The evolving potential of companion diagnostics.

The scope of companion diagnostics in cancer has undergone significant shifts in the past few years, with increased development of targeted therapies and novel testing platforms. This has provided new opportunities to effect unprecedented paradigm shifts in the application of personalized medicine principles for patients with cancer. These shifts involve assay platforms, analytes, regulations, and therapeutic approaches.

Histologic transformation of chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma.

Although generally considered a clinically indolent neoplasm, CLL/SLL may undergo transformation to a clinically aggressive lymphoma. The most common form of transformation, to DLBCL, is also known as Richter syndrome. Transformation determines the course of the disease and is associated with unfavorable patient outcome.

Second line therapies in polycythemia vera: What is the optimal strategy after hydroxyurea failure?

Cytoreductive therapies have traditionally been the standard treatment for older patients with polycythemia vera (PV) or those with a history of prior thrombosis. Hydroxyurea (HU) is the most frequently used cytoreductive agent in PV. However, approximately 24% of patients treated with HU will eventually develop resistance or intolerance and patients who fail HU have an increased risk of death, transformation to myelofibrosis or acute myeloid leukemia.

Double minute chromosomes in acute myeloid leukemia, myelodysplastic syndromes, and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia are associated with micronuclei, MYC or MLL amplification, and complex karyotype.

Double minute chromosomes (dmin) are small, paired chromatin bodies that lack a centromere and represent a form of extrachromosomal gene amplification. Dmin are rare in myeloid neoplasms and are generally associated with a poor prognosis. Most studies of dmin in myeloid neoplasms are case reports or small series.

Clinical significance of acquired loss of the X chromosome in bone marrow.

Acquired loss of the X chromosome (-X) as a sole abnormality is detected rarely in bone marrow (BM) and its clinical importance remains largely unknown. We studied 38 patients with isolated -X in BM. All patients were women, with a median age of 71 years.

Risk stratification of chromosomal abnormalities in chronic myelogenous leukemia in the era of tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy.

Clonal cytogenetic evolution with additional chromosomal abnormalities (ACAs) in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is generally associated with decreased response to tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy and adverse survival. Although ACAs are considered as a sign of disease progression and have been used as one of the criteria for accelerated phase, the differential prognostic impact of individual ACAs in CML is unknown, and a classification system to reflect such prognostic impact is lacking. In this study, we aimed to address these questions using a large cohort of CML patients treated in the era of TKIs.

Dyspoietic changes associated with hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma are not a manifestation of a myelodysplastic syndrome: analysis of 25 patients.

Hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma (HSTCL) is a rare T-cell lymphoma commonly associated with cytopenias. The pathogenesis of cytopenias in patients with HSTCL is not well defined, although the presence of dyspoietic hematopoietic cells and the common association with trisomy 8 raise the possibility of an associated myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). In 25 bone marrow specimens involved by HSTCL, we systematically assessed for morphologic features of dyspoiesis and correlated the findings with peripheral cytopenia(s), cytogenetic findings, and detection of chromosome 8 by fluorescence in situ hybridization.

Simultaneous deletion of 3'ETV6 and 5'EWSR1 genes in blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm: case report and literature review.

Background: Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare hematologic malignancy. Based on literature reports of limited cases, over 50 % of BPDCN have chromosomal abnormalities, but no single chromosomal change has been identified as diagnostic of this entity.

Case Presentation: In this report, we present a case of BPDCN with complicated chromosomal abnormalities involving chromosomes 12 and 22 and resulting in a simultaneous partial deletion of ETV6 and EWSR1.

Bone Marrow Synoptic Reporting for Hematologic Neoplasms: Guideline From the College of American Pathologists Pathology and Laboratory Quality Center.

Context: -There is ample evidence from the solid tumor literature that synoptic reporting improves accuracy and completeness of relevant data. No evidence-based guidelines currently exist for synoptic reporting for bone marrow samples.

Objective: -To develop evidence-based recommendations to standardize the basic components of a synoptic report template for bone marrow samples.

Early T-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma (ETP-ALL/LBL) in adolescents and adults: a high-risk subtype.

Early T-cell precursor (ETP) acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma (ALL/LBL) is a recently recognized high-risk T lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma (T-ALL/LBL) subgroup. The optimal therapeutic approaches to adult patients with ETP-ALL/LBL are poorly characterized. In this study, we compared the outcomes of adults with ETP-ALL/LBL who received treatment on frontline regimens with those of patients with other T-ALL/LBL immunophenotypic subtypes.

High-grade Transformation of Low-grade B-cell Lymphoma: Pathology and Molecular Pathogenesis.

