Progression-free survival after front line, second line and third line in patients with follicular lymphoma treated in clinical practice.

BACKGROUND: The modern-day therapeutic landscape for follicular lymphoma (FL) includes a number of highly effective therapies. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We set out to determine progression-free survival (PFS) after front line, second line, and third line of therapy on the basis of relevant biological characteristics and therapeutic choices. Patients (n = 743, 51% females, median 60 years old) diagnosed with grade 1-2 FL between 1997 and 2016 in nine institutions were included. RESULTS: The median PFS1, PFS2, and PFS3 were 8.1 years (95% confidence interval [CI]: 7-9.3 years), 4.2 years (95% CI: 2.8-5.6 years) and 2.2 years (95% CI 1.7-2.8 years). We found longer PFS1 for (1) females, (2) younger age, (3) lower-risk follicular lymphoma international prognostic index (FLIPI), (4) standard intensity (over low intensity) regimens and (5) immunochemotherapy strategies and (6) maintenance rituximab. We found a shorter PFS2 for patients who received front-line immunochemotherapy. Older age at diagnosis correlated with a shorter PFS3. Intensity of front-line chemotherapy, maintenance, or POD24 status did not correlate with PFS2 or PFS3 in this dataset. INTERPRETATION: With current immunochemotherapy strategies, the natural course of FL is characterized by shorter-lasting remissions after each relapse. It will be interesting to see whether new therapies can alter this pattern.

Real-World Evidence of Relapsed/Refractory Mantle Cell Lymphoma Patients and Treatments: A Systematic Review.

Introduction: Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is an incurable disease with an aggressive clinical course, and most patients eventually relapse after chemotherapy. Targeted therapies developed for relapsed/refractory MCL have been approved based on clinical trial data. However, real-world setting data are scarce and scattered. Areas Covered: This systematic review aimed to collect, synthesize, and describe the characteristics and treatment outcomes of patients with relapsed/refractory MCL after receiving a second or subsequent line of therapy in the real-world setting. Expert Opinion: R/R MCL is clinically and biologically heterogeneous and still represents a therapeutic challenge, with high-risk and early relapsed patients remaining an unmet medical need. This systematic review is limited by the quality of the available data and the difficulty of comparing outcomes in R/R MCL due to the heterogeneity of the disease, but the results suggest that covalent BTKis should be positioned as second-line therapy, followed by CAR T-cells in BTK-i-relapsed patients. Chemo-free and combination therapies with established chemoimmunotherapy backbones in the relapsed and front-line settings have been recently developed, and front-line options are being improved to move targeted and cellular therapies to earlier lines, including front-line therapy, in elderly and younger fit patients. In the upcoming years, many new targeted agents will play an important role and will be incorporated to the routine practice as their sequence, and outcomes in unselected patients are determined.

Front-line and second-line treatment for mantle cell lymphoma in clinical practice: A multicenter retrospective analysis.

BACKGROUND: There are few reports of clinical practice treatment patterns and efficacy in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively studied a large, multicenter, cohort of patients with MCL diagnosed between 2000 and 2020 in eight institutions. RESULTS: 536 patients were registered (73% male, median of 70 years). Front-line treatment was based on high-dose cytarabine, bendamustine, and anthracyclines in 42%, 12%, and 15%, respectively. The median PFS for all patients was 45 months; 68, 34, and 30 months for those who received high-dose cytarabine-based, bendamustine-based and anthracycline-based therapy. 204 patients received second-line. Bendamustine-based treatment was the most common second-line regimen (36% of patients). The median second-line PFS (sPFS) for the entire cohort was 14 months; 19, 24, and 31 for bendamustine-, platinum-, and high-dose cytarabine-based regimens, with broad confidence intervals for these latter estimates. Patients treated with cytarabine-based therapies in the front-line and those with front-line PFS longer than 24 months had a substantially superior sPFS. CONCLUSION: Front-line treatment in this cohort of MCL was as expected and with a median PFS of over 3.5 years. Second-line treatment strategies were heterogeneous and the median second-line PFS was little over 1 year.

