1 5246 149 PROGNOSTIC SCORE INCLUDING GENE MUTATIONS IN CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA. PURPOSE: SEVERAL PROGNOSTIC SCORING SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN PROPOSED FOR CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CMML), A DISEASE IN WHICH SOME GENE MUTATIONS-INCLUDING ASXL1-HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH POOR PROGNOSIS IN UNIVARIABLE ANALYSES. WE DEVELOPED AND VALIDATED A PROGNOSTIC SCORE FOR OVERALL SURVIVAL (OS) BASED ON MUTATIONAL STATUS AND STANDARD CLINICAL VARIABLES. PATIENTS AND METHODS: WE GENOTYPED ASXL1 AND UP TO 18 OTHER GENES INCLUDING EPIGENETIC (TET2, EZH2, IDH1, IDH2, DNMT3A), SPLICING (SF3B1, SRSF2, ZRSF2, U2AF1), TRANSCRIPTION (RUNX1, NPM1, TP53), AND SIGNALING (NRAS, KRAS, CBL, JAK2, FLT3) REGULATORS IN 312 PATIENTS WITH CMML. GENOTYPES AND CLINICAL VARIABLES WERE INCLUDED IN A MULTIVARIABLE COX MODEL OF OS VALIDATED BY BOOTSTRAPPING. A SCORING SYSTEM WAS DEVELOPED USING REGRESSION COEFFICIENTS FROM THIS MODEL. RESULTS: ASXL1 MUTATIONS (P < .0001) AND, TO A LESSER EXTENT, SRSF2 (P = .03), CBL (P = .003), AND IDH2 (P = .03) MUTATIONS PREDICTED INFERIOR OS IN UNIVARIABLE ANALYSIS. THE RETAINED INDEPENDENT PROGNOSTIC FACTORS INCLUDED ASXL1 MUTATIONS, AGE OLDER THAN 65 YEARS, WBC COUNT GREATER THAN 15 X10(9)/L, PLATELET COUNT LESS THAN 100 X10(9)/L, AND ANEMIA (HEMOGLOBIN < 10 G/DL IN FEMALE PATIENTS, < 11G/DL IN MALE PATIENTS). THE RESULTING FIVE-PARAMETER PROGNOSTIC SCORE DELINEATED THREE GROUPS OF PATIENTS WITH MEDIAN OS NOT REACHED, 38.5 MONTHS, AND 14.4 MONTHS, RESPECTIVELY (P < .0001), AND WAS VALIDATED IN AN INDEPENDENT COHORT OF 165 PATIENTS (P < .0001). CONCLUSION: A NEW PROGNOSTIC SCORE INCLUDING ASXL1 STATUS, AGE, HEMOGLOBIN, WBC, AND PLATELET COUNTS DEFINES THREE GROUPS OF CMML PATIENTS WITH DISTINCT OUTCOMES. BASED ON CONCORDANCE ANALYSIS, THIS SCORE APPEARS MORE DISCRIMINATIVE THAN THOSE BASED SOLELY ON CLINICAL PARAMETERS. 2013 2 960 45 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 3 5244 40 PROGNOSTIC INTERACTION BETWEEN ASXL1 AND TET2 MUTATIONS IN CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA. MUTATIONS INVOLVING EPIGENETIC REGULATORS (TET2~60% AND ASXL1~40%) AND SPLICING COMPONENTS (SRSF2~50%) ARE FREQUENT IN CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CMML). ON A 27-GENE TARGETED CAPTURE PANEL PERFORMED ON 175 CMML PATIENTS (66% MALES, MEDIAN AGE 70 YEARS), COMMON MUTATIONS INCLUDED: TET2 46%, ASXL1 47%, SRSF2 45% AND SETBP1 19%. A TOTAL OF 172 (98%) PATIENTS HAD AT LEAST ONE MUTATION, 21 (12%) HAD 2, 24 (14%) HAD 3 AND 30 (17%) HAD >3 MUTATIONS. IN A UNIVARIATE ANALYSIS, THE PRESENCE OF ASXL1 MUTATIONS (P=0.02) AND THE ABSENCE OF TET2 MUTATIONS (P=0.03), ADVERSELY IMPACTED SURVIVAL; WHILE THE NUMBER OF CONCURRENT MUTATIONS HAD NO IMPACT (P=0.3). IN A MULTIVARIABLE ANALYSIS THAT INCLUDED HEMOGLOBIN, PLATELET COUNT, ABSOLUTE MONOCYTE COUNT AND CIRCULATING IMMATURE MYELOID CELLS (MAYO MODEL), THE PRESENCE OF ASXL1 MUTATIONS (P=0.01) AND ABSENCE OF TET2 MUTATIONS (P=0.003) RETAINED PROGNOSTIC SIGNIFICANCE. PATIENTS WERE STRATIFIED INTO FOUR CATEGORIES: ASXL1WT/TET2WT (N=56), ASXL1MUT/TET2WT (N=31), ASXL1MUT/TET2MUT (N=50) AND ASXL1WT/TET2MUT (N=38). SURVIVAL DATA DEMONSTRATED A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN FAVOR OF ASXL1WT/TET2MUT (38 MONTHS; P=0.016), COMPARED WITH THOSE WITH ASXL1WT/TET2WT (19 MONTHS), ASXL1MUT/TET2WT (21 MONTHS) AND ASXL1MUT/TET2MUT (16 MONTHS) (P=0.3). WE CONFIRM THE NEGATIVE PROGNOSTIC IMPACT IMPARTED BY ASXL1 MUTATIONS AND SUGGEST A FAVORABLE IMPACT FROM TET2 MUTATIONS IN THE ABSENCE OF ASXL1 MUTATIONS. 