Long-term results of Waldenström macroglobulinaemia treatment by bendamustine and rituximab: A study on behalf of the French Innovative Leukemia Organization (FILO).

The bendamustine-rituximab (BR) schedule is an efficient first-line therapy in Waldenström macroglobulinaemia (WM). A previous analysis of 69 patients who received this treatment confirmed a high response rate and good progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS). With a median follow-up of 76.1 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 69.9-80.6), 5-year outcome is still excellent at 66.63% (95% CI 56.09-79.17) for PFS and 80.01% (95% CI 70.82-90.41) for OS. The rate of secondary cancers is 17.66% (IQR 7.99-27.64) at 66 months. Relapsed patients who received ibrutinib as second-line clearly benefited from this schedule. This confirms current recommendations suggesting BR long-term efficacy as first-line option in WM.

Prognostic impact of genetic abnormalities in 536 first-line chronic lymphocytic leukaemia patients without 17p deletion treated with chemoimmunotherapy in two prospective trials: Focus on IGHV-mutated subgroups (a FILO study).

The potential prognostic influence of genetic aberrations on chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) can vary based on various factors, such as the immunoglobulin heavy variable (IGHV) status. We conducted an integrative analysis on genetic abnormalities identified through cytogenetics and targeted next-generation sequencing in 536 CLL patients receiving first-line chemo(immuno)therapies (CIT) as part of two prospective trials. We evaluated the prognostic implications of the main abnormalities, with specific attention to their relative impact according to IGHV status. In the entire cohort, unmutated (UM)-IGHV, complex karyotype, del(11q) and ATM mutations correlated significantly with shorter progression-free survival (PFS). Focusing on the subset of mutated IGHV (M-IGHV) patients, univariate analysis showed that complex karyotype, del(11q), SF3B1 and SAMHD1 mutations were associated with significant lower PFS. The prognostic influence varied based on the patient's IGHV status, as these abnormalities did not affect outcomes in the UM-IGHV subgroup. TP53 mutations had no significant impact on outcomes in the M-IGHV subgroup. Our findings highlight the diverse prognostic influence of genetic aberrations depending on the IGHV status in symptomatic CLL patients receiving first-line CIT. The prognosis of gene mutations and cytogenetic abnormalities needs to be investigated with a compartmentalized methodology, taking into account the IGVH status of patients receiving first-line BTK and/or BCL2 inhibitors.

Epstein-Barr Virus and immune status imprint the immunogenomics of non-Hodgkin lymphomas occurring in immune-suppressed environments.

Non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) commonly occur in immune-deficient (ID) patients, both HIV-infected and transplanted, and are often EBV-driven with cerebral localization, raising the question of tumor immunogenicity, a critical issue for treatment responses. We investigated the immunogenomics of 68 lymphoproliferative disorders from 51 ID (34 posttransplant, 17 HIV+) and 17 immunocompetent patients. Overall, 72% were Large B Cells Lymphoma (LBCL) and 25% were primary central-nervous-system lymphoma (PCNSL) while 40% were EBV-positive. Tumor whole-exome and RNA sequencing, along with a bioinformatics pipeline allowed analysis of tumor mutational burden (TMB), tumor landscape and microenvironment (TME) and prediction of tumor neoepitopes. Both TMB (2.2 vs 3.4/Mb, p=0.001) and neoepitopes numbers (40 vs 200, p=0.00019) were lower in EBVpositive than in EBV-negative NHL, regardless of the immune status. In contrast both EBV and the immune status influenced the tumor mutational profile, with HNRNPF and STAT3 mutations exclusively observed in EBV-positive and ID NHL, respectively. Peripheral blood T-cell responses against tumor neoepitopes were detected in all EBV-negative cases but in only half EBV-positive ones, including responses against IgH-derived MHC-class-II restricted neoepitopes. The TME analysis showed higher CD8 T cell infiltrates in EBVpositive vs EBV-negative NHL, together with a more tolerogenic profile composed of Tregs, type-M2 macrophages and an increased expression of negative immune-regulators. Our results highlight that the immunogenomics of NHL in patients with immunodeficiency primarily relies on the tumor EBV status, while T cell recognition of tumor- and IgH-specific neoepitopes is conserved in EBV-negative patients, offering potential opportunities for future T cell-based immune therapies.

