Comparison of BCR::ABL (P210) mRNA levels detected by dPCR and qPCR methods in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To compare digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) and real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) measurements of BCR::ABL (P210) mRNA expression in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) . Methods: In this non-interventional, cross-sectional study, BCR::ABL (P210) mRNA was simultaneously measured by dPCR and qPCR in peripheral blood samples collected from patients with CML who underwent tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy and who achieved at least a complete cytogenetic response from September 2021 to February 2023 at Peking University People's Hospital. The difference, correlation, and agreement between the two methods were evaluated using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Spearman's correlation, and Bland-Altman analysis, respectively. Results: In total, 459 data pairs for BCR::ABL mRNA expression measured by dPCR and qPCR from 356 patients with CML were analyzed. There was a significant difference in BCR::ABL mRNA expression between the two methods (P<0.001). When analyzed by the depth of the molecular response (MR), a significant difference only existed for patients with ≥MR4.5 (P<0.001). No significant difference was observed for those who did not achieve a major MR (no MMR; P=0.922) or for those who achieved a major MR (MMR; P=0.723) or MR4 (P=0.099). There was a moderate correlation between the BCR::ABL mRNA expression between the two methods (r=0.761, P<0.001). However, the correlation gradually weakened or disappeared as the depth of the MR increased (no MMR: r=0.929, P<0.001; MMR: r=0.815, P<0.001; MR4: r=0.408, P<0.001; MR4.5: r=0.176, P=0.176). In addition, the agreement in BCR::ABL mRNA expression between the two methods in those with MR4.5 was weaker than other groups (no MMR: ▉= 0.042, P=0.846; MMR:▉=0.054, P=0.229; MR4:▉=-0.020, P=0.399; MR4.5:▉=-0.219, P<0.001) . Conclusions: dPCR is more accurate than qPCR for measuring BCR::ABL (P210) mRNA expression in patients with CML who achieve a stable deep MR.

Factors influencing severe cytopenia in chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia patients receiving initial second generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors and its impact on treatment responses and outcomes / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To explore the influencing covariates of severe neutrophils and/or thrombocytopenia and their effect on treatment response and outcome in patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CP-CML) receiving initial second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (2G-TKI) . Methods: Data from consecutive patients aged ≥18 years with newly diagnosed CP-CML who received initial 2G-TKI at Peking University People's Hospital from September 2008 to November 2021 were interrogated. Binary logistic regression models and Fine-Gray and Cox regression models were applied. Results: Data from 267 patients who received initial 2G-TKI, including nilotinib (n=239, 89.5% ) and dasatinib (n=28, 10.5% ) , were interrogated. The median age was 36 (range, 18-73) years, and 156 (58.4% ) patients were male. At a median treatment period of 1.0 (0.1-3.0) month, 43 (16.1% ) patients developed grade ≥3 neutrophils and/or thrombocytopenia and recovered within 1.0 (0.1-24.6) month. Male (OR=2.9, 95% CI 1.2-6.8; P=0.018) , age of ≥36 years (OR=3.2, 95% CI 1.4-7.2, P=0.005) , a spleen below a costal margin of ≥7 cm (OR=2.8, 95% CI 1.2-6.6, P=0.020) , and a hemoglobin (HGB) level of <100 g/L (OR=2.9, 95% CI 1.3-6.8, P=0.012) at diagnosis were significantly associated with grade ≥ 3 neutrophils and/or thrombocytopenia. Based on their regression coefficients, male, age of ≥36 years, a spleen below a costal margin of ≥7 cm, and an HGB level of <100 g/L were given 1 point to form a predictive system. All patients were divided into three risk subgroups, and the incidence of severe cytopenia significantly differed among the three groups (P < 0.001) . Grade ≥3 neutrophils and/or thrombocytopenia for >2 weeks was significantly associated with lower cumulative incidences of complete cytogenetic response (CCyR, HR=0.5, 95% CI 0.3-0.7, P<0.001) and major molecular response (MMR, HR=0.4, 95% CI 0.3-0.8, P=0.004) and was not significantly associated with failure, progression, and survival. Conclusion: Male, advanced age, a large spleen, and a low HGB level were significantly associated with severe cytopenia. The four covariates were used to establish a prediction model, in which the incidence of severe cytopenia among different risk groups was significantly different. Severe cytopenia for >2 weeks was a negative factor for responses but not for outcomes.