Patients with low-grade (clinically indolent) lymphomas are at risk to undergo transformation to high-grade (clinically aggressive) lymphoma, although transformation only occurs in a subset of patients. When transformation occurs it is a critical event that determines the course of disease and is associated with unfavorable patient outcomes. Accurate detection of transformation, predictive biomarkers, and identification of specific molecular pathways implicated in the pathobiology of transformation will facilitate personalized therapeutic approaches and underpin advances in clinical outcomes.

De Novo MYC and BCL2 Double-hit B-Cell Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (BCP-ALL) in Pediatric and Young Adult Patients Associated With Poor Prognosis.

MYC and BCL2 translocations in B-cell lymphomas are defined as "double-hit" associated with poor prognosis in adult patients. Such double-hit events are extremely rare in B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL), especially in pediatric patients or young adults. This study is to investigate the clinical manifestation of de novo MYCyBCL2 double-hit BCP-ALL in young patients.

Combination of hyper-CVAD with ponatinib as first-line therapy for patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: a single-centre, phase 2 study.

Background: Combination of chemotherapy with a tyrosine-kinase inhibitor is effective in the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Ponatinib is a more potent BCR-ABL1 inhibitor than all other tyrosine-kinase inhibitors and selectively suppresses the resistant T315I clones. We examined the activity and safety of combining chemotherapy with ponatinib for patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in this continuing phase 2 trial.

MYC/BCL6 double-hit lymphoma (DHL): a tumour associated with an aggressive clinical course and poor prognosis.

Aims: Large B cell lymphomas with MYC and BCL6/3q27 rearrangements, designated MYC/BCL6 DHL, are uncommon. Our aim was to better characterize this group of tumours.

Methods And Results: We studied the clinicopathological features and outcome of 13 patients with MYC/BCL6 DHL and compared this group to a group of 83 MYC/BCL2 DHL patients.

Clinicopathologic, Immunophenotypic, Cytogenetic, and Molecular Features of γδ T-Cell Large Granular Lymphocytic Leukemia: An Analysis of 14 Patients Suggests Biologic Differences With αβ T-Cell Large Granular Lymphocytic Leukemia. [corrected].

Objectives: T-cell large granular lymphocytic (T-LGL) leukemia is a rare disorder in which the neoplastic cells usually express the αβ T-cell receptor (TCR). To determine the significance of γδ TCR expression in this leukemia, we compared the clinicopathologic, immunophenotypic, and genetic features of patients with T-LGL leukemia expressing γδ TCR or αβ TCR.

Methods: We used the World Health Organization classification criteria to confirm the diagnosis.

Acute myeloid leukemia with MYC rearrangement and JAK2 V617F mutation.

Little is known about MYC dysregulation in myeloid malignancies, and the authors were unable to find published studies that evaluated MYC protein expression in primary cases of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) or acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Herein, we describe the clinical, morphologic, immunophenotypic, cytogenetic, and molecular genetic findings in two MDS/AML cases that contained both MYC rearrangement and the JAK2 V617F mutation. We also demonstrate MYC protein expression by immunohistochemistry in both patients.

Fibrogenesis in Primary Myelofibrosis: Diagnostic, Clinical, and Therapeutic Implications.

Primary myelofibrosis is a stem cell-derived clonal malignancy characterized by unchecked proliferation of myeloid cells, resulting in bone marrow fibrosis, osteosclerosis, and pathologic angiogenesis. Bone marrow fibrosis (BMF) plays a central role in the pathophysiology of the disease. This review describes current issues regarding BMF in primary myelofibrosis, including the pathophysiology and impact of abnormal deposition of excess collagen and reticulin fibers in bone marrow spaces, the modified Bauermeister and the European Consensus grading systems of BMF, and the prognostic impact of BMF on the overall outcome of patients with primary myelofibrosis.

Prognostic impact of acquisition of cytogenetic abnormalities during the course of chronic myelomonocytic leukemia.

Karyotypic abnormalities are detected in 20-40% of chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) patients at initial diagnosis and have been shown to correlate with patients' outcome. The significance of acquisition of cytogenetic abnormalities (ACA) during the course of CMML, however, is largely unknown. In a cohort of 314 CMML patients, karyotypic abnormalities were detected in 106 (34%) patients at the time of diagnosis; and ACA were detected in 80 (25%) patients after a median interval of 17 months (range, 2-117 months).

TP53 overexpression is an independent adverse prognostic factor in de novo myelodysplastic syndromes with fibrosis.

Bone marrow (BM) fibrosis is associated with poor prognosis in patients with de novo myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). TP53 mutations and TP53 (p53) overexpression in MDS are also associated with poor patient outcomes. The prevalence and significance of TP53 mutations and TP53 overexpression in MDS with fibrosis are unknown.