ALBERT

Description: Cancer patients have historically had a very poor outcome following ICU admission. Outcome has however improved over the last decade. We aim to identify factors that predict survival for critically ill patients with hematological malignancy and which can be readily identified prior to admission. This would improve selection of patients suitable for ICU admission, which represents a limited resource. We also assessed the ability of the APACHE II score to predict prognosis in these patients. Since the ICU admission case mix will vary between hospitals, one non-surgical admission within +/− 1 week of each hematological admission acted as a control group. Factors which might affect outcome were assessed by multivariate regression analysis. Factors included were age, hematological diagnosis (acute or chronic leukemia, myeloma, lymphoma), time from hematological diagnosis to ICU admission (0–6 months, 6–12 months, 〉12 months), degree of prior treatment (admission prior to diagnosis, during first line therapy, after first line), remission status, prior stem cell transplant, documented infection and length of neutropenia (none, 1–10 days, 〉10 days). For hematology patients, predicted hospital mortality was calculated from the APACHE II score by the formula of Knaus et al (Critical Care Medicine 1985). The APACHE scores of hematology patients were compared to controls by a two-sample t test. Predicted and actual mortalities were compared using a one sample test of proportion. The impact of mechanical ventilation (MV) on mortality was assessed by risk ratios. We identified 111 patients with hematological malignancy (acute leukemia n=42, chronic leukemia n=11, myeloma n=19 and lymphoma n=39) admitted to ICU in one teaching and three district general hospitals (November 2000 - January 2006). Median age of hematological patients was 59 years (range 17–84) and M: F ratio 1.22:1. Control patients (n=111) were similar with median age 63 years (range 17–86) and M: F ratio 1.09:1. For control patients, overall ICU and hospital survival rates were 70% and 55% respectively while survival for hematology patients was approximately half at 44% and 24% respectively. In multivariate regression analysis, only increasing age predicted poor outcome (p=0.016). There was a trend to poor outcome if patients were not in complete remission (p=0.066) or had documented infection (p=0.06). All other variables were not significant. APACHE scores were significantly higher in hematology patients (median 27) compared to controls (median 19) p

Description: Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is an acquired clonal stem cell disorder characterized by the expansion of a population of blood cells deficient in glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) linked proteins. This results in the classical clinical features of intravascular hemolysis and thrombosis. PNH is known to be a rare disorder, but its incidence and prevalence have so far been poorly defined with very few studies. In order to better define the incidence and prevalence of PNH, survival data was collected on all patients diagnosed with PNH in the strategic health authorities of North and East Yorkshire, Northern Lincolnshire and West Yorkshire between January 1991 and July 2006. All patients were diagnosed by flow cytometry for GPI-linked antigens on red cells and neutrophils at a single reference laboratory (HMDS). The population of the study region is 3,742,835 (based on the 2001 census of Britain). 76 PNH patients were diagnosed during this time period giving an incidence of 0.13/100,000/year. Based on incidence and survival rates, the estimated 15 year prevalence of PNH is 1.59 per 100,000 resulting in a predicted prevalence of 59 patients in the study region. We have previously demonstrated that a neutrophil clone size 〉50% is a predictor of increased thrombotic risk; the current study predicts that 25% of patients will have 〉50% PNH neutrophil clone size, 43% with 〉10%, and 82% with 〉1%. Platelet count 〉100 x 109/L has been used as a criteria to consider primary prophylactic anticoagulation in PNH patients with substantial hemolysis if the neutrophil clone size is 〉50%. In the current study, the platelet count is 〉100 x 109/L in 32% of patients and

