1 3178 128 HAEMATOLOGIC MALIGNANCIES WITH UNFAVOURABLE GENE MUTATIONS BENEFIT FROM DONOR LYMPHOCYTE INFUSION WITH/WITHOUT DECITABINE FOR PROPHYLAXIS OF RELAPSE AFTER ALLOGENEIC HSCT: A PILOT STUDY. RELAPSE IS THE MAIN CAUSE OF TREATMENT FAILURE FOR LEUKAEMIA PATIENTS WITH UNFAVOURABLE GENE MUTATIONS WHO RECEIVE ALLOGENEIC HAEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION (ALLO-HSCT). THERE IS NO CONSENSUS ON THE INDICATION OF DONOR LYMPHOCYTE INFUSION (DLI) FOR PROPHYLAXIS OF RELAPSE AFTER ALLO-HSCT. TO EVALUATE THE TOLERANCE AND EFFICACY OF PROPHYLACTIC DLI IN PATIENTS WITH UNFAVOURABLE GENE MUTATIONS SUCH AS FLT3-ITD, TP53, ASXL1, DNMT3A OR TET2, WE PERFORMED A PROSPECTIVE, SINGLE-ARM STUDY. PROPHYLACTIC USE OF DECITABINE FOLLOWED BY DLI WAS PLANNED IN PATIENTS WITH TP53 OR EPIGENETIC MODIFIER GENE MUTATIONS. THE PROPHYLAXIS WAS PLANNED IN 46 RECIPIENTS: IT WAS ADMINISTERED IN 28 PATIENTS AND IT WAS NOT ADMINISTERED IN 18 PATIENTS DUE TO CONTRAINDICATIONS. NO DLI-ASSOCIATED PANCYTOPENIA WAS OBSERVED. THE CUMULATIVE INCIDENCES OF GRADE II-IV AND III-IV ACUTE GRAFT-VERSUS-HOST DISEASE (GVHD) AT 100 DAYS POST-DLI WERE 25.8% AND 11.0%, RESPECTIVELY. THE RATES OF CHRONIC GVHD, NON-RELAPSE MORTALITY AND RELAPSE AT 3 YEARS POST-DLI WERE 21.6%, 25.0% AND 26.1%, RESPECTIVELY. THE 3-YEAR RELAPSE-FREE SURVIVAL AND OVERALL SURVIVAL (OS) RATES WERE 48.9% AND 48.2%, RESPECTIVELY. ACUTE GVHD (HR: 2.30, P = 0.016) AND RELAPSE (HR: 2.46, P = 0.003) AFTER DLI WERE INDEPENDENTLY ASSOCIATED WITH INFERIOR OS. DATA IN THE CURRENT STUDY SHOWED THE FEASIBILITY OF PROPHYLACTIC DLI WITH/WITHOUT DECITABINE IN THE EARLY STAGE AFTER ALLO-HSCT IN PATIENTS WITH UNFAVOURABLE GENE MUTATIONS. 2021 2 6713 17 VISCERAL ADIPOSITY SYNDROME. THE ASSOCIATION OF ANTHROPOMETRIC (WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE) AND HEMODYNAMIC (BLOOD PRESSURE) CHANGES WITH ABNORMALITIES IN GLUCOSE AND LIPID METABOLISM HAS BEEN MOTIVATION FOR A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS IN THE LAST 30 YEARS. NOWADAYS, BLOOD PRESSURE, BODY MASS INDEX/ABDOMINAL CIRCUMFERENCE, GLYCEMIA, TRIGLYCERIDEMIA, AND HDL-CHOLESTEROL CONCENTRATIONS ARE CONSIDERED IN THE DEFINITION OF METABOLIC SYNDROME, REFERRED AS VISCERAL ADIPOSITY SYNDROME (VAS) IN THE PRESENT REVIEW. HOWEVER, MORE THAN 250 YEARS AGO AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN VISCERAL AND MEDIASTINAL OBESITY WITH HYPERTENSION, GOUT, AND OBSTRUCTIVE APNEA HAD ALREADY BEEN RECOGNIZED. EXPANSION OF VISCERAL ADIPOSE TISSUE SECONDARY TO CHRONIC OVER-CONSUMPTION OF CALORIES STIMULATES THE RECRUITMENT OF MACROPHAGES, WHICH ASSUME AN INFLAMMATORY PHENOTYPE AND PRODUCE CYTOKINES THAT DIRECTLY INTERFERE WITH INSULIN SIGNALING, RESULTING IN INSULIN RESISTANCE. IN TURN, INSULIN RESISTANCE (IR) MANIFESTS ITSELF IN VARIOUS TISSUES, CONTRIBUTING TO THE OVERALL PHENOTYPE OF VAS. FOR EXAMPLE, IN WHITE ADIPOSE TISSUE, IR RESULTS IN LIPOLYSIS, INCREASED FREE FATTY ACIDS RELEASE AND WORSENING OF INFLAMMATION, SINCE FATTY ACIDS CAN BIND TO TOLL-LIKE RECEPTORS. IN THE LIVER, IR RESULTS IN INCREASED HEPATIC GLUCOSE PRODUCTION, CONTRIBUTING TO HYPERGLYCEMIA; IN THE VASCULAR ENDOTHELIUM AND KIDNEY, IR RESULTS IN VASOCONSTRICTION, SODIUM RETENTION AND, CONSEQUENTLY, ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION. OTHER PLAYERS HAVE BEEN RECOGNIZED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF VAS, SUCH AS GENETIC PREDISPOSITION, EPIGENETIC FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH EXPOSURE TO AN UNFAVOURABLE INTRAUTERINE ENVIRONMENT AND THE GUT MICROBIOTA. MORE RECENTLY, EXPERIMENTAL AND CLINICAL STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM PARTICIPATES IN MODULATING VISCERAL ADIPOSE TISSUE. THE SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM IS RELATED TO ADIPOSE TISSUE FUNCTION AND DIFFERENTIATION THROUGH BETA1, BETA2, BETA3, ALPHA1, AND ALPHA2 ADRENERGIC RECEPTORS. THE RELATION IS BIDIRECTIONAL: SYMPATHETIC DENERVATION OF ADIPOSE TISSUE BLOCKS LIPOLYSIS TO A VARIETY OF LIPOLYTIC STIMULI AND ADIPOSE TISSUE SEND INPUTS TO THE BRAIN. AN IMBALANCE OF SYMPATHETIC/PARASYMPATHETIC AND ALPHA2 ADRENERGIC/BETA3 RECEPTOR IS RELATED TO VISCERAL ADIPOSE TISSUE STORAGE AND INSULIN SENSITIVITY. THUS, IN ADDITION TO THE WELL-KNOWN FACTORS CLASSICALLY ASSOCIATED WITH VAS, ABNORMAL AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY ALSO EMERGES AS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR REGULATING WHITE ADIPOSE TISSUE, WHICH HIGHLIGHTS COMPLEX ROLE OF ADIPOSE TISSUE IN THE VAS. 2016 3 5283 48 PROPHYLACTIC OR PREEMPTIVE LOW-DOSE AZACITIDINE AND DONOR LYMPHOCYTE INFUSION TO PREVENT DISEASE RELAPSE FOLLOWING ALLOGENEIC TRANSPLANTATION IN PATIENTS WITH HIGH-RISK ACUTE MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA OR MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROME. BECAUSE OF THE PERSISTENTLY HIGH RATES OF RELAPSE OF PATIENTS WITH HIGH-RISK ACUTE MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA (AML) AND MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROME (MDS) FOLLOWING ALLOGENEIC HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION (ALLO-HSCT), POST-TRANSPLANTATION MAINTENANCE THERAPY HAS BEEN PROPOSED. WE PREVIOUSLY INITIATED A PHASE II TRIAL IN WHICH EPIGENETIC THERAPY WAS COMBINED WITH IMMUNOTHERAPY IN AN ATTEMPT TO REDUCE DISEASE RELAPSE. IN THAT STUDY, LOW-DOSE AZACITIDINE (AZA) AND ESCALATING DOSES OF DONOR LYMPHOCYTE INFUSION (DLI) WERE GIVEN AS POST-ALLO-HSCT MAINTENANCE TREATMENT. IN THE PRESENT STUDY, WE RETROSPECTIVELY ANALYZE A LARGER COHORT OF PATIENTS RECEIVING POST-TRANSPLANTATION MAINTENANCE THERAPY AND PROVIDE UPDATES ON SOME PATIENTS OF THE EARLIER STUDY. THE OBJECTIVES OF THE PRESENT STUDY WERE TO ANALYZE THE CUMULATIVE INCIDENCE OF RELAPSE (CIR), OVERALL SURVIVAL (OS), AND PROGRESSION-FREE SURVIVAL (PFS) AND THE INCIDENCE OF ACUTE AND CHRONIC GRAFT-VERSUS-HOST DISEASE (GVHD) OF PATIENTS WITH HIGH-RISK AML OR MDS RECEIVING POST-TRANSPLANTATION MAINTENANCE TREATMENT WITH AZA WITH OR WITHOUT DLI. WE RETROSPECTIVELY ANALYZED 77 PATIENTS (54 WITH AML, 23 WITH MDS) CONSIDERED AT HIGH RISK BASED ON EITHER THEIR GENOMIC OR CLINICAL STATUS AT TRANSPLANTATION. FOLLOWING ALLOGENEIC TRANSPLANTATION, THEY RECEIVED AT LEAST 1 CYCLE OF PROPHYLACTIC OR PREEMPTIVE LOW-DOSE AZA WITH OR WITHOUT ESCALATING DOSES OF DLI TO PREVENT DISEASE RELAPSE. ALMOST ONE-HALF OF THE PATIENTS (47%) WERE ABLE TO RECEIVE THE FULL 12 CYCLES OF SCHEDULED AZA, AND A MAJORITY (79%) RECEIVED AT LEAST 1 DLI. WITH A MEDIAN FOLLOW-UP OF 24 MONTHS, 19 PATIENTS (25%; 16 WITH AML, 3 WITH MDS) RELAPSED, AT A MEDIAN OF 9.8 MONTHS (RANGE, 4 TO 58.6 MONTHS), GIVING A 22% CIR AT 24 MONTHS. OS AND PFS AT 24 MONTHS WERE 70.8% AND 68.3%, RESPECTIVELY. THE CUMULATIVE INCIDENCES OF GRADE II-IV ACUTE GVHD AND CHRONIC GVHD WERE 27.4% AND 45%, RESPECTIVELY. ONLY A MINORITY OF PATIENTS (11%) REQUIRED DELAYED ADMINISTRATION OF AZA. THESE FINDINGS CONFIRM THAT AZA-DLI MAINTENANCE IS BOTH TOLERABLE AND EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING THE RISK OF POST-TRANSPLANTATION RELAPSE. 2021 4 765 44 CC-486 MAINTENANCE AFTER STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA OR MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES. RELAPSE IS THE MAIN CAUSE OF TREATMENT FAILURE AFTER ALLOGENEIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANT (ALLOSCT) IN ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA (AML) AND MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES (MDS). INJECTABLE AZACITIDINE CAN IMPROVE POST-TRANSPLANT OUTCOMES BUT PRESENTS CHALLENGES WITH EXPOSURE AND COMPLIANCE. ORAL CC-486 ALLOWS EXTENDED DOSING TO PROLONG AZACITIDINE ACTIVITY. WE INVESTIGATED USE OF CC-486 MAINTENANCE THERAPY AFTER ALLOSCT. ADULTS WITH MDS OR AML IN MORPHOLOGIC COMPLETE REMISSION AT CC-486 INITIATION (42 TO 84 DAYS AFTER ALLOSCT) WERE INCLUDED. PATIENTS RECEIVED 1 OF 4 CC-486 DOSING SCHEDULES PER 28-DAY CYCLE FOR UP TO 12 CYCLES. ENDPOINTS INCLUDED SAFETY, PHARMACOKINETICS, GRAFT-VERSUS-HOST DISEASE (GVHD) INCIDENCE, RELAPSE/PROGRESSION RATE, AND SURVIVAL. OF 30 PATIENTS, 7 RECEIVED CC-486 ONCE DAILY FOR 7 DAYS PER CYCLE (200 MG, N = 3; 300 MG, N = 4) AND 23 FOR 14 DAYS PER CYCLE (150 MG, N = 4; 200 MG, N = 19 [EXPANSION COHORT]). GRADES 3 TO 4 ADVERSE EVENTS WERE INFREQUENT AND OCCURRED WITH SIMILAR FREQUENCY ACROSS REGIMENS. STANDARD CONCOMITANT MEDICATIONS DID NOT ALTER CC-486 PHARMACOKINETIC PARAMETERS. THREE PATIENTS (10%) EXPERIENCED GRADE III ACUTE GVHD AND 9 EXPERIENCED CHRONIC GVHD. OF 28 EVALUABLE PATIENTS, 6 (21%) RELAPSED OR HAD PROGRESSIVE DISEASE: 3 OF 7 PATIENTS (43%) WHO HAD RECEIVED 7-DAY DOSING AND 3 OF 23 (13%) WHO HAD RECEIVED 14-DAY DOSING. TRANSPLANT-RELATED MORTALITY WAS 3%. AT 19 MONTHS OF FOLLOW-UP, MEDIAN OVERALL SURVIVAL WAS NOT REACHED. ESTIMATED 1-YEAR SURVIVAL RATES WERE 86% AND 81% IN THE 7-DAY AND 14-DAY DOSING COHORTS, RESPECTIVELY. CC-486 MAINTENANCE WAS GENERALLY WELL TOLERATED, WITH LOW RATES OF RELAPSE, DISEASE PROGRESSION, AND GVHD. CC-486 MAINTENANCE MAY PERMIT EPIGENETIC MANIPULATION OF THE ALLOREACTIVE RESPONSE POSTALLOGRAFT. FINDINGS REQUIRE CONFIRMATION IN RANDOMIZED TRIALS. (CLINICALTRIALS.GOV NCT01835587.). 2018 5 4080 14 MATERNAL LIFESTYLE INTERVENTIONS: TARGETING PRECONCEPTION HEALTH. ABOUT ONE-THIRD OF WOMEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE ARE OBESE, PREDISPOSING BOTH MOTHER AND BABY TO UNFAVOURABLE PREGNANCY OUTCOMES AND INITIATING AN INTERGENERATIONAL CYCLE OF CHRONIC METABOLIC DISORDERS. HERE WE SUMMARISE RECENT RESEARCH ON THE INFLUENCE OF MATERNAL METABOLIC HEALTH ON OFFSPRING SUSCEPTIBILITY TO FUTURE CARDIOMETABOLIC DISEASES. CURRENT PRIMARY LIFESTYLE APPROACHES (I.E., DIET AND EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS) TO HALT THE SUCCESSION OF INHERITED AND EPIGENETIC METABOLIC ABNORMALITIES HAVE MET WITH LIMITED SUCCESS DUE TO LATE IMPLEMENTATION, POOR ADHERENCE, AND/OR GENERIC GUIDELINES. IN OUR OPINION, SUCH INTERVENTIONS MUST COMMENCE PRIOR TO CONCEPTION TO IMPROVE BOTH MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH OUTCOMES, WITH NEW APPROACHES URGENTLY NEEDED TO INCREASE ADHERENCE TO PRIMARY LIFESTYLE CHANGES AMONG REPRODUCTIVE-AGE WOMEN. 