2016 4 4562 37 MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROME/MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASM OVERLAP SYNDROMES: A FOCUSED REVIEW. MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROME (MDS)/MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASM (MPN) OVERLAP SYNDROMES ARE UNIQUE MYELOID NEOPLASMS, WITH OVERLAPPING FEATURES OF MDS AND MPN. THEY CONSIST OF FOUR ADULT ONSET ENTITIES INCLUDING CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CMML), MDS/MPN-RING SIDEROBLASTS-THROMBOCYTOSIS (MDS/MPN-RS-T), BCR-ABL1 NEGATIVE ATYPICAL CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA (ACML) AND MDS/MPN-UNCLASSIFIABLE (MDS/MPN-U); WITH JUVENILE MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (JMML) BEING THE ONLY PEDIATRIC ONSET ENTITY. AMONG THESE OVERLAP NEOPLASMS, CMML IS THE MOST FREQUENT AND IS HALLMARKED BY THE PRESENCE OF SUSTAINED PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONOCYTOSIS WITH RECURRENT MUTATIONS INVOLVING TET2 (60%), SRSF2 (50%) AND ASXL1 (40%); WITH RAS PATHWAY MUTATIONS AND JAK2V617F BEING RELATIVELY ENRICHED IN PROLIFERATIVE CMML SUBTYPES (WBC >/=13 X 109/L). CMML USUALLY PRESENTS IN THE 7TH DECADE OF LIFE, WITH A MALE PREPONDERANCE AND IS ASSOCIATED WITH A MEDIAN OVERALL SURVIVAL OF <36 MONTHS. ADVERSE PROGNOSTICATORS IN CMML INCLUDE INCREASING AGE, HIGH WBC, PRESENCE OF CIRCULATING IMMATURE MYELOID CELLS, ANEMIA, THROMBOCYTOPENIA AND TRUNCATING ASXL1 MUTATIONS. WHILE ALLOGENEIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION REMAINS THE ONLY CURATIVE OPTION, GIVEN THE LATE ONSET OF THIS NEOPLASM AND HIGH FREQUENCY OF COMORBIDITIES, MOST PATIENTS REMAIN INELIGIBLE. HYPOMETHYLATING AGENTS SUCH AS AZACITIDINE, DECITABINE AND ORAL DECITABINE/CEDAZURIDINE HAVE BEEN US FDA APPROVED FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF CMML, WITH OVERALL RESPONSE RATES OF 40-50% AND COMPLETE REMISSION RATES OF <20%. WHILE THESE AGENTS EPIGENETICALLY RESTORE HEMATOPOIESIS IN A SUBSET OF RESPONDING PATIENTS, THEY DO NOT IMPACT MUTATIONAL ALLELE BURDENS AND EVENTUAL DISEASE PROGRESSION TO AML REMAINS INEVITABLE. NEWER TREATMENT MODALITIES EXPLOITING EPIGENETIC, SIGNALING AND SPLICING ABNORMALITIES COMMONLY SEEN IN CMML ARE MUCH NEEDED. 2020 5 4553 51 MUTATIONAL LANDSCAPE OF CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA IN CHINESE PATIENTS. BACKGROUND: CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CMML) IS A RARE AND HETEROGENEOUS HEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCY. IT HAS BEEN SHOWN THAT THE MOLECULAR ABNORMALITIES SUCH AS ASXL1, TET2, SETBP1, AND SRSF2 MUTATIONS ARE COMMON IN CAUCASIAN POPULATION. METHODS: WE RETROSPECTIVELY ANALYZED 178 CHINESE CMML PATIENTS. THE TARGETED NEXT GENERATION SEQUENCING (NGS) WAS USED TO EVALUATE 114 GENE VARIATIONS, AND THE PROGNOSTIC FACTORS FOR OS WERE DETERMINED BY COX REGRESSION ANALYSIS. RESULTS: THE CMML PATIENTS SHOWED A UNIQUE MUTATIONAL SPECTRUM, INCLUDING TET2 (36.5%), NRAS (31.5%), ASXL1 (28.7%), SRSF2 (24.7%), AND RUNX1 (21.9%). OF THE 102 PATIENTS WITH CLONAL ANALYSIS, THE ANCESTRAL EVENTS PREFERENTIALLY OCCURRED IN TET2 (18.5%), SPLICING FACTORS (16.5%), RAS (14.0%), AND ASXL1 (7.8%), AND THE SUBCLONAL GENES WERE MAINLY ASXL1, TET2, AND RAS. IN ADDITION, THE SECONDARY ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA (SAML) TRANSFORMED FROM CMML OFTEN HAD MUTATIONS IN DNMT3A, ETV6, FLT3, AND NPM1, WHILE THE PRIMARY AML (PAML) DEMONSTRATED MORE MUTATIONS IN CEBPA, DNMT3A, FLT3, IDH1/2, NPM1, AND WT1. IT WAS OF NOTE THAT A SERIES OF CLONES WERE EMERGED DURING THE PROGRESSION FROM CMML TO AML, INCLUDING DNMT3A, FLT3, AND NPM1. BY UNIVARIATE ANALYSIS, ASXL1 MUTATION, INTERMEDIATE- AND HIGH-RISK CYTOGENETIC ABNORMALITY, CMML-SPECIFIC PROGNOSTIC SCORING SYSTEM (CPSS) STRATIFICATIONS (INTERMEDIATE-2 AND HIGH GROUP), AND TREATMENT OPTIONS (BEST SUPPORTIVE CARE) PREDICTED FOR WORSE OS. MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS REVEALED A SIMILAR OUTCOME. CONCLUSIONS: THE COMMON MUTATIONS IN CHINESE CMML PATIENTS INCLUDED EPIGENETIC MODIFIERS (TET2 AND ASXL1), SIGNALING TRANSDUCTION PATHWAY COMPONENTS (NRAS), AND SPLICING FACTOR (SRSF2). THE CMML PATIENTS WITH DNMT3A, ETV6, FLT3, AND