Final results on effectiveness and safety of Ibrutinib in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia from the non-interventional FIRE study.

We conducted an observational study (FIRE) to understand the effectiveness and safety outcomes of ibrutinib in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in France, after a maximum follow-up of five years. Patients were included according to the French marketing authorization in 2016 (i.e. patients with relapsed or refractory CLL or to previously untreated CLL patients with deletion 17p and/or tumor protein p53 mutations unsuitable for chemoimmunotherapy) and could have initiated ibrutinib more than 30 days prior their enrolment in the study (i.e. retrospective patients) or between 30 days before and 14 days after their enrolment (i.e. prospective patients). The results showed that in the effectiveness population (N = 388), the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 53.1 (95% CI: 44.5-60.5) months for retrospective patients and 52.9 (95% CI: 40.3-60.6) months for prospective patients and no difference was shown between the PFS of patients who had at least one dose reduction versus the PFS of patients without dose reduction (p = 0.7971 for retrospective and p = 0.3163 for prospective patients). For both retrospective and prospective patients, the median overall survival was not reached. The most frequent treatment-emergent adverse event of interest was infections (57.6% retrospective; 71.4% prospective). A total of 14.6% of the retrospective patients and 22.4% of the prospective patients had an adverse event leading to death. Our findings on effectiveness were consistent with other studies and the fact that patients with dose reductions had similar PFS than patients without dose reduction is reassuring. No additional safety concerns than those already mentioned in previous studies could be noticed.Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03425591. Registered 1 February 2018 - Retrospectively registered.

Health-related quality of life in patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia: results from the ASPEN trial.

Aim ASPEN is a randomized, open-label, Phase III study comparing zanubrutinib and ibrutinib in patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM).Materials & methods: Patient-reported outcomes were exploratory end points assessed using the EORTC QLQ-C30 and EQ-5D-5L VAS scores.Results: Overall, 201 patients (102 zanubrutinib; 99 ibrutinib) were enrolled. Clinically meaningful differences were observed in diarrhea and nausea/vomiting in both the intent-to-treat population and in patients attaining very good partial response (VGPR) in earlier cycles of treatment, as well as in long-term physical functioning and fatigue in patients achieving VGPR.Conclusion: Treatment with zanubrutinib was associated with greater improvements in health-related quality of life compared with ibrutinib in patients with WM and MYD88 mutations.Clinical Trial Registration: NCT03053440 (ClinicalTrials.gov).

Patient quality of life is importantWhat is this article about? This article talks about a study called the ASPEN trial, which compares two medicines used for treating a rare blood cancer that doctors call Waldenström macroglobulinemia. The medicines are called zanubrutinib (ZAN) and ibrutinib (IBR). They work in the same way, by blocking a protein called Bruton tyrosine kinase. When patients take medicines for an illness, it is important to learn about their physical, social, emotional and mental well-being (quality of life). In this study, we asked patients to fill out questionnaires about their well-being before starting the study treatment for their blood cancer, and again a few times while taking the medication, to see if there were any changes.What were the results of the study? There were two groups of patients. One group took ZAN and the other took IBR. The patients could not choose which medicine they were going to take. Results from both groups of patients were compared. Patients taking ZAN did not feel worse or better about their diarrhea and sickness, but those taking IBR said these symptoms had become worse. Both medicines improved how patients were feeling. However, improvement in tiredness and physical ability was larger in patients taking ZAN than those on IBR, especially for the patients whose cancer was getting better.What do the results mean? For patients with a rare blood cancer in this study, those taking ZAN had a better quality of life than those taking IBR.

A fixed-duration, measurable residual disease-guided approach in CLL: follow-up data from the phase 2 ICLL-07 FILO trial.

