Abstract 7344: Family history of hematologic malignancy and prognosis across lymphoma subtypes: Novel association with poor outcomes in follicular lymphoma
Authors: George Cholack, Raphael Mwangi, Thomas M. Habermann, Verena Hinder, Rosalie Griffen, Dennis Robinson, Andrew L. Feldman, Thomas E. Witzig, Stephen M. Ansell, Brian K. Link, Yucai Wang, Carrie A. Thompson, Susan L. Slager, Matthew Maurer, Anne J. Novak, James R. Cerhan
Journal: Cancer Research (2025)

Abstract Family history of hematologic malignancy (FHHM) is an established risk factor for developing lymphoma, but studies examining associations between self-reported FHHM and lymphoma prognosis during the recent treatment era are limited. Utilizing a prospective cohort study, we evaluated associations between FHHM and prognosis for common lymphoma subtypes, including diffuse large B-cell (DLBCL), follicular (FL), marginal zone (MZL), mantle cell (MCL), Hodgkin (HL), and T-cell (TCL) lymphomas. We used the Mayo Clinic component of the Molecular Epidemiology Resource, a prospective cohort study of newly diagnosed lymphoma patients enrolled from 2002 to 2015. Self-reported FHHM (HL, NHL, leukemia, or multiple myeloma) in a first-degree relative was obtained via questionnaire. Primary outcomes were overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS; time from diagnosis to disease progression, initiation of second-line therapy, or all-cause death). Secondary outcomes were failure to achieve 24 months of event-free survival (EFS24; associated with aggressive disease and poor outcomes) and lymphoma-specific survival (LSS; time from diagnosis to death from lymphoma or lymphoma treatment-related complications). We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association of FHHM with OS, EFS, and LSS, and logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CI for the association with failure to achieve EFS24. All models were adjusted for sex and a lymphoma subtype specific prognostic index. The cohort consisted of 650 DLBCL, 679 FL, 291 MZL, 178 MCL, 254 HL, and 196 TCL patients. The prevalence of FHHM ranged from 9.7% in TCL to 14% in FL. FHHM was not associated with OS in any subtype, but MCL patients with FHHM showed an inferior EFS (HR=1.70, 95% CI 1.02-2.85; p=0.04). For EFS24, FHHM was associated with failure to achieve EFS24 only in FL (OR=1.57, 95% CI 0.99-2.48; p=0.05). Similarly, FHHM was associated with inferior LSS in FL patients (HR=1.98, 95% CI 1.11-3.53; p=0.02). In a treatment subgroup analysis of FL patients, the FHHM associations with failure to achieve EFS24 (OR=2.48, 95% CI 1.04-5.74; p=0.04) and inferior LSS (HR=2.68, 95% CI 1.09-6.58; p=0.03) strengthened among those treated with frontline immunochemotherapy (IC). In summary, there were no evidence of associations between FHHM and OS across lymphoma subtypes, but MCL patients with FHHM displayed inferior EFS. FL patients with FHHM were more likely to not achieve EFS24 and to ultimately die of their lymphoma or a lymphoma treatment-related complication. This finding was stronger in more aggressive FL requiring frontline IC. This novel finding would suggest that genetic or environmental factors associated with FHHM may underlie pathways that impact disease aggressiveness and early clinical failure in FL. Citation Format: George Cholack, Raphael Mwangi, Thomas M. Habermann, Verena Hinder, Rosalie Griffen, Dennis Robinson, Andrew L. Feldman, Thomas E. Witzig, Stephen M. Ansell, Brian K. Link, Yucai Wang, Carrie A. Thompson, Susan L. Slager, Matthew Maurer, Anne J. Novak, James R. Cerhan. Family history of hematologic malignancy and prognosis across lymphoma subtypes: Novel association with poor outcomes in follicular lymphoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2025; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2025 Apr 25-30; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2025;85(8_Suppl_1):Abstract nr 7344.