Report of Consensus Panel 3 from the 12th International Workshop on Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia on the management of patients with high-risk disease

The Consensus Panel 3 (CP3) of the 12th International Workshop on Waldenström macroglobulinemia (IWWM-12) has reviewed and incorporated current data to make recommendations for the management of patients with high-risk WM (HR-WM). Recognizing the considerable heterogeneity in survival outcomes and identifying a subgroup of patients with a very poor prognosis, the key recommendations from CP3 include: (1) Risk stratifying patients with smoldering WM (SWM) and active (symptomatic) WM at diagnosis (2) Using the degree of i) bone marrow lymphoplasmacytosis, ii) serum beta-2 microglobulin (β2M) elevation, iii) IgM increase, iv) serum albumin decrease and the presence of wild-type MYD88 status markers that adversely dictate the time-to-progression from smoldering to active WM to the define HR-SWM. (3) Among patients with active WM, the presenting parameters: advanced chronological age, low serum albumin, elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase, elevated β2M and the presence of TP53 alterations (TP53 mutation or deletion 17p) unfavorably impact the prognosis and should be utilized to risk-stratify patients into the HR category. (4) The panel encourages screening for genetic alterations at diagnosis, prior to initiating therapy and also with rapidly advancing disease or refractoriness to ongoing therapy, which might result from clonal evolution. Although limited data directing the selection and sequencing of therapies exist, a risk-adapted approach and clinical trial participation for patients with HR-WM are highly encouraged.