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Sarcopenia is a prognostic factor for cancer. Because creatinine is formed from creatine phosphate in muscle tissue, urinary creatinine excretion (UCE) serves as an index of muscle volume. However, as of yet, there are no studies assessing the clinical impact of UCE or weight- adjusted urinary creatinine excretion (WA-UCE) on allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) recipients. We analyzed the association between pre-transplant WA-UCE and transplant outcomes among 164 adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia in complete remission who underwent their first allo-HSCT at our center. The patients were classified into a high (

Fludarabine with intravenous busulfan (6.4 mg/kg; FB2) and fludarabine with intermediate-dose melphalan (140 mg/m2; FM140) are the most widely used reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) regimens for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. FM140 generally has a lower relapse rate and higher non-relapse mortality (NRM), resulting in overall survival (OS) comparable to that seen with FB2. To evaluate the effect of reducing the melphalan dose, we retrospectively compared transplant outcomes in 156 patients who received FB2 (n = 103) or FM80 (n = 53) at our center (median age: 63 years; range 27–72 years). All patients received 4-Gy total body irradiation. Three-year OS, the cumulative incidence of relapse, and NRM were comparable between groups (FB2 vs. FM80, 58% vs. 47%, p = 0.24; 30% vs. 36%, p = 0.57; 17% vs. 21%, p = 0.44, respectively). There was no significant difference in the cumulative incidence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) at day 100, chronic GVHD at 3 years, or the 3-year GVHD-free/relapse-free survival rate. In the high-risk disease group, patients receiving FM80 tended to have lower 3-year OS (FB2 vs. FM80, 48% vs. 17%, p = 0.06). In summary, transplant outcomes following FB2 or FM80 were comparable except in patients with high-risk disease.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) recipients are at high risk of developing invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) with substantial morbidity and mortality. Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) and pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) are the primary prevention strategy. The difference between the Japanese and international guidelines is limited except when to start PCV13. However, Japanese data regarding the incidence of IPD after allo-HSCT that include vaccination status are limited. Therefore, we aimed to study the clinical characteristics of patients with IPD following allo-HSCT, focusing on unvaccinated patients. We retrospectively reviewed allo-HSCT recipients between April 2005 and December 2018 at Komagome Hospital. Among 1,091 recipients, 11 (1008/100,000 recipients) developed 13 episodes of IPD. The median period from the first allo-HSCT to the first IPD episode was 686 days (10-3040 days). Ten patients developed IPD before vaccination, and seven of these unvaccinated patients with late-onset IPD were ineligible for vaccination based on domestic guidelines. Although appropriate treatments resulted in a good short-term prognosis, most episodes of IPD developed in unvaccinated allo-HSCT recipients. Our data support the promotion of better adherence to the current guidelines and the importance of pneumococcal vaccination even years after allo-HSCT to protect against late-onset IPD.

Cyclophosphamide (CY)-induced cardiotoxicity involves rare lethal complications. We previously reported the cardiac events of 811 allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (allo-HSCT) recipients; 12 out of 811 recipients (1.5%) developed fatal heart failure. The mortality rate was also very high (91.6%, 11/12). CY dose (200 mg/kg or more) was reported as the independent risk factor. The main disease in patients treated with 200 mg/kg or more of CY was severe aplastic anemia (AA). Therefore, we reduced the dose of CY during conditioning for AA (from 200 to 100 mg/kg), and then we analyzed the clinical features of 294 patients who received a total dose of at least 100 mg/kg of CY. We also compared the clinical features between the current study and our previous study. The proportion of patients treated with at least 200 mg/kg of CY was reduced from 4.2% to 0%. However, CY-induced heart failure occurred in four of the 294 patients (1.4%), which was similar to the finding reported in our previous study (1.5%). Two of these four patients received a post-transplant CY (PTCy) regimen (CY 100 mg/kg). All four patients were treated in the cardiac intensive care unit (C-ICU), and two patients survived. In summary, even the CY dose of 120 mg/kg or less would cause cardiotoxicity. We should also carefully monitor patients treated with PTCy, considering the possibility of CY-induced cardiotoxicity. Early diagnosis and ICU management have contributed to improved outcomes.

Variants of the t (8;21) (q22;q22) involving chromosome 8, 21, and other chromosomes account for about 3% of all t (8;21) (q22;q22) in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, the prognosis of AML with variant t (8;21) remains unknown due to the scarcity of reported cases. Herein we report a case of AML with t (6;21;8) (p23;q22;q22). Fluorescence in situ hybridization confirmed a RUNX1-RUNX1T1 fusion signal on the derivative chromosome 8. This is the first report on a variant of t (8;21) involving the breakpoint 6p23. After induction chemotherapy, our patient achieved complete remission and has been stable for four years.

Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) bacteremia following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is rare, and limited data exist. We described the features of NTM bacteremia following allo-HSCT recipients in our hospital with a comprehensive review of the literature. Among the four cases of NTM bacteremia after allo-HSCT recipients in our hospital, two were catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI), one was disseminated, and one was an unknown source of infection. Based on our report and the past literature, the incidence rate of NTM bacteremia was 0.1–1.3%. CRBSI (57%) was more common than disseminated infection (29%). Most cases with CRBSI were caused by rapidly growing mycobacteria (88%) and showed good prognoses under appropriate antimicrobial therapies. In contrast, slowly growing mycobacteria (71%) was more common than rapidly growing mycobacteria in disseminated NTM bacteremia. Although disseminated NTM bacteremia can remain stable with appropriate long-term management, three out of seven cases died of multi-organ failure. Background immunodeficiency after allo-HSCT and transplant-related comorbidities may be attributable to subsequent poor prognosis.

Platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFRβ) gene is located on chromosome 5q31-33; its rearrangement leads to constitutive tyrosine kinase activity [1]. Hematological malignancies associated w...

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) could be the only curative therapy for patients with relapsed/refractory acute leukemia (RRAL). Many reports have described unmanipulated haploidentical HSCT (HID-HSCT) using high-dose antithymocyte globulin (ATG). However, the transplant outcomes of HID-HSCT using very low-dose ATG (thymoglobulin, 2–2.5 mg/kg) and methylprednisolone (mPSL, 1 mg/kg) for patients with RRAL have not been reported. We compared the outcomes of 46 patients with RRAL who underwent HID-HSCT using very low-dose ATG (thymoglobulin) and mPSL with the outcomes of 72 patients who underwent non-HID-HSCT. Patient characteristics differed regarding conditioning intensity (myeloablative; 19.6% in HID-HSCT vs. 61.1% in non-HID-HSCT, P

To characterize and categorize the CT findings of pulmonary leukemic infiltration (PLI) in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Among 435 patients with AML, 20 patients with PLI were retrospectively selected, and clinical characteristics and CT findings were analyzed. PLI was categorized into four patterns according to CT findings: type A, multiple nodules and/or masses; type B, bilateral perihilar airspace opacities (GGA or consolidation) without any nodules or masses; type C, mixture of type A and B; and type D, PLI without visible abnormal lung opacity. The difference in overall survival among four CT patterns was also examined. The frequency of complex karyotypes was higher in AML patients with PLI than in whole AML patients. Percentages of patients with CT findings of type A, B, C, and D were 35%, 20%, 35%, and 10%, respectively. There was a clear difference in the localization of opacities according to the type of infiltrates, i.e., nodules/masses were mainly detected in the lower/peripheral portion. Conversely, GGA was mainly located in the upper/central portion. The median overall survival from diagnosis of PLI was 262 days (range 12–1148). The CT pattern was not significantly associated with survival (p = 0.3), with the exception of patients with type C tending to have significantly better outcomes compared to patients with type B (p = 0.05). This classification can contribute in accurate non-invasive diagnosis and possibly in the estimation of prognosis.

An 80 year old male who had received immunosuppressive therapy for myelodysplastic syndrome presented with fever, fatigue, and elevated serum Aspergillus antigen. Computed tomography revealed infiltrative shadows in the left lower lung and subcutaneous nodules. A polymerase chain reaction assay from lung and subcutaneous nodule samples identified the presence Aspergillus udagawae. A. udagawae is a cryptic species that shares similar morphological characteristics with A. fumigatus but genetically differs from the latter in its susceptibility to antifungal drugs. When immunosuppressed patients with hematological malignancies develop disseminated aspergillosis, biopsy and fungal tests are crucial to identify the causative fungus, including cryptic species, for deciding the appropriate therapeutic intervention.

A 72-year-old man with leukocytosis, anemia, and lymphadenopathy was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in August 2017 and was carefully monitored in a "watch-and-wait" manner until it became an "active disease." Ibrutinib (IBR) was initiated orally in July 2018 at a dose of 420 mg/day after disease progression due to chromosome 17p deletion (del 17p). The patient showed partial response after transient lymphocytosis while on IBR treatment. IBR induces paronychia and skin disorder due to the disruption of disulfide bonds between cysteine and inhibition of epidermal growth factor receptor due to the off-target effect. This results in reduced quality of life. In February 2019, paronychia (grade 1) developed in the patient's right foot's first toe; hence, topical gentamicin and taping therapy were performed. However, the symptoms persisted without any improvements. In July 2019, paronychia/granulation (grade 2) was aggravated and successfully treated with silver nitrate chemical cauterization and taping therapy. The patient was continuously treated with 420 mg/day IBR without dose reduction or discontinuation, resulting in successful disease control of CLL with del 17p.

The era of precision medicine for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has arrived, and it is extremely important to detect actionable mutations relevant to treatment-related decision-making. However, the percentage of actionable mutations found in AML is approximately 50% at present, and therapeutic development is also needed for AML patients without such mutations. Nevertheless, recently approved drugs for AML treatment are less toxic than conventional intensive chemotherapy and can be combined with low-intensity treatments. Such combination therapies can improve prognosis, especially for elderly AML patients, who account for more than half of all AML cases. Thus, the treatment strategy for leukemia is changing drastically and showing rapid progress. In this review, we present novel mitochondria-associated molecular target therapies for AML, such as the use of BCL-2 and IDH inhibitors.