2020 6 1469 34 DISTINCT EVOLUTIONARY PATHS IN CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA DURING RESISTANCE TO THE GRAFT-VERSUS-LEUKEMIA EFFECT. LEUKEMIC RELAPSE REMAINS A MAJOR BARRIER TO SUCCESSFUL ALLOGENEIC HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION (ALLO-HSCT) FOR AGGRESSIVE HEMATOLOGIC MALIGNANCIES. THE BASIS FOR RELAPSE OF ADVANCED LYMPHOID MALIGNANCIES REMAINS INCOMPLETELY UNDERSTOOD AND MAY INVOLVE ESCAPE FROM THE GRAFT-VERSUS-LEUKEMIA (GVL) EFFECT. WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT FOR PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CLL) TREATED WITH ALLO-HSCT, LEUKEMIC CELL-INTRINSIC FEATURES INFLUENCE TRANSPLANT OUTCOMES BY DIRECTING THE EVOLUTIONARY TRAJECTORIES OF CLL CELLS. INTEGRATED GENETIC, TRANSCRIPTOMIC, AND EPIGENETIC ANALYSES OF CLL CELLS FROM 10 PATIENTS REVEALED THAT THE CLINICAL KINETICS OF POST-HSCT RELAPSE ARE SHAPED BY DISTINCT MOLECULAR DYNAMICS. EARLY RELAPSES AFTER ALLO-HSCT EXHIBITED NOTABLE GENETIC STABILITY; SINGLE CLL CELL TRANSCRIPTIONAL ANALYSIS DEMONSTRATED A CELLULAR HETEROGENEITY THAT WAS STATIC OVER TIME. IN CONTRAST, CLL CELLS RELAPSING LATE AFTER ALLO-HSCT DISPLAYED NOTABLE GENETIC EVOLUTION AND EVIDENCE OF NEOANTIGEN DEPLETION, CONSISTENT WITH MARKED SINGLE-CELL TRANSCRIPTIONAL SHIFTS THAT WERE UNIQUE TO EACH PATIENT. WE OBSERVED A GREATER RATE OF EPIGENETIC CHANGE FOR LATE RELAPSES NOT SEEN IN EARLY RELAPSES OR RELAPSES AFTER CHEMOTHERAPY ALONE, SUGGESTING THAT THE SELECTION PRESSURES OF THE GVL BOTTLENECK ARE UNLIKE THOSE IMPOSED BY CHEMOTHERAPY. NO SELECTIVE ADVANTAGE FOR HUMAN LEUKOCYTE ANTIGEN (HLA) LOSS WAS OBSERVED, EVEN WHEN PRESENT IN PRETRANSPLANT SUBPOPULATIONS. GAIN OF STEM CELL MODULES WAS A COMMON SIGNATURE ASSOCIATED WITH LEUKEMIA RELAPSE REGARDLESS OF POSTTRANSPLANT RELAPSE KINETICS. THESE DATA ELUCIDATE THE BIOLOGICAL PATHWAYS THAT UNDERLIE GVL RESISTANCE AND POSTTRANSPLANT RELAPSE. 2020 7 2769 38 EXTENDED DOSING WITH CC-486 (ORAL AZACITIDINE) IN PATIENTS WITH MYELOID MALIGNANCIES. CC-486 (ORAL AZACITIDINE) IS AN EPIGENETIC MODIFIER IN CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT FOR TREATMENT OF HEMATOLOGICAL CANCERS. THIS STUDY OF EXTENDED CC-486 DOSING INCLUDED PATIENTS WITH MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES (MDSS), CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CMML), OR ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA (AML). AFTER A PHARMACOKINETIC ASSESSMENT PERIOD, 31 PATIENTS (MDS N = 18, CMML N = 4, AND AML N = 9) ENTERED A CLINICAL PHASE IN WHICH THEY RECEIVED CC-486 300 MG ONCE-DAILY FOR 21 DAYS OF REPEATED 28-DAY CYCLES. MEDIAN AGE WAS 71 YEARS (RANGE: 53-93); 42% OF PATIENTS WERE AGED >/=75 YEARS. A TOTAL OF 5 PATIENTS WITH AML (63%) HAD PRIOR MDS. MEDIAN NUMBER OF CC-486 TREATMENT CYCLES WAS 4 (RANGE: 1-32). THE MOST COMMON TREATMENT-EMERGENT ADVERSE EVENTS (TEAES) WERE GASTROINTESTINAL (84% OF PATIENTS) AND HEMATOLOGIC (81%). MOST COMMON GRADE 3-4 TEAES WERE NEUTROPENIA (N = 13, 42%) AND ANEMIA (N = 9, 29%). TEN PATIENTS EXPERIENCED GRADE 4 NEUTROPENIA. INFREQUENTLY, CC-486 DOSE WAS INTERRUPTED OR REDUCED DUE TO GASTROINTESTINAL (N = 5, 16%) OR HEMATOLOGIC (N = 6, 19%) TEAES. OVERALL RESPONSE RATE (COMPLETE REMISSION [CR], CR WITH INCOMPLETE HEMATOLOGICAL RECOVERY [CRI], PARTIAL REMISSION [PR], MARROW CR) IN THE MDS/CMML SUBGROUPS WAS 32% AND IN THE AML SUBGROUP (CR/CRI/PR) WAS 22%. RED BLOOD CELL TRANSFUSION INDEPENDENCE RATES IN THE MDS/CMML AND AML SUBGROUPS WERE 33% AND 25%, RESPECTIVELY, AND 2 MDS/CMML PATIENTS ATTAINED HEMATOLOGIC IMPROVEMENT AS A BEST RESPONSE ON-STUDY. NO BASELINE GENE MUTATION WAS PREDICTIVE OF RESPONSE/NONRESPONSE. CC-486 ALLOWS FLEXIBLE DOSING AND SCHEDULES TO IMPROVE TOLERABILITY OR RESPONSE. NEUTROPENIA IN EARLY TREATMENT CYCLES DESERVES SCRUTINY AND MAY WARRANT INITIATION OF PROPHYLACTIC ANTIBIOTICS. KEY POINTS: THE SAFETY PROFILE OF ORAL CC-486 WAS COMPARABLE TO THAT OF INJECTABLE AZACITIDINE; MOST ADVERSE EVENTS WERE HEMATOLOGICAL AND GASTROINTESTINAL. EXTENDED (21-DAY/CYCLE) CC-486 DOSING INDUCED RESPONSES IN PATIENTS WITH HEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES, MANY OF WHOM HAD PRIOR DNMTI FAILURE. 