ALBERT

Description: Hyperhaemolysis is a rare, poorly understood complication of red cell transfusion. We report the outcomes of SCT in 2 boys of Middle Eastern origin who developed life-threatening hyperhaemolysis each following their third transfusion for β-TM at the ages of 2.5 and 4 years. The diagnosis of hyperhaemolysis was based on laboratory evidence for haemolysis, post-transfusion haemoglobin (Hb) levels lower than pre-transfusion, positive Coomb’s tests and no allo-antibody able to be identified. Haemolysis was intravascular, extravascular and severe. Precipitous drops in Hb made transfusion unavoidable. The first boy responded to prednisolone, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and splenectomy. Haemosidderosis and fibrosis were present on liver biopsy, he was therefore regarded as a Class 3 thalassaemia patient and received hydroxyurea, azathioprine, erythropoietin, desferrioxamine, busulfan, cyclophosphamide and fludarabine conditioning prior to an HLA identical sibling SCT. He is alive and well 7 years post BMT with 30% stable donor chimerism and a normal Hb. The second child’s hyperhaemolysis failed to respond to prednisolone, IVIG, rituximab and splenectomy. Provision of the large number of suitably matched red cell units required was problematic. After receiving hydroxyurea, azathioprine, desferrioxamine, busulfan, cyclophosphamide, fludarabine, thiotepa and antithymocyte globulin (ATG) preparation for a CD3/CD19 depleted maternal haplotype peripheral blood SCT, the haemolysis finally stopped. Post-transplant severe veno-occlusive disease and multi-organ failure (MOF) required dialysis and ventilation. The maternal graft was rejected so 28 days after the first transplant he received a 4/6 mismatched unrelated cord blood transplant (UCBT) following further fludarabine and ATG, which fully engrafted. He recovered from MOF and was discharged from hospital 47 days after the UCBT, transfusion independent. On day +86 he contracted Respiratory Syncytial Virus chest infection with acute intravascular haemolysis necessitating transfusions. Fulminant liver failure developed, presumably due to iron toxicity, and death occurred on day +102, having received 112 transfusions in the 12 months since presentation. In conclusion, avoiding red cell transfusion is not always possible in hyperhaemolysis, especially in β-TM. Patients may quickly become classified as Class 3 in terms of predicting BMT outcome. Immune modulation therapy and SCT was effective in 1 case but only temporarily stopped haemolysis in the other, despite full engraftment ultimately being achieved with a mismatched UCBT. SCT should be considered early in cases of hyperhaemolysis in β-TM because it can potentially cure both and result in transfusion independence. Disclosures Off Label Use: Intravenous immunoglobulin and rituximab for treatment of haemolytic anaemia; hydroxyurea, azathioprine, fludarabine, erythropoeitin, busulphan, cyclophosphamide, thiotepa and antithymocyte globulin for use in stem cell transplantation in children with thalassaemia.

Description: Background: Post-remission treatment for AML is very aggressive and many times a SCT is needed. Comparisons between Allo-SCT and Auto-SCT ve always shown more Transplant Related Mortality (TRM) but less Cumulative Incidence of Relapse (CIR) in the first group. Our study describes, not only the long-term survival outcomes, but also the quality of life in long survivors. Methods: Retrospective study of 274 patients diagnosed with non-promyelocytic AML who underwent SCT between 1982 and 2011 in our center. Characteristics in the 162 Allo-SCT and the 112 Auto-SCT groups of patients were respectively: median age of 38 and 45 years old, secondary AML in 20% and 10%, refractory to Induction AML in 16% and 3%, pre-SCT status different from Complete Remission (CR) in 13% and 3% and year of SCT before 2005 in 53% and 86%. No significant differences between both groups were found in other risk factors as hyperleucocytosis at diagnosis or adverse cytogenetics. Results: With a median follow-up of 55 months [2-316], Overall Survival (OS) until 1997 in Allo-SCT and Auto-SCT were respectively, 40% and 61% at 1 year and 28% and 45% at 5 years (figure 1), but from 1997, 66% and 70% at 1 year and 47% and 48% at 