In five out of six patients with a positive Flt3-ITD based MRD status a relapse of AML was observed in the follow up while one patient lacks a clinical relapse so far.
In five out of six patients with a positive Flt3-ITD based MRD status a relapse of AML was observed in the follow up while one patient lacks a clinical relapse so far.
Changes in the pattern of FLT3 mutations between disease presentation and relapse restrict their value as a marker of minimal residual disease, and have significant implications for therapy.
Our observations of independent Flt3-ITD and the detection of new Flt3-abnormalities at the time of relapse suggest that (i) Flt3-gene abnormalities may be even more important in the pathogenesis of chemotherapy-resistant AML than suggested from previous studies of newly diagnosed AML, and (ii) monitoring of minimal residual disease by using patient-specific real-time polymerase chain reaction assays for Flt3-abnormalities may not be reliable.
Analysis of FLT3 length mutations in 1003 patients with acute myeloid leukemia: correlation to cytogenetics, FAB subtype, and prognosis in the AMLCG study and usefulness as a marker for the detection of minimal residual disease.
These results indicate that FLT3 mutations are secondary events in leukemogenesis, are unstable, and thus should be used cautiously for the detection of minimal residual disease.