Genetic and phenotypic attributes of splenic marginal zone lymphoma.

Splenic marginal zone B-cell lymphoma (SMZL) is a heterogeneous clinico-biological entity. The clinical course is variable, multiple genes are mutated with no unifying mechanism, and essential regulatory pathways and surrounding microenvironments are diverse. We sought to clarify the heterogeneity of SMZL by resolving different subgroups and their underlying genomic abnormalities, pathway signatures, and microenvironment compositions to uncover biomarkers and therapeutic vulnerabilities. We studied 303 SMZL spleen samples collected through the IELSG46 multicenter international study (NCT02945319) by using a multiplatform approach. We carried out genetic and phenotypic analyses, defined self-organized signatures, validated the findings in independent primary tumor metadata and in genetically modified mouse models, and determined correlations with outcome data. We identified 2 prominent genetic clusters in SMZL, termed NNK (58% of cases, harboring NF-κB, NOTCH, and KLF2 modules) and DMT (32% of cases, with DNA-damage response, MAPK, and TLR modules). Genetic aberrations in multiple genes as well as cytogenetic and immunogenetic features distinguished NNK- from DMT-SMZLs. These genetic clusters not only have distinct underpinning biology, as judged by differences in gene-expression signatures, but also different outcomes, with inferior survival in NNK-SMZLs. Digital cytometry and in situ profiling segregated 2 basic types of SMZL immune microenvironments termed immune-suppressive SMZL (50% of cases, associated with inflammatory cells and immune checkpoint activation) and immune-silent SMZL (50% of cases, associated with an immune-excluded phenotype) with distinct mutational and clinical connotations. In summary, we propose a nosology of SMZL that can implement its classification and also aid in the development of rationally targeted treatments.

Long telomeres at baseline and male sex are main determinants of telomere loss following chemotherapy exposure in lymphoma patients.

Although chemotherapy (CHT) exposure is an established cause of telomere attrition, determinants of telomere length (TL) dynamics after chemotherapy are poorly defined. In this study, we analyzed granulocyte telomere dynamics in 34 adult lymphoma patients undergoing first-line CHT. TL was measured by southern blot at each CHT cycle and after 1 year from CHT completion. Median age was 59 yrs (range 22-77). Median number of CHT cycles was 6 (range 3-6). The majority of patients (79%, n = 27) experienced TL shortening following CHT exposure. Mean telomere loss was 673 base pairs (bp) by cycle 6. Telomere shortening was an early event as 87% of the total telomere loss (mean 586 bp) occurred by the end of cycle 3, with no significant recovery after 1 year. A significant correlation was observed between baseline TL and total or fractional telomere loss (p < 0.001), with telomere shortening by cycle 3 observed predominantly in male patients with long telomeres at pre-treatment evaluation. Stratifying the analysis by gender and age only young women (<51 years of age) did not show significant telomere shortening following chemotherapy exposure. These findings indicate that gender and baseline TL are major determinants of TL dynamics following chemotherapy exposure in lymphoma patients.

[18 F]-FDG PET radiomic model as prognostic biomarker in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

To evaluate the association between radiomic features (RFs) extracted from 18 F-FDG PET/CT (18 F-FDG-PET) with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in diffuse large-B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients eligible to first-line chemotherapy. DLBCL patients who underwent 18 F-FDG-PET prior to first-line chemotherapy were retrospectively analyzed. RFs were extracted from the lesion showing the highest uptake. A radiomic score to predict PFS and OS was obtained by multivariable Elastic Net Cox model. Radiomic univariate model, clinical and combined clinical-radiomic multivariable models to predict PFS and OS were obtained. 112 patients were analyzed. Median follow-up was 34.7 months (Inter-Quartile Range (IQR) 11.3-66.3 months) for PFS and 41.1 (IQR 18.4-68.9) for OS. Radiomic score resulted associated with PFS and OS (p < 0.001), outperforming conventional PET parameters. C-index (95% CI) for PFS prediction were 0.67 (0.58-0.76), 0.81 (0.75-0.88) and 0.84 (0.77-0.91) for clinical, radiomic and combined clinical-radiomic model, respectively. C-index for OS were 0.77 (0.66-0.89), 0.84 (0.76-0.91) and 0.90 (0.81-0.98). In the Kaplan-Meier analysis (low-IPI vs. high-IPI), the radiomic score was significant predictor of PFS (p < 0.001). The radiomic score was an independent prognostic biomarker of survival in DLBCL patients. The extraction of RFs from baseline 18 F-FDG-PET might be proposed in DLBCL to stratify high-risk versus low-risk patients of relapse after first-line therapy, especially in low-IPI patients.

SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: The Italian Hematology Alliance on COVID-19 cohort.

COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, is still afflicting thousands of people across the globe. Few studies on COVID-19 in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) are available. Here, we analyzed data from the CLL cohort of the Italian Hematology Alliance on COVID-19 (NCT04352556), which included 256 CLL patients enrolled between 25 February 2020 and 1 February 2021. Median age was 70 years (range 38-94) with male preponderance (60.1%). Approximately half of patients (n = 127) had received at least one line of therapy for CLL, including 108 (83.7%) who were on active treatment at the time of COVID-19 or received their last therapy within 12 months. Most patients (230/256, 89.9%) were symptomatic at COVID-19 diagnosis and the majority required hospitalization (n = 176). Overall, after a median follow-up of 42 days (IQR 24-96), case fatality rate was 30.1%, and it was 37.5% and 24.4% in the first (25 February 2020-22 June 2020) and second wave (23 June 2020-1 February 2021), respectively (p = 0.03). At multivariate analysis, male sex (HR 1.82, 95% CI 1.03-3.24, p = 0.04), age over than 70 years (HR 2.23, 95% CI 1.23-4.05, p = 0.01), any treatment for CLL given in the last 12 months (HR 1.72, 95% CI 1.04-2.84, p = 0.04) and COVID-19 severity (severe: HR 5.66, 95% CI 2.62-12.33, p < 0.0001; critical: HR 15.99, 95% CI 6.93-36.90, p < 0.0001) were independently associated with poor survival. In summary, we report a dismal COVID-related outcome in a significant fraction of CLL patients, that can be nicely predicted by clinical parameters.

Chemotherapy after PD-1 inhibitors in relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma: Outcomes and clonal evolution dynamics.

Checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) are routinely employed in relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma. Nonetheless, persistent long-term responses are uncommon, and one-third of patients are refractory. Several reports have suggested that treatment with CPIs may re-sensitize patients to chemotherapy, however there is no consensus on the optimal chemotherapy regimen and subsequent consolidation strategy. In this retrospective study we analysed the response to rechallenge with chemotherapy after CPI failure. Furthermore, we exploratively characterized the clonal evolution profile of a small sample of patients (n = 5) by employing the CALDER approach. Among the 28 patients included in the study, 17 (71%) were primary refractory and 26 (92%) were refractory to the last chemotherapy prior to CPIs. Following rechallenge with chemotherapy, response was recorded in 23 (82%) patients experiencing complete remission and 3 (11%) patients experiencing partial remission. The tumour evolution of the patients inferred by CALDER seemingly occurred prior to the first cycle of therapy and was characterized either by linear or branching evolution patterns. Twenty-five patients proceeded to allogeneic stem cell transplantation. At a median follow-up of 21 months, median PFS and OS were not reached. In conclusion, patients who fail CPIs can be effectively rescued by salvage chemotherapy and bridged to allo-SCT/auto-SCT.

NR1H3 (LXRα) is associated with pro-inflammatory macrophages, predicts survival and suggests potential therapeutic rationales in diffuse large b-cell lymphoma.

The role of macrophages (Mo) and their prognostic impact in diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL) remain controversial. By regulating the lipid metabolism, Liver-X-Receptors (LXRs) control Mo polarization/inflammatory response, and their pharmacological modulation is under clinical investigation to treat human cancers, including lymphomas. Herein, we surveyed the role of LXRs in DLBCL for prognostic purposes. Comparing bulk tumors with purified malignant and normal B-cells, we found an intriguing association of NR1H3, encoding for the LXR-α isoform, with the tumor microenvironment (TME). CIBERSORTx-based purification on large DLBCL datasets revealed a high expression of the receptor transcript in M1-like pro-inflammatory Mo. By determining an expression cut-off of NR1H3, we used digital measurement to validate its prognostic capacity on two large independent on-trial and real-world cohorts. Independently of classical prognosticators, NR1H3high patients displayed longer survival compared with NR1H3low cases and a high-resolution Mo GEP dissection suggested a remarkable transcriptional divergence between subgroups. Overall, our findings indicate NR1H3 as a Mo-related biomarker identifying patients at higher risk and prompt future preclinical studies investigating its mouldability for therapeutic purposes.

