Therapeutic donor lymphocyte infusions (tDLI) are used to reinforce the graft-versus-leukemia (GvL) effect in relapse after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT). In contrast, the role of prophylactic DLI (proDLI) in preventing leukemia relapse has been less clearly established, although supported by retrospective, case-control, and registry analyses. We report a prospective, monocentric, ten year cohort of patients with high risk acute leukemias (AL) or myelodysplasia (MDS) in whom proDLI were applied beyond day +120 post alloSCT to compensate for lack of GvL. 272 consecutive allotransplanted AL or MDS patients in complete remission and off immunosuppression at day +120 were stratified according to the prior appearance of relevant GvHD (acute GvHD °II-IV or extensive chronic GvHD) as a clinical indicator for GvL. Escalating doses of unmodified proDLI were applied to 72/272 patients without prior relevant GvHD. Conversely, 157/272 patients with prior spontaneous GvHD did not receive proDLI, nor did 43/272 patients with contraindications (uncontrolled infections, patient refusal, DLI unavailability). By day 160-landmark analysis (median day of first DLI application), proDLI recipients had significantly higher five-year overall (OS) and disease free survival (DFS) (77% and 67%) than patients with spontaneous GvHD (54% and 53%) or with contraindications (46% and 45%) (p=0.003). Relapse incidence for patients with proDLI (30%) or spontaneous GvHD (29%) was significantly lower than in patients with contraindications (39%; p=0.021). With similar GvHD incidence beyond day +160, non-relapse mortality (NRM) was less with proDLI (5%) than without proDLI (18%; p=0.036). In conclusion, proDLI may be able to compensate for lack of GvL in alloSCT recipients with high risk AL or MDS.

Preemptive and therapeutic donor lymphocyte infusions (preDLI and tDLI) are widely used in relapsing and relapsed hematopoietic malignancies after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) to enhance the graft-versus-malignancy effect. However, in advanced myeloid malignancies, long-term survival after preDLI and tDLI remains low, reflecting our inability to master the double-edged sword of alloreactivity, balancing anti-neoplastic activity versus graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). We previously evaluated a quantitative PCR-based high-sensitivity chimerism (hs-chimerism) based on insertion/deletion polymorphisms instead of short tandem repeats, where increasing host chimerism in peripheral blood predicts relapse more than a month before clinical diagnosis, and declining host chimerism signals anti-host alloreactivity. Here we report 32 consecutive patients with advanced myeloid malignancies receiving preDLI or tDLI “navigated” by hs-chimerism (“navigated DLI”). We compared them to a historical cohort of 110 consecutive preDLI or tDLI recipients, prior to implementation of hs-chimerism at our institution (“controls”). Both groups were comparable regarding age, gender, conditioning, donor type, and time to DLI. With longer median follow-up of the navigated DLI group (8.5 versus 5 months), their landmark overall (64%) and disease-free survival (62%) at 2 years from first DLI compared favorably with controls (23% and 21%, respectively). Improved survival of navigated DLI was due to both reduced relapse incidence (38% versus 60%) and non-relapse mortality (17% versus 44%) at 2 years. Early relapse prediction by hs-chimerism allowed a preemptive approach in 28% of navigated DLI versus 7% in controls. Our results confirm hs-chimerism as a highly valuable tool for monitoring and steering immune interventions after alloSCT.

Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGvHD) contributes to about 50% of transplant-related mortality (non-relapse mortality) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Here the predictive value of a urinary proteomic profile (aGvHD_MS17) was tested together with preemptive prednisolone therapy. Two-hundred and fifty-nine of 267 patients were eligible for analysis. Ninety-two patients were randomized upon aGvHD_MS17 classification factor above 0.1 to receive either prednisolone (2–2.5 mg/kg, N = 44) or placebo ( N = 47; N = 1 randomization failure) for 5 days followed by tapering. The remaining 167 patients formed the observation group. The primary endpoint of the randomized trial was incidence of aGvHD grade II between randomization and day +100 post HSCT. Analysis of the short-term preemptive prednisolone therapy in the randomized patients showed no significant difference in incidence or severity of acute GvHD (HR: 1.69, 95% CI: 0.66–4.32, P = 0.27). Prednisolone as preemptive treatment did not lead to an increase in relapse (20.2% in the placebo and 14.0% in the prednisolone group ( P = 0.46)). The frequency of adverse events was slightly higher in the placebo group (64.4% versus 50%, respectively). Taken together, the results of the Pre-GvHD trial demonstrated the feasibility and safety of preemptive prednisolone treatment in the randomized patients.

