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AMELIORATE is a Phase III, randomized trial aiming to personalize treatment intensity in FLT3-mutated acute myeloid leukemia. The current study provides an early appraisal of chemosensitivity based on peripheral blasts clearance, as assessed by multiparameter flow cytometry, from baseline to day 4 of induction. This biomarker was previously demonstrated to predict complete remission achievement and measurable residual disease status. For patients experiencing low peripheral blast cells (i.e., ≤2.0 logs), two major adjustments of treatment as compared with current standard of care are envisioned in the experimental arm: the immediate switch to intensified induction with high-doses cytarabine (1500 mg/m2 b.i.d. on days 5–7 of induction); and the early allocation of the patient to high-risk disease category, to be further refined later based on postinduction measurable residual disease status.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a heterogeneous disease, including one-third of cases overexpressing MYC and BCL2 proteins (double expressor lymphoma, DEL) and 5-10% of patients with chromosomal rearrangements of MYC, BCL2 and/or BCL-6 (double/triple-hit lymphomas, DH/TH). TP53 mutations are detected in 20- 25% of DEL. We report the efficacy of dose-adjusted EPOCH and rituximab (DA-EPOCH-R) in a series of 122 consecutive patients, including DEL (n=81, 66%), DEL-MYC (n=9, 7%), DEL-BCL2 (n=13, 11%), or high-grade lymphomas (DH/TH) (n=19, 16%). Central nervous system (CNS) prophylaxis included intravenous methotrexate (n=66), intrathecal chemotherapy (IT) (n=40) or no prophylaxis (n=16). Sixty-seven patients (55%) had highintermediate or high International Prognostic Index (IPI) and 30 (25%) had high CNS-IPI. The 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) for the entire study population were 74% and 84%, respectively. There was a trend for inferior OS for DH/TH (2-year OS: 66%, P=0.058) as compared to all the others. The outcome was significantly better for the IPI 0-2 versus IPI 3-5 (OS: 98% vs. 72%, P=0.002). DA-EPOCH-R did not overcome the negative prognostic value of TP53 mutations: 2-year OS of 62% versus 88% (P=0.036) were observed for mutated as compared to wild-type cases, respectively. Systemic CNS prophylaxis conferred a better 2-year OS (94%) as compared to IT or no prophylaxis (76% and 65%, respectively; P=0.008). DA-EPOCH-R treatment resulted in a favorable outcome in patients with DEL and DEL with single rearrangement, whereas those with multiple genetic alterations such as DEL-DH/TH and TP53 mutated cases still have an inferior outcome.

Objectives: Treatment of older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is still controversial. To facilitate treatment decisions, the “fitness criteria” proposed by Ferrara et al. (Leukemia, 2013), including age > 75 years, performance status and comorbidities, were verified retrospectively in 699 patients with AML (419 de-novo, 280 secondary AML), diagnosed at 8 Hematological Centers (REL). Methods: Patients were categorized in FIT to intensive chemotherapy (i-T) (292, 42.5%), UNFIT to i-T (289, 42.1%), or unfit even to non-intensive therapy (non i-T) (FRAIL) (105, 15.3%). Biological characteristics and treatment actually received by patients [i-T, 274 patients (39.2%); non i-T, 134 (19.2%), best-supportive care (BSC), 291 (41.6%)] were recorded. Results: “Fitness criteria” were easily applicable in 98.1% of patients. Overall concordance between “fitness criteria” and treatment actually received by patients was high (79.4%), 76% in FIT, 82.7% in UNFIT and 80% in FRAIL patients. Fitness independently predicted survival (median survival: 10.9, 4.2 and 1.8 months in FIT, UNFIT and FRAIL patients, respectively; p = 0.000), as confirmed also by multivariate analysis. In FRAIL patients, survival with any treatment was no better than with BSC, in UNFIT non i-T was as effective as i-T and better than BSC, and in FIT patients i-T was better than non i-T or BSC. In addition, a non-adverse risk AML, an ECOG PS

We report the clinical presentation and risk factors for survival in 175 patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) and COVID-19, diagnosed between February and June 2020. After a median follow-up of 50 days, mortality was higher than in the general population and reached 48% in myelofibrosis (MF). Univariate analysis, showed a significant relationship between death and age, male gender, decreased lymphocyte counts, need for respiratory support, comorbidities and diagnosis of MF, while no association with essential thrombocythemia (ET), polycythemia vera (PV), and prefibrotic-PMF (pre-PMF) was found. Regarding MPN-directed therapy ongoing at the time of COVID-19 diagnosis, Ruxolitinib (Ruxo) was significantly more frequent in patients who died in comparison with survivors (p=0.006). Conversely, multivariable analysis found no effect of Ruxo alone on mortality, but highlighted an increased risk of death in the 11 out of 45 patients who discontinued treatment. These findings were also confirmed in a propensity score matching analysis. In conclusion, we found a high risk of mortality during COVID-19 infection among MPN patients, especially in MF patients and/or discontinuing Ruxo at COVID-19 diagnosis. These findings call for deeper investigation on the role of Ruxo treatment and its interruption, in affecting mortality in MPN patients with COVID-19.

Background: The phase 3 GIMEMA-MMY-3006 trial, which compared bortezomib, thalidomide, and dexamethasone (VTD) combination therapy with thalidomide and dexamethasone (TD) as induction therapy before and consolidation therapy after double autologous haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, showed the superiority of the triplet regimen over the doublet in terms of increased complete response rate and improved progression-free survival. We report the results from the final analysis of the study. Methods: In this randomised, open-label, phase 3 study, patients aged 18–65 years with previously untreated symptomatic multiple myeloma and a Karnofsky Performance Status of 60% or higher were enrolled at 73 centres in Italy. Patients were randomised (1:1) by a web-based system to receive three 21-day cycles of thalidomide (100 mg daily orally for the first 14 days and 200 mg daily thereafter) plus dexamethasone (total 320 mg per cycle; 40 mg on days 1–2, 4–5, 8–9, and 11–12 in the VTD regimen, and 40 mg on days 1–4 and 9–12 in the TD regimen), either alone (TD group) or with bortezomib (1·3 mg/m2 intravenously on days 1, 4, 8, and 11; VTD group). After double autologous HSCT, patients received two 35-day cycles of either the VTD or TD regimen, according to random assignment, as consolidation therapy. The primary outcome was the rate of complete response and near complete response after induction (already reported). In this updated analysis we assessed long-term progression-free survival and overall survival (secondary endpoints of the study) with an extended 10-year median follow-up, and analysed the variables influencing survival. Analysis was by intention to treat. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01134484. Findings: Between May 10, 2006, and April 30, 2008, 480 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive VTD (241 patients) or TD (239 patients). Six patients withdrew consent before start of treatment. 236 (99 [42%] women) in the VTD group and 238 (102 [43%] women) in the TD group were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. The data cutoff date for this analysis was May 31, 2018. Median follow-up for surviving patients was 124·1 months (IQR 117·2–131·7). The 10-year progression-free survival estimate for patients in the VTD group was 34% (95% CI 28–41) compared with 17% (13–23) for the TD group (hazard ratio [HR] 0·62 [95% CI 0·50–0·77]; p

Introduction: Patients (pts) with CLL may be at particular risk of severe COVID-19 given advanced age and immune dysregulation. Two large series with limited follow-up have reported outcomes for pts with CLL and COVID-19 (Scarfò, et al. Leukemia 2020; Mato, et al. Blood 2020). To provide maximal clarity on outcomes for pts with CLL and COVID-19, we partnered in a worldwide effort to describe the clinical experience and validate predictors of survival, including potential treatment effects. Methods: This international collaboration represents a partnership between investigators at 141 centers. Data are presented in two cohorts. Cohort 1 (Co1) includes pts captured through efforts by European Research Initiative on CLL (ERIC), Italian CAMPUS CLL Program, and Grupo Español de Leucemia Linfática Crónica. The validation cohort, Cohort 2 (Co2), includes pts from US (66%), UK (23%), EU (7%), and other countries (4%). There is no overlap in cases between cohorts. CLL pts were included if COVID-19 was diagnosed by PCR detection of SARS-CoV-2 and they required inpatient hospitalization. Data were collected retrospectively 2/2020 - 5/2020 using standardized case report forms. Baseline characteristics, preexisting comorbidities (including cumulative illness rating scale (CIRS) score ≥6 vs. The primary endpoint of this study was to estimate the case fatality rate (CFR), defined as the proportion of pts who died among all pts hospitalized with COVID-19. Chi-squared test was used to compare frequencies; univariable and multivariable analyses utilized Cox regression. Predictors of inferior OS in both Co1 and Co2 were included in multivariable analyses. Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate overall survival (OS) from time of COVID-19 diagnosis (dx). Results: 411 hospitalized, COVID-19 positive CLL pts were analyzed (Co1 n=281, Co2 n=130). Table 1 describes baseline characteristics. At COVID-19 dx, median age was 72 in Co1 (range 37-94) and 68 in Co2 (range 41-98); 31% (Co1) and 45% (Co2) had CIRS ≥6. In Co1, 48% were treatment-naïve and 26% were receiving CLL-directed therapy at COVID-19 dx (66% BTKi ± anti-CD20, 19% Venetoclax ± anti-CD20, 9.6% chemo/chemoimmunotherapy (CIT), 1.4% PI3Ki, 4% other). In Co2, 36% were never treated and 49% were receiving CLL-directed therapy (65% BTKi ± anti-CD20, 19% Venetoclax ± anti-CD20, 9.4% multi-novel agent combinations, 1.6% CIT, 1.6% PI3Ki, 1.6% anti-CD20 monotherapy, 1.6% other). Most pts receiving CLL-directed therapy had it held at COVID-19 diagnosis (93% in Co1 and 81% in Co2). Frequency of most COVID-19 symptoms/laboratory abnormalities were similar in the two cohorts including fever (88% in both), lymphocytosis (ALC ≥30 x 109/L; 27% vs. 21%), and lymphocytopenia (ALC < 1.0 x 109/L; 18% vs. 28%), while others varied between Co1 and Co2 (p Median follow-up was 24 days (range 2-86) in Co1 and 17 days (1-43) in Co2. CFRs were similar in Co1 and Co2, 30% and 34% (p=0.45). 54% and 43% were discharged while 16% and 23% remained admitted at last follow-up in Co1 and Co2, respectively. The proportion of pts requiring supplemental oxygen was similar (89% vs. 92%) while rate of ICU admission was higher in Co2 (20% vs. 48%, p Conclusions : In the largest cancer dx-specific cohort reported, pts with CLL hospitalized for COVID-19 had a CFR of 30-34%. Advanced patient age at COVID-19 diagnosis was an independent predictor of OS in two large cohorts. This CFR will serve as a benchmark for mortality for future outcomes studies, including therapeutic interventions for COVID-19 in this population. The effect of CLL treatment on OS was inconsistent across cohorts; COVID-19 may be severe regardless of treatment status. While there were no significant differences in distribution of current lines of therapy between cohorts, prior chemo exposure was more common in Co1 vs. Co2, which may account for difference in OS. Extended follow-up will be presented. Disclosures Roeker: American Society of Hematology: Research Funding; Abbott Laboratories: Other: spouse with minority ownership interest ; AbbVie: Other: spouse with minority ownership interest . Scarfo:Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; AstraZeneca: Honoraria; Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Abrisqueta:Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Eyre:AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support; KITE, AZ, Loxo Oncology at Lilly: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Muntañola Prat:Roche: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: travel grants; participated in advisory boards; Abbvie: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: travel grants; participated in advisory boards; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: travel grants; participated in advisory boards. Villacampa:AstraZeneca: Other: advisory role; Merck Sharp & Dohme: Honoraria. Leslie:AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Bayer: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; ADC therapeutics: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; AbbVie: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; BeiGene: Speakers Bureau; KitePharma: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Celgene/BMS: Speakers Bureau; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Pharmacyclics/Janssen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Epizyme: Speakers Bureau; Karyopharm: Speakers Bureau; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Allan:Acerta, Genentech, Abbvie, Sunesis, Ascentage, Pharmacyclics, Janssen, AstraZeneca, BeiGene: Consultancy; Celgene, Genentech, Janssen, TG Therapeutics: Research Funding; Abbvie, Janssen, AstraZeneca, Pharmacyclics: Honoraria. Furman:Incyte: Consultancy; Genentech: Consultancy; Sunesis: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy; Loxo Oncology: Consultancy; Oncotarget: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Abbvie: Consultancy; Beigene: Consultancy; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Research Funding; Acerta: Consultancy; Verastem: Consultancy. Pagel:BeiGene, Astrazeneca, Loxo Oncology, Gilead: Consultancy. Hernandez-Rivas:Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene/BMS: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Roche: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; AstraZeneca: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Rovi: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Patel:Genentech: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Adaptive Biotechnologies: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Celgene/BMS: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; BeiGene: Consultancy; Kite: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Motta:Roche: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria. Lamanna:AbbVie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Genentech: Research Funding; Verastem: Research Funding; Bei-Gene: Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Research Funding; Acerta: Research Funding; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Roche-Genentech: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Vitale:Janssen: Honoraria. Kamdar:Roche: Research Funding. Österborg:BeiGene: Research Funding; Kancera: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Research Funding; Sanofi: Consultancy; Karolinska Univeristy Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden: Current Employment. Hanson:Janssen-Cilag: Research Funding; Gilead: Research Funding; AbbVie: Honoraria. Eichhorst:ArQule: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support, Research Funding; BeiGene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support, Research Funding; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support, Research Funding; Oxford Biomedica: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support, Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support, Research Funding; F. Hoffmann-LaRoche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support, Research Funding; Janssen-Cilag: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support, Research Funding. Reda:Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Varettoni:Janssen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel/accommodations/expenses; AbbVie: Other: Travel/accommodations/expenses; Roche: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Marchetti:Gilead: Consultancy; Novartis: Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Speakers Bureau; AbbVie: Other: Sponsored meetings; Takeda: Other: Sponsored meetings; Pfeizer: Other: Sponsored meetings. Munir:F. Hoffmann-La Roche: Consultancy, Other: Medical writing support, furnished by Scott Battle, PhD, of Health Interactions, was funded by F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Basel, Switzerland; Alexion: Honoraria. Zabalza:Janssen: Honoraria, Other: travel grants; Roche: Other: travel grants; Novartis: Other: travel grants. Janssens:Amgen: Consultancy, Other: travel grants; speaker fees; Abbvie: Consultancy, Other: travel grants; speaker fees; Celgene: Consultancy, Other: travel grants; speaker fees; Janssen: Consultancy, Other: travel grants; speaker fees; Gilead: Consultancy, Other: travel grants; speaker fees; Novartis: Consultancy, Other: travel grants; speaker fees; Sanofi-Genzyme: Consultancy, Other: travel grants; speaker fees; Roche: Consultancy, Other: travel grants; speaker fees. Niemann:AstraZeneca: Honoraria, Research Funding; CSL Behring: Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria, Research Funding; Sunesis: Honoraria, Research Funding; Abbvie: Honoraria, Research Funding; Danish Cancer Society: Honoraria, Research Funding; Novo Nordisk Foundation: Honoraria, Research Funding. Perini:Takeda: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Abbvie: Speakers Bureau. Patten:AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Astra Zeneca: Honoraria. Marasca:Roche: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Shire: Honoraria. Iyengar:Janssen: Honoraria; Gilead: Honoraria. Ferrari:Abbvie: Honoraria. El-Sharkawi:Roche: Other: Conference fees; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Itchaki:Abbvie Inc: Consultancy, Research Funding. Ma:Novartis: Research Funding; Juno: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics, LLC, an AbbVie Company: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Kite: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria; Genentech: Consultancy, Honoraria; Bioverativ: Consultancy, Honoraria; BeiGene: Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Research Funding. Van Der Spek:AMGEN: Other: Teaching activities. Seymour:Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; Merck: Research Funding; Karyopharm: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Janssen/Pharmacyclics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Incyte: Research Funding; Genentech: Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding. Rigolin:Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Abbvie: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Mauro:Roche: Other; Octopharma: Other; Takeda-Shire: Other; Gilead: Other; Janssen: Other; Abbvie: Other. Laurenti:Janssen: Honoraria; Gilead: Honoraria; AbbVie: Honoraria; Roche: Honoraria. Levin:Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: travel compensation; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: travel compensation; Roche: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: travel compensation. Špaček:Gilead: Honoraria; Abbvie: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria. Walewska:AbbVie: Other: sponsored for educational meetings, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Other: sponsored for educational meetings, Speakers Bureau; Gilead: Speakers Bureau; Astra Zeneca: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Wiestner:Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company; Acerta, Merck, Nurix, Verastem, and Genmab: Research Funding; National Institutes of Health: Patents & Royalties: and other intellectual property. Broom:Gilead: Other: Travel support, Speakers Bureau. Kater:Abbvie: Research Funding; Roche: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Genentech: Research Funding. Ujjani:AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Verastem Oncology: Consultancy, Honoraria; Gilead/Kite: Consultancy, Research Funding; Atara: Consultancy, Honoraria; Genentech: Consultancy, Honoraria; MorphoSys: Consultancy. Vandenberghe:Celgene: Other: sponsorship to attend Lugano lymphoma meeting in 2019; Gilead: Other: travel grants, Research Funding; Abbvie: Other: travel grants, Research Funding; Janssen: Other: travel grants; Roche: Other: travel grants, Research Funding. Chong:Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Tessa: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; BMS: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; KITE Pharma: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Pu:Takeda Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy. Brown:Janssen, Teva: Speakers Bureau; Gilead, Loxo, Sun, Verastem: Research Funding; Abbvie, Acerta, AstraZeneca, Beigene, Invectys, Juno/Celgene, Kite, Morphosys, Novartis, Octapharma, Pharmacyclics, Sunesis, TG Therapeutics, Verastem: Consultancy. Trentin:Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Abbvie: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Octapharma: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Shire: Honoraria. Farina:Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Sanchez:Abbvie: Other: travel grants; Amgem: Other: travel grants; Janssen: Other: travel grants; Celgene: Other: travel grants; Roche: Other: travel grants. Shadman:Abbvie, Genentech, Astra Zeneca, Sound Biologics , Pharmacyclics, Verastem, ADC therapeutics, Beigene, Cellectar, BMS, Morphosys and Atara Biotherapeutics: Consultancy; Mustang Bio, Celgene, Pharmacyclics, Gilead, Genentech, Abbvie, TG therapeutics, Beigene, Astra Zeneca, Sunesis, Beigene: Research Funding. Foglietta:Janssen: Honoraria; Gilead: Honoraria. Jaksic:Roche: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria; Abbvie: Honoraria. Sportoletti:AbbVie: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria. Barr:Morphosys: Consultancy; Gilead: Consultancy; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Research Funding; Verastem: Consultancy; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy; TG therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Abbvie/Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy; Merck: Consultancy; Genentech: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy. Ruchlemer:Abbvie Inc: Consultancy, Research Funding. Kersting:Celgene: Other: travel grant; Janssen: Research Funding; Abbvie: Research Funding. Huntington:Pharmacyclics: Honoraria; AbbVie: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy; Genentech: Consultancy; DTRM: Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Bayer: Consultancy, Honoraria; Astrazeneca: Honoraria; TG Therapeutics: Research Funding. Herishanu:Roche: Honoraria; Sanofi: Honoraria; Medison: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria; Abbvie: Honoraria; AstraZeneca: Honoraria. Jacobs:TG Therapeutics, Inc.: Research Funding; Astra Zeneca: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; AbbVie: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Pharmacyclics: Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy; Verastem: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Genentech: Speakers Bureau; Sanofi Genzyme: Speakers Bureau. Portell:BeiGene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy; TG Therapeutics: Research Funding; Infinity: Research Funding; Roche/Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding; Xencor: Research Funding; Bayer: Consultancy; Amgen: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy; Kite: Consultancy, Research Funding; Acerta/AstraZeneca: Research Funding; AbbVie: Research Funding. Rambaldi:Sanofi: Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company); Astellas: Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company); BMS/Celgene: Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company); University of Milan: Current Employment; Roche: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Support of parent study and funding of editorial support. Received travel support., Research Funding; Gilead: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel support from Gilead.; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company). Research grant from Amgen Inc.; Omeros: Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company); Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company); Pfizer: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company). Advisory board and speaker fees from Pfizer.. Brander:Verastem: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other, Research Funding; NCCN: Other; Novartis: Consultancy, Other; Teva: Consultancy, Honoraria; Tolero: Research Funding; NCCN: Other; Novartis: Consultancy, Other; Teva: Consultancy, Honoraria; Tolero: Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other, Research Funding; ArQule: Consultancy, Other, Research Funding; Ascentage: Other, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other, Research Funding; BeiGene: Other, Research Funding; DTRM: Other, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other, Research Funding; Juno/Celgene/BMS: Other, Research Funding; MEI Pharma: Other, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other, Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy, Other; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other, Research Funding. Rossi:Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Jazz: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Other: Advisory board; Astellas: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Honoraria; Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Alexion: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Coscia:Karyopharm Therapeutics: Research Funding; Gilead: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Shire: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Abbvie: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Coombs:Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria; Genentech: Honoraria; AstraZeneca: Honoraria; MEI Pharma: Honoraria; LOXO Oncology: Honoraria; Octapharma: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria. 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. Foà:Abbvie: 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; 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. Cuneo:Astra Zeneca: Honoraria; Gilead: 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, Speakers Bureau; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Bosch:Jansen: Honoraria; Abbvie: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; Astra Zeneca: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria; Roche: Honoraria. Stamatopoulos:AstraZeneca: Honoraria; Janssen, Gilead, Abbvie: Honoraria, Research Funding. Ghia:Adaptive, Dynamo: Consultancy, Honoraria; Novartis: Research Funding; BeiGene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company), Research Funding; Celgene/Juno: Consultancy, Honoraria; Lilly: Consultancy, Honoraria; MEI: Consultancy, Honoraria; Sunesis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company), Research Funding; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; ArQule: Consultancy, Honoraria; Acerta/AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Honoraria. Mato:Adaptive: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Research Funding; BeiGene: Consultancy; LOXO: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company: Consultancy, Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy, Other: DSMB, Research Funding.