2018 8 4202 14 METABOLIC SYNDROME IN CHILDREN BORN SMALL-FOR-GESTATIONAL AGE. BEING BORN SMALL-FOR-GESTATIONAL AGE AND A RAPID INCREASE IN WEIGHT DURING EARLY CHILDHOOD AND INFANCY HAS BEEN STRONGLY LINKED WITH CHRONIC DISEASES, INCLUDING METABOLIC SYNDROME, WHICH HAS BEEN RELATED TO INTRAUTERINE LIFE ENVIRONMENT AND LINKED TO EPIGENETIC FETAL PROGRAMMING. METABOLIC SYNDROME INCLUDES WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE >/= 90(TH) PERCENTILE FOR AGE, SEX AND RACE, HIGHER LEVELS OF BLOOD PRESSURE, TRIGLYCERIDES AND FASTING GLUCOSE, AND LOW LEVELS OF HDL-CHOLESTEROL. INSULIN RESISTANCE MAY BE PRESENT AS EARLY AS 1 YEAR OF AGE, AND OBESITY AND/OR TYPE 2 DIABETES ARE MORE PREVALENT IN THOSE BORN SGA THAN THOSE BORN AGA. THE PROGRAMMING OF ADAPTIVE RESPONSES IN CHILDREN BORN SGA INCLUDES AN ASSOCIATION WITH INCREASED BLOOD PRESSURE, CHANGES IN ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION, ARTERIAL PROPERTIES AND CORONARY DISEASE. EARLY INTERVENTIONS SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO APPROPRIATE MATERNAL NUTRITION, BEFORE AND DURING PREGNANCY, PROMOTION OF BREAST FEEDING, AND PREVENTION OF RAPID WEIGHT GAIN DURING INFANCY, AND TO PROMOTE A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE. 2011 9 6574 28 TREATMENT OF CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA WITH 5-AZACYTIDINE: CASE REPORTS. EPIGENETIC THERAPY WITH HYPOMETHYLATING AGENT (5-AZACYTIDINE; AZA) IS COMMON IN THE MANAGEMENT OF SPECIFIC SUBTYPES OF MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROME (MDS), BUT THERE ARE ONLY FEW STUDIES IN CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CMML) PATIENTS. IN THIS PAPER OUR EXPERIENCE WITH 3 CMML PATIENTS TREATED WITH AZA IS DESCRIBED. IN ONE PATIENT TRANSFUSION INDEPENDENCY WAS OBSERVED AFTER 4 TREATMENT CYCLES; IN ONE CASE A PARTIAL RESPONSE WAS RECORDED, BUT A PROGRESSION TO ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA (AML) AFTER 13 AZA CYCLES HAS APPEARED. IN ONE PATIENT, AZA IN REDUCED DOSAGE WAS ADMINISTERED AS A BRIDGING TREATMENT BEFORE ALLOGENEIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION (ASCT), BUT IN THE CONTROL BONE MARROW ASPIRATE (BEFORE ASCT) A PROGRESSION TO AML WAS RECORDED. FUTURE STUDIES ARE MANDATORY FOR EVALUATION OF NEW MOLECULAR AND CLINICAL FEATURES WHICH COULD PREDICT THE EFFICIENCY OF HYPOMETHYLATING AGENTS IN CMML THERAPY WITH RESPECT TO OVERALL SURVIVAL, EVENT-FREE SURVIVAL, QUALITY-ADJUSTED LIFE YEAR, AND PHARMACOECONOMY. 2012 10 1735 42 EARLY AND SUSTAINED EXPANSION OF ADAPTIVE NATURAL KILLER CELLS FOLLOWING HAPLOIDENTICAL TRANSPLANTATION AND CTLA4IG-PRIMED DONOR LYMPHOCYTE INFUSIONS DISSOCIATE GRAFT-VERSUS-LEUKEMIA AND GRAFT-VERSUS-HOST EFFECTS. BACKGROUND: ADAPTIVE OR MEMORY NATURAL KILLER (NK) CELLS WITH EPIGENETIC IMPRINTS SIMILAR TO MEMORY T CELLS HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO DEVELOP IN RESPONSE TO CYTOMEGALOVIRUS (CMV) INFECTION WITH UPREGULATION OF ACTIVATING RECEPTOR NKG2C. THESE CELLS HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO POSSESS STRONG ANTI-TUMOUR EFFICACY BOTH IN-VITRO AS WELL AS IN-VIVO. OBJECTIVES: TO DETERMINE IF RECONSTITUTION OF ADAPTIVE NK CELLS (CD56(DIM)NKG2C(+)NKG2A(-)) IN PATIENTS WITH ADVANCED LEUKEMIA UNDERGOING HAPLOIDENTICAL HCT HAD ANY IMPACT ON DISEASE PROGRESSION (DP). STUDY DESIGN: THE STUDY COHORT COMPRISED OF 60 PATIENTS WITH ADVANCED ACUTE LEUKEMIA, AGED 2-65 YEARS, RECEIVING MYELOABLATIVE PTCY BASED HAPLOIDENTICAL TRANSPLANTATION FROM CMV SEROPOSITIVE DONORS, FOLLOWED BY CTLA4IG-PRIMED DONOR LYMPHOCYTE INFUSIONS (DLI). THEY WERE EVALUATED FOR THE KINETICS OF RECONSTITUTION OF ADAPTIVE NK CELLS, BOTH PHENOTYPIC AND FUNCTIONAL, AT DAYS +30,+60, +90 AND AT REGULAR INTERVALS, TO 3 YEARS OF FOLLOW-UP, IN RELATION TO DP. RECONSTITUTION OF ADAPTIVE NK CELLS WAS COMPARED WITH A RETROSPECTIVE COHORT OF PATIENTS IN THE SAME PROTOCOL RECEIVING DLI WITHOUT CTLA4IG. RESULTS: NON-RELAPSE MORTALITY, ACUTE AND CHRONIC GVHD WERE 5.1%, 10.3% AND 14.5%. DP WAS 17.5% AT A MEDIAN FOLLOW-UP OF 28 MONTHS. ADAPTIVE NK CELLS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN PATIENTS WITHOUT DP AT DAYS+30, +60 AND +90 (P = 0.0001), IRRESPECTIVE OF CMV REACTIVATION AND REMAINED ELEVATED UNTIL 36 MONTHS POST-HCT. THESE CELLS MAINTAINED THEIR FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCE AS MEASURED BY ROBUST INTERFERON-GAMMA PRODUCTION WITH HIGHER EXPRESSIONS OF KIR, NKG2D AND CD57, WITHOUT ANY INCREASE IN PD1 EXPRESSION. GRAFTS FROM DONORS WITH HIGHER ADAPTIVE NK CELLS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH A LOWER RISK OF DP (P = 0.0001). IN MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS, ADAPTIVE NK CELL RECOVERY AT DAY +90 HAD THE MOST FAVORABLE IMPACT ON DP (HR-0.7). TREGS RECONSTITUTED BRISKLY ALONG WITH THE ADAPTIVE NK CELLS AND WERE SUSTAINED AS WELL, WITHOUT COMPROMISING THE GVL EFFECT. COMPARISON WITH A RETROSPECTIVE COHORT RECEIVING THE SAME PROTOCOL WITH DLI WITHOUT CTLA4IG, SHOWED A SUPERIOR RECONSTITUTION OF ADAPTIVE NK CELLS IN THOSE RECEIVING CTLA4IG-DLI (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: OUR STUDY SUGGESTS THAT MYELOABLATIVE TRANSPLANTATION FROM CMV SEROPOSITIVE HAPLOIDENTICAL DONORS AUGMENTED WITH CTLA4IG-PRIMED DLI MIGHT FAVOR EARLY AND SUSTAINED EXPANSION OF FUNCTIONALLY COMPETENT ADAPTIVE NK CELLS IRRESPECTIVE OF CMV REACTIVATION, WITH A FAVORABLE OUTCOME. 