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Background and Purpose— Industry payments to physicians raise concerns regarding conflicts of interest that could impact patient care. We explored nonresearch and nonownership payments from industry to vascular neurologists to identify trends in compensation. Methods— Using Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology data, we explored financial relationships between industry and US vascular neurologists from 2013 to 2018. We analyzed payment characteristics, including payment categories, payment distribution among physicians, regional trends, and biomedical manufacturers. Furthermore, we analyzed the top 1% (by compensation) of vascular neurologists with detailed payment categories, their position, and their contribution to stroke guidelines. Results— The number of board certified vascular neurologist increased from 1169 in 2013 to 1746 in 2018. The total payments to vascular neurologist increased from $99 749 in 2013 to $1 032 302 in 2018. During the study period, 16% to 17% of vascular neurologists received industry payments. Total payments from industry and mean physician payments increased yearly over this period, with consulting fee (31.1%) and compensation for services other than consulting (30.7%) being the highest paid categories. The top 10 manufacturers made the majority of the payments, and the top 10 products changed from drug or biological products to devices. Physicians from south region of the United States received the highest total payment (38.72%), which steadily increased. Payments to top 1% vascular neurologists increased from 64% to 79% over the period as payments became less evenly distributed. Among the top 1%, 42% specialized in neuro intervention, 11% contributed to American Heart Association/American Stroke Association guidelines, and around 75% were key leaders in the field. Conclusions— A small proportion of US vascular neurologists consistently received the majority of industry payments, the value of which grew over the study period. Only 11% of the top 1% receiving industry payments have authored American Heart Association/American Stroke Association guidelines, but ≈75% seem to be key leaders in the field. Whether this influences clinical practice and behavior requires further investigation.

Outcomes after allogeneic stem-cell transplantation (AHSCT) are influenced by both disease- and patient-related factors. Here, we developed a novel prognostic model, hematopoietic cell transplant-composite risk (HCT-CR), by combining the refined disease risk index (DRI-R) and hematopoietic stem-cell transplant comorbidity/age index (HCT-CI/Age) to predict post-transplant survival for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). The analysis included 942 AML/MDS patients treated with AHSCT. Patients were stratified into 4 HCT-CR risk groups: Low-risk—patients with low/intermediate DRI-R and HCT-CI/Age ≤3 (N = 272); Intermediate-risk—patients with low/intermediate DRI-R and HCT-CI/Age >3 (N = 168); High-risk—patients with high/very high DRI-R and HCT-CI/Age ≤3 (N = 284); and Very high-risk—patients with high/very high DRI-R and HCT-CI/Age >3 (N = 184). Compared with the low-risk group, intermediate, high, and very high-risk groups had a significantly increased risk of death [adjusted HR of 1.37 (P

Ibrutinib, a Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor has reformed the treatment of various B-cell malignancies including chronic lymphocytic leukemia, mantle cell lymphoma, and Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia. Although generally well tolerated, here we describe our institutional experience of unique adverse effects encountered with the use of ibrutinib in patients with B-cell lymphomas.This is a retrospective observational study done at a tertiary care facility, to evaluate adverse events in patients with B-cell malignancies on treatment with ibrutinib between 2014 and 2018. Further details including type of malignancy, cytogenetics, interventions for treatment of the side effect, and outcomes were obtained through electronic health record.We found 10 patients with unique adverse events related to ibrutinib. Among those, six had chronic lymphocytic leukemia, two had Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia, and two had mantle cell lymphoma. The events included palindromic rheumatoid arthritis, diffuse spongiotic dermatitis, bullous pemphigoid, recurrent hemorrhagic stroke, peripheral neuropathy, recurrent paronychia, intramedullary fibrosis, recurrent joint pains, pulmonary aspergillosis, dyspnea with exacerbation of atrial fibrillation, and resolution of autoimmune hemolytic anemia.Our case series illustrates the wide variety of unique events recognized in patients treated with ibrutinib, some of which required cessation and most had dose reduction of the treatment. Thus, stressing the importance of early identification and intervention for the events to avoid worsening of toxicity and inability to continue treatment in such patients.

