Project description:Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) frequently fail chemotherapy due to refractory disease, relapse, or toxicity. Among older AML patients (age > 60 years), there are few long-term survivors. Lenalidomide is a candidate for study in AML based on its clinical activity in a related disorder, myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), with the 5q- chromosomal abnormality. We report induction of sustained morphologic and cytogenetic complete remission in 2 older AML patients treated with high-dose, single-agent lenalidomide; each patient had trisomy 13 as the sole cytogenetic abnormality. We show for the first time that lenalidomide has clinical activity in this poor-risk cytogenetic subset of AML. The clinical trials described in this paper have been registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov under identifiers NCT00466895 and NCT00546897.
Project description:Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous group of diseases. Normal cytogenetics (CN) constitutes the single largest group, while trisomy 8 (+8) as a sole abnormality is the most frequent trisomy. How trisomy contributes to tumorigenesis is unknown. We used oligonucleotide-based DNA microarrays to study global gene expression in AML+8 patients with +8 as the sole chromosomal abnormality and AML-CN patients. CD34(+) cells purified from normal bone marrow (BM) were also analyzed as a representative heterogeneous population of stem and progenitor cells. Expression patterns of AML patients were clearly distinct from those of CD34(+) cells of normal individuals. We show that AML+8 blasts overexpress genes on chromosome 8, estimated at 32% on average, suggesting gene-dosage effects underlying AML+8. Systematic analysis by cellular function indicated up-regulation of genes involved in cell adhesion in both groups of AML compared with CD34(+) blasts from normal individuals. Perhaps most interestingly, apoptosis-regulating genes were significantly down-regulated in AML+8 compared with AML-CN. We conclude that the clinical and cytogenetic heterogeneity of AML is due to fundamental biological differences.
Project description:Bilateral peripheral facial palsy (facial diplegia) has been repeatedly reported as a neurologic manifestation of acute myeloid leukemia but has not been reported as the initial clinical manifestation of myelomonocytic leukemia. A 71-year-old male developed left-sided peripheral facial palsy being interpreted and treated as Bell's palsy. C-reactive protein (CRP) and leukocyte count 4 days later were 2.5 mg/l and 16 G/l, respectively. Steroids were ineffective. Seven days after onset, he developed right-sided peripheral facial palsy. Three days later, CRP and leukocyte count were 234.3 mg/l and 59.5 G/l, respectively. Cerebrospinal fluid investigations revealed pleocytosis (62/3) and elevated protein (54.9 mg/dl). Two days later, pleocytosis and leukocytosis were attributed to myelomonocytic leukemia. Leukemic meningeosis was treated with cytarabine and methotrexate intrathecally. In addition, cytarabine and idarubicin were applied intravenously. Under this regimen, facial diplegia gradually improved. Facial diplegia may be the initial clinical manifestation of myelomonocytic leukemia, facial diplegia obligatorily requires lumbar puncture, and unilateral peripheral facial palsy is not always Bell's palsy. Patients with alleged unilateral Bell's palsy and slightly elevated leukocytes require close follow-up and more extensive investigations than patients without abnormal blood tests.
Project description:This study was designed to perform an acceptable prognostic nomogram for acute myeloid leukemia. The clinical data from 311 patients from our institution and 165 patients generated with Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network were reviewed. A prognostic nomogram was designed according to the Cox's proportional hazard model to predict overall survival (OS). To compare the capacity of the nomogram with that of the current prognostic system, the concordance index (C-index) was used to validate the accuracy as well as the calibration curve. The nomogram included 6 valuable variables: age, risk stratifications based on cytogenetic abnormalities, status of FLT3-ITD mutation, status of NPM1 mutation, expression of CD34, and expression of HLA-DR. The C-indexes were 0.71 and 0.68 in the primary and validation cohort respectively, which were superior to the predictive capacity of the current prognostic systems in both cohorts. The nomogram allowed both patients with acute myeloid leukemia and physicians to make prediction of OS individually prior to treatment.
Project description:Myeloid sarcoma (MS) or chloroma is a rare extramedullary tumor composed of extramedullary proliferation of blasts of granulocytic, monocytic, erythroid, or megakaryocytic lineage occurring at sites outside the bone marrow. MS occurs in 2%-8% of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), sometimes it occurs as the presenting manifestation of relapse in a patient in remission. We describe the case of a young male with AML in remission for 6 years presenting with central nervous system symptoms. Magnetic resonance imaging showed an extra-axial altered intensity lesion in the parasagittal parietal region, infiltrating anterosuperiorly into anterior falx, and posterosuperior aspect of the superior sagittal sinus. A biopsy from the lesion was diagnostic of MS which was positive for myeloperoxidase. He did not have any other sites of disease. He has received chemotherapy with FLAG (Fludarabine, Cytosine arabinoside) followed by cranial irradiation and is in complete remission.