Efficacy and safety of mRNA1273 SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients: Single center experience.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 represents a worldwide pandemic and vaccination remains the most effective preventive strategy. Among hematological patients, COVID-19 has been associated with a high mortality rate. Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 has shown high efficacy in reducing community transmission, hospitalization and deaths related to severe COVID-19 disease. However, patients with impaired immunity may have lower sero-responsiveness to vaccination. METHODS: This study focuses on hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) recipients. We performed a unicenter, prospective, observational study of a cohort of 31 allogeneic and 56 autologous-HSCT recipients monitored between March 2021 and May 2021 for serological response after COVID-19 vaccination with two doses of mRNA1273 vaccine (Moderna). In order to determine seroconversion, serological status before vaccination was studied. RESULTS: At a median range of 75 days after the second vaccine dose, seroconversion rates were 84% and 85% for the autologous and allogeneic-HSCT groups, respectively. We confirmed some potential risk factors for a negative serological response, such as receiving anti-CD20 therapy in the previous year before vaccination, a low B-lymphocyte count and hypogammaglobulinemia. Neutralizing antibodies were quantified in 44 patients, with a good correlation with serological tests. Adverse events were minimal. CONCLUSION: mRNA1273 vaccination is safe and effective in HSCT recipients, especially in those presenting recovered immunity.

Diagnosis of erythroid dysplasia by flow cytometry: a review.

INTRODUCTION: The diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is complex. Flow cytometric analysis of the myelomonocytic compartment can be helpful, but it is highly subjective and reproducibility by non-specialized groups is unclear. Analysis of the erythroid lineage by flow cytometry is emerging as potentially more reproducible and easier to conduct, while keeping a high diagnostic performance. AREAS COVERED: We review the evidence in this area, including 1) the use of well-established markers - CD71 and CD36 - and other less well-established markers and parameters; 2) the use of flow cytometric scores for the erythroid lineage; and 3) additional aspects, including the emergence of computational tools and the roles of flow cytometry beyond diagnosis. Finally, we discuss the limitations with the current evidence, including 1) the impact of the sample processing protocol and reagents on the results, 2) the lack of a standard gating strategy, and 3) conceptualization and design issues in the available publications. EXPERT OPINION: We end by offering our recommendations for the current use - and our personal take on the value - of the analysis of erythroid lineage by flow cytometry.

Estimating the Lifetime Treatment Burden of Patients With Follicular Lymphoma: A Retrospective Study Using Real-World Multicenter Data.

PURPOSE: Although follicular lymphoma is characterized by long natural history and frequent relapses, data on the number of patients receiving subsequent therapy lines are scarce. To perform reliable health economical calculations for various treatment options, data regarding the lifetime number of therapy courses are needed. The purpose of this study was to use real-world data to create a model that could estimate the treatment burden over a 20-year period. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a 20-year simulation on the basis of retrospectively obtained multicenter data of 743 patients with follicular lymphoma. The simulation was carried out in two steps: First, a competing risk model on the basis of Weibull distribution was used to simulate the state transitions from diagnosis onward and from first-line therapy onward. Then, the data were completed by imputing on the basis of the existing data. Completion of data was repeated for 1,000 times to estimate reliability. RESULTS: In 20 years, 97% (2.5-97.5 percentile range: 96%-98%), 66% (61%-70%), 34% (30%-41%), and 15% (9%-18%) of the patients received first-line, second-line, third-line, and fourth-line therapies, respectively. The median number of therapy lines received by each patient was two. CONCLUSION: Despite long remissions, approximately two thirds of the patients receive at least two lines and one-third at least three lines of therapy during their lifetime.

HHV8 and EBV-negative primary effusion-based lymphoma: A case report of a new provisional entity and review of literature.

Key Clinical Message: HHV8- and EBV-negative primary effusion lymphoma is an extremely rare neoplasm involving body cavities without detectable tumor mass. It usually presents in elderly patients without known immunodeficiency. Compared to primary effusion lymphoma, it has a better prognosis.Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) is a rare non-Hodgkin lymphoma confined exclusively to body cavities without detectable tumor masses. The term PEL-like is an entity similar to PEL in clinical presentation but without relation to human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8). We report a case of HHV8- and EBV-negative primary effusion-based lymphoma.

Fast-screening flow cytometry method for detecting nanoplastics in human peripheral blood.

Plastic pollution is a global problem. Animals and humans can ingest and inhale plastic particles, with uncertain health consequences. Nanoplastics (NPs) are particles ranging from 1 nm to 1000 nm that result from the erosion or breakage of larger plastic debris, and can be highly polydisperse in physical properties and heterogeneous in composition. Potential effects of NPs exposure may be associated with alterations in the xenobiotic metabolism, nutrients absorption, energy metabolism, cytotoxicity, and behavior. In humans, no data on NPs absorptions has been reported previously. Given that their detection relies significantly on environmental exposure, we have prospectively studied the presence of NPs in human peripheral blood (PB). Specifically, we have used fluorescence techniques and nanocytometry, together with the staining of the lipophilic dye Nile Red (NR), to demonstrate that NPs can be accurately detected using flow cytometry.•Potential effects of nanoplastics exposure.•Fluorescence techniques and nanocytometry.•Accurate detection using flow cytometry.

