ALBERT

Description: BACKGROUND: AML risk classification is based on genetics (cytogenetics and molecular features) and more recently also on minimal residual disease (MRD) after chemotherapy. These two aspects allow predicting relapse and supporting or not the most anti-leukemia treatment that remains allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). We prospectively investigated the combined use of the two predictive markers to allocate post-remission therapy with or without HCT. Objectives of the study were testing: a) if this approach was feasible in a multicenter setting; b) the proportion of patients who were allocated to an allogeneic HCT and finally received the procedure; c) the final distribution into the risk categories and their outcome; d) to analyze the outcome of patients with favorable or intermediate genetics moved to the high risk category because of positive MRD. METHODS: Adult patients with primary AML treated at 15 academic hospitals were included between February 2012 and December 2018. Induction chemotherapy consisted of idarubicin 12 mg/m2 days 1-2-3 and cytarabine 200 mg/m2 days 1 to 7. Consolidation courses were high-dose cytarabine (3 g/m2 or 1.5 g/m2 if ≥60 y/o). The number of consolidation courses was based on genetic risk: 3 in favorable genetics category (FGC) (CBF, NPM1mut/FLT3-ITDwild or ratio0.1%) and/or quantitative PCR of the specific transcripts (RUNX1/RUNX1T1, CBFβ/MYH11 and NPM1). RESULTS: Seven hundred forty-five patients (median age: 55, range18-70 y/o, 51% male) were enrolled. Cytogenetics according the revised MRC classification in 707 informative cases was: CBF AML 12%, intermediate 65% (75% of them normal karyotype), and adverse 23%. FLT3-ITD was detected in 28% of patients with intermediate risk cytogenetics and NPM1 mutation in the same group was present in the 48%. Complete remission (CR) was achieved in 81% (n=603) of patients, 82% and 80% in patients up to and above 60 yrs, respectively. Induction death occurred in 9% of patients, 7% and 11% the two age groups, and 10% of patients had refractory leukemia; 542 (90%) of the 603 CR patients completed the consolidation phase and were risk allocated taking into account genetics and MRD. The remaining CR patients were not allocated because of early relapse (n=22), death in CR (n=5), severe toxicity (n=22) or others (n=12). After risk allocation, 208 (38%) patients were in the genetics-MRD combined favorable group (CFG), 103 (19%) in combined intermediate group (CIG) and 231 (43%) in the combined adverse group (CAG). In the latter, 185 (80%) of patients received an allogeneic HCT in first CR. Fifty-seven patients (11%) moved from the genetically FGC or IGC to the CAG because of high MRD at the end of consolidations. Median follow-up in survivors was 25 months. Overall 4-years survival (OS) of the whole series is 48±2%; event-free survival (EFS) is 77+3% in the CFG group, 45+6% in the CIG and 34+4% in the CAG (p

Description: INTRODUCTION: A sizable proportion of elderly acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients receive frontline hypomethylating agents (HMAs), namely azacitidine (AZA) and decitabine (DAC), as they are deemed unfit for intensive chemotherapy (ICT) by their treating physicians. A foreseeable high early death (ED) rate and lack of overall survival (OS) benefit under ICT are the main drivers for this decision. Several groups have published different predictive tools for ED or OS in elderly patients receiving ICT but, since ED in patients treated by HMAs is lower, the research activity has been restricted to OS in this population. METHODS: 415 elderly AML patients (264 M, 152 F) aged 61-90 receiving frontline HMAs (AZA 297, DAC 118), either in daily practice or within clinical trials (AZA 27, DAC 17), with complete relevant clinical information (see Table I) were available from the PETHEMA epidemiologic AML registry (NCT02006004). We analyzed the predictive value for ED (8wk) of the prognostic factors for OS/ED in AML included in the Walter, MRC/LRF, ALFA and ALMA scoring systems, namely age, WBC count, performance status (PS), MRC 2010 cytogenetics, platelet count and secondary disease, as well as the type of HMA. The potential predictors were categorized following previous published models (Walter, MRC/LRF, ALFA, ALMA). Cumulative early death rate at 8 weeks was calculated by the life-time method and the relevant strata were tested for univariate significance by the Wilcoxon test. All significant covariates were included in a Cox multivariate regression model and those significant for death at 8wk were included