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Although tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) determined an improvement of responses and overall survival (OS) in chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CP-CML) patients, some patients still fail the achievement of important milestones.In this review, we focus on the need of appropriate molecular and mutational monitoring during TKI treatment with new laboratory tools and on new compounds developed to counteract the unmet clinical need in CP-CML.The appropriate identification of BCR::ABL1 dependent and independent mechanisms of resistance with Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) can allow to improve the therapeutic strategies and prevent the onset of a failure to treatment. New compounds have been recently approved or are still in investigational trials to improve the response in some critical forms of resistance and/or intolerance to available TKIs.

Ruxolitinib is approved for polycythemia vera (PV) patients after failure to previous cytoreductive therapy, based on durable results observed in phase 3 trials. We report a multicenter retrospective study demonstrating the efficacy and safety of ruxolitinib in real-life setting. Eighty-three patients were evaluated. Median follow-up was 24.5 months (IQR 14.0-29.3). At a 3-month response assessment, ruxolitinib provided significant benefit in reducing hematocrit (HCT) level (p 0.001), phlebotomy requirement (p 0.001), leucocytes (p = 0.044), and disease-related symptoms (p 0.001). The exposure-adjusted rates (per 100 patient-years) of infectious complications, thromboembolic events, and secondary malignancies were 6.9, 3, and 3.7, respectively. Non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) were the most frequent (40%) SM type. Lymphoproliferative disorders were not detected. Five (6%) patients permanently discontinued ruxolitinib treatment and four (5%) evolved in myelofibrosis (MF), but none in acute leukemia. The rate of MF evolution per 100 patient-years of exposure was 2.8. In our experience, ruxolitinib confirmed its efficacy and safety outside of clinical trials.

The clinical scenario for chronic myeloid leukemia patients rapidly changed after the introduction of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Second-generation TKIs as frontline treatment increased the rate of deep molecular responses without increasing the rate of overall survival. About 20% of patients experience resistance to these agents, needing alternative treatments. Here, we reviewed the possible mechanisms of resistance, available treatment, and new drugs developed to counteract and overcome resistance.Results of novel TKIs have been recently reported, especially for the setting of T315I mutated patients, such as olverembatinib and asciminib, or for patients who developed resistance due to other mutations, such as vodobatinib. Most of new TKIs are selected among compounds tested selective on ABL, therefore without possible off-target effects in the long term. New potential treatments are on the horizon in the field of CML, able to rescue patients treated firstly with one or more second-generation TKIs. Results of ongoing trials and real-world evidence dataset will help us to identify the appropriate timing of intervention and to select appropriate candidate to these drugs.

BACKGROUND Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is uncommon among subjects aged ≥ 70 years and the better therapeutic strategy represents an unmet clinical need. MATERIALS AND METHODS This prompted us to explore our real-life data on a retrospective cohort of 45 older APL patients (≥ 70 years) consecutively diagnosed at eight different hematologic institutions in Latium, Italy, from July 1991 to May 2019. RESULTS Two patients (4.4%) died from early hemorrhagic complications before treatment could begin. Twenty-two patients (51.1%) (Group A) were enrolled or treated according to standard clinical protocols, while 21 (48.8%) (Group B) received an ATRA-based personalized approach due to poor performance status. Morphologic complete remission (CR) after induction therapy was achieved in 33 patients (76.7%) with 100% of patients in Group A and 52.3% in Group B (p

Introduction: The outcome of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients in chronic phase has changed after the introduction of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). The life expectancy is actually simila...

Unmet needs remain in the treatment of chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in later lines. Sequential use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) is associated with decreased overall survival and emergence of new mutations, particularly the T315I mutation. Among the new drugs developed to overcome resistance and intolerance, the STAMP inhibitor asciminib (which specifically targets the ABL myristoyl pocket) is the first example of a drug that works by allosteric inhibition. This review focuses on its mechanism of action, pharmacokinetic, efficacy, and toxicity, as well as how this drug will change the therapeutic approach for CML patients not eligible to receive other available drugs.

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), the backbone of treatment for chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia patients (CP-CML), have changed the long-term outcome of the disease. Nonetheless, over 20% of patients fail front-line therapy due to intolerance or resistance. A head-to-head comparison of dasatinib and nilotinib as second-line treatment outside of sponsored clinical trials has not been reported. We retrospectively analyzed 131 CP-CML patients who, after front-line imatinib failure, switched to a second-line therapy with nilotinib (59, 45%) or dasatinib (72, 55%). Median duration of second-line treatment was 33 months (range 2-100). The reason for switching therapy was resistance in 83.2% and intolerance in 16.8% of patients. The overall survival of the entire cohort at 7 years was 78.9%, while it was 72% and 85.6% for patients treated with dasatinib and nilotinib, respectively (p=0.287). With regard to efficacy after 12 months of treatment, 108 patients were evaluable for molecular response: 47% achieved a major molecular response and 18.2% a deep molecular response with dasatinib, compared to 38% and 16.2% with nilotinib (p=ns). We observed 35% of grade 3-4 adverse events, more frequently in the dasatinib group (47%) compared to the nilotinib group (22%), without affecting molecular responses. Our study suggests that, in the real-life setting, dasatinib and nilotinib used as second-line treatment in CP-CML are equally effective, with high molecular response rates and an acceptable tolerability.

Polycythemia vera is a myeloproliferative neoplasm characterized by an increased red blood cell mass, risk of thromboembolic events, and of transformation into secondary myelofibrosis and acute leukemia. The goal of treatment is to reduce the risk of fatal cardiovascular events reducing the hematocrit level with phlebotomies and low-dose aspirin. In high-risk patients (age60 years or previous thromboembolic events) cytoreductive therapy is indicated. In this setting, resistance and/or intolerance is common.Authors searched Medline, Embase, archives from the EHA and the ASH annual congresses from 2014 onward about ruxolitinib treatment in PV patients. Two trials (RESPONSE and RESPONSE2) have documented the efficacy and safety of ruxolitinib. The drug is able to persistently control the hematocrit level and symptoms (due to increased cytokine levels, increased viscosity, and increased splenomegaly), to reduce WBC counts and the rate of thromboembolic events, to increase the quality of life.Although ruxolitinib has entered into the clinical practice, the real-life incidence of resistant/intolerant patients, the long-term safety, and the activity on thromboembolic events (associated or not to a reduction of the molecular burden) remains to be conclusively determined. More information extrapolated by registries are required to shed light on the missing information.

