COVID-19 in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: a multicenter analysis by the Czech CLL study group.

Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) have a high risk of poor outcomes related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This multicenter cohort study evaluated the impact of COVID-19 infection on the population of CLL patients in the Czech Republic. Between March 2020 and May 2021, 341 patients (237 males) with CLL and COVID-19 disease were identified. The median age was 69 years (range 38-91). Out of the 214 (63%) patients with the history of therapy for CLL, 97 (45%) were receiving CLL-directed treatment at diagnosis of COVID-19: 29% Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor (BTKi), 16% chemoimmunotherapy (CIT), 11% Bcl-2 inhibitor, and 4% phosphoinositide 3-kinase inhibitor. Regarding the severity of COVID-19, 60% pts required admission to the hospital, 21% pts were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), and 12% received invasive mechanical ventilation. The overall case fatality rate was 28%. Major comorbidities, age over 72, male gender, CLL treatment in history, CLL-directed treatment at COVID-19 diagnosis were associated with increased risk of death. Of note, concurrent therapy with BTKi compared to CIT was not associated with better outcome of COVID-19.

Circulating tumor DNA in Hodgkin lymphoma.

Somatic mutations of genes involved in NF-κB, PI3K/AKT, NOTCH, and JAK/STAT signaling pathways play an important role in the pathogenesis of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). HL tumor cells form only about 5% of the tumor mass; however, it was shown that HL tumor-derived DNA could be detected in the bloodstream. This circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) reflects the genetic profile of HL tumor cells and can be used for qualitative and quantitative analysis of tumor-specific somatic DNA mutations within the concept of liquid biopsy. Overall, the most frequently mutated gene in HL is STAT6; however, the exact spectrum of mutations differs between individual HL histological subtypes. Importantly, reduction of ctDNA plasma levels after initial treatment is highly correlated with prognosis. Therefore, ctDNA shows great promise as a novel tool for non-invasive tumor genome analysis for biomarker driven therapy as well as for superior minimal residual disease monitoring and treatment resistance detection. Here, we summarize the recent advancements of ctDNA analysis in HL with focus on ctDNA detection methodologies, genetic profiling of HL and its clonal evolution, and the emerging prognostic value of ctDNA.