Background Patients with hematological malignancies (HM) are at high risk of mortality from SARS-CoV-2 disease 2019 (COVID-19). A better understanding of risk factors for adverse outcomes may improve clinical management in these patients. We therefore studied baseline characteristics of HM patients developing COVID-19 and analyzed predictors of mortality. Methods The survey was supported by the Scientific Working Group Infection in Hematology of the European Hematology Association (EHA). Eligible for the analysis were adult patients with HM and laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 observed between March and December 2020. Results The study sample includes 3801 cases, represented by lymphoproliferative (mainly non-Hodgkin lymphoma n = 1084, myeloma n = 684 and chronic lymphoid leukemia n = 474) and myeloproliferative malignancies (mainly acute myeloid leukemia n = 497 and myelodysplastic syndromes n = 279). Severe/critical COVID-19 was observed in 63.8% of patients (n = 2425). Overall, 2778 (73.1%) of the patients were hospitalized, 689 (18.1%) of whom were admitted to intensive care units (ICUs). Overall, 1185 patients (31.2%) died. The primary cause of death was COVID-19 in 688 patients (58.1%), HM in 173 patients (14.6%), and a combination of both COVID-19 and progressing HM in 155 patients (13.1%). Highest mortality was observed in acute myeloid leukemia (199/497, 40%) and myelodysplastic syndromes (118/279, 42.3%). The mortality rate significantly decreased between the first COVID-19 wave (March–May 2020) and the second wave (October–December 2020) (581/1427, 40.7% vs. 439/1773, 24.8%, p value < 0.0001). In the multivariable analysis, age, active malignancy, chronic cardiac disease, liver disease, renal impairment, smoking history, and ICU stay correlated with mortality. Acute myeloid leukemia was a higher mortality risk than lymphoproliferative diseases. Conclusions This survey confirms that COVID-19 patients with HM are at high risk of lethal complications. However, improved COVID-19 prevention has reduced mortality despite an increase in the number of reported cases.

In a Plenary Paper, Mittelman and colleagues assess the relative clinical efficacy of mRNA vaccination on COVID-19 disease incidence and outcomes in patients with hematologic malignancies compared with healthy matched controls. This population-based study from Israel links prior observations of poor serologic responses to vaccination to higher risk for breakthrough infection, hospitalization, and death in patients with blood cancer, especially those on active antineoplastic therapy. In an accompanying Letter to Blood, Pagano et al provide supportive data using a multination survey approach to capture outcomes for COVID-19 in vaccinated patients with hematologic neoplasms. They also emphasize the higher risk among patients with lymphoid malignancies. Together, these findings argue for both continued deployment of booster programs and ongoing public health guidance for this vulnerable group.

We have evaluated the contribution of the 1,3-b-D-glucan (BG) assay for the screening of invasive fungal infections (IFIs) in patients with haematological malignancies. Serum samples from patients at risk of IFI were collected twice a week and retrospectively tested using the BG assay. BG screening was performed on 1143 samples from 91 patients during 104 anticancer treatment cycles. Proven and probable cases of IFI occurred in 9 (8.7 %) treatment cycles. Depending on the criterion of positivity used (1¾ .60 pg ml "1 , 1¾ .80 pg ml "1 , 2¾ .60 pg ml "1 or 2¾ .80 pg ml "1 ) the sensitivity and specificity were 89, 89, 67 and 44 %, and 20, 48, 33 and 56 %, respectively. Although the test was marked as positive in 82, 68, 54 and 45 % of all the treatment cycles, in the majority of cases, these positivities were probably false. The major limit of the BG test was an extremely low positive predictive value (10 to 12 %). We have analysed mucositis, candida colonization, bacteraemia, use of antimicrobials, erythrocyte and thrombocyte filtered blood products, collecting tubes or sampling via venous catheters. Even though no factor is a major source of BG, it could at least partially influence BG assay performance. Thus, BG detection has a limited usefulness as a screening method for IFIs in patients with haematological malignancies.

The objective of this retrospective study was to evaluate results from voriconazole therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) in haematological patients in routine clinical practice. Between 2005 and 2010, 1228 blood samples were obtained from 264 haematological patients (median 3 samples/patient; range 1-27) receiving voriconazole for targeted/preemptive treatment of invasive aspergillosis (IA) (46.3% of samples), empirical therapy (12.9%) or prophylaxis (40.8%). A high-pressure liquid chromatography assay was used to analyse voriconazole concentrations. Clinical and laboratory data were analysed retrospectively. The median of the detected voriconazole plasma concentration was 1.00 μg ml(-1) (range <0.20-13.47 μg ml(-1)). Significant inter- and intra-patients variability of measured concentrations (81.9% and 50.5%) were identified. With the exception of omeprazole administration, there was no relevant relationship between measured voriconazole concentrations and drug dose, route administration, age, gender, CYP2C19*2 genotype, gastrointestinal tract abnormality, administration via nasogastric tube, serum creatinine, and liver enzymes. However, per patient analysis identified significant role of individual voriconazole dose and drug form change on measured plasma concentration. Measured voriconazole concentrations did not correlate with the treatment outcome of patients with IA. We only identified a limited number of adverse events related to voriconazole therapy; however, the median plasma concentration was not different from concentrations measured in samples without reported toxicity. Our retrospective study has suggested that routine monitoring of voriconazole plasma concentrations has probably only a limited role in daily haematological practice.

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Little is known about the function and phenotype of leukemic stem cells (LSCs) in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) or about specific markers that discriminate LSCs from normal hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). CD26 has recently been described as a specific marker of CML LSCs. In the current study, we investigated this marker in a cohort of 31 unselected CML patients. BCR/ABL1 positivity was analyzed in highly enriched stem cell fractions using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR). The proportion of CD26+ LSCs and CD26− HSCs varied considerably among the patients analyzed, and the percentage of CD26+ cells correlated with leukocyte count. The CD26 expression robustly discriminated LSCs from HSCs. This required a strict gating of the stem cell compartment. Thus, in patients with very low LSC or HSC numbers, only the highly sensitive RT-PCR method discriminated between clonal and non-clonal cells, while a robust FISH analysis required larger numbers of cells in both compartments. Finally, our data show that the numbers of CD26+ CML LSCs correlate with responses to treatment with BCR-ABL1 inhibitors.

In contrast to recently published data, we found only moderate sensitivity, but high specificity and high positive predictive value of the detection of GM in BAL fluid. In addition, neutropenia, antifungal therapy, and BAL standardization affected GM assay performance.

Patients receiving chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T cells) therapy may be particularly susceptible to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) because of several factors including the immunosuppression associated to the underlying disease and delayed cytopenias. Regrettably, data on outcomes of CAR-T recipients with COVID-19 are extremely scarce. The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 in patients treated with CAR-T therapy. The European Hematology Association - Scientific Working Group Infection in Hematology endorsed a survey to collect and analyze data from patients developing COVID-19 after CAR-T therapy. Overall, 459 patients treated with CAR-T cells were reported from 18 European centers. The prevalence of COVID-19 cases was 4.8%. Median time from CAR-T therapy and COVID-19 diagnosis was 169 days. Severe infection occurred in 66.7% of patients and 43.3% of the subjects required admission to ICU. The COVID-19 mortality was 33%. In multivariable analysis, the disease status at the time of COVID-19 trended marginally towards adverse outcome (P=0.075). In conclusion, we documented a high fatality rate for CAR-T patients with COVID-19, supporting the need to design successful interventions to mitigate the risk of infection in this vulnerable group of patients.