2021 11 2081 29 EPIGENETIC DOWN-REGULATION OF BIM EXPRESSION IS ASSOCIATED WITH REDUCED OPTIMAL RESPONSES TO IMATINIB TREATMENT IN CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKAEMIA. BACKGROUND: EXPRESSION OF THE PRO-APOPTOTIC BCL-2-INTERACTING MEDIATOR (BIM) HAS RECENTLY BEEN IMPLICATED IN IMATINIB-INDUCED APOPTOSIS OF BCR-ABL1(+) CELLS. HOWEVER, THE MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN THE REGULATION OF BIM IN CML AND ITS ROLE IN THE CLINICAL SETTING HAVE NOT BEEN ESTABLISHED. DESIGN AND METHODS: WE ANALYSED THE MRNA EXPRESSION OF BIM IN 100 NEWLY DIAGNOSED PATIENTS WITH CML IN CHRONIC PHASE BY Q-RT-PCR AND THE PROTEIN LEVELS BY WESTERN BLOT ANALYSIS. METHYLATION STATUS WAS ANALYSED BY BISULPHITE GENOMIC SEQUENCING AND MSP. CML CELL LINES WERE TREATED WITH IMATINIB AND 5-AZA-2'-DEOXYCYTIDINE, AND WERE TRANSFECTED WITH TWO DIFFERENT SIRNAS AGAINST BIM AND CELL PROLIFERATION AND APOPTOSIS WERE ANALYSED. RESULTS: WE DEMONSTRATED THAT DOWN-REGULATION OF BIM EXPRESSION WAS PRESENT IN 36% OF THE PATIENTS AND WAS SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH A LACK OF OPTIMAL RESPONSE TO IMATINIB AS INDICATED BY THE DECREASE IN CYTOGENETIC AND MOLECULAR RESPONSES AT 6, 12 AND 18 MONTHS IN COMPARISON WITH PATIENTS WITH NORMAL BIM EXPRESSION (P<0.05). EXPRESSION OF BIM WAS MEDIATED BY PROMOTER HYPERMETHYLATION AS DEMONSTRATED BY RESTORATION OF BIM EXPRESSION AFTER TREATMENT OF CML CELLS WITH 5-AZA-2'-DEOXYCYTIDINE. USING CML CELL LINES WITH LOW AND NORMAL EXPRESSION OF BIM WE FURTHER DEMONSTRATED THAT THE EXPRESSION OF BIM IS REQUIRED FOR IMATINIB-INDUCED CML APOPTOSIS. CONCLUSION: OUR DATA INDICATE THAT DOWN-REGULATION OF BIM IS EPIGENETICALLY CONTROLLED BY METHYLATION IN A PERCENTAGE OF CML PATIENTS AND HAS AN UNFAVOURABLE PROGNOSTIC IMPACT, AND THAT THE COMBINATION OF IMATINIB WITH A DE-METHYLATING AGENT MAY RESULT IN IMPROVED RESPONSES IN PATIENTS WITH DECREASED EXPRESSION OF BIM. 2009 12 19 25 5-AZACYTYDINE AND RESVERATROL REVERSE SENESCENCE AND AGEING OF ADIPOSE STEM CELLS VIA MODULATION OF MITOCHONDRIAL DYNAMICS AND AUTOPHAGY. OBESITY AND ENDOCRINE DISORDERS HAVE BECOME PREVALENT ISSUES IN THE FIELD OF BOTH HUMAN AND VETERINARY MEDICINE. EQUINE METABOLIC SYNDROME IS A COMPLEX DISORDER INVOLVING ALTERNATION IN METABOLISM AND CHRONIC SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION. IT HAS BEEN SHOWN THAT UNFAVOURABLE MICROENVIRONMENT OF INFLAMED ADIPOSE TISSUE NEGATIVELY AFFECTS ADIPOSE STEM CELL POPULATION (ASC) RESIDING WITHIN, MARKEDLY LIMITING THEIR THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL. ASCS(EMS) ARE CHARACTERIZED BY INCREASED SENESCENCE APOPTOSIS, EXCESSIVE ACCUMULATION OF REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (ROS), MITOCHONDRIA DETERIORATION AND "AUTOPHAGIC FLUX." THE AIM OF THE PRESENT STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE WHETHER TREATMENT OF ASCS(EMS) WITH A COMBINATION OF 5-AZACYTYDINE (AZA) AND RESVERATROL (RES) WOULD REVERSE AGED PHENOTYPE OF THESE CELLS. FOR THIS REASON, WE PERFORMED THE FOLLOWING ANALYZES: MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (RT-PCR), MICROSCOPIC (IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE, TEM) AND FLOW CYTOMETRY (JC-1, ROS, KI67). WE EVALUATED THE MITOCHONDRIAL STATUS, DYNAMICS AND CLEARANCE AS WELL AS AUTOPHAGIC PATHWAYS. FURTHERMORE, WE INVESTIGATED EPIGENETIC ALTERNATIONS IN TREATED CELLS BY MEASURING THE EXPRESSION OF TET GENES AND ANALYSIS OF DNA METHYLATION STATUS. WE HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT AZA/RES TREATMENT OF ASCS(EMS) IS ABLE TO REJUVENATE THESE CELLS BY MODULATING MITOCHONDRIAL DYNAMICS, IN PARTICULAR BY PROMOTING MITOCHONDRIAL FUSION OVER FISSION. AFTER AZA/RES TREATMENT, ASCS(EMS) WERE CHARACTERIZED BY INCREASED PROLIFERATION RATE, DECREASED APOPTOSIS AND SENESCENCE AND LOWER ROS ACCUMULATION. OUR FINDINGS OFFER A NOVEL APPROACH AND POTENTIAL TARGETS FOR THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF AZA/RES IN AMELIORATING STEM CELL DYSFUNCTIONS. 2019 13 5044 29 PHARMACOKINETICS AND PHARMACODYNAMICS WITH EXTENDED DOSING OF CC-486 IN PATIENTS WITH HEMATOLOGIC MALIGNANCIES. CC-486 (ORAL AZACITIDINE) IS AN EPIGENETIC MODIFIER IN DEVELOPMENT FOR PATIENTS WITH MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES AND ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA. IN PART 1 OF THIS TWO-PART STUDY, A 7-DAY CC-486 DOSING SCHEDULE SHOWED CLINICAL ACTIVITY, WAS GENERALLY WELL TOLERATED, AND REDUCED DNA METHYLATION. EXTENDING DOSING OF CC-486 BEYOND 7 DAYS WOULD INCREASE DURATION OF AZACITIDINE EXPOSURE. WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT EXTENDED DOSING WOULD THEREFORE PROVIDE MORE SUSTAINED EPIGENETIC ACTIVITY. REPORTED HERE ARE THE PHARMACOKINETIC (PK) AND PHARMACODYNAMIC (PD) PROFILES OF CC-486 EXTENDED DOSING SCHEDULES IN PATIENTS WITH MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES (MDS), CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CMML) OR ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA (AML) FROM PART 2 OF THIS STUDY. PK AND/OR PD DATA WERE AVAILABLE FOR 59 PATIENTS WHO WERE SEQUENTIALLY