in a new predictive tool (HMA-EDS). Patients were assigned randomly in a 1:1 ratio to a training cohort (TC) and a validation cohort (VC). The different scoring systems (Walter, MRC/LRF, ALFA, ALMA, HMA-EDS) were checked for their prognostic impact on ED. Finally the 95% CI for the expected death rate at 8wk for the different strata of the new model was calculated for the full patient series. RESULTS: 51 patients out of 415 died and 13 were lost to follow-up before day 56 (cumulative ED rate at 8wk 13%, 95%CI 9-17%). Age, cytogenetics, secondary AML, platelet count and type of HMA were not significantly associated to ED. PS and WBC count strata confirmed their prognostic utility both in univariate and multivariate analysis (Table II). We developed the HMA-EDS by adding WBC (cutoffs 10 and 50, scores 1/2/3) and PS (0-1/2-4, scores 0/1) that classified patients in low-risk (score 1-2/ 84.6% of patients) and high risk (3-4/ 15.4% of patients) strata. When the prognostic utility for ED in the TC and the VC for the different scoring AML systems were checked, only HMA-EDS predicted ED in both cohorts (see Table III). The new EDS discriminates 2 different strata for ED at 8wk in unfit AML patients treated by HMA (see Figure 1 & Table III), namely a lower-risk group (ED rate 10%, 95% CI 6-14) and a high-risk group (ED rate 26%, 95% CI 14-38). CONCLUSIONS: WBC count and PS are the main predictors for ED in unfit AML patients treated by HMAs. A new tool (HMA-EDS) discriminates two different risk groups and supersedes other previously published prognostic systems (Walter's, Wheatley's MRC/LRF, ALFA and ALMA) for this purpose. This score could be useful to select patients for front-line HMA or even HMAs-based combination therapies, given that several cycles are usually needed to achieve a clinical response. We suggest that other patient-related covariates such as geriatric assessment be checked in future studies. Disclosures Ramos: Daiichi Sankyo: Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Abbvie: Honoraria. Fernandez:Incyte: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Teva: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Karyopharm: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau.

Description: Introduction: As showed in a recent study of our group, considering bone marrow (BM) blasts from nonerythroid cellularity (NECs) improves the prognostic evaluation of MDS (Arenillas et al, J Clin Oncol 2016). By enumerating blasts from NECs, 12% of MDS patients diagnosed within WHO categories with less than 5% BM blasts were reclassified into higher-risk categories and showed a poorer overall survival than did those who remained in the initial categories. Refractory anemia with ring sideroblasts (RARS) and refractory cytopenia with multilineage dysplasia and ring sideroblasts (RCMD-RS) have shown an special good outcome in different studies. As MDS with ring sideroblasts (MDS-RS) usually present a high percentage of BM erythroblasts, considering BM blasts from NECs could imply a risk overestimation of this subset of patients. Aim: we evaluated the relevance of considering BM blasts from NECs or from total nucleated cells (TNCs) on classification and prognostication of the group of patients diagnosed with MDS-RS. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 3,924 de novo MDS diagnosed according to WHO 2001 and 2008 classifications from the MDS Spanish registry. 1,045 patients presented less than 5% BM blasts from TNCs and equal or greater than 15% BM ring sideroblasts, fulfilling current definition for RARS (WHO 2001 and 2008) and RCMD-RS (WHO 2001). Moreover 1,233 patients with equal or greater than 5% BM ring sideroblasts and less than 5% BM blasts were analyzed in order to explore the future definition of WHO 2016, that considered as MDS-RS those patients with 5%-

Description: Abstract 4956 Introduction. Patients with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) are susceptible to developing iron overload as a response to the red blood cell (RBC) transfusions and ineffective hematopoiesis. This iron overload (IOL) is characterized by an increase in oxygen-reactive species accompanied by a decrease in antioxidants, and results in hepatic, cardiac and endocrine disorders, as well as an increased risk of infection. Ineffective hematopoiesis promotes iron absorption at intestinal level. This process is enhanced by the presence of mutations in the hereditary hemochromatosis gene (HFE). This study aims to define the features that accompany patients with iron overload, comparing them to a MDS population at diagnosis. Patients and methods. 