Adult low hypodiploid acute lymphoblastic leukemia emerges from pre-leukemic TP53-mutant clonal hematopoiesis.

Low hypodiploidy defines a rare subtype of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) with a dismal outcome. To investigate the genomic basis of low-hypodiploid ALL (LH-ALL) in adults, we analyzed copy-number aberrations, loss-of-heterozygosity, mutations and cytogenetics data in a prospective cohort of Philadelphia-negative B-ALL patients (n=591, aged 18-84y), allowing to identify 80 LH-ALL cases (14%). Genomic analysis was critical for evidencing low hypodiploidy in many cases missed by cytogenetics. The proportion of LH-ALL dramatically increased with age, from 3% below the age of 40 to 32% over 55 years. Somatic TP53 biallelic inactivation was the hallmark of adult LH-ALL, present in virtually all cases (98%). Strikingly, we detected TP53 mutations in post-treatment remission samples in 34% of patients. Single-cell proteogenomics of diagnosis and remission bone marrow samples evidenced a preleukemic, multilineage, TP53-mutant clone, reminiscent of age-related clonal hematopoiesis.