Large-scale next-generation sequencing (NGS) studies revealed extensive genetic heterogeneity, driving a highly variable clinical course of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). The evolution of subclonal populations contributes to diverse therapy responses and disease refractoriness. Besides, the dynamics and impact of subpopulations before therapy initiation are not well understood. We examined changes in genomic defects in serial samples of 100 untreated CLL patients, spanning from indolent to aggressive disease. A comprehensive NGS panel LYNX, which provides targeted mutational analysis and genome-wide chromosomal defect assessment, was employed. We observed dynamic changes in the composition and/or proportion of genomic aberrations in most patients (62%). Clonal evolution of gene variants prevailed over the chromosomal alterations. Unsupervised clustering based on aberration dynamics revealed four groups of patients with different clinical behaviour. An adverse cluster was associated with fast progression and early therapy need, characterized by the expansion of TP53 defects, ATM mutations, and 18p- alongside dynamic SF3B1 mutations. Our results show that clonal evolution is active even without therapy pressure and that repeated genetic testing can be clinically relevant during long-term patient monitoring. Moreover, integrative NGS testing contributes to the consolidated evaluation of results and accurate assessment of individual patient prognosis.
Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) exhibit diverse clinical outcomes. An expanding array of genetic tests is now employed to facilitate the identification of patients with high-risk disease and inform treatment decisions. These tests encompass molecular cytogenetic analysis, focusing on recurrent chromosomal alterations, particularly del(17p). Additionally, sequencing is utilized to identify TP53 mutations and to determine the somatic hypermutation status of the immunoglobulin heavy variable gene. Concurrently, a swift advancement of targeted treatment has led to the implementation of novel strategies for patients with CLL, including kinase and BCL2 inhibitors. This review explores both current and emerging diagnostic tests aimed at identifying high-risk patients who should benefit from targeted therapies. We outline existing treatment paradigms, emphasizing the importance of matching the right treatment to the right patient beyond genetic stratification, considering the crucial balance between safety and efficacy. We also take into consideration the practical and logistical issues when choosing a management strategy for each individual patient. Furthermore, we delve into the mechanisms underlying therapy resistance and stress the relevance of monitoring measurable residual disease to guide treatment decisions. Finally, we underscore the necessity of aggregating real-world data, adopting a global perspective, and ensuring patient engagement. Taken together, we argue that precision medicine is not the mere application of precision diagnostics and accessibility of precision therapies in CLL but encompasses various aspects of the patient journey (e.g., lifestyle exposures and comorbidities) and their preferences toward achieving true personalized medicine for patients with CLL.
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- přehledy MeSH
Early identification of resistant cancer cells is currently a major challenge, as their expansion leads to refractoriness. To capture the dynamics of these cells, we made a comprehensive analysis of disease progression and treatment response in a chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patient using a combination of single-cell and bulk genomic methods. At diagnosis, the patient presented with unfavorable genetic markers, including notch receptor 1 (NOTCH1) mutation and loss(11q). The initial and subsequent treatment lines did not lead to a durable response and the patient developed refractory disease. Refractory CLL cells featured substantial dysregulation in B-cell phenotypic markers such as human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes, immunoglobulin (IG) genes, CD19 molecule (CD19), membrane spanning 4-domains A1 (MS4A1; previously known as CD20), CD79a molecule (CD79A) and paired box 5 (PAX5), indicating B-cell de-differentiation and disease transformation. We described the clonal evolution and characterized in detail two cell populations that emerged during the refractory disease phase, differing in the presence of high genomic complexity. In addition, we successfully tracked the cells with high genomic complexity back to the time before treatment, where they formed a rare subpopulation. We have confirmed that single-cell RNA sequencing enables the characterization of refractory cells and the monitoring of their development over time.
In chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), analysis of TP53 aberrations (deletion and/or mutation) is a crucial part of treatment decision-making algorithms. Technological and treatment advances have resulted in the need for an update of the last recommendations for TP53 analysis in CLL, published by ERIC, the European Research Initiative on CLL, in 2018. Based on the current knowledge of the relevance of low-burden TP53-mutated clones, a specific variant allele frequency (VAF) cut-off for reporting TP53 mutations is no longer recommended, but instead, the need for thorough method validation by the reporting laboratory is emphasized. The result of TP53 analyses should always be interpreted within the context of available laboratory and clinical information, treatment indication, and therapeutic options. Methodological aspects of introducing next-generation sequencing (NGS) in routine practice are discussed with a focus on reliable detection of low-burden clones. Furthermore, potential interpretation challenges are presented, and a simplified algorithm for the classification of TP53 variants in CLL is provided, representing a consensus based on previously published guidelines. Finally, the reporting requirements are highlighted, including a template for clinical reports of TP53 aberrations. These recommendations are intended to assist diagnosticians in the correct assessment of TP53 mutation status, but also physicians in the appropriate understanding of the lab reports, thus decreasing the risk of misinterpretation and incorrect management of patients in routine practice whilst also leading to improved stratification of patients with CLL in clinical trials.
TP53 gene abnormalities represent the most important biomarker in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Altered protein modifications could also influence p53 function, even in the wild-type protein. We assessed the impact of p53 protein phosphorylations on p53 functions as an alternative inactivation mechanism. We studied p53 phospho-profiles induced by DNA-damaging agents (fludarabine, doxorubicin) in 71 TP53-intact primary CLL samples. Doxorubicin induced two distinct phospho-profiles: profile I (heavily phosphorylated) and profile II (hypophosphorylated). Profile II samples were less capable of activating p53 target genes upon doxorubicin exposure, resembling TP53-mutant samples at the transcriptomic level, whereas standard p53 signaling was triggered in profile I. ATM locus defects were more common in profile II. The samples also differed in the basal activity of the hypoxia pathway: the highest level was detected in TP53-mutant samples, followed by profile II and profile I. Our study suggests that wild-type TP53 CLL cells with less phosphorylated p53 show TP53-mutant-like behavior after DNA damage. p53 hypophosphorylation and the related lower ability to respond to DNA damage are linked to ATM locus defects and the higher basal activity of the hypoxia pathway.
- MeSH
- ATM protein genetika metabolismus MeSH
- chronická lymfatická leukemie * genetika MeSH
- doxorubicin farmakologie MeSH
- fosforylace MeSH
- geny p53 MeSH
- hypoxie genetika MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- nádorový supresorový protein p53 * metabolismus MeSH
- poškození DNA MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
Mutace v genu TP53 představují nejdůležitější nepříznivý prognostický a prediktivní faktor u pacientů s chronickou lymfocytární leukemií (CLL) a přispívají k celkově horšímu průběhu onemocnění a riziku časného relapsu či rezistenci na podávanou chemoimunoterapii. Z dosavadních výsledků vyplývá, že při léčbě chemoimunoterapií (fludarabin, cyklofosfamid a rituximab – FCR) v první linii dochází ke klonální selekci TP53 aberantních buněk, což má nepříznivý vliv na prognózu onemocnění. Recentní studie zabývající se klonální evolucí mutací v genu TP53 pod vlivem terapie BCR a Bcl-2 inhibitorovými léčivy podobný trend nenaznačují. V klinické diagnostice aberací TP53 se čím dál více využívá metody sekvenování nové generace (NGS), které dosahují citlivosti detekce alelické frekvence pod 10 % oproti standardně zavedenému Sangerovu sekvenování. V posledních letech se pozornost výzkumu CLL upíná zejména k mutacím v genu TP53 s alelickou frekvencí pod 10 % a jejich klinickou významnost. V následujícím přehledovém článku shrnujeme doposud publikované výsledky klonální evoluce mutací v genu TP53 pod vlivem různým terapeutických režimů zejména s ohledem na mutace s alelickou četností < 10 % a jejich klinickou interpretaci.