Consolidation treatment in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients achieving complete remission (CR) is warranted. High-dose cytarabine (HDAC) is considered first choice in favorable risk and an option in intermediate-risk AML. However, its optimal dose and schedule, as well as the benefit of additional chemotherapy agents remain controversial. Herein, we report on the long-term outcome of consecutive unselected AML patients treated with repeated courses of HDAC, with the addition of idarubicin, followed by autologous peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) support, in order to limit toxicity, according to Northern Italy Leukemia Group (NILG) AML-01/00 study (EUDRACT number 00400673). Among 338 patients consecutively diagnosed from 2001 to 2017 at our center, 148 with high-risk AML (adverse cytogenetic, isolated FLT3-internal tandem duplication mutation, refractory to first induction) were addressed to allogeneic stem cell transplant. All other cases, 186 patients (55%), median age 53 (range 19-75), were considered standard-risk and received the NILG AML-01/00 program. After achieving CR, patients were mobilized with cytarabine 8 g/sqm to collect autologous CD34+-PBSC and received three consolidation cycles with HDAC (20 g/sqm) plus idarubicin (20 mg/sqm) per cycle, followed by reinfusion of limited doses of CD34+ PBSC (1-2x106/kg). The program was completed by 160 (86%) patients. Toxicity was acceptable. Neutrophils recovered a median of 10 days. Treatment-related mortality was 3/160 (1.8%). After a median follow-up of 66.4 months, overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) at 5-years were 61.4% and 52.4%, respectively. Twenty-eight selected patients aged >65 had similar outcomes. According to European leukemia net-2010 classification, the OS and RFS at 5-years were 76.4% and 65% in favorable risk, without differences between molecular subgroups, 52.3% and 47.2% in Intermediate-I, 45.2% and 36.5% in Intermediate-II risk patients, respectively. In conclusion, consolidation including repeated courses of high dose cytarabine and idarubicin, with limited PBSC support, proved feasible and very effective in nonhigh risk patients. The incorporation of novel agents in its backbone may be tested to further improve patient's prognosis.

Acquired resistance occurs in metastatic hormone receptor-positive breast cancer patients. The addition of interferon beta/interleukin-2 immunotherapy to first-line salvage hormone therapy (HT) prolonged progression-free (PFS) and overall survivals (OS) in 26 patients, as compared with 30 historical controls and literature data. This was a 2 : 1 ratio case-control retrospective observational study. The cases were from an open pilot study, started in 1992, and controls were recruited in 2006. The planned mean follow-up time was the time at which more than 80% of controls progressed. The median PFS was significantly longer in the cases than that in controls, 33.1 (95% CI 24.5-41.8) vs 18 (95% CI 12.1-23.8) months (p 0.0001). Also, median OS was significantly longer in the cases, 81 vs 62 (95% CI 48.1-75.9) months (p 0.0029). When analysis of the 2 groups was adjusted for the disease-free interval (DFI), hormone receptor status, HER2, site of metastases and molecular-targeted therapies, the hazard ratio for PFS and for OS in the cases increased from 2.347 to 3.090 and from 1.874 to 2.147, respectively. This occurred in spite of the higher proportion of controls (82% vs 7.1%) treated with aromatase inhibitors (AIs), while selective oestrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) were given to 92.9% of the cases and to 18% of the control group (p 0.0001). Immunotherapy significantly prolonged PFS and OS during conventional first-line HT. A multi-centre randomised clinical trial is advised to enter this immunotherapy into clinical practice. KEY MESSAGES: • Acquired resistance occurs in metastatic endocrine-dependent breast cancer patients. • Interferon beta-interleukin-2 immunotherapy added to first-line salvage hormone therapy prolonged progression-free (PFS) and overall (OS) survivals in 26 patients of a pilot study as compared with 30 historical controls. • In this 2:1 ratio case-control prospective observational study, the PFS median time was significantly longer in the study group than that in controls, 33.1 (95% CI 24.5-41.8) vs 18 (95% CI 12.1-23.8) months (p 0.0001). • Also, the OS median time was significantly longer in the study group, 81 vs 62 (95% CI 48.1-75.9) months (p 0.0029).

The ability of patients with hematologic malignancies (HM) to develop an effective humoral immune response after COVID-19 is unknown. A prospective study was performed to monitor the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 of patients with follicular lymphoma (FL), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), chronic lymphoproliferative disorders (CLD), multiple myeloma (MM), or myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative syndromes (MDS/MPN). Antibody (Ab) levels to the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) and spike (S) protein were measured at +1, +3, +6 months after nasal swabs became PCR-negative. Forty-five patients (9 FL, 8 DLBCL, 8 CLD, 10 MM, 10 MDS/MPS) and 18 controls were studied. Mean anti-N and anti-S-Ab levels were similar between HM patients and controls, and shared the same behavior, with anti-N Ab levels declining at +6 months and anti-S-Ab remaining stable. Seroconversion rates were lower in HM patients than in controls. In lymphoma patients mean Ab levels and seroconversion rates were lower than in other HM patients, primarily because all nine patients who had received rituximab within 6 months before COVID-19 failed to produce anti-N and anti-S-Ab. Only one patient requiring hematological treatment after COVID-19 lost seropositivity after 6 months. No reinfections were observed. These results may inform vaccination policies and clinical management of HM patients.

Following 22 additional months of post-operative follow-up and 6 further controls (total controls, n= 95) here the final results of a 2:1 control-case retrospective observational study are shown. Controls were ER+HER-2- metastatic breast cancer patients who were given first-line hormone therapy (HT) with aromatase inhibitors (AIs) or fulvestrant. Moreover 28 of them (28.9%) also received biological drugs including cyclin kinase inhibitors (CKis). Cases were 42 ER+ metastatic breast cancer patients who received the addition of interferon beta-interleukin-2 immunotherapy to first-line HT with selective estrogen receptor modulators/down-regulators (SERMs/SERDs). Median PFS and OS maintained significantly longer in the 42 studied patients who received hormone immunotherapy (HIT) than in the 95 controls (median time 33 vs 18 months, p=0.002 and 81 vs 62 months, p=0.019). In the analysis adjusted for disease-free interval (DFI), hormone receptor, HER-2 status, visceral involvement, AIs and biological therapy, the PFS and OS hazard ratio (HR) further increased in favor of the 42 cases (p = 0.004 and p = 0.044 respectively). In the same type of patients treated with AIs plus CKis a median PFS ranging from 25.3 to 28.18 months and a median OS of 37.5 months occurred. Overall, this strongly suggests multi-centre randomised clinical trials to enter our proposed immunotherapy into clinical practice.

