SummaryThis study aimed to determine the incidence/prognostic impact of TP53 mutation in 318 myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients, and to correlate the changes to cytogenetics, single nucleotide polymorphism array karyotyping and clinical outcome. The median age was 65 years (17-89 years) and median follow-up was 45 months [95% confidence interval (CI) 27-62 months]. TP53 mutations occurred in 30 (9Á4%) patients, exclusively in isolated del5q (19%) and complex karyotype (CK) with -5/5q-(72%), correlated with International Prognostic Scoring System intermediate-2/high, TP53 protein expression, higher blast count and leukaemic progression. Patients with mutant TP53 had a paucity of mutations in other genes implicated in myeloid malignancies. Median overall survival of patients with TP53 mutation was shorter than wild-type (9 versus 66 months, P < 0Á001) and it retained significance in multivariable model (Hazard Ratio 3Á8, 95% CI 2Á3-6Á3,P < 0Á001). None of the sequentially analysed samples showed a disappearance of the mutant clone or emergence of new clones, suggesting an early occurrence of TP53 mutations. A reduction in mutant clone correlated with response to 5-azacitidine, however clones increased in nonresponders and persisted at relapse. The adverse impact of TP53 persists after adjustment for cytogenetic risk and is of practical importance in evaluating prognosis. The relatively common occurrence of these mutations in two different prognostic spectrums of MDS, i.e. isolated 5q-and CK with -5/5q-, possibly implies two different mechanistic roles for TP53 protein.

Key Points• Acquired mutations of myeloid-related genes are present in a proportion of AA patients.• Somatic mutations in AA predict higher risk of transformation to MDS.The distinction between acquired aplastic anemia (AA) and hypocellular myelodysplastic syndrome (hMDS) is often difficult, especially nonsevere AA. We postulated that somatic mutations are present in a subset of AA, and predict malignant transformation. From our database, we identified 150 AA patients with no morphological evidence of MDS, who had stored bone marrow (BM) and constitutional DNA. We excluded Fanconi anemia, mutations of telomere maintenance, and a family history of BM failure (BMF) or cancer. The initial cohort of 57 patients was screened for 835 known genes associated with BMF and myeloid cancer; a second cohort of 93 patients was screened for mutations in ASXL1, DNMT3A, BCOR, TET2, and MPL. Somatic mutations were detected in 19% of AA, and included ASXL1 (n 5 12), DNMT3A (n 5 8) and BCOR (n 5 6). Patients with somatic mutations had a longer disease duration (37 vs 8 months, P < .04), and shorter telomere lengths (median length, 0.9 vs 1.1, P < .001), compared with patients without mutations. Somatic mutations in AA patients with a disease duration of >6 months were associated with a 40% risk of transformation to MDS (P < .0002). Nearly one-fifth of AA patients harbor mutations in genes typically seen in myeloid malignancies that predicted for later transformation to MDS. (Blood. 2014;124(17):2698-2704

Mutations in the TET2 gene are frequent in myeloid disease, although their biologic and prognostic significance remains unclear. We analyzed 355 patients with myelodysplastic syndromes using "next-generation" sequencing for TET2 aberrations, 91 of whom were also subjected to single-nucleotide polymorphism 6.0 array karyotyping. Seventy-one TET2 mutations, with a relative mutation abundance (RMA) > 10%, were identified in 39 of 320 (12%) myelodysplastic syndrome and 16 of 35 (46%) chroni myelomonocytic leukemia patients (P < .001).Interestingly, 4 patients had multiple mutations likely to exist as independent clones or on alternate alleles, suggestive of clonal evolution. "Deeper" sequencing of 96 patient samples identified 4 additional mutations (RMA, 3%-6.3%). Importantly, TET2 mutant clones were also found in T cells, in addition to CD34 ؉ and total bone marrow cells (23.5%, 38.5%, and 43% RMA, respectively). Only 20% of the TET2-mutated patients showed loss of heterozygosity at the TET2 locus. There was no difference in the frequency of genome-wide aberrations, TET2 expression, or the JAK2V617F 46/1 haplotype between TET2-mutated and nonmutated patients. There was no significant prognostic association between TET2 mutations and World Health Organization subtypes, International Prognostic Scoring System score, cytogenetic status, or transformation to acute myeloid leukemia. On multivariate analysis, age (> 50 years) was associated with a higher incidence of TET2 mutation (P ‫؍‬ .02).