scholarly journals Towards molecular stratification of pediatric T-cell lymphoblastic lymphomas based on Minimal Disseminated Disease and NOTCH1/FBXW7 mutational status: the French EURO-LB02 experience

Author(s):  
Amelie Trinquand ◽  
Adriana Plesa ◽  
Chrystelle Abdo ◽  
Nathalie Aladjidi ◽  
Charlotte Rigaud ◽  
...  

While outcome for pediatric T lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL) has improved with Acute Leukemia-type therapy, survival after relapse remains rare. Few prognostic markers have been identified and the value of Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) is less clear than in T-ALL. Mutations of NOTCH1 and/or FBXW7 (N/F) identify good prognosis T-LBL and both MRD and high-level Minimal Disseminated Disease (MDD) are reported to be of poor prognosis. We evaluated MDD status by 8-color flow cytometry (MFC) and/or digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) in 86 French pediatric T-LBL, of which N/F status was known for 65 (61 treated on the Euro-LB02 protocol). Both techniques gave identical results for MDD/MRD values above 0.1%, allowing compilation. While an MDD threshold of 1% had no prognostic significance, the 54% (44/82) of protocol-treated patients with MDD ≥0.1% had a relatively favorable outcome (overall survival/OS; p=0.026). MDD 0.1% status had no prognostic significance in the 68% of patients with N/F mutations, whereas low/negative MDD status (9/61) identified N/F germline patients at a high risk of relapse (5-year OS of 44.4% vs 90% for MDD ≥0.1%, p=0.014; and a 5-year DFS of 50% vs 90.9% respectively, p=0.041). Combining oncogenetic and MDD status allows identification of 85% of patients with an excellent outcome (5-year OS 91.9% and DFS 95%) and 15% of N/F germline/MDD<0.1% patients who clearly require early alternative treatment (5-year OS 44.4%; p<0.0001 and DFS 50%; p=0.0001).

Blood ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 116 (21) ◽  
pp. 698-698 ◽  
Author(s):  
Letestu Remi ◽  
Stéphane Leprêtre ◽  
Arnoulet Christine ◽  
Baseggio Lucille ◽  
Campos Lydia ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 698 Introduction: Between 11/2007 and 01/2009, the FCGCLL/MW and the GOELAMS conducted a multicenter phase III trial, CLL2007FMP, to evaluate the efficacy of FCCam versus FCR in previously untreated medically fit patients. PFS was the primary-end-point of this trial. The trial was discontinued after randomisation of 165 patients for unacceptable toxicity in the FCCam arm. PFS and OS are not yet evaluable but as a sensitive 6 color flow cytometry technique was used to assess MRD in blood and bone marrow at month 9, we were able to evaluate the quality of the response in both arms. Methods and patients: A cohort of 178 medically fit patients (cumulative illness rating scale (CIRS) score < or = 6 and creatinine clearance ≥ 60 ml/min), younger than 65 years old, were enrolled. 165 patients were randomized to receive six oral courses of FC (F 40mg/m2 d1-3 and C 250 mg/m2 d1–3; q 28 days) in combination with either R (n=83; 375 mg/m2 i.v. d 0 at first cycle and 500 mg/m2 d1 all subsequent cycles; q 28 days) or Cam (n=82; 30 mg s/c d1-3; q 28 days). Patients were stratified according to IGHV mutational status and presence of 11q deletion. Cases with 17p deletion were excluded. The trial recruitment was discontinued because of an excess of mortality in the FCCam arm (6 deaths versus 0 in FCR arm), and the last 13 patients enrolled were not randomized. Clinical response was evaluated based on IWCLL criteria. We established a sensitive and specific approach for the evaluation of minimal residual disease (MRD) at month 9, using a 6-color flow cytometry technique with 3 combinations including characteristic markers and light chain expression. We determined the limit of detection (LOD) of the assay by studying normal blood samples, LOD varied from 0.5 to 0.7×10-5 depending on the combination considered. Result: The Overall Response Rate (ORR) was 91% in the FCR arm and 85% in the FCCam arm (ns). Clinical responses were as follows: CR (FCR: 56/80=70%, FCCam: 45/79 =59%, ns), CR I (FCR:13/FCCam: 11), PR (FCR:5/FCCam:15), and stable and progressive cases (FCR: 6/FCCam:8). When considering together CR and CR I, response rate appeared significantly higher in the FCR arm (86%) than in FCCam arm (70%) (p=0.03). MRD was assessed both in blood and bone marrow at month 9, and was undetectable in 58% patients in blood and only in 36 % in bone marrow. No patient had an undetectable MRD in marrow when detectable in blood. Similarly, MRD was detectable in bone marrow in 15 cases with histologically normal bone marrow biopsy, whereas no nodal PR had undetectable MRD. Therefore, flow cytometry MRD in bone marrow appears as the most sensitive technique for the evaluation of response. Of note, 9 patients had a very good PR with presence of a residual lymphnode, and had undetectable blood and bone marrow MRD (4 in FCCAm arm and 5 in FCR arm). When considering MRD independently from clinical response, the number of MRD negative cases was not significantly different between the two arms (FCR: 45%/FCCam: 26 %) arm. But when combining MRD negativity with clinical complete response, the number of MRD negative CR was significantly higher with FCR (40%) than with FCCam (15%)(p= 0.029). The number of courses of chemotherapy received was slightly but significantly lower in the FCCam arm. Nonetheless, this difference was not accountable for the difference in the quality of response as the number of MRD negative CR remained significantly higher with FCR than with FCCam when considering only the patients having received at least 4 courses of either chemotherapy. The quality of response was not influenced by either presence of deletion11q or mutational status as well. In conclusion, detection of MRD in bone marrow by flow cytometry is a sensitive technique for the evaluation of minimal residual disease. Combining clinical CR with flow cytometry bone marrow MRD allows detecting the best responders. In this randomized phase III trial, besides leading to a lower rate of toxicity, the FCR regimen yielded a significantly higher rate of MRD negative CR than FCCam, and therefore had a positive impact on the quality of the response. Disclosures: Veronique: roche: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; mundipharma: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; genzyme: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; jansen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.


Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (21) ◽  
pp. 4789-4789
Author(s):  
Xiang-Qin Weng ◽  
Yang Shen ◽  
Yan Sheng ◽  
Bing Chen ◽  
Jing-han Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 4789 Monitoring of minimal residual disease (MRD) in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) by immunophenotyping and/or molecular techniques provides a way to precisely evaluate early treatment response and predict relapse. In this study, we have investigated the prognostic significance of MRD in adult patients with B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) by 8-color flow cytometry. A cohort of 106 patients with B-ALL who had achieved a complete remission (CR) and at least 1 LAIP characteristics were enrolled to perform MRD assessment at the end of induction and 1 cycle of consolidation. LAIPs were identifiable in 96% of the patients by 8-color flow cytometric assay, in which, most cases (90.6%) containing 2 or more LAIPs had a sensitivity as high as identifying 1 leukemic blast among 1×105 BM nucleated cells. MRD negative status could clearly predict a favorable 1 year relapse free survival (RFS) and 2 year overall survival (OS) when a cut-off level of 0.01% was used to define MRD positivity at the point of achieving CR (P=0.000 and 0.000, respectively) and after 1 cycle of consolidation (P=0.000 and 0.000, respectively), respectively. In multivariate analysis including cytogenetic abnormalities, clinical factors and MRD status, late CR (P=0.046), MRD status at the points of obtaining CR (P=0.016) and 1 consolidation (P=0.007) were associated with RFS independently, while only MRD status after 1 course of consolidation was independent prognostic factor for OS (P=0.000). Of note, in exploring the fewer patients with MRD negative status experienced recent relapse, we have identified that most of such patients had a MRD level of 10−4−10−5 comparing to undetectable MRD level. Furthermore, our evidences showed that MRD assessed by flow cytometry and by RQ-PCR assay targeting to BCR-ABL fusion gene yielded concordant results in the vast majority of cases (90%). In conclusion, immunophenotypic evaluation of MRD by 8-color flow cytometry could work as an important tool to assess the treatment response and prognosis precisely in adult B-ALL. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1594
Author(s):  
Federica Lovisa ◽  
Ilaria Gallingani ◽  
Elena Varotto ◽  
Cristiano Pasin ◽  
Elisa Carraro ◽  
...  