TO THE EDITOR: Allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (ASCT) is curative treatment for patients with high-risk acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), who otherwise have dismal outcomes.[1][1][⇓][2][⇓][3]-[4][4] The TP53 gene is located in the 17p13

7527 Background: Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) are susceptible to infections due to impaired humoral immunity as a complication of the disease, treatments received and age at diagnosis. Herpes zoster (HZ) is a painful, vesicular rash from reactivation of varicella-zoster virus that is common in immunocompromised patients. While HZ vaccines can reduce both varicella-zoster reactivation and post-herpetic neuralgia, vaccination rates are low. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of vaccination on rates of HZ infection in patients with CLL. Methods: We identified patients diagnosed with CLL between September 1999 and October 2015 using Veterans Administration Central Cancer Registry (VACCR). Pharmacy records were used to identify patients who received treatment for CLL and HZ. HZ events were defined as patients with International Classification of Diseases 9th Revision (ICD-9) codes for HZ infection (053) or prescriptions of acyclovir or valacyclovir at a dose of 1500 mg/day or higher or famciclovir at a dose of 1000 mg/day or higher without a diagnosis of Herpes simplex or Bell’s palsy, or an ICD-9 code and prescription above. Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to assess the association between vaccination as a time-varying exposure and developing HZ while controlling age at CLL diagnosis, co-morbidity score, and receipt of first and second line chemotherapy. The study was approved by the St. Louis VA Medical Center institutional review board. Results: A cohort of 7155 patients with CLL was identified using VACCR. 2640 patients (36.9%) and 1161 patients (16.2%) received first and second line chemotherapy respectively. Mean age at first chemotherapy was 69.5 years. We detected 1115 cases of HZ (15.6%) using ICD-9 codes, prescriptions or both. 615 patients (8.6%) received HZ vaccinations. Patients with HZ were younger (mean 68.0 vs. 69.8 years, p < 0.001), had similar co-morbidities, and were more likely to get treatment for CLL (58.1% vs. 33.0%, p < 0.001). Using a time-varying analysis, there was a trend for HZ vaccine to decrease the risk of developing HZ (HR 0.71, 95% CI 0.49-1.04, p = 0.082). When adjusting for age and co-morbidity, patients with CLL treated with first line chemotherapy had a higher risk of HZ (HR 2.34, 95% CI 2.02-2.71, p < 0.001) compared to those never receiving therapy. Second line chemotherapy increased risk of HZ (HR 1.32, 95% CI 1.13-1.55, p < 0.001) beyond first line treatment. Conclusions: HZ is prevalent in patients with CLL and affects younger patients who require chemotherapy. The risk of developing HZ increases in recipients of first and second line chemotherapy. In the time-varying analysis, there was a trend towards decreased infection in patients who received HZ vaccination. Further studies in a more modern cohort that assess infection risk using a larger vaccinated group with the newer and more effective HZ vaccine are warranted.

The microbiome has recently emerged as a modulator of a variety of clinical outcomes, particularly those that modulated by the immune system. In the allogeneic HSCT setting, several groups have linked the microbiome to patient outcomes, particularly acute intestinal graft-versus-host disease and infectious outcomes, but also disease relapse and immune reconstitution. A variety of mechanisms mediated by intestinal bacteria have been uncovered, including production of innate ligands, metabolites, and mucus degrading enzymes, leading to modulation of the innate and adaptive immune system as well as intestinal epithelial biology. Preventing damage to the microbiota by limiting use of antibiotics, as well as supplementing the microbiome using diet and prebiotic strategies or restoring bacteria via probiotics and fecal microbiome transplantation, may prove beneficial to further reduce toxicity and improve on the success of allogeneic HSCT.

Clostridium perfringes is a gram-positive, rod-shaped, anerobic, spore-forming pathogenic bacterium. C. perfringes is commonly known to cause tissue necrosis and gas gangrene. However, severe life-threatening complications like hemolysis due to clostridium sepsis are rarely encountered. We present a case of a 35-year-old female presenting with endometritis complicated with severe hemolysis in the setting of sepsis secondary to C. perfringes . Her hospital course was complicated with multi-organ involvement, requiring broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics. Eventually, she made an uneventful recovery by early recognition of these rare complications and prompt institution of appropriate therapy. J Hematol. 2017;6(2-3):59-61 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jh328w

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rare hyperinflammatory syndrome. It is categorized as familial or acquired, most commonly caused by infections, malignancies, rheumatologic and immunodeficiency disorders. Irrespective of the etiology, the age at the onset is the strongest prognostic factor, hence it is extremely important to have a high suspicion for HLH, diagnose it promptly and initiate treatment without any delay. We encountered a 70-year-old female patient who initially presented with left-sided facial weakness and pancytopenia, secondary to diffuse stage IV B diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with isolated bone marrow involvement with secondary HLH. J Hematol. 2017;6(2-3):49-51 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jh324w