Description: The nuclear receptors (NR) retinoid X receptors (RXRs) exert immunomodulatory functions to control inflammation and metabolism via homodimers and heterodimers with several other NRs including retinoic acid receptors. IRX4204 is a novel, highly specific RXR agonist in clinical trials that potently and selectively activates RXR homodimers but not heterodimers. Here, we show that in vivo IRX4204 was compared favorably with FK506 in abrogating acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), which was associated with inhibiting allogeneic donor T cell proliferation, reducing T helper 1 differentiation and promoting regulatory T cell (Treg) generation. Recipient IRX4204 treatment reduced intestinal injury and decreased IFN-γ and TNF-α serum levels. Transcriptional analysis of donor T cells isolated from intestines of GVHD mice treated with IRX4204 revealed significant decreases in transcripts regulating pro-inflammatory pathways. In vitro, inducible Treg differentiation from naïve CD4+ T cells was enhanced by IRX4204; in vivo, IRX4204 increased the conversion of donor Foxp3- T cells into peripheral Foxp3+ Tregs in GVHD mice. Using Foxp3 lineage tracer mice in which both the origin and current FoxP3 expression of Tregs can be tracked, we demonstrate that IRX4204 supported Treg stability. Despite favoring Tregs and reducing Th1 differentiation, IRX4204-treated recipients maintained graft-versus-leukemia responses against both leukemia and lymphoma cells. Notably, IRX4204 reduced in vitro human T cell proliferation and enhanced Treg generation in mixed lymphocyte reaction cultures. Collectively, these beneficial effects indicate that targeting RXRs with IRX4204 could be used as a novel approach to prevent acute GVHD in the clinic.

Description: By reducing treatment intensity allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) has become feasible for elderly patients. Different reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) regimens are available, but there is little consensus about the optimal preparative regimen to use, in particular with regard to the outcomes counterbalancing the aim of feasibility and tolerability with higher rates of relapse. Here, we retrospectively evaluate the outcome of sequential therapy employing RIC with fludarabine 30 mg/m2, cytarabine 2g/m2 and amsacrine 100 mg/m2 for 4 days (FLAMSA; Schmid C et al. JCO 2005) followed by busulfan 10 x 0.8 mg/kg (FLAMSA-Bu) compared to RIC utilizing fludarabine 5 x 30 mg/m2, carmustine (BCNU) 2 x 150 mg/m2 and melphalan 110 mg/m2 (FBM; Marks R et al. Blood 2008) in elderly patients treated consecutively at our institution between July 2005 and October 2012. We analyzed the course of 114 patients (pts) with acute myeloid leukemia (AML; n=99) or myelodysplasia (MDS; n=15) aged ≥ 59 years with 59 pts aged ≥ 66 years who were treated with either FLAMSA-Bu (n=66; n=24 ≥ 66 years) or FBM (n=48; n=35 ≥ 66 years). All patients received sero-therapy with anti-thymocyteglobuline (ATG). Median patient age was 66 years for the entire cohort (68 years FBM; 64 years FLAMSA-Bu). 36 patients (75%) of the FBM and 42 patients (63 %) of the FLAMSA-Bu group suffered from high risk disease defined as relapsed or refractory AML or refractory anemia with excess of blasts in transformation (RAEB-T). The hematopoietic cell transplantation comorbidity index (HCT-CI) was higher for the patients of the FBM group than for the FLAMSA-Bu group with 26 (54 %) versus (vs) 24 patients (36 %) scoring ≥ 2 (p 0.085). Graft source after conditioning with FBM/FLAMSA-Bu was bone marrow (1/2), G-CSF mobilized peripheral blood stem cells (40/62) and double-umbilical cord-blood (7/1). In 23 pts (20 %) HLA-matched related and in 91 pts (80 %) HLA-matched unrelated donor transplantation was performed. Engraftment failure was observed in 1 patient after FLAMSA-Bu, while engraftment was achieved in all evaluable patients of the FBM group in a median of 23 days vs 18 days after FLAMSA-Bu (p 0.003), while 7 pts with double-umbilical cord-blood transplantation where included in the FBM group vs 1 pt in the FLAMSA-Bu group. Non-hematological treatment-related acute toxicity ≥ CTC III (gastrointestinal, hepatic, cardiovascular, renal, centralnervous system) occurred in 12/48 pts (25 %) after FBM and in 18/66 pts (27 %) after FLAMSA-Bu. Incidence