NPM1 MUTATIONS TENDED TO PROGRESS TO SAML. ASXL1 MUTATION AND THERAPEUTIC MODALITIES WERE INDEPENDENT PROGNOSTIC FACTORS FOR CMML. 2022 6 5980 44 TET2 MUTATIONS WERE PREDICTIVE OF INFERIOR PROGNOSIS IN THE PRESENCE OF ASXL1 MUTATIONS IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA. BACKGROUND: SOMATIC MUTATIONS INVOLVING EPIGENETIC REGULATORS, HISTONE MODIFICATION AND CHROMATIN REGULATION, SPLICING COMPONENTS, TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS AND SIGNALING REGULATOR GENES ARE COMMON IN CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CMML) PATIENTS. IT HAS BEEN CONSENSUS THAT ASXL1 MUTATIONS HAVE ADVERSELY IMPACT ON OVERALL SURVIVAL (OS), WHILE THE EFFECT OF TET2 MUTATIONS REMAINS CONTROVERSIAL AND UNDEFINED. METHODS: ASXL1 AND TET2 MUTATIONS WERE ANALYZED IN 141 PATIENTS WITH CMML USING SANGER SEQUENCING, WITH THE AIM TO IDENTIFY THE INTERPLAY OF ASXL1 AND TET2 MUTATIONS IN THE PROGNOSIS OF CMML. RESULTS: SIXTY-FIVE (46.1%) OF THE CMML PATIENTS HARBORED ASXL1 MUTATIONS (FRAMESHIFT AND NONSENSE), AND 46 (32.6%) HAD TET2 MUTATIONS (FRAME SHIFT, NONSENSE AND MISSENSE). IN A SEPARATE MULTIVARIABLE ANALYSIS THAT INCLUDED THE MAYO PROGNOSTIC MODEL AS A SINGLE VARIABLE ALONG WITH ASXL1WT/TET2WT, THE RESPECTIVE HAZARD RATIOS OF ASXL1MUT/TET2MUT, ASXL1MUT/TET2WT AND ASXL1WT/TET2MUT WERE 4.7 (95% CI, 2.2-10.3; P<0.001), 2.2 (95% CI, 1.1-4.2; P=0.025) AND 1.3 (95% CI, 0.6-2.5; P=0.521). CONCLUSIONS: OUR STUDY SHOWED THAT ASXL1 MUTATIONS PREDICT INFERIOR OS, AND ADDITIONAL TET2 MUTATIONS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH POOR SURVIVAL IN THE PRESENCE OF ASXL1 MUTATIONS OF CMML PATIENTS. 2016 7 4245 37 METHYLATION STATUS OF DDIT3 GENE IN CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA. BACKGROUND: DNA-DAMAGE-INDUCIBLE TRANSCRIPT 3 (DDIT3), A CANDIDATE TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENE (TSG), HAS BEEN FOUND INVOLVED IN THE REGULATION OF CELLULAR GROWTH AND DIFFERENTIATION. THE EPIGENETIC CHANGES OF TSGS ARE RECENTLY RECOGNIZED AS AN ABNORMAL MECHANISM CONTRIBUTING TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA (CML). THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE METHYLATION STATUS OF DDIT3 GENE IN CML PATIENTS. METHODS: THE METHYLATION STATUS OF DDIT3 PROMOTER WAS DETECTED IN THE BONE MARROW MONONUCLEAR CELLS FROM 53 PATIENTS WITH CML USING METHYLATION-SPECIFIC PCR (MSP). THE EXPRESSION LEVELS OF DDIT3 AND BCR/ABL TRANSCRIPT WERE DETERMINED BY REAL-TIME QUANTITATIVE PCR (RQ-PCR). CLINICAL DATA OF THESE PATIENTS WERE COLLECTED AND ANALYZED. RESULTS: THE ABERRANT METHYLATION OF DDIT3 GENE PROMOTER WAS FOUND IN 35 OF 53 (66%) CML CASES. CORRELATION WAS NOT FOUND BETWEEN DDIT3 PROMOTER HYPERMETHYLATION AND THE AGE, SEX, HEMOGLOBIN CONCENTRATION, PLATELET COUNTS, CHROMOSOMAL ABNORMALITIES, BCR/ABL TRANSCRIPT, AND STAGING OF CML PATIENTS (P > 0.05), BUT FOUND BETWEEN DDIT3 PROMOTER HYPERMETHYLATION AND WBC COUNTS OF CML CASES (R = 0.781, P < 0.001). THE LEVEL OF DDIT3 TRANSCRIPT IN CML PATIENTS WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN THAT IN CONTROLS (MEDIAN 3.28 VS 19.69, P < 0.001), HOWEVER, THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE IN THE LEVEL OF DDIT3 TRANSCRIPT BETWEEN METHYLATION-POSITIVE CML CASES (0.05-65.32, MEDIAN 2.13) AND METHYLATION- NEGATIVE CML CASES (0.12-126.04, MEDIAN 3.92) (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: OUR RESULTS DEMONSTRATE THAT ABERRANT METHYLATION OF DDIT3 OCCURS IN CML FREQUENTLY. 