Introduction To evaluate factors of sex, age, and body mass index (BMI) on the bone marrow (BM) harvest collection outcomes of total nucleated cell (TNC) yield, anesthesia time, and sterility; a retrospective review of BM harvest donors at our institution from 2008 to 2017 was conducted. Donors were compared by sex and quartiles based on age and BMI. Materials and Methods Fifty-one donors underwent BM harvest. Thirty-three, 64.7%, of donors were male while 18, 35.3%, were female. Ages ranged from 20 to 72 years, median 33. BMI ranged from 18.7 to 43.4 kg/m2, median 27.7. BMI quartiles approximate WHO nutritional categories: first quartile, Normal weight; second and third quartiles, Overweight; fourth quartile, Obese. As TNC number targets are not donor dependent, outcomes were standardized by concentration: TNC/ml for TNC yield, seconds/ml for anesthesia time. Results There were no significant differences in TNC yield between sexes and between age quartiles. There was a significantly higher TNC yield in the fourth quartile of BMI (>32.5 kg/m2) compared to the first quartile of BMI (≤24.3), p = 0.032. There were trends towards longer median anesthesia times in females, highest BMI quartile, and youngest age quartile. Cultures were positive in 5, 9.8%, products; all occurred in the male donor group, 15.2% of male donors. Conclusion Selection biases might explain the greater number of male donors and donors with a greater BMI. There were no significant differences in TNC yields between sexes and between age quartiles. There was a significantly higher TNC yield in the fourth quartile of BMI compared to the first. Median anesthesia times were longest in female, youngest quartile of age, and Obese donors but did not approach statistical significance. BM products collected from male donors were significantly more likely to have positive cultures. Sample size limits the power of these analyses.