Combination of socio-demographic and clinical co-variates for predicting treatment responses and outcomes in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in the chronic phase / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To explore the impacts of socio-demographic and clinical co-variates on treatment responses and outcomes in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in the chronic phase (CML-CP) receiving tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) and identified the predictive models for them. Methods: Data of newly diagnosed adult patients with CML-CP receiving first-line TKI and having complete socio-demographic data and clinical information were reviewed. Cox model was used to identify the independent variables associated with complete cytogenetic response (CCyR) , major molecular response (MMR) , molecular response 4 (MR(4)) and molecular response 4.5 (MR(4.5)) , as well as failure-free survival (FFS) , progression-free survival (PFS) , overall survival (OS) and CML-related OS. Results: A total of 1414 CML-CP patients treated with first-line imatinib (n=1176) , nilotinib (n=170) or dasatinib (n=68) were reviewed. Median age was 40 (18-83) years and 873 patients (61.7% ) were males. Result of the multivariate analysis showed that lower educational level (P<0.001-0.070) and EUTOS long-term survival intermediate or high-risk (P<0.001-0.009) were significantly associated with lower cumulative incidences of CCyR, MMR, MR(4) and MR(4.5), as well as the inferior FFS, PFS, OS and CML-related OS. In addition, those who were males, from rural households, had white blood cells (WBC) ≥120×10(9)/L, hemoglobin (HGB) <115 g/L and treated with first-line imatinib had significantly lower cumulative incidences of cytogenetic and/or molecular responses. Being single, divorced or widowed, having, rural household registration, WBC≥120×10(9)/L, HGB<15 g/L, and comorbidity (ies) was significantly associated with inferior FFS, PFS, OS, and/or CML-related OS. Thereafter, the patients were classified into several subgroups using the socio-demographic characteristics and clinical variables by cytogenetic and molecular responses, treatment failure and disease progression, as well as overall survival and CML-related OS, respectively. There were significant differences in treatment responses and outcomes among the subgroups (P<0.001) . Conclusion: Except for clinical co-variates, socio-demographic co-variates significantly correlated with TKI treatment responses and outcomes in CML-CP patients. Models established by the combination of independent socio-demographic and clinical co-variates could effectively predict the responses and outcome.

Interferon-α may help prevent molecular relapse of chronic myeloid leukemia after the discontinuation of tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

BACKGROUND: Currently, the goal of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) treatment is normal survival and good quality of life without life-long treatment, namely, "treatment-free remission" (TFR). At present, approximately only 50% of patients with CML with a deep molecular response are able to discontinue tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) without experiencing molecular relapse [MR; loss of major molecular response (MMR)]. In addition, prior interferon (IFN) treatment is associated with a higher rate of TFR. METHODS: We aimed to evaluate the feasibility of TKI discontinuation in Chinese patients with CML and determine whether IFN could prevent MR when used after TKI discontinuation in patients with 0.0032%

The Predict Significance of ALDH Activity to the Relapse of t(8;21) Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients at Complete Remission / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the predict significance of the high aldehyde dehydrogenase activity (ALDH@*METHODS@#Bone marrow samples of 23 t(8;21) AML patients diagnosis and achieved complete remission in our hospital from April 2015 to June 2016 were collected, then flow cytometry method was used to detect the activity of ALDH, relationship between it and relapse was analyzed.@*RESULTS@#All the patients were followed up for a median of 32 (2-52) months. The median percentage of CD34@*CONCLUSION@#The percentage of CD34

Analysis of the efficacy and influencing factors of nilotinib or dasatinib as second- or third-line treatment in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in the chronic phase and accelerated phase / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To explore the efficacy and prognosis of nilotinib or dasatinib as second- or third-line treatment in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in the chronic phase (CP) and accelerated phase (AP) . Methods: From January 2008 to November 2018, the data of CML patients who failed first- or second-line tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) -therapy received nilotinib or dasatinib as second-line and third-line therapy were retrospectively reviewed. Results: A total of 226 patients receiving nilotinib or dastinib as second-line (n=183) and third-line (n=43) therapy were included in this study. With a median follow-up of 21 (range, 1-135) months, the cumulative rates of complete hematological response (CHR) , complete cytogenetic response (CCyR) and major molecular response (MMR) were 80.4%, 56.3%and 38.3%, respectively in those receiving TKI as second-line TKI therapy. The 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 78.7%and 93.1%, respectively. Multivariate analyses showed that Sokal high risk, female gender, the best response achieved <CHR on the first-line TKI-therapy, the interval from diagnosis to switching to second-line TKI ≥18 months, AP or hematologic failure, or non-specific mutation of BCR-ABL kinase domain before second-line TKI therapy, developing severe hematologic toxicity during the second-line TKI therapy were variables associated with poor responses or outcomes on second-line TKI therapy. With a median follow-up of 6 (range, 3-129) months, the cumulative CHR, CCyR and MMR were 95.7%, 29.3%, and 18.6%, respectively in those receiving the third-line TKI therapy. The 2-year PFS and OS rates were 66.8% and 93.8%, respectively. The patients with an interval from diagnosis to starting TKI ≥6 months, achieving no cytogenetic response on the second-line TKI, the interval from diagnosis to starting second-line TKI ≥60 months, and progression to AP before the third-line TKI therapy had lower probabilities of responses and unfavorable outcomes. Conclusions: The efficacy of dasatinib and nilotinib as second- or third-line TKI-therapy were active in the CML patients with TKI-resistance. The best response achieved on previous TKI-therapy, the disease phase before switching TKI, and the severe hematologic toxicity developing on the current TKI-therapy were associated with the responses and outcomes.