2010 8 961 29 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 9 3871 31 JUVENILE MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA - A BONA FIDE RASOPATHY SYNDROME. JUVENILE MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (JMML) IS A PEDIATRIC MYELODYSPLASTIC/MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASM OVERLAP SYNDROME WITH SUSTAINED PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONOCYTOSIS, AGGRESSIVE FEATURES, AND POOR OUTCOMES. IN >90% OF CASES JMML IS DRIVEN BY GERMLINE OR SOMATIC MUTATIONS INVOLVING THE CANONICAL RAS PATHWAY (PTPN11, NRAS, CBL, KRAS AND NF1), WITH SOMATIC MUTATIONS/ALTERATIONS IN RAS PATHWAY GENES (SECOND HIT), SETBP1, ASXL1 AND JAK3 RESULTING IN DISEASE PROGRESSION. WHILE SPONTANEOUS REGRESSION HAS BEEN SEEN IN GERMLINE PTPN11 AND CBL MUTANT JMML, IN MOST PATIENTS, ALLOGENEIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANT IS THE ONLY CURATIVE MODALITY. JMML SHARES SEVERAL PHENOTYPIC FEATURES WITH ITS ADULT COUNTERPART PROLIFERATIVE, CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (PCMML). PCMML LARGELY OCCURS DUE TO RAS PATHWAY MUTATIONS THAT OCCUR IN THE CONTEXT OF AGE RELATED CLONAL HEMATOPOIESIS (TET2, SRSF2, ASXL1), WHILE JMML IS A BONA FIDE RASOPATHY, WITH ADDITIONAL SOMATIC MUTATIONS, INCLUDING IN EPIGENETIC REGULATORS GENES RESULTING IN DISEASE PROGRESSION. 2020 10 3558 34 IMPACT OF CHRONIC BENZENE POISONING ON ABERRANT MITOCHONDRIAL DNA METHYLATION: A PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY. BENZENE IS USED AS AN INDUSTRIAL SOLVENT, WHICH MAY RESULT IN CHRONIC BENZENE POISONING (CBP). SEVERAL STUDIES SUGGESTED THAT CBP WAS ASSOCIATED WITH MITOCHONDRIAL EPIGENETIC REGULATION. THIS STUDY AIMED TO EXPLORE THE POTENTIAL RELATION BETWEEN CBP AND MITOCHONDRIAL DNA (MTDNA) METHYLATION. THIS PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY ENROLLED CBP PATIENTS ADMITTED TO SHENZHEN PREVENTION AND TREATMENT CENTER FOR OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES HOSPITAL AND HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS BETWEEN 2018 AND 2021. THE WHITE BLOOD CELL (WBC), RED BLOOD CELL (RBC), HEMOGLOBIN (HB), AND PLATELET (PLT) COUNTS AND MTDNA METHYLATION LEVELS WERE MEASURED USING BLOOD FLOW CYTOMETRY AND TARGETED BISULFITE SEQUENCING, RESPECTIVELY. A TOTAL OF 90 PARTICIPANTS WERE RECRUITED, INCLUDING 30 CASES OF CBP (20 FEMALES, MEAN AGE 43.0 +/- 8.0 YEARS) AND 60 HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS (42 FEMALES, MEAN AGE 43.5 +/- 11.5 YEARS). THIS STUDY DETECTED 168 MITOCHONDRIAL METHYLATION SITES >0 IN ALL STUDY SUBJECTS. THE MTDNA METHYLATION LEVELS IN THE CBP CASES WERE LOWER THAN THE HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS [MEDIAN +/- INTERQUARTILE-RANGE (IQR), 25TH PERCENTILE, 75TH PERCENTILE: (1.140 +/- 0.570, 0.965, 1.535)% VS. MEDIAN +/- IQR, 25TH PERCENTILE, 75TH PERCENTILE: (1.705 +/- 0.205,1.240,2.445)%, P < 0.05]. ADDITIONALLY, THE SPEARMAN CORRELATION ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT THE MTDNA METHYLATION LEVELS WERE POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH THE COUNTS OF CIRCULATING LEUKOCYTES [WBC (R = 0.048, P = 0.036)] AND PLATELETS [PLT (R = 0.129, P < 0.01)]. WE PROVIDED SOLID EVIDENCE OF ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CBP AND ABERRANT MTDNA METHYLATION. 2023 11 1266 39 CYTOGENETIC AND MOLECULAR ABNORMALITIES IN CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA. CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CMML) IS A CLONAL STEM CELL DISORDER ASSOCIATED WITH PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONOCYTOSIS AND AN INHERENT TENDENCY TO TRANSFORM TO ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA. CMML HAS OVERLAPPING FEATURES OF MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES AND MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS. CLONAL CYTOGENETIC CHANGES ARE SEEN IN ~30%, WHEREAS GENE MUTATIONS ARE SEEN IN >90% OF PATIENTS. COMMON CYTOGENETIC ABNORMALITIES INCLUDE; TRISOMY 8, -Y, -7/DEL(7Q), TRISOMY 21 AND DEL(20Q), WITH THE MAYO-FRENCH RISK STRATIFICATION EFFECTIVELY RISK STRATIFYING PATIENTS BASED ON CYTOGENETIC ABNORMALITIES. GENE MUTATIONS FREQUENTLY INVOLVE EPIGENETIC REGULATORS (TET2 ~60%), MODULATORS OF CHROMATIN (ASXL1 ~40%), SPLICEOSOME COMPONENTS (SRSF2 ~50%), TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS (RUNX1 ~15%) AND SIGNAL PATHWAYS (RAS ~30%, CBL ~15%). OF THESE, THUS FAR, ONLY NONSENSE AND FRAMESHIFT ASXL1 MUTATIONS HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO NEGATIVELY IMPACT OVERALL SURVIVAL. THIS HAS RESULTED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONTEMPORARY, MOLECULARLY INTEGRATED (INCLUSIVE OF ASXL1 MUTATIONS) CMML PROGNOSTIC MODELS, INCLUDING MOLECULAR MAYO MODEL AND THE GROUPE FRANCAIS DES MYELODYSPLASIES MODEL. BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE PREVALENT GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC DYSREGULATION HAS RESULTED IN EMERGING TARGETED TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR SOME PATIENTS. THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTEGRATED (CYTOGENETIC AND MOLECULAR) PROGNOSTIC MODEL ALONG WITH CMML-SPECIFIC RESPONSE ASSESSMENT CRITERIA ARE MUCH NEEDED FUTURE GOALS. 2016 12 569 44 BCOR AND BCORL1 MUTATIONS IN MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES AND RELATED DISORDERS. PATIENTS WITH LOW-RISK MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES (MDS) THAT RAPIDLY PROGRESS TO ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA (AML) REMAIN A CHALLENGE IN DISEASE MANAGEMENT. USING WHOLE-EXOME SEQUENCING OF AN MDS PATIENT, WE IDENTIFIED A SOMATIC MUTATION IN THE BCOR GENE ALSO MUTATED IN AML. SEQUENCING OF BCOR AND RELATED BCORL1 GENES IN A COHORT OF 354 MDS PATIENTS IDENTIFIED 4.2% AND 0.8% OF MUTATIONS RESPECTIVELY. BCOR MUTATIONS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH RUNX1 (P = .002) AND DNMT3A MUTATIONS (P = .015). BCOR IS ALSO MUTATED IN CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA PATIENTS (7.4%) AND BCORL1 IN AML PATIENTS WITH MYELODYSPLASIA-RELATED CHANGES (9.1%). USING DEEP SEQUENCING, WE SHOW THAT BCOR MUTATIONS ARISE AFTER MUTATIONS AFFECTING GENES INVOLVED IN SPLICING MACHINERY OR EPIGENETIC REGULATION. IN UNIVARIATE ANALYSIS, BCOR MUTATIONS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH POOR PROGNOSIS IN MDS (OVERALL SURVIVAL [OS]: P = .013; CUMULATIVE INCIDENCE OF AML TRANSFORMATION: P = .005). MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS INCLUDING AGE, INTERNATIONAL PROGNOSTIC SCORING SYSTEM, TRANSFUSION DEPENDENCY, AND MUTATIONAL STATUS CONFIRMED A SIGNIFICANT INFERIOR OS TO PATIENTS WITH A BCOR MUTATION (HAZARD RATIO, 3.3; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL, 1.4-8.1; P = .008). THESE DATA SUGGEST THAT BCOR MUTATIONS DEFINE THE CLINICAL COURSE RATHER THAN DISEASE INITIATION. DESPITE INFREQUENT MUTATIONS, BCOR ANALYSES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED IN RISK STRATIFICATION. 2013 13 5665 55 SF3B1, RUNX1 AND TP53 MUTATIONS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACT THE OUTCOME OF PATIENTS WITH LOWER-RISK MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROME. INTRODUCTION: PROGNOSIS OF PATIENTS WITH MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROME (MDS), PARTICULARLY THE GROUP WITH LOWER-RISK DISEASE (LR-MDS) IS VERY HETEROGENEOUS. SEVERAL STUDIES HAVE DESCRIBED THE PROGNOSTIC VALUE OF RECURRENT SOMATIC MUTATIONS IN MDS INCLUDING ALL RISK CATEGORIES. RECENTLY, THE INCORPORATION OF GENOMIC DATA TO CLINICAL PARAMETERS DEFINED THE NEW MOLECULAR INTERNATIONAL PROGNOSTIC SCORING SYSTEM (IPSS-M). MATERIALS AND METHODS: IN THIS STUDY, WE EVALUATED THE IMPACT OF MOLECULAR PROFILE IN A SERIES OF 181 PATIENTS WITH LR-MDS AND NON-PROLIFERATIVE CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA. RESULTS: EPIGENETIC REGULATORS (TET2, ASXL1) AND SPLICING (SF3B1) WERE THE MOST RECURRENT MUTATED PATHWAYS. IN UNIVARIATE ANALYSIS, RUNX1 OR TP53 MUTATIONS CORRELATED WITH LOWER MEDIAN OVERALL SURVIVAL (OS). IN CONTRAST, SF3B1 MUTATION WAS ASSOCIATED WITH PROLONGED MEDIAN OS [95 MONTHS (95% IC, 32-157) VS. 33 MONTHS (95% CI, 19-46) IN UNMUTATED PATIENTS (P < 0.01)]. IN A MULTIVARIATE COX REGRESSION MODEL, RUNX1 MUTATIONS INDEPENDENTLY ASSOCIATED WITH SHORTER OS, WHILE SF3B1 MUTATION RETAINED ITS FAVORABLE IMPACT ON OUTCOME (HR: 0.24, 95% CI, 0.1-0.5; P = 0.001). IN ADDITION, TP53 OR RUNX1 MUTATIONS WERE IDENTIFIED AS PREDICTIVE COVARIATES FOR THE PROBABILITY OF LEUKEMIC PROGRESSION (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: INCORPORATION OF MOLECULAR TESTING IN LR-MDS IDENTIFIED A SUBSET OF PATIENTS WITH EXPECTED POORER OUTCOME, EITHER DUE TO LOWER SURVIVAL OR PROBABILITY OF LEUKEMIC PROGRESSION. 