5 years (figure 2). Disease Free Survival (DFS) until 1997 in Allo-SCT and Auto-SCT were respectively, 50% and 65% at 1 year and 38% and 46% at 5 years, but from 1997, 67% and 63% at 1 year and 52% and 47% at 5 years. In the last 15 years, no differences were found between both groups in OS nor DFS. CIR in Allo-SCT and Auto-SCT were respectively, 18% and 32% at 1 year and 24% and 50% at 5 years, without dependence on year of SCT. No relapse was observed later in any group. TRM until 1997 in Allo-SCT and Auto-SCT were respectively, 30% and 7% at 1 year and 35% and 9% at 5 years, but from 1997, 16% and 2% at 1 year and 25% and 4% at 5 years. Multivariable analysis showed that the only risk factor with a negative impact on OS was not having achieved CR at the time of SCT. Other variables as older age, hyperleucocytosis at diagnosis, adverse cytogenetics, secondary AML or sooner year of SCT lost their univariable analysis significance. Allo-SCT: From the 162 patients, 72(44%) are alive by this moment, 43(60%) with ECOG 0, 21(29%) with ECOG 1 and the other 8(11%) with ECOG 2, basically because of graft versus host disease (GVHD in 39 patients, 21 steroid-dependent and 3 refractory to any treatment). All of them have been in CR during the last 2 years of follow-up. In contrast, 90(56%) patients have died: 52(58%) because of SCT complications (20 infections, 16 GVHD, 8 toxicity and 8 mixed causes), 33(37%) because of disease and 5(5%) because of other causes. With a median follow-up of 43 months [2-316], there have been 4 secondary neoplasm, all of them solid ones, which appeared with a median of 242 months [179-311] from SCT. None of them had previously received radiotherapy. Auto-SCT: From the 112 patients, 43(38%) are alive by this moment, 32(74%) with ECOG 0 and the other 11(26%) with ECOG 1. All of them have been in CR during the last 2 years of follow-up. In contrast, 69(62%) patients have died: 45(65%) because of disease, 14(20%) because of SCT complications and 10(15%) because of other causes. With a median follow-up of 93 months [5-230], there have been 6 secondary neoplasm, 5 of them hematologic ones, which appeared with a median of 90 months [76-115] from SCT. None of them had received radiotherapy, but previously treated hematopoietic stem cells. Only one is alive at the time of last follow-up. Conclusions: In one hand, despite the high incidence of relapse in Auto-SCT in any period, OS is lower in Allo-SCT during the first years [1982-1996], although it has a tendency towards OS in Auto-SCT from 1997 because of the decrease in TRM, which is more significative in Allo-SCT. In the other hand, DFS is slightly higher in Allo-SCT during the last years [1997-2011], although the quality of life in long survivors is worse, basically because of GVHD. In summary, we have not really found differences between Allo-SCT and Auto-SCT in terms of OS and DFS in our series, so both procedures are efficient to treat AML (near 50% of the patients in both groups are alive at 5 years from SCT in recent years). The decrease in TRM until 4% at 5 years in Auto-SCT makes it a good choice, particularly for older patients without risk factors. However, the development of secondary hematologic neoplasms is a relevant fact, with an incidence of 11% and a high late mortality. Figure 1 Figure 1. Figure 2 Figure 2. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

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: Introduction Cerebral sinus venous thrombosis (CSVT) is potentially life-threatening thrombosis with mortality around 10%. Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common complication in children with cancer. These children have several thrombotic risk factors such as the malignancy itself, severe infections, prothrombotic medication and immobilization. The treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) includes steroids and asparaginase (ASP), raising the VTE risk. In children with ALL the central nervous system (CNS) is a common localization for VTE. However, retrospective studies on small numbers of patients, larger studies and population-based data in children are scarce. The five Nordic countries, Estonia and Lithuania have a common treatment protocol for children with ALL between 1 and 18 years of age with prospective