Clinical relevance of clonal hematopoiesis in metastatic gastrointestinal malignancies.
Authors: Diplas Bill , Ptashkin Ryan , Cercek Andrea , Yaeger Rona , Bolton Kelly L , Chalasani Sree Bhavani , Desai Avni Mukund , Goldberg Zoe , Gu Ping , Li Jia , Shcherba Marina , Zervoudakis Alice , Sabwa Shalom , Zehir Ahmet , Janjigian Yelena Y. , Diaz Luis A. , Maron Steven Brad 
Published: June 2021

e16082

Background: Clonal hematopoiesis (CH) represents non-random clonal selection of bone marrow-derived cells marked by somatic mutations in certain genes. The presence of CH is associated with development of atherosclerosis and leukemia, and accelerated by toxic exposures (chemotherapy, radiation, smoking) and aging (Jaiswal et al. NEJM 2017; Abelson et al. Nature 2018). The impact of these genetic alterations on cellular function is unknown, especially in the broader context of immunity and in response to cancer therapy. To determine the contribution of CH to therapeutic response and hematologic toxicity in cancer patients, we examined the outcomes of patients treated with cytotoxic and immunotherapy in relationship to CH status. Methods: We evaluated patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) or esophagogastric cancer (EGC). DNA extracted from whole blood and tumor tissue were sequenced in tandem as part of the MSK-IMPACT hybridization capture-based sequencing assay. CH was defined as any mutation with a VAF of at least 2%, present in at least 10 reads, with at least 2:1 blood:tumor reads, or 1.5:1 blood:lymph node that was not found in gnomAD with a frequency > 0.005. Additional filtering and putative driver definitions (CH-PD) were described by Bolton et al. Nature Genetics 2020. Multivariate survival analyses were performed using a Cox Proportional Hazard model correcting for CH, CH-PD, prior smoking, prior chemotherapy, prior radiation, MSI status, and age at cancer diagnosis. Results: 654 patients with EGC (n = 348) and CRC (n = 306) who began treatment between 2006 and 2020 were included in the analysis. CH was present in 34.5% and 24.4% of each group, and 17.2% and 12.9% harbored CH-PD, respectively. CH and CH-PD were both associated with older age and smoking history, and CH was also associated with prior radiation and MSI-high status (p < 0.05). Patients with CH or CH-PD receiving first-line (1L) therapy for CRC or EGC demonstrated no difference in mPFS after multivariate analysis, though 1L EGC patients with CH-PD had inferior mOS (p = 9e-5). There was no difference in pre-1L WBC, ANC, or ALC, nor in G-CSF or PEG-G-CSF doses administered during 1L therapy between patients with CH or CH-PD versus those without. Similarly, presence of CH or CH-PD had no impact on mPFS or mOS in patients receiving immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) without concurrent chemotherapy after multivariate survival analysis. Conclusions: We confirmed that the mere presence of CH is not prognostic for overall survival, but that EGC patients with CH-PD mutations have inferior overall survival, which is consistent with previous findings. Presence of CH or CH-PD was not associated with differences in baseline leukocyte counts nor need for G-CSF support, nor did it impact PFS in either tumor type, suggesting limited utility of CH in solid tumor clinical decision-making.