Parikh, Sameer A.

Abstract Richter’s syndrome (RS) arising from chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a striking example of an aggressive malignant histology that emerges from indolent cancer. RS is a major barrier to disease control in CLL and is associated with poor clinical outcomes and limited survival. The genetic basis of RS is poorly understood, and its relationship to the antecedent CLL remains incompletely characterized. To study RS, we performed whole-exome sequencing (WES) on samples collected from 52 patients with RS of diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) histology. For this genomic characterization, samples from 42 patients were analyzed as ‘trios’ (matched germline, CLL and RS tissue DNA) and those from 10 as ‘duos’ (matched CLL and RS DNA). Beyond addressing contamination of CLL DNA in the germline sample, we developed methods for discriminating between the RS and CLL clones which often coexist in the same samples. The discovery cohort revealed that RS and CLL were clonally-related in 45/52 (87%) cases based on WES analysis, with a distinct RS clone emerging from a CLL subclone. The remaining 13% were determined to be clonally unrelated. RS clones presented ~3x higher rates of additional mutations than the ancestral CLL clones from which they developed. We identified novel RS somatic driver mutations (in IRF2BP2, SRSF1, B2M, DNMT3A and others), a high rate of copy number variations with recurrent deletions (e.g., del(17p) [TP53], del(13q14.3), del(7q36), and del(15q13.11) [MGA], del(9p21.3) [CDKN2A/B], del(16q12.2)), focal amplifications (amp(7q21.2) [CDK6], amp(8q24.2) [RECQL4, MYC], amp(13q31.2) [ERCC5], and frequent whole genome duplication. To further investigate RS and CLL clonal evolution, we performed single-cell RNA-sequencing on biopsies at the time of RS diagnosis in 5 individuals with clonally related transformation. Using our novel tool, CNVSingle, we inferred allele specific single-cell copy number alterations, yielding cluster-specific copy number profiles that matched the WES results of individual subclones of the RS and CLL populations. This enabled mapping genetic clones to specific expression patterns. Finally, we devised and tested a methodology that uses cfDNA for early detection of emerging Richter’s disease and have successfully identified Richter‘s tumor DNA in the blood several months prior to the clinical diagnosis. Our study thus defines drivers, distinct molecular subtypes and evolutionary path to RS and suggests strategies for its improved detection. Citation Format: Erin M. Parry, Ignaty Leshchiner, Romain Guièze, Connor Johnson, Eugen Tausch, Sameer Parikh, Camilla Lemvigh, Conor Messer, Daniel Rosebrock, Filippo Utro, Chaya Levovitz, Kahn Rhrissorrakrai, Matthew Davids, Raquel A. Jacobs, Kara Slowik, Julien Broseus, Shanye Yin, Shuqiang Li, Geoff Fell, Ziao Lin, Binyamin A. Knisbacher, Neil Ruthen, Dimitri Livitz, Christof Schneider, Jialin Ma, Julian Hess, Laura Z. Rassenti, Thomas J. Kipps, Nitin Jain, William Wierda, Florence Cymbalista, Neil E. Kay, Kenneth J. Livak, Brian P. Danysh, Chip Stewart, Donna Neuberg, Jennifer R. Brown, Laxmi Parida, Stephan Stilgenbauer, Gad Getz, Catherine J. Wu. Evolutionary history of transformation from chronic lymphocytic leukemia to Richter’s syndrome [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 4007.