registration of toxicities, including CSVT offering a unique opportunity to study CSVT in this patient group. This is to our knowledge the largest report of children with ALL and CSVT describing the incidence, symptoms, treatment and the effect of CSVT on ALL treatment. Methods We assessed the symptoms, treatment, clinical risk factors and outcome of all children between ages 1 and 17 years at diagnosis of B-cell precursor or T-cell ALL between June 2008 and July 2013 and with CSVT. Data were collected from the patients’ medical records and the NOPHO leukemia registry. Results In total, 20 (1.9%) of the 1038 children with ALL treated according to the NOPHO ALL 2008 protocol developed CSVT. The cumulative incidence of CSVT was 2.0%. All the thromboses occurred within the first 5 months of treatment. The most common symptoms at the diagnosis of CSVT were headache, convulsions, weakness/fatigue and cerebral nerve palsy/hemiparesis/hemiplegia. The most frequent localizations for CSVT were sinus sagittalis (n=16) and sinus transversus (n=10). However, in most cases multiple cerebral veins were involved ( 70%). Median D-dimer at time of the CSVT diagnosis was 0.85 mg/L (range 0.19-4.7 mg/L) with 5 patients having normal D-dimer. We could not identify any clinical risk factors for CSVTs. CSVT was associated with steroids (treatment within 2 weeks before the diagnosis of CSVT) in 16/20 and with Pegylated asparaginase in 16/20. Fifteen patients were later screened for the inherited thrombophilic factors; one child had heterozygous prothrombin G20110A mutation and another heterozygous factor V (R506Q) Leiden mutation. Most patients (19/20) were treated with anticoagulants: mostly low molecular weight heparin (LMWH). The median treatment with LMWH was 26 weeks (range 14-119 weeks). No bleeding complications were observed in connection with LMWH. Two deaths were directly related to CSVT. Asparaginase was omitted from the treatment in 7 and delayed or reduced in 5 of the cases raising the risk for subsequent suboptimal leukaemia treatment. Of the surviving 18 patients, follow-up imaging revealed complete recanalization in 7 and partial recanalization in 7 cases. No imaging was available for the remaining 4 patients. Conclusions The incidence of CSVT in children with ALL was approximately 2%. No statistically significant clinical predictors for CSVT were identified. The mortality related to CSVT was 10%. Anticoagulation with LMWH was the treatment of choice in most cased and was well tolerated. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Description: Introduction: Busulfan (Bu) is used in the conditioning regimen for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of Bu with subsequents adjustments doses based on a “target” therapeutic concentration may reduce toxicity after HSCT. Objectives: To evaluatethe impact of TDM of Bu and clinical outcomes in patients with acute leukemia that underwent to allogeneic matched related donor (MRD) and allogeneic matched unrelated donor (MUD) HSCT. Patients and methods: From January 2009 to January 2014, we prospectively analyzed 42 patients with diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who underwent TDM of Bu (IV or oral) before transplantation (test dose) and TDM on 1st day of conditioning regimen. Samples were collected at 0, 30’, 60’ and subsequently every hour until 6 hours after administration of busulfan. The plasma was extracted by HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography). All the patients that were submitted to TDM had a test dose 15 days to 48 hours before transplantion. The dose of Bu was adjusted during the first day of the conditioning regimen based on test dose. At the same time we analyzed 21 patients in the retrospective group who did not underwent TDM (from 2004 to 2010). Results: In the retrospective group (n=21), all of them underwent to MRD transplantation. Six (46.2%) were in first complete remission (CR1), 18(85.7%) patients received Bu and cyclophosphamide (BuCy) and the mean of age was 38 years (18-55 Yo). The median of CD34+ cells was 5.4 x 106/kg. The second group consisted by patients that received oral Bu (n= 21): 7 (33.3%) underwent to MUD transplantation, 14 (66.6%) to MRD transplantation, 8 (44.4%) patients were second complete