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Introduction: The combination treatment of venetoclax (VEN) with both low-dose cytarabine (LDAC) and hypomethylating agents (HMA) in untreated primarily elderly AML patients yielded promising response rates leading to its approval for newly diagnosed AML patients who are 75 years or older, or who have comorbidities that preclude use of intensive induction chemotherapy. Prolonged cytopenias are of potential concern in venetoclax treated patients, especially in patients who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) prior venetoclax treatment. Objective: To compare hematologic recovery in patients treated with VEN in combination with intensive and non-intensive chemotherapy regimens for the treatment of relapsed or refractory (R/R) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) depending on the pretreatment status for alloHCT. Methods: In this retrospective controlled study (www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT03662724), we included patients aged 18 years or older with R/R acute leukemia previously treated with VEN (days 1-7) combined with intensive salvage chemotherapy (fludarabine, cytarabine, idarubicin - FLAVIDA) or VEN combined with non-intensive regimens, namely HMA or LDAC. Eighty-one patients who were treated with FLA-IDA for R/R AML served as control for the intensively treated patients included in this analysis. Responses were evaluated per revised International Working Group criteria for AML. Main outcome measure was the rate of objective response (complete remission [CR] + CR with incomplete blood count recovery [CRi] + partial remission [PR] + morphologic leukemia-free state (MLFS; defined as less than 5% blasts in an aspirate sample). Safety and efficacy analyses included all patients who received at least one cycle of VEN combination treatment. This study was approved by the local Ethics Review Committee in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Results: Between January 2017 and May 2019 49 patients with a median age of 59 years (range 18-80) received VEN with either FLA-IDA (n=14), HMA (n=31) or LDAC (n=4) and had safety and efficacy outcomes reported. The patient cohort was a high-risk cohort of relapsed (n=24) and refractory (n=25) patients. The analysis included 24 patients (49%) with secondary AML and two patients with biphenotypic acute leukemia (BAL). Twenty-two patients (45%) had received prior alloHCT and 7 (14%) had relapsed <12 months after transplantation. Twelve patients (25%) had complex cytogenetics and 42 (86%) had intermediate or poor risk AML according to ELN 2017 criteria. The ORR in the 35 non-intensively treated patients was 57% (n=20) with 17 complete responses (49%, CR/CRis), 2 MLFS, and one PR. One patient died before first assessment. Response rates were similar in patients with and without prior alloHCT (ORR 56% vs. 58%). In non-intensively treated responding patients the median time to neutrophil (≥1.0x109/L) and platelet recovery (≥100x109/L) was 42 and 41 days, respectively. No differences in recovery times were observed between patients with and without prior alloHCT (39 vs. 46 days for neutrophil recovery; 41 vs. 52 days for platelet recovery (Fig.1A-B)). For intensively treated patients the ORR was 79% (n=11) with 9 CR/CRis (64%), one MLFS, and one PR compared to an ORR of 47% in the FLA-IDA control cohort. Median time to neutrophil (≥1.0x109/L) and platelet recovery (≥100x109/L) in intensively treated responding patients were 34 and 36 days compared to 39 and 41 days in the control cohort. Median recovery times in patients with and without prior alloHCT were similar (FLAVIDA: 34 vs. 33 days for neutrophil recovery; 36 vs. 36 days for platelet recovery, Fig. 1 C-D; FLA-IDA control: 41 vs. 38 days for neutrophil recovery; 70 vs. 38 days for platelet recovery, Fig. 1 E-F). After a median follow-up of 10.5 months the median overall survival (OS) was 8 months in non-intensively treated patients. After a median follow-up of 9.9 months the median OS was not reached in intensively treated patients. Median event-free survival was 5.8 months in non-intensively treated patients and was not reached in intensively treated patients. Conclusions: Venetoclax in combination with intensive chemotherapy as well as non-intensive regimens showed promising response rates for treatment of relapsed or refractory AML with good tolerability and acceptable duration of cytopenias with no differences in recovery times in patients with and without prior alloHCT. Disclosures Koenecke: Novartis: Other: none. Heuser:Bayer Pharma AG, Berlin: Research Funding; Synimmune: Research Funding.

Background: T effector cells (Teff) within the stem cell graft in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) can elicit disabling acute graft-versus-host disease (aGvHD) contributing to transplant-related mortality. Teff as donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) are a therapeutic option to re-induce complete remission (CR) after leukemia relapse. Usually DLIs are given in dose escalating regimens until CR is achieved or first signs of aGvHD develop. To monitor the DLI induced allo-immune response and the efficacy of aGvHD treatment is a clinical challenge, since no established biomarkers are available.

