Huang S, Yang H, Li Y, Feng C, Gao L, Chen GF, Gao HH, Huang Z, Li YH, Yu L. Prognostic Significance of Mixed-Lineage Leukemia (MLL) Gene Detected by Real-Time Fluorescence Quantitative PCR Assay in Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
Med Sci Monit 2016;
22:3009-17. [PMID:
27561414 PMCID:
PMC5012461 DOI:
10.12659/msm.900429]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Background
The overall prognosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL) gene-positivity is unfavorable. In this study, we evaluated the expression levels of the MLL gene in AML patients.
Material/Methods
We enrolled 68 MLL gene-positive patients out of 433 newly diagnosed AML patients, and 216 bone marrow samples were collected. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (RQ-PCR) was used to precisely detect the expression levels of the MLL gene.
Results
We divided 41 patients into 2 groups according to the variation of MRD (minimal residual disease) level of the MLL gene. Group 1 (n=22) had a rapid reduction of MRD level to ≤10−4 in all samples collected in the first 3 chemotherapy cycles, while group 2 (n=19) had MRD levels constantly >10−4 in all samples collected in the first 3 chemotherapy cycles. Group 1 had a significantly better overall survival (p=0.001) and event-free survival (p=0.001) compared to group 2. Moreover, the patients with >10−4 MRD level before the start of HSCT (hematopoietic stem cell transplantation) had worse prognosis and higher risk of relapse compared to patients with ≤10−4 before the start of HSCT.
Conclusions
We found that a rapid reduction of MRD level to ≤10−4 appears to be a prerequisite for better overall survival and event-free survival during the treatment of AML. The MRD levels detected by RQ-PCR were basically in line with the clinical outcome and may be of great importance in guiding early allogeneic HSCT (allo-HSCT) treatment.
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