Project description:This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and prognostic significance of monosomal karyotypes (MKs) in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data for 498 patients with AML, of whom 233 (46.8%) had an abnormal karyotype, including 42 with MKs (8.4%) and 70 with a complex karyotype (CK) (14.1%).Patients with MKs were older (median age 62.5 vs. 52 years, p=0.003) and had lower median hemoglobin levels (62.5 vs. 77 g/L, p=0.009) and lower white blood cell counts (7.0×109/L vs. 11.7×109/L, p=0.008). Univariate analysis showed that patients with MKs or CKs had shorter overall survival than patients without these karyotypes (median survival time 7.3 vs. 26.3 months for MK, p<0.001, and 14.8 vs. 26.3 months for CK, p<0.001). In multivariable analysis for overall survival, MK and National Comprehensive Cancer Network prognostic group were the only significant factors.MK is an independent risk factor for poor prognosis in AML patients.
Project description:A complex aberrant karyotype consisting of multiple unrelated cytogenetic abnormalities is associated with poor prognosis in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The European Leukemia Net classification and the UK Medical Research Council recommendation provide prognostic categories that differ in the definition of unbalanced aberrations as well as the number of single aberrations. The aim of this study on 3526 AML patients was to redefine and validate a cutoff for karyotype complexity in AML with regard to adverse prognosis. Our study demonstrated that (1) patients with a pure hyperdiploid karyotype have an adverse risk irrespective of the number of chromosomal gains, (2) patients with translocation t(9;11)(p21?22;q23) have an intermediate risk independent of the number of additional aberrations, (3) patients with ?4 abnormalities have an adverse risk per se and (4) patients with three aberrations in the absence of abnormalities of strong influence (hyperdiploid karyotype, t(9;11)(p21?22;q23), CBF-AML, unique adverse-risk aberrations) have borderline intermediate/adverse risk with a reduced overall survival compared with patients with a normal karyotype.
Project description:BackgroundRecent studies have provided a detailed census of genes that are mutated in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Our next challenge is to understand how this genetic diversity defines the pathophysiology of AML and informs clinical practice.MethodsWe enrolled a total of 1540 patients in three prospective trials of intensive therapy. Combining driver mutations in 111 cancer genes with cytogenetic and clinical data, we defined AML genomic subgroups and their relevance to clinical outcomes.ResultsWe identified 5234 driver mutations across 76 genes or genomic regions, with 2 or more drivers identified in 86% of the patients. Patterns of co-mutation compartmentalized the cohort into 11 classes, each with distinct diagnostic features and clinical outcomes. In addition to currently defined AML subgroups, three heterogeneous genomic categories emerged: AML with mutations in genes encoding chromatin, RNA-splicing regulators, or both (in 18% of patients); AML with TP53 mutations, chromosomal aneuploidies, or both (in 13%); and, provisionally, AML with IDH2(R172) mutations (in 1%). Patients with chromatin-spliceosome and TP53-aneuploidy AML had poor outcomes, with the various class-defining mutations contributing independently and additively to the outcome. In addition to class-defining lesions, other co-occurring driver mutations also had a substantial effect on overall survival. The prognostic effects of individual mutations were often significantly altered by the presence or absence of other driver mutations. Such gene-gene interactions were especially pronounced for NPM1-mutated AML, in which patterns of co-mutation identified groups with a favorable or adverse prognosis. These predictions require validation in prospective clinical trials.ConclusionsThe driver landscape in AML reveals distinct molecular subgroups that reflect discrete paths in the evolution of AML, informing disease classification and prognostic stratification. (Funded by the Wellcome Trust and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00146120.).
Project description:Over half of the human genome is comprised of transposable elements (TE). Despite large-scale studies of the transcriptome in cancer, a comprehensive look at TE expression and its relationship to various mutations or prognosis has not been performed. We characterized the expression of TE in 178 adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients using transcriptome data from The Cancer Genome Atlas. We characterized mutation specific dysregulation of TE expression using a multivariate linear model. We identified distinct patterns of TE expression associated with specific mutations and transcriptional networks. Genes regulating methylation was not associated with significant change in TE expression. Using an unpenalized cox regression analysis we identified a TE expression signature that predicted prognosis in AML. We identified 14 candidate prognostic TE transcripts (TEP) that classified AML as high/low-risk and this was independent of mutation-based and coding-gene expression based risk-stratification. TEP was able to predict prognosis in independent cohorts of 284 pediatric AML patients and 19 relapsed adult AML patients. This first comprehensive study of TE expression in AML demonstrates that TE expression can serve as a biomarker for prognosis in AML, and provides novel insights into the biology of AML. Studies characterizing its role in other cancers are warranted.
Project description:Caspase1 (CASP1) is a gene that encodes multiple proteins related to cell death. Nevertheless, the function of CASP1 in the pathogenesis of AML is still unclear. In the present study, a detailed analysis of cancer versus normal samples was performed to explore the relationship between CASP1 and leukemia. We used sequencing data from multiple cancer gene databases to analyze the gene expression and regulatory network of CASP1 in leukemia. We discovered that mRNA expression levels of CASP1 are increased in leukemia cell lines, especially in acute myelocytic leukemia (AML). Then, we verified the mRNA expression of CASP1 in AML clinical samples and observed significantly higher expression of CASP1 in relapsed AML patients. High CASP1 expression was associated with poor prognosis and CASP1 inhibition could impair the proliferation of AML cells. Related functional network identification suggests that CASP1 regulates apoptosis, immune and inflammatory response via pathways involving LYN, LCK, and the E2F family. These findings suggest that CASP1 probably contributes to the pathogenesis, and identify CASP1 as a factor for predicting the prognosis and as a therapeutic target of AML patients.