34 low/int-1 MDS patients (International Prognostic Score System, IPSS) were assessed, 22 of them at diagnosis and 12 patients when IOL was developed. Peripheral blood samples were drawn after informed consent was obtained from the patient or the patient′s guardians in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. The analyzed parameters were: WHO classification, sex, age, blood count, number of RBC units received, iron metabolism, and mutations of the HFE gene. Liver damage was estimated by measuring Alanine transaminase (ALT) levels, and liver iron concentration (LIC) detected by Magnetic Resonance (MR). Likewise, levels of labile plasmatic iron (LPI) (eLPI Assay Kit, Aferrix) were quantified by spectrofluorimetric determination. Oxidative damage was assessed by quantifying the modified base 8-oxo-2-hydroxi-deoxiguanosine (8-oxo-dG) by means of High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and the O2− anion levels by flow cytometry. Results. According to the WHO classification, 72. 2% of cases with MDS and IOL assessed belonged to Refractory Sideroblastic Anemia (RSA) group, unlike 27. 3% of patients at diagnosis (p=0. 0265). In comparison to diagnosis patients, IOL subjects presented lower mean age (76 vs. 81 years; p=0. 0172), hemoglobin levels (7. 5 ± 0. 4 vs. 10. 3 ± 0. 3 g/dl; p

Description: The simultaneous combination of ATRA and anthracycline-based chemotherapy has resulted in a major improvement in remission induction rate and long term survival in patients with APL. This benefit is mainly due to an increased antileukemic efficacy, leading to a virtual absence of leukemic resistance and to a favorable impact on the coagulopathy and on the retinoic acid (RA) syndrome. One of the most successful regimens for induction is the combination of ATRA plus idarubicin (AIDA). In this study we analyze the causes of induction failure observed in two consecutive studies using the AIDA regimen (PETHEMA LPA96 and LPA99). Treatment consisted of oral ATRA (45 mg/m2/d ) until complete hematological remission and idarubicin (12 mg/m2/d) iv on days 2, 4, 6 and 8. In the LPA99 study, the dose of idarubicin on day 8 was omitted for patients older than 70 years of age and all patients received prednisone (0.5 mg/kg/day po for 14 days) for RA syndrome prophylaxis, as well as tranexamic acid (100 mg/kg/day iv) if the platelet count was below 50 × 109/L, in an attempt to improve the control of coagulopathy. The whole series included 642 genetically diagnosed APL patients, 174 in LPA96 and 468 in LPA99 studies, respectively. There were no differences in patient characteristics at presentation between the two groups. Induction results were virtually identical for LPA96 and LPA99 studies with an overall CR rate of 91%. Fifty-two patients (8.4%) failed to achieve CR due to early death. Four additional patients were considered as “resistant” because of persistence of a variable proportion of atypical promyelocytes on days 30 to 41. The distribution of causes of early death was as follows: hemorrhage 30/52 (58%); infection 16/52 (31%); and RA syndrome 5/52 (10%). Mortality due to hemorrhage and infection was significantly different in patients 〉60 years than in younger patients (37.5% and 56% vs. 72% and 16%, respectively; p=0.01). Neither the addition of prednisone nor tranexamic acid in the LPA99 study had an impact in early death rate. With respect to the chronology of deaths due to hemorrhage, nearly a half (14/30; 47%) occurred during the first week of induction therapy. Central nervous system and pulmonary hemorrhage (17 and 11 patients, respectively) were the only documented sites of lethal bleeding. Univariate analysis showed that age older than 70 years, high WBC counts, clinical and/or laboratory signs of coagulopathy, and abnormally increased level of serum creatinine were associated with an increased risk of lethal bleeding. Multivariate analysis showed that only WBC 〉 10 × 109/l and serum creatinine 〉 1.4 mg/dl at presentation retained an independent predictive value of lethal bleeding. In conclusion, despite outcome improvement provided by modern ATRA plus chemotherapy combination, hemorrhagic death remains the primary cause of induction failure in APL. The prophylactic use of prednisone and tranexamic acid failed to reduce the rate of early deaths in newly diagnosed APL. In particular, our study shows that patients presenting with hyperleukocytosis or renal dysfunction are of increased risk of lethal bleeding and should be early managed with more aggressive supportive measures to prevent hemorrhagic death.