Philadelphia chromosome-negative myeloid neoplasms in patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia during tyrosine kinase inhibtor-therapy / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To compare the clinical features between the 2 cohorts developing myelodysplastic syndrome or acute myeIogenous Ieukemia in Philadelphia chromosome-negative cells (Ph(-) MDS/AML) and maintaining disease stable in the patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid Ieukemia (Ph(+) CML) who had clonal chromosomal abnormalities in Philadelphia chromosome-negative metaphases (CCA/Ph(-)) during tyrosine kinase inhibtor (TKI) - therapy. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed Ph(+) CML patients who developed CCA/Ph(-) during TKI-therapy from May 2001 to December 2017. Results: Data of CCA/Ph(-) 63 patients, including 7 progressing to Ph(-) MDS/AML and 56 remaining disease stable were collected. Compared with those with stable disease, patients with Ph(-)MDS/AML had lower hemoglobin (P=0.007) and platelet (P=0.006) counts, and higher proportion of peripheral blasts (P<0.001) when the first time CCA/Ph(-) was detected, and more mosonomy 7 abnormality (5/7, 71.4%) when MDS or AML was diagnosed; meanwhile, trisomy 8 (32/56, 57.1%) was more common in those with stable disease. Outcome of the patients with Ph(-) MDS/AML were poor. However, most of those with CCA/Ph(-) and stable disease had optimal response on TKI-therapy. Conclusions: A few patients with Ph(+) CML developed CCA/Ph(-) during TKI-therapy, most of them had stable disease, but very few patients developed Ph(-) MDS/AML with more common occurrence of monosomy 7 or unknown cytopenia. Our data suggested the significance of monitoring of peripheral blood smear, bone marrow morphology and cytogenetic analysis once monosomy 7 or unknown cytopenia occurred.

Comparison of nilotinib vs imatinib as frontline therapy in newly diagnosed patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in chronic phase / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To compare the cytogenetic and molecular responses, outcomes and severe hematologic toxicity of nilotinib and imatinib as frontline therapy in newly diagnosed patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in chronic phase (CML-CP) . Methods: Newly diagnosed CML-CP patients were consecutively recruited from January 2006 to December 2018 who received nilotinib and imatinib as first-line treatment. Clinical data were retrospectively analyzed. Results: A total of 524 patients were classified into 439 (83.8%) receiving imatinib and 85 (16.2%) receiving nilotinib. Comparing with imatinib group, patients in nilotinib group were much younger (P=0.019) and more with intermediate and high Sokal risks (P<0.001) , WBC ≥100×10(9)/L (P<0.001) , HGB<120 g/L (P<0.001) , blast cells in bone marrow (P=0.026) , splenomegaly (P<0.001) by physical examination at diagnosis, and longer interval from diagnosis to TKI treatment (P=0.003) . With a median TKI duration of 57 (range 3-153) months, the probabilities of complete cytogenetic response (CCyR) (P=0.011) , major molecular response (MMR) (P=0.001) and MR(4.5) (P=0.046) were much higher in nilotinib group than those in imatnib according to each risk group. There is no statistical significance on probabilities of failure free survival (FFS) , progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) at 6 years between the two groups. Multivariate analyses showed that imatinib was an adverse factor associated with achieving CCyR (OR=0.6, 95% CI 0.5-0.8, P=0.001) , MMR (OR=0.6, 95% CI 0.5-0.9, P=0.032) and MR(4.5) (OR=0.6, 95%CI 0.5-0.9, P=0.032) and poor FFS (OR=1.9, 95%CI 1.0-3.4, P=0.041) . In addition, Sokal score was an independent factor affecting cytogenetic and molecular responses, treatment failure, disease progression and survival. Male, WBC ≥100×10(9)/L or HGB<120 g/L at diagnosis were significantly associated with lower cytogenetic and molecular response rates and/or poor FFS. The severe hematologic adverse events were not associated with different TKIs. Conclusions: Nilotinib reaches to the faster and deeper cytogenetic and molecular responses and significantly improves FFS than imatinib in newly diagnosed patients with CML-CP.

