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Introduction Minimal residual disease (MRD) status at day 100 following autologous stem-cell transplant (ASCT) in multiple myeloma (MM) patients is an important determinant of prognosis. Bone marrow (BM) based assays, i.e. next-generation flow cytometry (NGF) or next-generation sequencing (NGS) that are currently used in determining MRD are vulnerable to sampling biases due to patchy marrow involvement and extramedullary disease. BM examination alone may lead to false-negative results. MRD assessment through newer, more sensitive peripheral blood based methodologies such as mass spectrometry (MS) can potentially overcome the limitations associated with BM based assays. At our institution, traditional immunofixation electrophoresis (IFE) has been replaced by a MS method termed Mass-Fix which utilizes the unique light chain mass associated with each patient's monoclonal protein to monitor disease over time. In this study, we assessed the prognostic impact of serum Mass-Fix MRD status in MM patients who were MRD negative by NGF around day 100 post-ASCT. Methods Patients with MM who underwent ASCT between 01/01/2015 and 12/31/2018 at Mayo Clinic, Rochester were included in this study provided they had attained post ASCT day 100 complete response (CR) by IMWG 2016 criteria and MRD- state as assessed by BM based NGF, utilizing 2 eight-color tubes (total 10 colors), with a minimum sensitivity 10-5. Presence of non-secretory MM and unavailability of pre-ASCT serum samples or serum IFE results were important exclusion criteria. Peripheral blood samples drawn concurrently with the BM assessment were evaluated by Mass-Fix as described previously (Mills et al., Clin. Chem, 2016). The isotype and mass of the M-protein light chain (LC) obtained by Mass-Fix were compared to the pre-ASCT M-protein LC and/or IFE isotype. Patients with the following genetic alterations: deletion 17p, translocation (4;14), (14;16), t(14;20) and1q gain/amplification and were considered high risk. All time-to event analyses were performed on JMP 14.1.0 from the time of ASCT using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results Sixty-two patients with MM (57 newly diagnosed and 5 relapsed/refractory) who underwent ASCT and were MRD- by BM based NGF around day 100 (range: day 60-120) were included in the study. Median age at ASCT was 61 (range: 40-76) years and 61% were males. Thirty (48%) patients had IgG MM, 15 (25%) patients had IgA MM and 17 (27%) patients had light chain only disease. Forty-one (66%) patients received bortezomib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone (VRD) as induction regimen. Median time from diagnosis to ASCT was 6 months (IQ range: 4.7-7.2). Pre-ASCT fluorescence in- situ hybridization data were available on 47 (76%) patients; 23 (49%) were high risk. Of 62 patients, all of whom were day 100 MRD- by NGF, 36 (58%) patients had Mass-Fix identified MRD (MRD+). MRD positivity by Mass-Fix around day 100 was observed in 70% of patients with high risk MM versus 71% of patients with standard risk MM, p=0.9. The median follow-up was 18 months (95%CI: 14-21); 19 months (95%CI: 15-21) for patients who were MRD+ by Mass-Fix versus 17 months (95%CI: 12-21) for those who were MRD- by Mass-Fix at day ~100, p=0.5. Of 57 (92%) patients who received post ASCT maintenance therapy, 32 (89%) were MRD+ and 25 (96%) were MRD- by Mass-Fix, p=0.5. Eighty-seven percent of patients with IgG MM had MRD+ status by Mass-Fix at day~100. By contrast, only 33% and 30% of patients with IgA MM and light chain MM, respectively, had MRD+ status at day 100; p<0.0001. This suggests that IgG half-life which is longer than that of IgA or free light chains may affect the day 100 MRD status. At 18 months, 76% and 93% of patients, who were MRD+ and MRD- , respectively by Mass-Fix were alive and free from disease progression, p=0.03 (Table 1, Figure 1a). At 18 months after ASCT, none of the patients who were MRD- by Mass-Fix required salvage treatment following ASCT while 25% of patients who were MRD+ by Mass-Fix required next line of therapy due to disease progression, p=0.05 (Table 1, Figure1b). Conclusion Our data suggest that outcomes [progression free survival (PFS) and time-to-next therapy (TTNT)] of patients with MM who are in CR, and have achieved MRD- state by BM NGF post ASCT, can be adversely impacted if there is concurrent evidence of serum monoclonal protein by Mass-Fix, thereby demonstrating incremental prognostic value of this sensitive assay in clinical practice. Disclosures Murray: The Binding Site: Patents & Royalties: US Patent Rights on Mass Spectroscopy Licensing agreement with The Binding Site, Research Funding. Dispenzieri:Akcea: Consultancy; Intellia: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy; Pfizer: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Alnylam: Research Funding. Dasari:The Binding Site: Patents & Royalties: US Patent Rights on Mass Spectroscopy Licensing agreement with The Binding Site, Research Funding. Gertz:Teva: Speakers Bureau; Alnylam: Consultancy; Prothena Biosciences Inc: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy; Spectrum: Consultancy, Research Funding; Annexon: Consultancy; Appellis: Consultancy; Johnson and Johnson: Speakers Bureau; DAVA oncology: Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Consultancy; Research to Practice: Consultancy; Abbvie: Other: personal fees for Data Safety Monitoring board; Physicians Education Resource: Consultancy; Medscape: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Springer Publishing: Patents & Royalties; Amyloidosis Foundation: Research Funding; International Waldenstrom Foundation: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Consultancy; Ionis/Akcea: Consultancy; Proclara: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; i3Health: Other: Development of educational programs and materials. Dingli:Karyopharm: Research Funding; Millenium: Consultancy; Rigel: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy; alexion: Consultancy. Lacy:Celgene: Research Funding. Leung:Omeros: Research Funding; Aduro: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Prothena: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Research Funding. Kumar:Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding. Kapoor:Takeda: Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria; Sanofi: Consultancy, Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding; Glaxo Smith Kline: Research Funding; Cellectar: Consultancy.