NOTCH1/FBXW7 (N/F) mutational status at diagnosis is employed for T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL) patients’ stratification in the international protocol LBL 2018. Our aim was to validate the prognostic role of Minimal Disseminated Disease (MDD) alone and in combination with N/F mutational status in a large retrospective series of LBL pediatric patients. MDD was analyzed in 132 bone marrow and/or peripheral blood samples by flow cytometry. Mutations in N/F genes were analyzed on 58 T-LBL tumor biopsies. Using the previously established cut-off of 3%, the four-year progression-free survival (PFS) was 57% for stage I–III patients with MDD ≥ 3% versus 80% for patients with MDD inferior to cut-off (p = 0.068). We found a significant worsening in the four-year PFS for nonmutated (51 ± 12%) compared to mutated patients (100%, p = 0.0013). Combining MDD and N/F mutational status in a subgroup of available cases, we found a statistically significant difference in the four-year PFS for different risk groups (p = 0.0012). Overall, our results demonstrate that N/F mutational status has a more relevant prognostic value than MDD at diagnosis. However, the combination of N/F mutations with MDD analysis could identify patients with very aggressive disease, which might benefit from a more intensive treatment.


Blood ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 104 (11) ◽  
pp. 4768-4768
Author(s):  
Irene Ricca ◽  
Daniela Drandi ◽  
Alberto Rocci ◽  
Mara Compagno ◽  
Roberto Francese ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND. Germinal Center (GC) experience is a basic prognostic feature in B-CLL. Patients with VH-mutated GC-experienced CLL have a good prognosis while those with VH-unmutated GC-inexperienced CLL have a poor prognosis. In a recent study we demonstrated that telomere length (TL) of lymphoproliferative disorders strongly correlates with GC, pre-GC or post-GC origin (Ladetto M et al, Blood 2004). Aims of this study were to further define the relationship between TL and VH mutational status in B-CLL and correlate both these parameters with clinical outcome. PATIENTS AND METHODS. 109 B-CLL patients have been analyzed for telomere restriction fragments (TRF) length and are under evaluation for VH mutational status. All samples were taken at diagnosis or during the "watch and wait" phase. Male were 68, females 41. Median age was 62 years (range 34–87). Fifty-three patients were in stage A, 30 patients were in stage B and 16 were stage C according to Binet staging system. Our patient population has been monitored for a median time of 53 months (range 1–290). Sixty-three patients have been already treated for their disease while 46 have not required treatment, so far. TRF length was evaluated by Southern blot and VH mutational status by direct sequencing, as previously described (Ladetto M et al, Blood 2004). The standard cut-off of 2% deviation from any germ line VH sequence was employed to define VH mutational status. Survival analyses were performed using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS. Overall, median TRF length was 5898bp (range 1737–14837bp). There was no correlation between TRF length and patient age, sex or stage. A cut-off of 4500bp discriminated two subgroups of patients characterized by different clinical outcome in terms of time to first treatment (TTFT) and time to disease progression (TTP) following first line treatment. Patients with TL &lt; 4500bp had a median TTFT of 16 months and a median TTP of 14 months while patients with TL &gt; 4500bp had a median TTFT of 36 months and a median TTP of 50 months (p&lt;0.05 and p&lt;0.005, respectively). VH sequencing is currently available in 72 patients. A comparison between TRF length (using the previously defined 4500bp cut-off) and VH mutational status showed the following: a) 100% concordance between VH-mutated status and TRF length &gt;4500bp; b) 62% concordance between unmutated VH-status and TRF length &lt;4500bp; c) the 10 discordant patients with VH-unmutated status and TRF &gt;4500bp had a clinical outcome similar to that observed in patients with VH-mutated status (median TTFT: 22 months; median TTP:80 months). CONCLUSIONS Our data demonstrate that: 1) TL in B-CLL has a good correlation with VH mutational status; 2) TRF length has prognostic significance in B-CLL in terms of TTFT and TTP; 3) when discordance exists between these two parameters, the clinical behavior seems to be better predicted by TRF length compared to VH mutational status.


Blood ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 106 (11) ◽  
pp. 85-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Borowitz ◽  
Meenakshi Devidas ◽  
W. Paul Bowman ◽  
Eric Larsen ◽  
Jeanette Pullen ◽  
...  

