Prognostic impact of somatic mutations in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and relationship to cell-of-origin: data from the phase III GOYA study

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) represents a biologically and clinically heterogeneous diagnostic category with well-defined cell of-origin (COO) subtypes. Using data from the GOYA study (clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT01287741), we characterized the mutational profile of DLBCL and evaluated the prognostic impact of somatic mutations in relation to COO. Targeted DNA next-generation sequencing was performed in 499 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue biopsies from previously untreated patients. Prevalence of genetic alterations/mutations was examined. Multivariate Cox regression was used to evaluate the prognostic effect of individual genomic alterations. Of 465 genes analyzed, 59 were identified with mutations occurring in at least 10 of 499 patients (>= 2% prevalence); 334 additional genes had mutations occurring in >= 1 patient. Single nucleotide variants were the most common mutation type. On multivariate analysis, BCL2 alterations were most strongly associated with shorter progression-free survival (multivariate hazard ratio: 2.6; 95% confidence interval: 1.6-4.2). BCL2 alterations were detected in 102 of 499 patients; 92 had BCL2 translocations, 90% of whom had germinal center B-cell-like DLBCL. BCL2 alterations were also significantly correlated with BCL2 gene and protein expression levels. Validation of published mutational subsets revealed consistent patterns of co-occurrence, but no consistent prognostic differences between subsets. Our data confirm the molecular heterogeneity of DLBCL, with potential treatment targets occurring in distinct COO subtypes.