Description: B-UCL is a new category of lymphomas that comprises a heterogeneous group of tumors from a morphological, phenotypic and genetic perspective with features intermediate between DLBCL and BL. This entity has been included as a new category in the 2008 World Health Organization (WHO) Classification of Tumors of Hematopoietic and Lymphoid Tissues. The outcome of patients with B-UCL is generally considered very poor. However, the number of series analyzing the prognosis of B-UCL is scarce and they include small number of patients not homogeneously treated. Against this background, herein we present a series of patients diagnosed with B-UCL (WHO 2008) or Burkitt-like variant (WHO 2001) homogeneously treated according to the PETHEMA-Burkimab-04 trial. This trial was designed for the treatment of BL, including both HIV positive and negative patients. Patients with B-UCL were allowed to be treated following the same protocol and were considered separately. The main clinical characteristics and outcome were compared to those obtained from classical BL patients in the same trial (Ribera et al. Cancer 2013). Diagnosis of B-UCL was made in each center based on morphological, phenotypic and genetic characteristics and centrally reviewed by two pathologists. Patients received 6 courses of chemotherapy including continuous methotrexate infusion, cytarabine, vincristine and dexametasone among other drugs. A single dose of rituximab (375mg/m2) before each cycle was administered. Patients with non-bulky stage I-II disease received only 4 courses of treatment, whereas patients with advanced stage (II bulky-IV) received 2 additional doses of rituximab at the end of the chemotherapy. A total of 30 patients with B-UCL were included and were compared with the 118 patients with BL. Median follow-up for survivors was 24 months (range 3-93). Considering B-UCL, 8 (27%) patients were HIV positive and 10 (33%) had an ECOG performance status ≥ 2. Four (13%) and 6 (20%) patients had CNS involvement and bulky (〉10 cm) disease, respectively. Serum LDH level was 〉 UNL in 25 (83%) patients. These and other clinical characteristics were similar between patients with B-UCL and BL, except for the median age at diagnosis (57 years in B-UCL vs. 44 years in BL, p=0.001). In B-UCL patients, death during induction occurred in 5 patients (17%) and 2 patients experienced treatment failure. Twenty-three (77%) patients achieved complete remission. Relapse after CR and death in remission were observed in one patient, each. All these outcomes were comparable with BL patients except for a trend to a higher risk of death during induction in patients with B-UCL (17% in B-UCL, vs. 8% in BL, p= 0.1). A total of 104 consolidation cycles were evaluable for patients with B-UCL. Most frequent grade 3-4 toxicities were neutropenia (n=57, 54%), thrombocytopenia (n=44, 42%) and infection (n=21, 20%). Grade 3-4 gastrointestinal, renal and hepatic toxicities were seen in

Description: Abstract 4785 Background The karyotype is an important predictor of outcome in adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Some groups have reported the negative prognostic value of complex karyotype (CK, defined as ≥5 unrelated chromosomal abnormalities) in adult ALL (Moorman et al, Blood. 2007:109;3189-97). On the other hand, monosomal karyotype (MK, defined as ≥2 distinct autosomal chromosome monosomies or 1 single monosomy in the presence of structural abnormalities) has been associated with a worse outcome in patients with acute myeloid leukemia. We aimed to assess the prognostic value of cytogenetic abnormalities, especially CK and MK, in adults with ALL treated with protocols of the Spanish PETHEMA Group. Patients and Methods The karyotypes of 783 adult ALL patients from 63 Spanish centers treated according to the protocols of the PETHEMA Group between 1993 and 2011 were reviewed. The several PETHEMA protocols were risk-adapted (standard-risk –SR–, high-risk –HR–) or subtype-oriented (Philadelphia chromosome [Ph+] ALL -with or without imatinib-, and Burkitt's ALL [BL]). The impact of the main cytogenetic abnormalities as well as of the CK and MK on complete remission (CR) rate, CR duration, overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) was analyzed. Results The median age of the series was 33 years (range 15–82) and 448 patients (57.2%) were male. The karyotypes of 560 out of 783 patients were evaluable after review: normal karyotype 153 patients, t(9;22) 120, t(v;11q23) 30, t(8;14), t(8;22) or t(2;8) 47, high hyperdiploidy (〉50 chromosomes) 53, low hyperdiploidy (47–50 chromosomes) 52, hypodiploidy (45–39 chromosomes) 32 and extreme hypodiploidy (

Description: Abstract 1750 Poster Board I-776 Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) is a clonal disorder sharing features of both myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and chronic myeloproliferative disorders (MPD). The natural course of CMML is highly variable. Several small series have suggested the prognostic importance of different characteristics but a widely accepted prognostic scoring system for CMML is not available. The main aims of the study were to identify prognostic factors, including cytogenetic findings, for overall survival (OS) and acute leukemic (AL) transformation in a large series of patients with CMML and to develop an easily applicable prognostic scoring index for estimating outcome and planning treatment in the individual patient. Five hundred and seventy-two patients diagnosed of CMML according to FAB and WHO criteria in 25 centers belonging to the Spanish Registry of MDS were included in the study. Actuarial curves of OS and risk of AL evolution were built by Kaplan-Meier method and differences between curves compared with log-rank tests. Multivariate analyses of OS and risk of AL evolution were performed by Cox proportional hazards regression method. The weights assigned to the variables included in the final prognostic scoring system were based on the regression coefficients from the proportional hazards models. Median age was 73 yr and 397 (69%) were males. According to FAB criteria 61% of the patients had MDS-CMML (absolute WBC count '13 × 109/L) and 39% MPD-CMML and by WHO classification 86% were CMML-1 (blasts

Description: The optimal post remission therapy for HR-ALL patients (pts) is not well established. This multicenter randomized trial was addressed to compare three options of post remission therapy in adults with HR-ALL: intensive consolidation plus maintenance chemotherapy (CHT), ALLO or AUTO SCT. Inclusion criteria: one or more of the following: age 30–50 yr., WBC〉25x109/L, t(9;22) or BCR/ABL, 11q23 or MLL and t(1;19). Treatment schedule: 5-drug (VCR, DNR, PDN, ASP, CPM) induction therapy over 5-weeks, followed by 3 1-wk cycles of early intensification CHT including HD-MTX, HD-ARAC and HD-ASP over 3 mo. Patients with an HLA-identical sibling were assigned to ALLO SCT and the remaining were randomized to AUTO SCT or to delayed intensification CHT (the same three cycles given in the post-remission period) followed by standard maintenance CHT (MP+MTX) up to 2-yr. in continuous complete remission (CR). Study period: 1993–2004, 254 pts included, 222 evaluable, 35 hospitals, 131 males, mean (SD) age 29(10) yr, WBC count 60(98) x109/L, early pre-B: 43 (19%), common+pre-B: 113 (51%), T: 66 (30%). Cytogenetics: 161 (73%) valid cases after central review, normal: 67 t(9;22): 37, 11q23: 6 cases, t(1;19): 2, other rearrangements: 49 cases. Response to therapy: CR 183 (82%). Slow response to therapy (〉10% blasts in BM aspirate at day 14 of induction therapy) in 40% of cases. 84 pts were assigned to ALLO SCT, 50 randomized to AUTO SCT and 48 to CHT, 1 pt. removed from protocol after the end of induction. With a median follow-up of 70 mo.