Clinical Impact of Clonal and Subclonal TP53, SF3B1, BIRC3, and ATM Mutations in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Genomic studies have provided a complete profile of somatic mutations in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). These comprehensive approaches have revealed a relatively large number of mutated genes, the adverse prognostic value of some of which has been demonstrated in a number of reports. Recent studies have shown the clinical relevance of TP53 mutations at very low allele frequency.  The presence and prognostic impact of minor mutated clones of other CLL driver genes and their clonal dynamics in the evolution of the disease is not well known. The goal of this study was to explore the presence of clonal and subclonal mutations of TP53, SF3B1, BIRC3, and ATM using an ultra-deep next-generation sequencing (NGS) strategy, to define the evolution of these subclones in different time-points of the disease, and to determine their influence in the outcome of the patients.

Samples from 363 untreated CLL cases were included in this study. Copy number alterations were investigated by high density SNP-arrays or by quantitative PCR in 341 and 16 cases, respectively. Targeted ultra-deep NGS of TP53 (exons 4-10), ATM (exons 2-63), BIRC3 (exons 2-9), and SF3B1 (exons 14-16 and 18), including splicing sites, was performed using the Access-Array system (Fluidigm) and sequenced in a MiSeq equipment (Illumina). This methodology combined with a robust bioinformatic analysis based on well-known available tools allowed the identification of mutations down to 0.3% of variant allele frequency (VAF). Results obtained were fully verified by orthogonal techniques. Twelve per cent of VAF was used as threshold for the classification of clonal or subclonal mutations since 12% was the cut-off for detection of mutations by Sanger sequencing.

Deletions of 11q comprising ATM or BIRC3 were found in 7% of the cases and were associated with mutations of the other ATM allele in 19/26 (73%) cases and BIRC3 in 3/23 (13%). Deletions of 17p were found in 19 (5%) cases and co-existed with TP53 mutations in 15 (79%) of them. Regarding the mutational status of the studied genes, TP53 mutations were present in 11.6% of patients (7.2% clonal, 4.4% subclonal), ATM mutations in 10% (7% clonal, 1% subclonal, 2% germline mutations considered pathogenic), SF3B1 mutations in 12% (7% clonal, 5% subclonal), and BIRC3 mutations in 4% (2% clonal, 2% subclonal). These subclonal mutations had similar molecular characteristics to their respective high-allele frequency mutations supporting a comparable pathogenic effect. In this regard, clonal and subclonal SF3B1 mutations were associated with shorter time to first treatment (TTT) independently of IGHV mutations. Clonal and subclonal TP53 mutations predicted for shorter overall survival (OS) together with the IGHV mutational status, although the impact of isolated TP53 mutations (i.e. without 17p deletion) on OS was not so evident, as has been the case in other studies. In addition, the outcome of patients with clonal and subclonal BIRC3 mutations showed a similar significant shorter OS. Regarding ATM, the effect of isolated subclonal ATM mutations could not be evaluated because of their low number, but ATM mutations as a whole had a significant impact on TTT even in the absence of 11q deletions. This study also reinforces the need to study the germline of the patients to fully characterize the ATM mutations observed in the tumors. Of note, germline variants previously described as pathogenic were associated with 11q deletions, confirming the hypothesis already suggested that these germline variants may influence disease progression through loss of the other allele.

Clonal dynamics was examined in longitudinal samples of 45 CLL patients. We confirmed the expansion of most TP53 mutated clones after therapy. However, both TP53 and SF3B1 mutations expanded also before any therapy in some patients, indicating that progressive dynamics of these clones is not only dependent on therapy selection. On the contrary, small ATM mutated clones seemed to be more stable. Although the number of cases is limited, we observed that clonal evolution in longitudinal samples had an unfavorable impact on OS.

In conclusion, this study shows the presence of a high number of subclonal mutations of different driver genes in CLL and provides insights on the impact of these mutations on the outcome of the patients. These findings suggest that the characterization of the subclonal architecture may be relevant for a better management of CLL patients.