Fertility and disease outcomes in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To explore Fertility and disease outcomes in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) . Methods: Clinical and fertility outcomes of male (from Jul. 1998 to Feb. 2018) and female CML (from Sep. 2009 to Feb. 2018) patients were retrospectively analyzed at Peking University People's Hospital. Results: A total of 49 male CML patients and their spouses were enrolled. Before their spouses conceived, 34 patients were receiving tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) imatinib, 9 with nilotinib, and 6 with dasatinib. At the time of conception, the median age of these male patients was 32 years (range, 25-48 years) , and the median TKI treatment duration was 36 months (range, 0.2-198 months) . One male patient having achieved complete hematologic response yet discontinuing TKI for a year developed a disease progression to blast crisis. The other 48 patients sustained stable disease. The total conception times were 61 and finally 55 infants were born including one with premature birth, two with low birth weight, and one with hypospadias receiving surgery. The other 18 female patients after pregnancy were enrolled. Two patients developed spontaneous abortions. Two received induced abortions. Fourteen gave birth to healthy infants without congenital malformation. The interval from diagnosis of CML to initiation of TKI was 4 months (range, 0.3-16 months) . During a median follow-up of 45 months (range from 7-114 months) , the estimated complete cytogenetic response (CCyR) rate, major molecular response (MMR) rate and molecular response(4.5) (MR(4.5)) rate by 5 years were 88.9%, 85.3% and 35.1%, respectively. The estimated failure-free survival, progression-free survival and overall survival were 64.2%, 90.9% and 90.9%, respectively. All 14 babies developed as normal. Conclusions: It seems that TKIs do not affect pregnancy outcome in the spouses of male CML patients, suggesting that withdrawal of TKIs is not necessary. Female CML patients have good pregnancy and disease outcomes in the TKI era.

Comparison of the efficacy and safety of Chinese generic imatinib and branded imatinib in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in consideration of demographic characteristics / 中华血液学杂志

Objectives: To compare the efficacy and safety of Chinese generic imatinib with branded imatinib as frontline therapy in adults with newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia in chronic phase (CML-CP) (Frontline group) , and to explore the efficacy and safety of Chinese generic imatinib in CML-CP patients switching from branded imatinib (Switching group) . Methods: Frontline group: Data of adults with newly diagnosed CML-CP receiving Chinese generic imatinib (Xinwei(®)) or branded imatinib (Glivec(®)) between October 2013 and August 2018 were retrospectively collected and analyzed. Switching group: Data of adults diagnosed with CML-CP who received branded imatinib and then switched to Chinese generic imatinib after achieving at least complete cytogenetic response (CCyR) were retrospectively collected and analyzed. Results: Frontline group: In total, 409 adult patients receiving Chinese generic imatinib (n=201) or Glivec (n=208) were included in this study. Median age was 42 years (range, 18-83 years) . Comparison of baseline showed significant difference on demographic characteristics among two cohorts: lower education level (P<0.001) , and divorced or widowed status (P=0.004) and rural household registration (P<0.001) were more common in the generic imatinib cohort than those in the Glivec cohort. There was no significant difference on age, gender, Sokal risk score, WBC and HGB between the 2 cohorts. With a median follow-up of 25 months (range, 3-62 months) , there was no significant difference on the 3-year cumulative incidence of achieving CCyR (97.5% vs 94.5%, P=0.592) , major molecular response (MMR) (84.3% vs 93.1%, P=0.208) , molecular response(4.0) (MR(4.0)) (42.7% vs 41.7%, P=0.277) , molecular response(4.5) (MR(4.5)) (25.4% vs 33.0%, P=0.306) as well as the 3-year probabilities of failure free survival (FFS) (76.7% vs 81.0%, P=0.448) , progression free survival (PFS) (91.8% vs 96.3%, P=0.325) and overall survival (OS) (95.8% vs 98.5%, P=0.167) between the generic and branded imatinib cohorts. Multivariate analysis showed the type of imatinib was not associated with treatment responses and outcomes. The incidences of adverse effects were comparable in the 2 cohorts. Switching group: In total, 39 patients switching from branded imatinib to Chinese generic imatinib after achieving at least CCyR were included in this study. Median age was 42 years (range, 23-80 years) . With a median follow-up of 39 months (range, 6-63 months) , molecular responses were maintained in 23 (58.9%) patients and improved in 12 (39.8%) patients. Adverse effects were tolerable. Conclusion: Demographic characteristics might influence the choice of the type of TKI used in CML-CP patients. There was a comparable efficacy and safety between the Chinese generic imatinib and the branded imatinib in adults with newly diagnosed CML-CP under standard management and closely monitoring. Patients could safely switch from the branded imatinib to the Chinese generic imatinib.