Introduction Per the National Cancer Institute epidemiological data, the incidence of multiple myeloma has not changed significantly over the past decade. Mortality from myeloma has not changed significantly between 2007-2016 with an estimated 5-year survival of 55.2 % between 2009-2015. The treatment of multiple myeloma has improved significantly over the past decade with the approval of several new drugs. In the recent IFM trial, the 4-year overall survival in a select group of myeloma patients was 82% when treated with bortezomib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone followed by autologous stem cell transplant and maintenance therapy. These numbers may further improve with approval of monoclonal antibodies and several new drugs in clinical trials. The cost of healthcare has been growing consistently for the past several years. Per CMS data, healthcare spending grew 3.7% in 2017 reaching $3.5 trillion, or $10,739 per person. National health spending is projected to grow at a rate of 5.5% per year from 2018-2027 reaching nearly $6.0 trillion. Health share of the GDP is expected to rise from 17.9% to 19.4%. Pharmaceutical costs have been rising consistently over the past several years with cancer therapies being some of the costliest. Most new cancer therapy costs more than $100,000 per year with the triplet combinations for myeloma costing upwards of $200,000 per year. Methods Our goal was to evaluate the utilization of the newer drugs approved for myeloma by the Medicare population and assess the economic burden of growing drug prices on the health care system. We queried the national CMS database from 2013-2017 to obtain information on Medicare payments made, number of providers making claims and consulting fees for bortezomib, carfilzomib, daratumumab, elotuzumab, ixazomib, lenalidomide, panobinostat and pomalidomide. Results Between 2013-2017 there has been a significant increase in the annual Medicare payments made for myeloma drugs. The amount of payments has tripled between 2013-2017. The number of claims made and providers making those claims have increased. There has also been an exponential increase in consulting fees paid by various pharmaceutical companies to promote prescription of the aforementioned drugs. The amount of money paid in consultation has nearly quadrupled since 2013. Results are consolidated in Table 1 and Figure 1. Discussion This past decade has been an exciting period in cancer research and drug approvals, with myeloma being one of the many malignancies benefitting from this progress. This was made possible by the collaboration between pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions. With the need for continuous combination therapy in multiple myeloma along with increasing prices of existing drugs and high upfront market prices for newly approved drugs, there is significant financial burden placed on the healthcare system. Based on the published literature substitution of carfilzomib for bortezomib or addition of monoclonal antibodies in induction would double cost. Some of these drug approvals are based solely on surrogate endpoints of overall response rates and progression free survival benefit of few months. This is without proven overall survival data while harboring significant toxicity. Conclusion: With pharmaceutical companies spending millions of dollars for drug development there has been a trend towards higher drug pricing. These companies also pay large amounts of consulting fees to physicians dedicated to aggressively market these newly approved drugs which are priced higher than existing therapy. Some of the current cancer guidelines include authors who have financial conflicts of interest and receive consulting fees from pharmaceutical companies. It would be interesting to investigate the correlation between the consulting fees and its effect on prescription patterns. Even the cancer care guidelines do not consider the cost effectiveness of equally effective regimens. There has been a push from various pioneers in the field to incorporate value-based recommends into their guidelines. Given the trajectory of rising costs within our healthcare system, it is imperative for all physicians to be mindful of value-based care while seeking therapy options that provide true benefit to their vulnerable patient populations. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Introduction Outcomes after allogeneic stem cell transplant (AHSCT) are influenced by both disease and patient related factors. We hypothesized that combining hematopoietic stem cell transplant comorbidity-age index (HCT-CI/Age) and the refined disease risk index (DRI-R) would better predict survival post-transplant and developed a hematopoietic cell Transplant-composite risk (HCT-CR) model, which we tested in a group of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) treated at MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC). Methods The study included consecutively treated patients, 18 years of age or older, with AML and MDS who received first AHSCT at MDACC between 2005-2016. Donors were HLA-matched related (MRD), HLA-matched unrelated (MUD), 9/10 MUD (MMUD), haploidentical (HAPLO) and 9/10 MRD (MMRD). To develop this model, patients were assigned into 4 groups: 1. Patients with low/intermediate DRI-R and HCT-CI/Age 3 (intermediate-risk); 3. Patients with high/very high DRI-R and HCT-CI/Age 3 (very high-risk). Primary endpoint was 5-year overall survival (OS); other outcomes assess were progression-free survival (PFS), non-relapse mortality (NRM) and relapse rate. The stability of the HCT-CR model was tested by bootstrap resampling. The discrimination power of the HCT-CR model on OS was compared with that of the DRI-R, HCT-CI/Age and cytogenetic risk model by the Harrell C-concordance index. Results The analysis included 942 patients (492 male and 450 female) with a median age of 53 years (range 18-65 years). Cytogenetic data at diagnosis was available in 928 (98.5%) patients and was favorable, intermediate and adverse cytogenetic risk in 63 (7%), 523 (56%) and 342 (37%), respectively. Fifty-five (6%), 399 (43%), 392 (42%) and 82 (9%) patients had low, intermediate, high and very high DRI-R, respectively. The HCT-CI/Age was available in 922 (98%) patients with the median score of 3 (range 0-18). Donor types included MRD (n=377), MUD (n=416), MMUD (n=68), HAPLO (n=73) and MMRD (N=8). Using the HCT-CR model, patients were stratified into 4 risk groups: low (N=272), intermediate (N=168), high (N=284) and very high-risk (N=184), with significantly different survival. The 5-year OS rates for patients in low, intermediate, high and very high-risk group were 57%, 48%, 34%, and 26%, respectively (P Compared with the low HCT-CR risk group, patients with intermediate, high and very high-risk group had a significantly increased risk of death with HR of 1.42 (95%CI 1.06-1.91; P=0.02), 2.11 (95%CI 1.65-2.70; P The stability of the hematopoietic cell transplant - composite risk model was confirmed in a bootstrap resampling procedure. Among 500 new datasets, on average, patients in intermediate, high and very high-risk group had significantly increased risk of death after transplant when compared with low risk group with HR of 1.39, 2.11 and 2.98, respectively. Results from the concordance test showed that the HCT-CR model provided better discriminative capacity for prediction of OS when compared with DRI-R, HCT-CI/Age and cytogenetic risk group models with C-index of 0.62 versus 0.60, 0.54 and 0.55, respectively. The goodness of fit test showed that the HCT-CR model fit the data significantly better than the other models (P Conclusion Combining disease and patient-related factors provides better survival stratification for patients with AML/MDS receiving AHSCT. This novel HCT-CR model will be validated in patients with all diseases undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and results will be presented at the meeting. Disclosures Oran: ASTEX: Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; AROG pharmaceuticals: Research Funding. Champlin:Otsuka: Research Funding; Sanofi: Research Funding.