2022 14 962 39 CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA: FOCUS ON CLINICAL PRACTICE. CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CMML) IS A CLONAL STEM CELL DISORDER WITH FEATURES THAT OVERLAP THOSE OF MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES (MDSS) AND MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS (MPNS). CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA OFTEN RESULTS IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONOCYTOSIS AND HAS AN INHERENT TENDENCY TO TRANSFORM TO ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA. CLONAL CYTOGENETIC CHANGES ARE SEEN IN APPROXIMATELY 30% OF PATIENTS, AND MOLECULAR ABNORMALITIES ARE SEEN IN MORE THAN 90%. GENE MUTATIONS INVOLVING TET2 ( APPROXIMATELY 60%), SRSF2 ( APPROXIMATELY 50%), ASXL1 ( APPROXIMATELY 40%), AND RAS ( APPROXIMATELY 30%) ARE FREQUENT, WITH NONSENSE AND FRAMESHIFT ASXL1 MUTATIONS BEING THE ONLY MUTATIONS IDENTIFIED THUS FAR TO HAVE AN INDEPENDENT NEGATIVE PROGNOSTIC EFFECT ON OVERALL SURVIVAL. CONTEMPORARY MOLECULARLY INTEGRATED PROGNOSTIC MODELS (INCLUSIVE OF ASXL1 MUTATIONS) INCLUDE THE MOLECULAR MAYO MODEL AND THE GROUPE FRANCAIS DES MYELODYSPLASIES MODEL. GIVEN THE LACK OF FORMAL TREATMENT AND RESPONSE CRITERIA, MANAGEMENT OF CMML IS OFTEN EXTRAPOLATED FROM MDS AND MPN, WITH ALLOGENEIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANT BEING THE ONLY CURATIVE OPTION. HYDROXYUREA AND OTHER CYTOREDUCTIVE AGENTS HAVE BEEN USED TO CONTROL MPN-LIKE FEATURES, WHILE EPIGENETIC MODIFIERS SUCH AS HYPOMETHYLATING AGENTS HAVE BEEN USED FOR MDS-LIKE FEATURES. GIVEN THE RELATIVELY POOR RESPONSE TO THESE AGENTS AND THE INHERENT RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANT, NEWER DRUGS EXPLOITING MOLECULAR AND EPIGENETIC ABNORMALITIES IN CMML ARE BEING DEVELOPED. THE CREATION OF CMML-SPECIFIC RESPONSE CRITERIA IS A MUCH NEEDED STEP IN ORDER TO IMPROVE CLINICAL OUTCOMES. 2016 15 1100 33 COMBINATION OF MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASM DRIVER GENE ACTIVATION WITH MUTATIONS OF SPLICE FACTOR OR EPIGENETIC MODIFIER GENES INCREASES RISK OF RAPID BLASTIC PROGRESSION. OBJECTIVES: MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS (MPN) COMPRISING POLYCYTHEMIA VERA (PV), ESSENTIAL THROMBOCYTHEMIA (ET) AND PRIMARY MYELOFIBROSIS (PMF) FOLLOW A BI-PHASIC COURSE OF DISEASE WITH FIBROTIC AND/OR BLASTIC PROGRESSION. AT PRESENTATION IN THE CHRONIC PHASE, CURRENTLY THERE ARE ONLY INSUFFICIENT TOOLS TO PREDICT THE RISK OF PROGRESSION IN INDIVIDUAL CASES. METHODS: IN THIS STUDY, CHRONIC PHASE MPN (16 PMF, 11 PV, AND 11 MPN UNCLASSIFIED) WITH BLASTIC TRANSFORMATION DURING COURSE OF DISEASE (N = 38, MEDIAN FOLLOW-UP 5.3 YEARS) WERE ANALYZED BY HIGH-THROUGHPUT SEQUENCING. MPN CASES WITH A COMPARABLE FOLLOW-UP PERIOD AND WITHOUT EVIDENCE OF BLAST INCREASE SERVED AS CONTROL (N = 63, MEDIAN FOLLOW-UP 5.8 YEARS). RESULTS: FREQUENT ARCH/CHIP-ASSOCIATED MUTATIONS (TET2, ASXL1, DNMT3A) FOUND AT PRESENTATION WERE NOT SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH BLASTIC TRANSFORMATION. BY CONTRAST, MUTATIONS OF SRSF2, U2AF1, AND IDH1/2 AT FIRST PRESENTATION WERE FREQUENTLY OBSERVED IN THE PROGRESSION COHORT (13/38, 34.2%) AND WERE COMPLETELY MISSING IN THE CONTROL GROUP WITHOUT BLAST TRANSFORMATION DURING FOLLOW-UP (P = .0007 FOR SRSF2; P = .0063 FOR U2AF1 AND IDH1/2). CONCLUSION: UNLIKE FREQUENT ARCH/CHIP ALTERATIONS (TET2, ASXL1, DNMT3A), MUTATIONS