Trials assessing first-line, fixed-duration approaches in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) are yielding promising activity, but few long-term data are available. We report follow-up data from a phase 2 trial (ICLL07 FILO) in previously untreated, medically fit patients (N = 135). Patients underwent obinutuzumab-ibrutinib induction for 9 months; then, following evaluation (N = 130 evaluable), those in complete remission and with bone marrow measurable residual disease (BM MRD) <0.01% (n = 10) received ibrutinib for 6 additional months; those in partial remission and/or with BM MRD ≥0.01%, the majority (n = 120), also received 4 cycles of immunochemotherapy (fludarabine/cyclophosphamide-obinutuzumab). Beyond end of treatment, responses were assessed every 3 month and peripheral blood MRD every 6 months. At median follow-up 36.7 months from treatment start, progression-free and overall survival rates (95% confidence interval) at 3 years were 95.7% (92.0% to 99.5%) and 98% (95.1% to 100%), respectively. Peripheral blood MRD <0.01% rates were 97%, 96%, 90%, 84%, and 89% at months 16, 22, 28, 34, and 40, respectively. No new treatment-related or serious adverse event occurred beyond end of treatment. Thus, in previously untreated, medically fit patients with CLL, a fixed-duration (15 months), MRD-guided approach achieved high survival rates, a persistent MRD benefit beyond the end of treatment, and low long-term toxicity. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT02666898.

Neurolymphomatosis: involvement of peripheral nervous system revealing hematologic malignancy, a report of nine cases.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Neurolymphomatosis is defined as an infiltration of the peripheral nervous system (PNS) by malignant lymphoma cells. It is a rare entity and diagnosis is complicated especially when PNS involvement is the initial and leading symptom. To improve knowledge of the disorder and shorten the time to diagnosis, we report a series of nine patients without a history of hematologic malignancy, who were diagnosed with neurolymphomatosis after evaluation and workup of peripheral neuropathy. METHODS: The patients were included from the Department of Clinical Neurophysiology at Pitié Salpêtrière and Nancy Hospitals over a period of 15 years. Diagnosis of neurolymphomatosis was confirmed by histopathologic examination for each patient. We characterized their clinical, electrophysiological, biological, imaging, and histopathologic features. RESULTS: The neuropathy was characterized by pain (78%), proximal involvement (44%) or of all four limbs (67%), asymmetrical or with multifocal distribution (78%), abundant fibrillation (78%), a tendency to worsen rapidly, and significant associated weight loss (67%). Neurolymphomatosis was diagnosed principally on nerve biopsy (89%) identifying infiltration of lymphoid cells, atypical cells (78%), a monoclonal population (78%), and supported by fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography, spine or plexus MRI, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, and blood lymphocyte immunophenotyping. Six patients had systemic disease and three impairment limited to the PNS. In the latter case, progression could be unpredictable and may be diffuse and explosive, sometimes occurring years after a seemingly indolent course. INTERPRETATION: This study provides better knowledge and understanding of neurolymphomatosis when neuropathy is the initial presentation.

Plain Language Summary of the iNNOVATE study: ibrutinib plus rituximab is well-tolerated and effective in people with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia.

WHAT IS THIS SUMMARY ABOUT?: This article provides a short summary of 5-year results from the iNNOVATE trial. The original paper was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in October 2021. People with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (WM) were randomly divided into two groups of 75 people each. One group received a combination treatment composed of two drugs, ibrutinib plus rituximab, and the other group took placebo ("sugar pill") plus rituximab. Ibrutinib (also known by the brand name Imbruvica®) is a drug that reduces cancer cells' ability to multiply and survive. Ibrutinib is an FDA-approved drug for the treatment of WM. Rituximab is a drug that helps the immune system find and kill cancer cells. Participants in the trial were treated and their health monitored for up to 5 years (63 months). WHAT WERE THE RESULTS?: During the 5 years of monitoring, more people who took ibrutinib plus rituximab experienced an improvement in their disease and lived longer without their disease getting worse compared to those who took placebo plus rituximab. Side effects from ibrutinib and rituximab were manageable and generally decreased over time. Participants in both study groups reported improvements in quality of life, but those who took ibrutinib plus rituximab reported significantly greater improvement in their quality of life (as measured by FACT-An score) compared to those who took placebo plus rituximab. WHAT DO THE RESULTS MEAN?: These results show that ibrutinib plus rituximab is better than rituximab alone in people with WM and that ibrutinib plus rituximab is safe and effective in the long term. This information confirms the role of ibrutinib plus rituximab as a standard of care for WM. Clinical Trial Registration: NCT02165397 (ClinicalTrials.gov).