Introduction The phase 3 ECHELON-2 study (NCT01777152) demonstrated that frontline treatment with brentuximab vedotin (BV) plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone (A+CHP) is superior to cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CHOP) for patients (pts) with systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (sALCL) or other CD30-expressing peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCL) (Horowitz S, et al. Lancet 2019). With a median follow-up of 36.2 months for progression-free survival (PFS), the hazard ratio (HR) (0.71 [95% confidence interval {CI}: 0.54, 0.93], P=0.01) favored A+CHP over CHOP. The median PFS was 48.2 months (95% CI: 35.2, not evaluable) versus 20.8 months (95% CI: 12.7, 47.6) for A+CHP and CHOP, respectively. With a median follow-up of 42.1 months for overall survival (OS), the HR (0.66 [95% CI: 0.46, 0.95], P=0.02) also favored A+CHP over CHOP. Median OS was not reached for either arm. With these results, A+CHP was the first treatment regimen to show an OS benefit over CHOP in this pt population. Herein, we report results with a median follow-up of 44.3 months for PFS and 55.5 months for OS. Methods ECHELON-2 is a phase 3, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, placebo-controlled, active-comparator, multicenter study. Eligible adult pts with previously untreated CD30-positive PTCL (targeting 75% ± 5% with sALCL) were randomized to A+CHP or CHOP for six or eight cycles. Randomization was stratified by histological subtype and international prognostic index score. The primary endpoint of PFS was assessed per blinded independent central review in the primary analysis and per investigator in this updated analysis. Key secondary endpoints were OS, PFS in sALCL, complete remission (CR) rate, and objective response rate (ORR). Subsequent therapies, including BV or BV-containing regimens, were permitted. Results A total of 452 pts were enrolled and randomized 1:1 with 226 pts in each arm. The study included pts with advanced disease (Stage III [27%] and Stage IV [53%]; IPI ≥2 [78%]); given target enrollment, most pts (316 [70%]) had sALCL (218 [48%] anaplastic lymphoma kinase [ALK]-negative and 98 pts [22%] ALK-positive). With additional follow-up, the HRs for PFS per investigator (0.70 [95% CI: 0.53, 0.91], P=0.0075) (Figure 1) and OS (0.74 [95% CI: 0.54, 1.02], P=0.0688) continue to favor A+CHP over CHOP. The median PFS was 63.5 months (95% CI: 42.0, not evaluable) versus 23.8 months (95% CI: 13.6, 55.9) for A+CHP and CHOP, respectively. The estimated 5-year PFS was 50.9% (95% CI: 42.1, 59.1) for the A+CHP arm versus 42.7% (95% CI: 35.3, 49.8) for the CHOP arm. Median OS was not reached for either arm. The estimated 5-year OS was 68.7% (95% CI: 61.3, 75.0) for the A+CHP arm versus 60.3% (95% CI: 52.8, 67.0) for the CHOP arm. The PFS analyses for key prespecified subgroups were generally consistent with the overall study results (Figure 2). In the subset of pts with sALCL, the HR for PFS (0.55 [95% CI: 0.39, 0.78]) also favors A+CHP over CHOP, with an estimated 5-year PFS of 59.8% (95% CI: 48.0, 69.7) for the A+CHP arm versus 48.1% (95% CI: 39.1, 56.6) for the CHOP arm. A total of 23 pts (10%) in the A+CHP arm (16 pts with sALCL, 4 pts with PTCL not otherwise specified, and 3 pts with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma) and 51 pts (23%) in the CHOP arm received subsequent systemic therapy with BV. In the A+CHP arm, the median time to retreatment was 12.3 months (range, 3, 51); 15 pts (ORR: 65%) had CR (9 pts) or partial remission (6 pts) after retreatment with BV monotherapy (21 pts) or BV-containing regimen (2 pts). With additional follow-up in pts with treatment-emergent peripheral neuropathy (PN) (117 pts A+CHP and 124 pts CHOP), 68% of pts in the A+CHP arm had either resolution or improvement of these events compared with 77% of pts in the CHOP arm. Of the pts with ongoing PN events at last follow-up, 73% in A+CHP arm and 74% in the CHOP arm had grade 1 events, 25% and 23% of pts, respectively, had grade 2 events, and 2% of pts in each arm had grade 3 events. Conclusions At 5 years, frontline treatment with A+CHP continues to provide clinically meaningful improvement in PFS and OS versus CHOP, including ongoing remission in ~60% of pts with sALCL, with a manageable safety profile, including continued resolution or improvement of PN. Additional 5-year results, including data from prespecified subgroups, will be presented. Disclosures Horwitz: C4 Therapeutics: Consultancy; Daiichi Sankyo: Research Funding; Affirmed: Consultancy; GlaxoSmithKline: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy; Kura Oncology: Consultancy; Miragen: Consultancy; Myeloid Therapeutics: Consultancy; Verastem: Consultancy, Research Funding; ASTEX: Consultancy; Vividion Therapeutics: Consultancy; Beigene: Consultancy; ADCT Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Aileron: Consultancy, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Forty Seven: Consultancy, Research Funding; Infinity/Verastem: Research Funding; Kyowa Hakka Kirin: Consultancy, Research Funding; Millenium/Takeda: Consultancy, Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Trillium: Consultancy, Research Funding; Corvus: Consultancy; Innate Pharma: Consultancy; Mundipharma: Consultancy; Portola: Consultancy, Research Funding. Pro:Verastem Oncology: Research Funding. Illidge:Takeda: Current Employment, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Iyer:Legend Biotech: Consultancy; Rhizen: Research Funding; Spectrum: Research Funding; CRISPR: Research Funding; Curio Biosciences: Honoraria; Trillium: Research Funding; Target Oncology: Honoraria; Afffimed: Research Funding; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy; Merck: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics, Inc.: Research Funding. Advani:Astra Zeneca, Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Cell Medica, Celgene, Genentech/Roche, Gilead, KitePharma, Kyowa, Portola Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi, Seattle Genetics, Takeda: Consultancy; Celgene, Forty Seven, Inc., Genentech/Roche, Janssen Pharmaceutical, Kura, Merck, Millenium, Pharmacyclics, Regeneron, Seattle Genetics: Research Funding. Bartlett:BTG: Consultancy; Seattle Genetics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; ADC Therapeutics: Consultancy; Forty Seven: Research Funding; Autolus: Research Funding; Acerta: Consultancy; Pfizer: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Immune Design: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Kite, a Gilead Company: Research Funding; Merck: Research Funding; Millennium: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Affimed Therapeutics: Research Funding; BMS/Celgene: Research Funding; Roche/Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding. Christensen:Odense University Hospital: Current Employment; Seattle Genetics, Inc.: Research Funding. Morschhauser:Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Epizyme: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Gilead: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Honoraria; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Servier: Consultancy. Domingo-Domenech:Takeda: Consultancy, Other: Travel, accomodations and expenses , Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Other: Travel, Research Funding; Roche: Other: Travel, accomodations and expenses ; Janssen: Other: Travel, accomodations and expenses ; Seattle Genetics, Inc.: Research Funding. Rossi:Takeda: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Other: Advisory board; Astellas: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Honoraria; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Honoraria; Sanofi: Honoraria; Jazz: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Alexion: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Kim:Donga: Research Funding; Joihnson & Johnson: Research Funding; Kyowa Kirin: Research Funding; Mundipharma: Research Funding; Pfizer: Research Funding; Roche: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding; Celltrion: Research Funding. Feldman:Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Cell Medica: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding; Kite: Honoraria, Other: Travel expenses, Speakers Bureau; Rhizen: Research Funding; Janssen: Speakers Bureau; Pharmacyclics: Honoraria, Other, Speakers Bureau; AstraZeneca: Consultancy; Bayer: Consultancy, Honoraria; Abbvie: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria, Other: Travel expenses; Pfizer: Research Funding; BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Trillium: Research Funding; Portola: Research Funding; Corvus: Research Funding; Kyowa Kirin: Consultancy, Research Funding; Eisai: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics, Inc.: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel expenses, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Viracta: Research Funding. Menne:Daiichi Sankyo: Honoraria; Kyowa Kirin: Other: Travel expenses; Pfizer: Honoraria, Other; Roche: Honoraria; Bayer: Other: Travel expenses; Kite/Gilead: Honoraria, Other: Travel expenses; Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria, Other: Travel expenses; Takeda: Honoraria; Atara: Honoraria; AstraZeneca: Research Funding; Amgen: Honoraria, Other: Travel expenses; Janssen: Honoraria, Research Funding. Belada:Takeda: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel expenses, Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel expenses, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Gilead: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel expenses, Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding. Illés:Celgene, Janssen, Novartis,Roche, Takeda: Consultancy; Novartis, Janssen, Pfizer, Roche;: Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses; Janssen, Celgene, Takeda, Novartis Pharma SAS, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Israel, Roche;: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda, Seattle Genetics: Research Funding. Tobinai:Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Honoraria; Kyowa Kirin: Consultancy, Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Mundipharma: Consultancy, Honoraria; Ono Pharma: Consultancy, Honoraria; Solasia: Honoraria; SymBio: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria; HUYA Bioscience: Consultancy, Honoraria; Eisai: Honoraria; Yakult: Consultancy, Honoraria; Zenyaku Kogyo: Consultancy, Honoraria; Chugai Pharma: Consultancy, Honoraria. Tsukasaki:Ono Pharma: Consultancy; Mundy Pharma: Honoraria; HUYA: Consultancy, Research Funding; Kyowa Kirin: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria; Chugai Pharma: Honoraria, Research Funding; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy; Eizai: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding. Yeh:AbbVie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Astellas: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Astex: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Shustov:Seattle Genetics: Research Funding. Hüttmann:Lead Discovery Center GmbH: Consultancy; Celgene: Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company); Gilead: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company); Roche: Other: Travel expenses; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany: Current Employment. Savage:Verastem: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria; Servier: Consultancy; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Merck: Consultancy, Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria. Zinzani:Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; AbbVie: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; TG Therapeutics, Inc.: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; EUSA Pharma: 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; Immune Design: 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; ADC Therapeutics: 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; Verastem: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Servier: 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; Kyowa Kirin: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Eusapharma: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Portola: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Immune Design: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Sandoz: Consultancy, 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; Janssen-Cilag: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Celltrion: Consultancy, 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; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, 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. Miao:Takeda: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Bunn:Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; Takeda: Current Employment. Fenton:Seattle Genetics: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Fanale:Seattle Genetics: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Puhlmann:Seattle Genetics: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Truemper:Janssen: Consultancy; Mundipharma: Research Funding; Nordic Nanovector: Consultancy; Roche: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; Takeda Europe: Consultancy, Research Funding.

Unlike for diffuse large-cell lymphoma, both the management of elderly patients with follicular lymphoma and the role of comprehensive geriatric evaluation to optimize treatment choices have been rarely addressed. This review analyses available evidence on follicular lymphoma occurring in aged persons.Most retrospective studies and expert recommendations agree that the diagnostic approach and the treatment algorithm in elderly follicular lymphoma should not differ from younger patients up to the age of 80. However, slowly progressing follicular lymphoma low-tumor burden should start treatment even though asymptomatic. Prospective identification of those unfit patients is needed where a treatment deintensification may not be detrimental. Octogenarians have more aggressive disease and do not benefit from chemoimmunotherapy more than from single-agent rituximab. An activity of daily living loss significantly impact on their outcome and specific prognostic scores may help in the better manage these oldest patients.Given the lack of prospective studies there is an urgent need to investigate if geriatric assessment including comorbidities, geriatric parameters, patient's reported outcomes and quality of life issues, may help selecting those frail elderly follicular lymphoma patients less suitable for full-dose treatments. In addition, the potential usefulness of the new noncytotoxic agents of proven efficacy in follicular lymphoma warrants specific investigations in older patients.

Despite widespread use of decitabine to treat acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), data on its effectiveness and safety in the real-world setting are scanty. Thus, to analyze the performance of decitabine in clinical practice, we pooled together patient-level data of three multicentric observational studies conducted since 2013 throughout Italy, including 306 elderly AML patients (median age 75 years), unfit for intensive chemotherapy, treated with first-line decitabine therapy at the registered schedule of 20 mg/m2 /iv daily for 5 days every 4 weeks. Overall response rate (ORR), overall survival (OS) curves, and multivariate hazard ratios (HRs) of all-cause mortality were computed. Overall, 1940 cycles of therapy were administered (median, 5 cycles/patient). A total of 148 subjects were responders and, therefore, ORR was 48.4%. Seventy-one patients (23.2%) had complete remission, 32 (10.5%) had partial remission, and 45 (14.7%) had haematologic improvement. Median OS was 11.6 months for patients with favourable-intermediate cytogenetic risk and 7.9 months for those with adverse cytogenetic risk. Median relapse-free survival after CR was 10.9 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 8.7-16.0). In multivariate analysis, mortality was higher in patients with adverse cytogenetic risk (HR=1.58; 95% CI: 1.13-2.21) and increased continuously with white blood cell (WBC) count (HR=1.12; 95% CI: 1.06-1.18). A total of 183 infectious adverse events occurred in 136 patients mainly (>90%) within the first five cycles of therapy. This pooled analysis of clinical care studies confirmed, outside of clinical trials, the effectiveness of decitabine as first-line therapy for AML in elderly patients unfit for intensive chemotherapy. An adverse cytogenetic profile and a higher WBC count at diagnosis were, in this real life setting, unfavourable predictors of survival.

This article reviews the principal attempts of immune-modulation or immune therapy in metastatic breast cancer. It considers their rationale and reports on results from the relevant key clinical trials. Immune-modulatory or immune-stimulating cytokines used alone or combined with conventional therapies is among the principal approaches of immune manipulation in breast cancer. As this issue has recently been reviewed by us, the aim of the current article is to discuss our updated and unpublished data on this topic. Overall survival in luminal (28 patients) and non-luminal (9 patients) molecular subtypes is 91 and 59 months respectively that is about two and half or three times longer than expected. Thereafter, we focus on monoclonal antibodies (mAb) based-therapies including novel strategies to overcome resistance to anti-HER2 mAb. The main vaccine platforms in different molecular subtypes and immune therapies in triple negative metastatic breast cancer (m-TNBC) are discussed in the last sections. Some phase III investigations have already changed the current clinical practice. In fact, pertuzumab plus trastuzumab and docetaxel is the recommended first line regimen in HER2 positive locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer and bevacizumab plus paclitaxel or docetaxel is a reasonable option for m-TNBC. In some other observational or phase I/II studies on first-line trastuzumab plus chemotherapy and hormonal therapy and in that on HER2 peptide/protein vaccines promising although preliminary findings have been reported to be further validated. In the remaining studies, results were disappointing. In the future, finding new predictive biomarkers and exploring more suitable synergizing combinations, time and dose-dependent-scheduled sequences of currently and further investigated immunological approaches are main challenges.

It is well established that immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) results from increased immune mediated platelet destruction (anti-platelets antibodies, autoreactive T cells, and reduction of regulatory T cells) along with impaired production in the bone marrow.1 The latter has been attributed to both cellular and humoral mediators that cause suppression of megakaryocyte production and maturation.2 Current standard first line therapy consists of corticosteroids, with or without intravenous Ig, achieving about 70-80% response rate. However, a consistent proportion of patients would relapse after corticosteroid discontinuation or tapering, and requires further therapy. ...

Background Stopping tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment has become a realistic and safe objective for patients who have chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Both a sustained deep molecular response (sDMR) and the lack of a molecular recurrence after TKI discontinuation are required to reach a durable treatment-free remission (TFR). Methods The potential predictive role of BCR-ABL transcripts in attaining an sDMR and a TFR was analyzed in a strictly consecutive, unselected series of 194 patients who were diagnosed and treated with TKIs at the authors' center. Results Of 173 fully evaluable patients, 67 (38.7%) had the e13a2 transcript, and 106 (61.3%) had the e14a2 transcript. Complete cytogenetic and major molecular remissions were not affected, whereas the achievement of both a DMR (P = .008) and an sDMR (P = .004) was favored significantly in patients who had the e14a2 transcript. After a median of 68 months, the sDMR rate was 39.6% in those with the e14a2 transcript and 19.4% in those with the e13a2 transcript. In addition to transcript type, both the early achievement of a molecular response and starting treatment with a second-generation TKI positively affected the attainment of an sDMR in multivariate analysis. The use of a second-generation TKI as frontline treatment increased the sDMR rate in both transcript types. However, in patients who had the e13a2 transcript, the probability of attaining an sDMR was 37% after 60 months and did not increase further despite continuing therapy. Among 51 of 60 patients who attained an sDMR after discontinuing TKIs, 24 experienced a molecular relapse, but all regained molecular remission after resuming TKI treatment. Again, transcript type influenced TFR maintenance (P = .005), because only 2 patients (3%) with the e13a2 transcript enjoyed a durable TFR compared with 25 (23.5%) of those with the e14a2 transcript. Conclusions The e13a2 transcript hinders the achievement of deep responses and the possibility of stopping TKI treatment in patients with CML.