Abstract MBL is a common pre-malignant condition characterized by circulating clonal B-cells with an absolute B-cell count <5x109/L and no lymphadenopathy, organomegaly, or cytopenias. MBL is the precursor to CLL. The incidence of cutaneous SCC in CLL is significantly higher compared to controls. The incidence of SCC in MBLs has not yet been determined. Study participants from the Mayo Clinic Biobank who had no prior history of hematologic malignancy, were 40 years or older, and were Olmsted County residents completed a health questionnaire and provided blood samples between 7/2009 and 12/2020. Stored peripheral blood mononuclear cells were screened for MBL using flow cytometry. We defined three MBL immunophenotypes: CLL-like MBL (CD5+, CD20dim), atypical MBL (CD5+, CD20+), and non-CLL-like MBL (CD5-, CD20+). MBL individuals were also classified by cell count into low-count MBL (LC-MBL) and high-count MBL (HC-MBL), with HC-MBL having a percent clonal B-cell count ≥85%. Data on newly diagnosed SCC was abstracted from the medical records, and prior history of skin cancer before sample collection was ascertained from patient questionnaires. Individuals were followed from sample date to the earliest of SCC, death, loss to follow-up, progression, or 12/31/2020. Cumulative SCC incidence was adjusted for competing risk of death. Cox regression was used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) adjusted for age and sex. A total of 5,470 participants were screened for MBL and included 949 (17%) with LC-MBL, 63 (1%) with HC-MBL, and 4,458 (81%) controls (negative for MBL). Individuals with HC-MBL (median age 75 years) or LC-MBL (median age 73 years) were significantly older (P<0.001) than controls (median age 66 years). There were 41 (65%) males among HC-MBL, 447 (47%) among LC-MBL, and 1,551 (35%) among controls. Prior skin cancer history was highest among HC-MBLs (N=17, 27%) or LC-MBLs (N=236, 25%) compared to controls (N=767, 17%). After a median follow-up of 18 months (range 0-138), 154 of the 5,470 individuals were identified to have incident SCC following MBL screening. At least one SCC was observed in 3 individuals with HC-MBL, 33 individuals with LC-MBL, and 118 controls. The 5- and 10-year cumulative incidence of SCC in individuals with MBLs was 7% and 16%, respectively; control estimates were 4% and 8%, respectively. However, after adjusting for age and sex, we observed no evidence of an association between MBL and risk of incident SCC (HR=0.95, CI=0.65-1.40, P=0.80), nor when we stratified individuals by age or by sex (all P>0.05). In the largest MBL screening cohort to date, individuals with MBL do not have an increased risk of incident SCC compared to controls. In contrast to individuals with CLL, these individuals with screening MBL do not need increased dermatologic examination for skin cancer, which is important given the high prevalence of MBL (18% of the population above age 40). Citation Format: Ahmed Nadeem Ansari, Sara J. Achenbach, Sameer A. Parikh, Geffen Kleinstern, Aaron D. Norman, Kari G. Rabe, Connie E. Lesnick, Timothy G. Call, Janet E. Olson, James R. Cerhan, Neil E. Kay, Celine M. Vachon, Esteban Braggio, Curtis A. Hanson, Tait D. Shanafelt, Christian L. Baum, Susan L. Slager. Incidence of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in a large screening cohort of monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (MBL) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 5256.

Abstract Pivotal clinical trials of B-cell maturation antigen-targeted chimeric antigen receptor T (CART)-cell therapy in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (MM) resulted in remarkable initial responses, which led to a recent US Food and Drug Administration approval. Despite the success of this therapy, durable remissions continue to be low, and the predominant mechanism of resistance is loss of CART cells and inhibition by the tumor microenvironment (TME). MM is characterized by an immunosuppressive TME with an abundance of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). Using MM models, we studied the impact of CAFs on CART-cell efficacy and developed strategies to overcome CART-cell inhibition. We showed that CAFs inhibit CART-cell antitumor activity and promote MM progression. CAFs express molecules such as fibroblast activation protein and signaling lymphocyte activation molecule family-7, which are attractive immunotherapy targets. To overcome CAF-induced CART-cell inhibition, CART cells were generated targeting both MM cells and CAFs. This dual-targeting CART-cell strategy significantly improved the effector functions of CART cells. We show for the first time that dual targeting of both malignant plasma cells and the CAFs within the TME is a novel strategy to overcome resistance to CART-cell therapy in MM.

