DDX41 germline mutations (DDX41MutGL) are the most common genetic predisposition to myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Recent reports suggest that DDX41MutGL myeloid malignancies could be considered as a distinct entity, even if their specific presentation and outcome remain to be defined. We described here the clinical and biological features of 191 patients with DDX41MutGL AML. Baseline characteristics and outcome of 86 of them, treated with intensive chemotherapy in 5 prospective ALFA/FILO trials were compared with those of 1604 DDX41 wild-type (DDX41WT) AML patients, representing a prevalence of 5%. DDX41MutGL AML patients were mostly males (75%) in their seventh decade, with low leukocyte count (median, 2x109/L), low bone marrow blast infiltration (median, 33%), normal cytogenetics (75%) and few additional somatic mutations (median, 2). A second somatic DDX41 mutation (DDX41MutSom) was found in 82% of patients and clonal architecture inference suggested that it could be the main driver for AML progression. DDX41MutGL patients displayed higher complete remission (CR) rates (94% vs. 69%, p<0.0001) and longer restricted mean overall survival (OS) censored at hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) than ELN-2017 intermediate/adverse (Int/Adv) DDX41WT patients (5-year ΔRMST of 13.6 months, p < 0.001). Relapse rates censored at HSCT were lower at 1 year in DDX41MutGL patients (15% vs. 44%) but later increased to join that of Int/Adv DDX41WT patients at 3 years (82% vs 75%). HSCT in first CR was associated with prolonged relapse-free survival (RFS; HR, 0.43 [95%CI, 0.21-0.88]; p = 0.02) but not with longer OS (HR=0.77 [95%CI, 0.35-1.68], p=0.5).
In recent years, through whole genome analyses, convincing evidence for the contribution of genetic predisposition to childhood B-cell precursor - acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL) due to altered PAX5 has been provided. A recurrent mutation p.Gly183Ser affecting the octapeptide domain has been described in three unrelated families and a p.Arg38His mutation affecting the DNA-binding paired domain reported in another one. We strengthen here the assumption of the inherited character of familial BCP-ALL by identifying the PAX5 p.Arg38His mutation in a family in which the three children developed BCP-ALL. One relapsed two years after his initial diagnosis and was allografted with his brother's cells before the latter developed BCP-ALL. The patient allografted relapsed later from donor-related cells. By syngeneic transplantations in mice, we showed that p.Arg38His expression does not abrogate the engraftment capacity of transduced Pax5-/- pro-B cells unlike wild type PAX5-rescued Pax5-/- pro-B cells and can predispose to BCP-ALL. Through functional and molecular analyses, we demonstrated that p.Arg38His acts as a hypomorphic variant altering the pattern of expression of PAX5 target genes. Our data highlight the importance of transcriptional deregulation, particularly of genes involved in B cell differentiation in familial BCP-ALL. We demonstrated that inherited genetic basis of susceptibility to BCP-ALL has been underestimated and should be considered before any familial allograft.
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