remission (CR2), 4 (22.2%) had active disease status with a mean age of 32.7 years (14-58 Yo). Fifteen (71.4%) received BuCy and 16 (76.2%) received cells from peripheral blood. The median of CD34+ cells was 5.8 x106/kg. The median area under the curve (AUC) in 24 hours was 4950 μMol.min (3196.6- 8212 μMol.min). The third group was IV Bu (n= 21): 7 (33.3%) patients underwent MRD and 14 (66.6%) MUD transplantation, 7 (33.3%) patients were CR1, 7 (33.3%) had active disease or prior HSCT with a mean of age 52.7 years (20-74 Yo). The majority of patients received fludarabine and Bu (n=18; 85.7%) as conditioning and bone marrow was the main source. Immunosuppression was based on FK-506 and methotrexate (90.5% of patients). The median of AUC in 24 hours was 5690 μMol.min (3539.6- 8881.8 μMol.min). The cumulative incidence (CI) of sinusoidal obstructive syndrome (SOS) in the retrospective group and IV Bu were 9.5% for both, while in the group oral Bu it was at 19% (p = 0.566). The median AUC of Bu received during conditioning for those who died of SOS was lower in oral Bu than IV Bu (4872 uMol.min vs 5732 uMol.min respectively). The CI of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) at D+100 was 38.1% in the retrospective group, 40.6% in oral Bu and 42.9% in IV Bu. Chronic GVHD was 13.6% in oral Bu, 34% in IV Bu and 42.9% in the retrospective group (p = 0.142). The CI of relapse at D+100 was 19% in IV Bu, 4.8% in the retrospective group and oral Bu did not have this event. The IC of death at D+100 was 34.9% in group oral Bu, 9.5% in IV Bu and 14.3% in the retrospective (p = 0.102). The CI of relapse at 1.5 years was 35.8% in the IV Bu, 34.8% in oral Bu and 14.3% in the retrospective group. The CI of death at 1.5 years was 9.5% in group IV Bu, 53.5% in oral Bu and 34.3% in the retrospective (p = 0.015). Among patients who died until D+100, the median of AUC was 5732 μMol.min (5578.5-6818.5 μMol.min) during the conditioning for IV Bu and 4872 μMol.min (3448-8212 μMol.min) for oral Bu. The range between the AUC was large and there was no correlation with patients who died. Conclusion: In acute leukemia SOS had an impact on mortality at D+100 after HSCT (p

Description: Introduction: The application of nanoparticles in dendritic cell (DC)-based cancer immunotherapy represents a promising strategy to enhance antigen-specific T cell immune responses. This study was to investigate the effect of bPEI-SPIONs on antigen-specific T cell responses elicited by DCs loaded with apoptotic U266 myeloma tumor antigen in the presence or absence of bPEI-SPIONs. Materials and Methods: The myeloma tumor antigens were prepared as following: 1) apoptotic U266 cells by UBV-irradiation and overnight incubation (16 h irradiated cells) and 2) apoptotic U266 cells by UVB-irradiation and 2 h incubation in the absence (2 h irradiated cells) or 3) presence of bPEI-SPIONs (bPEI-SPION 2 h irradiated cells). Monocyte-derived immature DCs were activated with TNF-α, loaded with several kinds of myeloma tumor antigens 2 h after TNF-α stimulation, and cultured for 2 days. Results: Optimal concentration of bPEI-SPIONs was 16 µg/mL to uptake into tumor cells and the bPEI-SPIONs render U266 cells sensitive to UVB-irradiation through reactive oxygen species (ROS) induction pathway hence accelerated the apoptotic cell death. 2 h irradiated cells and bPEI-SPION 2 h irradiated cells released immunogenic proteins, including HSP70, HSP90, and HMGB1. bPEI-SPION 2 h irradiated cells were easily up-taken by DCs without alteration of surface phenotypes and migration capacities. DCs loaded with bPEI-SPION 2 h irradiated cells showed highest IL-12p70 production level and Th1 polarization compared to other DCs. Conclusion: These results suggest that bPEI-SPIONs are a promising tool to improve immunogenicity of myeloma tumor cells and to enhance Th1 polarization of DCs loaded with these tumor cells. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Description: ADAMTS-13 is a protease, member of the ADAMTS family (A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase with ThromboSpondin type 1 repeats-13), which cleaves the cell bound large ultrapolymeric von Willebrand factor (vWF) strings. Circulating ADAMTS-13 is primarily synthesized and released from hepatic stellate and endothelial cells. Acquired functional deficiency of ADAMTS-13, usually due to inhibitory IgG autoantibodies, results in excessive platelet aggregation and disseminated vWF/platelet-rich thrombus formation. A possible association of low levels of ADAMTS-13 Ag with arterial thrombosis and endothelial dysfunction has also been reported. Hivert and colleagues (Blood 2012;120:3214-21) and our group have shown that increased levels of vWF, the only known substrate of ADAMTS-13, are associated with poorer prognosis in patients with symptomatic Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia (WM). Thus, our aim was to investigate the possible association of ADAMTS-13 antigen (Ag) levels with features of WM and possible biologic implications of the ADAMTS-13 / vWF interaction in WM patients’ prognosis. Our study included 42 patients with symptomatic WM who were treated and followed in the Department of Clinical Therapeutics of the University of Athens (Greece), from 1999 to 2012, 22 patients with asymptomatic WM and 19 healthy controls of matched gender and age. For the purpose of this study we used stored serum, which had been collected before initiation of any therapy. ADAMTS-13 antigen levels were measured using a commercially available kit (R&D Systems, Minneapolis, MN, USA), which has a detection limit for ADAMTS-13 13 (ng/mL) with intra- and inter-Assay Precisions of

Description: Background: Extramedullary disease (EMD), strictly defined as an infiltrate of clonal plasma cells at an anatomic site distant from the bone marrow or adjacent soft tissue in a patient with underlying multiple myeloma, is an uncommon manifestation of multiple myeloma. Comparatively little is known about this disease entity, with no large case series published in the last decade. Patients and Methods: 663 consecutive patients with multiple myeloma who underwent autologous or allogeneic stem cell transplantation at a single, large, academic medical center in the United States from January 2005 to December 2011 were assessed for the presence or absence of EMD, as well as baseline demographic and biochemical characteristics, treatment regimens, and response to therapy. Results: A cohort of 55 patients with biopsy-proven EMD was identified, comprising 8.3% of the total study population. Among the patients with EMD, 13 (23.6%) were found to have EMD at the time of initial presentation, while the remainder developed EMD during the course of their illness. Patients with EMD received a median of 5 different treatment regimens during the course of their illness, most commonly with combinations of dexamethasone, thalidomide, lenalidomide, and bortezomib, as well as autologous hemotopoietic stem cell transplantation. Patients had received a median of 3 lines of therapy prior to experiencing an extramedullary relapse. Patients with EMD had markedly elevated maximum serum LDH levels (median 613.5 units/L) and low minimum hemoglobin levels (median 7.8 g/dL). Common cytogenetic abnormalities included deletion 13q, deletion 11q, t(11;14), and deletion 17p. Available immunohistochemical data suggest that EMD specimens had frequent expression of CXCR4, CD44, and CD56. The median overall survival data of these patients was 3.2 years (range, 0.9-9.5) and the median time from diagnosis of EMD to death was 0.5 years (range, 0.002-3.2). Conclusions: This report describes a large series of multiple myeloma patients with EMD who were treated in the era of stem cell transplant at a single academic medical center. Further studies to examine the molecular characteristics of extramedullary multiple myeloma are necessary to better define this entity and characterize therapeutic options that can prolong survival in this otherwise very vulnerable population. Disclosures Ghobrial: Millennium/Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Onyx: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; BMS: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Laubach:Novartis: Research Funding; Onyx Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding. Schlossman:Millennium: Consultancy. Mitsiades:Millennium Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen: Research Funding; Johnson & Johnson: Research Funding; DFCI: patent submission on stromal co-culture technologies Patents & Royalties.

