GCB-like DLBCL derive similar benefit from autologous HSC transplant. Figure Figure

Introduction. The VES-13 is a simple, self-reported, function based tool originally developed to screen community-dwelling populations to identify persons age 65 years and older at risk of death and functional decline, including death in the next 12 months. The VES-13 items include patient's age, self-rated overall health status, functional limitations in physical activity, and functional disabilities in more complex activities of daily living. As part of the Lymphoma Epidemiology of Outcomes (LEO) cohort study, we collected self-reported VES-13 data at study enrollment on all participants regardless of age, and here we report on the prevalence of vulnerable status defined by the VES-13 and its association with 1-year mortality, overall, stratified at age 65 years, and in the subset of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) treated with immunochemotherapy. Methods. From 7/2015 to 6/2017, 3253 participants with NHL were enrolled within 6 months of their diagnosis into the LEO cohort. 2004 were evaluable on VES-13, and 1183 (59%) completed it before the initiation of therapy. VES-13 scores range from a minimum of 0 (low risk for decline) to a maximum of 10 (greatest risk for decline), and a score ≥3 was classified as vulnerable. Clinical, pathology and treatment data were abstracted using a standard protocol, and participants were contacted every 6 months for the first three years and then annually thereafter to identify outcomes. Medical records were reviewed by LEO clinicians to classify cause of death according to a standard protocol. Therapy was determined by the treating physician, and this was independent of knowledge of the VES-13 score. The association of VES-13 with 1-year mortality from date of diagnosis was estimated using odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) from logistic regression models, which also provided model c-statistics. Results. The median age of the 2004 participants in this analysis was 62 years (range 18-94); 57% were male; 54% were ≥65 years; and 28% had a normal body mass index (BMI), 1% were underweight, 35% were overweight, and 36% were obese. Clinically, 59% of participants had an aggressive subtype, 65% were stage III-IV, 24% had B-symptoms, and 11% had a performance status (PS) of ≥2. Overall, 28% of participants were classified as vulnerable (95% CI 26%-30%), with a higher prevalence among those completing the survey after initiation of therapy (38%, 95% 34%-41%) versus before initiation of therapy (22%, 95% CI 20%-24%), and a higher prevalence for those ≥65 years (32%, 95% CI 29%-34%) versus <65 (25%, 95% CI 22%-28%). During the first year of follow-up, there were 147 deaths, with 61% due to lymphoma, 14% therapy-related, 12% due to another malignancy, 3% other causes, and 10% unknown. Significant univariate predictors of 1-year mortality included vulnerable status, older age, PS 2+, stage III-IV, aggressive subtype, lower quality of life score, lower BMI, and 1 or more comorbidities, and were included the backward stepwise modeling. Vulnerable status (OR=3.26, 95% CI 2.15-4.96) was retained in the final model that also included age, PS, stage, and NHL subtype (Table), with a model c-statistic of 0.81. As shown in the Table, these associations were similar whether VES-13 was assessed before (c-statistic 0.77) or after (c-statistic 0.81) initiation of therapy. After adjustment for age, PS, stage and NHL subtype, vulnerable status predicted 1-year mortality in participants ≥65 years (OR=1.96, 95% CI 1.15-3.36; model c-statistic 0.80) as well as <65 years (OR=6.38, 95% CI 3.07-13.3; model c-statistic 0.83). Finally, in the DLBCL patients treated with immunochemotherapy (N=521), vulnerable status (38% of patients) also predicted 1-year mortality (OR=2.11, 95% CI 1.05-4.26) after adjusting for age, PS and stage (model c-statistic 0.78). Conclusion. Based on a self-administered VES-13, 28% of newly diagnosed NHL patients in the LEO cohort were classified as vulnerable, including 25% of those <65 years, and vulnerable status was a strong predictor of 1-year-mortality, even in the subset of DLBCL patients treated with presumed curative intent. These results highlight the potential value of screening for vulnerable status overall and across a wider age spectrum in order to optimize patient management and reduce early mortality. Disclosures Martin: Karyopharm: Consultancy; Sandoz: Consultancy; I-MAB: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy; Teneobio: Consultancy. Casulo:Gilead: Honoraria, Other: Travel, accommodation, expenses; Celgene: Research Funding; Roche: Other: Travel, accommodation, expenses. Cohen:Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc.: Research Funding; Bristol-Meyers Squibb Company: Research Funding; Hutchison: Research Funding; Astra Zeneca: Research Funding; Lymphoma Research Foundation: Research Funding; ASH: Research Funding; LAM Therapeutics: Research Funding; UNUM: Research Funding; Gilead/Kite: Consultancy; Janssen Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy; Seattle Genetics, Inc.: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genentech, Inc.: Consultancy, Research Funding. Farooq:Kite Pharma: Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria. Friedberg:Acerta: Other: Data & Safety Monitoring Committee; Bayer: Honoraria, Other: Data & Safety Monitoring Committee. Kahl:Seattle Genetics: Consultancy; ADC Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; BeiGene: Consultancy; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy. Lossos:Janssen Scientific: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; NIH: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Maurer:Nanostring: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Morphosys: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Nastoupil:Spectrum: Honoraria; Genentech, Inc.: Honoraria, Research Funding; Gilead: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria, Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria; TG Therapeutics: Honoraria, Research Funding; Bayer: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding. Rutherford:Heron: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen Scientific Affairs: Consultancy, Honoraria; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Juno Therapeutics Inc: Consultancy, Honoraria; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Honoraria; Verastem: Consultancy, Honoraria; Karyopharm: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Flowers:National Cancer Institute: Research Funding; BeiGene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group: Research Funding; Genentech, Inc./F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics/Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Research Funding; Bayer: Consultancy; Spectrum: Consultancy; Karyopharm: Consultancy; Acerta: Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Research Funding; Millenium/Takeda: Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy; Optimum Rx: Consultancy; V Foundation: Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Burroughs Wellcome Fund: Research Funding; Denovo Biopharma: Consultancy; Gilead: Consultancy, Research Funding. Cerhan:NanoString: Research Funding; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Research Funding.

Introduction: Peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCL) are a heterogeneous group of mature aggressive T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas. They carry a worse prognosis for most subtypes compared with their B-cell counterparts. Despite the recent approval of newer therapies, the response rate and duration of clinical benefit is short and the outlook for patients with relapsed/refractory (RR) PTCL remains poor. There is therefore a need for novel effective therapies in PTCL. Targeting the profoundly immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) in PTCL is one such approach. Preclinical data show that malignant cells in PTCL overexpress programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1), which signals via programmed death-1 (PD-1) receptor, and provides an inhibitory signal further suppressing antitumor immunity. PD-1/PD-L1/2 interactions in PTCL are particularly complicated as both the receptor and ligands can be expressed on the malignant T-cell. While the use of anti-PD-1 blocking antibodies has shown remarkable efficacy particularly in relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma, only a small number of patients with PTCL have been treated with checkpoint blockade. We conducted an investigator-initiated phase 2 prospective study of single-agent nivolumab for RR PTCL. We report here the results of the prespecified interim analysis. Study design and patient selection: Nivolumab was given at a flat dose of 240 mg intravenously (IV) every 2 weeks for 8 cycles then 480 mg IV every 4 weeks starting cycle 9. The primary objective was to assess the overall response rate (ORR) defined as proportion of subjects achieving either a partial response (PR) or complete response (CR) within 12 cycles of treatment. Secondary objectives were to assess safety and tolerability of nivolumab in PTCL and to assess progression-free survival (PFS), duration of response (DOR) and overall survival (OS). Pre-planned sample size was 39, assuming that an ORR of 10% or less would be considered negative and an ORR of 30% or greater would warrant further study. We used a one-stage design with an interim analysis (upon enrolling 12 subjects) based on a Simon optimal design to assess efficacy. This design had a 90% power with a 1-sided 10% level test. The Duffy and Santner method was utilized to determine confidence intervals for the ORR. Kaplan-Meier methods were used to assess PFS, OS, and DOR. This study was sponsored by Bristol-Myers Squibb (NCT03075553). Results: Twelve patients who received at least one cycle of nivolumab were included in this interim analysis. Patient characteristics are illustrated in table 1. Half (6/12) of the patients had angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL), 3/12 had PTCL, not otherwise specified (NOS), one had ALK negative anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALK- ALCL). Most (11/12) were advanced stage (stage 4), had extranodal disease and half of the patients had received a prior autologous transplant. The ORR was 33% (4/12) (95% CI: 12.3 - 63.7%): 1 CR seen in ALK-ALCL; 2 PR, 1 in PTCL, NOS and 1 in enteropathy associated T-cell lymphoma; 1 CR in AITL. The median DOR was 3.6 months (95% CI: 1.9-6.9). The median PFS for all 12 patients was short at 1.9 months (95% CI: 1.5-8.7); median OS was 7.9 months (95% CI: 3.4-10.8) (Panel A). Hyperprogressive disease (defined as dramatic progression within 1 cycle of treatment) occurred in 4 patients. Observed grade 3 and higher adverse events (AEs) were as follows: non-hematologic AEs in 5/12 (41.7%), while hematologic AEs were seen in 3/12 (25%) patients. Conclusions: Nivolumab had modest clinical activity in patients with R/R PTCL and the study met the criteria at interim analysis to continue accrual. However, due to the high number of patients with hyperprogressive disease, the moderate activity of the drug, and short DOR, a decision was made to halt the study. These findings likely reflect the distinct biology of PTCL and should be considered when designing future studies using checkpoint inhibitors in these diseases. Further studies are indicated using nivolumab in combination (rather than a single-agent) and use of biomarkers to better predict the responders. Disclosures Bennani: Purdue Pharma: Other: Advisory board; Adicet Bio: Other: Advisory board; Seattle Genetics: Other: Advisory board; Adicet Bio: Other: Advisory board; Purdue Pharma: Other: Advisory board; Adicet Bio: Other: Advisory board; Seattle Genetics: Other: Advisory board; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Kite Pharma: Other: Advisory board; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Kite Pharma: Other: Advisory board; Purdue Pharma: Other: Advisory board; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Kite Pharma: Other: Advisory board; Seattle Genetics: Other: Advisory board. Nowakowski:Selvita: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; NanoString: Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Bayer: Consultancy, Research Funding; Curis: Research Funding; F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd: Research Funding; Genentech, Inc.: Research Funding; MorphoSys: Consultancy, Research Funding. Ansell:Merck: Other: research funding for clinical trials; Seattle Genetics: Other: research funding for clinical trials; Takeda: Other: research funding for clinical trials; Bristol Myers Squibb: Other: research funding for clinical trials; Regeneron: Other: research funding for clinical trials; Affimed: Other: research funding for clinical trials; Pfizer: Other: research funding for clinical trials; AI Therapeutics: Other: research funding for clinical trials.

Background: Follicular lymphoma (FL) is the most frequent indolent lymphoma. While immunochemotherapy (IC) treated FL patients who achieve event-free status at 24 months after diagnosis (EFS24) have the subsequent life expectancy of the general population, those who fail to achieve EFS24 have aggressive disease with poor outcomes. Similarly, in FL patients initially observed or treated with rituximab monotherapy, EFS at 12 months (EFS12) is a strong predictor of subsequent outcome. Thus, an unmet patient need is to predict at diagnosis those at greatest risk of early failure in order to identify better treatments. The lymphoma microenvironment may be a key determinant of early failure. Therefore, we aimed to improve risk stratification of newly diagnosed FL patients by using a discovery and validation study design to identify microenvironment determinants of early failure and then integrate them into the Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index (FLIPI). Patients and Methods: We evaluated 496 patients with FL grade 1-3A who were prospectively enrolled into the Molecular Epidemiology Resource (MER) cohort from 2002-2012. In the discovery set of patients (N=166), we stained tissue microarrays for CD4, CD8, FOXP3, CD32b, CD14, CD68, CD70, SIRPa, TIM3, PD-1 and PDL1. Immunohistochemical staining was determined both within and between malignant follicles. Stains were scored to the nearest decile as the percentages of cells positive. Scores for each stain were dichotomized as 0% vs >0% except for CD32b (<20% vs ≥20%), CD70 (<10% vs ≥10%), and SIRPa (<30% vs ≥30%). EFS was defined as time from diagnosis to progression, relapse, retreatment, or death. Early failure was defined as failing to achieve EFS24 for patients treated with IC at diagnosis and failing to achieve EFS12 for patients who were observed or received other treatments. Risk of early failure was estimated using odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) from logistic regression models. Markers at P≤0.15 were brought forward for validation in a separate set of patients from the MER cohort (N=330), with P<0.005 being declared statistically significant after a Bonferroni correction (0.05/10 tests). In the combined dataset, we also used Cox regression to assess associations with continuous EFS and overall survival (OS). Mass cytometry (CyTOF) was then performed on a subset of patients (N=51) to comprehensively characterize the phenotype of intratumoral immune cells associated with outcome. Results: In the discovery set, CD4, CD8, FOXP3, PD-1, and SIRPα were associated with risk of early failure at P≤0.15 and were subsequently evaluated in the validation set. Only CD4 expression inside the follicle validated. Specifically, lack of CD4 expression inside the follicle was associated with higher risk of early failure in the discovery (OR=1.77, P=0.15) and validation (OR=2.59, P=0.001) sets, with a pooled OR=2.29 (95% CI 1.47-3.58; P<0.001). CyTOF analysis characterized the favorable CD4+ T-cell population associated with achieving EFS12/24 as activated effector memory T cells lacking exhaustion markers (Figure 1A). Adjustment of CD4 expression for FLIPI in the combined dataset did not weaken this association (OR=2.38, 95% CI 1.51-3.79), and lack of CD4 expression was prognostic within each FLIPI group 0-1 (OR=2.65; p=0.036), 2 (OR=2.07; P=0.064) and 3-5 (OR=2.51; P=0.015). We next established a bio-clinical risk model (termed BioFLIPI) that combined CD4 intrafollicular expression and FLIPI into a 1-4 scale, where any expression of intrafollicular CD4 moved a patient up one FLIPI risk group, adding a fourth (high) risk group for FLIPI 3-5 and any CD4 inside expression. The BioFLIPI score was strongly associated with risk of early failure: compared to a BioFLIPI score of 1 (24% of patients), patients with a score of 2 (35% of patients; OR=2.17, 95% CI 1.08-4.69), 3 (31% of patients; OR=3.53, 95% CI 1.78-7.54), and 4 (10% of patients; OR=8.92, 95% CI 4.00-21.1) had increasing risk of early failure. The c-statistic for BioFLIPI was 0.665, which was higher than that for FLIPI alone (0.636). BioFLIPI was also strongly predictive of continuous EFS [Figure 1B], OS [Figure 1C], and for EFS and EFS24 when restricted to IC-treated patients [Figure 1D]. Conclusion: Integration of CD4 expression inside the follicle at diagnosis with FLIPI improves identification of FL patients at risk for early failure. Disclosures Novak: Celgene Coorperation: Research Funding. Nowakowski:Curis: Research Funding; Bayer: Consultancy, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd: Research Funding; Selvita: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; NanoString: Research Funding; Genentech, Inc.: Research Funding; MorphoSys: Consultancy, Research Funding. Cerhan:NanoString: Research Funding; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Research Funding. Ansell:LAM Therapeutics: Research Funding; Mayo Clinic Rochester: Employment; Affimed: Research Funding; Affimed: Research Funding; Trillium: Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Mayo Clinic Rochester: Employment; Affimed: Research Funding; Trillium: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; Regeneron: Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Trillium: Research Funding; Trillium: Research Funding; LAM Therapeutics: Research Funding; Regeneron: Research Funding; LAM Therapeutics: Research Funding; LAM Therapeutics: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; LAM Therapeutics: Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; LAM Therapeutics: Research Funding; Regeneron: Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; LAM Therapeutics: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; Mayo Clinic Rochester: Employment; Affimed: Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; LAM Therapeutics: Research Funding; Trillium: Research Funding; LAM Therapeutics: Research Funding; Affimed: Research Funding; Regeneron: Research Funding; Trillium: Research Funding; Mayo Clinic Rochester: Employment; Regeneron: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; Regeneron: Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Trillium: Research Funding; Regeneron: Research Funding; Mayo Clinic Rochester: Employment; Affimed: Research Funding; Mayo Clinic Rochester: Employment; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; Affimed: Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Affimed: Research Funding; Trillium: Research Funding; Regeneron: Research Funding; Affimed: Research Funding; Trillium: Research Funding; Mayo Clinic Rochester: Employment; Regeneron: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; Mayo Clinic Rochester: Employment; Mayo Clinic Rochester: Employment.

PURPOSE To provide guidelines for the accurate pathologic diagnosis of breast implant–associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL), the preoperative evaluation of the patient with suspected BIA-ALCL, and the pathologic evaluation of the capsulectomy specimen. METHODS To better inform patients and healthcare providers about BIA-ALCL, we convened to review diagnostic procedures used in the evaluation of patients with suspected BIA-ALCL. We focused on the processing of the seroma fluid/effusion surrounding the implant, the handling of capsulectomy specimens following removal of implant(s), and the preoperative evaluation of the patient with suspected BIA-ALCL. Recommendations were based on the published literature and our experience to optimize procedures to obtain an accurate diagnosis and assess for tumor invasion and the extent of the disease. RECOMMENDATIONS Early diagnosis of BIA-ALCL is important as the disease can progress and deaths have been reported. Because the most common presentation of BIA-ALCL is swelling of the breast with fluid collection, an accurate diagnosis requires cytologic evaluation of the effusion fluid surrounding the affected implant. The first priority is cytocentrifugation and filtration of fresh, unfixed effusion fluid to produce air-dried smears that are stained with Wright-Giemsa or other Romanowsky-type stains. Preparation of a cell block is desirable to allow for hematoxylin and eosin staining and immunohistochemical analysis of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded histologic sections. Cell block sections can be used for polymerase chain reaction–based investigation of T-cell receptor gene rearrangement to detect clonality. Fixation and mapping of the capsulectomy specimen to select multiple representative sections are advised to assess for microscopic tumor involvement and capsular invasion. It is appropriate to assess lymph node involvement by excisional biopsy material rather than fine needle aspiration, due to propensity for focal involvement.