Key clinical point: Lenalidomide had no relevant effect on DNA methylation status in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome with isolated deletion of chromosome 5q (MDS del5q).
Major finding: Lenalidomide treatment did not have a relevant impact on genome-wide DNA methylation in patients with MDS del5q. However, methylation analysis before treatment could identify a distinct subgroup of patients (27%) with a trend toward inferior overall survival but not inferior progression-free survival.
Study details: DNA methylation analysis was performed on 51 MDS del5q patients treated with lenalidomide. Direct effects of lenalidomide on DNA methylation were studied using 17 paired samples pre- and posttreatment.
Disclosures: Open access funding by Projekt DEAL. This study was supported by funds from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, “Deutsche Krebshilfe,” Gutermuth Foundation, H.W. & J. Hector fund, Baden Wuerttemberg, and Dr Rolf M Schwiete Fund. Mannheim DN is an endowed Professor of the German José-Carreras-Stiftung. The study was partly funded by a research grant from Celgene Inc.
Source: Hecht A et al. Ann Hematol. 2021 April 27. doi: 10.1007/s00277-021-04492-1 .