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a curative treatment for adult patients with hematologic malignancies, but is limited by severe, life-threatening complications such as acute graft-versus-host disease (aGvHD). We have developed a proteomic urine pattern “aGvHD_MS17”, consisting of 17 differentially excreted peptides, capable to predict aGvHD grade II or more (1, 2). In 2008, a multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind clinical trial (Pre-GvHD) was initiated testing aGvHD_MS17 for prediction of aGvHD and to initiate pre-emptive therapy using prednisolone 2-2.5mg/kg.

Background and Aim: Deletion of 5q is the most frequent cytogenetic aberration in MDS and is associated with distinct clinical characteristics, disease course and sensitivity to lenalidomide. The serine-threonine kinase CSNK1A1 is located in the commonly deleted region at 5q32 and has been described as a tumor-suppressor gene in colon cancer and acute myeloid leukemia through regulation of ß-catenin and p53. Recently, missense mutations in CSNK1A1 have been described in individual patients with del(5q) MDS. The aim of our study was to characterize the frequency and potential prognostic impact of CSNK1A1mutations in MDS and AML following MDS.

Abstract Fourteen patients with myeloid leukemia (12 with acute and 2 with chronic myelogenous leukemia) were transplanted from their HLA-identical (n = 9) or haploidentical (n = 5) family donors with CD34-enriched stem cells (HSCT) without further immunosuppression. In order to induce a graft versus leukemia (GvL) effect and to investigate the possibility of controlling graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), the standard transplantation protocol was adapted to include transfusion of gene-modified donor T-cells after HSCT in 11 patients, 3 did not receive any T-cells. Donor-T-cells were transduced with the replication-deficient retrovirus SFCMM-3 which expresses the herpes simplex thymidine kinase (HSV-Tk) as a suicide gene and the truncated low affinity nerve growth factor receptor (ΔLNGFR) for selection purposes. After transfusion, SFCMM-3 transduced T-cells were detectable in all 11 patients by PCR and FACS analyses immediately after transfusion and during the follow up period (range: 1.1-11 years). Two of 9 patients developed acute GvHD: one of the skin, grade 1, 56 days after transfusion of the transduced cells, the other grade II which was successfully treated with ganciclovir. Loss of bcr-abl gene expression was achieved in one patient after expansion of transduced cells. Donor chimerism was stabilized after transfusion of transduced cells in all patients treated. In one patient a cytomegalovirus-reactivation was treated by the transfusion of gene-modified donor T-cells also indicating effectiveness of treatment. To date, 5 patients have relapsed, and died, one after a second HSCT. Two of the patients without transduced T-cells died due to relapse and 7 patients are alive and well and in complete clinical remission. Thus we have shown that transfusion of transduced T-cells is effective and safe in a long follow-up of 11 years post transfusion. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Transplant activity for acute leukemia continues to increase worldwide. In the ALWP registry more than 85000 transplant procedures for AML and ALL (auto and allo-HSCT) were registered thus far. The ALWP objectives are: (i) to organize high level accredited educational activities pertinent to acute leukemia (latest symposiums: Nantes in 2008, Barcelona in 2009, Milan in 2010, Warsaw in 2011, and Milan in 2012); (ii) to design and support prospective clinical trials in the fi eld of acute leukemia across member centres (the pan-european elderly AML randomized trial is currently recruiting patients: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifi er: NCT00766779); (iii) to generate high quality retrospective studies addressing diff erent issues related to acute leukemia management and therapy; (iv) to increase within the EBMT registry the quality of data pertinent to HSCT for acute leukemia; and (v) to generate guidelines pertinent to the management of acute leukemia. Currently, the ALWP activities are organized and structured within 6 subcommittees (SC) focused on specifi c fi elds of interest: autologous HSCT SC, Immunotherapy SC, Alternative donors SC, RIC SC, Molecular markers SC, and the Developing centers SC. The ALWP is currently chaired by M. Mohty (France) and the secretary is S. Giebel (Poland) and includes representatives/members from most EBMT centres/countries, with expertise in both auto and allogeneic HSCT for AML and ALL. The ALWP meets twice a year to discuss ongoing studies and new study proposals and review manuscript preparation. All EBMT members are encouraged to submit study proposals (registry-based studies) to the ALWP. After a quick feasibility assessment performed by the ALWP offi ce, projects will be discussed during the ALWP winter (usually October or November) and spring (during the EBMT annual meeting) business meetings.