Vacuolar myelopathy (VM) is known to be a neurological complication in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). In autopsy-based studies, VM was reported in approximately 20-50% of patients with AIDS. It manifests in various says, mainly presenting as a painless spastic paraparesis with a sensory ataxia. We present a rare case of VM after bone marrow transplantation (BMT) in a patient without AIDS. A 50-year-old man developed weakness in the lower legs, leg muscle atrophy, and difficulty in walking 86 days after BMT. The patient died from septic shock on day 309. The autopsy revealed intralamellar vacuolation in the spinal white matter, which was compatible with VM.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is a major complication during allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT). However, mechanisms of adaptive immunity that drive this remain unclear. To define early immunological responses to CMV after transplantation, we using next-generation sequencing to examine the repertoire of T-cell receptors in CD8+/CMV pp65 tetramer+ cells (CMV-CTLs) in peripheral blood samples obtained from 16 allo-SCT recipients with HLA-A*24:02 at the time of CMV reactivation. In most patients, TCR beta repertoire of CMV-CTLs was highly skewed (median Inverse Simpson’s index: 1.595) and, 15 of 16 patients shared at least one TCR-beta clonotype with ≥ 2 patients. The shared TCRs were dominant in 12 patients and, two clonotypes were shared by about half of the patients. Similarity analysis showed that CDR3 sequences of shared TCRs were more similar than unshared TCRs. TCR beta repertoires of CMV-CTLs in 12 patients were also analyzed after 2–4 weeks to characterize the short-term dynamics of TCR repertoires. In ten patients, we observed persistence of prevailing clones. In the other two patients, TCR repertoires became more diverse, major clones declined, and new private clones subsequently emerged. These results provided the substantive clue to understand the immunological behavior against CMV reactivation after allo-SCT.

Total body irradiation using intensity-modulated radiation therapy total body irradiation (IMRT-TBI) by helical tomotherapy in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) allows for precise evaluation and adjustment of radiation dosage. We conducted a single-center pilot study to evaluate the safety of IMRT-TBI for allo-HSCT recipients. Patients with hematological malignancies in remission who were scheduled for allo-HSCT with TBI-based myeloablative conditioning were eligible. The primary endpoint was the incidence of adverse events (AEs). Secondary endpoints were engraftment rate, overall survival, relapse rate, non-relapse mortality, and the incidence of acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD and cGVHD, respectively). Between July 2018 and November 2018, ten patients were recruited with a median observation duration of 571 days after allo-HSCT (range, 496–614). D80% for planning target volume (PTV) in all patients was 12.01 Gy. Average D80% values for lungs, kidneys and lenses (right/left) were 7.50, 9.03 and 4.41/4.03 Gy, respectively. Any early AEs (within 100 days of allo-HSCT) were reported in all patients. Eight patients experienced oral mucositis and gastrointestinal symptoms. One patient experienced Bearman criteria grade 3 regimen-related toxicity (kidney and liver). All cases achieved neutrophil engraftment. There was no grade III–IV aGVHD or late AE. One patient died of sinusoidal obstruction syndrome 67 days after allo-HSCT. The remaining nine patients were alive and disease-free at final follow-up. Thus, IMRT-TBI was well tolerated in terms of early AEs in adult patients who underwent allo-HSCT; this warrants further study with longer observation times to monitor late AEs and efficacy.

There have been many reports regarding tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) administration to prevent relapse following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) for patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ALL). However, there are no commonly accepted standards for the choice of TKIs. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical features of Ph+ALL patients who received TKIs after allo-HSCT at our institution. The prophylactic administration of TKIs (pro) occurred in eight patients, and six patients received preemptive TKI administration (pre). The median follow-up period after allo-HSCT was 1,427 (range, 161-2,428) days in the pro group and 773.5 (range, 156-2,243) days in the pre group. Only one patient with non-hematological complete remission before allo-HSCT relapsed among the patients in the pro group. In the pre group, four patients treated with only TKIs achieved negativity of minimal residual disease. The 2-year overall survival rate after allo-HSCT was 85.7% in the pro group and 100% in the pre group. We used lower doses of TKIs compared with previous reports and this analysis shows that the dose is safe and effective as the treatment.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has categorized acute undifferentiated leukemia (AUL) as a rare subtype of acute leukemias of ambiguous lineage (ALAL). The prognosis of AUL is considered poor a...