ASSIGNED TO 1 OF 4 EXTENDED CC-486 DOSING SCHEDULES: 300MG ONCE-DAILY OR 200MG TWICE-DAILY FOR 14 OR 21 DAYS PER 28-DAY CYCLE. BOTH 300MG ONCE-DAILY SCHEDULES AND THE 200MG TWICE-DAILY 21-DAY SCHEDULE SIGNIFICANTLY (ALL P < .05) REDUCED GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION IN WHOLE BLOOD AT ALL MEASURED TIME POINTS (DAYS 15, 22, AND 28 OF THE TREATMENT CYCLE), WITH SUSTAINED HYPOMETHYLATION AT CYCLE END COMPARED WITH BASELINE. CC-486 EXPOSURES AND REDUCED DNA METHYLATION WERE SIGNIFICANTLY CORRELATED. PATIENTS WHO HAD A HEMATOLOGIC RESPONSE HAD SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER METHYLATION REDUCTIONS THAN NON-RESPONDING PATIENTS. THESE DATA DEMONSTRATE THAT EXTENDED DOSING OF CC-486 SUSTAINS EPIGENETIC EFFECTS THROUGH THE TREATMENT CYCLE. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CLINICALTRIALS.GOV NCT00528983. 2015 14 3160 33 GRAFT-VERSUS-HOST DISEASE PROPHYLAXIS: PATHOPHYSIOLOGY-BASED REVIEW ON CURRENT APPROACHES AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS. GRAFT-VERSUS-HOST DISEASE (GVHD) WAS FIRST DESCRIBED IN 1959, SINCE THEN MAJOR EFFORTS HAVE BEEN MADE IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND ITS PHYSIOPATHOLOGY AND ANIMAL MODELS HAVE PLAYED A KEY ROLE. THREE STEPS, INVOLVING DIFFERENT PATHWAYS, HAVE BEEN RECOGNISED IN EITHER ACUTE AND CHRONIC GVHD, IDENTIFYING THEM AS TWO DISTINCT ENTITIES. IN ORDER TO REDUCE GVHD INCIDENCE AND SEVERITY, PROPHYLACTIC MEASURES WERE ADDED TO TRANSPLANT PROTOCOLS. THE COMBINATION OF A CALCINEURIN INHIBITOR (CNI) PLUS AN ANTIMETABOLITE REMAINS THE STANDARD OF CARE. BETTER KNOWLEDGE OF GVHD PATHOPHYSIOLOGY HAS MOVED THIS FIELD FORWARD AND NOWADAYS DIFFERENT DRUGS ARE BEING USED ON A DAILY BASIS. IMPROVING GVHD PROPHYLAXIS IS A MAJOR GOAL AS IT WOULD TRANSLATE INTO LESS NON-RELAPSE MORTALITY AND BETTER OVERALL SURVIVAL. AS COMPARED TO CNI PLUS METHOTREXATE THE COMBINATION OF CNI PLUS MYCOPHENOLATE MOPHETIL (MMF) ALLOWS US TO OBTAIN SIMILAR RESULTS IN TERMS OF GVHD INCIDENCE BUT A LOWER TOXICITY RATE IN TERMS OF NEUTROPENIA OR MUCOSITIS. THE USE OF ATG HAS BEEN RELATED TO A LOWER RISK OF ACUTE AND CHRONIC GVHD IN PROSPECTIVE RANDOMIZED TRIALS AS WELL AS THE USE OF POSTTRANSPLANT CYCLOPHOSPHAMIDE, WITH NO OR MARGINAL IMPACT ON OVERALL SURVIVAL BUT WITH AN IMPROVEMENT IN GVHD-RELAPSE FREE SURVIVAL (GRFS). THE USE OF SIROLIMUS HAS BEEN RELATED TO A LOWER RISK OF ACUTE GVHD AND SIGNIFICANTLY INFLUENCED OVERALL SURVIVAL IN ONE PROSPECTIVE RANDOMIZED TRIAL. OTHER PROSPECTIVE TRIALS HAVE EVALUATED THE USE OF RECEPTORS SUCH AS CCR5 OR ALPHA4BETA7 TO AVOID T-CELLS TRAFFICKING INTO GVHD TARGET ORGANS, CYTOKINE BLOCKERS OR IMMUNE CHECK POINT AGONISTS. ALSO, EPIGENETIC MODIFIERS HAVE SHOWN PROMISING RESULTS IN PHASE II TRIALS. ATTENTION SHOULD BE PAID TO GRAFT-VERSUS-LEUKEMIA, INFECTIONS AND IMMUNE RECOVERY BEFORE BRINGING NEW PROPHYLACTIC STRATEGIES TO CLINICAL PRACTICE. ALTHOUGH THE LIST OF NOVEL AGENTS FOR GVHD PROPHYLAXIS IS GROWING, RANDOMIZED TRIALS ARE STILL LACKING FOR MANY OF THEM. 2021 15 960 34 CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA: 2016 UPDATE ON DIAGNOSIS, RISK STRATIFICATION, AND MANAGEMENT. CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CMML) IS A CLONAL HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL DISORDER CHARACTERIZED BY OVERLAPPING FEATURES OF MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES AND MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS. DIAGNOSIS IS BASED ON THE PRESENCE OF PERSISTENT (>3 MONTHS) PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONOCYTOSIS (>1 X 10(9) /L), ALONG WITH BONE MARROW DYSPLASIA. CLONAL CYTOGENETIC ABNORMALITIES OCCUR IN APPROXIMATELY 20-30% OF PATIENTS, WHILE >90% HAVE GENE MUTATIONS. MUTATIONS INVOLVING TET2 ( APPROXIMATELY 60%), SRSF2 ( APPROXIMATELY 50%), ASXL1 ( APPROXIMATELY 40%), AND RAS ( APPROXIMATELY 30%) ARE FREQUENT; WITH ONLY ASXL1 MUTATIONS NEGATIVELY IMPACTING OVERALL SURVIVAL. TWO MOLECULARLY INTEGRATED, CMML-SPECIFIC PROGNOSTIC MODELS INCLUDE; THE GROUPE FRANCAIS DES MYELODYSPLASIES (GFM) AND THE MOLECULAR MAYO MODEL (MMM). THE GFM MODEL SEGREGATES PATIENTS INTO 3 GROUPS BASED ON: AGE >65 YEARS, WBC >15 X 10(9) /L, ANEMIA, PLATELETS <100 X 10(9) /L, AND ASXL1 MUTATION STATUS, WITH RESPECTIVE MEDIAN SURVIVALS OF 56 (LOW), 27.4 (INTERMEDIATE), AND 9.2 (HIGH) MONTHS. THE MMM IS BASED ON ASXL1 MUTATIONAL STATUS, ABSOLUTE MONOCYTE COUNT >10 X 10(9) /L, HEMOGLOBIN <10 G/DL, PLATELETS <100 X 109/L AND CIRCULATING IMMATURE MYELOID CELLS. THIS MODEL STRATIFIES PATIENTS INTO FOUR GROUPS; HIGH (>/=3 RISK FACTORS), INTERMEDIATE-2 (2 RISK FACTORS), INTERMEDIATE-1 (1 RISK FACTOR) AND LOW (NO RISK FACTORS), WITH MEDIAN SURVIVALS OF 16, 31, 59, AND 97 MONTHS, RESPECTIVELY. HYPOMETHYLATING AGENTS SUCH AS 5-AZACITIDINE AND DECITABINE ARE COMMONLY USED, WITH OVERALL RESPONSE RATES OF APPROXIMATELY 30-40% AND COMPLETE REMISSION RATES OF APPROXIMATELY 7-17%. ALLOGENEIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANT IS THE ONLY POTENTIALLY CURATIVE OPTION, BUT IS ASSOCIATED WITH SIGNIFICANT MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY. INDIVIDUALIZED THERAPY, INCLUDING EPIGENETIC MODIFIERS AND SMALL MOLECULE INHIBITORS, ARE EXCITING PROSPECTS. AM. J. HEMATOL. 