Background sustained MRD negativity is emerging as a surrogate biomarker of patients (pts)’ outcome in clinical trials. We implemented this tool in our clinical practice and we analyzed outcome according to sustained MRD negativity in MM pts treated with autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) at our Institution. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the outcome of 77 newly diagnosed MM pts (median age 61 years) diagnosed between January 2015 to December 2019 in ≥ VGPR after ASCT. Bone marrow samples were collected for MRD by 8-color FCM (Sn 10-5) at day +100 after ASCT, before maintenance. Sustained 1 year MRD negativity was also evaluated and the prognostic impact of MRD status on PFS and OS was analyzed. Results out of 77 pts, 28 (36%) were ISS stage 3 and 18 (23%) showed high risk cytogenetics. Patients were treated with the following induction regimens: VTD 51, VRD 5, Dara-VRD 5, KRD 14, KCD 2. Single ASCT with MEL200 conditioning was performed in 49 pts (64%), whereas 28 pts (36%) received double ASCT. Subsequent maintenance was performed with lenalidomide (70), daratumumab-lenalidomide (5), carfilzomib-lenalidomide (2). Response rates were VGPR 26%, CR 61% and sCR 13%. MRD before maintenance was positive in 20 pts (26%) and negative in 57 (74%). Sustained MRD negativity lasting ≥ 1 year was documented in 49 pts (64%), whereas early loss of MRD negative status was observed in 8 (10%) of cases. After a median follow up of 40.2 months, PFS was significantly longer in pts with sustained MRD negativity (≥1 year) compared to MRD positive patients before maintenance: median NR vs 41.4 months, p 0.0002, HR 0.17 (0.044-0.65). The worst PFS (24.7 months) was observed in pts with early loss of MRD negativity ( Conclusion we confirm the predictive value of MRD assessment after ASCT and therefore the importance of achieving sustained MRD negativity regardless of different treatment strategies. Moreover, the detection of early loss of MRD negativity can help the physician to identify pts with particularly poor prognosis

It has been proposed that patients with hematologic malignancy and autoimmune diseases receiving anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapy are particularly at risk of severe Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) because the profound and long-lasting B-cell depletion induced by anti-CD20 mAb may impair virus clearance and may also contribute to reactivation of latent viruses, especially hepatitis B and JC viruses. As of July 20, 2020, the total number of COVID-19 cases reported by the Italian authorities reached 245,000. The north of the country was mostly hit, and Milan and Brescia were among the Italian provinces that registered the highest number of COVID-19 cases. Consistent with this, a high number of COVID-19 patients affected with multiple types of hematological disorders (n. 137) and with multiple sclerosis (MS, n. 114) were referred to ASST Spedali Civili di Brescia. Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 were analyzed in 70 patients with hematological disease, and in few patients with MS. Among these, 10 patients (7 with hematologic disease and 3 with MS) had received treatment with rituximab or ocrelizumab, two anti-CD20 mAbs, within 3 months prior to COVID-19 onset. Clinical indication to CD20-depleting treatment for patients with hematological disorders included Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) or Follicular Non Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL). Anti-spike protein (anti-S) and anti-nucleocapsid (anti-N) antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 were analyzed during the acute phase of infection and up to 3 months since the onset of symptoms by quantitative measurements of plasma or serum antibodies with luciferase immune precipitation assay systems (LIPS). With this technique, production of anti-S and anti-N antibodies has been demonstrated between day 8 and day 14 after onset of symptoms in immunocompetent individuals, whereas specific antibody production was delayed by few days in immunocompromised patients (Burbelo PD et al, medRxiv. 2020 Apr 24:2020.04.20.20071423). All 10 patients remained seronegative to SARS-CoV-2 for the first 20 days since onset of symptoms. One patient with DLBCL secondary to Follicular NHL had detectable anti-S and anti-N antibodies at day +25, and one patient with MS developed anti-N antibodies by day +23. Two patients, one with DLBCL secondary to Follicular NHL and one with Follicular NHL were still seronegative for both anti-S and anti-N antibodies at 133 and 74 days since onset of symptoms. Two MS patients were seronegative at the last examination, and one other MS patient was anti-S seronegative at day +74. Three of the 10 patients have died; all three were SARS-CoV-2 RT-qPCR+ and seronegative at the time of death. While it has been reported that SARS-CoV-2 is cleared without significant problems by the majority of people with MS or other autoimmune diseases on immunotherapy, these data indicate that treatment with anti-CD20 mAb may significantly alter humoral responses to the virus. Until a vaccine to SARS-CoV-2 is available, the risk-benefit ratio of anti-CD20 mAb therapy in areas with high rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection should be carefully weighed. Moreover, for patients with B-cell malignancies or autoimmune diseases, transient discontinuation of this therapy, or use of alternative therapeutic approaches, should be considered once an efficacious vaccine becomes available. This study was performed according to protocol NP-4000 (Comitato Etico Provinciale), and supported by Regione Lombardia and by the Division of Intramural Research, NIAID. Figure 1 Disclosures Imberti: Biogen: Honoraria; Genzyme-Sanofi: Honoraria; Meck-Serono: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; Biogen: Other: Advisory board; FISM (Fondazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla): Research Funding; Regione Lombardia: Research Funding. Capra:Biogen: Other: travel grants, Speakers Bureau; Roche: Other: travel grants, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Other: travel grants, Speakers Bureau; Merck: Other: travel grants, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Other: travel grants, Speakers Bureau. Rossi:Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Honoraria; Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Honoraria; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Jazz: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Alexion: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Other: Advisory board; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Astellas: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Notarangelo:NIAID, NIH: Research Funding. Cohen:NIAID, NIH: Research Funding.

Background: Patients with cancer are considered highly vulnerable to the recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, there are still few data on COVID-19 occurring in hematologic patients. Methods: One hundred two patients with COVID-19 symptoms and a nasopharyngeal swab positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 seen at 2 hematologic departments located in Lombardy, Italy, during March 2020 were studied. Risk factors for acquiring COVID-19 were analyzed by comparisons of patients with COVID-19 and the standard hematologic population managed at the same institutions in 2019. Thirty-day survival was compared with the survival of matched uninfected control patients with similar hematologic disorders and nonhematologic patients affected by COVID-19. Results: Male sex was significantly more prevalent in patients with COVID-19. The infection occurred across all different types of hematologic disease; however, the risk of acquiring a COVID-19 infection was lower for patients with chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms, including chronic myeloid leukemia, and higher for patients with immune-mediated anemia on immunosuppressive-related treatments. The 30-day mortality rate was 39.2%, which was higher than the rates for nonhematologic patients with COVID-19 (23.5%; P =.02) and uninfected hematologic controls (3%; P

Secondary acute myeloid leukemia (sAML) poorly responds to conventional treatments and allogeneic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). We evaluated toxicity and efficacy of CPX-351 in 71 elderly patients (median age 66 years) with sAML enrolled in the Italian Named (Compassionate) Use Program. Sixty days treatment-related mortality was 7% (5/71). The response rate at the end of treatment was: CR/CRi in 50/71 patients (70.4%), PR in 6/71 (8.5%), and NR in 10/71 (19.7%). After a median follow-up of 11 months relapse was observed in 10/50 patients (20%) and 12 months cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) was 23.6%. Median duration of response was not reached. In competing risk analysis, CIR was reduced when HSCT was performed in first CR (12 months CIR of 5% and 37.4%, respectively, for patients receiving (=20) or not (=30) HSCT, p = 0.012). Twelve-months OS was 68.6% (median not reached). In landmark analysis, HSCT in CR1 was the only significant predictor of longer survival (12 months OS of 100 and 70.5%, for patients undergoing or not HSCT in CR1, respectively, p = 0.011). In conclusion, we extend to a real-life setting, the notion that CPX is an effective regimen for high risk AML patients and may improve the results of HSCT.

Autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) is feasible and effective in selected older patients with Multiple Myeloma, but specific criteria for evaluating ASCT eligibility in elderly patients are lacking. We evaluated 131 patients aged 65-75 considered for ASCT at our center: The Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), Hematopoietic cell transplantation comorbidity index (HCT-CI) and IMWG frailty score were obtained at diagnosis, but the intensity of treatment was left to physician's choice. The scores and age's impact on outcome was analyzed: 85 patients were judged transplant eligible, whereas 46 patients received a less intensive treatment (median follow up 27 months). No patients classified as frail had been considered eligible to ASCT with a worse outcome compared to fit and unfit patients (median PFS (progression free survival): 7.9 vs 32.9 and 29.6 months; P < .001). PFS was superior in the ASCT group (35.6 vs 19.9 months, P .013). In the ASCT group, PFS was better in patients aged 65-69 years than in patients ≥70 (51.5 vs 27.7 months, P.004). Indeed, in unfit patients aged ≥70 the PFS of the ASCT group was comparable to NO ASCT group (18 vs 27 months, P = .33) whereas in unfit patients aged 65-69 PFS was superior in the ASCT group: 43.3 vs 18.4 months, P .01. ISS III and impaired functional status independently affected PFS in a multivariate analysis (P .011 and P .006). While CCI and HCT-CI did not predict different outcome in ASCT patients, the IMWG frailty score would be of help in identifying unfit patients aged 70-75, whose outcome with ASCT selected by clinical judgment was no better than with less intensive treatments.

A few prospective trials in HIV-positive patients with Burkitt lymphoma (BL) or high-grade B-cell lymphoma (HGBL) have been reported. Investigated therapies have shown good efficacy but relevant safety problems, with high rates of interruptions, severe mucositis, septic complications, and fungal infections. Here, we report the results of a multicentre phase II trial addressing a new dose-dense, short-term therapy aimed at maintaining efficacy and improving tolerability. The experimental programme included a 36-day polychemotherapy induction followed by high-dose cytarabine-based consolidation and response-tailored BEAM (carmustine, etoposide, cyatarabine, and melphalan)- conditioned autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). This therapy would be considered active if ≥11 complete remissions (CR) after induction (primary endpoint) were recorded among 20 assessable patients. HIV-positive adults (median age 42, range 26-58; 16 males) with untreated BL (n = 16), HGBL (n = 3) or double-hit lymphoma (n = 1) were enrolled. All patients had high-risk features, with meningeal and bone marrow infiltration in five and nine patients respectively. The experimental programme was safe and active in a multicentre setting, with only two episodes of grade 4 non-haematological toxicity (hepatotoxicity and mucositis), and no cases of systemic fungal infections; two patients died of toxicity (bacterial infections). Response after induction (median duration: 47 days; interquartile range 41-54), was complete in 13 patients and partial in five [overall response rate = 90%; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 77-100]. All responders received consolidation, and five required autologous stem cell transplant. At a median follow-up of 55 (41-89) months, 14 patients are relapse-free and 15 are alive, with a five-year progression-free survival and an overall survival of 70% (95% CI = 60-80%) and 75% (95% CI = 66-84) respectively. No patient with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)/meningeal lymphoma experienced central nervous system recurrence. With respect to previously reported regimens, this programme was delivered in a shorter period, and achieved the main goal of maintaining efficacy and improving tolerability.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a disease of the elderly, characterized by immunodeficiency. Hence, patients with CLL might be considered more susceptible to severe complications from COVID-19. We undertook this retrospective international multicenter study to characterize the course of COVID-19 in patients with CLL and identify potential predictors of outcome. Of 190 patients with CLL and confirmed COVID-19 diagnosed between 28/03/2020 and 22/05/2020, 151 (79%) presented with severe COVID-19 (need of oxygen and/or intensive care admission). Severe COVID-19 was associated with more advanced age (≥65 years) (odds ratio 3.72 [95% CI 1.79–7.71]). Only 60 patients (39.7%) with severe COVID-19 were receiving or had recent (≤12 months) treatment for CLL at the time of COVID-19 versus 30/39 (76.9%) patients with mild disease. Hospitalization rate for severe COVID-19 was lower (p < 0.05) for patients on ibrutinib versus those on other regimens or off treatment. Of 151 patients with severe disease, 55 (36.4%) succumbed versus only 1/38 (2.6%) with mild disease; age and comorbidities did not impact on mortality. In CLL, (1) COVID-19 severity increases with age; (2) antileukemic treatment (particularly BTK inhibitors) appears to exert a protective effect; (3) age and comorbidities did not impact on mortality, alluding to a relevant role of CLL and immunodeficiency.

BACKGROUND: Multiple Myeloma (MM) maintenance therapy is a low intensive, prolonged treatment, commonly administered to newly diagnosed patients (pts) at the end of front-line regimens. Lenalidomide (LEN) is considered the best available maintenance option for MM, the actual benefits or disadvantages of a LEN-based maintenance and its potential role as “selective pressure” on MM sublcones are still unclear. AIM: In this study we estimated the role of LEN maintenance therapy in eliciting genomic changes in a cohort of MM pts homogeneously up-front treated. PATIENTS-METHODS: Whole genome Copy Number Alterations (CNA) was obtained by SNPs array in 54 pts samples collected both at diagnosis(D) and at first relapse(R). Pts had an high-risk (HR) disease, defined by a median TTP of 29m. A custom gene-level CN calling algorithm was set up, to compute the evolution of every gene CN value and the genomic evolutive trajectories associated to changes of these values. High-risk genomic loci were defined using GISTIC to derive target genomic relevant for MM biology. After PIs induction therapy, 31/54 pts were treated with HD chemotherapy followed by either single or double ASCT; LEN maintenance therapy was then offered both to 20/31 auto-transplanted and to 6/23 not auto-transplanted pts. RESULTS: Three main evolutive trajectories (linear L, drift D, and branching B) were defined according to the CN changes' direction, reflecting a putative positive, negative, or both positive and negative selective pressure, respectively. A fourth, stable (S) trajectory was also observed, characterized by the absence of CN changes. Overall, 29, 15 and 10 pts relapsed with B/D, L and S pattern, respectively; at R, all LEN-treated pts changed their sub-clonal architecture: a B/D evolutive pattern characterized 70% of pts. By contrast, genome remained mostly stable in 61% of not-treated pts. We then focused on CN changes of specific chromosomal regions and/or genomic loci identified as high-risk, whose prognostic role has been already established in MM (i.e. TP53, CDKN2C, CKS1B). When present at D, these CNA tended to persist throughout the disease course, regardless of whether pts received or not maintenance. The emersion of any of these CNAs at R was widely observed both in pts receiving or not maintenance, whereas a negative selective pressure over them was more likely to occur in pts receiving maintenance, as compared to the others (50% vs 11% of B/D trajectories in LEN-treated vs not-treated pts, respectively). Strikingly, in LEN-treated pts, the extension of both TTP and OS was favored by the extinction and/or negative selection (B/D patterns) of the HR CNAs, and shortened by their stability or positive selection (L/S patterns) (median TTP 46 vs 32m HR=3.6, p=0.01; median OS 111 vs 63m HR 5.7, p=0.04 in B/D vs L/S pts, respectively). On the contrary, the absence of maintenance selective pressure seemed to affect neither the evolution trajectory, nor the clinical course of not-treated pts. CONCLUSION: The extinction of sub-clones carrying HR lesions in pts receiving maintenance therapy is likely to be associated to the negative selection exerted by the therapy. This might explain the extended survival of these pts. On the contrary, the subclones of pts not receiving maintenance might randomly evolve, due to the absence of a specific selective pressure. Citation Format: Andrea Poletti, Vincenza Solli, Marina Martello, Enrica Borsi, Lucia Pantani, Agboyi Lakpo, Silvia Armuzzi, Luca Nunzio Cifarelli, Elena Zamagni, Paola Tacchetti, Serena Rocchi, Katia Mancuso, Ilaria Rizzello, Giulia Marzocchi, Nicoletta Testoni, Luca Dozza, Maria Teresa Petrucci, Anna Marina Liberati, Giuseppe Rossi, Mario Boccadoro, Michele Cavo, Carolina Terragna. Negative selective pressure exerted by maintenance therapy promotes the extinction of sub-clones carrying high-risk lesions in multiple myeloma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 2700.