Immunochemotherapy versus rituximab in anti-myelin-associated glycoprotein neuropathy: A report of 64 patients.

Monoclonal immunoglobulin M (IgM) anti-myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) neuropathy is a rare disabling condition, most commonly treated with rituximab monotherapy (R), which leads to neurological improvement in only 30%-50% of patients. The combination of rituximab plus chemotherapy has been proven to improve the level of responses. We studied the outcomes of anti-MAG neuropathy patients treated either by R, or by immunochemotherapy (ICT) in our centre, focusing on the incidence of the first neurological response evaluated by the modified Rankin scale (mRS). From 2011 to 2018, 64 patients were studied: 34 were treated with R and 30 with ICT. According to our treatment decision-making process, the median mRS was higher in the ICT group (mRS 2) than in the R group (mRS 1). At one year, improvements of the mRS rates were 46% and 18% in the ICT and R groups of patients respectively, with median times to response of eight and 13 months (p = 0.023). Adverse effects were higher in the ICT group: 62% vs 15% (p Ë‚ 0.01), all grades included. One secondary acute leukaemia occurred five years after treatment with ICT. In conclusion, ICT may be used as a valid option for patients with rapidly progressive and/or severe anti-MAG neuropathy symptoms.

CANOMAD: a neurological monoclonal gammopathy of clinical significance that benefits from B-cell-targeted therapies.

CANOMAD (chronic ataxic neuropathy, ophthalmoplegia, immunoglobulin M [IgM] paraprotein, cold agglutinins, and disialosyl antibodies) is a rare syndrome characterized by chronic neuropathy with sensory ataxia, ocular, and/or bulbar motor weakness in the presence of a monoclonal IgM reacting against gangliosides containing disialosyl epitopes. Data regarding associated hematologic malignancies and effective therapies in CANOMAD are scarce. We conducted a French multicenter retrospective study that included 45 patients with serum IgM antibodies reacting against disialosyl epitopes in the context of evocating neurologic symptoms. The main clinical features were sensitive symptoms (ataxia, paresthesia, hypoesthesia; n = 45, 100%), motor weakness (n = 18, 40%), ophthalmoplegia (n = 20, 45%), and bulbar symptoms (n = 6, 13%). Forty-five percent of the cohort had moderate to severe disability (modified Rankin score, 3-5). Cold agglutinins were identified in 15 (34%) patients. Electrophysiologic studies showed a demyelinating or axonal pattern in, respectively, 60% and 27% of cases. All patients had serum monoclonal IgM gammopathy (median, 2.6 g/L; range, 0.1-40 g/L). Overt hematologic malignancies were diagnosed in 16 patients (36%), with the most frequent being Waldenström macroglobulinemia (n = 9, 20%). Forty-one patients (91%) required treatment of CANOMAD. Intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIg) and rituximab-based regimens were the most effective therapies with, respectively, 53% and 52% of partial or better clinical responses. Corticosteroids and immunosuppressive drugs were largely ineffective. Although more studies are warranted to better define the optimal therapeutic sequence, IVIg should be proposed as the standard of care for first-line treatment and rituximab-based regimens for second-line treatment. These compiled data argue for CANOMAD to be included in neurologic monoclonal gammopathy of clinical significance.

Identification of 2 DNA methylation subtypes of Waldenström macroglobulinemia with plasma and memory B-cell features.