Prognostic role of chromosomal translocations (CT) in myelodysplasia (MDS) was retrospectively analyzed in 77 patients from GROM-L registry. Forty (51.9%) balanced, 28 (36.4%) unbalanced and 9 (11.7%) concomitant balanced and unbalanced CT were identified. Five-year overall survival (OS) of the entire cohort was 34.5% (CI 95% 22.5-46.5). Five-year OS of patients with unbalanced CT was significantly shorter than that of patients carrying balanced CT [22.3% (CI 95% 4.0-40.6) vs 44.0% (CI 95% 26.7-61.3) (

The outcome of high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients treated with 5-azacitidine (5-AZA) in the real-life setting remains largely unknown. We evaluated 110 MDS patients (IPSS intermediate 2/high) treated outside of clinical trials at a single institution between September 2003 and January 2017. Median duration of therapy was 9.5 cycles. The overall survival (OS) of the whole cohort was 66.1% at 1 year and 38.3% at 2 years. No differences in terms of OS were observed with regard to gender (p = 0.622) and age at baseline ( 65 years, 65-75, and 75 years, p = 0.075). According to the IPSS-R, the very high-risk group had an inferior 2-year OS (17%) compared with intermediate-group patients (64%, p 0.001). Transfusion independency at baseline was identified as a favorable prognostic factor on 1-year (66.8%) and 2-year OS (43.4%) (p 0.001). After four cycles, the persistence of bone marrow blasts 10% identified patients with a worse outcome, with a 2-year OS of 9.4% (p = 0.002). The occurrence of an infection during the first four cycles impacted on the 2-year OS (31.6% vs 58.3% in patients without infections, p = 0.032). Patients receiving at least 24 cycles of the drug have a 5-year OS of 38.2%. This analysis allowed to identify features at baseline or during treatment with 5-AZA associated with a different 2-year OS.

Imatinib, the first BCR/ABL kinase inhibitor approved for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), has changed the long-term outcome of patients affected by this disease. The aim of our analysis was to report, after a median follow-up of 10.2 years (range 5.8-14.8), the long-term outcome, efficacy, and safety of imatinib treatment (frontline and after interferon failure) in a single institution cohort of 459 patients with CML in chronic phase treated outside of clinical trials. The 10-year overall survival of the whole cohort was 77.1%, while the 10-year probability of dying due to CML and other causes was 7.8% and 16%, respectively. The prognostic value of the BCR-ABL1 ratio at 3 months (⩽ 10%) and of complete cytogenetic response and major molecular response at 1 year was confirmed also in the real-life practice. The EUTOS long-term survival score better stratified the baseline risk of dying of CML compared with other risk scores. Two hundred thirty-six (51.4%) patients achieved a deep molecular response during imatinib treatment after a median time of 4.57 years, and 95 (20.6%) had a stable deep molecular response maintained for at least 2 consecutive years. Imatinib was associated with a low rate of serious cardiovascular events and second neoplasia. This 10-year real-life follow-up study shows that imatinib maintains efficacy over time and that long-term administration of imatinib is not associated with notable cumulative or late toxic effects.

Introduction: The current treatment landscape of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is challenging for several reasons, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) data may be of critical importance to help physicians and patients make more informed decisions.Areas covered: A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed to identify the most recent studies (between April 2016 and June 2020) assessing the impact of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) on adult CML patients' HRQOL. Studies assessing treatment discontinuation were also considered. For each study, we evaluated characteristics of CML patients included, treatment information and basic HRQOL data, including questionnaires used, and summary findings.Expert opinion: Valuable information can be gleaned from recent CML studies including a HRQOL assessment; however, major gaps remain in our knowledge. These include, for example, a better understanding of the impact of second- and third-generation TKIs on patients' HRQOL compared to imatinib therapy. Also, the benefits of TKI treatment discontinuation, in terms of symptom burden and HRQOL, are yet to be fully elucidated. More research efforts are needed in this area to generate high-quality evidence that can facilitate decision-making.

We report the long-term outcome of 139 patients treated with imatinib in late chronic phase after IFN failure. Median follow-up was 16.6 years and the estimated 18-year OS was 64.8%. 18-year EFS and PFS were 69% and 64.4%, respectively. Fifty (36%) patients stopped imatinib, 72% received a second line. b2a2 transcript was associated with a significantly inferior 18-year OS (

Introduction: Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), which target BCR-ABL1 kinase activity, have significantly prolonged the overall survival of patients affected by chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and changed drastically the outcome. Evidences from several studies suggest that in patients who have achieved a sustained, stable and deep molecular response, TKI treatment can be safely discontinued with a close subsequent monitoring. Thus, a stable deep molecular response (DMR) has become a feasible treatment goal in CML. Areas covered: In this review, the main findings extrapolated from sponsored and real-life evidences regarding TKI discontinuation were discussed, through a broad research on Medline, Embase and archives from EHA and ASH congresses (including words such as discontinuation, treatment-free remission, TFR, etc). Moreover, suggestions emerged from international guidelines about treatment-free remission (TFR) are presented. Expert opinion: With the growing availability of clinical trials and real-life data on TFR, in recent years the possibility of offering to CML patients a safe, informed and shorter path to TFR, through the achievement of a stable deep molecular response (DMR), has become an increasing option. However, many controversial aspects remain regarding treatment choices and timings, predictive factors, patient communication and optimal strategies aimed at achieving a successful TFR.

Recommendations for dyslipidemia management aimed at reducing arterial occlusive events (AOEs) have been recently published. So far, no data have been reported on the management of dyslipidemia in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients treated with nilotinib. We investigated 369 CML adult patients, stratified according to the new Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) scoring system. Plasma levels of cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and triglycerides were measured prior to the start of nilotinib and after 3, 6, and 12months. The 5-year cumulative incidence of AOEs was 15.9%. Patients with cholesterol levels > 200mg/dL and LDL > 70mg/dL 3months after treatment showed a significantly higher incidence of AOEs (21.9 ± 4.6% vs 6.2 ± 2.5, P= 0.003). Patients belonging to the high and very high SCORE risk group showed a significant increase of AOEs (34.4 ± 6% vs 10 ± 2.1%, P< 0.001). In multivariate analysis, both high cholesterol and LDL levels and a high and very high SCORE risk remained significantly associated with the risk of AOEs (P= 0.008; HR = 3.5; 95% CI = 1.4–8.7 and P < 0.001; HR = 4.4; 95% CI = 2–9.8, respectively). Overall, 78 patients (21.1%) presented dyslipidemia at the time of CML diagnosis and 88 (23.3%) after starting nilotinib, but only 26 of them (29.5%) were treated with statins. Low LDL and cholesterol plasma levels are associated with a significant lower risk of AOEs in CML patients treated with nilotinib in the real life.