Abstract In glioblastoma (GBM), invasion and proliferation are reciprocally related—e.g., targeting one stimulates the other. Thus, effective therapy for GBM requires finding targets that drive both invasion and proliferation and which are druggable, ideally with FDA approved therapeutics. We find that the atypical protein kinase C isoform, PKCi meets these criteria. Using a human GBM tissue microarray, we find that PKCi protein expression fits a bimodal distribution, with >35% of GBMs showing high levels of PKCi expression. Genetic deletion of Prkci, the gene encoding mouse PKCi, impairs tumor invasion and proliferation both in vitro and in vivo, and significantly prolongs survival in an immunocompetent PDGF-driven orthotopic mouse model of GBM. PKCi can be selectively targeted with Auranofin, a small molecule PKCi inhibitor that has been FDA approved for treatment of inflammatory diseases. Like genetic deletion of Prkci Auranofin treatment significantly prolongs survival in our murine GBM model, and does so to a similar degree. Interestingly, analysis of a panel of human and murine GBM cells reveals that sensitivity to Auranofin inhibition of transformed growth directly correlates with expression of PKCi, indicating that PKCi expression profiling could serve as a predictive biomarker for responsiveness to Auranofin. However, genetically deleting or pharmacologically inactivating PKCi does not permanently arrest tumor growth, implying that GBM cells acquire mechanisms that allow them to compensate for the loss of this important signaling molecule. We are currently examining potential “escape” mechanisms through ‘omics-based approaches, which may enable us to enhance the therapeutic potential of Auranofin. Taken together, our results demonstrate that PKCi is a compelling therapeutic target for treatment of GBM that deserves further investigation.

Background: Celiac disease (CD) often presents with symptoms of diarrhea and malabsorption, termed classical CD. However, it can also present as nonclassical CD, which is commonly associated with nongastrointestinal symptoms. Studies suggest that nonclassical CD tends to have less severe symptoms than classical CD, which may affect both adherence to a gluten-free diet (GFD) and psychological stress. Therefore, we compared adherence to a GFD and psychological measures, including quality of life (QOL) and somatization, between patients with nonclassical and classical presentations of CD. Methods: Patients at a tertiary care center with biopsy-proven CD, who completed a Talley Bowel Disease Questionnaire and the Short Form-36 at diagnosis and who had been on a GFD for at least 1 year, were included in this study. Patients were further surveyed to assess gastrointestinal symptoms, QOL, Somatization Symptom Checklist (SSC), and adherence to a GFD. Results were compared between patients with classical versus nonclassical CD presentation. Results: Among 122 patients included in this study, 62 had classical CD and 60 had nonclassical CD. At diagnosis, health-related QOL was lower in the classical CD group than in the nonclassical CD group. After following a GFD, both groups had improved QOL after following a GFD, and body mass index significantly increased in both groups. Most subscales of QOL, SSC scores, and adherence to the GFD were similar between the groups, except the Short Form-36 Mental Component summary scores that were still lower in the classical CD (48.4 vs. 52.6 nonclassical CD group; P=0.03). Conclusions: Despite QOL at diagnosis being higher in those with nonclassical CD versus lower in those with classical CD, both groups had improved QOL and achieved a similar QOL after following a GFD.