of severe acute (III-IV) and chronic GvHD was 22.9 %/16.6 % for FBM vs 18.2 %/19.7 % for FLAMSA-Bu, respectively. After conditioning with FBM 2/48 pts vs 9/66 pts after FLAMSA-Bu were diagnosed with a secondary malignancy (p 0.08). Non-relapse mortality (NRM) after 12 months was 26.8 % for FBM versus 25.2 % for the FLAMSA-Bu group. Incidence of relapse after FBM vs FLAMSA-Bu conditioning was 22.9 % vs 15.2 % after 1 year and 31.3 % vs 16.7 % after 2 years. Occurrence of relapse was significantly related to an incomplete or mixed chimerism (donor cells ≤ 95 % in peripheral blood and/or bone marrow) at day +30 (p 0.001). After a median follow up of 31.4 months (range 4.4-97.5) estimated overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) after 2 years was 55.4 % and 51.4 % for the FBM vs 58 % and 56.7 % for the FLAMSA-Bu group, respectively. Analyzing different subgroups, FBM conditioning might be favorable for pts aged ≥ 66 years when suffering from high risk AML (n=26): Within this group 1-year OS after FBM vs FLAMSA-Bu was 71.4 % vs 66.7 % (p 0.58) and 1-year RFS was 71.4 % vs 58.3 % (p 0.59), respectively. Notably, for pts at highest risk (aged ≥ 66 years and suffering from secondary or therapy-related AML; n=24) the benefit of FBM conditioning becomes more pronounced: 1-year OS after FBM vs FLAMSA-Bu was 62.5 % vs 37.5 % (p 0.26) and 1-year RFS 54.2 % vs 37.5 % (p 0.17). Both conditioning regimens are feasible, and provide similar rates of acute toxicity, NRM and GvHD. There might be evidence for a benefit of conditioning with FBM for the subgroup of “the oldest patients at highest risk”. Taking into account that there is an increasing group of ‘medically fit’ elderly patients in the field of allogeneic transplantation, prospective clinical trials are needed to investigate different conditioning regimens considering their special requirements. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Description: Genetic and epigenetic heterogeneity of cancer cells fundamentally shapes cancer progression and relapse. In chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), we previously reported that intra-leukemic epigenetic diversity in DNA methylation (DNAme) follows a stochastic pattern reminiscent of genetic 'trial and error' in cancer evolution. We measured stochastic DNAme from bulk sequencing by observing the proportion of discordantly methylated sequencing reads (PDR), and found that higher PDR was associated with greater cell-to-cell transcriptional heterogeneity and adverse clinical outcome. However, bulk DNAme sequencing does not allow to phase stochastic DNAme across distant genomic loci for a single cell, as it is limited to length of a short sequencing read. Thus, it can only provide the average PDR for a population of cells, rather than the cell-to-cell variation in this important epigenetic feature. Therefore, to define stochastic DNAme changes at the single cell level, we optimized a multiplexed single cell reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (MscRRBS) protocol to allow high-throughput single cell DNAme sequencing. This protocol significantly improves scalability by multiplexing cells with shorter inline-barcodes at an early stage and utilizing SPRI beads purification to eliminate adapter-dimers. We applied MscRRBS to 393 single CD19pos B cells from two healthy volunteers and 111 single cells from a CLL sample. 88% of cells were evaluable with greater than 100,000 covered CpGs (average of 436,230 CpGs per cell). We achieved bisulfite conversion rates of 99.7%+/-0.0001 (mean+/- SD), without a significant reduction in coverage. A downsampling analysis showed that 2.1 million reads per cell provided 85% of CpG coverage with only marginal increase in coverage with further sequencing. Biallelic coverage was observed in 4.6+/-2% of germline SNPs. With MscRRBS, we measure the PDR of each individual cell. As expected from our prior bulk RRBS analysis, we found that the average PDR across cells was higher in CLL compared with B cells from healthy adult volunteers (0.39+/-0.01 vs. 0.26+/-0.08, P