Epigenetic changes during B-cell differentiation generate distinct DNA methylation signatures specific for B-cell subsets, including memory B cells (MBCs) and plasma cells (PCs). Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) is a B-cell malignancy uniquely comprising a mixture of lymphocytic and plasmacytic phenotypes. Here, we integrated genome-wide DNA methylation, transcriptome, mutation, and phenotypic features of tumor cells from 35 MYD88-mutated WM patients in relation to normal plasma and B-cell subsets. Patients naturally segregate into 2 groups according to DNA methylation patterns, related to normal MBC and PC profiles, and reminiscent of other memory and PC-derived malignancies. Concurrent analysis of DNA methylation changes in normal and WM development captured tumor-specific events, highlighting a selective reprogramming of enhancer regions in MBC-like WM and repressed and heterochromatic regions in PC-like WM. MBC-like WM hypomethylation was enriched in motifs belonging to PU.1, TCF3, and OCT2 transcription factors and involved elevated MYD88/TLR pathway activity. PC-like WM displayed marked global hypomethylation and selective overexpression of histone genes. Finally, WM subtypes exhibited differential genetic, phenotypic, and clinical features. MBC-like WM harbored significantly more clonal CXCR4 mutations (P = .015), deletion 13q (P = .006), splenomegaly (P = .02), and thrombocytopenia (P = .004), whereas PC-like WM harbored more deletion 6q (P = .012), gain 6p (P = .033), had increased frequencies of IGHV3 genes (P = .002), CD38 expression (P = 4.1e-5), and plasmacytic differentiation features (P = .008). Together, our findings illustrate a novel approach to subclassify WM patients using DNA methylation and reveal divergent molecular signatures among WM patients.

A randomized phase 3 trial of zanubrutinib vs ibrutinib in symptomatic Waldenström macroglobulinemia: the ASPEN study.

Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibition is an effective treatment approach for patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM). The phase 3 ASPEN study compared the efficacy and safety of ibrutinib, a first-generation BTK inhibitor, with zanubrutinib, a novel highly selective BTK inhibitor, in patients with WM. Patients with MYD88L265P disease were randomly assigned 1:1 to treatment with ibrutinib or zanubrutinib. The primary end point was the proportion of patients achieving a complete response (CR) or a very good partial response (VGPR) by independent review. Key secondary end points included major response rate (MRR), progression-free survival (PFS), duration of response (DOR), disease burden, and safety. A total of 201 patients were randomized, and 199 received ≥1 dose of study treatment. No patient achieved a CR. Twenty-nine (28%) zanubrutinib patients and 19 (19%) ibrutinib patients achieved a VGPR, a nonstatistically significant difference (P = .09). MRRs were 77% and 78%, respectively. Median DOR and PFS were not reached; 84% and 85% of ibrutinib and zanubrutinib patients were progression free at 18 months. Atrial fibrillation, contusion, diarrhea, peripheral edema, hemorrhage, muscle spasms, and pneumonia, as well as adverse events leading to treatment discontinuation, were less common among zanubrutinib recipients. Incidence of neutropenia was higher with zanubrutinib, although grade ≥3 infection rates were similar in both arms (1.2 and 1.1 events per 100 person-months). These results demonstrate that zanubrutinib and ibrutinib are highly effective in the treatment of WM, but zanubrutinib treatment was associated with a trend toward better response quality and less toxicity, particularly cardiovascular toxicity.

In situ off-line extracorporeal photopheresis conducted in a real-life situation at a Hemobiotherapy Department in France: A comparison of costs vs on-line procedure.

BACKGROUND: The off-line extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) procedure requires photosensitization in an external cell therapy laboratory as per the French regulatory requirement. This regulation results in higher time and costs compared with the on-line alternative performed entirely at the patient's bedside. Recently, full in situ execution of the off-line procedure has been implemented in the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital Hemobiotherapy Department (Paris, France). This report summarizes the center's experience regarding the organizational and costs impacts of this change compared with the on-line procedure. MATERIAL AND METHODS: ECP was broken down into stages, and several procedures were monitored prospectively in real-life settings. The total costs associated with both procedures were the sum of the fixed costs and variable costs related to all stages of the procedures, nursing-time costs, property costs, and patient-related production loss costs. RESULTS: Eight off-line ECP and fourteen on-line ECP procedures were monitored during five consecutive days. Procedure duration was not different (median 137.5 vs 154.0 minutes, P = .29). Times and costs associated with nursing were higher but offset by lower fixed costs of the off-line ECP. Total direct costs per procedure associated with using the off-line ECP were significantly lower than those of the on-line procedure (459.6 ± 7.1 EUR vs 953.8 ± 6.5 EUR; P = .0002). Similar results were observed when including the costs of patient production loss. CONCLUSIONS: As a competitive time procedure, the in situ off-line method proved to be cost-efficient by effectively offering similar patient treatment per year compared with the on-line procedure.