An interlaboratory comparison study on the detection of RUNX1-RUNX1T1 fusion transcript levels and WT1 transcript levels / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To investigate the current status and real performance of the detection of RUNX1-RUNX1T1 fusion transcript levels and WT1 transcript levels in China through interlaboratory comparison. Methods: Peking University People's Hospital (PKUPH) prepared the samples for comparison. That is, the fresh RUNX1-RUNX1T1 positive (+) bone morrow nucleated cells were serially diluted with RUNX1-RUNX1T1 negative (-) nucleated cells from different patients. Totally 23 sets with 14 different samples per set were prepared. TRIzol reagent was added in each tube and thoroughly mixed with cells for homogenization. Each laboratory simultaneously tested RUNX1-RUNX1T1 and WT1 transcript levels of one set of samples by real-time quantitative PCR method. All transcript levels were reported as the percentage of RUNX1-RUNX1T1 or WT1 transcript copies/ABL copies. Spearman correlation coefficient between the reported transcript levels of each participated laboratory and those of PKUPH was calculated. Results: ①RUNX1-RUNX1T1 comparison: 9 samples were (+) and 5 were (-) , the false negative and positive rates of the 20 participated laboratories were 0 (0/180) and 5% (5/100) , respectively. The reported transcript levels of all 9 positive samples were different among laboratories. The median reported transcript levels of 9 positive samples were from 0.060% to 176.7%, which covered 3.5-log. The ratios of each sample's highest to the lowest reported transcript levels were from 5.5 to 12.3 (one result which obviously deviated from other laboratories' results was not included) , 85% (17/20) of the laboratories had correlation coefficient ≥0.98. ②WT1 comparison: The median reported transcript levels of all 14 samples were from 0.17% to 67.6%, which covered 2.6-log. The ratios of each sample's highest to the lowest reported transcript levels were from 5.3-13.7, 62% (13/21) of the laboratories had correlation coefficient ≥0.98. ③ The relative relationship of the reported RUNX1-RUNX1T1 transcript levels between the participants and PKUPH was not always consistent with that of WT1 transcript levels. Both RUNX1-RUNX1T1 and WT1 transcript levels from 2 and 7 laboratories were individually lower than and higher than those of PKUPH, whereas for the rest 11 laboratories, one transcript level was higher than and the other was lower than that of PKUPH. Conclusion: The reported RUNX1-RUNX1T1 and WT1 transcript levels were different among laboratories for the same sample. Most of the participated laboratories reported highly consistent result with that of PKUPH. The relationship between laboratories of the different transcript levels may not be the same.

Characteristic and prognostic significance of leukemia stem cells associated antigens expressions in t (8;21) acute myeloid leukemia / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To investigate the characteristic and prognostic significance of leukemia stem cells associated antigens expressions including CD34, CD38, CD123, CD96 and TIM-3 in t (8;21) AML. Methods: Bone marrow samples of 47 t (8;21) AML patients were collected at diagnosis from October 2015 to April 2018 in Peking University Peoples' Hospital, then flow cytometry method was performed to detect the expression frequencies of CD34, CD38, CD123, CD96 and TIM-3 to analyze the relationship between leukemia stem cells associated antigens expressions and relapse. Results: Of 47 t (8;21) AML patients tested, the median percentages of CD34(+)CD38(-), CD34(+) CD38(-)CD123(+), CD34(+)CD38(-) CD96(+) and CD34(+) CD38(-) TIM-3(+) cells among nucleated cells were 2.37%, 0.24%, 0.27% and 0.06%, respectively. All the frequencies of CD34(+)CD38(-), CD34(+)CD38(-)CD123(+), CD34(+)CD38(-)CD96(+) and CD34(+) CD38(-)TIM-3(+) cells had no impact on the achievement of CR after the first course of induction. All higher frequencies of CD34(+)CD38(-), CD34(+)CD38(-)CD123(+), CD34(+)CD38(-)CD96(+) cells were related to higher 2-year CIR rate. Whereas, the frequency of CD34(+) CD38(-) TIM-3(+) cells had no impact on CIR rate. Both high frequency of CD34(+) CD38(-) cells and the high level of minimal residual diseases (patients with <3-log reduction in the RUNX1-RUNX1T1 transcript level after the second consolidation therapy) were independent poor prognostic factors of CIR[P=0.025, HR=6.9 (95%CI 1.3-37.4) ; P=0.031, HR=11.1 (95%CI 1.2-99.2) ]. Conclusion: Different leukemia stem cells associated antigens had distinct prognostic significance in t (8;21) AML. High frequencies of CD34(+) CD38(-), CD34(+) CD38(-) CD123(+) and CD34(+)CD38(-)CD96(+) cells at diagnosis predicted relapse in patients with t (8;21) AML.

Severe hematologic toxicity and its impact on treatment response in newly diagnosed patients with chronic myeloid leukemia receiving tyrosine kinase-inhibitor therapy / 中华血液学杂志