Description: Introduction Transformation of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) into Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a rare, but recognized complication of CLL. The prognosis of CLL with HL Transformation (HT) appears significantly worse than de novo HL, but most series are small and there are limited published data. These reports have prompted several groups to recommend aggressive therapy with stem cell transplantation (SCT) in first complete remission (CR1). We describe the largest reported series of HT patients (pts) with analyses of the clinicobiologic characteristics, treatment patterns, and clinical outcomes based upon our multi-institutional clinical experience. Methods Pts diagnosed with HT from 01/2000 - 01/2018 were retrospectively identified in 13 tertiary cancer centers. Clinicobiologic characteristics, treatment type, and survival outcomes for each pt were analyzed. Overall survival (OS) was measured from the time of HT diagnosis until time of death. OS estimates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. The log-rank test was used to calculate differences in survival. Results Ninety-four pts with HT were identified. Median age at HT was 67 years (yrs; range, 38-85) and 81% of the pts were male. Median time from CLL diagnosis to HT was 5.5 yrs (range, 0-20.2; 7 pts with simultaneous diagnosis of CLL and HL). At initial CLL diagnosis, 31%, 34%, 21%, 10%, and 4% were Rai Stage 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. At CLL diagnosis, 67% (25/37) had an un-mutated IgVH gene, 36% (21/59) had del(13q), 32% (14/44) had trisomy 12, 24% (14/59) had del(11q), and 15% (9/61) had del(17p). Prior to HT diagnosis, pts had a median of 2 (range, 0-12) therapies for CLL. Seventeen (18%) had no prior CLL treatments. Forty-three (46%) and 25 (27%) patients had received purine analogue- and ibrutinib-based therapy prior to HT, respectively. Baseline characteristics at HT are described in Table 1. As initial therapy for HL, the majority of pts (61%, n = 62) received ABVD-based regimens (adriamycin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine) at full (n = 48) or reduced (n = 14) doses. Of these, CD20 monoclonal antibody was added in 6 and Bruton-tyrosine kinase inhibitor was added in 2. Ten (11%) received a brentuximab-based regimen. Seven (7%) received an RCHOP-based regimen (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone). Six patients (6%) received no therapy for HT due to frailty. Subsequent therapy included autologous SCT and allogeneic SCT in 7 (7%) and 11 (12%) of patients, respectively. Two (2%) and 5 (5%) pts received their autologous and allogeneic SCT while in CR1, respectively. The median number of treatments for HT per pt was 1 (range, 0-5) with 59 (61%) pts only receiving one line of therapy. After HT diagnosis, pts had a median follow-up of 1.6 yrs (range, 0.0 - 15.1). Two-yr OS after HT diagnosis was 72% (95%CI 62 - 83%). The pts who received any CLL directed therapy (n = 80) prior to HT had a significantly lower estimated 2-yr OS of 69% (95%CI 58 - 82%) compared with pts who did not receive any prior CLL-directed therapy (n = 17; 93%; 95%CI 82-100%; p 0.02; Figure 1). Pts who received purine-analogue-based therapy for their CLL prior to HT had a significantly lower estimated 2-yr OS of 60% (95%CI 46 - 79%) compared with pts who did not receive purine-analogue-based CLL-directed therapy prior to HT (n = 51; 83%; 95%CI 73 - 96%; p 0.009; Figure 2). Although limited by small sample size, the pts who underwent SCT for HT in CR1 had a similar 2-yr OS (n = 7; 67%; 95%CI 38-100%) to pts who did not undergo SCT for HT in CR1 (n = 87; 72%; 95%CI 63 - 84%; p 0.46; Figure 3). Conclusions In this retrospective analysis, we describe the largest reported series of pts with HT from CLL. Two-yr survival in pts with HT was shorter than what is historically expected in patients with de novo HL, but longer than what is expected in CLL pts who transform to diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Pts with HT who have received prior CLL-directed therapies (specifically purine-analogue-based treatments) are estimated to have a shorter 2-yr OS, likely due to underlying immunosuppression. The majority of pts (61%) only received 1 line of HL therapy and only 20% went on to receive SCT (7% while in CR1), indicating that these patients can have prolonged OS after achieving response to first-line therapy for HT and may not require SCT in CR1. Further study of this rare population is required to