Distinct immunopathological mechanisms of EBV-positive and EBV-negative posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders.

EBV-positive and EBV-negative posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLDs) arise in different immunovirological contexts and might have distinct pathophysiologies. To examine this hypothesis, we conducted a multicentric prospective study with 56 EBV-positive and 39 EBV-negative PTLD patients of the K-VIROGREF cohort, recruited at PTLD diagnosis and before treatment (2013-2019), and compared them to PTLD-free Transplant Controls (TC, n = 21). We measured absolute lymphocyte counts (n = 108), analyzed NK- and T cell phenotypes (n = 49 and 94), and performed EBV-specific functional assays (n = 16 and 42) by multiparameter flow cytometry and ELISpot-IFNγ assays (n = 50). EBV-negative PTLD patients, NK cells overexpressed Tim-3; the 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) was poorer in patients with a CD4 lymphopenia (CD4+ <300 cells/mm3 , p <  .001). EBV-positive PTLD patients presented a profound NK-cell lymphopenia (median = 60 cells/mm3 ) and a high proportion of NK cells expressing PD-1 (vs. TC, p = .029) and apoptosis markers (vs. TC, p < .001). EBV-specific T cells of EBV-positive PTLD patients circulated in low proportions, showed immune exhaustion (p = .013 vs. TC) and poorly recognized the N-terminal portion of EBNA-3A viral protein. Altogether, this broad comparison of EBV-positive and EBV-negative PTLDs highlight distinct patterns of immunopathological mechanisms between these two diseases and provide new clues for immunotherapeutic strategies and PTLD prognosis.

Safety and efficacy of obinutuzumab alone or with chemotherapy in previously untreated or relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukaemia patients: Final analysis of the Phase IIIb GREEN study.

The manageable toxicity profile of obinutuzumab (GA101; G) alone or with chemotherapy in first-line (1L; fit and non-fit) and relapsed/refractory (R/R) patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) was established in the primary analysis of the Phase IIIb GREEN trial (Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01905943). The final analysis (cut-off, 31 January 2019) is reported here. Patients received G (1000 mg) alone (G-mono; fit and non-fit patients) or with chemotherapy [fludarabine and cyclophosphamide (FC; fit patients); chlorambucil (non-fit patients); bendamustine (any patient)]. Study endpoints were safety (primary) and efficacy (secondary). Subgroup analyses were performed on prognostic biomarkers in 1L CLL. Overall, 630 patients received 1L and 341 received R/R CLL treatment. At the final analysis, no new safety signals were observed [Grade ≥ 3 adverse events (AEs): 1L 82·7%, R/R 84·5%; serious AEs: 1L 58·1%, R/R 62·5%]. Neutropenia (1L 50·5%, R/R 53·4%) and thrombocytopenia (1L 14·6%, R/R 19·1%) were the most common Grade 3-5 AEs. G-mono-, G-bendamustine and G-FC-treated patients with unmutated immunoglobulin heavy chain trended towards shorter progression-free survival. Achievement of minimal residual disease negativity was greatest in 1L patients treated with G-FC. In this final analysis of the GREEN trial, the safety profile of G was consistent with current risk management strategies. Biomarker analyses supported efficacy in the specific subgroups.

Phase 3 Trial of Ibrutinib plus Rituximab in Waldenström's Macroglobulinemia.