A three-gene signature based on MYC, BCL-2 and NFKBIA improves risk stratification in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Recent randomized trials focused on gene expression-based determination of the cell of origin in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma could not show significant improvements by adding novel agents to standard chemoimmunotherapy. The aim of this study was the identification of a gene signature able to refine current prognostication algorithms and applicable to clinical practice. Here we used a targeted gene expression profiling panel combining the Lymph2Cx signature for cell of origin classification with additional targets including MYC, BCL-2 and NFKBIA, in 186 patients from 2 randomized trials (discovery cohort) (NCT00355199 and NCT00499018). Data were validated in 3 independent series (2 large public datasets and a real-life cohort). By integrating the cell of origin, MYC/BCL-2 double expressor status and NFKBIA expression, we defined a 3-gene signature combining MYC, BCL-2 and NFKBIA (MBN-signature), which outperformed the MYC/BCL-2 double expressor status in multivariate analysis, and allowed further risk stratification within the germinal center B-cell/unclassified subset. The high-risk (MBN Sig-high) subgroup identified the vast majority of double hit cases and a significant fraction of Activated B-Cell-derived diffuse large B-cell lymphomas. These results were validated in 3 independent series including a cohort from the REMoDL-B trial, where, in an exploratory ad hoc analysis, the addition of bortezomib in the MBN Sig-high subgroup provided a progression free survival advantage compared with standard chemoimmunotherapy. These data indicate that a simple 3-gene signature based on MYC, BCL-2 and NFKBIA could refine the prognostic stratification in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and might be the basis for future precision-therapy approaches.

Influence of Donor and Recipient Gender on Telomere Maintenance after Umbilical Cord Blood Cell Transplantation: A Study by the Gruppo Italiano Trapianto Di Midollo Osseo.

Physiologic loss of telomerase activity in adult life determines progressive telomere length (TL) shortening. Inflammation and oxidative damage are established causes of TL loss; moreover, males have shorter telomeres compared with females. Despite these notions, mechanisms regulating TL maintenance are poorly defined. Because umbilical cord blood (UCB) cells harbor very long telomeres, not yet exposed to environmental damages, UCB transplantation (UCBT) provides a unique experimental setting to study determinants of TL in humans. TL dynamics were analyzed on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (MNCs) from 36 patients (median age, 42 years) undergoing UCBT. TL was studied at a median of 20 months after UCBT. A significantly longer TL (mean, 8698 bp; range, 6521 to 11,960) was documented in UCBT recipients compared with age-matched healthy control subjects (mean, 7396 bp; range, 4375 to 11,108; P < .01). Among variables potentially influencing TL maintenance, including recipient features, graft type, transplant procedure, and engraftment kinetics, only donor-recipient gender combination was associated with TL, with the longest TL in women receiving male UCB (mean, 10,063 bp; range, 8381 to 11,960). To further investigate this trend, telomerase activation was assessed in vitro. Experiments showed that telomerase subunits were preferentially upregulated in male-derived bone marrow MNCs exposed ex vivo to estradiol as compared with female MNCs. This implies an increased sensitivity of male-derived MNCs to telomerase activation induced by estradiol. The results suggest that extrinsic and modifiable factors such as hormonal status and female milieu could be major determinants of TL in humans, providing the rationale for investigating hormonal-based approaches to counteract telomere erosion and aging-related diseases.

High efficacy of the MACOP-B regimen in the treatment of adult Langerhans cell histiocytosis, a 20 year experience.

BACKGROUND: Adult Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is an orphan disease. Chemotherapy is usually reserved to patients presenting with single system multifocal (SS-m) or multisystem (MS) disease but due to the lack of randomized studies no standard first line therapy has been defined yet. Pediatric regimens based on the vinblastine/prednisone backbone are not well tolerated in adults and probably less effective. We previously demonstrated high efficacy of the dose dense polichemotherapy regimen MACOP-B in 7 adult patients with SS-m or MS-LCH, in terms of high response rate and durable responses. Here we report an update of these data with the purpose of evaluating the long term efficacy of MACOP-B in adult LCH. METHODS: Clinical data of all adult LCH patients (n = 17) diagnosed and treated at our Institution during the past 20-year period were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: A total of 11 patients (6 with SS-m and 5 with MS-LCH) were treated with MACOP-B from 1995 to 2014. The overall response rate was confirmed to be 100 %, with a complete response of 73 % and a partial response rate of 27 %. Overall progression free survival was 64 %, and disease free survival after achievement of initial CR was 87 %. Overall survival rate was 82 % after 6.7 years of median follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: These data confirm high activity of MACOP-B in adult LCH, indicating that a substantial fraction of patients achieve long lasting responses and can be cured with this therapeutic approach.

Prognostic value of interim positron emission tomography in patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma.

