Citations

Background: Guidelines recommend involvement of palliative care (PC) for patients with cardiovascular (CV) disease and their families. Little is known about the current integration of PC and CV services. Research Objectives: Our national survey aimed to describe current practices and to identify benefits, challenges, and barriers with collaboration. Methods: Qualitative content analysis of open-response questions in an investigator-developed electronic survey study of CV and PC providers (MDs, NPs, PAs, and other allied health) using email listservs, social media, and crowdsourcing. Frequencies were tabulated using SAS statistical software. Results: Of 134 respondents, most were physicians (n=56, 57%) or advanced practice RNs or PAs (n=37, 28%), from 52 U.S. institutions, representing 33 states. The most common care for which PC was integrated were mechanical circulatory support, advanced heart failure, and heart transplantation; the least common care for which PC was integrated were TAVR, ECMO, and pulmonary hypertension. Integrated practice (n=80, 61%), PC identification of goals of care (n=20, 15%) and PC aid in patient/family communication (n=15, 11%) were the most commonly identified as positives in current practice. PC provider workforce (n=22, 16%), underutilization of PC referrals (n=20, 15%), late disease PC referral (n=19, 14%), and fundamental knowledge deficit of specialty scope (n=18, 14%) were most frequently identified as challenges. Other barriers specifically noted were underdeveloped health infrastructure and limited allocated resources (n=23,17%) and mis-/negative perception of services (n=15, 11%). Conclusion: PC and CV collaboration occurs for a high proportion of CV patients and is viewed as overwhelming positive, despite the challenges of limited PC specialists availability, underdeveloped healthcare infrastructure, limited understanding of specialty practice, and late referrals. Priorities includes increasing PC provider availability, expanding knowledge of PC services, educating providers on models of collaboration, and improving institutional support.

8049 Background: The treatment paradigm of Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) continues to evolve as new therapies expand our options for this indolent and incurable disease. While more profound responses are generally associated with longer treatment-free intervals, the impact of depth of response from fixed duration therapy in WM patients' survival needs further evaluation. In this international, multicenter cohort study, we report the prognostic impact of depth of response in WM. Methods: 319 WM patients treated with frontline fixed duration therapy [Dexamethasone/Rituximab/Cyclophosphamide (DRC), Bendamustine/Rituximab (BR), or Bortezomib/Dexamethasone/Rituximab (BDR)] were included. Response at the completion of therapy (6 months) was used in a landmark analysis for progression-free survival (PFS), time to next treatment (TTNT), and overall survival (OS) (defined as time from 6 months post treatment response to event or censor). Response was defined by modified IWWM-6 criteria. Associations between clinical variables and outcomes were evaluated using Cox proportional-hazard models. Results: The median age at the time of treatment initiation was 64 years (range: 29-94), 59% were men, and risk category by International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS)-WM was low (n=67, 23%), intermediate (n=83, 29%), and high-risk (n=141, 48%). Evaluable responses at 6 months from frontline therapy [DRC (n=105; 41%), BR (n=83; 32%), BDR (n=68; 27%)] were available in 256 patients and included in the landmark analysis. Median follow-up was 63 months (95% CI: 59-70). The rate of major response (PR or better) at 6 months was 74% for the entire cohort. Five-year PFS rates from completion of therapy for patients who attained major response vs. those who did not were 71% and 43%, respectively (p<0.001). Five-year TTNT rates for patients who attained major response vs. not were 84% and 54%, respectively (p<0.001). Five-year OS rates for patients who attained major response vs. not were 92% and 77%, respectively (p<0.001). In multivariable analyses including other WM prognostic factors evaluated at initiation of frontline therapy, attaining a major response at 6 months was associated with superior PFS (HR 0.33, p<0.001), TTNT (HR 0.23, p<0.001), and OS (HR 0.31, p=0.001–Table). Conclusions: Achieving a major response at 6 months after frontline chemoimmunotherapy emerges as a significant prognostic factor for PFS, TTNT and OS in patients with WM.[Table: see text]