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Predictive factors of response to hypomethylating agents (HMA) in elderly acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients remain unclear in the real-life setting and no direct comparison between azacitidine (AZA) and decitabine (DEC) has been carried out. We retrospectively evaluated 110 AML patients treated with HMA (78 AZA, 32 DEC) as first-line therapy outside of clinical trials. Median age was 75 years (range 58-87). The median overall survival (OS) of the entire cohort was 8.0 months (95% CI 6.1-10), without significant differences among the subgroups: AZA 8.8 months vs DEC 6.3 months (p = 0.291). HMA treatment yielded an overall response rate (ORR) of 40% (AZA 37% vs DEC 47%, p = 0.237). A stable disease (SD) after 4 HMA cycles was not associated with a worse survival outcome compared with an early optimal response. Factors independently associated with a better OS were transfusion independence during treatment (p = 0.049), achievement of an optimal response to treatment (p < 0.001), and a baseline hemoglobin level ≥ 9.25 (p = 0.018). A bone marrow (BM) blast count ≥ 30% (p < 0.001) and a therapy-related AML (p = 0.008) remain poor survival predictors. Of the available biologic features, an adverse risk category according to the ELN classification was significantly associated with a shorter survival over the intermediate risk category (p = 0.034). Disease progression remains the primary cause of death. Infectious complications were more severe (p = 0.036) and occurred earlier (p = 0.006) in the DEC group compared with that of the AZA group. In conclusion, clinical prognostic factors associated to response and survival have been identified without significant associations concerning overall outcomes between the two HMAs.

Acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) represents a modern success of precision medicine. However, fatalities occurring within the first 30 days of induction treatment, in particular intracranial haemorrhage (ICH), remain the main causes of death. We studied the clinico-biological characteristics of 13 patients with APL who experienced ICH. Compared to 85 patients without this complication, patients with ICH were older and more frequently had high-risk APL. Moreover, positivity for the 'swirl' sign at neuroradiological imaging and hydrocephalus were predictors of a fatal outcome, together with lower fibrinogen, prolonged international normalized ratio (INR) and higher lactate dehydrogenase levels.

Hypertension is a commonly reported comorbidity in patients diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), and its management represents a challenge in patients treated with 2nd- or 3rd-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), considering their additional cardiovascular (CV) toxicity. The renin angiotensin system (RAS) contributes to hypertension genesis and plays an important role in atherosclerosis development, proliferation, and differentiation of myeloid hematopoietic cells. We analyzed a cohort of 192 patients with hypertension at CML diagnosis, who were treated with 2nd- or 3rd-generation TKIs, and evaluated the efficacy of RAS inhibitors (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) and angiotensin-II receptor blockers (ARBs)) in the prevention of arterial occlusive events (AOEs), as compared with other drug classes. The 5-year cumulative incidence of AOEs was 32.7 ± 4.2%. Patients with SCORE ≥ 5% (high-very-high) showed a significantly higher incidence of AOEs (33.7 ± 7.6% vs 13.6 ± 4.8%, p = 0.006). The AOE incidence was significantly lower in patients treated with RAS inhibitors (14.8 ± 4.2% vs 44 ± 1%, p < 0.001, HR = 0.283). The difference in the low and intermediate Sokal risk group was confirmed but not in the high-risk group, where a lower RAS expression has been reported. Our data suggest that RAS inhibitors may represent an optimal treatment in patients with hypertension and CML, treated with 2nd or 3rdG TKIs.

Since July 2017, different generic imatinib formulations have been introduced in Italy for the treatment of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). We analyzed 168 chronic phase CML patients treated with branded imatinib for a median of 12 years (range 1-16) at a single institution who switched to a single generic formulation in order to assess the safety and impact on molecular response. The Sokal risk was low/intermediate/high in 63%, 33%, and 4% of patients, respectively. The median duration of generic imatinib treatment was 19 months (range 4-22). Twenty-seven percent of patients were in MMR and 73% were in deep molecular responses (MR4-4.5) at the time of the switch. After 12 months of treatment with generic imatinib, 140 patients were evaluable for response: 23.6% and 76.4% were respectively in MMR and in deep molecular response. When the degree of response was compared with the best molecular response observed with branded imatinib, it was found that 84% of patients maintained the response previously achieved, 6% improved it, and 10% of patients had a molecular fluctuation from the previous deep molecular response to MMR. Only 1 patient lost the MMR and no patient switched to another TKI for inefficacy. In terms of safety, 20% of patients reported new or worsening side effects, but only 2 patients returned to branded imatinib for toxicity. Our data show that the switch to generic imatinib in patients who have been previously treated with branded imatinib appears to maintain efficacy, although a proportion of patients experience new or worsening side effects.

No abstract available.

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Background Role of erythropoietin (EPO) in the treatment of late anemia in patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) is still undefined. Methods Fifty CML patients treated at 14 institutions with frontline imatinib for at least 12 months and in stable complete cytogenetic response who developed a late chronic anemia treated with EPO were retrospectively evaluated. Results Median time from imatinib start to EPO treatment was 42.2 months [interquartile range (IQR) 20.8-91.9]. Median Hb value at EPO starting time was 9.9 g/dL (IQR 8.9-10.3): Eleven patients (22.0%) were transfusion dependent. Alpha-EPO (40 000 UI weekly) was employed in 37 patients, beta-EPO (30 000 UI weekly) in 9 patients, zeta-EPO (40 000 UI weekly) in 2 patients, and darbepoetin (150 mcg/weekly) in the remaining 2 patients. On the whole, 41 patients (82.0%) achieved an erythroid response, defined as a stable (>3 months) improvement >1.5 g/dL of Hb level, and 9 patients (18.0%) indeed resulted resistant. Among responding patients, 10 relapsed after a median time from EPO start of 20.7 months (IQR 10.8-63.7). No EPO-related toxicity was observed. Conclusions Results of EPO treatment for late chronic anemia during long-lasting imatinib therapy are encouraging, with a high rate of response.