Favorable acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients (pts.) demonstrate a relatively good outcome with standard induction; thus, pts. are generally not addressed to allogeneic transplant in first remission. However, it is not clear if also in a real-life setting, the outcome is homogeneous in the different favorable molecular groups and which are the parameters significantly associated to an increased relapse risk, useful to suggest the need of an intensified approach. In order to clarify this point, we collected clinical data on consecutive unselected AML pts. assigned to favorable category (modified ELN 2010 due to the inclusion of double-mutated CEBPA-positive cases), diagnosed and treated in six centers of the Italian network Rete Ematologica Lombarda (REL) from 2007 to 2015. We assessed response (CR, mCR), relapse rate (CIR), and outcome (OS, DFS) after first-line treatment. A total of 201 pts. was studied and the analysis was performed globally and in each molecular group: t(8;21)(q22;q22)/RUNX1-RUNX1T1 (30 pts., 14.9%), inv. (16)(p13q22) or t(16;16)(p13q22)/CBFB-MIH11 (35 pts., 17.4%), normal karyotype and mutated NPM1 and negative FLT3-ITD (116 pts., 57.7%) or double-mutated CEBPA (CEBPAdm) (20 pts., 10%). Complete remission (CR) was obtained in 188 pts. (93.5%), molecular CR (mCR) in 114 (67.5%); After a median follow-up of 2.4 years, cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) was documented in 78 of 188 responding pts. (41%) after a median time of 11.3 months. CIR was higher in the CBFB-MIH11 group, in pts. achieving only a hematological response without mCR (72.1 vs 28.1%, p

Introduction: In the general HIV negative population, patients (pts) with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) or high grade B cell lymphoma (HGBCL) carrying MYC rearrangements and BCL2 and/or BCL-6 translocations [double hit (DHL) or triple hit lymphomas (THL)] have shown a dismal prognosis when treated with standard R-CHOP and are frequently candidates to intensive therapeutic regimens, without having a standard of care. Moreover, several authors have demonstrated a negative prognostic impact of isolated MYC rearrangements [single hit lymphomas (SHL)] and the best therapeutic approach for SHL are even less clear. In HIV-associated "non Burkitt" large B cell lymphomas (Ly), scanty data are available on the prevalence and the clinical and prognostic impact of MYC rearrangements, with or without BCL2 and BCL6 concomitant translocations. Due to the peculiar biology and pathogenesis of HIV-associated Ly, data from HIV negative population cannot be simply translated to the HIV positive pts. Aim: To evaluate the impact of MYC rearrangements or translocations (isolated or with BCL2 and/or BCL6 translocations) on clinical features and outcome of HIV-associated large B cell Ly. Methods: Retrospective analysis of clinical characteristics, treatment received and outcome of all HIV-associated large B cell Ly [including DLBCL, B cell Ly unclassifiable, with features intermediate between DLBCL and Burkitt (BCLU), and HGBL] with MYC rearrangements or translocations, evaluated by FISH analysis, in 11 European centers, and comparison with pts who do not have the MYC alterations. Results: One hundred-sixty-one pts were enrolled, 49 (30%) had MYC translocation or other MYC rearrangements (MYC+ pts), and 112 (70%) were negative for MYC mutation (7 pts had MYC increased copy number) (MYC- pts). Table 1 shows the clinical characteristics of the two groups, and the treatment received. MYC+ pts had higher involvement of central nervous system at presentation (17% vs 3%, p 0,023), higher Ki67% (median 91% vs 85%, p 0,005), histology other than DLBCL (32% vs 9%, p 0,0001), concomitant translocation of BCL2 (14% vs 3%, p 0,022), germinal center B phenotype (according to Hans algorithm) (85% vs 49%, p 0,0001). No differences in CD4 count or HIV viral load at Ly diagnosis were found, while a previous diagnosis of AIDS was more frequent in the MYC- group (27% vs 10%, p 0,023). MYC+ pts received more frequently intensive treatment (iCT) (41% vs 12%, p 0,0001) and less frequently the standard CHOP regimen (41% vs 74%, p 0,001). Ten pts (9%) had a DHL/THL and had similar clinical characteristics compared to SHL. With a median follow-up of 62 months, there were no significant differences in overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) between MYC+ and MYC- pts (5 years-OS and PFS were respectively 55% and 47% in MYC+ and 59% and 53% in MYC- pts). In univariate analysis for the whole population, IPI≥3, ECOG≥ 2 and increased LDH were related to a worse OS and PFS while BCL2 translocation correlated with shorter PFS alone. In multivariate analysis ECOG and IPI mainteined their negative prognostic impact on OS and PFS. In the MYC+ group, 41% pts received R-CHOP or CHOP-like treatment (group 1), 16% infusional therapy (group 2), 41% iCT (group 3), 2% palliative therapy (PT) (group 4); 5-years OS and PFS were 47% and 32% for group 1, 47% and 37% for group 2, 67% and 68% for group 3 and both 0% for group 4. Median OS and PFS were respectively 18 and 2 months for group 1, 29 and 7 months for group 2, both not reached for group 3, both 2 months for group 4. A significant difference between group 3 and group 1 both in therm of OS (p 0,054) and PFS (p 0,005) was observed (Figure 1). Pts with DHL/THL received R-CHOP (40%), infusional schedule (30%), iCT (20%) and PT (10%). No significant difference in term of PFS and OS were observed for each treatment group with DHL/THL respect to those with SHL. In DHL/THL, 5 years OS and PFS were 50% and 30%, respectively; in SHL 56% and 51%, respectively. Of note, no pts treated with iCT died from toxicity in the MYC+ group. Conclusion: In this retrospective analysis, MYC+ pts had not different clinical characteristics compared to MYC- pts other than higher proliferative index and and more CNS involvement at diagnosis. MYC+ pts were frequently treated with iCT, this aggressive approach seemed feasible and could allow to obtain better outcome compared to standard R-CHOP treatment but further prospective studies are needed. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Bastos-Oreiro: F. Hoffmann-La Roche: Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Kite: Speakers Bureau; Gilead: Honoraria; BMS-Celgene: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Arcaini: Celgene, Roche, Janssen-Cilag, Gilead: Other: Travel expenses; Bayer, Celgene, Gilead Sciences, Roche, Sandoz, Janssen-Cilag, VERASTEM: Consultancy; Gilead Sciences: Research Funding; Celgene: Speakers Bureau. Rossi: Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Honoraria; Astellas: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Alexion: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Jazz: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Honoraria; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Tucci: janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Gentili: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

Introduction: We recently demonstrated in a large multicentre study that sGA can identify fit older patients with aggressive lymphoma able to tolerate first-line intensive treatment with curative intent and to obtain similar results than younger people (Merli at al JCO 2021). Regardless of age, about 40% of patients with aggressive lymphoma are either refractory or will eventually relapse after treatment with curative intent. Salvage platinum-based regimens followed by ASCT in responsive disease is a standard of care to obtain longer second remission. However, in many case series, patients over 65 years are excluded from the transplant approach because of potential severe toxicities of high-dose therapy in older patients. This study was designed to evaluate the feasibility and activity of high-dose treatment followed by ASCT in older FIT patients with R/R aggressive lymphoma selected with a sGA. Methods: Patients with R/R aggressive lymphoma after one line of treatment, aged between 65 and 75, and FIT to sGA were eligible for the study. Salvage treatment could be chosen between R-DHAP, R-ICE or other platinum or gemcitabine-containing regimens and stem cells were mobilized after 1 or 2 cycles. Patients achieving at least partial response after 3 courses and who remained FIT to sGA evaluation were eligible for ASCT and were conditioned with either BEAM or FEAM. Results: From May 2014 to August 2019, seventy-five patients from 16 FIL centres were enrolled and 70 were eligible for the study. Sixty-six of them had a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, one had follicular 3b, 2 mantle cell and 1 Burkitt histology. Salvage treatment was R-DHAP in 48 patients, R-ICE in seven and gemcitabine or oxalyplatinum containing regimens in the remaining ones. Overall response rate after three courses was 44% (21 complete and 10 partial remission). Among the 39 unresponsive patients, 29 had progressive and 4 stable disease, 2 patients died of septic shock and heart failure during salvage and 4 patients withdrew their consent to ASCT. Four patients relapsed soon after response achievement before undergoing the transplant. ASCT was performed in 27 patients with a median of 5.6 x 10 6 CD34/Kg reinfused. No differences emerged in demographic and clinical characteristics between patients reaching the ASCT timepoint or not (Tab 1a). By intention to treat analysis, 2-y overall survival (OS) and PFS of the entire intention-to-treat population were 65% (95%CI: 50-76%) and 34% (95%CI: 22-46%) respectively, without differences according to age (Tab 1b). After a median of 27 months, 2-y OS was 79% (95CI: 51-86%) and EFS 56% (95CI: 32-75%). Twenty-four patients obtained a complete remission (CR) and 20 of them are in continuous CR after more than 12 months. Three patients progressed 1-8 months after ASCT and died. Most common non-hematologic grade 3-4 adverse events were gastrointestinal (10%) and infectious (8%). Conclusion: This study shows that sGA can identify older patients with R/R aggressive lymphoma who are able to tolerate and can benefit from high-dose therapy and ASCT. The poor response to second-line immunochemotherapy remains the major drawback of this approach since less than 50% of patients could actually receive ASCT. Nevertheless the 2-y survival of 65% in the intention to treat population is remarkable and sets the stage for the evaluation of new approaches such as CAR-T or bispecific antibodies also in older patients. A next step should be to explore the usefulness of sGA in the selection of candidates to these innovative treatments. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Tucci: Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Gentili: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Musuraca: janssen: Consultancy, 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; incyte: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Cavallo: ROCHE: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Servier: Speakers Bureau; Gilead: Speakers Bureau. Zilioli: Roche, Italfarmaco: Consultancy, Honoraria; MSD, Janssen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accommodations; Gentili, Takeda, Gilead, Servier: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Other: travel expenses, accommodation. Merli: EUSA Pharma: Other: Travel, Accomodations, Expenses; Roche: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accomodations, Expenses; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accomodations, Expenses; MSD: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Gilead Science: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accomodations, Expenses; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accomodations, Expenses; Celgene: Other: Travel, Accomodations, Expenses. Marcheselli: sandoz: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Rossi: Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Alexion: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Astellas: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: 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; Jazz: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Honoraria; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

Introduction: The outcome of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) secondary to myelodisplastic syndrome (MDS) or therapy-related (t-AML) receiving conventional treatment and allogeneic stem cell transplantation consolidation (HSCT) is poor. CPX-351 is a new drug composed by liposomal encapsulated cytarabine and daunorubicin, at a fixed molecular ratio of 5:1. It showed superior results, compared to standard 3+7 induction, in a phase III trial (Lancet et al, JCO 2018) in patients affected by t-AML or AML with myelodisplasia-related changes and it is now commercially available for secondary AML (sAML). We recently published results from CPX-351 Italian Named (Compassionate) Use Program (CUP) which enrolled 73 elderly sAML patients (Guolo et al, Blood Cancer J. 2020) showing that CPX-351 is an effective induction regimen for high risk AML patients treated with a curative aim. With a limited follow up, our data suggested the good activity and tolerability of CPX-351. Good quality remissions with acceptable toxicity in the majority of patients was achieved and CPX-351 increased the feasibility of HSCT in a poor risk AML cohort. Scarce data are available on long term outcome of high risk patients receiving CPX-351 in the real life setting. Here we report the results from the extended follow up analysis of the Italian CUP. Results: Seventy three patients were enrolled between December 2018 and June 2019 in a compassionate use program (CUP) in 33 Italian Hematology Centers. Data collection began on July 2019 and included 71/73 patients (97.2%), enrolled in 31 Centers. As previously reported, median age was 65.5 years (52-79). Sixty-two (88%) patients had at least one relevant comorbidity upon enrollment. Six patients (9%) presented with ECOG 3-4 upon enrollment. With a median follow up of 22 months, median overall survival (OS) was 13 months (21.2 - 22.8 95% IC). Two-years OS was 28.6% in the whole cohort. In order to confirm the positive impact of HSCT in first complete remission (CR) and the correlation with the other variables, a landmark model was applied, including only patients alive and in CR at day 90. In landmark analysis, HSCT performed in first CR after CPX-351 was the only significant predictor of longer survival: median OS was not reached for patients transplanted in first CR Vs 12 months for patients who did not undergo HSCT, p < 0.05, Figure1). Two-year OS for patients who received HSCT was 57.6% vs 15.8% for patients who did not undergo HSCT. Conclusions: Results from the extended follow up of Italian CPX-351 CUP confirm the good activity CPX-351 in such a difficult cohort as sAML. Two-year OS for transplanted patients is high despite the high median age, the high frequency of severe comorbidities in this real life cohort of patients and the high frequency of high risk AML. On the contrary, non-transplanted patients show a poor outcome, thus confirming that CPX-351 induction as an optimal bridge to transplant induction therapy. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Galimberti: Incyte: Speakers Bureau; AbbVie, Janssen: Honoraria, Other: Travel grants. Marco: Insight,: Consultancy; Jazz: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy. Fracchiolla: Amgen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Abbvie: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Gilead: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Tafuri: Roche: Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding. Rossi: Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Jazz: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Astellas: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Alexion: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Honoraria; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Pagano: Gilead Science, MSD, Pfizer, Basilea, Janssen, Novartis, Jazz Pharmaceutical, Cidara: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Menarini: Consultancy; Gilead Sciences, MSD, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Astellas Pharma: Speakers Bureau.

Introduction: Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous disorder characterized by a wide range of cytogenetic and molecular aberrations, that affect prognosis and guide treatment decisions. However there is a still large group of patients (pts) considered at intermediate risk whose outcome needs to be better defined. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) can simultaneously detect various mutations, leading to better define its prognostic profile. The role of some mutations, including isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutations (IDHm), is still controversial. Aim: We evaluated by NGS monitoring at different time points the prognostic role of IDH1/2m in AML pts with normal karyotype, both in the subgroup with mutations of NPM1 (NPM1m) or FLT3 (FLT3m) and in the subgroup without detectable mutations (wt-AML). Methods: Using Sophia Myeloid Solution kit (SOPHiA Genetics), we performed targeted NGS, covering 30 gene regions, in 104 bone marrow samples collected at diagnosis (53), after first consolidation (30) and at relapse (21), in 53 pts (M/F: 24/29; median age: 56 y, range 22-74), treated according to NILG-AML00 protocol (NCT00400673). Standard PCR to detect NPM1m and FLT3m was performed and we identified 20 NPM1m, 3 NPM1+FLT3-ITDm, 4 FLT3-ITDm and 26 wt-AML. Results: At diagnosis, among 219 pathogenic mutations detected, IDHm represented 10.5% of them (median VAF: 39.1%; range 6.2-49.6%). IDHm was observed in 23/53 pts (43.4%) (IDH1m in 11 and IDH2m in 12). In these pts , more frequently commutated genes were DNMT3A (28%), NPM1 (13%), FLT3-ITD/TKD (14%), ASXL1 (6%), SRSF2 and NRAS (9% each). Complete remission (CR) was achieved in 49/53 (92.5%) pts without difference in response rate according to IDH status (86% in IDHm vs 94% in IDH wild-type, wt). Relapse occurred in 28/49 (57%) pts after a median of 11 months (mo), range 2-61. The frequency of relapse was not significantly different across all types of mutations identified, except for IDH2m which was associated with a higher risk of relapse (10/11 in IDH2m vs 18/38 in IDH2wt; p: 0.014), without differences between R172K and R140Q. On the contrary, IDH1m, present in 18% of relapsed pts, did not impact on relapse (5/10 vs 23/39, p: 0.7). Particularly, in the wt-AML group, the IDH2m was prevalent in pts developing relapse (6/11, 54.5%) and all pts with IDH2m relapsed, with median of 13 mo, range 6-24 (6/6 in IDH2m vs 5/17 in IDH2wt, p:0.0046). Among the co-occurrence mutations, the IDH2/DNMT3A was associated with higher relapse risk (9/9 vs 19/40; p: 0.0063). DNMT3A associated with other mutations did not impact on relapse risk. At a median follow-up of 23 mo, median relapse free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) of whole population were 24 and 53 mo, respectively. The IDH2m impacted on OS: 23.5 mo in IDH2m vs 72 in IDH2wt pts (p:0.0093) (Fig 1a), but not in RFS (13 vs 29 mo in IDH2m and IDH2wt, respectively (p:0.1). Considering the subgroups of wt-AML, the RFS (Fig. 1b) and OS were 13 and 23.5 mo in IDH2m vs undefined in IDH2-wt (p:0.0014 and p:0.1), respectively. In pts with NPM1 or FLT3m, RFS and OS were 9 and 53 mo in IDH2m vs 29 and 73 mo in IDH2-wt (p:0.2 and p:0.15), respectively. We did not find the other genomic pattern predicting relapse in this group. After consolidation, NGS monitoring was performed in 30 pts in CR. Of the 13 IDH AML pts evaluated, no mutations was observed in 4 (28.5%); the persistence of IDHm was not associated with a significantly higher relapse (p:0.5). Among other mutations present at diagnosis, NGS clearance after consolidation occurred in pts with NRAS, KRAS, PTPN11 and FLT3-ITD/TKD. Conversely, it was limited for the following mutations: TET2 (8/11), DNMT3A (7/13), SRSF2 (6/6), IDH2 (4/5), ASXL1 (2/2), IDH1 (2/4) and NPM1 (1/12). Overall, the persistence of any type of gene mutations after consolidation was predictive of relapse (2/9 vs 6/7, p:0.04), only in wt-AML subgroup. At relapse, of the 11 IDHm pts analyzed, 7/7 IDH2m and 3/4 IDH1m showed the reappearance of mutations. Conclusion: In this retrospective monocentric study, the presence at diagnosis of IDH2m correlated with relapse risk and with survival, suggesting that additional treatment with targeted agents and or consolidation with allogeneic transplant should be considered. In addition, in AML without NPM1m or FLT3m, the persistence of genes mutation detected by NGS monitoring after consolidation had a significant prognostic value to predict subsequent relapse. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Borlenghi: Amgen, Janssen: Consultancy. Rossi: Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Jazz: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Astellas: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Alexion: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Honoraria; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Tucci: Gentili: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