The definition of the role of positron emission tomography (PET) in peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs) is still under investigation. The purpose of the present observational retrospective study was to assess the early prognostic value of PET after the first three cycles of therapy (PET+3), evaluating visual data in de novo PTCL patients treated in first line with standard chemotherapy and followed by both PET and computed tomography scan. Of 27 PET+3-negative patients, 19 also had a negative PET at the end of treatment (PET+6), whereas 8 of 27 had a positive final one; 6 of 7 PET+3-positive patients had a positive PET+6, whereas only 1 patient had a negative PET+6. Estimated overall survival plotted according to PET+3 results showed 78.6% for negative patients and 21.4% for positive patients at 88.7 months with a significant difference. Patients with negative PET+3 had superior progression-free survival of 72.6% compared with 16.7% of PET+3-positive patients. At the time of this analysis, 17 of 19 (89.5%) patients with negative PET+3 are in continuous complete response (CCR) and only 1 of 7 (14.2%) patients with positive PET+3 is still in CCR. In conclusion, our results indicate that positive PET+3 is predictive of a worse outcome in PTCL, and this significant statistical difference between the two curves could be clinically informative. Larger and prospective studies and harmonization of PET reading criteria are needed.

The pan-deacetylase inhibitor panobinostat induces cell death and synergizes with everolimus in Hodgkin lymphoma cell lines.

The pan-deacetylase inhibitor panobinostat (LBH589) recently has been shown to have significant clinical activity in patients with relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma, but its mechanism of action in Hodgkin lymphoma remains unknown. In this study, we demonstrate that panobinostat has potent antiproliferative activity against Hodgkin lymphoma-derived cell lines. At the molecular level, panobinostat activated the caspase pathway, inhibited STAT5 and STAT6 phosphorylation, and down-regulated hypoxia-inducible factor 1 α and its downstream targets, glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) and vascular endothelial growth factor. Paradoxically, panobinostat inhibited LKB1 and AMP-activated protein kinase, leading to activation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) that promotes survival. Combining panobinostat with the mTOR inhibitor everolimus (RAD001) inhibited panobinostat-induced mTOR activation and enhanced panobinostat antiproliferative effects. Collectively, our data demonstrate that panobinostat is a potent deacetylase inhibitor against Hodgkin lymphoma-derived cell lines, and provide a mechanistic rationale for combining panobinostat with mTOR inhibitors for treating Hodgkin lymphoma patients. Furthermore, the effect of panobinostat on GLUT1 expression suggests that panobinostat may modulate the results of clinical diagnostic imaging tests that depend of functional GLUT1, such as fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography.

High-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant as first salvage treatment for relapsed or refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma in the era of PET-adapted strategies.

Data on the efficacy of high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) for classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) patients who failed a PET-driven first-line therapy are limited.We retrospectively evaluated 220 adult cHL patients who underwent ASCT from 2009 to 2021 at 11 centers in Italy. Overall, 49.5% had refractory disease, 23.2% relapsed < 12 and 27.3% ≥12 months from the end of first-line chemotherapy. The 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 73.8% and 89.4%. In univariable analysis for PFS events PET-2+ (HR 2.69, p = .001), anemia (HR 2.22, p = .019), refractory disease (HR 1.76, p = .045), less than CR before ASCT (HR 3.24, p < .001) and >2 lines of salvage therapy (HR 2.52; p = .004) were associated with a higher risk of failure after ASCT. In multivariable analysis, >2 lines of salvage therapy (HR 3.28, p = .004) and RT before ASCT (HR 3.00, p = 0.041) retained significance.ASCT is an effective salvage approach for cHL patients treated in the era of PET-adapted therapies.

Collection of hematopoietic stem cells after previous radioimmunotherapy is feasible and does not impair engraftment after autologous stem cell transplantation in follicular lymphoma.

Major concerns about radioimmunotherapy (RIT) administration early in the course of follicular lymphoma (FL) are long-term toxicity and the theoretical impairment of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) harvest, but few data are available about mobilization rates after RIT. This study evaluates the impact of prior therapy with RIT (yttrium-90 ibritumomab tiuxetan) and different chemotherapy regimens in all FL patients (N = 103) attempting HSC mobilization at our institution over the last 7 years. Sixty-nine patients received R-CHOP (rituximab-cyclophosphamide-doxorubicin-vincristine-prednisone) or CHOP-like regimens, 21 patients received R-FM (rituximab-fludarabine-mitoxantrone), and 13 patients received RIT before HSC mobilization. Median CD34+ cell yield at first mobilization was 7.2 × 10(6)/kg in the R-CHOP group versus 4.3 in the R-FM group versus 1.7 in the RIT group (P = .02 R-CHOP versus R-FM; P < .0001 R-CHOP versus RIT; P < .02 R-FM versus RIT). Although 8 of 13 patients initially failed to collect enough HSC after RIT, a second and/or salvage harvest was successfully performed in 7 patients, with 10 of 13 patients (77%) finally undergoing autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). No differences in engraftment kinetics were observed between the three groups (R-CHOP versus R-FM versus RIT). Although mobilization was significantly impaired in patients previously treated with RIT, a salvage HSC harvest and ASCT after RIT were safe and feasible in most patients.