Description: Autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) occurs in CLL at some time during the course of the disease in up to 7-10% of patients. The acute onset of AIHA may occur unrelated to therapy but has also been linked to treatment with chemo­therapeutic agents including chlor­ambucil, benda­mustine and particu­larly purine nucleosides such as fludarabine. Although the mechanism is still not well understood, chemo­therapy-induced changes in regulatory T-cells have been proposed as a trigger for autoimmunity and clinical hemolysis. In contrast to these cytotoxic therapies, ibrutinib, an inhibitor of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase recently approved for the treatment of CLL, appears to have a different mechanism of action and thus far has not been associated with AIHA in published reports. However, we report here a patient with CLL and a history of prior AIHA, who developed a recurrence of acute hemolysis after the initiation of ibrutinib. The patient is a 67-year-old man diagnosed with CLL in 2002 and treated for progressive disease with a single cycle of bendamustine in 2009. Although the lymphocytosis resolved rapidly, the hemoglobin also decreased from 14 g/dL to 5.2 g/dL by 3 weeks after the start of therapy. Due to the onset of Coombs-positive AIHA, chemotherapy was dis­con­tinued. Hemolysis resolved with prednisone therapy and did not recur after a slow taper. The CLL then remained asymptomatic until 2012 when night sweats developed at a white blood cell (wbc) count of 95,000/µL. Benda­mustine was re-started and despite a negative Coombs test prior to treatment, Coombs-positive AIHA developed again with the hemoglobin falling from normal to 7.0 g/dL within 4 weeks. After stabilization with transfusions and steroids, an additional cycle of bendamustine plus rituximab was administered without further complications and the patient’s symptoms and lympho­cytosis resolved. After the discontinuation of prednisone, hemolysis did not recur clinically although the Coombs test remained 1+ positive through early 2014. By May 2014 the wbc count had increased to 144,000/µL with the onset of a mild anemia (Hgb 12.3 g/dL) and symptomatic night sweats. Due to the history of repeated chem­otherapy-associated AIHA, alter­native therapy with ibrutinib, which had not been associated with AIHA, was instituted at 420 mg daily. However, within 2 weeks the hemoglobin decreased to 7.0 g/dL while the wbc count increased to 300,000/µL. A reticulocyte count was 16%, total bilirubin 3.2 mg/dL, haptoglobin

Description: Introduction Our previous work showed that in Multiple Myeloma (MM) the immune function is impaired, including immunosuppressive properties of granulocytes due to their increased amount of arginase-1 and reduced phagocytic activity (Parrinello, manuscript in preparation). It is currently unknown if granulocyte dysfunction occurs in progression from MGUS to MM. Aim Providing a gene expression profile of mature granulocytes isolated from peripheral blood at the steady-statein MGUS and MM. Methods Using oligonucleotide microarrays we first evaluated the gene expression profile of granulocytes at the steady state in 5 MM, 3 MGUS and 3 healthy subjects matched for sex and age. Then, we validated the first up-regulated gene PROK-2, obtained from preliminary findings in granulocytes from peripheral blood in 85 consecutive newly diagnosed MGUS (N=45), MM (N=40) and 15 healthy subjects, in RT-PCR (validation set). Results We found 708 genes differentially expressed (467 up- and 241 down regulated) in MGUS versus healthy granulocytes at the steady state. The set of annotated, differentially expressed genes could befunctionally organized by “gene ontology” (http://www.geneontology.org/) into the following major categories: i) receptors and signal transduction (including up-regulation of CD14, Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR-5), IL-7 Receptor (CD127), IL-11 receptor, TGF-beta receptor 2, hematopoietic cells kinase (HCK), IFNAR1); ii) negative regulation of adaptive immune response (including up regulation of CD127, STAT6, IFNAR1, OSCAR, PROK-2 and down regulation of p50, p65,NFKBIA, IL8, ELK-1, HIF-1 alpha, CEBP-beta, CEBP-zeta). In MM samples we confirmed a statistically significant up-regulation of PROK-2 (a key molecule of VEGF-independent angiogenesis), CD14 (mediator hypersensitive innate immune response to lipopolysaccharide) and HCK (the hematopoietic cell kinase, involved in neutrophil migration and degranulation). In the validation set, PROK-2 expression was two times higher in MGUS than healthy subjects (p=.02) and up to ten times higher in MM (p=.001). In MM patients, increased levels of PROK-2 were positively associated with advanced bone disease and unfavourable cytogenetics. Conclusion Granulocytic impairment is present in MGUS and worsened in MM patients due to increased expression of genes that negatively regulate adaptive immune response. PROK-2 is a key molecule involved in the granulocyte dysfunction and could be involved in the progression from MGUS to MM. Disclosures Musto: Celgene: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria.