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This study evaluated whether circulating lymphocytes, assessed by flow cytometry, is a prognostic biomarker in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).We studied T cell subsets in blood samples from a cohort of 41 patients diagnosed with PDAC. Patients underwent surgery of the primary site and adjuvant chemotherapy or were treated with 1A decline in CD19+ B lymphocytes, natural killer (NK) cells CD3-CD56+CD16+, and T regulatory cells CD4+FOXP3+ during treatment was observed. NKT-like cells CD3+CD56+ and cytotoxic T cells CD3+CD8+ tended to increase after two months and decrease after that.Statistically significant changes in lymphocyte counts in peripheral blood were detected in patients with PDAC during treatment.

PCR of TCR/Ig gene rearrangements is considered the method of choice for minimal residual disease (MRD) quantification in BCP-ALL, but flow cytometry analysis of leukemia-associated immunophenotypes (FCM-MRD) is faster and biologically more informative. FCM-MRD performed in 18 laboratories across seven countries was used for risk stratification of 1487 patients with BCP-ALL enrolled in the NOPHO ALL2008 protocol. When no informative FCM-marker was available, risk stratification was based on real-time quantitative PCR. An informative FCM-marker was found in 96.2% and only two patients (0.14%) had non-informative FCM and non-informative PCR-markers. The overall 5-year event-free survival was 86.1% with a cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR5y) of 9.5%. FCM-MRD levels on days 15 (HzR 4.0, p p p 5y adjusted for day 29 FCM-MRD, with higher levels in adults (median 2.4 × 10−2 versus 5.2 × 10−3, p 5y = 3.2%). For patients who did not undergo transplantation, day 79 FCM-MRD > 10−4 associated with a CIR5y = 22.1%. In conclusion, FCM-MRD performed in a multicenter setting is a clinically useful method for MRD-based treatment stratification in BCP-ALL.

BACKGROUND: Multiple myeloma (MM) measurable residual disease (MRD) evaluated by flow cytometry is a surrogate for progression-free and overall survival in clinical trials. However, analysis and reporting between centers lack uniformity. We designed and evaluated a consensus protocol for MM MRD analysis to reduce inter-laboratory variation in MM MRD reporting. METHODS: Seventeen participants from 13 countries performed blinded analysis of the same eight de-identified flow cytometry files from patients with/without MRD using their own method (Stage 1). A consensus gating protocol was then designed following survey and discussions, and the data re-analyzed for MRD and other bone marrow cells (Stage 2). Inter-laboratory variation using the consensus strategy was reassessed for another 10 cases and compared with earlier results (Stage 3). RESULTS: In Stage 1, participants agreed on MRD+/MRD− status 89% and 68% of the time respectively. Inter-observer variation was high for total numbers of analyzed cells, total and normal plasma cells (PCs), limit of detection, lower limit of quantification, and enumeration of cell populations that determine sample adequacy. The identification of abnormal PCs remained relatively consistent. By consensus method, average agreement on MRD− status improved to 74%. Better consistency enumerating all parameters among operators resulted in near-unanimous agreement on sample adequacy. CONCLUSION: Uniform flow cytometry data analysis substantially reduced inter-laboratory variation in reporting multiple components of the MM MRD assay. Adoption of a harmonized approach would meet an important need for conformity in reporting MM MRD for clinical trials, and wider acceptance of MM MRD as a surrogate clinical endpoint.

Introduction Autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) combined with novel agents is considered as the standard treatment for eligible patients < 70(-75) years of age with multiple myeloma (MM). The number of induction cycles is usually 4-6 followed by ASCT, consolidation and maintenance. The role of consolidation is still under debate especially if complete response has been achieved and maintenance will follow. To improve the quality of life and avoid the frequent visits at hospital an all-oral treatment would be a preferred choice. Despite novel drugs, the outcome of high-risk (HR) patients is poor. We designed a phase 2 Nordic Myeloma Study Group (NMSG) trial (NCT03376672) to explore the response of ixazomib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone (IRd) induction, followed by single ASCT, IRd consolidation and risk-based maintenance either with IR or R. Here we present the response rates and safety after IRd x 4 induction in all patients and in 87% of patients before consolidation. Patients and methods This study included 120 patients in 22 NMSG sites. Patients received 4 IRd cycles as induction, ixazomib 4 mg on days 1, 8, 15, lenalidomide 25 mg on days 1-21, dexamethasone 40 mg weekly in 28-day cycles. Mobilization and ASCT were performed according to standard practice. Three months post-ASCT all patients will receive 2 IRd as consolidation followed by maintenance. Thereafter patients will be stratified to HR if any of the following FISH aberrations were found at inclusion: del17p at least 60%, t(4;14), t(14;16), t(14;20) or +1q and they receive ixazomib 4 mg on days 1, 8, 15 and lenalidomide 10 mg on days 1-21. Non-HR patients receive lenalidomide 10 mg on days 1-21. Maintenance will continue until progression (PD). Lenalidomide dose will increase to 15 mg after 3 cycles. The primary endpoint of the study is minimal residual disease (MRD) by 8-color Euroflow < 0.01%. The secondary endpoints include flow-MRD negativity by 10-5, overall response, safety and progression-free survival. Serological responses were assessed before cycles and if sCR or CR is achieved flow-MRD sampling will be performed and repeated every 6 months. Samples were taken concomitantly for later comparison with BM- molecular-MRD, blood cell-free DNA, blood heavy-light chain assay and blood mass spectrometry. Results Within 21 months 120 patients were included, 46 % of them belong to the HR group. Mobilization is by July 2020 performed for 101 (84%) patients with cyclophosphamide (Cy) + G-CSF in 74% and G-CSF alone in 26%. Plerixafor was needed in 32 (32%) patients. The median number of harvesting days was 2 (0-4) and the median number of collected CD34+ cells was 6.4 (0-19.2) x 106/kg. Four patients (4%) failed to mobilize during 1st attempt. Eighty-six (72%) patients have so far received ASCT with the median number of 3.4 x 106/kg CD34+ cells in graft. Overall response rate is 93%. The responses after IRD x 4 induction and before consolidation are presented in Table 1. Before consolidation 10 patients (8%) are out of study due to PD and 4 (3%) have been withdrawn due to toxicity. Toxicity events included hypersensitivity with hepatorenal failure, grade 3 cytopenia with liver toxicity and one unexplained encephalitis. One patient was withdrawn due to Cy toxicity. Eight additional patients are withdrawn from study, 7 by physician´s decision and 1 by patient´s decision. All these 7 patients had high tumor burden based on paraprotein level either in serum (53 - 102 g/L) or in 24h urine (7.8 - 23.2 g/24h) and achieved only stable disease (SD) during induction. Fifty-eight grade 3-4 SAE reports from 39 (33%) patients have been received and 57% of these were infections. Three patients had grade 3 liver problems and 2 patients grade 3 peripheral neuropathy. Seventeen (14%) patients have reported skin reactions, only 4 of them grade 3 events. Conclusion We present here data on response and safety after observation of all patients until post-induction phase and of 87 % of the patients until start of the consolidation phase. The ORR is 93% when all patients have received induction treatment. Nine patients achieved only SD and seven of them with high tumor burden were withdrawn before mobilization. At least VGPR after ASCT was achieved in 37%. Toxicity caused the withdrawal of 4 (3%) patients and 39 (33%) patients have reported grade 3-4 non-hematological SAEs. In all, 98/120 (82%) patients continue in the study including 80% of the HR patients. Disclosures Silvennoinen: BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Cancer patients Finland: Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding. Waage:Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Consultancy; Shire: Honoraria. Schjesvold:Celgene, Amgen, Janssen, Oncopeptides: Research Funding; Amgen, Celgene, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, Oncopeptides, Sanofi, SkyliteDX, Takeda: Honoraria; Amgen, Celgene, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, Oncopeptides, Sanofi, Takeda: Consultancy. Anttila:Sanofi: Research Funding; Amgen: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; BMS: Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria, Other: Advisory Board; Takeda: Honoraria, Research Funding. Säily:Amgen: Honoraria; Abbvie: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria; Roche: Honoraria; Sanofi: Honoraria; Pfizer: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria; Janssen Cilag: Honoraria; Boehringer Ingelheim: Honoraria. Sankelo:Celgene, Amgen, Sanofi: Other: Congress travel support. Partanen:Abbvie: Honoraria, Other: Scientific Advisory Board Meeting; Behring: Honoraria; Takeda: Other: Scientific Advisory Board Meeting.

Minimal residual disease (MRD) measured by PCR of clonal IgH/TCR rearrangements predicts relapse in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and serves as risk stratification tool. Since 10% of patients have no suitable PCR-marker, we evaluated flowcytometry (FCM)-based MRD for risk stratification. We included 274 T-ALL patients treated in the NOPHO-ALL2008 protocol. MRD was measured by six-color FCM and real-time quantitative PCR. Day 29 PCR-MRD (cut-off 10-3) was used for risk stratification. At diagnosis, 93% had an FCM-marker for MRD monitoring, 84% a PCR-marker, and 99.3% (272/274) had a marker when combining the two. Adjusted for age and WBC, the hazard ratio for relapse was 3.55 (95% CI 1.4-9.0, p = 0.008) for day 29 FCM-MRD ≥ 10-3 and 5.6 (95% CI 2.0-16, p = 0.001) for PCR-MRD ≥ 10-3 compared with MRD

Background: PCR of rearranged antigen receptor genes is the method of choice for MRD quantification in ALL. Although FCM-MRD is faster and biologically more informative than PCR, the analysis requires a high level of training. The only larger published studies using FCM-MRD based stratification (Borowitz, Blood, 2008 and 2015) showed a clear association with clinical outcome in BCP-ALL. However, MRD analyses were centralized and these studies included only one MRD-based stratification (MRD levels at the end of induction). Patients and methods: We examined FCM-MRD as stratification tool in BCP-ALL at various timepoints in a large-scale multicenter (18 MRD centers) study. A total of 1487 patients with BCP-ALL (1298 children (younger than 18 years) and 189 adults (18-45 years) are included in the study and were treated according to the NOPHO ALL2008 protocol between July 2008 and February 2016. The median follow-up time for patients in first remission was 51 months (IQR 32-75). MRD was measured by FCM and/or real time quantitative PCR on days 15, 29 (end of induction) and 79 (for standard (SR) and intermediate risk (IR) patients) and prior to and after high risk blocks. A 6-colour FCM analysis including 3 standardized antibody combinations was used and performed in 18 laboratories. Patients were stratified by FCM-MRD, or by PCR-MRD if no FCM-MRD marker was available. End-of-induction MRD (cut-off 10-3) was used to stratify patients to standard risk (SR) vs intermediate risk (IR) or IR vs high risk consolidation therapy (in case of WBC > 100 x 109/L at diagnosis). Patients with MRD >=2.5x10-1 on day 15 were stratified to high risk block therapy. Patients with MRD >=5x10-2 on day 29 or day 79/post high risk-2 block MRD >=10-3 were stratified to HSCT. Primary outcomes were 5year event-free survival (5y EFS) and 5year cumulative incidence of relapse (5y CIR). Results: Only two patients (0.14% of total) had neither an informative FCM nor a PCR marker, and an informative FCM marker combination for MRD monitoring was identified in 96.2% of patients. There was a significant correlation between FCM- and PCR-MRD levels on day 15 (r=0.77, p Based on FCM-MRD only, the median MRD level on day 15, 29 and 79/post high risk-2 block was 5x10-3, 1.1x10-4, and below detection limit, respectively. Adults had significantly higher MRD levels at all time-points (p The day 29 FCM-MRD level was closely associated with clinical outcome and a higher hazard of relapse was seen independently for a FCM-MRD >=10-3 (hazard ratio (HR) 2.4, CI 1.6-3.7, p18 year (HR 3.0, CI 1.7-5.3, p=100 (HR 2.7, CI 1.6-4.6, p=0.0001), and B-other (HR 2.1, CI 1.2-3.5, p=0.0052) or high risk B-ALL cytogenetic aberration (rearranged KMT2A/iAMPchr21/hypodiploid) (HR 3.2, CI 1.6-6.1, p=0.0006) (multivariate cause-specific Cox regression, n=1328). Patients with a day 79 FCM-MRD >=10-4 and =10-4 and =10-4 and Patients with day 15 FCM-MRD =10-3 and Conclusion: FCM-MRD performed in a multi-center setting is a clinically useful method for disease monitoring and MRD-based treatment stratification in BCP-ALL. Moreover, FCM-MRD is a reliable indicator of outcome in BCP-ALL independently of other key risk factors. Residual disease >=10-4 and Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Objective: Primary arterial hypertenion for teen has caused a lot of debate today, there is too much uncertainty about platelet functional changes in patients with PAH. The objective was to evaluate platelet activity in healthy and suffering from PAH groups of 17–18 year old boys. Materials and methods: Platelet functional activity was determined by flow cytometry. Platelets used to identify the three antibodies: CD42a (GP IX), CD41a (GP IIb) and CD61 (GP IIIa) and assessing the activity of select PAC-1 antibody that binds specifically to activated GPIIb / IIIa complex. Through 2008–2013 years platelet activity was assessed 38 PAH 17–18 year-old boys (case group) and 41 healthy the same age teenager (control group). A statistical analysis was done and the significance assessed by a X-square test. The statistical difference was considered significant if the p value was below 0.05. Results: In PAH group of teen boys were not found statistically significantly more PAC-1 antibody attaghed platelets. Based on the results of this study we could argue that the platelet functional activity of PAH teens is not higher than in healthy adolescents. Conclusions: PAH teen platelet functional activity does not differ from healthy peers. To obtain accurate results, it should be performed at a higher sample survey.

Pretreatment detection of peripheral blood malignant circulating plasma cells (CPCs) has been shown to be of negative prognostic value in multiple myeloma (MM). We hypothesized that the assessment of CPC kinetics in response to one therapy cycle using six-color flow cytometry could be helpful in the early detection of MM refractoriness to treatment. Forty-two patients with refractory or relapsed (RR) MM were enrolled. Median time to tumor progression (TTP) of 51 days and median overall survival (OS) of 308 days was shortest in patients whose CPCs with aberrant phentoype (aCPCs) did not decrease after one therapy cycle compared to patients with decreasing (median TTP 258 days and OS 856 days) or undetectable (median TTP 581 days and OS 1006 days) aCPCs (p < 0.001 and p = 0.007 for TTP and OS, respectively). Non-reduction of aCPCs in patients with RR MM after the first cycle of therapy may be useful in early identification of patients resistant to a given therapy.