Although the indications for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) as a treatment for T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma (T-ALL/LBL) and Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-negative B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) are similar, few studies have compared its outcomes for T-ALL/LBL and Ph-negative B-ALL. The clinical data of 28 patients with T-ALL, 16 with T-LBL, and 99 with Ph-negative B-ALL who underwent the first allo-HSCT from 2000 to 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Complete remission (CR) rates at allo-HSCT were 79 %, 63 %, and 75 % for T-ALL, T-LBL, and B-ALL, respectively; the 3-year overall survival (OS) rates were 55.7 %, 56.2 %, and 58.6 %, respectively (p = 0.92). Univariate analysis revealed that disease subtypes were not significantly associated with OS (B-ALL vs. T-ALL: hazard ratio [HR]=0.89, p = 0.70; T-LBL vs. T-ALL: HR=0.87, p = 0.75), and CR at allo-HSCT was the only prognostic factor for OS (HR=0.25, p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that CR at allo-HSCT was the only predictor of OS (HR=0.24, p < 0.001). In all three disease subtypes, patients in CR at allo-HSCT tended to have a lower cumulative incidence of relapse than did those in non-CR (T-ALL: 13.6 % vs. 50.0 %, p = 0.10; T-LBL: 20.0 % vs. 50.0 %, p = 0.21; B-ALL: 10.0 % vs. 56.0 %, p < 0.01). Thus, the outcomes of allo-HSCT for T-ALL/LBL were comparable to those of Ph-negative B-ALL. Irrespective of the disease subtypes, achieving CR before allo-HSCT was associated with a favorable OS. Further advances in chemotherapy before allo-HSCT and defining the optimal timing of allo-HSCT would improve the prognosis of patients with T-ALL/LBL.

Background Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (S. maltophilia) bacteremia causes significant morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised hosts. However, incidence and risk factors for mortality in S. maltophilia bacteremia following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) remain controversial. The primary aim of this study is to clarify factors associated with poor prognosis of allo-HSCT recipients with S. maltophilia bacteremia. Methods From January 2005 to December 2014, patients with hematological diseases and S. maltophilia bacteremia at a single transplantation center in Japan were examined for incidence and 90-day mortality. Prognostic factors associated with 90-day mortality among allo-HSCT recipients were analyzed by log-rank test, and significant variables in the univariate analysis were included in the multivariate Cox proportional-hazards regression model. Results A total of 65 patients, including 47 patients undergoing allo-HSCT, developed S. maltophilia bacteremia. The incidence of S. maltophilia bacteremia was significantly higher in allo-HSCT recipients compared to patients not receiving allo-HSCT (6.53 vs. 0.36 per 100 admissions, respectively; p

Extramedullary relapse (EMR) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is relatively rare. The most commonly reported sites in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients after allo-HSCT are soft tissue and the central nervous system, and the gastrointestinal system is an uncommon site. We herein report a unique case with massive hematemesis resulting from gastrointestinal relapse of ALL after allo-HSCT. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy showed bleeding from a 1.5-cm submucosal tumorous lesion with central ulceration on the anterior wall of the stomach. At the same time, computed tomography revealed extramedullary relapse at the breast and bilateral adrenal glands.

Autologous stem-cell transplantation is an effective procedure for the treatment of multiple myeloma, and involves the collection of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). However, in some patients, HSCs in the bone marrow fail to mobilize. Pomalidomide upregulates CXCR4 in hematopoietic stem cells, in a manner similar to that of lenalidomide, and is, thus, likely to have a negative impact on hematopoietic stem-cell mobilization in multiple myeloma patients. Here, we report the two cases in which hematopoietic stem cells were mobilized using plerixafor plus granulocyte-colony stimulating factor after exposure to lenalidomide and pomalidomide. Use of plerixafor with a sufficient washout period may lead to successful mobilization following pomalidomide use, although further study of this potential use is needed.

Dealing with the recent series of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) performed this decade, we reassessed the clinical impact of pretransplant surgical procedures (SP) for pulmonary lesions of invasive fungal disease (IFD) on subsequent transplant outcome. We focused on the clinical outcomes of seven patients with pulmonary IFD who underwent segmentectomy (n = 4), lobectomy (n = 2) or abscess incision with drainage only (n = 1), and compared results to those of 21 patients carrying pulmonary IFD who never underwent invasive SP before allo-SCT. The rate of exacerbation of pulmonary lesions by 180 days after allo-SCT did not differ significantly between groups (32.2% vs 42.9%, P = 0.69). Moreover, no significant differences in non-relapse mortality (46.4% vs 42.3%, P = 0.93) or overall survival (53.6% vs 30.9%, P = 0.45) at 1 year were evident between groups. These results indicate that pretransplant SP for pulmonary lesions might have no survival benefit under the current antifungal prophylaxis or treatment modality.

We report three cases of fusariosis that occurred during the treatment of acute leukemia, during the past 5 years at our institution. Case 1: A 70-year-old male with relapsed and refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) developed fever and multiple nodular lesions in both the lungs. Blood culture that was subsequently obtained revealed Fusarium species. Treatment with liposomal-amphotericin B (L-AMB) was ineffective, and the condition of the patient deteriorated rapidly leading to death. Case 2: A 28-year-old male with T-ALL developed echthyma gangrenosum (EG) ulcers on the scrotum during conditioning for transplantation. Antifungal therapy with L-AMB was ineffective, and later, itraconazole and micafungin (MCFG) were introduced. However, the engraftment was not achieved, and the patient died on day 27. Microbiological examination of EG samples collected on day 13 revealed infection by Fusarium species post mortem. Case 3: A 50-year-old male with blast crisis of chronic myeloid leukemia developed EG primarily on the trunk during chemotherapy. The patient died without any response to L-AMB and MCFG. A culture obtained from EG on day 19 yielded Fusarium species, post mortem. The prognosis of fusariosis is extremely poor. However, skin lesions such as EG may assist in the early diagnosis of the disseminated disease.