determine optimum management. Disclosures Kander: AstraZeneca: Consultancy. Parikh:Gilead: Honoraria; AstraZeneca: Honoraria, Research Funding; Abbvie: Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; MorphoSys: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Honoraria, Research Funding. Shadman:Acerta Pharma: Research Funding; Verastem: Consultancy; Celgene: Research Funding; Gilead Sciences: Research Funding; Mustang Biopharma: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy; Beigene: Research Funding; Genentech: Research Funding; Qilu Puget Sound Biotherapeutics: Consultancy; AbbVie: Consultancy; TG Therapeutics: Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy. Pagel:Pharmacyclics, an AbbVie Company: Consultancy; Gilead: Consultancy. Mato:Portola: Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy; Acerta: Research Funding; Prime Oncology: Honoraria; Regeneron: Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics, an AbbVie Company: Consultancy, Research Funding; Medscape: Honoraria; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Johnson & Johnson: Consultancy; AbbVie: Consultancy, Research Funding. Hill:Amgen: Research Funding; Abbvie: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Seattle Genetics: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pharmacyclics: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Genentech: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Pfizer: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pharmacyclics: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Seattle Genetics: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Danilov:Verastem: Consultancy, Research Funding; Aptose Biosciences: Research Funding; Takeda Oncology: Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy; Bayer Oncology: Consultancy, Research Funding; Astra Zeneca: Consultancy; Gilead Sciences: Consultancy, Research Funding. Phillips:Abbvie: Research Funding; Bayer: Consultancy; Gilead: Consultancy; Genentech: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy. Brander:Pharmacyclics, an AbbVie Company: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Institutional research funding for non investigator initiated clinical trial, Research Funding; Acerta: Other: Institutional research funding for non investigator initiated clinical trial, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Other: DSMB; Teva: Consultancy, Honoraria; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Institutional research funding for non investigator initiated clinical trial, Research Funding; DTRM: Other: Institutional research funding for non investigator initiated clinical trial, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Institutional research funding for non investigator initiated clinical trial, Research Funding; BeiGene: Other: Institutional research funding for non investigator initiated clinical trial, Research Funding. Smith:BMS: Consultancy; Portola: Honoraria. Davids:Surface Oncology: Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy; Sunesis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Consultancy; Sunesis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Verastem: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Surface Oncology: Research Funding; Astra-Zeneca: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Roche: Consultancy; MEI Pharma: Consultancy, Research Funding; Astra-Zeneca: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Verastem: Consultancy, Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy; Sunesis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Genentech: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; BMS: Research Funding; BMS: Research Funding; MEI Pharma: Consultancy, Research Funding; Abbvie: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Genentech: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Abbvie: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Merck: Consultancy; Merck: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy; Astra-Zeneca: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Merck: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy; BMS: Research Funding; Surface Oncology: Research Funding; MEI Pharma: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Verastem: Consultancy, Research Funding.