Objectives: To explore the incidence and factors of severe leukopenia and/or thrombocytopenia in newly diagnosed patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) to probe their impacts on cytogenetic and molecular responses, progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) . Methods: Data of newly diagnosed patients with CML in the chronic phase (CP) and/or accelerated phase (AP) were retrospectively collected and analyzed. Results: 855 CML patients [including 744 (87%) in the CP and 111 (13.0%) in the AP] were included in this study. 523 (61.2%) patients were male with a median age of 39 years (range, 14-87 years) . 749 (87.6%) patients received imatinib, 93 (10.9%) nilotinib, and 13 (1.5%) dasatinib, respectively as front-line therapy. At a median treatment of 1 month (range, 0.1-7.0 months) , 137 (16.0%) developed ≥grade 3 leukopenia and/or thrombocytopenia and recovered 0.6 month (range, 0.3-6.5 months) . Multivariate analysis showed that female gender (OR=1.5, 95%CI 1.0-2.2, P=0.033) , WBC ≥100×109/L (OR=1.9, 95%CI 1.3-2.8, P=0.001) , CP in Sokal high-risk (OR=2.2, 95%CI 1.2-3.9, P=0.005) , AP with ≥15% blast cells in blood or bone marrow (OR=5.1, 95%CI 1.9-13.3, P=0.001) were factors associated with higher incidence of ≥grade 3 leukopenia and/or thrombocytopenia. Severe leukopenia and/or thrombocytopenia with time of drug discontinuance >2 weeks was associated with lower probabilities of achieving complete cytogenetic (OR=0.4, 95%CI 0.3-0.6, P<0.001) , severe leukopenia and/or thrombocytopenia, no matter the time of drug discontinuance >2 weeks or ≤2 weeks, were associated with lower probabilities of achieving major molecular responses (OR=0.3, 95%CI 0.2-0.5, P<0.001; OR=0.7, 95%CI 0.5-1.0, P=0.036) and MR4.5 (OR=0.2, 95%CI 0.1-0.5, P=0.002; OR=0.7, 95%CI 0.4-1.1, P=0.110) ; however, those had no impacts on PFS and OS. Conclusions: Severe leukopenia and/or thrombocytopenia were common adverse events during TKI therapy. Female patients, WBC ≥100×109/L at diagnosed, CP in Sokal high-risk, CML-AP with ≥15% blast cells in blood or bone marrow were at high risk for higher incidence of severe leukopenia and/or thrombocytopenia. Those severe adverse events had impacts on lower cytogenetic and molecular response.

Clinical analysis of myeloid neoplasms with t (3;21) (q26;q22) / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To analyze the characteristics of myeloid neoplasms with t (3;21) (q26;q22) . Methods: Clinical data of patients with t (3; 21) (q26; q22) , diagnosed as hematologic malignancies in Peking University people's hospital from January 2011 to March 2018, were collected retrospectively. 19 patients in our hospital and forty-eight patients bearing t (3;21) (q26;q22) with detailed survival data reported in literature were summarized. Kaplan- Meier method was used for survival analysis. Results: Among 19 patients, including 15 males and 4 females with a median age of 36 years (22-68 years) , 4 cases was diagnosed as de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML) , 4 as myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) , 3 as MDS-AML and 8 as chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) in myeloid blast transformation. All of the 19 patients were detected to have t (3;21) (q26;q22) by G-banding technique and 13 carried additional cytogenetic aberrations. 9 of the 19 patients were detected for positive AML1-MDS1 fusion genes. In the 9 patients with detailed follow-up data, 6 patients received chemotherapy and only 2 achieved complete remission (CR) while 4 with no response. During the follow-up period, 8 patients died and the median overall survival (OS) was 6 months (4.5 to 22 months) . Survival analysis of the present 9 patients together with the literature data showed that the prognosis was poor and the median OS was 7 months. In particular, AML/t-AML had the worst prognosis. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) could significantly improve survival, the median OS in HSCT group and non-HSCT group were 20.9 and 4.7 months respectively (P<0.001) . Conclusions: t (3; 21) (q26; q22) is a rare recurrent chromosomal abnormality which is detected mainly in myeloid neoplasm and confer to poor clinical prognosis. HSCT should be recommended to improve the outcomes.

Clinical implication of minimal residue disease monitoring by WT1 gene detection and flow cytometry in myelodysplastic syndrome with allogeneic stem cell transplantation / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To investigate the clinical significance of minimal residual disease (MRD) monitoring by using WT1 gene and flow cytometry (FCM) in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) who receiving allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Methods: WT1 gene and MDS-related abnormal immunophenotype were examined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RQ-PCR) and FCM, respectively. The bone marrow samples were collected from patients with MDS who received allo-HSCT from Feb, 2011 to Oct, 2015 in Peking University People's Hospital before and after transplantation. Results: Among 92 MDS patients, 40 (48.2%) patients were positive for WT1 (WT1(+)) and 9 (10.8%) patients were positive for flow cytometry (FCM(+)). 27 patients (29.3%) met the criteria of our combinative standard, MRDco (MRDco(+)). Only FCM(+) post-transplant (P<0.001) and MRDco(+) (P=0.017) were associated with relapse. The cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) at 2 years were 66.7% and 1.2% (P<0.001) in FCM(+) and FCM(-) groups. MRDco(+) group had a 2-year CIR of 23.0% while MRDco(-) group had a 2-year CIR of 1.6% (P=0.004). The specificity of post-transplant WT1, FCM and MRDco to predict relapse was 59.0%, 96.4% and 74.7%, respectively. The sensitivity of these three MRD parameters to predict relapse was 66.7%. Conclusion: Post-transplant FCM and MRDco are useful tools to monitor MRD for MDS after transplantation. The preemptive intervention based on MRDco is able to reduce the relapse rate.