Background: Sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass, has been recognized as a prognostic factor for cancer patients. For example, low body mass index (BMI) was reported to be a risk of poor overall survival (OS) among allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) recipients. However, low BMI was not associated with high non-relapse mortality (NRM) rate, and BMI may not directly reflect the physical condition. (Bone Marrow Transplant. 2014;49:1505-12). To evaluate the clinical impact of the muscle volume on the prognosis of allo-HSCT recipients, other biomarkers that directly reflect muscle mass may be warranted. Urinary creatinine excretion (UCE) has been reported to estimate muscle mass and have prognostic value for kidney transplant patients (Transplantation. 2008;86:391-8.). There is no report to evaluate clinical impact of UCE on the prognosis of allo-HSCT recipients. Therefore, we retrospectively analyzed the association between pre-transplant UCE and the transplant outcomes. Methods: We included 173 adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in complete remission (CR) who underwent first allo-HSCT from 2006 to 2017 at our institute and measured UCE before allo-HSCT. Concerned the possibility of urine storage failure, two patients with low total daily urine volume ( We used receiver operating characteristics curve in order to determine the cutoff value of the WA-UCE and classified the patients into the high and low WA-UCE group. We evaluated transplant outcomes such as OS, progression-free survival (PFS), NRM, and cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) between two groups. Results: The median age at allo-HSCT was 52 (range, 18-73) and there were more male patients (n=111) than female patients (n=60). Regarding cytogenetic risk, 15 (9.1%), 112 (65.8%), and 38 (23.0%) were categorized as favorable, intermediate, and poor risk, respectively (There were five patients without cytogenetic data). The median follow-up period of survivors was 704 (range, 9 to 3,857) days. We defined the cutoff value of the weight adjusted UCE as 148 μmol/kg/day in male and 128 μmol/kg/day in female. Among 171 patients, 90 patients (male = 59, female = 31) were in the high WA-UCE group and 81 patients (male = 52, female = 29) were in the low WA-UCE group. We found no significant differences between two groups in terms of the number of relapse before allo-HSCT, cytogenetic risks, conditioning regimens, hematopoietic cell transplantation comorbidity index, donor-recipient HLA matching, donor source, or estimated glomerular filtration rate. On the other hand, patient's age at allo-HSCT was significantly younger (low vs. high WA-UCE group: median, 53 [range, 18 - 73] vs. 48 [range, 19 - 68] years, P = 0.02) and BMI was lower (low vs. high WA-UCE group: median, 22.3 [range, 15.4 - 38.8] vs. 21.9 [range, 15.4 - 29.3] kg/m2, P = 0.003) in high WA-UCE group. In univariate analysis, we observed a significant difference in OS, PFS, and NRM between two groups (low vs. high WA-UCE group: 1-year OS, 60.1% vs. 80.9%, P < 0.01; 1-year PFS, 54.1% vs. 70.9%, P = 0.02; 1-year NRM, 24.8% vs. 12.3%, P = 0.02) (Figure1). On the other hand, there was no significant difference in 1-year CIR between two groups (low vs. high WA-UCE group: 21.1% vs. 16.8%, P = 0.63). In our cohort, the low BMI (< 18.5 kg/m2) was not significantly associated with OS, PFS, CIR, and NRM (low vs. high BMI group: 1-year OS, 77.6% vs. 69.9%, P = 0.51; 1-year PFS, 74.1% vs. 60.9%, P = 0.45; 1-year CIR, 14.8% vs. 19.5%, P = 0.02, 1-year NRM, 11.1% vs. 19.5%, P = 0.70) In multivariate analysis, the low WA-UCE was an independent risk factor for OS (Hazard ratio (HR) [95% confidence interval (CI)]; 2.29 [1.38 - 3.80], P < 0.01), PFS (HR [95% CI]; 1.76 [1.11 - 2.79], P = 0.02), and NRM (HR [95% CI]; 2.22 [1.13 - 4.36], P = 0.02) (table1). Conclusion: In allo-HSCT adult recipients with AML in CR, low WA-UCE before transplantation was associated with poor prognosis, which related to high NRM within 1 year. WA-UCE can be an independent, objective, simple, and reliable biomarker for evaluating muscle mass and predicting transplant outcome. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Background Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), commonly seen in elderly patients, represent a heterogeneous group of clonal hematopoietic stem cell disorders caused by the accumulation of gene mutations. By contrast, congenital bone marrow failure syndromes and genetic predispositions associated with MDS are known in pediatric patients. However, little is known about the pathogenesis of MDS in adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients. Previous reports showed the patients with MDS aged under 40 or 41.5 years at allo-HSCT were associated with good survival compared to those among the older population (N Engl J Med. 2017;376:536-547, Blood. 2017;129:2347-2358). However, AYA-MDS is rare, and its clinical features and genetic abnormalities have not been analyzed enough. It is suspected that the clinical and genetic features of AYA-MDS patients might be different from those of elderly patients or pediatric patients. Therefore, we investigated the gene abnormalities of AYA-MDS patients and aimed to elucidate the genetic characteristics associated with the good outcome of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). We analyzed the patients younger than 50 years of age in order to reduce the variation of patient-related factors. Methods We analyzed the outcomes of all consecutive patients aged under 50 years who were diagnosed with MDS or acute myeloid leukemia evolving from MDS in our hospital between January 2005 and July 2018. The study was approved by the institutional review board, and patients gave written informed consent for the study, according to the Declaration of Helsinki. Cytogenetic analysis and genomic DNA extraction were carried out using diagnostic bone marrow samples. We performed targeted next-generation sequencing to identify mutations in 68 driver genes using AmpliSeq for Illumina Myeloid Panel and On-Demand Panel on the MiniSeq system (Illumina). Gene variants were detected by in-house analysis pipeline. Overall survival (OS) was analyzed for all patients, and the Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used to assess OS using the log-rank test. Additionally, the cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) was analyzed for