Long-term prospective cohort study reveals increased mortality among octagenarians with clonal hematopoiesis

Clonal hematopoiesis (CH) is characterized by the expansion of hematopoietic stem cell clones carrying somatic mutations that confer a proliferative advantage, encompassing conditions such as Clonal Hematopoiesis of Indeterminate Potential (CHIP) and Clonal Cytopenia of Undetermined Significance (CCUS), with varying clinical implications. This long-term prospective cohort study of 9 years investigated the prevalence, clinical outcomes, and genetic evolution of CHIP and CCUS, through next-generation sequencing, in individuals over 75 years old without prior hematologic disease, analyzing mortality rates, changes in allelic frequency over time, clinical differences, and associations with comorbidities such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.