FDG-PET/CT-guided rebiopsy may find clinically unsuspicious transformation of follicular lymphoma.

AIM: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the clinical impact of fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) followed by a new biopsy from the site with maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) in case of high maximal SUV values, in detecting clinically unsuspected histologic transformations (HT) of follicular lymphoma (FL). METHODS: This retrospective study included all the patients who had undergone FDG-PET/CT during primary diagnosis or relapse of FL between 2010 and 2020 at Oulu University Hospital. RESULTS: The diagnosis changed from an indolent disease to a transformed lymphoma in >10% (7/63) of the patients who underwent diagnostic FDG-PET/CT. The HT risk associated with high SUVmax (>10) was 24% (7 of 29 performed biopsies). Four out of these seven patients with verified HT had no previous clinical suspicion of transformation. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that a rebiopsy based on a high SUVmax in diagnostic FDG-PET/CT is valuable in detecting clinically unsuspected HT of FL.

Optimization of monocyte gating to quantify monocyte subsets for the diagnosis of chronic myelomonocytic leukemia.

BACKGROUND: The presence of >94% classical monocytes (MO1, CD14++/CD16-) in peripheral blood (PB) has an excellent performance for the diagnosis of chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML). However, the monocyte gating strategy is not well defined. The objective of the study was to compare monocyte gating strategies and propose an optimal one. METHODS: This is a prospective, single center study assessing monocyte subsets in PB. First, we compared monocyte subsets using 13 monocyte gating strategies in 10 samples. Then we developed our own 10 color tube and tested it on 124 patients (normal white blood cell counts, reactive monocytosis, CMML and a spectrum of other myeloid malignancies). Both conventional and computational (FlowSOM) analyses were used. RESULTS: Comparing different monocyte gating strategies, small but significant differences in %MO1 and percentually large differences in %MO3 (nonclassical monocytes) were found, suggesting that the monocyte gating strategy can impact monocyte subset quantification. Then, we designed a 10-color tube for this purpose (CD45/CD33/CD14/CD16/CD64/CD86/CD300/CD2/CD66c/CD56) and applied it to 124 patients. This tube allowed proper monocyte gating even in highly abnormal PB. Computational analysis found a higher %MO1 and lower %MO3 compared to conventional analysis. However, differences between conventional and computational analysis in both MO1 and MO3 were globally consistent and only minimal differences were observed when comparing the ranking of patients according to %MO1 or %MO3 obtained with the conventional versus the computational approach. CONCLUSIONS: The choice of monocyte gating strategy appears relevant for the monocyte subset distribution test. Our 10-color proposal allowed satisfactory monocyte gating even in highly abnormal PB. Computational analysis seems promising to increase reproducibility in monocyte subset quantification.

Survival of patients with mantle cell lymphoma in the rituximab era: Retrospective binational analysis between 2000 and 2020.

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a rare peripheral B-cell lymphoma characterised by eventual relapse and progression towards a more aggressive disease biology. With the introduction of rituximab- and cytarabine-based immunochemotherapy regimens, the prognosis of the disease has changed dramatically over the last two decades. To assess the real-world survival of patients with MCL, we used a population-based cohort of 564 patients with MCL who were diagnosed and treated between 2000 and 2020. Patient data were collected from seven Finnish treatment centres and one Spanish treatment centre. For the entire patient population, we report a 2-year overall survival (OS) rate of 77%, a 5-year OS of 58%, and a 10-year OS of 32%. The estimated median OS was 80 months after diagnosis. MCL is associated with increased mortality across the entire patient population. Additionally, we assessed the survival of patients after MCL relapse with the aim of establishing a cut-off point of prognostic significance. Based on our statistical analysis of survival after the first relapse, disease progression within 24 months of the initial diagnosis should be considered as a strong indicator of poor prognosis.

Erythrocyte lysing solutions have a detrimental effect in flow cytometric dendritic cell detection.