(range 24–133), medians for DFS and OS for the whole series were 17 and 23 mo., and 5-yr DFS and OS probabilities were 35±5% and 34±6% (37±6% and 35±6% after removing Ph+ ALL pts from analysis). Groups of ALLO, AUTO and CHT were comparable for the main clinicobiologic characteristics and the rate of response to therapy. Intention-to-treat analysis showed no differences in DFS and in OS for donor vs. no donor comparison as well as for comparison of AUTO vs. CHT. This lack of differences persisted after removing Ph+ ALL pts from the analysis. The same results were observed when the analysis was performed on the basis of effectively treated pts (ALLO SCT performed in 70%, AUTO SCT in 62% and CHT in 73% of the pts). By multivariate analyses, age〉30 yr. was associated with death in induction, slow response to induction therapy and Ph+ ALL were associated with a lower CR, and these three variables had a negative influence on DFS and on OS probabilities. No differences in outcome were found in pts assigned to ALLO SCT or randomized to AUTO SCT or CHT as post-remission therapy in HR-ALL. DFS from ALLO or AUTO SCT or from intensification therapy was also identical in effectively treated patients. Adults with Ph+ ALL or slow response to induction therapy have been identified as a very-high-risk ALL subgroup for whom specific or experimental therapies are justified.

Description: Background: With the improved survival of patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) treated with all trans retinoic acid (ATRA) combined to anthracycline chemotherapy, acquired therapy-related myelodysplasia (tMDS), acute myelogenous leukaemia (tAML), or both, can be an emerging problem. Objectives: Analyze the incidence and characteristics of tMDS/tAML in 740 patients with newly diagnosed APL enrolled in the PETHEMA LPA96 and LPA99 trials. Methods: From 1996 to 2005, 740 patients (median age 40 years, range 2–83) were included in the LPA96 and LPA99 trials (176 and 564 patients, respectively). Induction therapy consisted of ATRA and idarubicin, followed by three consolidation courses of anthracycline monochemotherapy with or without ATRA. Maintenance therapy consisted of low-dose oral chemotherapy (mercaptopurine and methotrexate with ATRA). We measured the cumulative incidence (CI) of tMDS/tAML during the course of APL patients who achieved the complete remission (CR). Results: CR was achieved in 667 patients (90%). The median follow-up of the cohort was 66 months (range 20–127 months). Overall, 12 patients presented a tMDS/tAML, after a median of 43 months (range 23–55) from the achievement of CR. Six patients were diagnosed of tAML and 6 were diagnosed of tMDS. In all patients, RT-PCR monitoring and/or cytogenetic analysis indicated first complete remission of APL at the time of diagnosis of tMDS/tAML. Cytogenetic characterization revealed −5/del(5q) and/or −7/del(7q) abnormalities in 7 of 12 patients, whereas 11q23 rearrangements were observed in 2 patients. In spite of intensive chemotherapy (with allogeneic stem-cell transplantation in 3 patients), the course of tAML was aggressive (5 of 6 patients dead after a median of 7 months from diagnosis). Five patients with tMDS received only supportive treatment, and the remaining patient received chemotherapy and allogeneic stem-cell transplantation. Survival was also poor, with 4 patients dead after a median of 6 months, and 2 patients alive after 3 and 5 months from tMDS diagnosis. The median age at diagnosis of tMDS/tAML was 58 years (range 29–68). Four and 8 patients followed the LPA96 and the LPA99 trial, respectively. At the initial diagnosis, APL were classified, according to the Sanz score, as high-, intermediate- and low-risk, in 0, 7, and 5 patients, respectively. The overall 5 year CI of tMDS/tAML was 2.1%. The 5 year CI of tMDS/tAML in high-, intermediate- and low-risk patients was 0%, 2.2% and 4.2%, respectively (low- vs high-risk log-rank test; p=0.06). The 5 year CI of tMDS/tAML in patients