Description: Background: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients undergo frequent blood sampling for laboratory testing resulting in blood loss that contributes to anemia and red blood cell (RBC) transfusion. Only 10% of the blood collected is used for testing suggesting that lower sample volumes may reduce the incidence/severity of anemia and use of RBC transfusion without compromising care. Small-volume (soft-draw) Vacutainer® tubes for blood collection (2-3 mL) have the same cost, physical dimensions, and blood draw technique as standard-volume tubes (4-10 mL) and are compatible with laboratory analyzers. We previously conducted a mixed-methods pilot study (n=369) in which small-volume tubes were implemented in the ICU resulting in a 45% reduction in blood loss with acceptability to end-users and no increased frequency of inadequate samples. We are currently conducting the STRATUS trial, a multi-center stepped wedge cluster randomized trial to determine whether a policy of using small-volume blood collection tubes reduces RBC transfusion compared to standard-volume tubes in adult ICU patients. Using this design an intervention can be incorporated into everyday practice at a site of care (such as an ICU) where individual randomization is not feasible. It is ideal for studying the effectiveness and implementation of interventions that have a high likelihood of benefit and low risk of harm. Study Design and Methods: STRATUS is a pragmatic stepped wedge cluster randomized trial being conducted at 25 ICUs (clusters) in Canada over 18 months. At 6-week intervals (steps), 2 ICUs are randomly selected to switch from standard-volume tubes (control) to small-volume tubes (intervention) for blood sampling. All patients admitted to the ICU during the study period are enrolled with waived consent and undergo blood sampling using the allocated tubes. To be eligible for STRATUS, ICUs met the following criteria: (i) adult care only (≥18 years), (ii) unit size ≥14 beds, (iii) capacity for mechanical ventilation; (iv) use of standard-volume Vacutainer® blood collection tubes at baseline; and (v) availability of electronic administrative and laboratory information. The primary outcome is the number of RBC units transfused per patient during their ICU stay in patients admitted to ICU for ≥48 hours. Secondary outcomes include (i) number of RBC units transfused per patient for the entire cohort, (ii) percentage change in estimated blood loss; (iii) change in hemoglobin concentration from ICU admission to discharge adjusted for RBC transfusion; (iv) number of samples with inadequate volume for testing; (v) ICU and hospital mortality; and (vi) ICU and hospital length of stay. The study is approved by local and provincial research ethics boards. Data are collected from electronic administrative and health record sources. Assuming a power of 90% with a type I error of 5% (2-sided) and intra-cluster correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.01, 25 sites with 729 patients per site (total 18,240 ICU patients) are required to detect a minimum difference of 5 units per 100 patients (or 2.5% reduction). As the interventions are applied in hospital, we expect minimal loss to follow-up. From trial initiation January 2, 2019 to August 1, 2019, 6 sites have been switched to small-volume blood collection tubes on schedule. Up to May 2, 2019 enrolment was 4,186 patients. Significance: STRATUS will determine whether the use of small-volume blood collection tubes reduces RBC transfusion in ICU patients using an innovative cluster trial design that incorporates the intervention into routine ICU practice. With electronic administrative and health record data collection and a clinically relevant primary outcome, this pragmatic trial has the potential to change blood collection practices widely. Disclosures Siegal: Portola: Honoraria; BMS-Pfizer: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; Bayer: Honoraria; Leo Pharma: Honoraria; Aspen Pharma: Honoraria. Arnold:Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; Rigel: Consultancy, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Principia: Consultancy. Connolly:Bayer Healthcare: Consultancy, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Research Funding; Portola Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Research Funding; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Research Funding. Crowther:Octapharma: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Shionogi: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Alexion: Speakers Bureau; Asahi Kasei: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; CSL Behring: Other: preparing educational material and/or providing educational presentations; Pfizer: Other: preparing educational material and/or providing educational presentations; Servier Canada: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; BMS Canada: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Bayer: Other: Data and Safety Monitoring Board, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Diagnostica Stago: Other: preparing educational material and/or providing educational presentations, Research Funding; Alnylam: Equity Ownership.