In Vitro Identification and Characteristics of CD34Leukemia Stem Cell in t(8;21) Acute Myeloid Leukemia / 中国实验血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To preliminarily identify the existence of CD34leukemia stem cell (LSC) in t(8;21) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) by in vitro test.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Bone marrow samples collected from newly diagnosed t(8;21) AML patients were tested. LinCD34CD38(abbreviation, CD34CD38), LinCD34CD38(abbreviation, CD34CD38) and LinCD34CD38CD45SSC(abbreviation, CD34"LSC") cell fractions were gated by flow cytometry after staining with fluorescent antibodies. Cells in Gphase were identified through Hoechst 33342 and pyronin Y staining. Aldefluor reagent was used to test aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity. The above-mentioned 3 cell fractions were sorted, and mRNA levels of AML1-ETO and WT1 were measured by real-time quantitative PCR.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The 3 tested samples displayed the same tendency in ratio of the cells in Gphase: CD34"LSC">CD34CD38>CD34CD38. The paired t-test of 53 patients showed that frequency of ALDHcells of both CD34CD38and CD34"LSC" cell fractions was significantly higher than that of CD34CD38(P<0.01), furthermore, the ALDHcell frequency was significantly higher in CD34"LSC" than that in CD34CD38(P<0.01). AML1-ETO mRNA levels of cells sorted from 3 patients were similar among the 3 cell fractions within each patient, whereas WT1 mRNA levels were significantly higher in CD34"LSC" than that in other 2 cell fractions.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>CD34LSC may exist in t(8;21) AML, and may be more primitive than CD34LSC. These results promote the necessity to perform in vivo xenogeneic transplantation mice.</p>

Improved outcome with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in a poor prognostic subgroup of patients with mixed-lineage-leukemia-rearranged acute leukemia: Results from a prospective, multi-center study.

The purpose of this study is to define the role for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in mixed-lineage-leukemia (MLL)-rearranged acute leukemia, which is now poorly understood. A prospective, multi-center cohort study to determine whether allo-HSCT could decrease relapse rates and improve long-term survival of MLL+ leukemia patients was performed. Fifty-six consecutive patients diagnosed with MLL-rearranged acute leukemia undergoing allo-HSCT from two transplant centers in China were enrolled between October 2007 and October 2012. The trial was registered at www.chictr.org as # ChiCTR-ONC-12002739. The incidences of grades II to IV acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD) and of grades III and IV aGVHD were 28.8% (CI, 16.87-40.8%), and 14.2% (CI, 5.4-23.0%), respectively. The cumulative incidences for chronic GVHD (cGVHD) at 2 years after HSCT were 35.2% (CI, 21.2-49.2%). Up to April 30, 2013, 12 patients had relapsed and 11 died from relapse, and 37 patients were still alive without disease recurrence. The relapse and NRM rates at 3 years were 25.3% (CI, 12.7-37.9%) and 18.0% (CI, 2.6-33.4%), respectively. The probalities of overall survival and leukemia free survival were 61.8% (CI, 46.0-77.6%) and 56.3% (CI, 38.1-74.5%) at 3 years, respectively. Patients transplanted during their hematological first complete remission (CR1) had a lower relapse rate (17.9% vs. 48.1%, P = 0.03) compared with patients transplanted beyond CR1. The median overall survival for the 29 patients not receiving allo-HSCT during the study period was 145 days from diagnosis. This study showed that allo-HSCT could be a valuable treatment choice for MLL+ acute leukemia.

Expression of WT1 and PRAME gene in bone marrow and peripheral blood samples of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome / 中国实验血液学杂志

This study was aimed to explore the transcription level of WT1 and PRAME two genes in bone marrow and peripheral blood samples of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome(MDS) and their relationship with bone marrow dysplasia and karyotype. The quantitative expression of WT1 and PRAME transcripts detected by RQ-PCR in the bone marrow samples of 203 MDS patients and 19 aplastic anemia(AA), 6 other benign anemia(BA), 4 paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria(PNH) patients from July 2009 to June 2012 and 14 healthy donors, and in 92 peripheral blood samples. The results showed that WT1 and PRAME expression levels in both BM and PB samples of MDS group were higher than those in normal controls, AA, and BA patients (BM: WT1:P = 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, PRAME: P = 0.048, 0.000, 0.064; PB: WT1:P = 0.012, 0.000, 0.011, PRAME: P = 0.020, 0.004, 0.003). What is more, this expression in high risk MDS group (RAEB1, RAEB2, MDS-AML) were higher than those in low risk group (RCUD, RCMD, MDS-U) and AA and BA. The WT1 and PRAME mRNA expression levels in PB and BM were well correlated (WT1:r = 0.6028, P = 0.001; PRAME: r = 0.7628, P = 0.000), as well as the WT1 expression levels in BM samples with the Karyotype (P = 0.049). In addition, the same positive rate of WT1 or PRAME expression existed in BM and PB samples of MDS patients. It is concluded that the WT1 and PRAME gene expression levels in both BM and PB samples of MDS patients are higher than those in healthy controls, AA and other benign anemia patients, and increase with the progression of the disease. The WT1 and PRAME transcripts constitute good molecular markers for the clinical diagnosis and prognosis and monitoring minimal residual disease after treatment of MDS. What is more, when bone marrow is not so convenient to get, the transcript levels of PB samples can be detected.