BACKGROUND: Single-agent ibrutinib has shown substantial activity in patients with relapsed Waldenström's macroglobulinemia, a rare form of B-cell lymphoma. We evaluated the effect of adding ibrutinib to rituximab in patients with this disease, both in those who had not received previous treatment and in those with disease recurrence. METHODS: We randomly assigned 150 symptomatic patients to receive ibrutinib plus rituximab or placebo plus rituximab. The primary end point was progression-free survival, as assessed by an independent review committee. Key secondary end points were response rates, sustained hematologic improvement from baseline, and safety. The mutational status of MYD88 and CXCR4 was assessed in bone marrow samples. RESULTS: At 30 months, the progression-free survival rate was 82% with ibrutinib-rituximab versus 28% with placebo-rituximab (hazard ratio for progression or death, 0.20; P<0.001). The benefit in the ibrutinib-rituximab group over that in the placebo-rituximab group was independent of the MYD88 or CXCR4 genotype. The rate of major response was higher with ibrutinib-rituximab than with placebo-rituximab (72% vs. 32%, P<0.001). More patients had sustained increases in hemoglobin level with ibrutinib-rituximab than with placebo-rituximab (73% vs. 41%, P<0.001). The most common adverse events of any grade with ibrutinib-rituximab included infusion-related reactions, diarrhea, arthralgia, and nausea. Events of grade 3 or higher that occurred more frequently with ibrutinib-rituximab than with placebo-rituximab included atrial fibrillation (12% vs. 1%) and hypertension (13% vs. 4%); those that occurred less frequently included infusion reactions (1% vs. 16%) and any grade of IgM flare (8% vs. 47%). The major hemorrhage rate was the same in the two trial groups (4%). CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia, the use of ibrutinib-rituximab resulted in significantly higher rates of progression-free survival than the use of placebo-rituximab, both among those who had received no previous treatment and among those with disease recurrence. Atrial fibrillation and hypertension were more common with ibrutinib-rituximab, whereas infusion reactions and IgM flare were more common with placebo-rituximab. (Funded by Pharmacyclics and Janssen Research and Development; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02165397 .).

Genetic characterization of B-cell prolymphocytic leukemia: a prognostic model involving MYC and TP53.

B-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (B-PLL) is a rare hematological disorder whose underlying oncogenic mechanisms are poorly understood. Our cytogenetic and molecular assessments of 34 patients with B-PLL revealed several disease-specific features and potential therapeutic targets. The karyotype was complex (≥3 abnormalities) in 73% of the patients and highly complex (≥5 abnormalities) in 45%. The most frequent chromosomal aberrations were translocations involving MYC [t(MYC)] (62%), deletion (del)17p (38%), trisomy (tri)18 (30%), del13q (29%), tri3 (24%), tri12 (24%), and del8p (23%). Twenty-six (76%) of the 34 patients exhibited an MYC aberration, resulting from mutually exclusive translocations or gains. Whole-exome sequencing revealed frequent mutations in TP53, MYD88, BCOR, MYC, SF3B1, SETD2, CHD2, CXCR4, and BCLAF1. The majority of B-PLL used the IGHV3 or IGHV4 subgroups (89%) and displayed significantly mutated IGHV genes (79%). We identified 3 distinct cytogenetic risk groups: low risk (no MYC aberration), intermediate risk (MYC aberration but no del17p), and high risk (MYC aberration and del17p) (P = .0006). In vitro drug response profiling revealed that the combination of a B-cell receptor or BCL2 inhibitor with OTX015 (a bromodomain and extra-terminal motif inhibitor targeting MYC) was associated with significantly lower viability of B-PLL cells harboring a t(MYC). We concluded that cytogenetic analysis is a useful diagnostic and prognostic tool in B-PLL. Targeting MYC may be a useful treatment option in this disease.

A prognostic index predicting survival in transformed Waldenström macroglobulinemia.

Histological transformation into diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is a rare complication in patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) usually associated with a poor prognosis. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a prognostic index for survival in transformed WM patients. Through this multicenter, international collaborative effort, we developed a scoring system based on data from 133 patients with transformed WM who were evaluated between 1995 and 2016 (training cohort). Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to propose a prognostic index with 2-year survival after transformation as an end-point. For external validation, a data set of 67 patients was used to evaluate the performance of the model (validation cohort). By multivariate analysis, three adverse covariates were identified as independent predictors of 2-year survival after transformation: elevated serum LDH (2 points), platelet count < 100 x 109/L (1 point) and any previous treatment for WM (1 point). Three risk groups were defined: low-risk (0-1 point, 24% of patients), intermediate-risk (2-3 points, 59%, hazard ratio (HR) = 3.4) and high-risk (4 points, 17%, HR = 7.5). Two-year survival rates were 81%, 47%, and 21%, respectively (P < 0.0001). This model appeared to be a better discriminant than the International Prognostic Index (IPI) and the revised IPI (R-IPI). We validated this model in an independent cohort. This easy-to-compute scoring index is a robust tool that may allow identification of groups of transformed WM patients with different outcomes and could be used for improving the development of risk-adapted treatment strategies.

