Amplification of 9p24.1 Associated With Advanced Stage and Poorer Outcome in Classic Hodgkin Lymphoma
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Roemer et al identified PD-L1 (programmed cell death ligand 1) and PD-L2 genetic alterations in patients with classic Hodgkin lymphoma, finding that 9p24.1 amplification was common and associated with advanced-stage disease and poorer outcome.
Study Details
In the study, a fluorescent in situ hybridization assay was used to evaluate CD274/PD-L1 and PDCD1LG2/PD-L2 alterations in 108 biopsy specimens from patients with newly diagnosed disease who had received the Stanford V regimen and had long-term follow-up.
Alterations
Overall, concordant alterations of the PD-L1 and PD-L2 loci were found in 97% of cases, consisting of polysomy in 5%, copy gain in 56%, and amplification in 36%. Decreased residual 9p24.1 disomy was significantly associated with increased PD-L1 expression (P = .005). Assessment of progression-free survival by 9p24.1 alteration showed significantly poorer outcome with amplification (P < .001), and the incidence of amplification was higher among patients with advanced-stage disease (50%) vs those with early-stage favorable (24%) or early-stage unfavorable disease (34%; P = .024).
The investigators concluded: “PD-L1/PD-L2 alterations are a defining feature of [classical Hodgkin lymphoma]. Amplification of 9p24.1 is more common in patients with [advanced stage] disease and associated with shorter [progression-free survival] in this series. Further analyses of 9p24.1 alterations in patients treated with standard … induction regimens or checkpoint blockade are warranted.”
The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Miller Family Fund.
Margaret A. Shipp, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, is the corresponding author of the Journal of Clinical Oncology article.
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