Citations

Abstract Most patients with solitary bone plasmacytomas (SBP) progress to multiple myeloma (MM) after definitive radiation therapy as their primary treatment. Whether the presence of high-risk (HR) cytogenetic abnormalities by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in the clonal plasma cells, obtained either directly from the diagnostic SBP tissue or the corresponding bone marrow examination at the time of diagnosis, is associated with a shorter time to progression (TTP) to MM is unknown. This study evaluated all patients diagnosed with SBP at the Mayo Clinic from January 2012 to July 2022. The presence of del(17p), t(14;16), t(4;14), or +1q (gain or amplification) by FISH in clonal plasma cells was defined as HR. A total of 114 patients were included in this cohort, and baseline FISH was available for 55 patients (48%), of which 22 were classified as HR (40%). The median TTP to MM for patients with SBP and HR FISH was 8 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 6.3-26) compared with 42 months (95% CI, 25-not reached [NR]) in patients with SBP without HR FISH (P < .001). In a multivariate analysis, only HR FISH was a significant predictor for shorter TTP to MM, independent of minimal marrow involvement and an abnormal serum free light chain ratio at diagnosis. Deletion (17p) and gain 1q abnormalities were the most common FISH abnormalities responsible for the short TTP to MM. Thus, assessing for HR FISH abnormalities in clonal plasma cells derived from either the diagnostic SBP tissue or the staging bone marrow examination of patients with newly diagnosed SBP is feasible and prognostic for a shorter TTP to MM.

TFEB-amplified renal cell carcinoma (RCC), which belongs to the MITF family of RCC, is characterized by genomic amplification at the 6p21.1 locus where the TFEB gene is located. The vascular endothelial growth factor A and cyclin D3 genes are also located at this same locus. When tumors lack classic morphologic features, they may be classified as “RCC not otherwise specified (NOS).” However, it is increasingly important to accurately diagnose the RCC subtype to define the patient's individual prognosis and select the subsequent therapeutic modalities, which now include targeted agents. Therefore, knowledge of the diagnostic features of TFEB-altered RCCs, such as t(6;11) RCCs and TFEB-amplified RCCs, is critical for identifying these tumors. Herein, we present an interesting case of TFEB-amplified RCC that was initially diagnosed as RCC NOS on biopsy of a renal tumor in a community practice setting with available molecular findings demonstrating CCND3 amplification. The genetic abnormality was “accidentally” detected due to the amplification of the colocated CCND3 gene at the 6p21 locus of the TFEB gene on a limited genetic sequencing panel. This case highlights the importance of molecular tests in accurately diagnosing RCC and carefully interpreting molecular findings in the context of histomorphologic features.

e19078 Background: MECOM (EVI1) rearrangements in MDS/AML are rare and carry an unfavorable prognosis. Although allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) may prolong survival, factors impacting outcomes are not known. We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients with MECOM (EVI1) to associate clinicopathologic variables with prognosis. Methods: This study was approved by the Mayo Clinic IRB. Patients >18 years of age with MDS or AML and MECOM EVI1 at Mayo Clinic between 01/2012 and 12/2022 were included. Response was defined by ELN criteria. Intensive chemotherapy was defined as 7+3 or high dose cytarabine. Non-intensive chemotherapy included hypomethylating agents with or without venetoclax. Median overall survival (OS) and median leukemia free survival (LFS) were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Outcome differences between sub-groups and univariate analyses were assessed with Cox regression. Results: Sixty patients met criteria for inclusion. Sixty-three percent (n = 38) were male and the median age at diagnosis was 67.8 yrs (range, 56 – 75). Eighty percent had AML (n = 48) and 18% had MDS (n = 11). Sixty-seven percent of patients had secondary AML/MDS (n = 40). Inv(3)/t(3;3) was present in 65% (n = 39) and t(3;21) was present in 12% (n = 7). Thirty-eight percent (n = 23) of patients had cooccurring monosomy 7 or 7q deletion and 5% had complex karyotype (n = 3). SF3B1 was the most common cooccurring mutation in 31% (n = 10), followed by KRAS in 19% (n = 6). Thirty-eight percent of patients (n = 23) received intensive chemotherapy. Complete response (CR) rates were 36% with intensive treatment (n = 8) and 4% with non-intensive treatment (n = 1; p = 0.007). Thirty percent (n = 18) underwent SCT (78% in CR1 and 22% in CR2) and of those, myeloablative conditioning (MAC) was used in 38% while 61% received reduced intensity conditioning (RIC). The mOS in the entire cohort was 11 months (95% CI 6.2, 17). Patients who received a SCT had longer mOS compared to patients who did not (19 vs 6.2 months, HR = 0.31, 95% CI 0.16,0.64; p = 0.001). AML-MRC was a poor prognostic factor in the HCST group for OS (HR = 4.23, 95% CI 1.02, 17.5, p = 0.047). Intensive vs. non-intensive chemotherapy, response prior to transplant (CR vs. no CR), or having 2 or more mutations on NGS did not significantly impact OS or LFS. Conclusions: In line with previous reports, allo-HSCT was associated with improved survival outcomes. Our results showed a high frequency of secondary AML/MDS, but only AML-MRC was associated with decreased survival outcomes. Regardless of therapy type, outcomes were poor. Novel therapies are urgently needed for these patients.