Efficacy of minimal residual disease driven immune-intervention after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for high-risk chronic lymphocytic leukemia: results of a prospective multicenter trial.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) remains a potentially curative and useful strategy in high-risk relapsing CLL. Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) assessment at 12 months post-HSCT is predictive of relapse. This phase 2 study aimed to achieve M12 MRD negativity (MRDneg) using MRD-driven immune-intervention (Md-PII) algorithm based on serial flow-cytometry blood MRD, involving cyclosporine tapering followed if failure by donor lymphocytes infusions. Patients had high-risk CLL according to 2006 EBMT consensus, in complete or partial response with lymphadenopathy < 5 cm and comorbidity score ≤ 2. Donors were HLA-matched sibling or matched unrelated (10/10). Forty-two enrolled patients with either 17p deletion (front-line, n=11; relapse n=16) or other high-risk relapse (n=15) received reduced intensity-conditioning regimen before HSCT and were submitted to Md-PII. M12-MRDneg status was achieved in 64% versus 14.2% before HSCT. With a median follow-up of 36 months (range, 19-53), 3-year overall survival, non-relapse mortality and cumulative incidence of relapse are 86.9% (95%CI, 70.8-94.4), 9.5% (95%CI, 3.7-23.4) and 29.6% (95%CI, 17.3-47.7). Incidence of 2-year limited and extensive chronic graft versus host disease (cGVHD) is 38% (95%CI, 23-53) and 23% (95%CI, 10-36) including 2 cases post Md-PII. Fifteen patients converted to MRDneg either after CsA withdrawal (n=12) or after cGVHD (n=3). As a time-dependent variable, MRDneg achievement at any time-point correlates with reduced relapse (HR=0.14 [0.04-0.53], p=0.004) and improvement of both progression free (HR=0.18 [0.06-0.6], p<0.005) and overall (HR: 0.18 [0.03-0.98], p=0.047) survival. These data highlight the value of MRD-driven immune-intervention to induce prompt MRD clearance in the therapy of CLL.

Cytogenetic and molecular abnormalities in Waldenström's macroglobulinemia patients: Correlations and prognostic impact.

While Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) is characterized by an almost unifying mutation in MYD88, clinical presentation at diagnosis and response to therapy can be widely different among WM patients. Current prognostic tools only partially address this clinical heterogeneity. Limited data compiling both molecular and cytogenetic information have been used in risk prognostication in WM. To investigate the clinical impact of genetic alterations in WM, we evaluated cytogenetic and molecular abnormalities by chromosome banding analyses, FISH and targeted NGS in a retrospective cohort of 239 WM patients, including 187 patients treated by first-line chemotherapy or immunochemotherapy. Most frequent mutations were identified in MYD88 (93%), CXCR4 (29%), MLL2 (11%), ARID1A (8%), TP53 (8%), CD79A/B (6%), TBL1XR1 (4%) and SPI1 (4%). The median number of cytogenetic abnormalities was two (range, 0-22). Main cytogenetic abnormalities were 6q deletion (del6q) (27%), trisomy 4 (tri4) (12%), tri18 (11%), del13q (11%), tri12 (7.5%) and del17p (7%). Complex karyotype (CK) was observed in 15% (n = 31) of cases, including 5% (n = 12) of highly CK (high-CK). TP53 abnormalities (TP53abn) were present in 15% of evaluable patients. TP53abn and del6q were associated with CK/high-CK (p < .05). Fifty-three percent of patients with hyperviscosity harbored CXCR4 mutations. Cytogenetic and molecular abnormalities did not significantly impact time to first treatment and response to therapy. Prognostic factors associated with shorter PFS were del6q (p = .01), TP53abn (p = .002) and high-CK (p = .01). These same factors as well as IPSSWM, tri4, CXCR4 frameshift and SPI1 mutations were significantly associated with lower OS (p < .05). These results argue for integration of both cytogenetic and molecular screening in evaluation of first-line WM patients.