Abstract MRD is known to be an important prognostic factor in childhood ALL. In POG 9906 we studied a select group of 271 patients with NCI high risk precursor B-ALL further defined by an age/sex/WBC algorithm (Shuster et al. Cancer Res Therapy Control9:101,1999) to select those at highest risk; historical data suggested that patients selected by this algorithm would account for about 12% of patients and have a 44% 4y EFS. Patients with Ph+ ALL or favorable genetics (TEL-AML1 translocation or trisomies 4 and 10) were excluded. All patients received 4-drug induction with vincristine, prednisone, L-asparaginase and daunomycin, plus intrathecal methotrexate, and consolidation with cyclophosphamide, ara-C and 6-MP followed by 2 cycles of interim maintenance and delayed intensification similar but not identical to so-called “augmented BFM”. MRD was measured in peripheral blood on day 8 (PB) and in bone marrow at day 29 (BM) by 4-color flow cytometry as previously described (Leukemia17:1566,2003). BM MRD data were available on 240 patients, and PB data on 243. At cutoffs of 1%, 0.1% and .01%, MRD in BM was associated with increased relapse rate (p=.0002). At a cutoff of .01%, 83/240 (35%) patients were MRD positive; these had 3 y EFS of 58±6% compared to 79±5% for MRD negative patients (p=.0008). The EFS of the 28 patients with MRD >1% was 44±14%. There were numerous (25/52) extramedullary events, mostly in CNS. MRD predicted 17/27 marrow relapses but only 8/25 other relapses (p=.03). Overall, 21% of MRD positive patients (>.01%) had a marrow relapse compared to 6% of MRD negative ones. Day 8 PB MRD was also prognostic, with the 49 MRD negative patients having a 3 y EFS of 89±6% compared to 70±5% for the 194 patients with MRD >.01% (p=.008). End induction BM MRD is a strong prognostic factor even among patients with especially high risk ALL and is a better predictor of marrow than of extramedullary relapse. Absence of MRD in day 8 PB identifies a subgroup of approximately 20% of these high risk patients who have an exceptionally good EFS, particularly given their very poor expected outcome. EFS by Day 28 Marrow MRD EFS by Day 28 Marrow MRD


2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (16) ◽  
pp. 1966-1973 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celine Callens ◽  
Frederic Baleydier ◽  
Etienne Lengline ◽  
Raouf Ben Abdelali ◽  
Arnaud Petit ◽  
...  

Purpose Pediatric T-cell lymphoblastic lymphomas (T-LBL) are commonly treated on T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) -derived protocols. Therapeutic stratification based on response to the prephase treatment and on minimal residual disease assessment is well established in T-ALL but is not easy to extrapolate to T-LBL. The identification of molecular prognostic markers at diagnosis in T-LBL could provide an alternative for early therapeutic stratification. Our study determines the frequency and prognostic value of NOTCH1/FBXW7 mutations (N/Fmut), FLASH deletion at chromosome 6q, and TCR rearrangements in a prospective cohort of pediatric T-LBL. Patients and Methods Pathologic samples were obtained at diagnosis for 54 patients treated according to the EuroLB02 protocol in France. N/Fmut were identified by direct sequencing and allelic dosage was used to detect FLASH and TCRγ deletions, which were interpreted in conjunction with TCRγ, TCRβ, and TCRδ rearrangements. Results N/Fmut were found in 55% of T-LBL patients, in whom they were associated with improved event-free survival (P < .01) and overall survival (P < .01). FLASH monoallelic deletions were observed in 18% of patients; they were predominantly N/F wild-type (six of nine) and tended to be of inferior prognosis (P = .09). Absence of biallelic TCRγ deletion (ABD) was seen in 7%, all of which were N/Fmut and identified a poor prognosis group (P = .02). On multivariate analysis of N/Fmut, TCRγ ABD, and FLASH deletion, only N/Fmut was an independent factor for good prognosis. Conclusion Mutational status of NOTCH1/FBXW7 represents a promising marker for early therapeutic stratification in pediatric T-LBL.


2006 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 223-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Trevisiol ◽  
F. Di Fabio ◽  
R. Nascimbeni ◽  
L. Peloso ◽  
C. Salbe ◽  
...  

While tissue KRAS2 mutations have been extensively investigated, the role of circulating mutant KRAS2 gene in patients with colorectal carcinoma remains obscure. The aim of the present study was to explore the prognostic significance of circulating KRAS2 gene mutational status in subjects undergoing primary treatment for colorectal cancer. Codon 12 KRAS2 mutations were examined in DNA samples extracted from the serum of 86 patients with colorectal cancer and were compared with the KRAS2 status of their primary tumors. Tissue and serum KRAS2 status was compared with other clinicopathological variables (including CEA and CA 19-9 levels) and with cancer-related survival. KRAS2 mutations were found in tissue samples of 28 patients (33%); serum KRAS2 mutations were detected in 10 of them (36%). Serum KRAS2 status was significantly associated with Dukes' stage D (p=0.001) and with preoperative CA 19-9 levels (p=0.01). At multivariate analysis, cancer-related survival was associated with Dukes' stage (p<0.0001), CEA level (p=0.02), and mutant circulating KRAS2 (p=0.01). All 7 stage D patients with serum KRAS2 mutations died of the disease within 24 months of primary treatment; cancer-related survival was significantly better in 9 stage D patients without serum KRAS2 mutations, with 5 patients (56%) alive after 24 months and 1 patient (13%) alive after 44 months. Residual disease after surgery was evident in all 7 stage D patients with mutant circulating KRAS2, and in 5 out of 9 stage D patients without serum mutations. Serum KRAS2 status may impact substantially on the management of stage D colorectal carcinoma, since it appears to correlate with prognosis in this patient subgroup.


Blood ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 106 (11) ◽  
pp. 4660-4660
Author(s):  
Batia Stark ◽  
Drorit Luria ◽  
Sigal Manor ◽  
Taly Ronen ◽  
Yona Kodman ◽  
...  

Abstract Despite overlapping features between T cell Lymphoma and T cell ALL and generally good response to T-ALL type of treatment there are some clinical and biological differences between the two entities. The aim of this study was to evaluate in children with stage III T cell Lymphoma the prevalence of minimal BM dissemination at diagnosis, its prognostic significance and early response kinetics. Bone Marrow (BM) at diagnosis from 14 children with T- cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL) was assessed for minimal disseminated disease (MDD) by flow cytometry (FC) with four colour antibody combinations and real time quantitative PCR (RQ-PCR) with specific junctional regions for T-cell receptor and immunoglobulin heavy chain gene rearrangements. 13 pts. had stage III mediastinal lymphoma, and one stage II cervical disease. Morphological BM involvement of almost 5% blasts was suspected in only one patient. All, but one, were treated according to the NHL-BFM 90/95 protocols medium risk group (without irradiation). In addition, 7 pts were assessed for early response on week 5 and 12 of treatment with PCR only (2 pts) FC only (2 pts) and both methods (3 pts). Lymphoma associated immunophenotype with a sensitivity of at least 0.01% was detected in all patients (100%) (2 combinations), and PCR targets with a sensitivity of 0.01% and 0.1% in 10 and 2 examined patients respectively (92%). A sample with a level of above 5X10−4 was considered as positive MDD or minimal residual disease (MRD) by both methods. By FC, 10 patients exhibited positive and 4 negative BM MDD levels at diagnosis. By RQ -PCR, 7 patients presented positive and 4 negative BM MDD levels. Both methods gave consistent results with only one case of discordance: negative in PCR and positive in FC (>5x10−4). In 7 other pts there was a difference of between 0.5 and 1 log level that did not change the classification of involvement (in 5 pts PCR higher, in 2 pts FC higher). At a median follow up of 5 years, 3 patients relapsed (2 in the mediastinum and one in BM) their MDD level at diagnosis was 2x10−3 (2 pts), 6x10−2. MRD level in 4 patients out of 5 patients with a high MDD level (1–6x10−2) at diagnosis, decreased by 2 logs (<5x10−4) on week 5, and on week 12 all were below <2x10−4. The one patient with a higher level (1.5x10−2) at day 33 suffered a relapse. In conclusion: in the majority of patients with mediastinal stage III T-cell lymphoma molecular BM dissemination (>5x10−4) was present. It’s prognostic significance in the context of ALL-BFM therapy could not be demonstrated. However, early BM molecular treatment response in T-cell Lymphoma may correlate with outcome, similarly to T-cell leukemia.


Blood ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 118 (21) ◽  
pp. 1797-1797 ◽  
Author(s):  
Remi Letestu ◽  
Stéphane Leprêtre ◽  
Christine Arnoulet ◽  
Lucile Baseggio ◽  
Lydia Campos ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 1797 Introduction: The FCGCLL/MW and GOELAMS intergroup have conducted a multicenter phase III trial, CLL2007FMP, to evaluate the efficacy of FCCam versus FCR in previously untreated medically fit CLL patients. This trial was discontinued after randomisation of 165 patients for unacceptable toxicity in the FCCam arm. A sensitive 6-color flow cytometry technique was used to evaluate the response at month 9 (M9) in blood and bone marrow and to subsequently monitor minimal residual disease (MRD). Methods and patients: 178 medically fit patients (CIRS< 6 and creatinin clearance ≥ 60 ml/min), younger than 65 years old, were enrolled. 165 patients were subsequently randomized to receive six oral courses of FC (F: 40mg/m2 d1-3 and C: 250 mg/m2 d1-3; q 28 days) in combination with either R (n=83; 375 mg/m2 i.v. d 0 at first cycle and 500 mg/m2 d1 all subsequent cycles; q 28 days) or Cam (n=82; 30 mg s/c d1-3; q 28 days). Patients were stratified according to IGHV mutational status and presence of 11q deletion. Cases with 17p deletion were excluded. Clinical response was evaluated based on iwCLL classical criteria. We established a sensitive and specific approach for the evaluation of MRD, using a 6-color flow cytometry technique with 3 combinations, including characteristic markers and light chain expression. We determined the limit of detection (LOD) of the assay by studying normal blood samples, and LOD varied from 0.5 to 0.7×10−5, depending on the combination considered. Results: The overall response rate was 87.8% in the FCR arm compared to 85.5% in the FCCam arm (p: NS). CR rates were not significantly different between the two arms with 64.6% in FCR arm and 50.6% in FCCam arm (p=.08). At M9, the rate of undetectable MRD was significantly lower in bone marrow as compared to blood but neither in blood nor bone marrow did reach a significant difference between FCR and FCCam arms. MRD was undetectable in blood in 60.2% of patients (53% of patients in the FCCAm arm and 66.7% in the FCR arm (NS)). In bone marrow samples, MRD was undetectable in 33.7% of patients (25% of patients in the FCCam arm and 41.7% in the FCR arm (NS)). The results were similar when considering exclusively the patients who reached CR. Moreover, MRD was never found detectable in blood when undetectable in bone marrow at the same time point. Therefore, irrespective of treatment arm, the bone marrow sample appeared more efficient than the blood sample for the detection of a persistent residual disease. We next combined blood and bone marrow results to define immunophenotypic remission, we considered MRD at M9 as undetectable when undetectable in bone marrow and MRD as positive when detectable either in blood or bone marrow. The rate of immunophenotypic remission was significantly lower in the FCCam arm as compared to the FCR arm (p=0.03) with our sensitive technique but, interestingly, was no longer significant when using the classical threshold of 10−4 to assess MRD status. The number of best responders, identified by MRD negativity and clinical complete response was significantly higher with FCR than with FCCam (p= 0.029). MRD was again assessed in blood at month 12 and was undetectable in 36.8% of patients in the FCCAm and 41.7% in the FCR arm (NS). All cases with positive blood MRD at M9 remained positive at M12. Among the 21 cases with positive bone marrow MRD and undetectable blood MRD at M9, only 10 explorations in blood at M12 are available at the moment but 4 cases remained undetectable. Conversely, when MRD was undetectable at M9 in both blood and bone marrow, 16/18 remained undetectable at M12, corresponding to a positive switch rate of only 11%. Conclusion: In the era of combined immuno-chemotherapy with the goal of achieving the best response, the most sensitive MRD technique is warranted. The sensitivity of 6-color flow cytometry has proved useful to uncover the differences between the two treatment arms. In this study, the evaluation of MRD in bone marrow by 6-color flow cytometry is the most sensitive technique for the early evaluation of persisting residual disease. It may not be supplanted by MRD determination in blood at M12 for the precise assessment of the immunophenotypic remission rate. Studies including sequential determinations and MRD kinetics are ongoing to determine which interpretation threshold and time-points are the best predictors of progression-free survival. Disclosures: Leblond: Roche, Genzyme: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Cymbalista:Roche (d) Mundipharma (e) Genzyme (e): Honoraria, Research Funding.


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