He, Rong

SummaryVenetoclax (VEN) is an FDA‐approved selective inhibitor of B‐cell leukaemia/lymphoma‐2 (BCL‐2), used for treating elderly or unfit acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) patients unable to undergo intensive chemotherapy. Combining VEN with hypomethylating agents (HMAs) has shown impressive response rates in high‐risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and relapsed/refractory AML. However, the efficacy of VEN and HMAs in treating DDX41‐mutated (mDDX41) MDS/AML patients remains uncertain. Despite the favourable prognostic nature of mDDX41 MDS/AML patients, there is a lack of clinical experience regarding their response to different treatment regimens, leading to an unknown optimal therapeutic approach.

7059 Background: TP53-mutated ( TP53mut) myeloid neoplasms (MN) are aggressive leukemia with poor survival. A subset of TP53mut MN is preceded by TP53mut CCUS that is conventionally considered to be high-risk premalignant condition, though evidence supporting the notion is lacking. We studied outcomes of TP53mut CCUS compared to TP53 wild-type ( TP53wt) CCUS. Methods: Mayo Clinic Molecular Hematology Database (N=7593) was queried to identify patients (pts) harboring pathogenic variant(s) in exons 4-11 of the TP53 gene with ≥2% variance allele frequency (VAF). CCUS was defined using the 5th edition of the WHO Classification for MN. Results: Of 457 pts with TP53mut, 29 (5.9%) had TP53mut CCUS. The median age at diagnosis was 67 years, 17 (59%) were female, and 20 (69%) had received cytotoxic therapies. One and ≥2 TP53mut were seen in 26 (89.6%) and 3 (10.3%) pts, respectively. Median TP53mut VAF was 9% (range 3-42), 3 had TP53mut VAF ≥20%, and 4 (14%) had non-MDS defining cytogenetic anomalies. Of 16 pts with available follow up evaluation (median interval 22 months, Table), 3 (10.3%) progressed to TP53mut MN at 5, 13, and 14 months from diagnosis. We next compared outcomes of TP53mut CCUS to TP53wt CCUS (n=138). The proportion of pts developing MN was not different between TP53wt and TP53mut CCUS (18.1 vs 10.3%, P= .42). Progression free survival of TP53mut CCUS was comparable to TP53wt CCUS at 1- (77 vs 83%), 2- (67 vs 67%), and 5-years (67 vs 59%, P=.9). Similarly, overall survival of TP53mut vs TP53wt CCUS at 1- (81 vs 89%), 2- (76 vs 76%), and 5-years (76 vs 67%) was comparable ( P= .94). Conclusions: In contrast to the prevalent notion, TP53mut was not associated with a higher risk of MN progression or mortality compared to TP53wt CCUS. Majority of TP53mut clones showed remarkable stability over years. [Table: see text]

AbstractETV6 mutations are rare but recurrent somatic events in myeloid neoplasms and are negatively prognostic in myelodysplastic syndrome. We set out to examine the clinical and molecular characteristics of patients undergoing investigation for myeloid neoplasms, found to have deleterious ETV6 mutations. ETV6 mutations occurred in 33 of 5793 (0.6%) cases investigated and predominantly in high‐risk disease entities including MDS with increased blasts, primary myelofibrosis and AML, myelodysplasia‐related. In three cases, isolated iso (17q) karyotype was concurrently detected, an otherwise rare karyotype in myeloid neoplasms. ETV6 mutations were frequently subclonal and never occurred as an isolated abnormality with ASXL1 (n = 22, 75%), SRSF2 (n = 14, 42%) and SETBP1 (n = 11, 33%) the predominant co‐mutations. Restricting to patients with MDS, higher rates of ASXL1, SETBP1, RUNX1 and U2AF1 mutations occurred in ETV6 mutated cases, relative to a consecutive control cohort with wild‐type ETV6. The median OS of the cohort was 17.5 months. This report highlights the clinical and molecular associations of somatic ETV6 mutations in myeloid neoplasms, suggests their occurrence as a later event, and proposes further translational research questions for their role in myeloid neoplasia.

AbstractAcute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a challenging cancer in terms of achieving and maintaining long‐duration remissions. Many novel therapies have been added to the standard regimen (combining cytarabine and anthracycline “7 + 3”) to achieve such goals. Nilotinib is an oral multikinase inhibitor that is active against KIT tyrosine kinase, an important stem cell target. In this trial, we combined nilotinib with 7 + 3 induction (daunorubicin 60 mg/m2), high‐dose cytarabine consolidation, and subsequently, if the patient was a candidate, for 2 years' maintenance therapy in patients with AML and KIT (CD117) expression. Patients were allowed to proceed to allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) if deemed necessary. Our primary goal was increased complete remission rate with this combination. Thirty‐four patients (with a median age 58.5 years) were enrolled on a single‐arm phase II bi‐institutional study; 21 (62%) patients achieved remission. The complete remission rate was 78% in evaluable patients. Thirteen of 34 (38%) patients had allogeneic HCT, all thirteen of which are still alive (100%). Common (>20%) grade 3 non‐hematological toxicities included febrile neutropenia, hypophosphatemia, elevated liver enzymes, and hypertension. Only one patient (3%) died in induction due to liver failure, which was thought secondary to daunorubicin. Our current study reveals good outcomes in patients who received HCT and may warrant a larger study to confirm our findings in that specific population.

AbstractWaldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) is a rare, indolent lymphoma, that predominately affects the elderly. We report the outcomes of young WM patients, evaluated over five decades, compared to their older counterparts, matched for the time of diagnosis. Between January 1, 1960 and October 31, 2013, 140 (11.8%) WM patients were ≤50 years of age at diagnosis in our database, and their estimated 10‐year overall survival (OS) was 74%, with death attributable to WM in a higher proportion of patients compared to their older (≥65 years) counterparts (91% vs. 58%, p = .0001). Young patients were grouped into three cohorts based on the timing of the initiation of therapy: Group 1 (1960–1977, n = 12), Group 2 (1978–1995, n = 48), and Group 3 (1996–2013, n = 74). Among young patients, there was no disease‐specific survival (DSS) difference across the three periods, [median DSS at 13 years (95% CI 5–23), 16 years (95% CI 14–22), and 15 years (95% CI 10‐NR; p = .41), respectively]. However, DSS for the older cohort incrementally improved (Group 1, median 5.2 years, Group 2: 9.6 years, Group 3: 12 years; p = .05) over these periods. The estimated average years‐of‐life lost for the young cohort was 11.2 years from diagnosis, based on the expected survival for a normal age‐ and sex‐matched population. Despite a protracted disease course, nearly all young patients succumb to their disease. In contrast to the improved survival of the elderly patient population, the evolving treatment strategies in WM have not impacted the outcome of young patients; however, the impact of Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors on this unique patient population remains to be determined.