We investigated the median estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) changes in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients treated front line with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). A large cohort of 397 patients-320 treated front line with imatinib, 25 with dasatinib, and 53 with nilotinib-was retrospectively analyzed at a single institution. The eGFR was calculated according to the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation for all patients at baseline and then at 6 and 12 months, and at the last follow-up. Taking into account eGFR changes during the first year of treatment and excluding other possible cardiovascular risk factors, we considered also the percentage of cardiovascular events in patients with modifications of this single parameter. Imatinib induced a decrease in median eGFR (p = 0.01): 42 patients treated with imatinib had a cardiovascular event, related to modification of eGFR, in the absence of other cardiovascular risk factors. In patients treated with nilotinib, the median eGFR did not decline from baseline: only 1 patient experienced an ischemic event, but the eGFR remained unchanged. In patients treated with dasatinib, the mean eGFR did not change significantly: 3 patients experienced a cardiac ischemic event, but in all patients the eGFR remained unchanged over time, while advanced age and metabolic alterations contributed to the ischemic events. This long-term follow-up has documented that imatinib may induce changes in the eGFR, which may contribute to the onset of ischemic events. Further analyses on larger series of CML patients are required to conclusively define the potential renal toxicity of second generation TKIs and the consequent risk of developing ischemic events.

Background Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) revolutionized treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). However, the first months of therapy are crucial, as optimal response is defined as the achievement of molecular milestones at 3, 6 and 12 months (mo.) and as many toxicities, also causing a TKI switch, are more frequent in the 1st year. Methods To evaluate achievement of early molecular response (MR) and incidence of events leading to a TKI change during the 1st year of therapy, we retrospectively studied 1650 CP-CML patients diagnosed from 2012 and 2019 at 31 Hematology Centres and treated with frontline imatinib (IM) or second-generation (2G) TKIs dasatinib or nilotinib. Optimal MR at 3, 6 and 12 mo. were assessed according to 2020 ELN recommendations. Results Frontline TKI was IM in 926 (56.1%) and 2G-TKIs in 724 (43.9%) cases: the main clinical features at diagnosis of the entire cohort and according to frontline treatment is reported in the Table 1. Commonest comorbidities were arterial hypertension (38.7%), previous neoplasm (13.6%), diabetes (11.3%), peripheral vascular diseases (7.8%), COPD (7.5%) and ischemic heart disease (6.8%). IM-treated patients were older (p Optimal MR was achieved at 3 mo. by 1186/1430 (82.9%), at 6 mo. by 1025/1352 (75.8%) and at 12 mo. by 826/1264 patients (65.3%), respectively. Total number of patients discontinuing TKI in the 1st year was 321/1650 (19.4%), being higher with IM (237/926, 25.5%) than 2G-TKIs (84/724, 11.6%) (p0.001), hematologic toxicity (1.7%, 2.0% IM vs 1.4% 2G-TKIs, p=0.25) and progression (1.0%, 1.2% IM vs 0.8% 2G-TKIs, p=0.56). Cumulative incidence of discontinuation at 3, 6 and 12 mo. were 5.6%, 10.7% and 19.3%, respectively; values for IM and 2G-TKIs at the three timepoints were 8.1%, 15.0%, 25.5% and 2.5%, 5.3%, 11.5% (p Conclusions This real-world study on over 1600 CML patients shows that almost 20% discontinue frontline TKI during the 1st year, mostly for primary resistance or toxicity. Discontinuation rates are higher with IM compared to 2G-TKIs, mostly at 3 mo. and are probably due to a lower attainment of early MR. The impact of older age, higher risks and heavier burden of comorbidities in IM patients should be considered and need deeper investigation. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Elena: GILEAD: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; NOVARTIS: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; PFIZER: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; CELGENE: Other: funding for meeting participation. Sportoletti: AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria. Stagno: InCyte: Consultancy, Honoraria; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Support for attending meetings and/or travel; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Support for attending meetings and/or travel, Research Funding. Iurlo: Pfizer: Speakers Bureau; Incyte: Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Speakers Bureau; Bristol Myers Squibb: Speakers Bureau. Bonifacio: Novartis: Honoraria; Pfizer: Honoraria; Amgen: Honoraria; Bristol Myers Squibb: Honoraria. Breccia: Pfizer: Honoraria; Incyte: Honoraria; Abbvie: Honoraria; Bristol Myers Squibb/Celgene: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria. Latagliata: Novartis: Honoraria; Pfizer: Honoraria; BMS Cellgene: Honoraria.

Introduction Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) has become highly curable after introduction of Tyrosine-Kinase Inhibitors (TKIs). However, several side-effects have been reported with the prolonged use of TKIs: in particular, severe cardiovascular and pulmonary toxicities were observed with 2 nd generation TKIs (2G-TKIs), nilotinib and dasatinib. Imatinib is generally considered safer, even if some concerns were recently raised on its renal toxicity and occurrence of late anemia. Aims To evaluate the impact of imatinib compared to 2G-TKIs on the hemoglobin (Hb) levels in the long-lasting frontline treatment of CML patients. Methods From 1/2002 to 12/2015, 365 CML patients were diagnosed and treated frontline with TKIs in 2 different Centres in Italy: of them, 123 permanently discontinued the treatment before the 5 th year from the start due to intolerance (31 cases, 25.2%), primary resistance (41, 33.3%), secondary resistance (16, 13.0%), blastic evolution (4, 3.2%), unrelated death (12, 9.8%) or were lost to follow-up (19, 15.5%). At 5 years, the remaining 242 patients were still receiving frontline TKI treatment and were considered for the present analysis. Hb levels were recorded at baseline and thereafter every 12 months up to the 5 th year of treatment. Results As to frontline treatment, 186 patients (76.8%) received imatinib and 56 (23.2%) 2G-TKIs (nilotinib in 44 cases and dasatinib in 12, respectively). The main clinical features at diagnosis of the entire cohort and according to frontline treatment are reported in the table: median Hb value at baseline was significantly lower in patients treated with 2G-TKIs. Median Hb values at different time-points according to frontline treatment are reported in the Figure. In patients treated with imatinib, median Hb levels at 12 th (12.5 g/dl, IQR 11.6-13.5) and 60 th month (12.4 g/dl, IQR 11.4-13.3) were stable compared to baseline (12.8 g/dl, IQR 11.3-13.8) (p=0.248 and p=0.075, respectively). On the contrary, median Hb levels at 12 th (13.4 g/dl, IQR 12.2-14.3) and 60 th month (13.6 g/dl, IQR 12.0-14.6) showed a significant increase compared to baseline (11.8 g/dl, IQR 10.6-13.7) in patients treated with 2G-TKIs (p Conclusions Present data highlight that long-lasting treatment with imatinib can have a negative late effect on erythropoiesis, with incomplete recovery of hemoglobin levels and occurrence of late anemia in about 15% of patients at the 60 th month of therapy.This possible adverse event, which is still unrecognized and seems very rare with 2G-TKIs, could affect quality of life and should be recognized in the long-term management of CML patients. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Latagliata: BMS Cellgene: Honoraria; Pfizer: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria. Martelli: Novartis: Other: advisory board; Gilead: Other: advisory board. Breccia: Pfizer: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; Incyte: Honoraria; Bristol Myers Squibb/Celgene: Honoraria; Abbvie: Honoraria.

