ΝFΚΒΙΕ Deletions: A Novel Marker of Clinical Aggressiveness in Primary Mediastinal B-Cell Lymphoma

Deregulated NF-κB signaling is a hallmark of most, if not all, lymphoid malignancies, and recurrent gene mutations in both the canonical and non-canonical NF-κB pathway are known to lead to NF-κB activation. However, the full compendium of NF-κB gene mutations in lymphoid malignancies remains to be elucidated. Recently, we reported a 4-bp truncating mutation in the NFKBIE gene, which encodes IκBε, a negative regulator of NF-κB, in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The NFKBIE deletion was enriched in clinically aggressive CLL patients (7-8%) and associated with a worse clinical outcome. At the functional level, NFKBIE-deleted CLL showed reduced IκBε levels and decreased p65 inhibition, along with increased phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of p65, compared to wildtype patients. Preliminary data has indicated an increased frequency of NFKBIE aberrations in other lymphoid malignancies as well. To explore this further, we screened for NFKBIE deletions in a large cohort of patients diagnosed with a range of different lymphoid neoplasms. Overall, NFKBIE deletions were identified in 76 of 1414 patients (5.4%). While NFKBIE deletions were relatively infrequent in patients diagnosed with follicular lymphoma (3/225, 1.3%), splenic marginal zone lymphoma (3/175, 1.7%), and T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (1/94, 1.1%), moderate frequencies were observed among diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (18/521, 3.5%), mantle cell lymphoma (8/189, 4.2%), and primary CNS lymphoma (1/34, 2.9%) patients. In contrast, a remarkably high frequency of NFKBIE deletions (41/176 cases, 23%) was observed among primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (PMBL) patients. Noteworthy, the prevalence of NFKBIE-deleted PMBL cases was similar in the different contributing centers. All PMBL patients in the present series received a CHOP based treatment regime; in ~75% of cases rituximab was added and ~25% were treated with dose intensified schemes. For the latter, the vast majority of patients received CHOEP, while individual cases were treated with MegaCHOEP, DA-EPOCH or ACVBP. Regarding clinicobiological associations, there were no significant differences between NFKBIE-deleted and wildtype PMBL patients with respect to age, sex, Ann Arbor stage, IPI risk-groups, extranodal or bone marrow involvement, bulky disease, and LDH elevation. However, NFKBIE-deleted patients were more likely to be refractory to primary chemotherapy (31% vs. 3%, P=.001) and had a shorter overall survival compared to wildtype patients (5-year overall survival: 63% vs 84%, P=.013). In multivariate analysis (including age, gender, Ann Arbor stage, IPI, and NFKBIE mutation status), NFKBIE mutation status (95% CI: 1.23-10.61; HR: 3.61; P=0.020) remained an independent factor for poor prognosis. In summary, we document NFKBIE deletions as a common genetic event across B-cell malignancies, albeit at varying frequencies. The high frequency of NFKBIE deletions in PMBL alludes to the critical role of this aberration in the pathophysiology of the disease. NFKBIE deletions were associated witha worse clinical outcome, hence potentially representing a novel poor-prognostic marker in PMBL.

*Contributed equally as first authors. **Contributed equally as senior authors.