Introduction. The potential drug-drug interactions of midostaurin (M), particularly with CYP450 inhibitors, may impact the choice of antifungal (AF) prophylaxis and treatment in FLT3-positive (FLT3+) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients (pts). However, there are no supportive data to guide the choice of AF drugs in this subset of pts. Aim. To evaluate the incidence of invasive fungal diseases (IFD) during induction and consolidation treatment of FLT3+ AML pts and to correlate it to the different AF prophylaxis strategies adopted. Patients and Methods. Within the SEIFEM (Sorveglianza Epidemiologica Infezioni nelle Emopatie) Group, we planned a restrospective/prospective multicenter observational study enrolling all FLT3+ AML pts treated with chemotherapy (CHT)+M. IFD were classified as possible, probable and proven according to EORTC/MSG revised definitions (Donnelly JP et al, Clin Infect Dis 2020). Relationships between the type of AF prophylaxis, IFD development and AML outcome were evaluated. Results. As of 30 th June, 90 pts treated with CHT+M as induction/reinduction, consolidation or both, have been enrolled. M/F ratio was 35/55, median age 56y (range 18-78). FLT-ITD and FLT3-TKD mutations were detected in 73 and 17 pts, respectively, NPM-1 mutation in 51 (57%) pts. AML risk stratification according to ELN classification was available in 80 pts (24 low risk). A total of 216 CHT+M courses have been delivered (85 inductions, 8 reinductions and 135 consolidations). Overall, 25 IFD were reported: 19 during induction (22%), 2 during reinduction (25%) and 4 during consolidation (3%) given without AF prophylaxis in all the four. Sixty-five (72%) pts achieved complete remission (CR) after the induction. During induction, 11 pts did not receive mold-active AF prophylaxis and developed 4 (36%) IFD (3 possible and 1 probable aspergillosis), while 74 pts received mold-active AF prophylaxis and developed 15 (20%) IFD (8 possible and 4 probable aspergillosis, 3 candidemia). Incidence according to mold-active AF prophylaxis strategy was: 7/40 (17%) with posaconazole 300 mg/d, 5/13 (38%) with echinocandins (micafungin 50 mg/d or caspofungin 70>50 mg/d), 2/17 (12%) with posaconazole given for 7 days followed by micafungin or caspofungin, 1/2 with isavuconazole 200 mg/d, and 0/2 with L-AmB 50 mg every other day). A posaconazole-containing AF prophylaxis regimen was protective against IFD (9/57, 16%, vs 10/28, 36%, p=0.05), while a trend toward a higher incidence of IFD was observed in pts receiving echinocandins alone as AF prophylaxis (5/13, 38%, vs 14/72, 19%, p=0.15). IFD were more frequent in pts aged 60y or older (11/31, 35%, vs 8/54, 15%, p=0.034), while no correlations between IFD and gender, ELN classification, failure to achieve CR were observed. At multivariate analysis, age≥60y was confirmed as a risk factor for IFD (OR 3.021, CI 1.028-8.849), while receiving AF prophylaxis without posaconazole was of borderline significance (OR 2.817, CI 0.955-8.306). Three pts out of 40 on posaconazole prophylaxis received reduced dose of M (50 mg/d). M was discontinued in 12 pts during induction; of these, 6 (50%) did not achieve a CR. IFD was the main reason for M discontinuation in 6 pts; in the other 6, toxicity was responsible (QTc prolongation in 3, 1 during caspofungin, 1 during posaconazole and 1 out of AF prophylaxis; gastrointestinal toxicity in 2, 1 during posaconazole and 1 during caspofungin prophylaxis; liver toxicity in 1, during posaconazole prophylaxis). After a median follow-up of 5 months, overall survival (OS) was similar in pts with or without IFD (p=0.294), while in those not achieving CR after first induction it was significantly lower in pts developing IFD (p=0.03) (Fig. 1A and 1B). Conclusions. IFD is still a frequent complication during AML induction treatment, also in patients receiving AF prophylaxis; it is associated with a frequent discontinuation of M and to a worsening of OS in patients not in CR after the first induction, probably contributing to a delay in the appropriate timing of the AML treatment. A posaconazole-containing prophylaxis was a better strategy against IFD occurrence, compared to echinocandins alone. M discontinuation for toxicity was a relatively rare event and no specific relationship with the type of AF prophylaxis ongoing was observed. A study evaluating plasma M levels during different prophylaxis strategies adopted is ongoing within the SEIFEM group. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Fracchiolla: Gilead: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Abbvie: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Rossi: Alexion: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Astellas: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Honoraria; Jazz: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Honoraria; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Pagano: Gilead Sciences, MSD, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Astellas Pharma: Speakers Bureau; Gilead Science, MSD, Pfizer, Basilea, Janssen, Novartis, Jazz Pharmaceutical, Cidara: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Menarini: Consultancy.

Objective Brentuximab vedotin (BV) plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone (A+CHP) significantly prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) versus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CHOP) in patients with systemic anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (sALCL) or other CD30-positive peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCL) in ECHELON-2 (Horwitz S et al., Lancet 2019). We report updated results; median follow-up was 47.6 months for PFS and 66.8 months for OS. Design This phase 3, double-blind study (NCT01777152) randomized patients aged ≥18 years with previously untreated CD30-positive PTCL (targeting 75% ± 5% with sALCL) to A+CHP or CHOP for 6 or 8 cycles. Primary endpoint of PFS was assessed per investigator in this updated analysis. Key secondary endpoints included OS and PFS in sALCL. BV or BV-containing regimens were permitted as subsequent/retreatment therapies. Results 452 patients were enrolled (226 patients in each arm); 316 (70%) patients had sALCL. Patients with advanced disease were included (stage III [27%] and stage IV [53%]; International Prognostic Index ≥2 [78%]). Data continues to favor A+CHP: HRs were 0.70 (95% CI: 0.53–0.91, P=0.0077) for PFS per investigator and 0.72 (95% CI: 0.53–0.99, P=0.0424) for OS. 5-year PFS was 51.4% (95% CI: 42.8–59.4) with A+CHP versus 43.0% (95% CI: 35.8–50.0) with CHOP; median PFS was 62.3 months (95% CI: 42.0–not evaluable) with A+CHP and 23.8 months (95% CI: 13.6–60.8) with CHOP. 5-year OS was 70.1% (95% CI: 63.3–75.9) and 61.0% (95% CI: 54.0–67.3) with A+CHP and CHOP, respectively. Median OS was not reached in either arm. PFS favored A+CHP (HR: 0.55 [95% CI: 0.39–0.79]) in sALCL. 29 (13%) and 54 (24%) patients with A+CHP and CHOP received subsequent BV, respectively. Treatment-emergent peripheral neuropathy (PN), resolved/improved in 72% (n=84/117) and 78% (n=97/124) of patients with PN on A+CHP and CHOP, respectively; 98% and 97% of ongoing PN events were grade 1/2 with A+CHP and CHOP, respectively. Conclusions At this important 5-year milestone, A+CHP still provides clinically meaningful improvement in both PFS and OS versus CHOP, with a manageable safety profile, including continued resolution/improvement of PN. Funded by NIH/NCI Support Grant P30 CA008748.

Introduction. Covid-19 patients (pts) with hematologic malignancies have a severe prognosis with mortality rates around 40%, particularly when on active treatment (Cattaneo et al, Cancer, in press). However, the long-term prognosis and persistence of specific immune responses among those who survive acute infection are unclear. Aim: Pts with hematological diseases were followed longitudinally after the acute phase of COVID-19 according to protocol NP4156 approved by the local EC. Clinical outcome and specific antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 were monitored during convalescence, and correlated to the diagnosis and treatment of the underlying hematological disease. Pts and Methods. Pts affected by multiple myeloma (MM), follicular (FL) and diffuse large B-cell (DLC) lymphoma (NHL), chronic lymphoproliferative disorders (CLD), myelodysplastic/chronic myeloproliferative syndromes (MDS/MPN) and surviving the acute phase of virologic-proven COVID-19 were eligible. Immune response parameters were evaluated at +1, +3, +6, +9 and +12 months after nasal swab negativization. Antibodies (Ab) to different conformations of COVID-19 virus proteins, nucleocapsid (N) and spike (S), were measured using a highly sensitive luciferase-immunoprecipitation system (LIPS) assay. Results. Of 51 eligible pts, 41 were tested for SARS-CoV-2 Ab at first timepoint (+1m) (6 pts too early, 2 refusal, 2 lost to follow-up). For 9 of them, Ab levels at +3m were also available. Ab levels of 14 controls without hematologic disorders (Ctrls) also surviving COVID-19 were evaluable at +1m and in 9 of them at +3 months as well. Diagnoses included FL (9) and DLC (6) NHL, CLD (7), MM (10), MDS/MPS (9). The status of hematological disease at the time of COVID-19 diagnosis was as follows: diagnosis (n=4; 10%), complete or partial remission (n=16; 39%), relapse/refractory (n=6; 15%; stable (n=15; 36%). Twenty-one pts (51%) were on active treatment, including 6 on chemoimmunotherapy; 7 pts had received chemoimmunotherapy previously. Median time from SARS-CoV-2 detection to swab negativity was 30d (range 8-63), and was not influenced by sex, age, hematologic diagnosis, disease status, nor treatment received. Two pts, both affected by DLC secondary to FL, remained swab-positive at day 119+ and 123+. At +1m, both N- and S- seropositivity rate was slightly lower in pts [N+ in 30/41 (73%); S+ in 27/41 (66%)] vs 13/14 for both N+ and S+ in Ctrls (93%) (P=0.16 and 0.08, respectively). Discrepancies between N and S seropositivity were observed in 7 (17%) pts, all with lymphoid disorders. Ab levels were similar in hematologic pts and in Ctrls (N+ 894,707 vs 870,541 LU and S+ 907,591 LU vs 724,120 LU, respectively, P=NS) (Fig.1a). Both seroconversion rates and Ab levels were not influenced by age, sex, status of hematologic disease, ongoing treatment, time to swab negativity, severity of pneumonia and steroid treatment during acute COVID-19. However, a diagnosis of NHL negatively impacted on seroconversion for both N and S. In 15 pts with NHL compared to 26 pts with other hematologic cancers, the N-seropositivity rate was 47% vs 92%, and the S-seropositivity rate was 40% vs 85%y (P=0.002 and 0.0053, respectively). N and S Ab levels were also lower than in other hematologic diseases (515,281 LU vs 1105409 LU, P=.002 and 474,309 LU vs 1,148,303 LU, P=.005 respectively) (Fig.1b). Rituximab (RTX) had been used in 13 of 15 NHL (87%), and treatment was ongoing in 6/13. While N-seroconversion and Ab levels were not influenced, no pts on ongoing RTX had S-seroconversion vs 5/7 pts with past RTX use (P=0.021) and mean antibody levels were 17622 LU vs 668548 LU, respectively (P=0.008). At +3m, no significant variations of both anti-N and anti-S antibody levels had occurred compared to timepoint +1m. Seroconversion status was maintained by 9/9 Ctrls and by 8/8 pts; the only pt with Ab levels below the cut-off at +1m did not show seroconversion at+3m. Conclusions: Overall, hematologic pts surviving COVID-19 have N- and S- antibodies levels and seroconversion rates similar to controls without hematologic disorders, although time to swab negativity seems more similar to critically ill pts than in the general population. A diagnosis of NHL negatively impacts on seroconversion and Ab levels, and ongoing RTX seems to have a negative role specifically on anti-S Ab production. Ab response persists at 3 months; the study is ongoing and further data will be available at time of meeting. Disclosures Tucci: Amgen: Consultancy. Rossi:Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Jazz: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Alexion: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Honoraria; Amgen: Honoraria; Novartis: Other: Advisory board; Takeda: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Astellas: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Honoraria. Imberti:Biogen: Honoraria; Genzyme-Sanofi: Honoraria; Meck-Serono: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; Biogen: Other: Advisory board; FISM (Fondazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla): Research Funding; Regione Lombardia: Research Funding. Notarangelo:NIAID, NIH: Research Funding. Cohen:NIAID, NIH: Research Funding.

// Antonio Sacco 1 , Adriano Fenotti 2 , Loredana Affo 2 , Stefano Bazzana 3 , Domenico Russo 4 , Marco Presta 5 , Michele Malagola 4 , Antonella Anastasia 6 , Marina Motta 6 , Christopher J. Patterson 7 , Giuseppe Rossi 6 , Luisa Imberti 1 , Steven P. Treon 7 , Irene M. Ghobrial 7 and Aldo M. Roccaro 1 1 ASST Spedali Civili, Coordinamento e Progettazione Ricerca Clinica, CREA Laboratory, Brescia, BS, Italy 2 ASST Spedali Civili, SITRA, Brescia, BS, Italy 3 ASST Spedali Civili, Collegio IPASVI, Brescia, BS, Italy 4 University of Brescia Medical School, Adult Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit, Brescia, BS, Italy 5 University of Brescia Medical School, Dept. of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Brescia, BS, Italy 6 ASST Spedali Civili, Dept. of Hematology, Brescia, BS, Italy 7 Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Dept. Medical Oncology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA Correspondence to: Aldo M. Roccaro, email: // Keywords : Waldenstrom’s Macrolobulinemia, genomics Received : November 17, 2016 Accepted : February 20, 2017 Published : March 11, 2017 Abstract The Literature has recently reported on the importance of genomics in the field of hematologic malignancies, including B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders such as Waldenstrom’s Macrolgobulinemia (WM). Particularly, whole exome sequencing has led to the identification of the MYD88 L265P and CXCR4 C1013G somatic variants in WM, occurring in about 90% and 30% of the patients, respectively. Subsequently, functional studies have demonstrated their functional role in supporting WM pathogenesis and disease progression, both in vitro and in vivo , thus providing the pre-clinical evidences for extremely attractive targets for novel therapeutic interventions in WM. Of note, recent evidences have also approached and defined the transcriptome profiling of WM cells, revealing a signature that mirrors the somatic aberrations demonstrated within the tumor clone. A parallel research field has also reported on microRNAs (miRNAs), highlighting the oncogenic role of miRNA-155 in WM. In the present review, we focus on the latest reports on genomics and miRNAs in WM, providing an overview of the clinical relevance of the latest acquired knowledge about genomics and miRNA aberrations in WM.