IN SRSF2, IDH1/2, AND U2AF1 WHEN MANIFEST ALREADY AT FIRST PRESENTATION PROVIDE AN INDEPENDENT RISK FACTOR FOR RAPID BLAST TRANSFORMATION OF MPN. 2021 16 2769 33 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 17 5911 25 TARGETED NEXT-GENERATION SEQUENCING IN MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROME AND CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA AIDS DIAGNOSIS IN CHALLENGING CASES AND IDENTIFIES FREQUENT SPLICEOSOME MUTATIONS IN TRANSFORMED ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA. OBJECTIVES: OPTIMAL INTEGRATION OF NEXT-GENERATION SEQUENCING (NGS) INTO CLINICAL PRACTICE IN HEMATOLOGIC MALIGNANCIES REMAINS UNCLEAR. WE EVALUATE THE UTILITY OF NGS IN MYELOID MALIGNANCIES. METHODS: A 42-GENE PANEL WAS USED TO SEQUENCE 109 CASES OF MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROME (MDS, N = 38), CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CMML, N = 14), MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASM (MPN, N = 24), AND MDS AND/OR MPN TRANSFORMED TO ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA (AML, N = 33). RESULTS: AT LEAST ONE PATHOGENIC MUTATION WAS IDENTIFIED IN 74% OF CASES OF MDS, 100% OF CMMLS, AND 96% OF MPNS. IN CONTRAST, ONLY 47% OF CASES OF MDS (18/38) AND 7% (1/14) OF CMMLS EXHIBITED ABNORMAL CYTOGENETICS. IN DIAGNOSTICALLY DIFFICULT CASES OF MDS OR CMML WITH NORMAL CYTOGENETICS, NGS IDENTIFIED A PATHOGENIC MUTATION AND WAS CRITICAL IN ESTABLISHING THE CORRECT DIAGNOSIS. SPLICEOSOMAL GENES AND EPIGENETIC MODIFIERS WERE FREQUENTLY MUTATED. SPLICEOSOME MUTATIONS WERE ALSO FREQUENTLY DETECTED IN AML ARISING FROM MDS, CMML, OR MPN (39%) COMPARED WITH THE REPORTED RATE IN DE NOVO AML (7%-14%). CONCLUSIONS: IN DIFFICULT CASES OF MDS OR MPN, NGS FACILITATES DIAGNOSIS BY DETECTION OF GENE MUTATIONS TO CONFIRM CLONALITY, AND AMLS EVOLVING FROM MDS OR MPN CARRY FREQUENT MUTATIONS IN SPLICEOSOMAL GENES. 2016 18 5984 39 TET2, DNMT3A, IDH1, AND JAK2 MUTATION IN MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS IN SOUTHERN IRAN. BACKGROUND: FIVE EPIGENETIC REGULATOR MUTATIONS ARE CONSIDERED IN MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS (MPN) THAT HAVE PROGNOSTIC AND THERAPEUTIC VALUES. OBJECTIVE: WE AIMED TO EVALUATE THESE MUTATIONS IN MPNS AMONG THE IRANIAN POPULATION. METHODS: WE SELECTED 5 MUTATIONS IN 4 EPIGENETIC REGULATORY GENES [TET2, DNMT3A, IDH1 (RS147001633&RS121913499), AND JAK2)] AND EVALUATED 130 PATIENTS WITH MPNS INCLUDING 78 PHILADELPHIA CHROMOSOME NEGATIVE (49 ETS, 20 PVS, AND 9 PMFS) AND 52 PHILADELPHIA CHROMOSOME-POSITIVE PATIENTS AS WELL AS 51 HEALTHY CONTROLS. RESULTS: EIGHT PATIENTS (6.5%) CARRIED THE DNMT3A MUTATION, 35 (27%) WERE POSITIVE FOR TET2 MUTATION AND 64 (49.3%) HAD THE JAK2V617F MUTATION. IN THE HEALTHY CONTROLS, 16 (31.4%) CASES HAD THE TET2 MUTATION (15 HETEROZYGOTE + 1 HOMOZYGOTE) AND ONE HAD HETEROZYGOTE JAK2 MUTATION. THERE WAS NO STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PATIENT GROUPS FOR ANY OF THESE MUTATIONS, EXCEPT FOR JAK2. THE JAK2 MUTATION RATE WAS 18 (90%), 25 (51%), 7 (77.8%), 14 (26.9%) IN POLYCYTHEMIA VERA, ESSENTIAL THROMBOCYTHEMIA, PRIMARY MYELOFIBROSIS, AND CHRONIC MYELOCYTIC LEUKEMIA, RESPECTIVELY. PATIENTS AGED 60 AND OLDER WERE MORE LIKELY TO CARRY THE TET2 MUTATION (23% VS. 39% IN YOUNGER AND OLDER THAN 60 YEARS OLD INDIVIDUALS, P=0.025). IDH1 WAS NOT DETECTED AT ALL AND PV HAD THE HIGHEST TET2 MUTATION 7(35%). TWO PMF PATIENTS HAD A HISTORY OF BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION THAT WERE NEGATIVE FOR IDH1AND DNMT3A AND ONE WAS POSITIVE FOR TET2 MUTATION. CONCLUSION: IN THE NORMAL IRANIAN POPULATION, THE HETEROZYGOTE FORM OF TET2 MUTATION IS SIGNIFICANT, ESPECIALLY IN THE ELDERLY. NO ASSOCIATION WAS FOUND BETWEEN JAK2 AND TET2 MUTATIONS. BOTH OF THEM ARE MORE PREVALENT IN THE AGE GROUP OF 60 YEARS AND OLDER. DNMT3A MUTATION HAS A LOW PREVALENCE AND OCCURS IN BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE MPNS. 2021 19 4748 32 NOVEL MUTATIONS AND THEIR FUNCTIONAL AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE IN MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS: JAK2, MPL, TET2, ASXL1, CBL, IDH AND IKZF1. MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS (MPNS) ORIGINATE FROM GENETICALLY TRANSFORMED HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELLS THAT RETAIN THE CAPACITY FOR MULTILINEAGE DIFFERENTIATION AND EFFECTIVE MYELOPOIESIS. BEGINNING IN EARLY 2005, A NUMBER OF NOVEL MUTATIONS INVOLVING JANUS KINASE 2 (JAK2), MYELOPROLIFERATIVE LEUKEMIA VIRUS (MPL), TET ONCOGENE FAMILY MEMBER 2 (TET2), ADDITIONAL SEX COMBS-LIKE 1 (ASXL1), CASITAS B-LINEAGE LYMPHOMA PROTO-ONCOGENE (CBL), ISOCITRATE DEHYDROGENASE (IDH) AND IKAROS FAMILY ZINC FINGER 1 (IKZF1) HAVE BEEN DESCRIBED IN BCR-ABL1-NEGATIVE MPNS. HOWEVER, NONE OF THESE MUTATIONS WERE MPN SPECIFIC, DISPLAYED MUTUAL EXCLUSIVITY OR COULD BE TRACED BACK TO A COMMON ANCESTRAL CLONE. JAK2 AND MPL MUTATIONS APPEAR TO EXERT A PHENOTYPE-MODIFYING EFFECT AND ARE DISTINCTLY ASSOCIATED WITH POLYCYTHEMIA VERA, ESSENTIAL THROMBOCYTHEMIA AND PRIMARY MYELOFIBROSIS; THE CORRESPONDING MUTATIONAL FREQUENCIES ARE APPROXIMATELY 99, 55 AND 65% FOR JAK2 AND 0, 3 AND 10% FOR MPL MUTATIONS. THE INCIDENCE OF TET2, ASXL1, CBL, IDH OR IKZF1 MUTATIONS IN THESE DISORDERS RANGES FROM 0 TO 17%; THESE LATTER MUTATIONS ARE MORE COMMON IN CHRONIC (TET2, ASXL1, CBL) OR JUVENILE (CBL) MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIAS, MASTOCYTOSIS (TET2), MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES (TET2, ASXL1) AND SECONDARY ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA, INCLUDING BLAST-PHASE MPN (IDH, ASXL1, IKZF1). THE FUNCTIONAL CONSEQUENCES OF MPN-ASSOCIATED MUTATIONS INCLUDE UNREGULATED JAK-STAT (JANUS KINASE/SIGNAL TRANSDUCER AND ACTIVATOR OF TRANSCRIPTION) SIGNALING, EPIGENETIC MODULATION OF TRANSCRIPTION AND ABNORMAL ACCUMULATION OF ONCOPROTEINS. HOWEVER, IT IS NOT CLEAR AS TO WHETHER AND HOW THESE ABNORMALITIES CONTRIBUTE TO DISEASE INITIATION, CLONAL EVOLUTION OR BLASTIC TRANSFORMATION. 2010 20 2678 38 EVALUATION OF A PROGNOSTIC EPIGENETIC CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM IN CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA PATIENTS. BACKGROUND: METHYLATION AT 5 CPG SITES WAS PREVIOUSLY SHOWN TO CLASSIFY CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CLL) INTO 3 PROGNOSTIC SUBGROUPS. HERE, WE AIMED TO VALIDATE THE MARKER SET IN AN ADDITIONAL COHORT AND TO EVALUATE ITS CLINICAL UTILITY FOR CLL PATIENT STRATIFICATION. METHODS: WE EVALUATED THIS EPIGENETIC MARKER SET IN 79 GERMAN PATIENTS USING BISULFITE TREATMENT FOLLOWED BY PYROSEQUENCING AND CLASSIFICATION USING A SUPPORT VECTOR MACHINE-LEARNING TOOL. RESULTS: THE N-CLL, I-CLL, AND M-CLL CLASSIFICATION WAS DETECTED IN 28 (35%), 10 (13%), AND 41 (51%) PATIENTS, RESPECTIVELY. EPIGENETIC GROUPING WAS ASSOCIATED WITH IGHV MUTATIONAL STATUS (P = 2 X 10(-12)), ISOLATED DEL13Q (P = 9 X 10(-6)), DEL17P (P = .015), COMPLEX KARYOTYPE (P = .005), VH-USAGE, AND CLINICAL OUTCOME AS TIME TO FIRST TREATMENT (P = 1.4 X 10(-12)) AND OVERALL SURVIVAL (P = .003). MULTIVARIATE COX REGRESSION ANALYSIS IDENTIFIED N-CLL AS A FACTOR FOR EARLIER TREATMENT HAZARD RATIO (HR), 6.3 (95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL [CI] 2.4-16.4; P = .0002) COMPARED TO IGHV MUTATIONAL STATUS (HR 4.6, 95% CI 1.9-11.3, P = .0008). IN ADDITION, WHEN COMPARING THE PROGNOSTIC VALUE OF THE EPIGENETIC CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM WITH THE IGHV CLASSIFICATION, EPIGENETIC GROUPING PERFORMED BETTER COMPARED TO IGHV MUTATIONAL STATUS USING KAPLAN-MEIER ESTIMATION AND ALLOWED THE IDENTIFICATION OF A THIRD, INTERMEDIATE (I-CLL) GROUP. THUS, OUR STUDY CONFIRMED THE PROGNOSTIC VALUE OF THE EPIGENETIC MARKER SET FOR PATIENT STRATIFICATION IN ROUTINE CLINICAL DIAGNOSTICS. 2022