CD34(+)CD19(+) cells with CD123 overexpression are a novel prognostic marker in Ph chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia / 中国实验血液学杂志

This study was aimed to investigate the characteristics of CD123 expression on CD34(+)CD19(+) cells and its prognostic significance as a novel MRD biomarker in Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph(+)ALL) patients. Consecutive newly diagnosed Ph(+)ALL patients (n = 49) in Peking University Institute of Hematology from January 2010 to April 2012 were prospectively enrolled in this study. At diagnosis and different time points during treatment, CD123 expression on CD34(+)CD19(+) cells was examined by multiparameter flow cytometry(MFC). More than 10 CD34(+)CD19(+) cells with CD123 overexpression in bone marrow samples after complete remission were defined as FCM positive (FCM(+)). The BCR-ABL1[STBZ] transcript was detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RQ-PCR) concurrently. The results showed that mean fluorescence intensity of CD123 on CD34(+)CD19(+) cells in newly diagnosed Ph(+)ALL and relapsed Ph(+)ALL patients was significantly higher than that of normal B-cell progenitors [8.52(3.71-32.35) vs 8.93(4.79-29.74) vs 1.31(0.21-1.75), P < 0.05]. In addition, ratio of the CD34(+)CD19(+) cells with CD123 overexpression in newly diagnosed Ph(+)ALL and relapsed Ph(+)ALL patients were significantly higher than that of normal B-cell progenitors [84.63% (55.07%-99.96%) vs 84.50% (57.68%-99.80%) vs 0.99% (0.45%- 1.83%), P < 0.05]. CD34(+)CD19(+) cells with CD123 overexpression were detected in all newly diagnosed and relapsed Ph(+)ALL patients. A good correlation was found between the MRD results of CD34(+)CD19(+) cells with CD123 overexpression detected by MFC and that detected by RQ-PCR (n = 360 pairs, Spearman r = 0.90, P < 0.0001). Among 13 cases relapsed during follow up, 11 cases of them were detected by FCM(+) at a median time of 60 (30-73) days before the recurrence. It is concluded that as a complementary to RQ-PCR, detection of the CD34(+)CD19(+) cells with CD123 overexpression by MFC promises to be an efficient tool for MRD assessment and risk stratification in human Ph(+)ALL.

The immunophenotypic and clinical characteristics of NPM1 mutated acute myeloid leukemia patients / 中华血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the immunophenotypic and clinical characteristics between NPM1 mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (NPM1m(+)AML) and unmutated AML(NPM1m(-)AML) not otherwise characterized (NOS) under similar FAB subtypes constituent ratio.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Immunophenotyping and NPM1 gene mutation type-A, B and D and other leukemic related fusion genes were detected by multiparameter flow cytometry and real time RT-PCR or PCR, respectively. 104 AML patients with NPM1m(+)AML and performed immunophenotyping assay were included, 97 with NPM1m(-)AML.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were significant difference between the two groups at presentation in terms of sex, white blood count(WBC), platelet counts (PLT), blast ratio, normal karyotype ratio, WT1 expression level, FLT3-ITD mutation positive rate and remission rate of first course of induction therapy (P < 0.05). On the immunophenotype, the expression of early differentiation antigens (CD34, HLA-DR, CD117, CD38), lymphocytic antigens (CD7, CD4, CD19, CD2), myeloid and monocytic differentiation-associated antigens (CD13, CD14, CD15) were lower, and that of CD33 as well as CD123 were higher in NPM1m(+)AML patients. Among them, only CD34, HLA-DR, CD7, and CD4 positive cases were significantly lower in NPM1m(+)AML group than in NPM1m(-)AML group (P < 0.05), the rest of them had significant difference in the number of positive cells (P < 0.05). Above features were further analyzed between the M1/M2 and M4/M5 subgroups. M1/M2 cases retained the women prominent and had a higher WT1 expression level (P < 0.05). The expression of monocytic differentiation-associated antigens including HLA-DR and lymphocytic antigens were higher and that of CD117 were lower in M4/M5 subtype (P < 0.05). Among them, the positive rates of HLA-DR, CD64, CD11b, CD10, CD15, and CD4 were significantly higher in M4/M5 than in M1/M2 in NPM1m(+)AML group (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The most clinical characteristics in NPM1m(+)AML patients are consistent with reports, but some immunophenotype are different to the previous reports under similar FAB subtypes constituent ratio. The major immunophenotypic features of NPM1m(+)AML patients are lower expression of progenitor, myeloid and lymphoid lineage antigens. Monocytic differentiation-associated antigens are only higher expression in M4/M5 cases when comparison with M1/M2 cases within NPM1m(+)AML group.</p>