Germline DDX41 mutations define a significant entity within adult MDS/AML patients

Germline DDX41 mutations are involved in familial myelodysplastic syndromes myelodysplastic syndromes: (my-eh-lo-diss-PLASS-tik SIN-dromez) A group of disorders where the bone marrow does not work well, and the bone marrow cells fail to make enough healthy blood cells. Myelo refers to the bone marrow. Dysplastic means abnormal growth or development. People with MDS have low blood cell count for at… (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemias (AML). We analyzed the prevalence and characteristics of DDX41-related myeloid malignancies in an unselected cohort of 1385 patients with MDS or AML. Using targeted next-generation sequencing, we identified 28 different germline DDX41 variants in 43 unrelated patients which we classified as causal (n=21) or unknown significance (n=7) variants. We focused on the 33 patients having causal variants, representing 2.4% of our cohort. Median age was 69 years, most patients were males (79%). Only 9 patients (27%) had a family history of hematological malignancy, while 15 (46%) had personal history of cytopenias years prior to MDS/AML diagnosis. Most patients had normal karyotype (85%) and the most frequent somatic alteration was a second DDX41  mutation mutation: Any change or alteration in a gene. A mutation may cause disease or may be a normal variation. Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) occurs because of a mutation in the PIG-A gene of a single stem cell in the bone marrow. (79%). High-risk DDX41 MDS/AML patients treated with intensive chemotherapy chemotherapy: (kee-moe-THER-uh-pee) The use of medicines that kill cells (cytotoxic agents). People with high-risk or intermediate-2 risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) may be given chemotherapy to kill bone marrow cells that have an abnormal size, shape, or look. Chemotherapy hurts healthy cells along with… (n=9) or azacitidine azacitidine: It works by reducing the amount of methylation in the body. Methylation is a process that acts like a switch to turn off or “silence” genes in certain cells. When these genes (called tumor suppressor genes) are turned off, MDS cells and cancer cells can grow freely. Azacitidine is approved by the U… (n=11) had an overall response rate of 100% and 73%, respectively, with a median overall survival of 5.2 years. Our study highlights that germline DDX41 mutations are relatively common in adult MDS/AML, often without known family history, arguing for systematic screening. Salient features of DDX41-related myeloid malignancies include male preponderance, frequent pre-existing cytopenias, additional somatic DDX41 mutation and relatively good outcome.