91:632-642, 2016. (C) 2016 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC. 2016 16 1373 18 DEVELOPMENTAL ORIGINS OF NONALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE. OBESE PREGNANT WOMEN MAY TRANSMIT THEIR METABOLIC PHENOTYPE TO OFFSPRING, LEADING TO A CYCLE OF OBESITY AND DIABETES OVER GENERATIONS. EARLY CHILDHOOD OBESITY PREDICTS NONALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE (NAFLD), THE MOST COMMON CHRONIC HUMAN LIVER DISEASE. THE FETUS MAY BE VULNERABLE TO STEATOSIS BECAUSE IMMATURE FETAL ADIPOSE DEPOTS ARE NOT AVAILABLE TO BUFFER THE EXCESS TRANSPLACENTAL LIPID DELIVERY IN MATERNAL OBESITY. IN ANIMAL MODELS, IN UTERO HIGH-FAT DIET EXPOSURE RESULTS IN AN INCREASE IN THE ACCUMULATION OF LIVER TRIGLYCERIDES IN OFFSPRING AND INCREASED HEPATIC OXIDATIVE STRESS AND APOPTOSIS, PERHAPS PRIMING THE LIVER FOR LATER DEVELOPMENT OF NAFLD. INNATE IMMUNE DYSFUNCTION AND NECROINFLAMMATORY CHANGES HAVE BEEN OBSERVED IN POSTNATAL OFFSPRING LIVER OF ANIMALS BORN TO HIGH-FAT-FED DAMS. POSTWEANING, LIVERS OF OFFSPRING EXPOSED TO MATERNAL HIGH-FAT FEEDING IN UTERO SHARE PATHOPHYSIOLOGIC FEATURES WITH HUMAN NAFLD, INCLUDING INCREASED DE NOVO LIPOGENESIS AND DECREASED FREE FATTY ACID OXIDATION. HUMAN STUDIES USING MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING HAVE SHOWN THAT MATERNAL BMI PREDICTS INFANT INTRAHEPATOCELLULAR LIPID STORAGE, AS SEEN IN ANIMAL MODELS. THE GENERATIONAL TRANSFER OF NAFLD MAY OCCUR VIA EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN OFFSPRING LIVER. TRANSMISSION OF MICROBIOTA FROM MOTHER TO INFANT MAY IMPACT ENERGY RETENTION AND IMMUNE FUNCTION THAT CONTRIBUTE TO A PREDISPOSITION TO NAFLD. 2014 17 961 24 CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA: A GENETIC AND CLINICAL UPDATE. CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CMML) IS A CLONAL STEM CELL DISORDER, CHARACTERIZED BY PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONOCYTOSIS AND OVERLAPPING FEATURES BETWEEN MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES (MDS) AND MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS (MPNS). CLONAL CYTOGENETIC CHANGES ARE SEEN IN UP TO 30 % PATIENTS, WHILE APPROXIMATELY 90 % HAVE DETECTABLE MOLECULAR ABNORMALITIES. MOST PATIENTS ARE DIAGNOSED IN THE SEVENTH DECADE OF LIFE. GENE MUTATIONS IN TEN-ELEVEN TRANSLOCATION (TET) ONCOGENE FAMILY MEMBER 2 (TET2) (60 %), SRSF2 (50 %), ASXL1 (40 %), AND RAS (20-30 %) ARE FREQUENT, WITH ONLY FRAME SHIFT AND NONSENSE ASXL1 MUTATIONS NEGATIVELY IMPACTING OVERALL SURVIVAL. WITH THE LACK OF FORMAL GUIDELINES, MANAGEMENT AND RESPONSE CRITERIA ARE OFTEN EXTRAPOLATED FROM MDS AND MPN. CONTEMPORARY MOLECULARLY INTEGRATED CMML-SPECIFIC PROGNOSTIC MODELS INCLUDE THE GROUPE FRANCAIS DES MYELODYSPLASIES (GFM) MODEL AND THE MOLECULAR MAYO MODEL, BOTH INCORPORATING ASXL1 MUTATIONAL STATUS. HYPOMETHYLATING AGENTS AND ALLOGENEIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANT REMAIN THE TWO MOST COMMONLY USED TREATMENT STRATEGIES, WITH SUBOPTIMAL RESULTS. CLINICAL TRIALS EXPLOITING EPIGENETIC AND SIGNAL PATHWAY ABNORMALITIES, FREQUENT IN CMML, OFFER HOPE AND PROMISE. 2015 18 32 40 A CASE OF TYROSINE KINASE INHIBITOR-RESISTANT CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA, CHRONIC PHASE WITH ASXL1 MUTATION. HEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES, INCLUDING CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA (CML), EXHIBIT ASXL1 MUTATIONS; HOWEVER, THE FUNCTION AND MOLECULAR MECHANISM OF THESE MUTATIONS REMAIN UNCLEAR. ASXL1 WAS ORIGINALLY IDENTIFIED AS TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENE, IN WHICH LOSS OF FUNCTION CAUSES MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROME (MDS). ASXL1 MUTATIONS ARE COMMON AND ASSOCIATED WITH DISEASE PROGRESSION IN MYELOID MALIGNANCIES INCLUDING MDS, ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA, AND SIMILARLY IN CML. IN MDS, ASXL1 MUTATIONS HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH POOR PROGNOSIS; HOWEVER, THE IMPACT OF ASXL1 MUTATIONS IN CML HAS NOT BEEN WELL DESCRIBED. A 31-YEAR-OLD MALE WAS DIAGNOSED AS CML-CHRONIC PHASE (CP). LABORATORY FINDINGS SHOWED A WHITE BLOOD CELL COUNT OF 187,200/MICROL, WITH ASYMPTOMATIC SPLENOMEGALY. BLAST COUNT WAS 5.0% IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD AND 7.3% IN BONE MARROW. THERE WAS NO ADDITIONAL CHROMOSOMAL ABNORMALITY EXCEPT FOR T(9;22)(Q34;Q11.2) BY CHROMOSOMAL ANALYSIS. AT ONSET, THE SOKAL SCORE WAS 1.4, INDICATING HIGH RISK. THE PATIENT RECEIVED TYROSINE KINASE INHIBITOR (TKI) THERAPY, COMPRISING NILOTINIB APPROXIMATELY 600 MG/DAY, BOSUTINIB APPROXIMATELY 600 MG/DAY, PONATINIB APPROXIMATELY 45 MG/DAY, AND DASATINIB APPROXIMATELY 100 