Session: 641. Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: Basic and Translational: Poster III
Hematology Disease Topics & Pathways:
Lymphoid Leukemias, Research, Assays, CLL, Translational Research, Diseases, Treatment Considerations, Lymphoid Malignancies, Technology and Procedures, Profiling, Machine learning
Methods: Fifteen patients included thus far in PreVent-ACaLL were randomized 1:1 between preemptive A+V or WW. Blood samples were assessed at baseline, after 12 weeks (end of treatment), and after 24 weeks. Innate immune function was assessed in fresh whole-blood samples by TruCulture, a clinically implemented functional assay quantifying cytokine release in response to standardized immune stimuli (lipopolysaccharide [LPS] for TLR4; single-stranded RNA-virus analogue resiquimod [R848] for TLR7/8) and an unstimulated control. Concurrently, extensive immunophenotyping of immune cell subsets in fresh whole blood was assessed by an 8-tube, 10 color flow cytometry panel (DuraClone). Baseline data were compared to previous data from 35 CLL patients needing treatment (outside the trial). All patients provided written informed consent, and the study was approved by the Ethics Committee and the Data Protections Agency.
Results: At baseline, LPS- and R848 stimulated release of IFN-γ and IL-10 was reduced and R848-stimulated release of IL-8 and TNF-α was elevated in CLL patients included in PreVent-ACaLL (n=15) compared to normal reference levels, with cytokine levels comparable to CLL patients needing treatment. Unstimulated IL-8 and TNF-α were also elevated in PreVent-ACaLL patients, similar to- or exceeding the levels observed for CLL patients needing treatment. In the treatment arm (n=8), R848-stimulated IL-10 release normalized during the 24 weeks (p=0.02). R848 stimulated- and unstimulated IL-8 and TNF-α normalized upon A+V while remaining elevated in patients from the WW arm (n=7) (A+V vs WW at 24 weeks: p=0.02 [R848-IL8], 0.04 [R848-TNFα], and 0.04 [Unstim-IL-8]). Notably, normalization of unstimulated cytokines first occurred at 24 weeks (12 weeks post treatment). Immunophenotyping data will be included for the presentation.
Conclusion: Functional immune assessment of the first fifteen patients enrolled in the phase 2 PreVent-ACaLL trial for newly diagnosed patients with CLL at high risk of infection and/or treatment indicates increased inflammatory activity along with dysregulated innate immune responses similar to patients with progressive CLL needing treatment. Despite a small sample size, we observed signs of innate immune restoration and reduced inflammation in patients receiving preemptive A+V for 12 weeks as compared to the WW arm. These findings are coherent with our previous observations of innate immune restoration upon treatment with acalabrutinib monotherapy or ibrutinib+venetoclax in CLL patients needing treatment (Teglgaard et al., CCR, 2024). Thus, we here for the first time provide early data indicating that preemptive treatment may improve immune function and thus reduce infectious risk in high-risk newly diagnosed CLL, further emphasizing the role of data-driven decision support tools for CLL infectious risk assessment and management. The PreVent-ACaLL trial is ongoing, awaiting clinical results within the coming years.
Disclosures: Svanberg: AstraZeneca: Research Funding. Levin: Janssen, AbbVie: Other: Travel. Österborg: Beigene Ltd: Research Funding. Niemann: CSL Behring, Genmab, Takeda, Beigene, MSD, Lilly: Consultancy; Novo Nordisk: Research Funding; AbbVie, Janssen, AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk Foundation, Octapharma: Consultancy, Research Funding.
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