The high dose rate electron beams are increasingly being used for radiation processing of various products worldwide. A comprehensive dosimetric evaluation of an in-house developed 10 MeV industrial electron beam irradiator was carried out in static as well as in dynamic mode of irradiations. Radiochromic B3 film and graphite calorimeter were used for dosimetric measurements. The dose rate from the electron beam was also calculated using the empirical relation prescribed in the ASTM report E2232-02. The measured electron beam profile indicates the dose rate variation within 8% in the irradiated product boxes. The most probable energy determined from the depth dose distribution in PMMA, Al and water was found in agreement with the intended energy of the electron beam. Measured dose rate using radiochromic film and graphite calorimeter were found in good agreement with each other and also found comparable with the theoretically estimated dose rates. Experimentally measured dose rates were considered for the trial irradiation of medical and industrial products. Dosimetric data obtained through this study confirms the suitability of the irradiator for routine radiation processing of various products.

e16532Background: Bleomycin has an established role in treatment of Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) and testicular germ cell tumors (tGCT). Bleomycin-induced pulmonary toxicity (BPT) remains a dose-limitin...

Aim: To evolve a fast dose verification method for high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy treatment plans and to demonstrate its applicability in different clinical cases. Materials and Methods: We developed a software tool in VC++ for the Varisource HDR unit for HDR dosimetry plan verification using TG-43 parameters. HDR treatment dosimetry of a number clinical cases using Varisource was verified by comparison with the treatment planning system (TPS). Results: A number of different types of clinical cases treated by Varisource were evaluated. TPS calculated dose values and verification code calculated dose values were found to agree to within 3% for most of the dose calculation points. Conclusions: We have validated with clinical cases a fast and independent dose verification method of the dosimetry at selected points for HDR brachytherapy treatments plan using TG-43 parameters. This can be used for the verification of the TPS calculated dose at various points. The code is written to work with Varisource, but it can conceivably be modified for other sources also by using the fitted constant of the respective source.

Leptomeningeal carcinomatosis (LMC), or neoplastic meningitis, occurs in about 5–20% of patients with metastatic cancer, depending on the type of the primary malignancy and kind of treatment received. The association of LMC with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a rare entity, and only two cases of papillary renal cell cancer with leptomeningeal metastasis have been reported. Leptomeningeal spread usually confers a poor prognosis despite the use of modern treatment strategies as compared to patients with extracranial metastases. We report a case of papillary RCC, a less common type of RCC presenting with LMC.