Introduction. New guidelines for the management of dyslipidemia and lipid modification in order to reduce the risk of cardiovascular (CV) events have been recently published by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS). New recommendations regarding the target value of plasma lipids in very high and high CV risk patients have been provided, in addition to an estimate of the CV risk with a new Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) chart. Few data have been reported on the management of dyslipidemia in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients treated with nilotinib, and the association with arterial occlusive events (AOEs). We therefore analyzed a large real-life cohort of Italian patients with CML treated with nilotinib outside of clinical trials and evaluated the association between AOEs and plasma lipoproteins levels; moreover, we estimated the prognostic value of the new SCORE chart to predict AOEs. The secondary endpoint was to report the management of dyslipidemia in the clinical practice. Methods. We identified 233 adult patients with CML who were treated in 20 Italian centers with nilotinib. All patients were stratified into low to moderate (SCORE ≤ 5%) or high to very high (SCORE risk >5%) CV risk, according to the new version of the SCORE 2019. We recorded concentration levels of cholesterol, high-density lipoproteins (HDL), low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and triglycerides at diagnosis of CML, before starting ponatinib and therefore after 3, 6 and 12 months of treatment. All AOEs (cerebrovascular, peripheral vascular and CV events excluding hypertension) were considered. Results. The median age was 50 years (range 20-88) and the Sokal score was intermediate-high in 45.5% of patients. The median follow-up was 5 years (range 3.4-10.5). Nilotinib was administered as first line of therapy in (72%) of cases or second or subsequent lines of treatment for inefficacy (20.9%) or intolerance (7.1%). At baseline, nilotinib was administered at the following doses: 800 mg/day in 9.3% of patients, 600 mg/day in 87% of patients, 400 mg/day in 3.1% of patients and 300mg in 0.6% of patients, respectively. The median time of drug exposure was 60 months (range 2-155). The 48-month cumulative incidence rate of AOEs was 14.1±2.7%. Patients with cholesterol plasma levels > 200 mg/dL and LDL >70 mg/dL at baseline and 3 months after starting nilotinib, showed a significantly higher incidence of AOEs (24.5±7.3% vs 11±2.7%, P=0.02 and 22.3±4.9% vs 5.9±2.6, P=0.003, respectively) Figure 1. Patients with triglycerides levels > 200 mg/dL 3 months after starting nilotinib, showed a significantly higher incidence of AOEs (56±20.5% vs 13.3±2.7%, P=0.011) Patients belonging to the high and very high SCORE risk group showed a significant increase of AOEs (32.8.1±9% vs. 9±1%±2.6%, p=0.001). In multivariate analysis, statistical significance of cholesterol plasma levels > 200 mg/dL and LDL >70 mg/dL after 3 months and high-very-high SCORE was maintained (P=0.018, HR=3.4, 95% CI=1.2-9.4 and P=0.004, HR=3.5, 95% CI=1.5-8.2, respectively). Overall, 46 patients (20.5%) presented dyslipidemia at CML diagnosis and 65 (29%) at the start of treatment with nilotinib. Despite dyslipidemia, only 6 patients were taking statins during the treatment with nilotinib and only 5 started it after 3 months of nilotinib: 3 patients were treated with rosuvastatin and 2 with pravastatin. Conclusions. Our findings suggest that a proper control of dyslipidemia, keeping cholesterol and triglycerides plasma levels ≤ 200 mg/dL and LDL ≤70 mg/dL is associated with reduced risk of AOEs in CML patients treated with nilotinib. An under estimation of the clinical importance of elevated plasma lipids as a risk factor for AOEs events represents a possible issue in the real-life. Figure 1 Disclosures Abruzzese: Pfizer: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Incyte: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bms: Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Galimberti:Incyte: Honoraria; Novartis: Speakers Bureau. Castagnetti:Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria; Incyte: Consultancy, Honoraria; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria; Bristol Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria. Pregno:Incyte-Italy,: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: conference reports; Novartis-Italy: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: conference reports; Pfizer-Italy: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: conference reports. Bocchia:CELGENE: Honoraria; Incyte: Honoraria. Gugliotta:Novartis: Honoraria; Incyte: Honoraria; Pfizer: Honoraria. Foà:Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Speakers Bureau; Roche: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Incyte: Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Roche: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

Discontinuation of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CP-CML) patients has become a reality. Treatment-free remission (TFR) defines the rate of success aft...

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a heterogeneous group of myeloid disorders characterized by cytopenias and increased risk of acute leukemia transformation. Prognosis of MDS patients can be assessed by various scoring systems, the most common being the International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) now refined by the revised version (IPSS-R). Genomic information at baseline, that is currently not included in clinical prognostic scores, will, in the future, help us to stratify patients with various prognoses. Therapy of MDS is based on risk stratification. The aim of therapy in low-risk MDS is to improve anemia or thrombocytopenia, decrease transfusion needs, improve quality of life, attempt to prolong overall survival, and reduce the risk of progression. In higher-risk MDS, the goal of therapy is to prolong survival and reduce the risk of transformation into acute leukemia. Only a few drugs are currently available for treatment, but more drugs are now under clinical investigation, in line with new, recently discovered molecular and immunological pathways. This review describes potential new drugs for low and high-risk MDS. The increasing knowledge of immunological and signalling pathways in MDS will assist us in identifying targeted patient-oriented treatments. In the near future, initial molecular stratification will lead the way to a personalized approach and targeted therapy.

Background: In elderly patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) responsive to imatinib, the incidence of clinically significant (CS) late chronic anemia is still unknown. Materials and Methods: To highlight this issue, we revised retrospectively 81 CML patients aged >60 years treated at our Institution with front-line imatinib for at least 24 months in durable complete cytogenetic response (CCyR). CS late chronic anemia was defined as the presence of persistent (>6 months) and otherwise unexplained Hb levels ≤10 g/dL, which occurred >6 months from imatinib start. Results: A condition of CS late chronic anemia occurred in 22 out of 81 patients (27.2%) at different intervals from imatinib start. Seven out of 22 patients (31.8%) needed packed red cell transfusions during the follow-up. At diagnosis, patients who developed CS late chronic anemia were significantly older and had a lower Hb median level. Six out of 22 patients with CS late chronic anemia received subcutaneous recombinant alpha-erythropoietin (EPO) at the standard dosage of 40,000 IU weekly: all 6 patients achieved an erythroid response. A significantly worse event-free survival (EFS) in patients with untreated CS late chronic anemia was observed (p = 0.012). Conclusions: CS late chronic anemia during long-term treatment with imatinib is a common complication in responsive elderly patients, with worse EFS if untreated. Results with EPO are encouraging, but larger studies are warranted to define its role.

There are five tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) that are currently approved (in the European Union and the United States) for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) in the chronic phase (CP) and each of them has its own efficacy and toxicity profile. Oral ponatinib (Iclusig®) is a third-generation TKI structurally designed to inhibit native BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase and several BCR-ABL1 mutants, including T315I. Ponatinib is now approved for patients with CML who are resistant or intolerant to prior TKI therapy (European Union) or for whom no other TKI therapy is indicated (United States). Despite achieving results in heavily treated patients, which led to its approval, the drug may induce cardiovascular events, requiring a careful baseline assessment of predisposing risk factors and specific management during treatment. Pharmacokinetic analysis has indicated the possibility of reducing the starting dose of ponatinib to 15 mg/day and preliminary data showed advantages in terms of safety while maintained its efficacy. This review summarizes the results achieved and drug-related side effects reported in all clinical trials and real-life experiences, testing ponatinib in patients with CP-CML. In addition, we focus on the appropriate use of ponatinib in clinical practice suggesting some useful recommendations on the proper management of this drug.

Arterial occlusive events (AOEs) represent emerging complications in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients treated with ponatinib. We identified 85 consecutive CML adult patients who were treated with ponatinib in 17 Italian centers. Patients were stratified according to the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) assessment, based on sex, age, smoking habits, systolic blood pressure, and total cholesterol levels. The 60-month cumulative incidence rate of AOEs excluding hypertension was 25.7%. Hypertension was reported in 14.1% of patients. The median time of exposure to ponatinib was 28months (range, 3-69months). Patients with a high to very high SCORE risk showed a significantly higher incidence rate of AOEs (74.3% vs 15.2%, P&nbsp

Ruxolitinib is the only commercially available JAK1/2 inhibitor approved for the treatment of myelofibrosis-related splenomegaly and symptoms. During treatment, as rare conditions, leukocytosis and/or thrombocytosis could develop and the management of these situations is not well established. We report here 53 myelofibrosis patients that received a combination of hydroxyurea and ruxolitinib because of uncontrolled myeloproliferation. Both drugs were administered outside clinical trials. At 48weeks, a significant reduction in leucocyte and platelet counts was observed (p= 0.02 and p= 0.04, respectively). Additionally, the spleen volume decreased from a median value of 10cm below the left costal margin (range, 0-10) to 6cm (range, 0-15). The rate of spleen response increased from 14% at the start of the combination to 45% after 48weeks. The safety profile of the combination was consistent with that observed with ruxolitinib single agent. These data require further confirmation in large cohorts of patients prospectively assessed.

Introduction APL in the elderly is rare and about 5% of patients with APL are older than 70 years at diagnosis; compared to young adults, prognosis of older patients with APL remains poorer, due to the presence of severe comorbidities and the higher rate of mortality related to induction or consolidation therapy. Aim To evaluate in an unselected real-life cohort of APL patients aged ≥ 70 years the true efficacy of targeted treatments and follow-up of disease. Methods A retrospective cohort of 45 consecutive APL patients (M/F 27/18), aged ≥ 70 years and diagnosed at 8 different hematologic institutions in Lazio, Italy, from July 1991 to May 2019 was analyzed. To avoid possible selection bias, particular attention was given to consider also patients managed outside of clinical trials because of comorbidities at diagnosis and patients dead immediately after APL diagnosis before starting any treatment. Results The median age at diagnosis was 76.6 years (range 70 - 87.1). The main clinical features at diagnosis are shown in Table 1. As to major comorbidities, 28 patients(62.2%) had concomitant cardiologic diseases, 13 (28.8%) had a clinical history of cancer and 11 (24.4%) were affected by diabetes. Forty-three patients (95.5%) started therapy after diagnosis, 2 (4.4%) died before starting treatment from early hemorrhagic complications. Twenty-two patients (51.1%) (Group A) were enrolled in clinical controlled trials or were treated according to clinical controlled trials [13 pts (59.0%) according to AIDA-like regimen, 9 (40.9%) according to APL0406 study], while 21 patients (48,8%) (Group B) received an ATRA-based personalized approach. Overall, complete morphologic remission (CR) after induction therapy was achieved in 33 patients (76.7%); all patients in the Group A achieved CR compared to 11 patients (52.3%) in the Group B (p Conclusions: The present analysis of an unselected cohort of APL patients aged ≥ 70 years highlights that almost half of the patients were not considered eligible for a standard approach as in youngers, and received sub-optimal induction treatments, with a very high rate of early death and dismal rates of CR and OS compared to patients treated with standard therapy. As a consequence, it is mandatory, whenever possible, to adopt standard therapies instead of modified/reduced personalized approaches also in frail elderly patients with APL, to improve their outcome. Disclosures Breccia: BMS: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; Pfizer: Honoraria; Incyte: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria. Trawinska:Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria. Foà:Celltrion: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Roche: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Abbvie: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Celltrion: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Amgen Inc.: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Shire: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Incyte: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Abbvie: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Roche: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Shire: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Amgen Inc.: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Incyte: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Latagliata:Novartis: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria; Pfizer: Honoraria.

