Individual outcome prediction for myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and secondary acute myeloid leukemia from MDS after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation.

We integrated molecular data with available prognostic factors in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) for myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) or secondary acute myeloid leukemia (sAML) from MDS to evaluate their impact on prognosis. Three hundred four patients were sequenced for mutations in 54 genes. We used a Cox multivariate model and competing risk analysis with internal and cross validation to identify factors prognostic of overall survival (OS), cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR), and non-relapse mortality (NRM). In multivariate analysis, mutated NRAS, U2AF1, IDH2, and TP53 and/or a complex karyotype were significant prognostic markers for OS besides age above 60 years, remission status, IPSS-R cytogenetic risk, HCT-CI > 2 and female donor sex. Mutated NRAS, IDH1, EZH2, and TP53 and/or a complex karyotype were genetic aberrations with prognostic impact on CIR. No molecular markers were associated with the risk of NRM. The inclusion of molecular information results in better risk prediction models for OS and CIR when assessed by the Akaike information criterion. Internal cross validation confirmed the robustness of our comprehensive risk model. In summary, we propose to combine molecular, cytogenetic, and patient- and transplantation-associated risk factors into a comprehensive risk model to provide personalized predictions of outcome after alloHCT.

Closure of Left Atrial Appendage With Persistent Distal Thrombus Using an Amplatzer Amulet Occluder.

A 73-year-old patient with permanent atrial fibrillation presented for left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion. Transesophageal echocardiography demonstrated a thrombus in the distal LAA. This image series illustrates a "no touch" technique that was used to ensure successful implantation of an Amplatzer Amulet LAA occlusion device without the use of an embolization protection system.

Frequency and prognostic impact of mutations in SRSF2, U2AF1, and ZRSR2 in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes.

Mutations in genes of the splicing machinery have been described recently in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). In the present study, we examined a cohort of 193 MDS patients for mutations in SRSF2, U2AF1 (synonym U2AF35), ZRSR2, and, as described previously, SF3B1, in the context of other molecular markers, including mutations in ASXL1, RUNX1, NRAS, TP53, IDH1, IDH2, NPM1, and DNMT3A. Mutations in SRSF2, U2AF1, ZRSR2, and SF3B1 were found in 24 (12.4%), 14 (7.3%), 6 (3.1%), and 28 (14.5%) patients, respectively, corresponding to a total of 67 of 193 MDS patients (34.7%). SRSF2 mutations were associated with RUNX1 (P < .001) and IDH1 (P = .013) mutations, whereas U2AF1 mutations were associated with ASXL1 (P = .005) and DNMT3A (P = .004) mutations. In univariate analysis, mutated SRSF2 predicted shorter overall survival and more frequent acute myeloid leukemia progression compared with wild-type SRSF2, whereas mutated U2AF1, ZRSR2, and SF3B1 had no impact on patient outcome. In multivariate analysis, SRSF2 remained an independent poor risk marker for overall survival (hazard ratio = 2.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.28-4.13; P = .017) and acute myeloid leukemia progression (hazard ratio = 2.83; 95% confidence interval, 1.31-6.12; P = .008). These results show a negative prognostic impact of SRSF2 mutations in MDS. SRSF2 mutations may become useful for clinical risk stratification and treatment decisions in the future.