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The variable outcome to standard immunochemotherapy for mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) patients is a clinical challenge. Established risk factors, including high MCL International Prognostic Index (MIPI), high proliferation (Ki-67), non-classic (blastoid/pleomorphic) morphology, and mutated TP53, only partly identify patients in need of alternative treatment. Deepened understanding of biological factors that influence time to progression and relapse would allow for an improved stratification, and identification of novel targets for high-risk patients. We performed gene expression analyses to identify pathways and genes associated with outcome in a cohort of homogeneously treated patients. In addition to deregulated proliferation, we show that thermogenesis, fatty acid degradation and oxidative phosphorylation are altered in patients with poor survival, and that high expression of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A (CPT1A), an enzyme involved in fatty acid degradation, can specifically identify high-risk patients independent of the established high-risk factors. We suggest that complementary investigations of metabolism may increase the accuracy of patient stratification and that immunohistochemistry- based assessment of CPT1A can contribute to defining high-risk MCL.

SAMHD1 is a deoxynucleoside triphosphate triphosphohydrolase (dNTPase) that restricts viral replication in infected cells and limits the sensitivity to cytarabine by hydrolysing its active metabolite, as recently shown in acute myeloid leukemia. Cytarabine is an essential component in the Nordic mantle cell lymphoma protocols (MCL2 and MCL3) for induction and high-dose chemotherapy treatment before autologous stem cell transplantation for younger patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). We here investigated the expression of SAMHD1 in a population-based cohort of MCL (N = 150). SAMHD1 was highly variably expressed in MCL (range, 0.4% to 100% of positive tumor cells). Cases with blastoid/pleomorphic morphology had higher SAMHD1 expression (P = 0.028) and SAMHD1 was also correlated to tumor cell proliferation (P = 0.016). SAMHD1 expression showed moderate correlation to the expression of the transcriptional regulator SOX11 (P = 0.036) but genetic silencing of SOX11 and SAMHD1 by siRNA in MCL cell lines did not suggest mutual regulation. We hypothesized that expression of SAMHD1 could predict short time to progression in patients treated with Cytarabine as part of high-dose chemotherapy. Despite the correlation with known biological adverse prognostic factors, neither low or high SAMHD1 expression correlated to PFS or OS in patients treated according to the Nordic MCL2 or MCL3 protocols (N = 158).

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate dosimetry data and clinical variables to predict hematological toxicity in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients treated with [177Lutetium]Lu-liloto-mab satetraxetan. Material and methods: A total of 17 patients treated with [177Lu]Lu-lilotomab satetraxetan in a first-in-human phase 1/2a study were included. Absorbed dose to the red marrow was explored using SPECT/CT-imaging of the lumbar vertebrae L2–L4 over multiple time points. Percentage reduction of thrombocytes and neutrophils at nadir compared to baseline (PBN) and time to nadir (TTN) were chosen as indicators of myelosuppression and included as dependent variables. Two models were applied in the analysis, a multivariate linear model and a sigmoidal description of toxicity as a function of absorbed dose. A total of 10 independent patient variables were investigated in the multivariate analysis. Results: Absorbed dose to the red marrow ranged from 1 to 4 Gy. Absorbed dose to the red marrow was found to be the only significant variable for PBN for both thrombocytes and neutrophils. The sigmoid function gave similar results in terms of accuracy when compared to the linear model. Conclusion: Myelosuppression in the form of thrombocytopenia and neutropenia in patients treated with [177Lu]Lu-lilotomab satetraxetan can be predicted from the SPECT/CT-derived absorbed dose estimate to the red marrow. The present work was financially supported by the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority.

Survival for patients diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) has improved drastically in recent years. However, patients carrying mutations in tumour protein p53 (TP53) do not benefit from modern chemotherapy-based treatments and have poor prognosis. Thus, there is a clinical need to identify missense mutations through routine analysis to enable patient stratification. Sequencing is not widely implemented in clinical practice for MCL, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a feasible alternative to identify high-risk patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate the accuracy of p53 as a tool to identify patients withTP53missense mutations and the prognostic impact of overexpression and mutations in a Swedish population-based cohort. In total, 317 cases were investigated using IHC and 255 cases were sequenced, enabling analysis of p53 andTP53status among 137 cases divided over the two-cohort investigated. The accuracy of predicting missense mutations from protein expression was 82%, with sensitivity at 82% and specificity at 100% in paired samples. We further show the impact of p53 expression andTP53mutations on survival (hazard ratio of 3 center dot 1 in univariate analysis for both), and the association to risk factors, such as high MCL International Prognostic Index, blastoid morphology and proliferation, in a population-based setting.

Eskelund et al examined clonal hematopoiesis (CH) in a cohort of patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) treated with first-line chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation. In young, good-risk MCL patients, CH after first-line therapy arises almost entirely from preexisting clones, stabilizes after a period of expansion posttransplantation, and does not negatively impact survival.

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is characterized by marked differences in outcome, emphasizing the need for strong prognostic biomarkers. Here, we explore expression patterns and prognostic relevance of circular RNAs (circRNAs), a group of endogenous non-coding RNA molecules, in MCL. We profiled the circRNA expression landscape using RNA-sequencing and explored the prognostic potential of 40 abundant circRNAs in samples from the Nordic MCL2 and MCL3 clinical trials, using NanoString nCounter Technology. We report a circRNA-based signature (circSCORE) developed in the training cohort MCL2 that is highly predictive of time to progression (TTP) and lymphoma-specific survival (LSS). The dismal outcome observed in the large proportion of patients assigned to the circSCORE high-risk group was confirmed in the independent validation cohort MCL3, both in terms of TTP (HR 3.0; P = 0.0004) and LSS (HR 3.6; P = 0.001). In Cox multiple regression analysis incorporating MIPI, Ki67 index, blastoid morphology and presence of TP53 mutations, circSCORE retained prognostic significance for TTP (HR 3.2; P = 0.01) and LSS (HR 4.6; P = 0.01). In conclusion, circRNAs are promising prognostic biomarkers in MCL and circSCORE improves identification of high-risk disease among younger patients treated with cytarabine-containing chemoimmunotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant.

B-cell depletion induced by anti-cluster of differentiation 20 (CD20) monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapy of patients with lymphoma is expected to impair humoral responses to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination, but effects on CD8 T-cell responses are unknown. Here, we investigated humoral and CD8 T-cell responses following two vaccinations in patients with lymphoma undergoing anti-CD20-mAb therapy as single agent or in combination with chemotherapy or other anti-neoplastic agents during the last 9 months prior to inclusion, and in healthy age-matched blood donors. Antibody measurements showed that seven of 110 patients had antibodies to the receptor-binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein 3–6 weeks after the second dose of vaccination. Peripheral blood CD8 T-cell responses against prevalent human leucocyte antigen (HLA) class I SARS-CoV-2 epitopes were determined by peptide-HLA multimer analysis. Strong CD8 T-cell responses were observed in samples from 20/29 patients (69%) and 12/16 (75%) controls, with similar median response magnitudes in the groups and some of the strongest responses observed in patients. We conclude that despite the absence of humoral immune responses in fully SARS-CoV-2-vaccinated, anti-CD20-treated patients with lymphoma, their CD8 T-cell responses reach similar frequencies and magnitudes as for controls. Patients with lymphoma on B-cell depleting therapies are thus likely to benefit from current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines, and development of vaccines aimed at eliciting T-cell responses to non-Spike epitopes might provide improved protection.

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a rare, often aggressive type of B-cell lymphoma with poor survival and no cure. Cancer and cancer treatment has a negative impact on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) both during active disease and in the long term, and improvement of HRQOL is a crucial objective of cancer therapy in older patients and no curative intent. Baseline HRQOL has in other lymphoma populations been shown to be predictive of outcome. Here, we explored HRQOL, and its association with survival, by the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire, before, during and after chemotherapy in a patient cohort with mantle cell lymphoma, treated within the NLG-MCL4 trial, designed to evaluate the addition of lenalidomide (LEN) to rituximab-bendamustine (R-B) as first-line treatment. Fifty-one patients were enrolled, median age was 71 years (range 62-84), 37 were men (73%). Pre-treatment HRQOL was similar to scores from the reference population with healthy individuals. During treatment, HRQOL deteriorated, but reverted to the same level as the reference population after treatment. There was a correlation between physical function (p=0.001) and role function (p=0.006) at baseline and WHO performance status, but not with other clinical or genetic prognostic factors. None of the baseline factors were predictive for treatment related to HRQOL in this cohort. Pre-treatment physical (p=0.011) and role function (p=0.032) were independent factors associated with overall survival, and physical function (p=0.002) was also associated with progression free survival. These findings may possibly be used to design support during treatment and improve rehabilitation. Further investigations are needed for assessment of long-term HRQOL. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Background: Follicular lymphoma (FL) remains an incurable disease for most patients (pts), characterized by a relapsing and remitting pattern. For pts with relapsed/refractory (r/r) FL, treatment outcomes typically worsen with each subsequent line of therapy, highlighting an unmet need. Tisagenlecleucel (tisa-cel) has demonstrated clinical benefits and manageable safety in pediatric and young adult pts with r/r B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and adult pts with r/r diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. In a prior phase (Ph) 2a study of 14 pts with r/r FL, 71% achieved durable complete remission with tisa-cel (Chong et al. ICML 2019). Here we present a planned interim analysis of ELARA, a Ph 2, international trial of tisa-cel in adults with r/r FL. Methods: Adults with histologically confirmed FL (grades [Gr] 1-3A) being r/r within 6 mo after second-/later-line therapy (including an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody with an alkylating agent) or relapsed after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (autoHSCT), and with ECOG performance score of 0-1 were eligible. Pts with histologic transformation, prior allogeneic HSCT, or active CNS involvement were excluded. All pts received lymphodepleting chemotherapy followed by tisa-cel infusion of 0.6-6×108 CAR-T cells (bridging therapy prior to infusion was permitted). Disease was reassessed prior to infusion for all pts who received bridging therapy to establish a new baseline. After infusion, disease assessments were performed every 3 mo. The primary endpoint was complete response rate (CRR) based on best response by central review (Lugano 2014 criteria). Pts evaluable for efficacy had measurable disease at infusion and ≥6 mo follow-up from infusion or discontinued early. Secondary endpoints included overall response rate (ORR), duration of response (DOR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and safety. Results: As of May 26, 2020, 122 pts were screened, 98 were enrolled, 97 received tisa-cel (median follow-up, 6.5 mo), and 52 were evaluable for efficacy (median follow-up, 9.9 mo). At study entry, median age among treated pts was 57 y (range, 29-73), 66% of pts were male, 84% had stage III-IV disease, and 60% had a FLIPI score ≥3. The median number of prior lines of therapy was 4 (range, 2-13), including prior autoHSCT in 36%; 77% were refractory to the last prior treatment (75% ≥2 prior regimens), and 60% had disease progression within 2 y of initial anti-CD20-containing treatment. Overall, 43% of pts received bridging therapy; 18% were treated as outpatient. Of the first 52 pts evaluable for efficacy, CRR was 65.4% (34/52; 99.5% CI, 45.1-82.4) in the intent-to-treat (ITT) population and 71.1% (33/46; 99.5% CI, 56.5-84.0) in the per-protocol (PP) population; ORR was 82.7% (43/52; 95% CI, 69.7-91.8) in the ITT population and 84.8% (39/46; 95% CI, 71.1-93.7) in the PP population. In pts with best response of CR, probability of response lasting ≥6 mo was 89.7% (84.4% for all responding pts [CR+PR]). CRR and ORR were consistent across key prognostic subgroups and per investigator assessment. Median DOR, PFS, OS, and time to next antilymphoma treatment were not reached. Of 97 pts evaluable for safety, 69% experienced Gr ≥3 adverse events, most commonly neutropenia (Gr 3, 13%; Gr 4, 15%); 48% of pts had cytokine release syndrome related to tisa-cel (CRS; Gr 1, 29%; Gr 2, 20%; Gr ≥3, 0%; per Lee scale). To treat CRS, 15% of pts required tocilizumab and 3% required steroids. Any grade serious neurologic events (NEs; per CTCAE v4.03) occurred in 10% of pts; 2% had Gr ≥3 and all recovered (1 pt developed Gr 4 immune-effector cell neurotoxicity syndrome related to tisa-cel concomitant with possible HHV6 encephalitis; 1 pt developed Gr 3 delirium unrelated to tisa-cel after progression of disease and start of salvage therapy). Median time to CRS and serious NEs onset were 4 and 8.5 d, respectively, with respective median time to resolution of 4 and 2 d. Three pts died from progressive disease; no deaths were treatment-related. Conclusions: Preliminary data from ELARA suggest that tisa-cel is effective in extensively treated r/r FL, resulting in high CRRs and ORRs, including in high-risk pts. The overall safety profile is favorable, with no severe CRS and very low NE reported, requiring limited anticytokine therapy. Updated safety and efficacy results on 97 pts (including dose and cellular kinetics data) will be presented at the meeting. Disclosures Fowler: TG Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Roche: Research Funding. Dickinson:Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Merck Sharp & Dohme: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Dreyling:Astra Zeneca: Consultancy; Abbvie: Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Bayer: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Beigene: Consultancy; Gilead: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Consultancy. Martinez-Lopez:Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy; Janssen-cilag: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; BMS: Consultancy, Research Funding; Incyte: Consultancy, Research Funding. Kolstad:Merck: Research Funding; Nordic Nanovector: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Popplewell:Pfizer: Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; Roche: Research Funding. Chavez:Genentech: Speakers Bureau; Epizyme: Speakers Bureau; Gilead: Consultancy; Verastem: Consultancy; AbbVie: Consultancy; Karyopharm: Consultancy; BeiGene: Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Consultancy; Kite, a Gilead Company: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Consultancy; AstraZeneca: Speakers Bureau; Morphosys: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Merck: Research Funding; Bayer: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy. Bachy:Beigene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Roche, Celgene, Amgen, Janssen, Gilead, Novartis, Sanofi: Honoraria; Amgen: Research Funding; Roche, Gilead: Consultancy. Kato:AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Celgene, Chugai, Eisai, Janssen, and Novartis: Consultancy; hugai, Takeda, Kyowa-Kirin, Abbvie, Novartis, Eisai, Janssen, Celgene, Ono: Research Funding; Chugai, Takeda, MSD, Kyowa-Kirin, Janssen, Celgene, Ono, Mundi, Dainippon-Sumitomo, Novartis: Honoraria. Harigae:Novartis, Chugai, BMS: Honoraria. Kersten:BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company); Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company), Research Funding; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company); Janssen/Cilag: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company); Miltenyi Biotech: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company); Takeda: Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company), Research Funding; Kite/Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company); MSD: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company); Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company). Andreadis:Novartis: Research Funding; Gilead/Kite: Consultancy; Merck: Research Funding; Incyte: Consultancy; Karyopharm: Honoraria; Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria; BMS/Celgene/Juno: Honoraria, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Riedell:Bayer: Honoraria; Karyopharm Therapeutics: Honoraria; Morphosys: Research Funding; Celgene/Bristol-Myers Squibb Company: Honoraria, Research Funding; Verastem Oncology: Honoraria; Kite Pharmaceuticals/Gilead: Honoraria, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding. Nastoupil:Karus Therapeutics: Research Funding; Gamida Cell: Honoraria; Gilead/KITE: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; Merck: Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Pfizer: Honoraria, Research Funding; Bayer: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria, Research Funding; LAM Therapeutics: Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Honoraria, Research Funding; Genentech, Inc.: Honoraria, Research Funding. von Tresckow:Takeda: Honoraria, Other: Travel support, Research Funding; Amgen: Honoraria; Pfizer: Honoraria; Kite/Gilead: Honoraria; Roche: Honoraria; MSD Sharp & Dohme: Honoraria, Research Funding; Takeda: Honoraria, Other: Travel support, Research Funding; Novartis: Other: Travel support, Research Funding. Ferreri:Morphosys: Research Funding; Hutchinson: Research Funding; BMS: Research Funding; Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Teshima:Sharp & Dohme Corp: Consultancy, Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria; Pfizer Japan Inc.: Honoraria; Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd.: Honoraria, Research Funding; TEIJIN PHARMA LIMITED: Honoraria; The Center of Innovation Program from Japan Science and Technology Agency: Other; Fuji Pharma Co., Ltd.: Honoraria; NIPPON SHINYAKU CO., LTD.: Honoraria; Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K.: Other; Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI (17H04206): Other; Novartis Pharma K.K.: Consultancy, Other: Manuscript preparation, Research Funding; Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited: Consultancy, Honoraria; Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.: Research Funding; Astellas Pharma Inc.: Research Funding; Merck: Consultancy, Honoraria; Sanofi K.K.: Research Funding. Patten:Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Astra Zeneca: Honoraria; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria. McGuirk:Novartis: Research Funding; Fresenius Biotech: Research Funding; Astellas: Research Funding; Juno Therapeutics: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Allo Vir: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Kite Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Pluristem Ltd: Research Funding; Gamida Cell: Research Funding; Bellicum Pharmaceutical: Research Funding. Petzer:Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Kite-Gilead: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Roche: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Viardot:Amgen: Honoraria, Other: advisory board; Novartis: Honoraria, Other: advisory board; Kite/Gilead: Honoraria, Other: advisory board; Roche: Honoraria, Other: advisory board. Zinzani:ADC Therapeutics: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; MSD: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Immune Design: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Merck: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; EUSA Pharma: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Immune Design: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Incyte: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Sanofi: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sandoz: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Portola: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Kyowa Kirin: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Eusapharma: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Verastem: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Kirin Kyowa: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Servier: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; TG Therapeutics, Inc.: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; AbbVie: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Janssen-Cilag: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Celltrion: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Malladi:Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria. Bubuteishvili Pacaud:Novartis: Current Employment. Forcina:Novartis: Current Employment. Zia:Novartis: Current Employment. Schuster:Novartis, Genentech, Inc./ F. Hoffmann-La Roche: Research Funding; AlloGene, AstraZeneca, BeiGene, Genentech, Inc./ F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Juno/Celgene, Loxo Oncology, Nordic Nanovector, Novartis, Tessa Therapeutics: Consultancy, Honoraria. Thieblemont:Cellectis: Speakers Bureau; Roche, Amgen, Kyte Gilead, Celgene, Abbvie, Novartis, Cellectis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel support; Roche, Hospita: Research Funding.

Context Tisagenlecleucel demonstrated durable responses and manageable safety in adult patients with r/r diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Objective Determine the efficacy and safety of tisagenlecleucel in adult patients with r/r FL. Design ELARA (NCT03568461) is an international, multicenter, single-arm, phase 2 trial of tisagenlecleucel treatment. Patients or Other Participants Adult (≥18 years) patients with r/r FL (grades 1–3A) after ≥2 lines of therapy or whose disease relapsed after autologous stem cell transplant were eligible. As of September 28, 2020, 98 patients were enrolled. Interventions Bridging therapy was permitted, and disease status was reassessed prior to infusion. Patients received tisagenlecleucel (0.6–6×10 8 CAR+ viable T-cells) after lymphodepleting chemotherapy. Main Outcomes Measures Primary endpoint was complete response rate (CRR) by central review (Lugano 2014 criteria). Secondary endpoints included overall response rate (ORR), duration of response (DOR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), safety, and cellular kinetics. Results Ninety-seven patients received tisagenlecleucel (median follow-up, 10.6 months). Median age at study entry was 57 years (range, 29-73), 85% had stage III–IV disease, 60% had a FLIPI score ≥3, 65% had bulky disease, and 42% had LDH > upper limit of normal. Median number of prior therapies was 4 (range, 2–13); 78% of patients were refractory to their last treatment, and 60% progressed ≤2 years of initial anti-CD20-containing treatment. Among 94 patients evaluable for efficacy, CRR was 66% (95% CI, 56%–75%), and ORR was 86% (95% CI, 78%–92%). Estimated DOR (CR) and PFS rates at 6 months were 94% (95% CI, 82%–98%) and 76% (95% CI, 65%–84%), respectively. Of 97 patients evaluable for safety, 65% experienced grade ≥3 adverse events ≤8 weeks post-infusion, most commonly neutropenia (28%) and anemia (13%). Any-grade cytokine release syndrome (Lee scale) occurred in 49% of patients. Any-grade neurological events (per CTCAE v4.03) occurred in 9% of patients. Three patients died from disease progression. C(max) and AUC(0–28d) for tisagenlecleucel were similar between responders and nonresponders. C(max) was achieved at a median of 10 days in responders and 12.9 days in nonresponders. Conclusions Tisagenlecleucel demonstrated efficacy and a favorable safety profile in patients with r/r FL. The study was funded by Novartis.

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is an incurable disease with a highly variable clinical course. The prognosis after relapse is generally poor, and no standard of care exists. We investigated the postrelapse outcomes of 149 patients who were initially treated in the Nordic Lymphoma Group trials, MCL2 or MCL3, both representing intensive cytarabine-containing frontline regimens including autologous stem cell transplant. Patients with progression of disease before 24 months (POD24, n = 51, 34%) displayed a median overall survival of 6.6 months compared with 46 months for patients with later POD (n = 98, 66%; P < 0.001). MCL international prognostic index, cell proliferation marker, blastoid morphology, and TP53 mutations showed independent prognostic value irrespective of POD24, and in a combined, exploratory risk score, patients with 0, 1, 2-3, or 4-5 high-risk markers, respectively, displayed a 5-year overall survival of 62%, 39%, 31%, and 0%. By a comparison of median progression-free survival of the different salvage therapies in the relapse setting, bendamustine-rituximab was superior to all other combination chemotherapy regimens; however, it was also associated with longer responses to last line of therapy. Collectively, we confirm the prognostic impact of POD24 and highlight the relevance of other biomarkers, and we emphasize the importance of novel therapies for patients with high-risk features at first POD.

We characterised patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) with poor prognosis based on differences in immune infiltration. Different expressions of the tumour cell markers Cyclin D1 and sex-determining region Y-box transcription factor 11 (SOX11), and the immune markers cluster of differentiation 3 (CD3), CD4, CD8, CD25, forkhead box protein P3 (FoxP3), T-box transcription factor TBX21 (T-bet), programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), programmed-death ligand 1 (PD-L1) and CD163 were investigated for all-cause mortality in 282 patients with MCL and time-to-progression (TTP) in 106 clinical trial patients. With increasing age, a significantly lower infiltration of CD3(+) T lymphocytes was seen. T-cell infiltration was independent of cellular tumour antigen p53 (p53) expression, Ki-67, morphology and frequency of tumour cells. The all-cause mortality was higher in patients with PD-L1-expression above cut-off [hazard ratio (HR) 1 center dot 97, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1 center dot 18-3 center dot 25, adjusted for sex and MCL International Prognostic Index (MIPI)] and a higher frequency of CD163(+) cells (continuously, HR 1 center dot 51, 95% CI 1 center dot 03-2 center dot 23, adjusting for age, sex, morphology, Ki-67 and p53). In patients treated within the Nordic Lymphoma Group MCL2/3 trials, TTP was shorter in patients with a higher frequency of FoxP3(+) cells (HR 3 center dot 22, 95% CI 1 center dot 40-7 center dot 43) and CD163(+) cells (HR 6 center dot 09, 95% CI 1 center dot 84-20 center dot 21), independent of sex and MIPI. When combined a higher frequency of CD163(+) macrophages and PD-L1(+) cells or high CD163(+) macrophages and FoxP3(+) regulatory T cells indicated worse outcome independent of established risk factors. The T-cell infiltrate was in turn independent of molecular characteristics of the malignant cells and decreased with age.

For patients with indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma who fail initial anti-CD20–based immunochemotherapy or develop relapsed or refractory disease, there remains a significant unmet clinical need for new therapeutic approaches to improve outcomes and quality of life. 177Lu-lilotomab satetraxetan is a next-generation single-dose CD37-directed radioimmunotherapy (RIT) which was investigated in a phase 1/2a study in 74 patients with relapsed/refractory indolent non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphoma, including 57 patients with follicular lymphoma (FL). To improve targeting of 177Lu-lilotomab satetraxetan to tumor tissue and decrease hematologic toxicity, its administration was preceded by the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab and the “cold” anti-CD37 antibody lilotomab. The most common adverse events (AEs) were reversible grade 3/4 neutropenia (31.6%) and thrombocytopenia (26.3%) with neutrophil and platelet count nadirs 5 to 7 weeks after RIT. The most frequent nonhematologic AE was grade 1/2 nausea (15.8%). With a single administration, the overall response rate was 61% (65% in patients with FL), including 30% complete responses. For FL with ≥2 prior therapies (n = 37), the overall response rate was 70%, including 32% complete responses. For patients with rituximab-refractory FL ≥2 prior therapies (n = 21), the overall response rate was 67%, and the complete response rate was 24%. The overall median duration of response was 13.6 months (32.0 months for patients with a complete response). 177Lu-lilotomab satetraxetan may provide a valuable alternative treatment approach in relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma, particularly in patients with comorbidities unsuitable for more intensive approaches. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01796171.

Relapse of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after standard of care treatment is common and new therapies are needed. The targeted alpha therapy with 212Pb-NNV003 presented in this study combines cytotoxic α-particles from 212Pb, with the anti-CD37 antibody NNV003, targeting B-cell malignancies. The goal of this study was to explore 212Pb-NNV003 for treatment of CD37 positive chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in preclinical mouse models.An anti-proliferative effect of 212Pb-NNV003 was observed in both chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (MEC-2) and Burkitt’s lymphoma (Daudi) cells in vitro. In biodistribution experiments, accumulation of 212Pb-NNV003 was 23%ID/g and 16%ID/g in Daudi and MEC-2 tumours 24 h post injection. In two intravenous animal models 90% of the mice treated with a single injection of 212Pb-NNV003 were alive 28 weeks post cell injection. Median survival times of control groups were 5–9 weeks. There was no significant difference between different specific activities of 212Pb-NNV003 with regards to therapeutic effect or toxicity. For therapeutically effective activities, a transient haematological toxicity was observed. This study shows that 212Pb-NNV003 is effective and safe in preclinical models of CD37 positive chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, warranting future clinical testing.

Patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) generally have a dismal prognosis. Intensified induction treatment with rituximab and high dose cytarabine (R_HDAC), and consolidation with high-dose therapy with autologous stem cell support has resulted in 10-year overall survival (OS) higher than 60%. However, the clinical course varies. Diagnostic tools capable of stratifying patients include the MCL International Prognostic Index (MIPI), gene expression-based proliferation signature, Ki-67 proliferation index or tumour cell morphology. Here, we tested the performance of a newly developed Nanostring-based RNA expression-based proliferation assay (MCL35) on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumour tissue from younger patients recruited in or treated according to Nordic MCL protocols compared to the prognosticators listed above. Seventy-four patients were included and the assay performed well in all cases except four, which had inadequate RNA quality. The patients were evenly distributed in the MCL35 low-, intermediate- and high-risk categories. MCL35 low- and intermediate- risk groups had overlapping progression-free survival (PFS), while patients in the high-risk category had significantly inferior PFS. Combining MCL35 with MIPI or the MIPI-C (MIPI with the addition of binary Ki67 score +/-30%) showed a better discrimination than either assessment alone. In conclusion, the MCL35 assay alone or combined with MIPI or MIPI-C scores can identify patients who still have a dismal outcome despite intensified treatment.

Introduction: Regulatory T cells (Tregs), a highly immunosuppressive subset of CD4 + T cells, represent a key challenge in the tumor microenvironment by limiting potent antitumor immune responses. While high densities of tumor-infiltrating Tregs are associated with poor prognosis in patients with various types of solid cancers, their prognostic impact in B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) remains unclear. Emerging studies suggest substantial heterogeneity in the phenotype and suppressive capacities of Tregs, emphasizing the importance of understanding Treg diversity and the need for additional markers to identify highly suppressive Tregs. Our in-depth characterization of Tregs in NHL tumors could open new paths for rational drug design, facilitating selective therapeutic manipulation of Tregs to reduce immunosuppression and improve anti-tumor immunity. Methods: Single-cell suspensions from NHL patients (diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), follicular lymphoma (FL), mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and healthy donors (tonsils and peripheral blood)) were analyzed by fluorescent flow- and mass cytometry to characterize Tregs, focusing on their expression of co-stimulatory and co-inhibitory checkpoint receptors. The immunosuppressive capacity of Tregs was measured by in vitro co-culture of FACS-sorted subsets of Tregs together with autologous CellTrace Violet-labelled T effector cells as responder cells, using samples from FL and tonsils. Live CD4 + T cells were obtained by FACS sorting from DLBCL (n = 3), FL (n = 3) and healthy donor tonsils (n = 3) and subjected to single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), Cellular Indexing of Transcriptomes and Epitopes by Sequencing (CITE-seq) and scTCR-seq by the 10X Genomics platform. The computational framework of CIBERSORTx was used to generate unique signature matrices for the three Treg subsets identified by scRNA-seq, to facilitate validation in separate scRNA-seq cohorts (King, Sci Immunol 2021; Roider, Nat Cell Biol 2020), and to impute frequencies of the Treg subsets in cohorts with bulk RNA-seq data (Chapuy, Nat Med 2018; Schmitz, NEJM 2018; Pastore, Lancet Oncol 2015). Results: Immunophenotyping by mass cytometry revealed a subset of activated Tregs identified by co-expression of TIGIT, CTLA-4, PD-1, ICOS and OX40, and higher expression of FOXP3, CD25 and CD45RO, that was present in DLBCL and tonsils, but lacking in peripheral blood. This was validated by fluorescent flow cytometry, demonstrating significantly higher frequencies of activated Tregs in NHL tumors compared to PBMCs and tonsils from healthy donors. The phenotypic heterogeneity of intratumoral Tregs reflected different suppressive capacities as activated Tregs more potently suppressed the proliferation of autologous effector CD4 + and CD8 + T cells than naïve Tregs. For global transcriptomic profiling of CD4 + T cells from FL, DLBCL and tonsillar samples, we integrating scRNA-seq and CITE-seq data from 17,774 cells, revealing 13 distinct cellular states including three states of Tregs: naïve, activated and non-conventional LAG3 +FOXP3 - Tregs. Activated Tregs had higher expression of checkpoint receptors (TNFRSF4, TNFRSF18, ICOS), phosphatases (DUSP2, DUSP4), NF-κB pathway (NFKBIA, TNFAIP3, NFKBIZ, REL), chemokine receptors (CXCR4) and transcription factors (JUNB, IRF1, STAT3) as compared to naïve Tregs. We next used a computational approach to develop unique signature matrices for each Treg subset. This approach demonstrated strong concordance between CIBERSORTx estimated cell abundances of the three Treg subsets and the ground truth, and was validated in two external scRNA-seq cohorts. The development of unique signature matrices for Treg subsets facilitated imputation of their frequencies in bulk RNA-seq datasets. These analyses revealed that higher frequency of activated Tregs was enriched in the germinal B cell subtype of DLBCL and was associated with adverse outcome in FL. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that Tregs infiltrating NHL tumors are transcriptionally and functionally diverse and include highly immunosuppressive activated Tregs co-expressing several checkpoint receptors, which distinguish them from peripheral blood Tregs. Activated intratumoral Tregs could hamper clinical responses to checkpoint blockade, and identifying and targeting their vulnerabilities has the potential to improve anti-tumor immune responses. Disclosures Holte: Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Roche: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Nordic: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Nanovector: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: lectures honorarias; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Alizadeh: Cibermed: Consultancy, Current holder of individual stocks in a privately-held company, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company; CAPP Medical: Current holder of individual stocks in a privately-held company, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company; Forty Seven: Current holder of individual stocks in a privately-held company, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company; Foresight Diagnostics: Consultancy, Current holder of individual stocks in a privately-held company, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen Oncology: Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Gilead: Consultancy; Bristol Myers Squibb: Research Funding.

Background: Follicular lymphoma is an indolent disease with a continuous relapsing pattern and typically requires multiple lines of therapy. Novel therapies such as tisagenlecleucel are being investigated to improve outcomes. Primary analysis of the single-arm, multicenter, Phase II ELARA trial in r/r FL demonstrated that tisagenlecleucel resulted in high overall (ORR) and complete response rates (CRR), and prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) at a median follow-up of 11 months (mo). Here, we report updated efficacy results from the overall population at a median follow-up of 17 mo, and a subgroup analysis of pts with high-risk disease from the ELARA trial (NCT03568461). Methods: Eligible adult pts had histologically confirmed r/r FL (grades 1-3A) after ≥2 lines of therapy or had relapsed after autologous stem cell transplant. Bridging therapy was allowed and was followed by disease evaluation before tisagenlecleucel infusion. Pts received tisagenlecleucel (0.6-6×10 8 CAR+ viable T cells) after lymphodepleting chemotherapy (fludarabine [25 mg/m 2] + cyclophosphamide [250 mg/m 2] QD for 3 d or bendamustine [90 mg/m 2] QD for 2 d). Endpoints included ORR, CRR, PFS, and duration of response (DOR). Descriptive efficacy subanalyses were performed for 9 high-risk subgroups, including prior hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), ≥5 prior lines of therapy, progression of disease within 24 mo from first immunochemotherapy (POD24), double-refractory disease, high Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index (FLIPI) at study entry, high lactate dehydrogenase at baseline, high C-reactive protein (CRP) prior to infusion, radiological bulky disease (by GELF criteria), and high total metabolic tumor volume (TMTV; >510 cm 3) at baseline (median 155.32 cm 3; range 0.1-2470.4 cm 3). Descriptive subgroup analysis was supported by multivariate analysis to identify factors predictive of worse outcomes. Results: As of March 29, 2021, 97 pts received tisagenlecleucel and 94 were evaluable for primary efficacy analysis (median follow-up 17 mo). High and durable responses were seen in the overall ELARA population (ORR 86.2%, CRR 69.1%, 9-mo DOR 76.0%, and 12-mo PFS 67.0%). In CR pts at 9 mo, PFS was 85.5% and estimated probability of remaining in response was 86.5%. Safety reflected known tisagenlecleucel profile; 48% of pts had CRS (majority were grade 1/2) and 11.3% had neurological events (3% grade ≥3). In the subgroup analysis, pts were stratified into risk groups. Efficacy (ORR, CRR) and durability of response were well maintained in all high-risk subgroups, except for POD24 (n=35), high TMTV (n=20), and ≥5 prior lines of therapy (n=27). Compared with corresponding low-risk subgroups, there was a numerical reduction in CRR for high-risk subgroups (POD24 59.0% vs 87.9%; high TMTV 40.0% vs 76.4%; ≥5 prior lines of therapy 59.3% vs 73.1%) (Figure). A reduction in 12-mo PFS was also identified for pts in these subgroups: POD24 (60.8% vs 77.9%), high baseline TMTV (54.5% vs 68.5%), and ≥5 prior lines of therapy (59.6% vs 69.7%). Evaluating the disease characteristics of the high TMTV subgroup compared with low TMTV, high TMTV was associated with a higher incidence of bulky disease (58.3% vs 90.0%), high FLIPI (54.2% vs 85.0%), and high CRP (45.8% vs 70.0%). In the multivariate analysis of high-risk factors, only POD24 (hazard ratio [HR] 2.34; 95% CI, 1.02- 5.34) and high TMTV (HR 2.53; 95% CI, 1.14-5.65) were associated with shorter PFS. For pts with both POD24 and high TMTV (n=12), the CRR was 16.7% with a 12-mo PFS of 36.0%. These analyses of high-risk subgroups are exploratory in nature and should be validated in a larger study cohort. Conclusions : With 17-mo median follow-up, tisagenlecleucel produced high ORR and CRR and was associated with durable response and promising 12-mo PFS in pts with r/r FL and 2+ prior lines of therapy. Safety was consistent with known tisagenlecleucel profile. POD24 and high TMTV were independently associated with PFS. These results suggest that tisagenlecleucel can induce high rates of durable response, including most pts in the high-risk disease subgroups, who have poor prognosis with current non-CAR-T cell therapies. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Thieblemont: Bristol Myers Squibb/Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses ; Gilead Sciences: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses ; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses ; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses , Research Funding; Kyte: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses ; Takeda: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Incyte: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses ; Cellectis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses ; Hospira: Research Funding; Bayer: Honoraria; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses . Dickinson: Amgen: Honoraria; Gilead Sciences: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; MSD: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel, accommodation, expenses, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Martinez-Lopez: Incyte: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; BMS: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Roche: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Astellas: Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Kolstad: Nordic Nanovector: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Popplewell: Pfizer: Other: Travel; Novartis: Other: Travel; Hoffman La Roche: Other: Food. Chavez: AstraZeneca: Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy; MorphoSys: Speakers Bureau; Karyopharm Therapeutics: Consultancy; Adaptive: Research Funding; Kite/Gilead: Consultancy; Abbvie: Consultancy; Merck: Research Funding; BeiGene: Speakers Bureau; ADC Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Bristol Myers Squibb: Speakers Bureau; Epizyme: Speakers Bureau. Bachy: Roche: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy; Kite, a Gilead Company: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; Daiishi: Research Funding; Incyte: Consultancy. Kato: Kyowa Kirin: Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Eisai: Consultancy, Research Funding; Dainippon-Sumitomo: Honoraria; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Research Funding; Chugai: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy; Abbvie: Consultancy, Research Funding; MSD: Honoraria; Mundi: Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy, Research Funding; Ono: Honoraria, Research Funding. Harigae: Novartis Pharma: Honoraria, Research Funding; Chugai Pharma: Honoraria; Janssen Pharma: Honoraria; Ono pharma: Honoraria, Other: Subsidies or Donations; Astellas Pharma: Other: Subsidies or Donations; Kyowakirin: Other: Subsidies or Donations; Bristol Myers Squibb: Honoraria. Kersten: Kite/Gilead: Honoraria, Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria; Miltenyi Biotech: Honoraria; BMS/Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Roche: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria. Andreadis: GenMAB: Research Funding; Karyopharm: Honoraria; Incyte: Honoraria; BMS/Celgene: Research Funding; Epizyme: Honoraria; Crispr Therapeutics: Research Funding; Atara: Consultancy, Honoraria; Novartis: Research Funding; Kite: Honoraria; Merck: Research Funding; Roche: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Ended employment in the past 24 months; TG Therapeutics: Honoraria. Riedell: Kite/Gilead: Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; MorphoSys: Research Funding; BeiGene: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene/BMS: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Tessa Therapeutics: Research Funding; Bayer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Xencor: Research Funding; Karyopharm: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Calibr: Research Funding. Pérez-Simón: Novartis: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Chen: Mesolbast: Honoraria; Morphosys: Honoraria. Nastoupil: MorphoSys: Honoraria; Bayer: Honoraria; Genentech: Honoraria, Research Funding; Takeda: Honoraria, Other: DSMC, Research Funding; IGM Biosciences: Research Funding; Denovo Pharma: Other: DSMC; Bristol Myers Squibb/Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Caribou Biosciences: Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; Gilead/Kite: Honoraria, Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria, Research Funding; ADC Therapeutics: Honoraria; Epizyme: Honoraria, Research Funding; Pfizer: Honoraria, Research Funding. Von Tresckow: Pentixafarm: Consultancy, Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Congress and travel support, Research Funding; MSD: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Congress and travel support, Research Funding; Kite-Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria; BMS-Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Congress and travel support; AstraZeneca: Honoraria, Other: Congress and travel support; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria; AbbVie: Other: Congress and travel support; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other, Research Funding. Ferreri: Gilead, Novartis, Juno, PletixaPharm, Roche, Incyte: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; BMS, Beigene, Pharmacyclics, Hutchison Medipharma, Amgen, Genmab, ADC Therapeutics, Gilead, Novartis, Pfizer: Research Funding. Teshima: Fuji pharma CO.,Ltd: Research Funding; Astellas Pharma Inc.: Research Funding; TEIJIN PHARMA Limited: Research Funding; CHUGAI PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD.: Research Funding; Pfizer Inc.: Honoraria; Merck Sharp & Dohme: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Kyowa Kirin Co.,Ltd.: Honoraria, Research Funding; Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis International AG: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other, Research Funding; Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K.: Other; Nippon Shinyaku Co., Ltd.: Research Funding; Bristol Myers Squibb: Honoraria; Sanofi S.A.: Research Funding; Gentium/Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy. Patten: ASTRA ZENECA: Honoraria; ABBVIE: Honoraria; NOVARTIS: Honoraria; GILEAD SCIENCES: Honoraria, Research Funding; ROCHE: Research Funding; JANSSEN: Honoraria. McGuirk: Kite/ Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel accommodations, expense, Kite a Gilead company, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Research Funding; Gamida Cell: Research Funding; Fresenius Biotech: Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; EcoR1 Capital: Consultancy; Magenta Therapeutics: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Allovir: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Juno Therapeutics: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Astelllas Pharma: Research Funding; Bellicum Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Pluristem Therapeutics: Research Funding. Petzer: AppVie: Honoraria; Astra Zeneca: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Honoraria; Amgen: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria; Sanofi: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria; Sandoz: Honoraria. Viardot: University Hospital of Ulm: Current Employment; F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd: 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; Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Kite/Gilead: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Zinzani: JANSSEN-CILAG: Other: Advisory board, Speakers Bureau; NOVARTIS: Consultancy, Other, Speakers Bureau; EUSAPHARMA: Consultancy, Other, Speakers Bureau; SANDOZ: Other: Advisory board; MSD: Consultancy, Other: Advisory board, Speakers Bureau; TAKEDA: Other: Advisory board, Speakers Bureau; BMS: Other: Advisory board, Speakers Bureau; TG Therapeutics: Other: Advisory board, Speakers Bureau; ROCHE: Other, Speakers Bureau; SERVIER: Other: Advisory board, Speakers Bureau; KYOWA KIRIN: Other, Speakers Bureau; Incyte: Other, Speakers Bureau; CELLTRION: Other: Advisory board, Speakers Bureau; ADC Therap.: Other; GILEAD: Other: Advisory board, Speakers Bureau; Beigene: Other, Speakers Bureau; VERASTEM: Consultancy, Other: Advisory board, Speakers Bureau. Malladi: Gilead Science: Consultancy; Gilead: Honoraria, Other: Travel support. Lobetti Bodoni: Spouse: Amgen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Spouse: Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Spouse: Celgene: Honoraria; Spouse: Harlcok Healthcare: Current holder of individual stocks in a privately-held company; Spouse: Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Spouse: Sanofi: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Spouse: NHS: Ended employment in the past 24 months; Spouse: F. Hoffmann-La Roche: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company; Gilead: Other: Travel sponsorship in June 2019; Novartis: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Masood: Novartis: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Schuster: Genentech/Roche: Consultancy, Research Funding; Tessa Theraputics: Consultancy; Loxo Oncology: Consultancy; BeiGene: Consultancy; Juno Theraputics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Alimera Sciences: Consultancy; Merck: Research Funding; Incyte: Research Funding; Acerta Pharma/AstraZeneca: Consultancy; Abbvie: Consultancy, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Patents & Royalties, Research Funding; TG Theraputics: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Research Funding; Adaptive Biotechnologies: Research Funding; Nordic Nanovector: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding. Fowler: Bristol Myers Squibb, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, TG Therapeutics and Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; BostonGene, Corp: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Dreyling: Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Astra Zeneca: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; BeiGene: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Genmab: Consultancy; Amgen: Speakers Bureau; Incyte: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Gilead/Kite: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Roche: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Abbvie: Research Funding.

Despite recent advances in lymphoma treatment, mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) remains incurable, and we are still unable to identify patients who will not benefit from the current standard of care. Here, we explore the prognostic value of recurrent genetic aberrations in diagnostic bone marrow (BM) specimens from 183 younger patients with MCL from the Nordic MCL2 and MCL3 trials, which represent current standard-of-care regimens. In the univariate model, mutations of TP53 (11%) and NOTCH1 (4%), and deletions of TP53 (16%) and CDKN2A (20%), were significantly associated with inferior outcomes (together with MIPI, MIPI-c, blastoid morphology, and Ki67 > 30%); however, in multivariate analyses, only TP53 mutations (HR, 6.2; P 30%, blastoid morphology, MIPI high-risk, and inferior responses to both induction- and high-dose chemotherapy. In conclusion, we show that TP53 mutations identify a phenotypically distinct and highly aggressive form of MCL with poor or no response to regimens including cytarabine, rituximab, and autologous stem-cell transplant (ASCT). We suggest patients with MCL should be stratified according to TP53 status, and that patients with TP53 mutations should be considered for experimental frontline trials exploring novel agents.

Background: Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a rare, often aggressive type of B-cell lymphoma with poor survival and no cure. Cancer and cancer treatment has a negative impact on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) both during active disease and in the long term, and improvement of HRQOL may be one of the most important objectives of cancer therapy. In addition, baseline HRQOL has in other lymphoma populations been shown to be predictive of outcome. Hitherto, there are only few reports on HRQOL in MCL. The primary aim of this study was to explore HRQOL before, during and after chemotherapy in an elderly population with MCL. Secondary aims were to identify predictors for HRQOL, information that can be used for improvement in rehabilitation. Methods: The cohort consisted of patients included in the multicenter open-label phase Ib-II NLG-MCL4 trial (LENA-BERIT), designed to evaluate the addition of lenalidomide (LEN) to rituximab-bendamustine (R-B) as first-line treatment in elderly patients (>65 years) with MCL. The treatment with R-B stopped after six months, LEN continued for six more months. HRQOL was assessed by the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire pre-treatment, and after 6, 12 and 24 months post study inclusion. For the functional scales and the global quality of life scale a higher score represents a better level of functioning. For the symtom scales and single items, a higher score corresponds to a higher level of symtoms. Patient scores were compared to scores from a reference population sample at baseline. Survival was analysed by Kaplan-Meier estimates, and cox regression multivariate analysis was used to assess survival with adjustments for prognostic factors, age, sex and more. Results: Fifty-one patients were enrolled, 1 patient was excluded based on screen failure. Median age was 71 years (range 62-84), 37 were men (73%). Stratified according to Mantle Cell Lymphoma International Prognostic Index (MIPI), 5 (10%) were low-risk, 18 (38%) intermediate and 26 (52%) high-risk. Follow-up time for living patients were 52 months, and for deceased patients 27 months. Median overall survival time were 52 months. The proportion of patients reporting HRQOL data was at baseline; 48 (96%), after 6 months; 33 (83%), after 12 months; 27 (89%), and after 24 months; 12 (75%). During the first six months of treatment, several functional scores deteriorated, and after 12 months it had stabilised at baseline level or better. The global health status (QoL) improved at 12 months after diagnosis, but then dropped to baseline levels after 2 years. Before treatment, patients exhibited levels of the symptom scores, comparable to the reference population. Six months after start of therapy, the scores for pain, dyspnoea and insomnia were improved, while appetite loss and diarrhoea were impaired. After 12 months, the symptom scales improved to a level superior compared both to baseline and the reference population. The population was divided into two groups, with the median as cut-off values. In the multivariate analysis, including MIPI, gender and the presence of TP53 mutation, impaired pre-treatment physical function, role function and elevated pain score were independent prognostic markers for overall survival. Role function and pain were also independent prognostic markers for progression free survival. Conclusion: In this population of elderly patients with MCL, pre-treatment HRQOL was similar to the reference population. During treatment, HRQOL deteriorated, but reverted to the same level as the reference population after treatment. Pre-treatment physical and role function and pain were independent factors associated with overall survival. These novel findings may be used to design support during treatment and improve rehabilitation. Figure Disclosures Jerkeman: Roche: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Gilead: Research Funding; Abbvie: Research Funding.

Introduction: Regulatory T cells (Tregs), a highly immunosuppressive subset of CD4 T cells, are enriched in B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and constitute a barrier to potent antitumor immune responses. Despite extensive studies, the significance of tumor-infiltrating Tregs on disease outcome is unclear and while Tregs may express co-inhibitory and co-stimulatory receptors, the role of intratumoral Tregs in the context of immune checkpoint therapy remains elusive. Emerging evidence suggests heterogeneity among Tregs and their suppressive capacities in cancer, emphasizing the need for additional markers to identify highly suppressive Tregs. Therefore, an in-depth characterization of Treg heterogeneity in NHL could provide important insight into the disease pathogenesis and have implications for rational drug design. Methods: Expression of checkpoint receptors in Tregs was characterized by fluorescence flow cytometry and mass cytometry analysis of single-cell suspensions from diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL; n = 16), follicular lymphoma (FL; n = 8), mantle cell lymphoma (MCL; n = 10), marginal zone lymphoma (MZL; n = 2), chronic lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL; n = 7), as well as tonsils (n = 8) and peripheral blood (n = 4) from healthy donors. Functional characterization of intratumoral Tregs was performed by a proliferation assay using FACS-sorted Tregs as suppressor cells and autologous CellTrace Violet-labelled T effector cells as responder cells. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) was performed on FACS-sorted CD4 T cells from 3 DLBCL, 3 FL and 3 healthy donor tonsils using the 10X Genomics single cell 5' based library construction and VDJ libraries for TCR-sequencing. Additionally, for simultaneous profiling of phenotypic features with the mRNA expression in single cells, Cellular Indexing of Transcriptomes and Epitopes by Sequencing (CITEseq) was applied. The Treg compartment was characterized by clustering into distinct transcriptional Treg states and differential expression of marker genes. Results: TIGIT and CTLA-4 were identified as common markers of intratumoral Tregs, in addition to FOXP3 and CD25. Unsupervised computational analysis revealed two distinct Treg subsets, based on contrasting expression of PD-1, OX40, CD226 and ICOS (Figure 1A). One subset displayed a checkpoint receptorlow phenotype that corresponded to peripheral blood Tregs. The second subset had a checkpoint receptorhigh phenotype with elevated levels of PD-1, OX40, ICOS, TIGIT, CTLA-4 and increased levels of activation markers CD28, CD69 and CD95/Fas. The frequency of checkpoint receptorhigh Tregs was significantly increased in NHL tumors, compared to PBMCs and tonsils from healthy donors. FL tumors had the highest frequency of Tregs with receptorhigh phenotype among the NHL entities (median frequency of 86%, range 71-92%) and DLBCL had the highest donor-to-donor variation (median frequency of 77%, range 35-98%) (Figure 1B). This phenotypic heterogeneity of the Treg compartment reflected different suppressive capacities of the two subsets. Checkpoint receptorhigh Tregs were more potent mediators of immunosuppression in terms of suppressing the proliferation of autologous effector CD4 and CD8 T cells (Figure 1C). Furthermore, transcriptomic analysis of CD4 T cells by scRNA-seq and CITEseq revealed distinct transcriptomic signatures of the checkpoint receptorhigh and -receptorlow subsets. In addition, a third subset of Tregs, characterized by increased expression of LAG3 and immunosuppression-associated genes (CTLA-4, IL10, CD38, KLRB1) but lack of FOXP3, was identified (Figure 1D-E). Analysis of scTCR-sequences to compare TCR repertoires and to identify developmental trajectories will further add to our knowledge of intratumoral Tregs. Conclusions: These results reveal heterogeneity within the Treg compartment in NHL based on expression of checkpoint receptors, transcriptional profiles and suppressive capacities. As intratumoral Treg phenotypes differ from peripheral blood Tregs, this presents new therapeutic opportunities. Specific targeting of intratumoral Tregs would lead to stronger antitumor effects while limiting immune-related adverse events. A deeper understanding of Treg heterogeneity within the tumor microenvironment could therefore open new paths for rational design of immune checkpoint therapy. Disclosures Kolstad: Merck: Research Funding; Nordic Nanovector: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Alizadeh:Janssen: Consultancy; Genentech: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy; Chugai: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy; Gilead: Consultancy; Roche: Consultancy; Pfizer: Research Funding.

In recent years, the outcome of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) has improved, especially in younger patients, receiving cytarabine-containing chemoimmunotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation. Nevertheless, a proportion of MCL patients still experience early failure. To identify biomarkers anticipating failure of intensive chemotherapy in MCL, we performed target resequencing and DNA profiling of purified tumor samples collected from patients enrolled in the prospective FIL-MCL0208 phase 3 trial (high-dose chemoimmunotherapy followed by autologous transplantation and randomized lenalidomide maintenance). Mutations of KMT2D and disruption of TP53 by deletion or mutation associated with an increased risk of progression and death, both in univariate and multivariate analysis. By adding KMT2D mutations and TP53 disruption to the MIPI-c backbone, we derived a new prognostic index, the “MIPI-genetic” (“MIPI- g”). The “MIPI-g” improved the model discrimination ability compared to the MIPI-c alone, defining three risk groups: i) low-risk patients (4-year progression free survival and overall survival of 72.0% and 94.5%); ii) inter-mediate-risk patients (4-year progression free survival and overall survival of 42.2% and 65.8%) and iii) high-risk patients (4-year progression free survival and overall survival of 11.5% and 44.9%). Our results: i) confirm that TP53 disruption identifies a high-risk population characterized by poor sensitivity to conventional or intensified chemotherapy; ii) provide the pivotal evidence that patients harboring KMT2D mutations share the same poor outcome as patients harboring TP53 disruption; and iii) allow to develop a tool for the identification of high-risk MCL patients for whom novel therapeutic strategies need to be investigated. (Trial registered at clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT02354313).

7508 Background: Most pts with r/r FL experience multiple relapses and progressively worse clinical outcomes with each line of therapy, underlining a need for novel therapies. Tisa-cel has demonstrated durable responses and manageable safety in adult pts with r/r diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Here we report the primary analysis of ELARA, an international, single-arm phase 2 trial of tisa-cel in adult pts with r/r FL. Methods: Eligible pts (≥18 y) had r/r FL (grades [Gr] 1-3A) after ≥2 lines of therapy or had failed autologous stem cell transplant. Bridging therapy was permitted followed by disease assessment prior to tisa-cel infusion. Pts received tisa-cel (0.6-6×108 CAR+ viable T cells) after lymphodepleting chemotherapy. The primary endpoint was complete response rate (CRR) by central review per Lugano 2014 criteria. Secondary endpoints included overall response rate (ORR), duration of response (DOR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), safety, and cellular kinetics. Predefined primary analysis occurred when ≥90 treated pts had ≥6 mo of follow-up. Results: As of September 28, 2020, 98 pts were enrolled and 97 received tisa-cel (median follow-up, 10.6 mo). At study entry, median age among treated pts was 57 y (range, 29-73), 85% had stage III-IV disease, 60% had a FLIPI score ≥3, 65% had bulky disease, and 42% had LDH > upper limit of normal. The median number of prior therapies was 4 (range, 2-13); 78% of pts were refractory to their last treatment (76% to any ≥2 prior regimens) and 60% progressed within 2 y of initial anti-CD20–containing treatment. Of 94 pts evaluable for efficacy, the CRR was 66% (95% CI, 56-75) and the ORR was 86% (95% CI, 78-92). CRRs/ORRs were comparable among key high-risk subgroups. Estimated DOR (CR) and PFS rates at 6 mo were 94% (95% CI, 82-98) and 76% (95% CI, 65-84), respectively. Of 97 pts evaluable for safety, 65% experienced Gr ≥3 adverse events within 8 weeks post-infusion, most commonly neutropenia (28%) and anemia (13%). Any-grade cytokine release syndrome (per Lee scale) occurred in 49% of pts (Gr ≥3, 0%). Any-grade neurological events (per CTCAE v4.03) occurred in 9% of pts (Gr 3, 0%; Gr 4, 1 pt and recovered). Three pts died from progressive disease. Cellular kinetic parameters for tisa-cel were estimated using transgene levels (by qPCR) in peripheral blood. Cmax and AUC0-28d were similar between responders (CR or partial response) and non-responders (stable or progressive disease). Maximum transgene levels were reached by a median of 10 days in responders and 12.9 days in non-responders; transgene persistence was detected up to 370 days and 187 days, respectively. Conclusions: These data demonstrate the efficacy and acceptable safety of tisa-cel in pts with r/r FL, including high-risk pts after multiple lines of prior therapy, and suggest that tisa-cel may be a promising therapy for pts with r/r FL. Clinical trial information: NCT03568461.

Introduction: In spite of improvements in treatment of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), this is still considered an incurable lymphoma entity, and the majority of patients eventually relapse. Ibrutinib is a very active agent in MCL, but in vitro has been shown to partially antagonize the activity of rituximab, by suppression of NK cell activity and subsequent ADCC. Lenalidomide, on the other hand, improves rituximab-induced ADCC. In this multi-centre open-label phase II trial, we evaluated safety and efficacy of this triplet combination in patients with relapsed or refractory MCL. Methods: Patients with MCL, relapsing after or refractory to at least one rituximab-containing chemotherapy regimen, WHO PS 0-3, and measurable disease were eligible. The primary endpoint was maximal overall response rate (ORR) measured with CT and PET/CT. Minimal residual disease (MRD) monitoring by PCR was performed during follow-up, according to EuroMRD criteria. Ion Torrent sequencing of the most frequently mutated genes in MCL was performed on frozen tumor cells from bone marrow at time of relapse. Health-related quality of life was assessed by the EORTC-QLQ C30 questionnaire before and during treatment. Treatment schedule: Induction phase: Up to twelve 28-day cycles with: Lenalidomide 15 mg p o daily, days 1-21, Ibrutinib 560 mg p o days 1-28, Rituximab 375 mg/m2 i v day 1 in cycle 1, then 1400 mg s c (or 375 mg/m2i v) days 8, 15 and 22 in cycle 1, then day 1 in cycles 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11. Maintenance phase: For patients in CR, PR or SD, not in need of other treatment, given until progression, cycle duration 56 days. Ibrutinib: 560 mg p o days 1-56, 2. Rituximab 1400 mg s c (or 375 mg/m2i v) day 1 of each cycle. Results: Accrual of 50 pts was completed in June 2016, at 10 centres in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. The median age was 69.5 years, with a median MIPI score of 6.2. Patients had received a median of two previous regimens, four had progressed after single agent ibrutinib, and three had received prior allo-SCT. A TP53 mutation was detected in 11 of 49 evaluable cases (22%), 8 cases were of blastoid/pleomorphic histology, and 22 of 40 evaluable cases had a Ki67 >30%. Treatment emergent-AEs of any grade in ≥20% of patients were rash (24%) and fatigue (20%). Five pts (10%) experienced rash grade 3, mainly during cycle 1. Hematological toxicity was generally of low grade, apart from grade 3-4 neutropenia in 5 patients. One patient died due to possible treatment-related toxicity (septic shock). In total, 27 patients achieved CR (54%) and 10 PR (20%). Among evaluable patients with a TP53 mutation, blastoid/pleomorphic histology or Ki67 >30%, the CR rates were 7/11 (64%), 15/8 (62%) and 11/22 (50%), respectively. After a median follow-up of 40 months, the median PFS is 18 months (95% CI 6.5-28), and median OS 47 months (95% CI 30-64). Patients with a detectable TP53 mutation at relapse (n=11) had a median PFS of 13 months (95% CI 4.2-21), whereas pts without a TP53 mutation had a median PFS of 34 months (95% CI 8.3-60). Of the 28 patients evaluable for MRD at 6 months, 15/27 (56%) patients achieved molecular remission in blood and 12/28 (43%) in bone marrow. After 12 months, MRD-negativity in BM was 68% (13/19). Out of 4 patients with TP53-mutated MCL, 2 were MRD-negative in BM after 12 months, as well as 2 out of 4 patients with blastoid/pleomorphic histology. By self-reported HRQOL, a lower level of emotional functioning (EF), as well as a higher level of pain (PA) at baseline, was associated with inferior PFS. In addition, low EF was associated with inferior OS. By a Cox regression multivariable analysis, including MIPI, TP53, histology, Ki67, EF and PA, only MIPI was prognostic for PFS or OS with this regimen. Conclusions: The combination of ibrutinib, lenalidomide and rituximab has been shown to be an active and well tolerated regimen in this cohort of high risk R/R MCL, associated with a high rate of molecular remission. The activity in TP53 mutated MCL is lower than in unmutated disease, but this regimen may still serve as an option for a bridge to an allogeneic transplantation or CAR-T therapy in this category of patients. Disclosures Jerkeman: Roche: Research Funding; Abbvie: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Gilead: Research Funding. Hutchings:Genmab: Honoraria; Genmab: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy; Roche: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Daiichi: Research Funding; Sankyo: Research Funding; Genmab: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; Sanofi: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding; Roche: Honoraria; Roche: Consultancy; Takeda: Honoraria.

Introduction: In spite of improvements in treatment of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) over the last 10-15 years, this is still considered an incurable lymphoma entity, and the majority of patients eventually relapse. Ibrutinib is an active agent in R/R MCL, but with a limited duration of response. For patients refractory to this agent, there are few treatment options. Other active agents in R/R MCL are venetoclax, and the combination of lenalidomide and rituximab (R2). In this multi-centre open-label phase Ib-II trial, we evaluated safety and efficacy of this triplet combination in R/R MCL; previously exposed to ibrutinib and ibrutinib naive. Another objective of this trial was to test the feasibility of stopping treatment in patients achieving molecular remission. The objective of the phase Ib portion of the trial was to establish the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) of venetoclax and lenalidomide. Methods: Main eligibility criteria: patients with MCL, relapsing after or refractory to at least one rituximab-containing chemotherapy regimen, WHO PS 0-3, and measurable disease. The primary endpoint was overall response rate (ORR) at 6 months. Minimal residual disease (MRD) monitoring by patient specific RQ-PCR was performed every 3 months during follow-up, according to EuroMRD criteria. Treatment schedule (cycle length 28 days): Cohort A: Lenalidomide 15 mg p o daily, days 1-21, Venetoclax 400 mg p o days 1-28 (after ramp-up). Cohort B: Lenalidomide 20 mg p o daily, days 1-21, Venetoclax 400 mg p o days 1-28 (after ramp-up). Cohort C: Lenalidomide 20 mg p o daily, days 1-21, Venetoclax 800 mg p o days 1-28 (after ramp-up). Cohort Y: Lenalidomide 15 mg p o daily, days 1-21, Venetoclax 600 mg p o days 1-28 (after ramp-up). In all cohorts: Rituximab 375 mg/m2 i v day 1 in cycle 1, then 1400 mg s c (or 375 mg/m2i v) days 8, 15 and 22 in cycle 1, then day 1 in cycles 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11. The phase 1 portion of the study followed a sequential dose escalation, '3 + 3' design. The MTD was defined as the highest dose studied for which the incidence of DLT was less than two out of six subjects during the first 8 weeks of treatment. For both the phase I and II part of the trial, when MRD-negative in blood, treatment continue for another 3 months, when a new evaluation of MRD in blood and bone marrow is performed. If MRD negativity is confirmed, treatment is stopped and the patient will be followed with MRD and CT. Patients without molecular marker are followed by PET-CT. Results: Three patients each in Cohorts A, B and C were enrolled from 31-MAY-2018, at 5 centres in Sweden and Norway. No patient in Cohorts A+B experienced any DLT, but in Cohort C, 2/3 patients had grade 3-4 infection (DLT). A fourth cohort, named Y, was started, intermediate between B and C, without DLT, and the RP2D was established as Venetoclax 600 mg, and Lenalidomide 15 mg. Since then, an additional 8 pts have been recruited in the phase 2 portion (total 21). The median age is 71 years. Patients had received a median of 2 previous regimens (range: 1-7), and 3 had progressed after ibrutinib. Hematological toxicity was the most frequent AE, with 19/20 pts with G3-4 neutropenia, requiring G-CSF support, and 6/20 pts with G3-4 thrombocytopenia. Three events of G3-4 infection were recorded. Single patients each reported G-3-4 rash, renal failure, atrial flutter or melaena. No event of tumor lysis syndrome was reported. With a median follow up time of 5 months, 16 patients were evaluable for efficacy as of June 30, 2020. ORR is 56% with 5 CR and 4 PR. Median duration of response and PFS have not been reached. 4 pts (20%) have stopped treatment in CR and molecular remission, 6 are on treatment, 2 pts have undergone allo-SCT in remission, 1 pt stopped treatment due to toxicity, and 8 have progressed, out which 4 have died. One of two evaluable patients previously treated with ibrutinib responded with a PR. Of the 6 patients evaluable for MRD at 6 months, 6/6 patients have achieved molecular remission in blood and 5/6 in bone marrow. Conclusions: At a target dose of venetoclax of 600 mg, and lenalidomide 15 mg, this combination is tolerable and shows efficacy in R/R MCL, although associated with a high degree of neutropenia. Interestingly, a response adapted treatment strategy, by stopping treatment in molecular remission, appears to be feasible, although follow-up is still short. Figure Disclosures Jerkeman: Abbvie: Research Funding; Roche: Research Funding; Gilead: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding. Hutchings:Daiichi: Research Funding; Sankyo: Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy; Genmab: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; Sanofi: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding; Roche: Honoraria; Genmab: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy; Roche: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Genmab: Consultancy.

Lenalidomide plus bendamustine-rituximab does not overcome the adverse impact of TP53 mutations in mantle cell lymphoma

Background: Regimens based on ibrutinib alone and lenalidomide and rituximab in combination show high activity in patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma. We hypothesised that the combination of all three drugs would improve efficacy compared with previously published data on either regimen alone. Methods: In this multicentre, open-label, single-arm, phase 2 trial, we enrolled patients aged 18 years or older with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma who had previously been treated with at least one rituximab-containing regimen, an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status score of 0–3, and at least one site of measurable disease, and who met criteria for several laboratory-assessed parameters. Treatment was divided into an induction phase of 12 cycles of 28 days with all three drugs and a maintenance phase with ibrutinib and rituximab only (cycle duration 56 days), given until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. In the induction phase, patients received intravenous (375 mg/m2) or subcutaneous (1400 mg) rituximab once a week during cycle 1 and then once every 8 weeks. Oral ibrutinib (560 mg once a day) was given to patients every day in the cycle, whereas oral lenalidomide (15 mg once a day) was given on days 1–21. The primary endpoint was overall response assessed in the intention-to-treat population according to Lugano criteria. Safety analysis included all patients who received the treatment, irrespective of eligibility or duration of treatment. The trial is ongoing, but is no longer accruing patients, and is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02460276. Findings: Between April 30, 2015, and June 1, 2016, we enrolled 50 patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma at ten centres in Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark. At a median follow-up of 17·8 months (IQR 14·7–20·9), 38 (76%, 95% CI 63–86) patients had an overall response, including 28 (56%, 42–69) patients who had a complete response and ten (20%, 11–33) who had a partial response. The most common grade 3–4 adverse events were neutropenia (in 19 [38%] of 50 patients), infections (in 11 [22%] patients), and cutaneous toxicity (in seven [14%] patients). There were three treatment-related deaths during the study, two due to sepsis and one due to embolic stroke. Interpretation: Our results provide preliminary evidence that the triplet combination of ibrutinib, lenalidomide, and rituximab is an active regimen in patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma, and should be evaluated in a prospective randomised controlled trial. Funding: Janssen and Celgene.

Recent studies show that mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) express aberrant microRNA (miRNA) profiles; however, the clinical effect of miRNA expression has not previously been examined and validated in large prospective homogenously treated cohorts. We performed genome-wide miRNA microarray profiling of 74 diagnostic MCL samples from the Nordic MCL2 trial (screening cohort). Prognostic miRNAs were validated in diagnostic MCL samples from 94 patients of the independent Nordic MCL3 trial (validation cohort). Three miRNAs (miR-18b, miR-92a, and miR-378d) were significantly differentially expressed in patients who died of MCL in both cohorts. MiR-18b was superior to miR-92a and miR-378d in predicting high risk. Thus, we generated a new biological MCL International Prognostic Index (MIPI-B)-miR prognosticator, combining expression levels of miR-18b with MIPI-B data. Compared to the MIPI-B, this prognosticator improved identification of high-risk patients with regard to cause-specific, overall, and progression-free survival. Transfection of 2 MCL cell lines with miR-18b decreased their proliferation rate without inducing apoptosis, suggesting that miR-18b may render MCL cells resistant to chemotherapy by decelerating cell proliferation. We conclude that overexpression of miR-18b identifies patients with poor prognosis in 2 large prospective MCL cohorts and adds prognostic information to the MIPI-B. MiR-18b may reduce the proliferation rate of MCL cells as a mechanism of chemoresistance.

Advanced stage follicular lymphoma (FL) is incurable by conventional therapies. In the present pilot clinical trial, we explored the efficacy and immunogenicity of a novel in situ immunotherapeutic strategy. Fourteen patients with untreated or relapsed stage III/IV FL were included and received local radiotherapy to solitary lymphoma nodes and intranodal injections of low-dose rituximab (5 mg), immature autologous dendritic cells, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor at the same site. The treatment was repeated 3 times targeting different lymphoma nodes. Primary end points were clinical responses and induction of systemic immunity. Five out of 14 patients (36%) displayed objective clinical responses, including 1 patient with cutaneous FL who showed regression of skin lesions. Two of the patients had durable complete remissions. Notably, the magnitude of vaccination-induced systemic CD8 T-cell-mediated responses correlated closely with reduction in total tumor area (r = 0.71, P = .006), and immune responders showed prolonged time to next treatment. Clinical responders did not have a lower tumor burden than nonresponders pretreatment, suggesting that the T cells could eliminate large tumor masses once immune responses were induced. In conclusion, the combined use of 3 treatment modalities, and in situ administration in single lymphoma nodes, mediated systemic T-cell immunity accompanied by regression of disseminated FL. The trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01926639.

Global gene expression profiling of the tumor microenvironment in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) has revealed broad innate immune signatures that distinguish the heterogeneous disease subtypes and correlate with good treatment outcome. However, we still lack tools to identify the relatively large group of patients that are refractory to initial therapy and have a dismal prognosis. Here, we used mass cytometry and serum profiling in a systems-level approach to analyze immune responses in 36 patients with aggressive B cell lymphoma and age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) analysis of protein profiles divided patients into two distinct clusters, with cluster 2 representing patients with a more severe deviation in their protein expression compared to healthy controls. Patients in cluster 2 showed a more dramatic perturbation of their immune cell repertoires with expansion of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), increased T cell differentiation and significantly higher expression of metabolic markers such as GLUT-1 and activation markers, including Ki67, CD38 and PD-1. An extended analysis of serum protein profiles in two independent cohorts (n=69 and n=80 patients, respectively) revealed that that the identified systemic immune signatures were linked to poor progression free survival (PFS) and inferior overall survival (OS). Immune monitoring during chemo-immunotherapy showed that most patients normalized their serum protein profiles. Notably, non-responding patients retained higher than normal expression of several proteins, including PD-L1, CD70, IL-18, granzyme A and CD83. These studies demonstrate distinct patterns of disease-driven alterations in the systemic immune response of DLBCL patients that are associated with poor survival and persist in patients who are refractory to therapy. Figure 1 System-level immune signatures associated with poor prognosis in DLBCL. A) Altered serum profiles in patients compared to healthy controls. Two clusters of patients were identified based on t-SNE analysis of serum profiles. B) Patients in cluster 2 had bulky disease and B symptoms. C) t-SNE map of all patients (n=36) and controls (n=17). Relative abundance of cells from healthy controls and patients in all areas of the t-SNE clustering, highlighting cell subsets that are larger or smaller in patients compared to healthy donors. Colors indicate the difference in kernel density estimation of the t-SNE data for patients and healthy controls. D) Abundance of monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells as percentage of all CD45+ cells in healthy donors and the two patient clusters. White, Healthy controls; Blue, Cluster 1; Red, Cluster 2. E) Major phenotypic differences between patient clusters shown as mean mass intensity (MMI) or percent positive cells for selected markers (CD38 and PD-1) across multiple subsets. White, Healthy controls; Blue, Cluster 1; Red, Cluster 2. F-G) Overall survival in patients with serologically defined immune signatures belonging to cluster 1 or 2. H) Abundance of serum proteins in patients that stayed in remission (n=24) compared to those that did not (n=6). Figure 1 Disclosures Olweus: Gilead Kite: Research Funding; Intellia: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Wahlin:Roche and Gilead: Consultancy. Fehniger:Cyto-Sen Therapeutics: Consultancy; Horizon Pharma PLC: Other: Consultancy (Spouse). Holte:Novartis: Honoraria, Other: Advisory board. Kolstad:Nordic Nanovector: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Merck: Research Funding. Malmberg:Fate Therapeutics, Inc.: Consultancy, Research Funding; Vycellix: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

Background: Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a distinct subtype of lymphoma with a wide variation of clinical course. Based on randomized trials of our network, current standard of care is a cytarabine-containing immunochemotherapy induction (Hermine, Lancet 2016) followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (SCT; Zöllner, ICML 2019) and rituximab maintenance for 3 years (Le Gouill, NEJM 2018). In relapsed MCL the BTK inhibitor ibrutinib achieves high response rates and ongoing remissions (Wang, NEJM 2013; Dreyling, Lancet 2016). This approach achieved especially longer remission durations in earlier treatment lines (Rule, Hamatologica 2019). We aim to clarify whether ibrutinib added to induction and as maintenance with or without autologous stem cell transplantation might improve outcome. Study design and methods: In this international, randomized three-arm phase III trial (EudraCT-no. 2014-001363-12) young, fit patients ( up to 65 years) with histologically confirmed, untreated mantle cell lymphoma advanced stage II-IV qualify for 1:1:1 randomization after written informed consent according to ICH/EU GCP. In the control arm A, patients receive an alternating R-CHOP/R-DHAP induction followed by myeloablative consolidation (either BEAM or THAM: TBI, high dose Ara-C and melphalan). In arm A+I Ibrutinib is added to the R-CHOP cycles (560 mg day 1-19) and applied as maintenance (continuous dosing) for 2 years. In arm I the same induction and maintenance is applied but high dose consolidation and autologous SCT is skipped. A rituximab maintenance (single doses every 2 months up to 3 years) may be added in all study arms according to national clinical routine. The primary study aim is to show superiority of one of three study arms as future standard of care based on the comparison of the investigator-assessed failure-free survival (FFS), i.e. to investigate if the addition of ibrutinib improves the efficacy of standard 1st line treatment, and can even challenge the use of high-dose chemotherapy with autologous SCT. Secondary study aims include the efficacy of the three treatment arms and the safety and tolerability of ibrutinib during induction immuno-chemotherapy and maintenance. Accordingly, overall and complete response rates, progression-free and overall survival will be determined as well as adverse events during induction immuno-chemotherapy and follow-up including the cumulative incidence rates of SPMs. In addition, minimal residual disease is regularly determined based on patient-specific PCR assay according to the standardized Biomed-2 procedure. Results: As of July 30th, 511 of up to 870 patients have been randomized from 12 different European countries. In a meanwhile completed safety run-in of the initial 50 patients, feasibility of the two experimental arms was confirmed with no major differences in hematological and other toxicities and no major delays during induction. Disclosures Dreyling: Acerta: Other: Scientific advisory board; Novartis: Other: Scientific advisory board; Mundipharma: Other: Scientific advisory board, Research Funding; Janssen: Other: Scientific advisory board, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Gilead: Other: Scientific advisory board, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Other: Scientific advisory board, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Bayer: Other: Scientific advisory board, Speakers Bureau; Sandoz: Other: Scientific advisory board; Roche: Other: Scientific advisory board, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Ladetto:Roche: Honoraria; AbbVie: Honoraria; J&J: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria; Pfizer: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Acerta: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; ADC Therapeutics: Honoraria. Doorduijn:Roche: Honoraria, Research Funding. Gine:Janssen: Other: Travel expenses, Research Funding; Gilead: Other: Travel expenses, Research Funding; Roche: Other: Travel expenses, Research Funding. Jerkeman:Janssen: Honoraria, Research Funding; Gilead: Honoraria, Research Funding; Acerta: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Roche: Honoraria, Research Funding. Mey:Janssen-Cilag: Consultancy; Roche: Consultancy, Research Funding. Hutchings:Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding. Kolstad:Merck: Research Funding; Nordic Nanovector: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Trneny:Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria; Incyte: Consultancy, Honoraria; Gilead sciences: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Morphosys: Consultancy, Honoraria. Gomes da Silva:AbbVie: Consultancy, Other: Travel support; Roche: Consultancy, Other: Travel support; Janssen-Cilag: Consultancy, Other: Travel support; Celgene: Consultancy; Gilead Siences: Other: Travel support, Research Funding. Klapper:Roche, Takeda, Amgen, Regeneron: Honoraria, Research Funding. Unterhalt:F. Hoffmann-La Roche: Research Funding. Hoster:Janssen: Research Funding; Roche Pharma AG: Other: Travel Support.

INTRODUCTION: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are covalently closed endogenous RNA molecules with tissue- and disease specific expression patterns, that are emerging as potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. These molecules exert diverse regulatory functions, and several studies have reported prognostic relevance and functional significance of circRNAs in cancer. However, no studies have yet examined the role of circRNAs in Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL). We have previously shown that the Nanostring nCounter technology enables specific, sensitive and accurate quantification of circRNAs in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples from patients (Dahl et al, 2018). Here, we quantified circRNA expression in MCL tumors to address whether certain circRNAs could serve as prognostic markers in MCL. Samples were obtained from patients treated in the two Nordic clinical trials MCL2 and MCL3, all treated with immuno-chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant, which due to the improved prognosis observed with this regimen, remains the current standard of care. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We profiled the genome-wide circRNA expression in MCL using high-throughput RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) of 14 diagnostic MCL samples, from which high-quality RNA from lymph nodes with MCL tumor infiltration was available. Based on these data, we designed assays for analyses of 41 differentially expressed circRNAs and quantified the expression using the NanoString nCounter technology. We examined the prognostic potential of individual circRNAs in a training cohort of 75 patients (MCL2) and confirmed these results in an independent, but similarly treated, validation cohort of 90 patients (MCL3). RESULTS: The total cohort consisted of 165 previously untreated MCL patients In our training cohort we identified seven circRNAs that were significantly associated with both progression-free survival (PFS), TTP, overall survival (OS) and lymphoma specific survival (LSS). We dichotomized expression values of each individual circRNA and examined the prognostic value in the validation cohort MCL3. Only one (circRAB11FIP1) of the seven circRNAs identified in MCL2 retained prognostic value in MCL3. As shown in Figure 1, univariate analysis revealed that low circRAB11FIP1 expression was significantly associated with TTP in MCL2 (HR=5.1, [2.5;10.4], p Finally, we performed a multivariate cox regression analysis of the entire cohort and found that circRAB11FIP1 was an independent prognostic factor for TTP, even when adjusting for MIPI and ki67-index (HR=2.36[1.3;4.4], p CONCLUSION: Our study showed that low circRAB11FIP1 was significantly associated with shorter TTP, even when adjusting for known prognostic factors, indicating that circRAB11FIP1 could play a specific role in the pathogenesis of MCL. CircRAB11FIP1 originates from exon 2 of the host gene RAB11-Family Interacting Protein 1 located on chromosome 8, and no studies have yet examined the functional role of this circRNA. Interestingly, we found that low circRAB11FIP1 was significantly associated with the presence of TP53 mutations. This warrants future studies to examine whether there is a functional link between circRAB11FIP1 and TP53 in MCL, which may help explain why patients with TP53 mutations have an exceedingly poor prognosis. Figure Disclosures Kolstad: Merck: Research Funding; Nordic Nanovector: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Jerkeman:Janssen: Honoraria, Research Funding; Gilead: Honoraria, Research Funding; Acerta: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Roche: Honoraria, Research Funding.

In patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) up to 65 years, recommended first-line treatment consists of immuno-chemotherapy including high-dose cytarabine (HA), followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in complete (CR) or partial remission (PR).1 However, it remains unclear whether total body irradiation (TBI) should be part of conditioning before ASCT.1 A large registry study by the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) including 418 MCL patients reported a significantly reduced relapse incidence after TBI in comparison to a non-TBI conditioning (mostly carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine, and melphalan, BEAM), but only for patients transplanted in first PR.2 In contrast, a single-center evaluation of 73 MCL patients who underwent ASCT did not find a significant PFS difference according to the use of TBI vs BEAM.3 A recently published consensus project by EBMT/European MCL Network involving twelve expert clinicians showed that, while consensus was achieved on ASCT as standard first-line consolidation therapy, no consensus was reached on the role of TBI.4 Three recently completed prospective studies including untreated MCL patients up to 65 years investigated the efficacy of HA-containing immuno-chemotherapy followed by ASCT: Nordic MCL2,5, 6 HOVON-45(ref. 7) and European MCL Younger.8, 9 We combined the individual patient data from these studies to compare the long-term clinical outcome of MCL patients transplanted without TBI (Nordic MCL2 and HOVON-45) vs with TBI (MCL Younger, experimental HA-containing arm).

BACKGROUND Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (ASCT) has been a treatment option for patients with serious diseases of the blood and haematopoietic organs in Norway since 1985. Such treatment is potentially curative for selected patients who have a relatively short predicted survival with other treatment modalities. This article summarises the experience and results from ASCT at Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet. MATERIAL AND METHOD The study included all of the 734 adult patients who had undergone allogeneic stem cell transplantation at the Department of Haematology, Rikshospitalet, later Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, from November 1985 to October 2012. RESULTS At the time of analysis, altogether 384 patients were alive, and the five and ten-year survival rates were 54% and 48% respectively. The median follow-up time was six years. A total of 339 patients (46%) had developed acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), and 250 (73%) of these had GvHD ≥ grade II. Altogether 280 out of 602 patients who lived ≥ 100 days after the transplantation (46.5%) developed chronic GvHD. The most frequent causes of death included recurrence of the initial disease in 116 patients (33.1 %), multi organ failure after transplantation in 88 patients (25.4%), infections in 54 patients (16%) and GvHD in 33 patients (9.4%). INTERPRETATION ASCT is a treatment option with a curative potential for patients with serious haematological diseases when other forms of treatment provide few prospects for recovery. The total survival rate in our study is in accordance with international results for the same time period, and the indications have consistently been in line with what is accepted internationally.

Recommended treatment for lymphoblastic lymphomas, a highly aggressive, relatively rare lymphoma entity predominantly seen in teenagers and young adults, includes acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)-like induction chemotherapy. Whether these patients should be consolidated with maintenance chemotherapy or autologous stem cell transplantation (Auto-SCT) and the use of radiotherapy are matters of debate.We reviewed treatment and outcome for 25 consecutive patients above the age of 15 years with lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-lineage; T-LBL, n = 19; B-lineage; B-LBL, n = 6) seen at a single center during a 12-year period (1999-2011). Patients were given an ALL-like chemotherapy induction regimen, and responding patients were consolidated with Auto-SCT and local radiotherapy when applicable.Median age at diagnosis was 33 years (range 15-65). Seventeen of the T-LBL patients had a mediastinal mass, three patients had central nervous system (CNS) involvement. Chemotherapy with intensified CNS prophylaxis induced an overall response rate of 92% (CR 84%, PR 8%). In total 23/25 (92%) patients underwent Auto-SCT in first remission while 13 of 14 eligible patients with mediastinal involvement received local radiotherapy. Twenty percent of the patients had hepatotoxicity grade 3-4 and 32% thromboembolic events (TE). Two patients (8%) died of treatment-related toxicity. One patient had progressive disease and died of lymphoma. Three patients have relapsed, but two of these (both B-LBL) are currently alive in second CR after Allo-SCT. With a median follow-up of 98 months (range 1-163) the 5- and 8-year PFS and OS are 76% and 84%, respectively.Combined intensive ALL-like induction and early consolidation chemotherapy followed by Auto-SCT and local radiation therapy resulted in high sustained cure rates.

In this single-center, population-based, and retrospective study, we analyzed the outcome of 49 patients with solitary bone plasmacytoma (SBP) and 28 patients with solitary extramedullary plasmacytoma (SEP), all treated with radiotherapy. Laminectomy was performed in 18/30 SBP patients with vertebral involvement and tumour resection in 10 SEP patients. Overall survival and cause of death for each patient were compared to 5 sex-, age-, and residency-matched individuals from the normal population. Response (complete and partial) was achieved in 94% of SBP and 96% of SEP patients. Relapse rates were higher in SBP (65%) compared to patients with SEP (18%) (P .01). Only one in-field relapse was identified for the whole series. Ten- and 15-year overall survival, progression free survival (PFS) and multiple myeloma free survival (MMFS) for patients with SBP were 60%/41%, 25%/17%, and 33%/33%. Corresponding values for patients with SEP were 67%/54%, 57%/44%, and 91%/91%. SBP patients had significantly shorter PFS and MMFS compared to SEP patients (P .01 for both). Only two of the SEP patients developed multiple myeloma and no patient in the whole series progressed to multiple myeloma later than 10 years after diagnosis. Unlike for SEP, the major cause of death among SBP patients was multiple myeloma (49%). Compared to matched normal population, no increased risk of death from secondary malignancies or cardiovascular disease was observed. Positive predictors in SBP patients were for overall survival age60 years, combined laminectomy and radiotherapy and radiotherapy dose40 gray, for PFS tumour size6 cm and combined laminectomy and radiotherapy and for MMFS tumour size6 cm. Radiotherapy confers excellent local control in both SEP and SBP patients; however, the challenge is to prevent development of multiple myeloma in patients with SBP.

In this study with prolonged follow up, we compared clinical outcome, including cause of death and incidence of second cancer, for patients with early stage extranodal marginal zone lymphoma (EMZL, 49 patients), nodal marginal zone lymphoma (NMZL, nine patients) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL, 42 patients) with emphasis on potential benefit of radiotherapy. Radiotherapy was given to 40 patients with EMZL (nine had surgery only) and all NMZL patients. MCL patients received radiotherapy (17 patients), chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy (13 patients) or chemotherapy alone (12 patients). Compared to a matched control population no increased risk of second cancer or cardiovascular disease was observed. Radiotherapy alone was effective in EMZL and NMZL with low-relapse rates (20% and 33%) and a 10-year overall survival of 78% and 56%, respectively. High-relapse rate and inferior OS in MCL underline the need for extended staging with endoscopy and PET/CT and possibly for novel strategies.

In recent decades, the prognosis of Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL) has been significantly improved by intensified first-line regimens containing cytarabine, rituximab and consolidation with high-dose-therapy and autologous stem cell transplantation. One such strategy is the Nordic MCL2 regimen, developed by the Nordic Lymphoma Group. We here present the 15-year updated results of the Nordic MCL2 study after a median follow-up of 114years: For all patients on an intent-to-treat basis, the median overall and progression-free survival was 127 and 85years, respectively. The MCL International Prognostic Index (MIPI), biological MIPI, including Ki67 expression (MIPI-B) and the MIPI-B including mIR-18b expression (MIPI-B-miR), in particular, significantly divided patients into distinct risk groups. Despite very long response durations of the low and intermediate risk groups, we observed a continuous pattern of relapse and the survival curves never reached a plateau. In conclusion, despite half of the patients being still alive and 40% in first remission after more than 12years, we still see an excess disease-related mortality, even among patients experiencing long remissions. Even though we consider the Nordic regimen as a very good choice of regimen, we recommend inclusion in prospective studies to explore the benefit of novel agents in the frontline treatment of MCL.

For elderly patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), there is no defined standard therapy. In this multicenter, open-label phase 1/2 trial, we evaluated the addition of lenalidomide (LEN) to rituximab-bendamustine (R-B) as first-line treatment for elderly patients with MCL. Patients >65 years with untreated MCL, stages II-IV were eligible for inclusion. Primary end points were maximally tolerable dose (MTD) of LEN and progression-free survival (PFS). Patients received 6 cycles every four weeks of L-B-R (L D1-14, B 90 mg/m2 IV, days 1-2 and R 375 mg/m2 IV, day 1) followed by single LEN (days 1-21, every four weeks, cycles 7-13). Fifty-one patients (median age 71 years) were enrolled from 2009 to 2013. In phase 1, the MTD of LEN was defined as 10 mg in cycles 2 through 6, and omitted in cycle 1. After 6 cycles, the complete remission rate (CRR) was 64%, and 36% were MRD negative. At a median follow-up time of 31 months, median PFS was 42 months and 3-year overall survival was 73%. Infection was the most common nonhematologic grade 3 to 5 event and occurred in 21 (42%) patients. Opportunistic infections occurred in 3 patients: 2 Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and 1 cytomegalovirus retinitis. Second primary malignancies (SPM) were observed in 8 patients (16%). LEN could safely be combined with R-B when added from the second cycle in patients with MCL, and was associated with a high rate of CR and molecular remission. However, we observed a high degree of severe infections and an unexpected high number of SPMs, which may limit its use. This trial is registered at www.Clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT00963534.

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a heterogenic non-Hodgkin lymphoma entity, with a median survival of about 5 years. In 2008 we reported the early - based on the median observation time of 4 years - results of the Nordic Lymphoma Group MCL2 study of frontline intensive induction immunochemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT), with more than 60% event-free survival at 5 years, and no subsequent relapses reported. Here we present an update after a median observation time of 6·5 years. The overall results are still excellent, with median overall survival and response duration longer than 10 years, and a median event-free survival of 7·4 years. However, six patients have now progressed later than 5 years after end of treatment. The international MCL Prognostic Index (MIPI) and Ki-67-expression were the only independent prognostic factors. Subdivided by the MIPI-Biological Index (MIPI + Ki-67, MIPI-B), more than 70% of patients with low-intermediate MIPI-B were alive at 10 years, but only 23% of the patients with high MIPI-B. These results, although highly encouraging regarding the majority of the patients, underline the need of a risk-adapted treatment strategy for MCL. The study was registered at www.isrctn.org as ISRCTN 87866680.