Abstract Introduction: Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors (BTKi) have revolutionized the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) and certain B-cell neoplasms. However, resistance to BTKi develops primarily through mutations at the cysteine binding site (C481) or PLCγ2 mutations. MK-1026 (formerly ARQ-531) is a non-covalent, potent inhibitor of both wild type and C481- mutated BTK. In the phase 1/2 dose escalation and dose expansion study NCT03162536, the preliminary recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) of MK-1026 was determined to be 65 mg once daily. The efficacy and safety of MK-1026 in participants with CLL/SLL and B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) were also evaluated at a higher dose during the dose expansion phase. Methods: In this open-label, single-arm phase 2 study, 9 expansion cohorts were initiated following determination of preliminary MK-1026 RP2D. Approximately 10-25 eligible participants were enrolled into Cohort A (relapsed/refractory (r/r) CLL/SLL, with ≥2 prior therapies including covalent BTKi, with documented C481 mutation), Cohort B (r/r CLL/SLL progressed on/intolerant to a BTKi, with ≥2 prior therapies without C481 mutation), Cohort C (participants with Richter transformation [RT] with ≥1 prior therapy), Cohort D-H (participants with follicular lymphoma (FL), mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), marginal zone lymphoma (MZL), high-grade B cell lymphoma (BCL) with known MYC, BCL-2 or BCL-6 translocations, and Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM), respectively, who received ≥2 prior therapies), Cohort I (food effect cohort including participants with B-cell NHL, CLL/SLL, and WM). Treatment continued until unacceptable toxicity, clinical or radiological progression, participant/physician withdrawal. Primary endpoint was overall response rate (per iwCLL criteria, by investigator) for participants with CLL/SLL. Secondary endpoints included duration of response and safety and tolerability. The data cut-off date for this analysis was April 7, 2021. Results: Among 118 participants enrolled, 44 had B-cell NHL (including 6 with DLBCL, 11 with FL, 3 with high-grade BCL, 6 with MCL, 2 with MZL, 16 with RT), 68 CLL/SLL, and 4 WM. Of these, 94 (79.6%) were treated at the preliminary RP2D, including 51 (54.3%) participants with CLL/SLL. Participants with CLL/SLL had a median (range) number of prior therapies of 4 (1-18), 43 (84%) had prior BTKi therapy, 12 (23%) had del17p, 26 (51%) had IGHV unmutated status, and 32 (63%) had C481S BTK mutation. At data cut-off, median (range) follow-up was 4.56 months (0.1-26.7) for all treated participants. ORR was 57.9% (N = 22 of 38; 1 CR, 21 PR/PRL) per iwCLL criteria in the efficacy evaluable population of participants with CLL/SLL treated at preliminary RP2D. The median duration of response in these participants was not estimable [NE] (range, 8.3 months-NE). At data cut-off, the median duration of treatment exposure was 3.2 months (range, 0-35.9). Among all treated participants, 114 (97%) had a treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE), with 78 (66%) having a drug-related TEAE, and 9 (8%) having a drug-related TEAE that led to discontinuation. Common TEAEs (≥ 20%) included fatigue (33%), constipation (31%), dysgeusia (28%), cough (25%), nausea (25%), pyrexia (25%), dizziness (23%), hypertension (23%), peripheral edema (22%), arthralgia (20%), and diarrhea (21%). Grade ≥3 TEAEs occurred in 80 (68%) participants. Grade 5 TEAEs occurred in 7 (6%) participants and included death following disease progression in 3 (3%), sepsis 1 (1%), dyspnea 1 (1%), and respiratory failure 2 (2%) participants. Common drug-related TEAEs (≥10%) included dysgeusia (15%), nausea (11%), fatigue (11%), and decreased neutrophil count (10%). Grade 3-4 drug-related TEAEs occurred in 31 (26%) participants. No drug-related TEAEs led to death. Conclusion: MK-1026 has promising antitumor activity with a manageable safety profile in participants with CLL/SLL exposed to multiple lines of therapy, including in those who had progression of disease on prior covalent BTKi. Further evaluation of MK-1026 in B-cell malignancies is ongoing. Disclosures Woyach: AbbVie Inc, ArQule Inc, Janssen Biotech Inc, AstraZeneca, Beigene: Other: Advisory Committee; AbbVie Inc, ArQule Inc, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, Janssen Biotech Inc, Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company,: Consultancy; AbbVie Inc, Loxo Oncology Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly & Company: Research Funding; Gilead Sciences Inc: Other: Data & Safety. Flinn: Verastem: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; IGM Biosciences: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Gilead Sciences: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Juno Therapeutics: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Yingli Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute; Constellation Pharmaceuticals: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Loxo: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Kite, a Gilead Company: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Other: All Consultancy and Research Funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Great Point Partners: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute; Iksuda Therapeutics: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute; BeiGene: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Forty Seven: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Calithera Biosciences: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Unum Therapeutics: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; MorphoSys: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Merck: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Teva: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Seagen: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Karyopharm Therapeutics: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Celgene: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Incyte: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Infinity Pharmaceuticals: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Agios: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Curis: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Acerta Pharma: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; ArQule: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Pfizer: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Forma Therapeutics: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Nurix Therapeutics: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute; Portola Pharmaceuticals: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Rhizen Pharmaceuticals: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Trillium Therapeutics: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Triphase Research & Development Corp.: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Century Therapeutics: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute; Hutchison MediPharma: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute; Vincerx Pharma: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute; Sarah Cannon Research Institute: Current Employment; Servier Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute; Yingli Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute; Seagen: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute; Servier Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute; Unum Therapeutics: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Johnson & Johnson: Current holder of individual stocks in a privately-held company; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding. Awan: Verastem: Consultancy; Incyte: Consultancy; Dava Oncology: Consultancy; MEI Pharma: Consultancy; Beigene: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy; Johnson and Johnson: Consultancy; Karyopharm: Consultancy; Kite pharma: Consultancy; Gilead sciences: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy; BMS: Consultancy; Merck: Consultancy; Cardinal Health: Consultancy; ADCT therapeutics: Consultancy; Abbvie: Consultancy; Astrazeneca: Consultancy; Genentech: Consultancy. Eradat: AstraZeneca: 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, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Beigene: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Incyte: Speakers Bureau; Juno: Research Funding; Kite: Research Funding; Genentech: Research Funding. Brander: Pfizer: Consultancy, Other: Biosimilars outcomes research panel; Juno Therapeutics/Celgene/Bristol Myers Squibb: Research Funding; ArQule: Research Funding; Ascentage: Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Research Funding; BeiGene: Research Funding; DTRM: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company: Consultancy, Research Funding; MEI Pharma: Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; LOXO: Research Funding; Verastem: Consultancy; ArQule/Merck: Consultancy; Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding; NCCN: Other: panel member; AbbVie: Consultancy, Other: informCLL registry steering committee, Research Funding. Parikh: Pharmacyclics, MorphoSys, Janssen, AstraZeneca, TG Therapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck, AbbVie, and Ascentage Pharma: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics, AstraZeneca, Genentech, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, Verastem Oncology, and AbbVie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Phillips: BMS: Consultancy, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy; Incyte: Consultancy, Other: received travel expenses from Incyte, Research Funding; Genentech: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Research Funding; ADCT, BeiGene, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cardinal Health, Incyte, Karyopharm, Morphosys, Pharmacyclics, Seattle Genetics: Consultancy; Bayer: Consultancy, Research Funding. Reddy: Merck & Co., Inc.: Current Employment. Farooqui: Merck & Co., Inc.: Current Employment, Other: Current Stockholder. Byrd: Vincerx Pharmaceuticals: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis, Trillium, Astellas, AstraZeneca, Pharmacyclics, Syndax: Consultancy, Honoraria; Newave: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Stephens: CSL Behring: Consultancy; Innate Pharma: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Beigene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Epizyme: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; TG Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Adaptive: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Arqule: Research Funding; Mingsight: Research Funding; JUNO: Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; Abbvie: Consultancy; AstraZeneca: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy; Karyopharm: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding.

Abstract With the development of various strategies of anti-CD19 immunotherapy for treatment of B cell malignancies, it remains to be elucidated whether CD19 targeting with a monoclonal antibody impairs subsequent CD19 targeted chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CART19) therapy. In this study, we evaluated the potential interference between the CD19 targeting monoclonal antibody tafasitamab and CART19 treatment (using a construct similar to the FDA approved therapy, FMC63-41BBζ, tisagenlecleucel) in preclinical lymphoma and leukemia models. For in vitro assays, the CD19 + cell lines JeKo-1 (mantle cell lymphoma), Nalm6 (acute lymphoblastic leukemia), and OCI-Ly7 (diffuse large B cell lymphoma) were used. When CART19 were co-cultured with CD19 + tumor cells in the presence of increasing concentrations of tafasitamab (10-400 µg/mL) or the isotype control, an impairment of CART19 functions at the highest concentration of tafasitamab was observed. However, when tafasitamab was cocultured with tumor cells overnight and removed from the culture by washing, there was no impairment of CART19 anti-tumor activity or effector functions compared to a pre-culture with isotype control. We then aimed to validate these findings in xenograft mouse models by determining whether prior tafasitamab treatment impairs subsequent CART cell function. First, a two-step JeKo-1 xenograft model was created through inoculation of 1x10 6 luciferase + JeKo-1 cells to immunocompromised NOD-SCID-γ -/- (NSG) mice via tail vein injection. One week later, tumor burden was assessed by bioluminescence imaging (BLI) and mice were randomized to receive either 1) PBS (Group 1) or 2) 10 mg/kg of tafasitamab (Group 2) (Fig. 1A). Treatment was performed until the mice reached the endpoint due to the high tumor load. When reaching the endpoint, mice were euthanized and spleen was harvested. Splenic cells were then injected to naïve NSG mice. Two weeks after the inoculation of splenic cells (PBS or tafasitamab treated), mice were imaged with BLI and randomized according to their tumor burden to receive 2x10 6 of 1) untransduced T cells (UTD) or 2) CART19 (i.v.) (Fig. 1B). Mice, treated with CART19 demonstrated potent anti-tumor effects and showed prolonged survival compared to UTD control mice. Interestingly, CART19-treated mice inoculated with Group 2 splenic cells (pretreated with tafasitamab) showed a significantly better tumor control and overall survival compared with mice engrafted Group 1 splenic cells (PBS pretreatment) (Fig. 1C). This finding led us to further investigate the effects of prior tafasitamab therapy on subsequent CART19 treatment. In this context, we studied the sequential treatment with tafasitamab and CART19 in an additional JeKo-1 xenograft model (Fig. 1D). In brief, NSG mice were inoculated with luciferase + JeKo-1 on day -14. On day -8, mice were imaged and randomized to the PBS (Group I) or tafasitamab (10 mg/kg) group. On day -1 tafasitamab treated mice were imaged again, randomized to the tafasitamab discontinuation (Group II) or continuation (Group III). Treatment with PBS was continued in Group I. All groups were administered with 1x10 6 of CART19 on day 0. Cotreatment of JeKo-1 xenografts with tafasitamab and CART19 led to impaired anti-tumor activity presumably as a result of CD19 binding competition between tafasitamab and CART19 (Group III). Mice treated with tafasitamab followed by CART19 had improved tumor control compared to mice treated with PBS followed by CART19 (Fig. 1E-F). Serial peripheral blood analysis demonstrated that mice from Group I showed the highest CART19 expansion on day 10. Strikingly, Group II exhibited weak CART19 expansion at day 10, but strongest expansion on day 23 (Fig. 1G). We therefore hypothesized that prior treatment with tafasitamab results in modulation of CART19 cell activation. To test this hypothesis, spleens of satellite mice were harvested 24 hours after CART19 administration. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that the mice from Group II showed significantly lower CD69 and HLA-DR expression on CART19 cells compared with Group I, and reduced apoptosis as measured by the Annexin assay (Fig. 1H-I). In summary, concomitant treatment of tafasitamab and CART19 led to impaired anti-tumor activity while, in contrast, sequential treatment of tafasitamab and CART19 did not inhibit CART19 anti-tumor activity but rather promoted anti-tumor effects in xenograft models. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Sakemura: Humanigen: Patents & Royalties. Augsberger: MorphoSys AG: Current Employment. Schanzer: MorphoSys AG: Current Employment. Patra-Kneuer: MorphoSys AG: Current Employment. Heitmüller: MorphoSys AG: Current Employment. Steidl: MorphoSys AG: Current Employment. Endell: MorphoSys AG: Current Employment. Ding: DTRM: Research Funding; Merck: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Octapharma: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Parikh: Pharmacyclics, MorphoSys, Janssen, AstraZeneca, TG Therapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck, AbbVie, and Ascentage Pharma: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics, AstraZeneca, Genentech, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, Verastem Oncology, and AbbVie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Kay: Acerta Pharma: Research Funding; Targeted Oncology: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Oncotracker: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Juno Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Morpho-sys: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pharmacyclics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Dava Oncology: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; TG Therapeutics: Research Funding; Behring: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; CytomX Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Rigel: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; MEI Pharma: Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: 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; Tolero Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Agios Pharm: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Genentech: Research Funding; Sunesis: Research Funding. Nowakowski: Celgene, NanoString Technologies, MorphoSys: Research Funding; Celgene, MorphoSys, Genentech, Selvita, Debiopharm Group, Kite/Gilead: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Cox: Humanigen: Patents & Royalties. Kenderian: Humanigen, Inc.: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding.

Abstract Monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (MBL) is one of the most common pre-malignant conditions and is characterized by a circulating population of clonal B-cells with an absolute clonal B-cell count < 5x10 9/L and no evidence of lymphadenopathy, organomegaly, or cytopenias. MBL can be classified by the immunophenotype: CLL-like MBL (CD5+, CD20dim), atypical MBL (CD5+, CD20+), or non-CLL-like MBL (CD5-, CD20+), as well as by the size of the clone (low-count or high-count) with low-count MBL (LC-MBL) defined as clonal B-cell <0.5x10 9/L or percent clonal B-cell count <85% out of total B-cell count. The prevalence of MBL varies depending on detection methods and population tested. In a Spanish screening study of 608 individuals, they identified 73 MBLs (12%) with CLL-like MBL; moreover, these authors also evaluated overall survival (OS) compared to 290 individuals without MBL and found a significantly shorter OS among these predominantly LC-MBLs. Here, we evaluate the prevalence and OS of LC-MBL in a large screening cohort of 8,297 individuals. Study participants from the Mayo Clinic Biobank, a large-scale biorepository of adult patients, who had no prior history of hematologic malignancy, provided blood samples between 7/2009 to 4/2021. Stored peripheral blood mononuclear cells were screened for MBL with an eight-color flow cytometry assay capable of detecting clonal B-cell event to the 0.005% level. We classified each MBL by immunophenotype as CLL-like MBL, atypical MBL, and non-CLL-like MBL. Individuals with more than one immunophenotype were classified into one immunophenotype based on the following hierarchy: CLL-like MBL, then atypical MBL, then non-CLL like MBL. Based on previously published evidence, individuals were also classified by clonal counts using the percent clonal B-cell count <85% out of the total B-cell count to define LC-MBL. Individuals were followed from sample date to the earliest of death, loss to follow-up, or 5/31/2021. OS for LC-MBL and controls (individuals who screened negative for MBL) was assessed by Kaplan-Meier method. Age- and sex-adjusted OS was analyzed using inverse weights methods. Cox regression was used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusted for age and sex. We screened 8,297 individuals 40 years or older (median age 67 years, 39% male) and identified 1,326 (16%) with LC-MBL and 6,651 (80%) controls. Those individuals detected with high-count MBL (N=90, 1%) or individuals who had insufficient cells for flow cytometry interpretation (N=230, 3%) were excluded from subsequent analyses. The prevalence of LC-MBL was higher in males (21%) than females (14%; p<0.01) and significantly increased with age (p<0.01) ranging from 3% among those 40-49 years, 10% among those 50-59 years, 15% among those 60-69 years, 23% among those 70-79 years, and 29% for those 80+ years. Sixty-one individuals had clones with more than one type of immunophenotype. Based on our hierarchy, CLL-like MBL was the most common (N=1,155), followed by non-CLL-like (N=168) and atypical MBL (N=67). The median follow-up time in our cohort was 26 months (range 0-142), and 432 individuals had subsequently died. The 5-year and 10-year OS adjusted for age and sex among LC-MBLs was 95% and 87%, respectively; control estimates were 95% and 84%, respectively. We did not observe a significant difference in OS between those individuals with LC-MBL versus controls (HR=0.98, CI=0.77-1.24, P=0.84, Fig 1a), nor when we stratified individuals by age <65 (P=0.77) or age >= 65 (P=0.68). Among females, OS was longer among LC-MBL compared to controls (HR=0.61, CI=0.38-0.97, P=0.04); but no evidence of a difference in OS among males was observed (HR=1.22, CI=0.92-1.62, P=0.17). When we evaluated OS by MBL immunophenotype, we observed no statistically significant difference (Fig 1b, log rank P=0.44). When we stratified the MBLs by immunophenotype versus controls, we also did not observe a difference: CLL-like (HR=0.91, CI=0.71-1.18, P=0.5), atypical (HR=1.73, CI=0.92-3.27, P=0.09), non-CLL like (HR=0.98, CI=0.58-1.66, P=0.95). In the largest MBL screening cohort to date, LC-MBL was a common condition among adults 40 years or older reaching a prevalence as high as 29% among individuals 80 years of age or older. OS among those with and without LC-MBL was similar, regardless of immunophenotype and age. The longer survival in females with MBL versus controls requires further evaluation. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Parikh: Pharmacyclics, AstraZeneca, Genentech, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, Verastem Oncology, and AbbVie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pharmacyclics, MorphoSys, Janssen, AstraZeneca, TG Therapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck, AbbVie, and Ascentage Pharma: Research Funding. Kay: Juno Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pharmacyclics: 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; Targeted Oncology: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; TG Therapeutics: Research Funding; Sunesis: Research Funding; Dava Oncology: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Genentech: Research Funding; Behring: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; AstraZeneca: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Acerta Pharma: Research Funding; MEI Pharma: Research Funding; Tolero Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; CytomX Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Oncotracker: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Agios Pharm: 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. Shanafelt: Genentech, Pharmacyclics: Research Funding.

Abstract Introduction: TP53 aberrations, including mutations and deletion of 17p (del17p), are important adverse prognostic markers in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Prevalence of TP53 aberrations ranges from 7-11% in untreated CLL and increases with disease progression and treatment. Among CLL patients with TP53 aberrations, co-occurrence of TP53 mutations with del(17p) is common. CLL patients with TP53 mutations or del(17p) have significantly worse outcomes when compared to wild-type patients. Previous studies, focusing on CLL patients at time of treatment, are mixed as to whether a single or more than one TP53 aberration impacts outcomes. TP53 is less well studied in monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (MBL), an asymptomatic pre-malignant state of CLL. Del(17p) occurs in 3-4% of MBL individuals, and a study of 54 MBL individuals reported a 2% mutation frequency in TP53. Here we estimated prevalence and evaluated the impact of TP53 aberrations in a large cohort MBL or untreated CLL individuals. Methods : Patients with CLL or MBL diagnosed between 2000 and 2019 from the Mayo Clinic CLL Resource with pre-treatment peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) collected within two years of diagnosis were considered. DNA was extracted from PBMCs with purity >80% or with sorted CD5+/CD19+ clonal cells. The entire coding regions of 59 CLL driver genes were paired end sequenced. Median coverage depth was >1000x per nucleotide, allowing for detection of mutations with variant allelic fraction (VAF) as low as 1%. Somatic mutations were called using MuTect2 in tumor-only mode, and high impact mutations (frameshift, nonsense, and splicing variants) and missense mutations in CLL hot spots were selected. Somatic mutations and FISH del(17p) were used to define TP53 state for each patient: 1) wild-type [no TP53 mutations and normal del(17p)], 2) single-hit [one TP53 mutation or del(17p)], or 3) multi-hit [multiple TP53 mutations or TP53 mutation and del(17p)]. Time to first treatment (TTFT) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed by TP53 state. TTFT and OS were defined as time from sample collection to first treatment or death, respectively, or last follow-up date. Median TTFT and OS was estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method. We used Cox regression to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals for TTFT and OS associations. The models were adjusted for known adverse prognostic factors including clinical diagnosis (CLL or MBL), age at diagnosis, Rai stage, b2 microglobulin, and IGHV mutation status. Results: Individuals with CLL (N=597) or MBL (N=285) were analyzed for prevalence of TP53 mutations and del(17p). We found 58 CLL patients (9.7%) and 15 MBL individuals (5.3%) had TP53 mutations. The median VAF in CLL was 30.9% (<10% VAF, n=21) and in MBL was 13.5% (<10% VAF, n=7). Del(17p) was present in 37 patients with CLL (6.2%) and 7 individuals with MBL (2.7%). In total, 86 CLL/MBL patients had a TP53 mutation and/or del(17p): 56.8% (48 patients) were single-hit and 44.2% (38 patients) were multi-hit (Fig. 1a). Patients with any TP53 aberration had shorter TTFT than wild-type patients (median 2.3 vs 9.4 years). Among patients with TP53 aberrations, median TTFT was shorter in multi-hit patients (20 events, 1.8 years) compared to single-hit patients (24 events, 3.2 years) (Fig. 1b). In Cox regression, single-hit (HR = 1.7 [1.1-2.6]) and multi-hit (HR = 1.8 [1.1-2.9]) patients had shorter TTFT compared to wild-type patients after adjusting for covariates (Fig. 1c). Multi-hit patients also had shorter OS compared to wild-type patients, while OS in single-hit patients did not significantly differ from wild-type patients (Fig. 1d). Median OS was 5.5 years in multi-hit patients (22 deaths) compared to 15.1 years in wild-type patients (196 deaths) and 14.3 years in single-hit patients (15 deaths). In the OS model adjusted for covariates, multi-hit patients had a significant increased risk (HR = 2.6 [1.6-4.1]), but single-hit patients did not (HR = 1.4 [0.8-2.5]) compared with wild-type patients (Fig. 1e). OS HRs remained stable after censoring at time of treatment. Both TTFT and OS HRs were consistent when mutations with VAF < 10% were excluded. Conclusions: This study suggests single versus multi-hit TP53 aberrations may be important for prognostic outcomes in untreated CLL and MBL patients. Prognostic metrics may need to consider single versus multi-hit TP53 aberrations and include TP53 mutations with low VAF. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Cerhan: Regeneron Genetics Center: Other: Research Collaboration; Celgene/BMS: Other: Connect Lymphoma Scientific Steering Committee, Research Funding; NanoString: Research Funding; Genentech: Research Funding. Parikh: Pharmacyclics, MorphoSys, Janssen, AstraZeneca, TG Therapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck, AbbVie, and Ascentage Pharma: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics, AstraZeneca, Genentech, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, Verastem Oncology, and AbbVie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Kay: MEI Pharma: Research Funding; Bristol Meyer Squib: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Dava Oncology: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Genentech: Research Funding; Juno Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Tolero Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Agios Pharm: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Targeted Oncology: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; CytomX Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pharmacyclics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Behring: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sunesis: Research Funding; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Acerta Pharma: Research Funding; Oncotracker: 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.