Background. Imatinib, the first BCR/ABL kinase inhibitor, has drastically changed the chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) scenario improving the rate of responses and long-term outcome. The aim of our analysis was to assess, after a median follow-up of 10.2 years (range 5.8-14.8), the long-term efficacy and safety of imatinib treatment in a monocentric cohort of CML patients treated outside of clinical trials. Methods. We retrospectively analyzed a series of 458 CML patients treated with imatinib frontline or after interferon (IFN) failure at a single center between 2000 and 2016. Long-term analysis included overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), event-free survival (EFS), response to treatment and adverse events. Results. The median age was 55.1 years (range 18.8-91.2). Seventy-one % of patients received imatinib frontline and 29% after IFN failure. Median time of prior IFN treatment was 5.6 years (range 2.4-8.9); the 10-year OS of patients treated with imatinib after IFN and with imatinib frontline was 75.3% (CI 95%: 66.9-81.9) and 77.8% (CI 95%: 72.2-82.5) (p=0.468), respectively. The 10-year-OS of the whole cohort was 77.1% (CI 95%: 73.1-81.5); the 10-year probability of dying due to CML and of other causes was 7.8% (CI 95%: 5.1-10.3) and 16% (CI 95%: 11.5-18.8), respectively (Figure 1). When patients were stratified into 4 groups according to age (18-35, >35-50-65 years), no difference was found in the 10-year OS considering only the CML-related deaths (p=0.472), whereas a difference was observed when all other causes of death were considered (p Conclusions. A 10-year real-life follow-up of CML patients demonstrates that imatinib maintains efficacy over time and is associated with a low rate of CV events and second neoplasias. Disclosures Rizzo: Sapienza University, Rome: Other: Resident in Hematology. Foà:GILEAD: Speakers Bureau; INCYTE: Other: ADVISORY BOARD; AMGEN: Other: ADVISORY BOARD; ABBVIE: Other: ADVISORY BOARD, Speakers Bureau; CELTRION: Other: ADVISORY BOARD; NOVARTIS: Speakers Bureau; JANSSEN: Other: ADVISORY BOARD, Speakers Bureau; CELGENE: Other: ADVISORY BOARD, Speakers Bureau; ROCHE: Other: ADVISORY BOARD, Speakers Bureau. Breccia:Novartis: Honoraria; BMS: Honoraria; Incyte: Honoraria; Pfizer: Honoraria.

Current treatment with Tyrosine-Kinase Inhibitors (TKI) has profoundly changed long-term prognosis of newly diagnosed Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML). However, the true disease/patient status at different time-points is still based on few data from controlled clinical studies (mainly based on "cumulative incidence" more than "effective situation" of any single patient at any single time from TKI start) and is still unclear in the real-life setting without selection criteria. In order to give an effective picture of their 5-year status, all consecutive CML patients newly diagnosed at our Institute until 6/2012 (i.e. with a minimum observation period of 5 years) and treated frontline with any TKI at any dosage in both controlled clinical trials or current clinical practice were retrospectively evaluated. On the whole, 259 patients, treated with imatinib (219) or 2nd generation TKI (2-TKI) (35 with nilotinib and 5 with dasatinib), were collected: the main features at diagnosis of the entire cohort and according to TKI are reported in the Table 1, without differences between the 2 groups. In the imatinib group, 13/219 patients (6%) received a reduced starting dose (< 400 mg/day), while all patients in the 2-TKI group started initial standard doses. At the 5-year evaluation, 227 pazienti (87.6%) were alive, 16 died (6.2%) and 16 (6.2%) were lost to follow-up. Among the 227 patients alive, 176 (67.9% of the entire cohort) were in Complete Cytogenetic Response (CCyR), 163 (62.9% of the entire cohort) were in Major Molecular Response (MMolR) and 121 (46.7% of the entire cohort) were in Deep Molecular Response (DMR). The remaining 51 patients alive at the 5th year (19.7% of the entire cohort) were in 2nd or subsequent line of treatment, due to intolerance in 13 cases (25.5%) or primary/secondary resistance in 38 (74.5%). Among the 16 deaths, 5 (1.9% of the entire cohort) were CML-related and 11 (4.3% of the entire cohort) were CML unrelated. Among the 16 patients lost to follow-up, 8 (3.1% of the entire cohort) were in response to 1st line treatment and 8 (3.1% of the entire cohort) were in 2nd line/resistant disease at the last visit. Six patients (2.3%) evolved in blastic phase and 8 (3.1%) developped a 2nd neoplasia. In the group treated frontline with 2-TKI there was a higher rate of patients alive in MMolR (p=0.038) but not in DMolR (p=0.137), with a lower rate of primary/secondary resistance (p=0.048) but a higher incidence of intolerance (p=0.002) compared to patients treated frontline with imatinib (Table 2). Five-year cumulative overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and event-free survival (EFS) of the entire cohort were 93.2% (IC 95% 90.2-96.2), 78.2% (IC95% 73.1-83.3) e 70.2% (IC95% 64.5 - 75.9), respectively. According to initial treatment, 5-year PFS was significantly better in the 2-TKI group (p=0.003), but no difference was observed between the 2 groups as to 5-year EFS (p=0.274) and 5-year OS (p=0.077). In conclusion, results achievable at 5 years with frontline TKI treatment in the current clinical practice are excellent, with at least two thirds of patients alive in MMolR and about half of patients also in DMolR under frontline approach: deaths CML-related in the first 5 years of treatment are very rare and less than 1 out 5 patients needs to change frontline approach for intolerance/resistance. The role of frontline 2-TKI in this real-life setting deserves further examinations in larger unselected cohorts at longer time-points. Disclosures Breccia: BMS: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; Incyte: Honoraria; Pfizer: Honoraria. Foà:ROCHE: Other: ADVISORY BOARD, Speakers Bureau; CELGENE: Other: ADVISORY BOARD, Speakers Bureau; CELTRION: Other: ADVISORY BOARD; ABBVIE: Other: ADVISORY BOARD, Speakers Bureau; GILEAD: Speakers Bureau; NOVARTIS: Speakers Bureau; INCYTE: Other: ADVISORY BOARD; JANSSEN: Other: ADVISORY BOARD, Speakers Bureau; AMGEN: Other: ADVISORY BOARD.