Flow cytometry (FCM) enumeration of peripheral blood dendritic cells (PBDCs) is a minimally invasive procedure extremely useful for immunological studies. Numbers of PBDCs vary depending on age, lifestyle, or in pathologies like cancer, leukemia or immunodeficiencies. Conventional methods for PBDC identification by FCM involve red blood cell lysis using either formaldehyde or ammonium chloride-based solutions. This specific procedure has been widely reported to cause a detrimental effect as well as an artifactual detection of target populations. Alternatively, minimal sample perturbation assays that avoid the use of erythrolytic solutions with centrifugation steps and preserve the native cellular state are simpler and more robust than conventional methods. In this study, we aimed to evaluate how conventional FCM assays can alter dendritic cell (DC) counting when compared with minimal sample perturbation protocols, in terms of absolute cell counting, percentage and stain index (SI) of PBDC subsets. We evaluated the use of three different erythrolytic solutions (CyLyse, OptiLyse C, and Pharm Lyse) on a series of n = 20 peripheral blood specimens for conventional and plasmacytoid DCs detection as well as for leukocyte and basophil detection. Our results showed a significant reduction of leukocytes and specifically, of DCs and basophils in terms of absolute number when using erythrolytic solutions. In conclusion, our study shows that PBDC counting is heavily affected when lysing solutions are used, indicating that these stellate-shaped populations appear to be more labile.

Methodological and conceptual challenges to the flow cytometric classification of leukemic lymphoproliferative disorders.

The diagnosis of leukemic B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders (B-LPDs) is made by integrating clinical, cytological, cytometric, cytogenetic, and molecular data. This leaves room for differences and inconsistencies between experts. In this study, we examine methodological and conceptual aspects of the flow cytometric classification of leukemic B-LPDs that could explain them. Among methodological aspects, we discuss (1) the different statistical tests used to select and evaluate markers, (2) how these markers are analyzed, (3) how scores are interpreted, (4) different degrees to which diagnostic information is used, and (5) and the impact of differences in study populations. Among conceptual aspects, we discuss (1) challenges to integrating different biological data points, (2) the under examination of the costs of misclassification (false positives and false negatives), and finally, (3) we delve into the impact of the lack of a true diagnostic gold standard and the indirect evidence suggesting poor reproducibility in the diagnosis of leukemic B-LPDs. We then outline current harmonization efforts and our personal approach. We conclude that numerous flow cytometry scores and diagnostic systems are now available; however, as long as the considerations discussed remain unaddressed, external reproducibility and interobserver agreement will not be achieved, and the field will not be able to move forward if a true gold standard is not found.

Impact of red blood cell lysing on rare event analysis.

The challenges associated with analyzing rare cells are dependent on a series of factors, which usually require large numbers of cells per sample for successful resolution. Among these is determining the minimum number of total events needed to be acquired as defined by the expected frequency of the target cell population. The choice of markers that identify the target population, as well as the event rate and the number of aborted events/second, will also determine the statistically significant detection of rare cell events. Sample preparation is another important but often overlooked factor in rare cell analysis, and in this study we examine Poisson theory and methods to determine the effect of sample manipulation on rare cell detection. After verifying the applicability of this theory, we have evaluated the potential impact of red cell lysis on rare cell analysis, and how cell rarity can be underestimated or overestimated based on erythrolytic sensitivity or resistance of healthy leukocytes and pathological rare cells.

Flow cytometry to detect bone marrow involvement by follicular lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: High-quality data on bone marrow involvement (BMI) assessed by flow cytometry (FC) in follicular lymphoma (FL) is lacking. AIMS: We set up a prospective protocol with a 10-color tube and acquisition of 500.000 leukocytes on a Nav flow cytometer for evaluation of BMI in FL by FC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: FC was compared with a combination of histopathology and IGH gene rearrangement, which were considered the gold standard. We also compared BMI by FC with PET. RESULTS: Fifty-two patients were included (median 67 years, 54% female). BMI by FC was seen in 35 (67%), with a median involvement of 1.2% (interquartile range: 0.3%-7%) of leukocytes. Comparison with the gold standard revealed two false negatives and two false positives (potentially true involvement undetected by the gold standard). BMI by PET was seen in 14/46 (30%). Immunophenotype of FL in the bone marrow was highly heterogeneous. The most common phenotypic abnormality was dim expression of CD19 (>0.5 log loss in 30% of patients). CD10 was negative in 13 (37%) and incompletely positive (overlap with the negative population) in a further 8 (28%) while entirely positive only in 14 (48%). Other abnormalities (loss of CD20, gain or loss of CD79b, expression of CD43, and substantial loss of CD45) were rare. Computational analysis by means of FlowSOM confirmed the heterogeneous phenotype, with FL from different patients clustering in unrelated metaclusters. CONCLUSION: BMI by FL was frequent and immunophenotype was heterogeneous. However, this protocol enabled detection of FL in bone marrow in the vast majority of patients with bone marrow involvement by the gold standard.