Polycythemia Vera (PV) is a chronic myeloproliferative neoplasm characterized by erythrocytosis, constitutively active mutations in JAK2 and an increased susceptibility to thrombotic events (TEs). There is still controversy about the role of increased hematocrit and of other variables including elevated white blood cell count as risk factors for the occurrence of TEs. A better definition of the relative prognostic importance of hematologic parameters would help us to better tailor the therapeutic approach to PV patients (pts), which is currently mainly based on the use of acetilsalycilic acid (ASA), venesection and hydroxyurea . The aim of our study was to analyze if any clinical or laboratory variables were significantly associated to the occurrence of TEs both at PV diagnosis and during the course of the disease in a large series of PV pts uniformly followed at a single Center over a period of 29.5 years from January 1986 to June 2019. Clinical and laboratory data were obtained from the time of diagnosis until death, progression to acute leukemia or last follow-up. Hematocrit (Hct), hemoglobin (Hb), white blood cell (WBC) and platelet (PLT) levels were recorded for each patient at least every 6 months. Among a total of 331 pts, the median age was 65 years (range 30-92 years), and 56% were male. "High risk" features (age ≥ 60 years and/or history of prior thrombosis) were present in 221 pts (66.7%). The incidence of cardiovascular risk factors was: hypertension 64%, diabetes 15%, hyperlipidemia 28%, history of active or remote smoking 41%. Patients on ASA were 279 (84%), 19 (6%) were on oral anticoagulation, while 27 (8%) were on ASA+oral anticoagulant. At PV diagnosis 54 pts (16%) presented with thrombosis, arterial in 32 (59%) and venous in 22 (41%). A previous TE was recorded in 57 pts (17%): in 43 (75%) arterial, in 12 (22%) venous and in 2 (3%) mixed (arterial+venous). Previous thrombosis was the only variable significantly associated with the presence of a TE at PV diagnosis (P=0.02). After PV diagnosis, with a median follow-up of 81 months (range 1-374 months), 63 pts (19%) experienced a TE and 11 of them a further episode, for a total of 74 TEs. The incidence rate (pts/year) of TEs was 2.7%. Forty-two events were arterial (57%), 31 were venous (42%) and 1 (1%) was mixed. It was the first TE for 37 pts. Cerebrovascular accidents and deep-venous thrombosis were the most frequent arterial and venous TEs both at PV diagnosis and throughout the disease course, with a relative incidence of 50% and 32% respectively. The table compares the characteristics of patients who did or did not develop a TE after PV diagnosis. At univariate analysis, PV high risk status, a previous TE and hyperlipidemia at PV diagnosis were significantly associated with a subsequent TE. Among hematologic variables an elevated WBC count at the time of thrombosis, but not Hct or PLT levels, was highly significantly associated with the development of a TE. At multivariate analysis, WBC count ≥10.4 x 10^9/L and hyperlipidemia maintained their independent prognostic value, while high risk status and a previous TE lost their prognostic significance. Both at univariate and multivariate analysis, hyperlipidemia at diagnosis (P=0.009 and P=0.002) and high WBC count at thrombosis (P=0.001 and P= In conclusion, our analysis confirms that elevated WBC count at the moment of the event more than increased hematocrit is associated to the development of thrombosis in PV pts. We also found that hyperlipidemia was an independent risk factor for arterial thrombosis, calling for an accurate management of increased lipid levels. Whether a reduction of the WBC count during the course of PV may reduce the frequency of TE remains to be demonstrated by prospective studies. Table Disclosures D'Adda: Novartis: Other: Advisory board; Incyte: Other: Advisory board; Pfizer: Other: Advisory board. Rossi:Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Honoraria; Sanofi: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Astellas: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Other: Advisory board; Alexion: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Honoraria; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Jazz: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

Background This non-interventional retrospective study, is intended to analyze toxicity and effectiveness of venetoclax of a large cohort of R/R and de novo AML patients treated in Italy since 2015 outside clinical trials with the ultimate goal of improving the knowledge related to venetoclax treatment in the real-life setting. Interim analysis on first 59 patients enrolled is presented here. Aims The aim of this study is to collect data on safety and efficacy of venetoclax in a large cohort of AML patients treated in Italy from 2015 to 2020 in a real-life setting (out of clinical trials). Methods This is a multicenter, retrospective, observational study. All patients with AML treated outside clinical trials with venetoclax as single agent or in combination with other drugs from 1 January 2015 to 1 April 2020 in 40 Italian Hematology Units will be considered for enrollment. Data are collected in accordance with GCP and Helsinky declaration. For this interim analysis data registered into eCRF at 30 June 2020 have been considered. Adverse events (AEs) are graded according to CTCAE v4.03. Survival is estimated with Kaplan-Meyer method. Results The study started on August 2019 and will be completed on August 2021. Up to 30 June 2020 (first data cut off) 30 sites have been activated and 59 AML patients have been registered, 27 males (46%) and 32 females (54%), with a median age of 64 years (range 35 - 83). At the time of venetoclax initiation, 14/59 (24%) patients had a refractory disease, 31 (52.5%) had relapsed disease (14 first relapse and 17 a second or further relapse), eight patients (15%) were newly diagnosed and received venetoclax as first line therapy while in six patients disease status was missing at the time of data cut off. At diagnosis, 52 patients (88%) had bone marrow involvement, of which four (7%) had extramedullary involvement (skin or subcutaneous and deep muscular localization) and one had CNS involvement. 35/59 (59%) patients were classified as fit for intensive chemotherapy, 16 (27%) unfit and two (3%) frail according to SIE, SIES and GITMO group. For six patients fitness status was missing at the time of data cut off. 45/59 (76%) patients had received previous therapy for AML, eight patients were treatment naïve at the time of venetoclax initiation. while for six patients data regarding previous AML therapy were missing at the time of data cut off. In the R/R setting (n=45), the median number of previous therapy lines were 2 (range 1-7). Nine patients had relapse after stem cell transplantation (SCT) and one of them had received double transplant. For 42/45 R/R AML patients the data regarding treatment with venetoclax were available at the time of data cut off. Three out of 42(7%) patients received venetoclax as single agents, 32 (76%) in combination with HMAs (31 Azacitidine and 1 Decitabine), and six with high or intermediate dose ARA-C. In the cohort of R/R patients treated with combination of venetoclax and HMA, in 29/32 patients venetoclax was started as a ramp up phase. The median number of venetoclax cycles was 2 (range 1-13) and the median dose administered was 400 mg daily (range 100-600). Regarding toxicity, 72 adverse events (AEs) were recorded of which 49 were grade III-IV (39 hematologic toxicities, 4 pneumonia, 2 sepsis and 4 other) and 2 fatal (sepsis). For 25 out of 32 patients treated with venetoclax and HMAs combination, a response evaluation was available at the time of data cut off. 15 patients had an evaluable response within 2 months, 7 within 4-months and for 3 the date was missing. 14 (56%) patients obtained composite complete remission (CR=9; 5 =CRi), three patients had a partial response (PR), one stable disease (SD) while seven patients were refractory. Overall, six out of 32 (19%) patients underwent allogenic transplantation after venetoclax-HMAs combination. Median OS of R/R patients treated with venetoclax plus HMA was 182 days (95% C.I 85-421.). Conclusions These preliminary data show that venetoclax in combination with HMAs has an acceptable toxicity profile and is effective in this setting of R/R patients with unfavorable prognosis. Data from more than 100 patients treated in real life setting with venetoclax in Italy since 2015 is expected by the end of 2020, and further analysis on RR patients is ongoing. Data on newly diagnosed patients treated with venetoclax alone or in combination with HMA or chemotherapy will be analyzed. *G.M. and C.C. contributed equally as last author Disclosures Todisco: Jannsen, Abbvie, Jazz:Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.Fracchiolla:Amgen:Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, accommodations, expenses, Speakers Bureau;ABBVIE:Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, accommodations, expenses;Gilead:Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, accommodations, expenses, Speakers Bureau;Pfizer:Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, accommodations, expenses, Speakers Bureau.Papayannidis:Abbvie, Janssen, Novartis, Amgen, Pfizer:Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Patents & Royalties.Martelli:Pfizer:Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Novartis:Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Celgene:Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Janssen:Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;AbbVie:Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Amgen:Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Jazz Pharmaceuticals:Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.Di Renzo:BerGenBio ASA:Research Funding.Tarella:ADC Therapeutics:Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding;ImmunoGen:Research Funding;TG-therapeutics:Research Funding.Rossi:Jazz:Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Abbvie:Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Astellas:Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Novartis:Other: Advisory board;Amgen:Honoraria;Pfizer:Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Janssen:Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Daiichi Sankyo:Consultancy, Honoraria;Takeda:Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Alexion:Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Celgene:Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Sanofi:Honoraria.

Considerable progress has been made in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, current therapeutic results are still unsatisfactory in untreated high-risk patients and poorer in those with primary refractory or relapsed disease. In older patients, reluctance by clinicians to treat unfit patients, higher AML cell resistance related to more frequent adverse karyotype and/or precedent myelodysplastic syndrome, and preferential involvement of chemorefractory early hemopoietic precursors in the pathogenesis of the disease further account for poor prognosis, with median survival lower than six months. A general agreement exists concerning the administration of aggressive salvage therapy in young adults followed by allogeneic stem cell transplantation; on the contrary, different therapeutic approaches varying in intensity, from conventional salvage chemotherapy based on intermediate⁻high-dose cytarabine to best supportive care, are currently considered in the relapsed, older AML patient population. Either patients’ characteristics or physicians’ attitudes count toward the process of clinical decision making. In addition, several new drugs with clinical activity described as “promising„ in uncontrolled single-arm studies failed to improve long-term outcomes when tested in larger randomized clinical trials. Recently, new agents have been approved and are expected to consistently improve the clinical outcome for selected genomic subgroups, and research is in progress in other molecular settings. While relapsed AML remains a tremendous challenge to both patients and clinicians, knowledge of the molecular pathogenesis of the disease is fast in progress, potentially leading to personalized therapy in most patients.

INTRODUCTION Endothelial cells (EC) play an important role in thrombosis and are increased in frequency in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPN). Notably, the JAK2V617F mutation has been identified in micro-laser-dissected EC in peripheral vasculature (Sozer, 2009) and is present in a subset of endothelial progenitor cells (Teofili, 2011). Primary myelofibrosis (PMF) is also characterized by increased bone marrow vascularity. These data suggest that PMF clones could derive from a common precursor shared between CD34-hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) and EC. We explored this hypothesis with a prospective study aimed at comparing the mutational profiles of paired Circulating Endothelial Cells (CEC) and HSC in patients (pts) with PMF. METHODS 14 PMF pts not previously treated with JAK2 inhibitors, along with one healthy control, were enrolled in the MyCEC0617 study beginning in 2018. The study was approved by the local Ethical Committee and all pts gave written informed consent. HSC were selected using CD34+ immunomagnetic bead-column separation. CEC were detected using the CellSearch system, which uses immunomagnetic selection incorporating ferrofluid nanoparticles and fluorophore-labelled antibodies. The markers CD146, CD105, CD45, and DAPI were used to isolate CEC. We identified cells as CEC when we observed characteristic morphological features and a surface immunophenotype of CD146+, CD105 +, DAPI+ and CD45-. Putative CEC were then sorted using the DEPArray system, which uses a combination of di-electrophoresis technology and high-quality image-based cell selection to manipulate individual cells. Sequencing data was then assessed with the MiSeq Illumina NGS platform using a 54-gene custom panel focused on genes mutated in PMF. The cutoffs to confirm the presence of the mutations were identification of mutant alleles in 30 and 50 reads both in forward and reverse, for HSC and CEC, respectively. RESULTS The characteristics of pts are reported in Figure 1. Median age of pts was 69.5 ys (35-85) and male/female ratio was 9:6. Median time from diagnosis to sample collection was 4 (1-211) months. 2/14 pts had had a previous thrombosis, 78% had splenomegaly, and 29% presented with constitutional symptoms. Considering the molecular profile, 9 pts were JAK2V617F mutated, 3 were CALR mutated, and 1 was MPLW515L positive. 2 pts were triple-negative. Most of the pts (7) presented with an Intermediate-1 DIPSS score, while 5 were intermediate-2, and 2 were high risk DIPSS. CEC were collected for 12 of 15 subjects (including the normal control). No significative differences were found between pts from whom we isolated CEC and those we did not successfully recover CEC. A median of 26 (1-122) CEC in 4 ml of peripheral blood were recovered. Notably, no mutations were found in the CEC or HSC from healthy control whereas molecular alterations were discovered both on CEC and HSC in 11 pts (Fig. 1). The previously-identified MPN driver mutation was identified in MF HSC (except for one JAK2-mutated pt and for all CALR-mutated pts, consistent with the limitations of NGS in detecting these lesions). Interestingly, PMF pts demonstrated both shared and different mutations when comparing mutational profiles of HSC and CEC. In particular, 8 of 11 pts shared at least one mutation between EC and HSC. 2 pts harbored the same driver mutation (JAK2V617F), together with ABL1, IDH1, TET2, and ASXL1, respectively. The most frequently mutated genes shared between both CEC and HSC were JAK2, ASXL1, TET2, NOTCH1, and SRSF2. All of these mutations were observed as shared clonal events in at least 2 cases. We also identified individual paired HSC/CEC with shared mutations in TP53, KIT, KMT2A, IDH1, WT1 and ABL1. One pt shared 4 mutations between HSC and CEC, while 4 and 2 pts shared 1 and 2 mutations, respectively. CONCLUSION HSC and EC in PMF have in common one or more gene mutations implicated in the pathogenesis of PMF. For the first time, we show that mutations other than JAK2 can be identified in EC, and in most instances (70% of pts), these mutations are shared between CEC and HSC. Moreover, we present an analysis of mature cells of endothelial lineage including to the CEC. These preliminary findings using primary pts samples support the notion that PMF-initiating cells may be derived from a common HSC/EC precursor. Further data are needed to validate these findings and provide a rationale for additional studies exploring the antecedent cell of origin in MPN. Disclosures D'Adda: Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Incyte: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Rossi:Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Jazz: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Astellas: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Honoraria; Mundipharma: Honoraria; BMS: Honoraria; Sandoz: Honoraria; Daiichi-Sankyo: Consultancy; Roche: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Levine:Qiagen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Consultancy; Loxo: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Roche: Consultancy, Research Funding; Prelude Therapeutics: Research Funding; Isoplexis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; C4 Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Imago Biosciences: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Gilead: Consultancy; Lilly: Honoraria; Amgen: Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding.

[Background]: Maintenance therapy following autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) can delay disease progression and prolong survival in patients with multiple myeloma. Ixazomib is ideally suited for maintenance therapy given its convenient once-weekly oral dosing and low toxicity profile. In this study, we aimed to determine the safety and efficacy of ixazomib as maintenance therapy following ASCT. [Methods]: The phase 3, double-blind, placebo-controlled TOURMALINE-MM3 study took place in 167 clinical or hospital sites in 30 countries in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and North and South America. Eligible participants were adults with a confirmed diagnosis of symptomatic multiple myeloma according to International Myeloma Working Group criteria who had achieved at least a partial response after undergoing standard-of-care induction therapy followed by high-dose melphalan (200 mg/m²) conditioning and single ASCT within 12 months of diagnosis. Patients were randomly assigned in a 3:2 ratio to oral ixazomib or matching placebo on days 1, 8, and 15 in 28-day cycles for 2 years following induction, high-dose therapy, and transplantation. The initial 3 mg dose was increased to 4 mg from cycle 5 if tolerated during cycles 1–4. Randomisation was stratified by induction regimen, pre-induction disease stage, and response post-transplantation. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) by intention-to-treat analysis. Safety was assessed in all patients who received at least one dose of ixazomib or placebo, according to treatment actually received. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02181413, and follow-up is ongoing. [Findings]: Between July 31, 2014, and March 14, 2016, 656 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive ixazomib maintenance therapy (n=395) or placebo (n=261). With a median follow-up of 31 months (IQR 27·3–35·7), we observed a 28% reduction in the risk of progression or death with ixazomib versus placebo (median PFS 26·5 months [95% CI 23·7–33·8] vs 21·3 months [18·0–24·7]; hazard ratio 0·72, 95% CI 0·58–0·89; p=0·0023). No increase in second malignancies was noted with ixazomib therapy (12 [3%] patients) compared with placebo (eight [3%] patients) at the time of this analysis. 108 (27%) of 394 patients in the ixazomib group and 51 (20%) of 259 patients in the placebo group experienced serious adverse events. During the treatment period, one patient died in the ixazomib group and none died in the placebo group. [Interpretation]: Ixazomib maintenance prolongs PFS and represents an additional option for post-transplant maintenance therapy in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, This study was sponsored by Millennium Pharmaceuticals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company.