patients who underwent allo-HSCT. Gray's test was used to evaluate the CIR. Results A total of 85 patients with MDS aged under 50 years (U40 between 15 and 39 years old: N=37, 40s between 40 and 49 years old: N=48) were analyzed. The median follow-up time of survivors was 2,041 days (range 176-5,085). There were no significant differences in patient characteristics between U40 and 40s. The 3-year OS of U40 were superior to 40s (79.9% vs. 58.1%, P=0.018), especially lower risk IPSS categories (3-year OS, 95.5% vs. 50.8%, P=0.002). In total, 69 of 85 patients (U40: N=31, 40s: N=38) had undergone allo-HSCT. U40 patients had lower percentage of bone marrow blasts at just before HSCT than 40s patients (over 10%, 12.9% vs. 36.8%, P=0.048), and better 3-year OS from HSCT in lower-IPSS (88.8% vs. 53.8%, P=0.024); but not in higher-IPSS (45.0% vs. 43.2%, P=0.834). In this cohort, at least one driver mutation was detected in 61% of allo-HSCT recipients. Frequently mutated genes (more than 10%) were ASXL1 and RUNX1; however, both of the genes did not have significant impact on the outcomes. While, only one patient in 40s had TP53 mutation. We detected 0.8 (range 0-3) and 1.8 (range 0-6) mutations at average in U40 and 40s, respectively (P=0.06). The proportions of the patients without any gene mutations were 52% in U40 and 30% in 40s. Transplanted patients with 0 or 1 mutation showed lower relapse rate than those with 2 or more mutations (3-year CIR, 23.3% vs. 45.2%, P=0.049). Conclusions The clinical outcomes of U40 patients with MDS were favorable than those in the 40s, especially in lower disease risk. The number of driver mutations in U40 tended to be lower than that in 40s. MDS in adult is regarded as a stem-cell aging disease with gene mutations; however, MDS-associated mutations were not detected in the half of U40. Moreover, TP53 mutation that is associated with extremely poor posttransplant survival was not detected in U40 patients. MDS patients with less than 2 mutations showed lower relapse rate, which maybe indicate genetic mutations have a great impact on transplant outcomes between 15 and 49 years old. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Background Constitutional partial trisomy 8 mosaicism (CT8M) is a congenital chromosomal abnormality with an estimated occurrence rate as one out of 25,000-50,000 pregnancies. CT8M has a wide variability in physical manifestation ranging from apparently normal to severe disablement. However, diagnosis of CT8M in adult without physical abnormality is difficult . Acquired trisomy 8, which is restricted to the malignant cells, is one of the most common chromosomal abnormalities in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), and clinical implication of carrying isolated trisomy 8 is considered as intermediate cytogenetic risk in MDS. However, isolated trisomy 8 without morphological dysplastic features is not definitive evidence for MDS. 15 to 20% of trisomy 8 in MDS are supposed to be derived from CT8M. We therefore diagnosed CT8M patients among patients with cytopenia and analyzed clinical and genetic features to uncover the association with MDS. Methods . Clinical features including cytogenetic analysis were analyzed regularly. Genomic DNA was extracted from whole PB cells or BM mononuclear cells. We performed targeted next-generation sequencing to identify mutations in 68 driver genes of myeloid neoplasms using AmpliSeq for Illumina Myeloid Panel and On-Demand Panel on the MiniSeq system (Illumina). Gene variants were detected by in-house analysis pipeline. The study was approved by the institutional review board and patients gave written informed consent for the study. Results We identified nine CT8M patients with cytopenia.They comprised 3 males and 6 females at a median age of 56 years (range 24-84 years) (Table). All the patients carried no physical abnormality nor conspicuous phenotypic features. Four patients (Patient #3, #4, #6 and #7) did not show apparent morphological dysplasia at the initial BM examination, and they were not diagnosed as MDS. Their cytopenia has not been exacerbated until now without any treatment, and the duration of stable cytopenia was from 2 to 12 years in these patients. By contrast, five patients with CT8M were diagnosed as MDS . Two patients (#5 and #8) were diagnosed as MDS-single lineage dysplasia (SLD), and their cytopenia has not become worse without any treatment for about 4 years. Other three patients diagnosed as MDS-multilineage dysplasia (MLD) showed various clinical courses. Patient #1 was treated with azacitidine and maintains complete hematological improvement after 34 courses of the treatment. Patient #2 was treated with erythropoietin stimulating agent and azacytidine but developed to AML 3 years after initial diagnosis but leukemic blasts has del(20), not +8. Patient #9 developed advanced pancytopenia in 3 months from initial diagnosis and received red blood cell transfusion regularly. Gene mutations were detected in five out of nine patients with CT8M. In three patients, gene mutations were detected at high (20 to 50%) variant allele frequency (VAF). Patient #2 who was analyzed at the AML phase had gene mutations of SRSF2, SF3B1, STAG2 and NOTCH1. BM sample from patient #9 showed ASXL1 mutation and two TET2 mutations. Patient #4 who did not show apparent myelodysplasia had a high VAF ASXL1 mutation, indicating clonal idiopathic cytopenias of undetermined significance. Two patients had low (2 to 5%) VAF mutations; patient #1 was analyzed after 34 courses of azacitidine had a TET2 mutation; patient #5 with MDS-SLD had a WT1 mutation and two PHF6 mutations. Four patients (#3, #6, #7 and #8) did not have any mutations. The clinical and genetic features showed that CT8M with cytopenia without MDS-related mutations were under 56 years old and did not develop to MDS or stayed at MDS-SLD. Patients with low VAF mutations were also stable. By contrast, patients with advanced diseases gained multiple MDS-related gene mutations with high VAF. One patient without dysplasia had a high VAF ASXL1 mutation. All the patients with gene mutations were age of 56 to 84 years. Conclusion Our results indicated that isolated trisomy 8 may cause cytopenia, but the cytopenia is not exacerbated without MDS-related driver gene mutations. CT8M patients with cytopenia might get gene mutations gradually with age, which leads to MDS or AML. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

[Background] Philadelphia chromosome positive (Ph+) leukemia is characterized by highly proliferative nature and clone instability that evokes the emergence of mutated clones, including BCR-ABL1 T315I mutated clone. Established evidence on the use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is still lacking. The use of second-generation TKIs as a maintenance treatment after HSCT has been studied, and it is expected that their use would improve the prognosis by suppressing recurrence. The advent of ponatinib (PON), a potent inhibitor of tyrosine kinase including T315I mutated BCR-ABL1, is expected to improve clinical outcome of Ph+leukemia. However, there are few reports of a maintenance treatment using PON after HSCT. [Methods] We retrospectively reviewed data of 13 patients (pts) who received PON for Ph+leukemia after HSCT while in hematological complete remission (CR) between April 1, 2016 and July 15, 2019. Prophylactic treatment (Pro) was defined as post-transplant administration of PON while in minimal residual disease (MRD) negative CR. Pre-emptive treatment (Pre) was defined as starting PON when the bcr-abl transcript was detected by either quantitative or nested qualitative PCR after HSCT. ABL1 mutation was analyzed through the direct sequencing method. Adverse events were evaluated according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 5.0. Overall survival (OS) was estimated using Kaplan-Meier method. Non-relapse mortality (NRM) and cumulative incidence of hematological relapse (CIR) were calculated using Gray's test. This study protocol was approved by the ethics committee of Tokyo Metropolitan Komagome Hospital. [Results] Underlying diseases were Ph+ALL in 8 pts (5 in CR, 3 in non-CR at HSCT), CML in 5 (all in second chronic phase). ABL1 mutations were analyzed in 12 pts and T315I mutation was detected in 4 pts with Ph+ALL and 2 with CML. Furthermore, compound mutations (CMs) in BCR-ABL1 were detected in 4 pts before HSCT. PON was used in 6 only after HSCT, and in 7 both before and after HSCT. During the median observation after HSCT of 584 days (range, 116-1,110) for survivors, no vascular occlusion event occurred. With regard to adverse events (AEs), grade 3 AEs occurred in 2 pts (15.4%) and no grade 4 AE was observed. Two had liver dysfunction and one of them discontinued PON due to grade 3 abnormalities in liver function tests. One suffered from grade 3 thrombocytopenia. Four had skin rashes lower than grade 3 that were indistinguishable from skin graft-versus-host disease, and all of them resolved through topical steroid therapy. Of all, 6 were in Pro group and 7 were in Pre group. The initial dose of PON was median 15mg (range 45mg/twice a week - 15mg/day) in Pro and median 30mg (range, 15-45mg) in Pre. The median days from HSCT to the start of PON was 107 days (range, 32-174) in Pro and 208 days (range, 50-364) in Pre. The median duration of PON treatment was 297 days (range, 20-699) in Pro and 188 days (range, 5-608) in Pre. At final observation in Pro group, 2 pts relapsed and died during the salvage therapy, 1 pt discontinued PON due to hepatic adverse event, and 3 pts were still on PON. Meanwhile, in Pre group, 5 pts achieved MRD negative CR after PON administration (1 pt also received donor lymphocyte infusion and stop PON due to liver dysfunction, 1 discontinued PON by the patient's request, and 3 of them were still on PON). One pt with CM relapsed but achieved CR through salvage therapy and 1 pt with low performance status (KPS 60) died at home of unknown cause six days after taking PON 30mg daily. For all the 13 pts receiving PON maintenance therapy, OS was 74.6% (95%CI; 39.8-91.1), CIR was 23.1% (95%CI; 5.1-48.5), and NRM was 7.7% (95%CI; 0.4-30.6) at 1 year after transplant (Figure 1). Two out of 4 pts with CMs (V299L/F317L and E255K/T315I/F317L) remains in MRD negative CR. The other 2 with CMs (E255K/T315I and D276G/T315I) had progressed to hematological relapse, suggesting the resistance to PON. In contrast, only one out of 9 without CMs relapsed on PON treatment. [Conclusion] Our results suggested that post-transplant maintenance treatment using PON was tolerable in the majority of patients with Ph+leukemia, although the optimal dose or the initiation strategy (Pre or Pro) are still undetermined. Furthermore, some patients with T315I-inclusive CMs seemed to be resistant to PON. The longer observation in a larger cohort is warranted. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