TP53 gene mutations represent the most important adverse prognostic and predictive factor in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and contribute to an overall worse disease course and risk of early relapse or resistance to chemoimmunotherapy. Results to date suggest that first-line chemoimmunotherapy (FCR) results in clonal selection of TP53 aberrant cells, which has an adverse effect on disease prognosis. Recent studies investigating the clonal evolution of TP53 mutations under BCR and Bcl-2 inhibitor therapy do not suggest a similar trend. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) methods are being increasingly used in the clinical diagnosis of TP53 aberrations, achieving sensitivity of allelic frequency detection below 10% compared to standard Sanger sequencing. In recent years, the focus of CLL research has been on TP53 gene mutations with allelic frequencies below 10% and their clinical significance. In the following review article, we summarize the results published so far on the clonal evolution of TP53 gene mutations under different therapeutic regimens, especially with respect to mutations with an allelic frequency < 10% and their clinical interpretation.
- MeSH
- chronická lymfatická leukemie * farmakoterapie genetika terapie MeSH
- frekvence genu účinky léků MeSH
- geny p53 * účinky léků MeSH
- klinická studie jako téma MeSH
- klonální evoluce účinky léků MeSH
- kombinovaná terapie MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mutace účinky léků MeSH
- výsledek terapie MeSH
- vysoce účinné nukleotidové sekvenování MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- přehledy MeSH
Genome methylation profiles define naïve-like (n-CLL), memory-like (m-CLL), and intermediate (i-CLL) subsets of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). The profiles can be easily determined by the analysis of the five-CpG signature. m-CLL, i-CLL, and n-CLL with the good, intermediate, and poor prognoses, respectively, differ by the somatic hypermutation status of the immunoglobulin heavy chain variable gene (IGHV), a widely used prognostic predictor in CLL. We have previously shown that the expression of WNT5A, encoding a ROR1 ligand, distinguishes patients with the worse outcome within the prognostically favourable IGHV-mutated subgroup. To analyse the mechanisms controlling WNT5A expression, we investigated the methylation status of 54 CpG sites within the WNT5A promoter and its relation to the WNT5A gene expression. In a cohort of 59 CLL patients balanced for combinations of IGHV and WNT5A statuses, we identified three promoter CpG sites whose methylation level correlated with the WNT5A expression within the IGHV-mutated subgroup. Further, we complemented our data with the methylation status of the five-CpG signature. IGHV-mutated/WNT5A-negative and IGHV-mutated/WNT5A-positive cases overlapped with m‐CLL and i‐CLL methylation subgroups, respectively, while most IGHV‐unmutated samples were assigned to n-CLL. Median methylation levels of all the three CpG sites in the WNT5A promoter were lowest in i-CLL. Finally, a detailed analysis of m-CLL and i-CLL showed that undetectable WNT5A expression predicts longer treatment-free survival with higher statistical significance than the classification according to the five-CpG signature. To conclude, a favourable m-CLL subgroup is associated with mutated IGHV and undetectable WNT5A expression due to its promoter methylation.
- MeSH
- chronická lymfatická leukemie * genetika MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- ligandy MeSH
- metylace DNA MeSH
- mutace MeSH
- prognóza MeSH
- promotorové oblasti (genetika) MeSH
- protein Wnt 5a genetika metabolismus MeSH
- těžké řetězce imunoglobulinů genetika metabolismus MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
BACKGROUND: Telomeres are protective structures at chromosome ends which shorten gradually with increasing age. In chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), short telomeres have been associated with unfavorable disease outcome, but the link between clonal evolution and telomere shortening remains unresolved. METHODS: We investigated relative telomere length (RTL) in a well-characterized cohort of 198 CLL patients by qPCR and focused in detail on a subgroup 26 patients who underwent clonal evolution of TP53 mutations (evolTP53). In the evolTP53 subgroup we explored factors influencing clonal evolution and corresponding changes in telomere length through measurements of telomerase expression, lymphocyte doubling time, and BCR signaling activity. RESULTS: At baseline, RTL of the evolTP53 patients was scattered across the entire RTL spectrum observed in our CLL cohort. RTL changed in the follow-up samples of 16/26 (62%) evolTP53 cases, inclining to reach intermediate RTL values, i.e., longer telomeres shortened compared to baseline while shorter ones prolonged. For the first time we show that TP53 clonal shifts are linked to RTL change, including unexpected RTL prolongation. We further investigated parameters associated with RTL changes. Unstable telomeres were significantly more frequent among younger patients (P = 0.032). Shorter telomeres were associated with decreased activity of the B-cell receptor signaling components p-ERK1/2, p-ZAP-70/SYK, and p-NFκB (P = 0.04, P = 0.01, and P = 0.02, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed that changes of telomere length reflect evolution in leukemic subclone proportion, and are associated with specific clinico-biological features of the explored cohort.
- MeSH
- chronická lymfatická leukemie genetika MeSH
- klonální evoluce genetika MeSH
- lidé středního věku MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mutace MeSH
- nádorový supresorový protein p53 genetika MeSH
- protoonkogenní proteiny c-bcr metabolismus MeSH
- signální transdukce MeSH
- telomerasa genetika MeSH
- telomery ultrastruktura MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé středního věku MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
Retroelements (RE) have been proposed as important players in cancerogenesis. Different cancer types are characterized by a different level of tumor-specific RE insertions. In previous studies, small cohorts of hematological malignancies, such as acute myeloid leukemia, multiple myeloma, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia have been characterized by a low level of RE insertional activity. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in adults and childhood acute leukemias have not been studied in this context. We performed a search for new RE insertions (Alu and L1) in 44 childhood ALL, 14 childhood acute myeloid leukemia, and 14 adult ALL samples using a highly sensitive NGS-based approach. First, we evaluated the method sensitivity revealing the 1% detection threshold for the proportion of cells with specific RE insertion. Following this result, we did not identify new tumor-specific RE insertions in the tested cohort of acute leukemia samples at the established level of sensitivity. Additionally, we analyzed the transcription levels of active L1 copies and found them increased. Thus, the increased transcription of active L1 copies is not sufficient for overt elevation of L1 retrotranspositional activity in leukemia.
- MeSH
- akutní lymfatická leukemie genetika MeSH
- akutní myeloidní leukemie genetika MeSH
- dítě MeSH
- DNA nádorová genetika MeSH
- dospělí MeSH
- genetická transkripce MeSH
- kojenec MeSH
- lidé středního věku MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mladiství MeSH
- mladý dospělý MeSH
- předškolní dítě MeSH
- regulace genové exprese u leukemie MeSH
- reprodukovatelnost výsledků MeSH
- retroelementy genetika MeSH
- senioři MeSH
- Check Tag
- dítě MeSH
- dospělí MeSH
- kojenec MeSH
- lidé středního věku MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mladiství MeSH
- mladý dospělý MeSH
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- předškolní dítě MeSH
- senioři MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
Infrequent and rare genetic variants in the human population vastly outnumber common ones. Although they may contribute significantly to the genetic basis of a disease, these seldom-encountered variants may also be miss-identified as pathogenic if no correct references are available. Somatic and germline TP53 variants are associated with multiple neoplastic diseases, and thus have come to serve as a paradigm for genetic analyses in this setting. We searched 14 independent, globally distributed datasets and recovered TP53 SNPs from 202,767 cancer-free individuals. In our analyses, 19 new missense TP53 SNPs, including five novel variants specific to the Asian population, were recurrently identified in multiple datasets. Using a combination of in silico, functional, structural, and genetic approaches, we showed that none of these variants displayed loss of function compared to the normal TP53 gene. In addition, classification using ACMG criteria suggested that they are all benign. Considered together, our data reveal that the TP53 coding region shows far more polymorphism than previously thought and present high ethnic diversity. They furthermore underline the importance of correctly assessing novel variants in all variant-calling pipelines associated with genetic diagnoses for cancer.