In the PhilosoPhi34 study (EudraCT: 2012-005062-34) on 87 CP-CML patients, we analyzed the gene expression profiling (GEP) of bone marrow (BM) CD34+/lin- cells of 79 patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CP-CML) patients at diagnosis and after 12 months of nilotinib treatment (Pungolino et al. AM J Hematol. 2018). FISH analyses identified CD34+/lin- Ph+ cells in all 79 CML-CP patients at diagnosis. 78/79 patients achieved at least a complete cytogenetic response after 12 months of nilotinib whereas 1/79 patients relapsed at 12 months. No Ph+ nuclei were detected in 78/79 patients at 12 months. We have demonstrated that genes involved in the JAK-STAT signaling pathway, the cell cycle, and the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters were significantly over expressed in patients at diagnosis compared to 12 months of nilotinib treatment (Trojani et al, PLoS One. 2019). In this preliminary study, we isolated BM CD34+/lin- cells from 9 healthy donors (CTRLs). We investigated the gene expression profiling of 79 CP-CML patients at diagnosis vs. the same patients after 12 months of nilotinib treatment (12 months) vs. 9 CTRLs using Affymetrix HTA 2.0. Data was preprocessed and normalized using RMA and ComBat. Selection of differentially expressed genes (DEg) was performed at diagnosis vs. 12 months of nilotinib vs. CTRLs, using Statistical Analysis for Microarrays (SAM) on 3 groups and a Benjamini Hochberg false discovey rate threshold of 5%, followed, for significance comparisons, by a pair-wise SAM test. We focused on 34 genes of the cell cycle and mitosis, 6 genes belonging to the JAK-STAT signaling pathway, and the ABC transporter gene ABCD3 which were significantly under expressed at diagnosis vs. 12 months of nilotinib vs. CRTLs (Tab.1). In the cell cycle, we found that ORC2, ORC4, ORC5, MCM6, and HDAC2 (G1 phase) were progressively significantly down regulated at diagnosis vs. 12 months vs. CTRLs. We noticed HDAC2 which showed the high fold changes of 2.89 and 4.29 in the comparison between 12 months vs. CTRLs and between diagnosis vs. CTRLs, respectively. This gene plays a crucial role in CML, as HDAC inhibitors treatment represent an effective strategy to target leukemic stem cells in CP-CML patients receiving tyrosine kinase inhibitors. CCNA2, CDK7, CDC6, DBF4 (S phase), WEE1, PRKDC, ATM, MDM2, CCNB1 (G2 phase), and TTK, MAD2L1, BUB1, BUB3, ANAPC4, CDC27, SMC3, YWHAE, and YWHAZ (M phase) were progressively down regulated at diagnosis vs. 12 months vs. CTRLs. Among them, SMC3, YWHAE and YWHAZ showed the following high fold changes in the comparison between 12 months vs. CTRLs and between diagnosis vs. CTRLs: 2.31 and 3.15, 2.59 and 3.94, 2.75 and 4.15, respectively. Notably, the proto-oncogene MDM2 which promotes the development of tumors by targeting p53, was progressively up regulated in CTRLs vs. 12 months vs. diagnosis. In the mitosis, we detected that 10 genes playing a crucial role in mitotic chromosome organization, were progressively under expressed at diagnosis vs. 12 months vs. CTRLs (Tab.1). Notably, CLAPS2, ZW10 and ANLN (hematopoietic cell differentiation) regulate the exit from mitosis. NDC80, SMC4, ZNF207, and NEK2 take part in the mitotic sister chromatid segregation whereas CENPE and SMC2 are mitotic cell cycle check points. In the JAK-STAT signaling pathway, SOS1, PIK3CA, IL7, JAK2, STAM, and PTPN11 were progressively up regulated in CTRLs vs. 12 months vs. diagnosis (Tab.1). ABCD3, encoding a protein which pumped drugs out of the cells, was progressively under expressed at diagnosis vs. 12 months vs. CRTLs as shown in Tab.1. In conclusion, we found progressive gene expression changes in BM CD34+/lin- cells of 79 CP-CML patients at diagnosis vs. 12 months of nilotinib vs. the normal cell counterparts of 9 CTRLs in the cell cycle, JAK-STAT, and the ABC transporter ABCD3. FISH analyses demonstrated that the BM CD34+/lin- cells of 78/79 patients after 12 months of nilotinib were Ph-negative. Despite, our GEP results suggested that BM CD34+/lin- cells after 12 months of nilotinib treatment and the normal cell counterparts differed mostly in the expression of genes regulating the cell cycle and the JAK-STAT signaling pathway. Disclosures Rossi: Daiichi-Sankyo: Consultancy; Roche: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Jazz: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Astellas: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Honoraria; Mundipharma: Honoraria; BMS: Honoraria; Sandoz: Honoraria. Elena:Novartis: Consultancy; Pfizer: Consultancy. Iurlo:Pfizer: Other: Speaker Honoraria; Incyte: Other: Speaker Honoraria; Novartis: Other: Speaker Honoraria.

Although the ELN MRD Working Party (Schuurhuis, 2018) recommends that Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) patients (pts) with mutated NPM1 (NPM1+) should have molecular assessment of measurable/minimal residual disease (MRD), the most clinically significant timepoints (TPs), the thresholds, the best source of samples, bone marrow (BM) or peripheral blood (PB) and especially the management of molecular relapse, remain controversial. We evaluated the prognostic significance of NPM1 molecular monitoring, its impact on disease recurrence and the outcome of salvage treatment. From Jul 2010 to dec 2018, 83 consecutive NPM1+ AML pts (M/F: 44/39; median age 59 y, 27-74) eligible for intensive chemotherapy (i-T) were treated, according to the NILG-AML00 protocol (ClinicalTrial.gov: NCT00400673): ICE (idarubicine-ARAC-etoposide) as induction, followed by IC consolidation and 3 further consolidation cycles of high-dose ARAC. Allogeneic stem cell transplant (HSCT) was considered at relapse. Quantitative RT-PCR was performed to detect NPM1 mutation (Gorello, 2006) on BM and PB samples at diagnosis (TP0) and at given TPs: at complete remission (CR) (TP1), post-IC (TP2), post-1st ARAC consolidation (TP3) and at the end of treatment (TP4). Serial MRD monitoring during follow-up was made on PB every 3 months (mo) for 5 years (y) or until relapse. Molecular relapse (mR) was defined as the NPM1 level increase at least 1 log in 2 consecutive samples, in absence of hematological relapse (hR). At baseline, karyotype (K) was abnormal in 8 pts (9.6%); 25 (30%) were FLT3-ITD mutated with a median Allelic Ratio (AR) of 0.35 (range: 0.2 to 2.18) (Pratcorona, 2013). During treatment, 608 samples were studied (383 BM and 225 PB), for a median of 8 per patient (range: 3 to 10). At TP1, a higher level of NPM1 unfavorably impacted on relapse (p 0.02) and a cut-off >200 *10^4/ABL was significantly associated with a higher relapse risk (RR) (68.7%) and lower RFS (p 0.006). Moreover, MRD positivity (value >0*10^4 NPM1/ABL) at TP2 on PB was associated to a higher RR (38.8%; p 0. 041) and a level >0.5*10^4/ABL allowed to predict relapse in 75% of pts, also impacting on RFS (p 0.0001) (Figure 1).Molecular NPM1 relapse/progression occurred in 10 pts early during treatment, after a median of 3.5 mo (1.4-6) from diagnosis and in 8 of them simultaneously with hR. In 16 pts mR occurred after a median CR duration of 18.5 mo (10.5-61.5) (late relapse). Hence a mR was more frequent in late than in early relapse (87.5% vs 20%; p 0.001). Median survival was 8.3 mo in early relapsing pts and was not reached in late relapsing pts (p. 0.0002). Age, NPM1 level at TP0, FLT3-ITD mutation, ITD-AR or abnormal K did not impact on type of relapse (mR or hR), but FLT3-ITD was more frequent in early than late relapse (60% vs 18.7%; p 0.04). After a median follow-up of 42 mo (4-108), 5-y relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival were 64.2% (+/-6.5% SE) and 71.1% (+/-6.1% SE), respectively. Overall, considering both mR and hR, 26 pts (31.3%) relapsed after a median of 13.5 mo after CR; 24/26 pts received a salvage treatment and 14 (53.8%) (median age 49y, 27-64) could proceed to HSCT after a median of 2.9 mo (5 too old, 7 early progression). Salvage treatment before HSCT was i-T in 7/14 and non-i-T in 7/14 pts (2 ATRA and 5 D-actinomycin, Falini 2015) for a median of 3 cycles (range 2-4). Disease status at HSCT was: mCR in 3 pts, CR with detectable MRD (median NPM1: 125*10^4/ABL, range 17.8-3849) in 9, refractory in 2 pts. Nine/14 HSCT pts (64.2%) are alive and in remission at a median of 29.6 mo (13-49) from HSCT, 2 pts died of sepsis in c-GVDH at 6.2 and 37.5 mo after HSCT, 1 died of VOD and 2 of disease progression. At 3 months after HSCT all MRD positive pts were NPM1 negative. mR occurred in 3 pts at 8, 12 and 15 mo after HSCT and was successfully treated with early pre-emptive donor lymphocyte infusions. With the limits of small numbers, age, type (mR or hR) or timing of relapse (early or late), disease status at HSCT, donor source and conditioning intensity didn't influence survival. Our study shows that PCR monitoring during treatment can identify pts at higher RR according to the transcript levels in BM and PB samples. In NPM1+ AML, molecular monitoring in PB during follow-up is of crucial importance in detecting late molecular relapse allowing to use less toxic molecular-oriented treatments as a bridge to HSCT. Further studies on larger cohorts hopefully will help to confirm its usefulness to guide the treatment approach. Disclosures Rossi: Astellas: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Honoraria; Mundipharma: Honoraria; BMS: Honoraria; Sandoz: Honoraria; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Daiichi-Sankyo: Consultancy; Roche: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Jazz: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. OffLabel Disclosure: D-actinomicin

BACKGROUND: Based on the encouraging activity and manageable safety profile observed in a phase 1 study, the ECHELON-2 trial was initiated to compare the efficacy and safety of brentuximab vedotin, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone (A+CHP) versus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CHOP) for the treatment of CD30-positive peripheral T-cell lymphomas.METHODS: ECHELON-2 is a double-blind, double-dummy, randomised, placebo-controlled, active-comparator phase 3 study. Eligible adults from 132 sites in 17 countries with previously untreated CD30-positive peripheral T-cell lymphomas (targeting 75% with systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma) were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive either A+CHP or CHOP for six or eight 21-day cycles. Randomisation was stratified by histological subtype according to local pathology assessment and by international prognostic index score. All patients received cyclophosphamide 750 mg/m2 and doxorubicin 50 mg/m2 on day 1 of each cycle intravenously and prednisone 100 mg once daily on days 1 to 5 of each cycle orally, followed by either brentuximab vedotin 1·8 mg/kg and a placebo form of vincristine intravenously (A+CHP group) or vincristine 1·4 mg/m2 and a placebo form of brentuximab vedotin intravenously (CHOP group) on day 1 of each cycle. The primary endpoint, progression-free survival according to blinded independent central review, was analysed by intent-to-treat. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01777152.FINDINGS: Between Jan 24, 2013, and Nov 7, 2016, 601 patients assessed for eligibility, of whom 452 patients were enrolled and 226 were randomly assigned to both the A+CHP group and the CHOP group. Median progression-free survival was 48·2 months (95% CI 35·2-not evaluable) in the A+CHP group and 20·8 months (12·7-47·6) in the CHOP group (hazard ratio 0·71 [95% CI 0·54-0·93], p=0·0110). Adverse events, including incidence and severity of febrile neutropenia (41 [18%] patients in the A+CHP group and 33 [15%] in the CHOP group) and peripheral neuropathy (117 [52%] in the A+CHP group and 124 [55%] in the CHOP group), were similar between groups. Fatal adverse events occurred in seven (3%) patients in the A+CHP group and nine (4%) in the CHOP group.INTERPRETATION: Front-line treatment with A+CHP is superior to CHOP for patients with CD30-positive peripheral T-cell lymphomas as shown by a significant improvement in progression-free survival and overall survival with a manageable safety profile.FUNDING: Seattle Genetics Inc, Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Takeda Pharmacuetical Company Limited, and National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute Cancer Center.

This review summarizes current concepts in the diagnosis and management of the patients with eosinophilic granuloma. Given the benign biology, the clinical course, and the pediatric group of patients that this condition more commonly affects, a treatment approach that carries a lower risk of complications while ensuring a successful cure is desirable. Variable treatment options have been reported with satisfactory results and a recurrence rate of less than 20 %. In this setting, symptomatic lesions that are accessible in the spine or the extremities may be treated with intralesional methylprednisolone injection after tissue biopsy for histological diagnosis.

Adult onset hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a hyperinflammatory syndrome, which can develop as a complication of many disorders. Early diagnosis is essential in order to avoid a fatal outcome. To confirm the diagnosis of acquired HLH made in a single institution series of adult patients with HLH-04 criteria, we applied the HScore and evaluated prognostic factors associated with clinical outcome. The median age of 35 patients was 54 (range 17-81), M/F ratio was 20/15. In 26/35 (74.3%) patients, an underlying haematological disease was present (2 Multicentric Castleman Disease, 10 B-cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma [NHL] and 14 T/NK-cell NHL); an autoimmune disorder was observed in four (11.4%) patients (one Still Disease, one undifferentiated connective tissue disease and two haemolytic anaemia); in five (14.3%), no underlying disease was identified. A concomitant infection by EBV was observed in 10 patients (28.6%), CMV in 8 (22.9%), HHV8 in 6 (17.1%) and HIV in 1 (2.9%). Hyperferritinemia, fever and splenomegaly were present in more than 90% of patients, whereas bone marrow hemophagocytosis in 51% of cases only. According to HScore, 34/35 patients had a >75% and 32/35 >93% probability of HLH. Four-year overall survival and HLH-free survival were 17.8% (CI 1.9-33.8) and 23.8% (CI 7.3-40.3), respectively. By multivariate analysis, presence of oedema and hyperbilirubinemia were predictors of death, whereas there was a statistically significant trend for viral infection as predictor of poor prognosis. B-NHL diagnosis was confirmed as associated to a better prognosis in comparison with T/NK lymphoma (4-year HFS 53.3% vs. 0%, p = 0.09) and similar to other aetiologies. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Background The diagnosis of previous lateral myocardial infarction is based on QRS morphology. Objectives To explore the diagnostic role of T wave abnormalities. Methods We studied 166 patients with known or suspected ischemic heart disease who underwent a 12-lead electrocardiogram, myocardial perfusion scintigraphy, and coronary arteriography within 90 days. We excluded patients with bundle-branch block, hypertrophy, or paced rhythm. Results Only one patient had a prominent R wave in V1, no patient showed lateral Q waves of necrosis. T wave amplitude in V2–V6 ≥ 0.6 mV, and T wave amplitude in lead 1 + V6 ≤ 0 mV detected a lateral infarction (sensitivity 33 and 44%, specificity 83 and 80%). T wave amplitude in lead 1 + V6 ≤ 0 mV was the only independent predictor of infarction or LCx occlusion (AUC 0.72 and 0.74). Serum potassium values were not associated with T wave abnormalities. Conclusion T wave abnormalities identify previous lateral infarction and LCx disease.