Background. 5-Azacitidine (5-AZA) had changed the therapeutic approach to intermediate-2/high IPSS risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) improving the outcome of patients, even in the absence of a complete response. However, real-life experiences have reported contradicting results compared to the AZA001 randomized study. Aim of our analysis was to identify the clinico-biological features at baseline and during treatment associated with the overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) at two years in a consecutive cohort of patients treated with hypometylating agent in the clinical practice. Moreover, we propose a new prognostic score for the identification of OS after the first four cycles of therapy. Patients and Method. We retrospectively analyzed a series of 110 MDS patients treated at a single institution with 5-AZA between September 2003 and January 2017. Patients were diagnosed according to the WHO 2016 criteria. 5-AZA was administered at a dose of 75 mg/m2 according to the 5+2+2 schedule every 28 days. Results. A male predominance was observed (male/female: 66%/34%) with a median age of 70 years (range 38-85). The median dose of 5-AZA received was 135 mg/day (range 105-150) after a median time from diagnosis of 2.3 months (range 0.1-119). Median duration of therapy was 9.5 cycles (range 1-77) with a median time on treatment of 8.5 months (range 1-86.7). OS of the whole cohort was 66.1% (CI 95% 57.2-76.4) at 1 year and 38.3% (CI 95% 29.4-49.9) at 2 years. Seventy-seven patients (70%) performed four cycles of therapy. According to the IWG criteria, 42 patients (54.5%) achieved a complete remission (CR), 11 (14.2%) a partial remission (PR), 17 (22.4%) maintained a stable disease (SD), 2 (2.5%) and 5 (6.4%) presented a progression disease (PD) and a failure, respectively. The 2-year OS was 68% in patients who obtained a CR/PR, 20% in patients with SD and 16% in patients with PD/failure (p75 years, p=0.075). The baseline bone marrow blasts percentage did not impact on OS and PFS (OS, p=0.867; PFS, p=0.611). According to the Revised International Prognostic Score (R-IPSS), 22 (20%), 46 (42.8%) and 42 (38.2%) patients were classified as intermediate, high and very high-risk patients, respectively. We identified that the very high-risk group had an inferior 2-year OS (17%) compared to intermediate-group patients (64%, p10% identified patients with a worse outcome, with a 2-year OS of 9.4% compared to 60.3% for patients with 0-5% blasts and 44.7% for patients with 5-10% blasts (p=0.002). The occurrence of one infection during the first four cycles impacted on the 2-year OS (31.6% vs 58.3% in patients without, p=0.032). We applied a dynamic prognostic score according to age, cytogenetic risk, transfusion need, number of 5-AZA cycles performed and type of response after the fourth cycle (Table 1): the combination of these variables identified 3 categories of risk with a significantly different 2-year OS: low-risk (72.3%), intermediate (19.8%) and high-risk (8.9%) (p Conclusions. Our results in a large and consecutive MDS cohort treated outside of clinical trials defined prognostic factors, such as transfusion dependency, persistence of >10% blasts after four cycles and absence of infections, capable of identifying patients with a good outcome. A prognostic score is proposed that requires independent validations in similar cohorts of patients. Disclosures Rizzo: Sapienza University, Rome: Other: Resident in Hematology. Foà:NOVARTIS: Speakers Bureau; CELTRION: Other: ADVISORY BOARD; GILEAD: Speakers Bureau; JANSSEN: Other: ADVISORY BOARD, Speakers Bureau; ROCHE: Other: ADVISORY BOARD, Speakers Bureau; CELGENE: Other: ADVISORY BOARD, Speakers Bureau; AMGEN: Other: ADVISORY BOARD; ABBVIE: Other: ADVISORY BOARD, Speakers Bureau; INCYTE: Other: ADVISORY BOARD. Breccia:Pfizer: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; BMS: Honoraria; Incyte: Honoraria.

Before the era of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has been considered the unique curative treatment for CML. The major cause of treatmen...

Abstract 4408 PNH is a hemolytic disorder resulting from dysregulation of complement on the rbc, and is associated with immune mediated marrow failure and marked hypercoagulability. Thrombosis can be prevented with anticoagulation or the complement inhibitor eculizumab, and it often involves the hepatic, portal, and splenic veins. This can result in an increase in portal pressure and complications that we term the “Thrombosis-Splenomegaly-Thrombocytopenia” syndrome (TST). TST is frequently associated with abdominal pain, and thrombocytopenia may be simultaneously exacerbated by marrow failure. Particularly, thrombocytopenia can complicate efforts at anticoagulation, leaving the patient exposed to the risk of further events. In some patients thromboses can reversed with tPA, but others will not be candidates because they have presented late after their thromboses. Ablating splenic function would be desirable: however, with a high risk of perioperative thrombosis, surgical splenectomy may be hazardous, particularly in patients who have already had thrombosis, and will confer a risk of sepsis. Here we report on 4 patients with PNH and late-presenting TST. We referred these 4 patients for selective splenic artery embolization (SSAE), which involves cannulating branches of the splenic artery– beyond the hilum– and introducing gelfoam and microcoils. We planned a multi-session stepwise approach: we started with the inferior branches of the splenic artery, to decrease the risk of pleural effusions. We planned to infarct no more than 1/3 of the spleen at any one time and to allow weeks to months for recovery. We routinely administered vaccinations and discontinued anticoagulation temporarily, and patients were given prophylactic antibiotics, fluids, analgesics, and antipyretics, and they were observed in the hospital with a back-up surgical team. Prior to the procedure, the median platelet count was 17 and the median spleen size was 22 cm. Patients 1–4 were treated with 3,2,1, and 3 procedures respectively, which resulted in a significant reduction in spleen volume in all 4 patients. The post procedure platelet counts were respectively 123, 12, 44, and 90, which represented a significant increase for all patients except patient 2, who remained thrombocytopenic; since there was evidence of bone marrow failure, she underwent a successful unrelated SCT. Patients 1,2, and 4 all had had abdominal pain before the procedure, which very significantly improved after recovery from the procedure, which we attribute to decreased venous return from the spleen into the portal circulation. Patients 1–3 were treated before eculizumab was available and patient 1, 3, and 4 are now on it. Patient 4 is a special case in that she had been on eculizumab for several months prior to the SSAE, but had had only a partial reduction in the red cell transfusion requirement; C3d deposition on rbcs was documented by flow cytometry, and it was thought that extravascular hemolysis was limiting her response to eculizumab, as has been described. Of note, her hemoglobin began to rise after the embolization procedure, concurrent with the increase in the platelet count, and a significant further reduction in the red cell transfusion requirement, suggesting that partially reducing splenic function markedly reduced C3-mediated extravascular hemolysis. Of the 9 procedures performed on these 4 patients, only one was complicated by a clinically significant left sided pleural effusion, which was drained by thorascope. All patients are doing well between 3.5 and 11 years after their procedures. We conclude that SSAE, when performed by an experienced interventional radiologist, is relatively safe in patients with PNH and TST, it produces sustained correction of hypersplenism without the risk associated with surgery or the asplenic state, and can be of benefit to patients on eculizumab who have hypersplenism. Pt Age at diagnosis Lowest plt count pre-SSAE Spleen size (cm) pre-SSAE Abdominal pain pre-SSAE Bone marrow Plt count post SSAE Spleen size post SSAE Abdominal pain after recovery from SSAE Complications of SSAE Follow up (yrs) 1 30 42 21 + Hypercellular Megakaryocyte aggregates 123 12 No Abd pain and fever 10 2 18 19 19 + Hypocellular Megas reduced 12 12 No Pain, pleural effusion SCT 3 27 14 36 – Erythroid hyperplasia Megas adequate 44 NA No Abd pain 11 4 26 Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.