Description: Introduction: Smoking is a potential risk factor for the development of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), and prior studies have reported inferior survival in tobacco users with certain subtypes of the disease (Taborelli et al, BMC Cancer, 2017; Ollberding et al, Br J Haematol, 2013). For instance, tobacco smokers with NHL had an inferior overall survival (OS) compared to non-smokers in a series of 471 patients who were managed up front with either chemotherapy (68%), radiation (27%), or observation, and this appeared to be most pronounced in patients with follicular lymphoma and in those with a 20+ pack year smoking history (Geyer et al, Cancer, 2010). The impact of tobacco use on survival specifically in patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) has not been well studied. We conducted a multicenter study in MCL and evaluated the prognostic impact of tobacco use. Methods: We included patients with MCL from 12 sites who were ≥18 years old and for whom smoking status was known at the time of diagnosis. Cases were evaluated for reported smoking status at the time of diagnosis (active smoker, prior smoker, or never smoker) and standard baseline clinical prognostic data were obtained for each patient. Descriptive statistics were generated for these characteristics and were then compared across smoking status using chi-squared tests, Fisher's exact tests, or ANOVA, where appropriate. Overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and were compared using log-rank tests. Results: Of 946 included patients, 456 (48.2%) reported never using tobacco, 360 (38.7%) reported prior tobacco use, and 130 (13.7%) reported active tobacco use at the time of diagnosis. Median age was 59 in the active smoker group, 65 in prior smokers, and 61 in never smokers (p 〈 0.001). Any major medical comorbidity (defined as the presence of CAD, CHF, diabetes, CKD, ESRD, COPD, DVT, prior malignancy, or cirrhosis) was present in 59 (45.4%) of the active smokers, 143 (39.7%) of the prior smokers, and 140 (30.7%) of the never smokers (p = 0.002). Intensive induction regimens were used in 58.2% of active smokers, 47.2% of prior smokers, and 58.4% of never smokers (p=0.007). There were no significant differences between groups in regards to sex, race, ECOG performance status, Ann Arbor stage, time to first treatment, and use of auto transplant in first remission. Patients with no prior history of tobacco use were less likely to have a high risk MIPI score at diagnosis (26% high risk) compared to prior smokers (39.5%) and active smokers (32.5%, p=0.019). With a median follow up of 3.5 years after diagnosis, there was no significant difference between the 3 groups with regards to PFS or OS (Figure 1). Five-year OS in the never smoker group was 79.8% (95% CI: 74.8%, 83.9%) vs 75.1% (64.5%, 82.9%) in the active smoker group, and 80.6% (74.6%, 85.3%) in the prior smoker group (log rank p = 0.4079). Five- year progression free survival was 50.4% (44.6%, 56.0%) in the never smoker group, 42.5% (32.2%, 52.5%) in the active smoker group, and 50.2% (43.5%, 56.6%) in the prior smoker group (log rank p= 0.3595). Conclusions: Our data suggest that active or prior smoking does not significantly impact OS or PFS in patients with MCL. This study is limited by the fact that amount of current or former tobacco use was not available and it is not known how many current tobacco users ultimately stopped smoking during the course of their treatment. Future studies should incorporate more specific information regarding smoking history including pack-years and time between discontinuation of tobacco use and date of diagnosis. While tobacco use and other modifiable cardiovascular risk factors should be addressed as appropriate for all patients with MCL, current and former tobacco users can still achieve prolonged PFS and OS and may be candidates for intensive treatments after consideration of their other comorbidities and disease-specific risk factors. Disclosures Calzada: Seattle Genetics: Research Funding. Kolla:Amgen: Equity Ownership. Bachanova:Gamida Cell: Research Funding; GT Biopharma: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Incyte: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; Kite: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Gerson:Seattle Genetics: Consultancy; Abbvie: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy. Barta:Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Research Funding; Mundipharma: Honoraria; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding; Merck: Research Funding; Mundipharma: Honoraria; Bayer: Consultancy, Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Honoraria, Research Funding. Danilov:Celgene: Consultancy; Abbvie: Consultancy; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy; Bayer Oncology: Consultancy, Research Funding; Gilead Sciences: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding; Aptose Biosciences: Research Funding; Bristol-Meyers Squibb: Research Funding; MEI: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy; Verastem Oncology: Consultancy, Other: Travel Reimbursement , Research Funding; Curis: Consultancy; Takeda Oncology: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy. Grover:Seattle Genetics: Consultancy. Karmali:Astrazeneca: Speakers Bureau; Takeda, BMS: Other: Research Funding to Institution; Gilead/Kite; Juno/Celgene: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau. Hill:Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding; TG therapeutics: Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Honoraria; Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Celegene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding; Kite: Consultancy, Honoraria; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Ghosh:Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Genentech: Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Forty Seven Inc: Research Funding; Gilead/Kite: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Spectrum: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; AbbVie: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; T G Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Astra Zeneca: Speakers Bureau. Park:BMS: Consultancy, Research Funding; Rafael Pharma: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; G1 Therapeutics: Consultancy; Teva: Consultancy, Research Funding; Gilead: Speakers Bureau; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Epperla:Pharmacyclics: Honoraria; Verastem Oncology: Speakers Bureau. Hamadani:Pharmacyclics: Consultancy; ADC Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Merck: Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy; Medimmune: Consultancy, Research Funding; Sanofi Genzyme: Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Otsuka: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding. Kahl:TG Therapeutics: Consultancy; BeiGene: Consultancy; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy; ADC Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding. Martin:Janssen: Consultancy; Sandoz: Consultancy; I-MAB: Consultancy; Teneobio: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy; Karyopharm: Consultancy. Flowers:Karyopharm: Consultancy; Denovo Biopharma: Consultancy; Burroughs Wellcome Fund: Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Research Funding; Gilead: Consultancy, Research Funding; Spectrum: Consultancy; AstraZeneca: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics/Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Bayer: Consultancy; Acerta: Research Funding; Genentech, Inc./F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd: Consultancy, Research Funding; Optimum Rx: Consultancy; Millenium/Takeda: Research Funding; Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group: Research Funding; National Cancer Institute: Research Funding; V Foundation: Research Funding; BeiGene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Research Funding. Cohen:Genentech, Inc.: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy; Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc.: Research Funding; Gilead/Kite: Consultancy; LAM Therapeutics: Research Funding; UNUM: Research Funding; Hutchison: Research Funding; Astra Zeneca: Research Funding; Lymphoma Research Foundation: Research Funding; ASH: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics, Inc.: Consultancy, Research Funding; Bristol-Meyers Squibb Company: Research Funding.

Description: Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is an intracellular enzyme that degrades heme and inhibits immune responses and inflammation in vivo. In most cell types, HO-1 is inducible by inflammatory stimuli and oxidative stress. Here we demonstrate that human monocyte-derived immature dendritic cells (iDCs) and several but not all freshly isolated rat splenic DC subsets and rat bone marrow-derived iDCs, spontaneously express HO-1. HO-1 expression drastically decreases during human and rat DC maturation induced in vitro. In human tissues, iDCs also express HO-1, whereas mature DCs do not. Induction of HO-1 expression with cobalt protoporphyrin (CoPP) in human and rat DCs inhibits lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced phenotypic maturation and secretion of proinflammatory cytokines, resulting in the inhibition of alloreactive T-cell proliferation. CoPP-treated DCs, however, retain the ability to produce the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin 10 (IL-10). Reactive oxygen species induced by LPS in DCs were inhibited by induction of HO-1. In conclusion, we identify, for the first time, the capacity of HO-1 to block maturation of DCs and to inhibit proinflammatory and allogeneic immune responses while preserving IL-10 production. This novel immune function for HO-1 may be of interest for the inhibition of immune responses in autoimmune diseases, transplantation, and other conditions involving activation of the immune system. (Blood. 2005;106:1694-1702)

Description: Background/Objective: Breakthrough hemolysis (BTH) is the return of hemolytic disease activity during treatment with complement C5 inhibitors for paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH). BTH may be associated with inadequate C5 inhibition or complement activating conditions (eg, infection). Despite reports that up to 19% of patients (pts) receiving eculizumab may experience BTH, there is no commonly accepted definition of BTH. The definition of BTH was derived from literature review and expert consensus. BTH was defined as ≥1 new or worsening symptom/sign of intravascular hemolysis (fatigue, hemoglobinuria, abdominal pain, dyspnea, anemia [hemoglobin