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.

Abstract Myeloma is a neoplasia characterized by the accumulation of malignant plasma cells in the bone marrow. In these studies, we have demonstrated that CD40 is expressed in human myeloma cells and have used a recently established IL-6-dependent myeloma cell line, ANBL-6, to examine the potential function of CD40 expression in myeloma cells. In addition to its expression on the ANBL-6 cells, we show that CD40 is expressed on freshly isolated myeloma cells from seven of seven patients tested. To address the role of CD40 expression in myeloma cells, we have examined the responsiveness of the ANBL-6 cell line to a CD40-specific mAb, G28-5. This cell line has previously been shown to proliferate only in response to IL-6. Of interest in this study, G28-5 also induced proliferation of the ANBL-6 cells. This proliferation was substantially inhibited by an IL-6-neutralizing mAb. Analysis of ANBL-6 cell culture supernatants by ELISA demonstrated that G28-5-stimulated cells secreted significant levels of IL-6, whereas unstimulated cell culture supernatants contained undetectable levels of IL-6. Furthermore, CV-1/EBNA cells expressing the human CD40 ligand also induced the proliferation of the ANBL-6 cell line, an effect that was inhibited by the anti-IL-6 mAb. Lastly, RNA blot analysis demonstrated an increase in IL-6 message in G28-5-stimulated ANBL-6 cells over unstimulated cells. These results indicate that the primary mechanism of anti-CD40-stimulated proliferation of the ANBL-6 cells is the induction of autocrine IL-6 production. Moreover, these data suggest that the expression of CD40 in malignant plasma cells may play a role in tumor cell expansion, possibly by stimulating the induction of autocrine IL-6 secretion.

Abstract Multiple myeloma (MM) develops from well-defined precursor stages; however, invasive bone marrow (BM) biopsy limits screening and monitoring strategies for patients. We enumerated circulating tumor cells (CTC) from 261 patients (84 monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, 155 smoldering multiple myeloma, and 22 MM), with neoplastic cells detected in 84%. We developed a novel approach, MinimuMM-seq, which enables the detection of translocations and copy-number abnormalities through whole-genome sequencing of highly pure CTCs. Application to CTCs in a cohort of 51 patients, 24 with paired BM, was able to detect 100% of clinically reported BM biopsy events and could replace molecular cytogenetics for diagnostic yield and risk classification. Longitudinal sampling of CTCs in 8 patients revealed major clones could be tracked in the blood, with clonal evolution and shifting dynamics of subclones over time. Our findings provide proof of concept that CTC detection and genomic profiling could be used clinically for monitoring and managing disease in MM. Significance: In this study, we established an approach enabling the enumeration and sequencing of CTCs to replace standard molecular cytogenetics. CTCs harbored the same pathognomonic MM abnormalities as BM plasma cells. Longitudinal sampling of serial CTCs was able to track clonal dynamics over time and detect the emergence of high-risk genetic subclones. This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 247