MG/DAY. NEVERTHELESS, AFTER 1.5 YEARS OF CONTINUOUS TKI THERAPY, THE BEST OUTCOME WAS A HEMATOLOGICAL RESPONSE. ALTHOUGH ADDITIONAL CHROMOSOMAL ABERRATIONS AND ABL1 KINASE MUTATIONS WERE ANALYZED REPEATEDLY BEFORE AND DURING TKI THERAPY, KNOWN GENETIC ABNORMALITIES WERE NOT DETECTED. THEREAFTER, THE PATIENT UNDERWENT BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION FROM AN HLA 7/8 MATCHED UNRELATED DONOR (HLA-CW 1 LOCUS MISMATCH, GRAFT-VERSUS-HOST DIRECTION). THE PATIENT ACHIEVED NEUTROPHIL ENGRAFTMENT, 18 DAYS AFTER TRANSPLANTATION, LEADING TO COMPLETE REMISSION WITH AN UNDETECTABLE LEVEL OF BCR-ABL1 MRNA. THE PATIENT, HOWEVER, DIED FROM GRAFT-VERSUS-HOST DISEASE AND THROMBOTIC MICROANGIOPATHY AFTER 121 DAYS. GENE SEQUENCE ANALYSIS OF HIS CML CELL BEFORE STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION REVEALED ASXL1 MUTATIONS. PHYSIOLOGICALLY, ASXL1 CONTRIBUTES TO EPIGENETIC REGULATION. IN THE CML-CP PATIENT IN THIS CASE REPORT, ASXL1 MUTATION CONFERRED RESISTANCE TO TKI THROUGH OBSCURE RESISTANCE MECHANISMS. EVEN THOUGH A MOLECULAR MECHANISM FOR TKI RESISTANCE IN ASXL1 MUTATION IN CML HAS REMAINED OBSCURE, EPIGENETIC MODULATION IS A PLAUSIBLE MODE OF CML DISEASE PROGRESSION. THE CLINICAL IMPACT INCLUDING PROGNOSIS OF ASXL1 FOR CML IS UNDERSCORED. AND THE TREATMENT STRATEGY OF CML WITH ASXL1 MUTATION HAS NOT BEEN ESTABLISHED. A DISCUSSION OF THIS CASE WAS EXPECTED TO FACILITATE TREATMENT OPTIONS. 2020 19 3560 34 IMPACT OF CLINICAL, CYTOGENETIC, AND MOLECULAR PROFILES ON LONG-TERM SURVIVAL AFTER TRANSPLANTATION IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA. CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CMML) IS A HETEROGENEOUS GROUP OF CLONAL HEMATOPOIETIC MALIGNANCIES WITH VARIABLE CLINICAL AND MOLECULAR FEATURES. WE ANALYZED LONG-TERM RESULTS OF ALLOGENEIC HEMATOPOIETIC CELL TRANSPLANTATION IN PATIENTS WITH CMML AND DETERMINED CLINICAL AND MOLECULAR RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH OUTCOMES. DATA FROM 129 PATIENTS, AGED 7-74 (MEDIAN 55) YEARS, AT VARIOUS STAGES OF THE DISEASE AND TRANSPLANTED FROM RELATED OR UNRELATED DONORS WERE ANALYZED. USING A PANEL OF 75 GENES SOMATIC MUTATIONS PRESENT BEFORE HEMATOPOIETIC CELL TRANSPLANTATION WERE IDENTIFIED IN 52 PATIENTS. THE PROGRESSION-FREE SURVIVAL RATE AT 10 YEARS WAS 29%. THE MAJOR CAUSE OF DEATH WAS RELAPSE (32%), WHICH WAS SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH ADVERSE CYTOGENETICS (HAZARD RATIO, 3.77; P=0.0002), CMML PROGNOSTIC SCORING SYSTEM (HAZARD RATIO, 14.3, P=0.01), AND MD ANDERSON PROGNOSTIC SCORES (HAZARD RATIO, 9.4; P=0.005). MORTALITY WAS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH-RISK CYTOGENETICS (HAZARD RATIO, 1.88; P=0.01) AND HIGH HEMATOPOIETIC CELL TRANSPLANTATION COMORBIDITY INDEX (SCORE >/=4: HAZARD RATIO, 1.99; P=0.01). HIGH OVERALL MUTATION BURDEN (>/=10 MUTATIONS: HAZARD RATIO, 3.4; P=0.02), AND >/=4 MUTATED EPIGENETIC REGULATORY GENES (HAZARD RATIO 5.4; P=0.003) WERE LINKED TO RELAPSE. UNSUPERVISED CLUSTERING OF THE CORRELATION MATRIX REVEALED DISTINCT HIGH-RISK GROUPS WITH UNIQUE ASSOCIATIONS OF MUTATIONS AND CLINICAL FEATURES. CMML WITH A HIGH MUTATION BURDEN APPEARED TO BE DISTINCT FROM HIGH-RISK GROUPS DEFINED BY COMPLEX CYTOGENETICS. NEW TRANSPLANT STRATEGIES MUST BE DEVELOPED TO TARGET SPECIFIC DISEASE SUBGROUPS, STRATIFIED BY MOLECULAR PROFILING AND CLINICAL RISK FACTORS. 2020 20 5478 32 RESULTS OF A RANDOMIZED STUDY OF 3 SCHEDULES OF LOW-DOSE DECITABINE IN HIGHER-RISK MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROME AND CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA. EPIGENETIC THERAPY WITH HYPOMETHYLATING DRUGS IS NOW THE STANDARD OF CARE IN MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROME (MDS). RESPONSE RATES REMAIN LOW, AND MECHANISM-BASED DOSE OPTIMIZATION HAS NOT BEEN REPORTED. WE INVESTIGATED THE CLINICAL AND PHARMACODYNAMIC RESULTS OF DIFFERENT DOSE SCHEDULES OF DECITABINE. ADULTS WITH ADVANCED MDS OR CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CMML) WERE RANDOMIZED TO 1 OF 3 DECITABINE SCHEDULES: (1) 20 MG/M2 INTRAVENOUSLY DAILY FOR 5 DAYS; (2) 20 MG/M2 SUBCUTANEOUSLY DAILY FOR 5 DAYS; AND (3) 10 MG/M2 INTRAVENOUSLY DAILY FOR 10 DAYS. RANDOMIZATION FOLLOWED A BAYESIAN ADAPTIVE DESIGN. NINETY-FIVE PATIENTS WERE TREATED (77 WITH MDS, AND 18 WITH CMML). OVERALL, 32 PATIENTS (34%) ACHIEVED A COMPLETE RESPONSE (CR), AND 69 (73%) HAD AN OBJECTIVE RESPONSE BY THE NEW MODIFIED INTERNATIONAL WORKING GROUP CRITERIA. THE 5-DAY INTRAVENOUS SCHEDULE, WHICH HAD THE HIGHEST DOSE-INTENSITY, WAS SELECTED AS OPTIMAL; THE CR RATE IN THAT ARM WAS 39%, COMPARED WITH 21% IN THE 5-DAY SUBCUTANEOUS ARM AND 24% IN THE 10-DAY INTRAVENOUS ARM (P < .05). THE HIGH DOSE-INTENSITY ARM WAS ALSO SUPERIOR AT INDUCING HYPOMETHYLATION AT DAY 5 AND AT ACTIVATING P15 EXPRESSION AT DAYS 12 OR 28 AFTER THERAPY. WE CONCLUDE THAT A LOW-DOSE, DOSE-INTENSITY SCHEDULE OF DECITABINE OPTIMIZES EPIGENETIC MODULATION AND CLINICAL RESPONSES IN MDS. 2007