Background: There have been significant improvements in the outcomes for patients with multiple myeloma over the past 10 years. The course of the disease remains highly variable. While some patients experience 10-15 year survivals, others succumb to highly refractory disease within a few months. Many studies have focused on the description of prognostic factors capable of predicting this heterogeneity in survival. Baseline Serum free light chain concentration is a major prognostic indicator for plasma cell neoplasms and normalization of free light chain ratio with treatment has been reported as an indicator for favorable prognosis. High Baseline free light chain concentration at presentation indicates aggressive disease. Furthermore High serum free light chain ratio correlates with elevated serum creatinine, elevated LDH and extensive marrow infiltration. Objectives: To determine if serum free light chain concentration > 1000mg/dl at the time of diagnosis and at disease progression was an independent prognostic marker for multiple myeloma. Methods: The results of all the serum free light chain analyses of patients evaluated at western Pennsylvania hospital between 2007 -2015 were reviewed and patients with serum free light chain concentration >1000mg/dl at the time of initial diagnosis and disease progression were identified Retrospective chart review was done to study the survival in these patients. Results: Total of 15 patients in whom serum free light chain concentration was greater than 1000 mg/dl at diagnosis were identified. Median age at diagnosis was 60.81 years (45.2-77.3). The median survival in this population is 1.85 years (range 0.06-8.85 years), with 5 deaths. Of these 15, 9 patients received an autologous PBSCT as a part of their initial therapy. Six of them are alive with a median overall survival of 2.44 years and mean survival of 3.89 years (range 0.87-8.89). In the remaining 6 patients that did not undergo an auto PBSCT 3 of them are alive with median overall survival of 1.21 years and a mean survival 1.20 years (range 06-2.76 years). There is an overall trend toward very poor prognosis in this specific group of patients irrespective of the age, sex, stage at time of diagnosis, the immunoglobulin subtype and the free light chain subtype (kappa vs lambda). We also conducted a retrospective review of patients in whom serum free light chains concentration was greater than 1000mg/dl at disease progression. Twenty patients were identified all of whom are deceased with a median overall survival from the time of progression with serum free light chains greater than 1000 mg /dl was dismal at 0.27 years and mean survival was 0.53 years (range 0.04-2.52 years) Conclusion: Patients with multiple myeloma who presented with a serum free light chain concentration greater than 1000 mg/dl at diagnosis have very poor prognosis. These specific subgroups of patients should be identified and treated aggressively at the time of diagnosis to prevent complications from multiple myeloma and improve their overall survival. In our small cohort of patients those who underwent auto PBSCT as a part of their initial therapy tend to have better outcomes in terms of overall survival compared to patients who received therapy without auto PBSCT consolidation. Patients with serum free light chains greater than 1000 mg/dl at disease progression will need to be treated aggressively with perhaps a salvage auto PBSCT to improve their overall outcome. A larger study to evaluate elevated serum free light chains (greater than 1000 mg/dl) as a prognostic indicator at diagnosis and progression should be done to further validate these findings Table 1 Table 1. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Objectives: To assess the efficacy and safety of da-EPOCH-R as frontline treatment for patients diagnosed with Stage III/IV Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of newly diagnosed patients with advanced Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma from January 2008 till September 2015, who received frontline da-EPOCH-R or R-CHOP at our Health System. We excluded patients with primary CNS lymphoma, primary testicular lymphoma and patients who received chemotherapy for a prior lymphoma. 25 patients who received da-EPOCH-R and 50 patients who received R-CHOP were identified. Da-EPOCH-R regimen consisted of Etoposide 50mg/m2/day, Doxorubucin 10mg/m2/day and Vincristine 0.4mg/m2/day given on Days 1-4, Cyclophosphamide 750mg/m2 on Day 5, Prednisone 60mg/m2 twice a day from Days 1-6 and Rituximab 375mg/m2given on Day 5. On Day 6 G-CSF was administered. Each cycle was given every 21 days for a total of 6 cycles. The dose of Etoposide, Doxorubucin and Cyclophosphamide was adjusted according to standard protocols. All patients on the da-EPOCH arm were on Acyclovir, Ciprofloxacin, Fluconazole and Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole for anti-microbial prophylaxis during their treatment. The use of growth factors and anti-microbial prophylaxis was inconsistent in the R-CHOP arm. Results: When comparing the da-EPOCH-R arm versus the R-CHOP arm, the average age of the patients was 50 years (25-81) vs 60 years (19-84). High-risk IPI was similar in both arms (76% vs 74%). The percentage of non-germinal center type (non-GCB) was equal as well (36% vs 32%). The average number of cycles administered was 5.3 compared to 4.8. There were more dose reductions in the da-EPOCH-R arm (36% vs 24%), however fewer delays and cessations were noted (36% vs 54%). After a median follow up of 29.1 months, the age-adjusted overall survival (77% vs. 69%, p=0.093) and disease-free survival (76% vs. 55% p=0.54) was improved in the da-EPOCH-R arm. In the non-GCB variant da-EPOCH improved overall survival by 77% (p=0.024). The Overall Response Rate was higher in the da-EPOCH-R arm 80% (CR/CRU=64% and PR=16%) vs. 56% (CR/CRU=44% and PR=12%). The relapse rate was lower in the da-EPOCH-R arm (16% vs 28%), and it was lower in the non-GCB patients as well (11% vs 25%). There were more Grade 3-4 neutropenia in the da-EPOCH arm (72% vs 48%), however infectious complications were lower (24% vs 42%). There were fewer unplanned admissions in the da-EPOCH arm (32% vs 60%) and a significantly lower treatment related mortality (12% vs 22%). Other Grade 3-4 toxicities too were lower in the da-EPOCH-R arm (20% vs 30%). Conclusion: Our preliminary results suggest that da-EPOCH-R has a survival benefit especially in the non-GCB subgroup. Our data does show good survival data even for the GCB subtypes. There was a higher response rate, lower relapse rate and no added toxicities in patients who received da-EPOCH-R. A Phase III trial is currently ongoing and will provide us with answers regarding the efficacy and toxicities of this chemotherapy regimen. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.