Brentuximab vedotin in relapsed/refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma: the Italian experience and results of its use in daily clinical practice outside clinical trials.

Clinical trial results indicate that brentuximab vedotin brings considerable promise for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma. A retrospective multicenter study was conducted on 65 heavily pretreated patients who underwent therapy through a Named Patient Program in Italy (non trial-setting). The primary study endpoint was the objective response rate; secondary endpoints were safety, overall survival and progression-free survival. The best overall response rate (70.7%), including 21.5% complete responses, was observed at the first restaging after the third cycle of treatment. After a median follow up of 13.2 months, the overall survival rate at 20 months was 73.8% while the progression-free survival rate at 20 months was 24.2%. Globally nine patients are in continuous complete response with a median follow up of 14 months (range, 10-19 months). Four patients proceeded to autotransplantation and nine to allotransplantation. The most frequent extra-hematologic toxicity was peripheral neuropathy, observed in 21.5% of cases (9 patients with grade 1/2 and 5 patients with grade 3/4); neurological toxicity led to discontinuation of treatment in three patients and to dose reduction in four. In general the treatment was well tolerated and toxicities, both hematologic and extra-hematologic, were manageable. This report indicates and confirms that brentuximab vedotin as a single agent is effective and safe also when used in standard, everyday clinical practice outside a clinical trial. Best overall responses were recorded after three or four cycles and showed that brentuximab vedotin provides an effective bridge to further therapeutic interventions.

Bortezomib as salvage treatment for heavily pretreated relapsed lymphoma patients: a multicenter retrospective study.

Current treatments for non-Hodgkin lymphomas are not optimally effective. Among new agents, bortezomib seems to play a pivotal role in the regulation of several cell pathways involved in the development of lymphomas. After results were obtained with clinical trials, we aimed to observe treatment with bortezomib in everyday clinical practice. We performed a multicenter retrospective analysis to assess the efficacy of bortezomib in heavily pretreated (median number of previous therapies 4, range 2-6) lymphoma patients in an off-label setting. Bortezomib therapy was scheduled for 4-6 cycles (1.3 mg/m(2) biweekly). Data from 50 patients were collected: 22% had a complete remission, 26% obtained a partial response and the remaining 52% was non-responder. According to histotype, we observed an overall response rate (ORR) of 51.6% in mantle cell lymphomas, an ORR of 60% among follicular lymphoma patients, and an ORR of 50% in the indolent nonfollicular lymphomas. None of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients obtained a response. Extra-hematological toxicity was really mild, and peripheral neuropathy occurred in only 5 patients; hematological toxicity was grades 3-4 thrombocytopenia in nine patients and grades 3-4 neutropenia in only three patients. In conclusion, treatment with bortezomib as single agent resulted safe and effective in a subset of heavily pretreated lymphoma patients with usually poor outcome. New future hypotheses of investigation are indicated.

Extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of the lung: experience with fludarabine and mitoxantrone-containing regimens.

Bronchial-associated lymphoid tissue (BALT) lymphoma is an extranodal primary pulmonary lymphoma. The optimal therapy for this rare disease is still debated, and few heterogeneous data are available in literature. The aim of our study was to critically review data of patients with BALT lymphoma treated in first-line therapy with fludarabine and mitoxantrone-containing regimens (with or without rituximab) to investigate the effectiveness and the safety of this approach and patients' survival. An observational retrospective study was performed on homogenous clinical data from 17 patients with biopsy-proven diagnosis of BALT. All the patients were treated with fludarabine and mitoxantrone-containing regimen therapy. Radiological findings were also reviewed to assess the role of (18) fluoro-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography in the initial assessment and in the monitoring of this extranodal lymphoma. A high percentage of response was observed: 82.3% of patients achieved a complete response, 11.8% a partial response. Furthermore, a very remarkable progression-free survival (71%) and overall survival (100%) were estimated at 14 years. No relevant toxicities were registered. Our results support the use of fludarabine and mitoxantrone-containing regimens as first-line therapy in the treatment of BALT lymphoma even if further data are necessary to consolidate our findings. Positron emission tomography scanning may provide additional valuable information in the assessment of BALT lymphoma.