[Background] Cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease is a major complication after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT). However, mechanisms of adoptive immunity against CMV are not fully elucidated. Recently, high-throughput next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology made it possible to shed light on the detailed and comprehensive landscape of T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire. In this study, we analyzed TCR repertoire of CMV-specific cytotoxic T-cells (CMV-CTLs) in patients who suffered from CMV reactivation after SCT to clarify the diversity and dynamics of CMV-specific T-cell immunity. [Methods] We sequentially collected peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with HLA-A*24:02 who received SCT in our institution. Samples were collected weekly or every two weeks from their neutrophil engraftment until approximately 100 days after SCT. CMV reactivation was evaluated weekly with CMV antigenemia test. CD8 and CMV pp65 tetramer positive cells were sorted and unbiased next-generation sequencing-based analyses of TRBV/TRBJ gene segments were performed at the timing of CMV reactivation in 16 patients, and TRA gene segments were also analyzed in 10 patients. In addition, TCR beta repertoires after 2-4 weeks were analyzed in 12 patients. In the 12 patients, the dynamics of TCR repertoire diversity and proportional changes of each clone were assessed. We evaluated the diversity by Shannon-Weber index, and we defined TCR beta clonotypes found in two or more patients using the same TRBV/TRBJ gene segments and CDR3 amino acid sequences as public. This study was approved by the ethics committee of Tokyo Metropolitan Komagome Hospital. [Results] Among 16 patients, 11 received bone marrow, 3 received peripheral blood stem cells, and 2 received cord blood transplant. Underlying diseases were acute myeloid leukemia in 7, acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 7, and myelodysplastic syndromes in 2 patients. Median age at SCT was 50 years old (range: 20-71). Median duration from SCT to first CMV reactivation was 39 days (range: 16-55) and 7 patients (43.8%) were administered systemic corticosteroid at the time of reactivation (prednisolone 10-30mg/day). Median peripheral blood CMV-CTLs count at that time was 29.47/uL (range: 4.65-229.6). In most patients TCR beta repertoire of CMV-specific CTLs when CMV reactivated was highly skewed (median Shannon-Weber index was 1.44 [range: 0.542-3.164]). TCR alpha and beta were analyzed together in 10 patients and their diversity correlated well (p [Conclusion] TCR repertoire of CMV-CTLs at the time of CMV reactivation after SCT is highly oligoclonal and frequently shared among different patients, but can dynamically change in a short period in some patients. Functional analyses of the dominant TCRs to understand their reactivity against CMV epitope and elucidation of the clinical significance and developmental mechanisms of clone shift are strongly warranted. Figure Disclosures Kitaura: Repertoire Genesis Inc.: Employment. Suzuki:Repertoire Genesis Inc.: Equity Ownership.

From January 2012 to September 2015, 49 patients received biosimilar filgrastim (BF) after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT, n = 31) or peripheral stem cell transplantation (PBSCT, n = 18) in our institution. To evaluate the clinical impact of BF on transplant outcomes of these patients, we compared hematological recovery, overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), transplantation-related mortality (TRM), cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR), and acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) with those of control patients who received originator filgrastim (OF) after BMT (n = 31) or PBSCT (n = 18). All cases were randomly selected from a clinical database in our institution. In both the BMT and PBSCT settings, neutrophil recovery (17 vs. 19 days in BMT; 13 vs. 15 days in PBSCT) and platelet recovery (27 vs. 31 days in BMT; 17 vs. 28 days in PBSCT) were essentially the same between BF and OF. They were also comparable in terms of OS, DFS, TRM, CIR, and the incidence of acute GVHD and chronic GVHD. On multivariate analysis, the use of BF in both BMT and PBSCT was not a significant factor for adverse transplant outcomes. Although BF significantly reduced filgrastim costs in both BMT and PBSCT, total hospitalization costs were not significantly different between BF and OF.