7522 Background: Patients with newly diagnoseddiffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) who achieve event-free survival at 24 months (EFS24) following immunochemotherapy (IC) have excellent overall survival (OS) similar to that of age- and sex-matched general population. The standard of care for patients with relapsed or refractory (RR) DLBCL following frontline IC is salvage therapy followed by autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT). The goal of this study is to evaluate the role of progression-free survival (PFS) at 24 months (PFS24) as a landmark after ASCT in patients with RR DLBCL. Methods: Patients with RR DLBCL after frontline R-CHOP or R-CHOP-like IC who underwent salvage therapy and ASCT at Mayo Clinic or University of Iowa between 07/2000 and 4/2020 were identified from institutional lymphoma transplant databases. Clinical characteristics, treatment information, and outcome data were abstracted. Post-ASCT PFS, OS, and post-relapse survival (PRS) were plotted by Kaplan-Meier method, and cumulative incidences of relapse vs non-relapse mortality (NRM) and different causes of death were compared accounting for competing events. Statistical analyses were performed in EZR v1.54. Results: A total of 437 patients were identified. Median age at ASCT was 61 years (range 19-78), and 280 (64%) were male. After a median post-ASCT follow up of 8.0 years (95% CI 7.2-8.7), 215 patients had a relapse (or disease progression), 180 within 2 years and 35 after 2 years. For the entire cohort, post-ASCT relapse rate was much higher than NRM rate (48.1 vs 9.1% at 5-year). Median PFS and OS after ASCT was 2.7 and 5.4 years, respectively. Lymphoma was the primary cause of death after ASCT. In contrast, for patients who had achieved PFS24 (n = 220), rates of post-PFS24 relapse and NRM were similar (14.8% and 12.3% at 5-year). Median PFS and OS after achieving PFS24 was 10.0 and 11.5 years, respectively. Lymphoma related and unrelated death rates were similar after achieving PFS24 (Table). For all patients who had a post-ASCT relapse, median PRS was 0.7 years (95% CI 0.5-0.9), and late relapse ( > 2 vs ≤2 years after ASCT) was associated with better PRS (median 2.3 [1.7-4.8] vs 0.5 [0.3-0.7] years, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Post-ASCT PFS24 is an important prognostic predictor of post-ASCT outcomes in patients with RR DLBCL following frontline IC.[Table: see text]

e13569 Background: Progress in understanding the molecular biology of DLBCL has led to development of complex molecular classifications that rely on sequencing methods. These molecular clusters are defined by activation of distinct pathways and may aid in selecting targeted therapy. In the molecular era, tissue requirements in clinical trials have increased to ensure sufficient tissue for molecular testing, potentially resulting in bias for enrollment of patients with larger excisional biopsies (EB). We examined the impact of tissue biopsy method on outcomes of DLBCL in a prospective observational study. Methods: Consecutive adult patients with DLBCL within 9 months from their initial diagnosis were enrolled into the Molecular Epidemiology Resource (MER) of the University of Iowa/Mayo Clinic Lymphoma Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE). Demographics, clinical variables, type of tissue biopsy (EB vs. core needle biopsy (CNB)) for initial diagnosis and initial treatment were recorded at baseline. Pts were contacted every 6 months from the date of diagnosis for first 3 years and then annually thereafter. Study objectives were event free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) by tissue biopsy method. Results: A total of 1061 patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL, from 2002 to 2015, were included. The table lists baseline characteristics of the cohort. 593 (56%) pts underwent EB and 468 (44%) underwent CNB for initial diagnosis. A significantly higher proportion of patients receiving CNB had performance status >=2, advanced stage, high risk disease by international prognostic index (IPI), abnormal lactate dehydrogenase. Median time from diagnosis to treatment initiation (DTI) was significantly shorter in the CNB group (13 days) than EB group (19 days). 2-year EFS (60% vs 75%, HR 0.75 (0.6-0.9), p <0.01) was significantly lower in CNB than EB group. There was a trend towards lower OS (75% vs 80%, HR: 0.8 (0.6-0.95), p =0.049) in CNB than EB group. Conclusions: Patients undergoing CNB are more likely to have higher risk disease, shorter DTI and survival compared to those undergoing EB. A need for large amount of diagnostic tissue in biomarker driven clinical trials may result in disproportional exclusion of high risk DLBCL pts who have inferior outcomes after standard treatment and could potentially benefit from novel agents, resulting in overperformance of the control arm. The need for tissue must be carefully balanced against resulting selection bias.[Table: see text]

AbstractThe development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in long‐term survivors of lymphoma is of increasing importance. Here, we characterize the cumulative incidence and risk factors for CVD in lymphoma patients diagnosed in the current treatment era. From 2002–2015, newly diagnosed lymphoma patients (>18 years) were enrollment into a prospective cohort study that captured incident CVD, consisting of congestive heart failure (CHF), acute coronary syndrome (ACS), valvular heart disease (VHD), and arrhythmia. The cumulative incidence of CVD was calculated with death modeled as a competing risk. We estimated the association of treatment with anthracyclines or radiotherapy and traditional CVD risk factors with incidence of CVD using hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) estimated from Cox regression. After excluding prevalent CVD at lymphoma diagnosis, the study consisted of 3063 patients with a median age of 59 years (range 18–95). The cumulative incidence of CVD at 10‐years was 10.7% (95% CI, 9.5%–12.1%). In multivariable analysis, increasing age (HR = 1.05 per year, p < 0.001), male sex (HR = 1.36, p = 0.02), current smoker (HR = 2.10, p < 0.001), BMI > 30 kg/m2 (HR = 1.45, p = 0.01), and any anthracycline treatment (HR = 1.57, p < 0.001) were all significantly associated with risk of CVD. Anthracyclines were associated with increased risk of CHF (HR = 2.71, p < 0.001) and arrhythmia (HR = 1.61, p < 0.01), but not VHD (HR = 0.84, p = 0.58) or ACS (HR = 1.32, p = 0.24) after adjustment for CVD risk factors. Even in the modern treatment era, CVD remains common in lymphoma survivors and preventive efforts are required that address both treatment and CVD risk factors.