Clinical Implications of Minimal Residual Disease Detection in Infants with KMT2A -Rearranged Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Treated on the Interfant-06 Protocol

  • Janine Stutterheim
  • , Inge M. van der Sluis
  • , Paola de Lorenzo
  • , Julia Alten
  • , Philip Ancliffe
  • , Andishe Attarbaschi
  • , Benoit Brethon
  • , Andrea Biondi
  • , Myriam Campbell
  • , Giovanni Cazzaniga
  • , Gabriele Escherich
  • , Alina Ferster
  • , Rishi S. Kotecha
  • , Birgitte Lausen
  • , Chi Kong Li
  • , Luca Lo Nigro
  • , Franco Locatelli
  • , Rolf Marschalek
  • , Claus Meyer
  • , Martin Schrappe
  • Jan Stary, Ajay Vora, Jan Zuna, Vincent H.J. van der Velden, Tomasz Szczepanski, Maria Grazia Valsecchi, Rob Pieters

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

54 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

PURPOSEInfant acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is characterized by a high incidence of KMT2A gene rearrangements and poor outcome. We evaluated the value of minimal residual disease (MRD) in infants with KMT2A-rearranged ALL treated within the Interfant-06 protocol, which compared lymphoid-style consolidation (protocol IB) versus myeloid-style consolidation (araC, daunorubicin, etoposide/mitoxantrone, araC, etoposide).MATERIALS AND METHODSMRD was measured in 249 infants by DNA-based polymerase chain reaction of rearranged KMT2A, immunoglobulin, and/or T-cell receptor genes, at the end of induction (EOI) and end of consolidation (EOC). MRD results were classified as negative, intermediate (< 5 × 10-4), and high (≥ 5 × 10-4).RESULTSEOI MRD levels predicted outcome with 6-year disease-free survival (DFS) of 60.2% (95% CI, 43.2 to 73.6), 45.0% (95% CI, 28.3 to 53.1), and 33.8% (95% CI, 23.8 to 44.1) for infants with negative, intermediate, and high EOI MRD levels, respectively (P =.0039). EOC MRD levels were also predictive of outcome, with 6-year DFS of 68.2% (95% CI, 55.2 to 78.1), 40.1% (95% CI, 28.1 to 51.9), and 11.9% (95% CI, 2.6 to 29.1) for infants with negative, intermediate, and high EOC MRD levels, respectively (P <.0001). Analysis of EOI MRD according to the type of consolidation treatment showed that infants treated with lymphoid-style consolidation had 6-year DFS of 78.2% (95% CI, 51.4 to 91.3), 47.2% (95% CI, 33.0 to 60.1), and 23.2% (95% CI, 12.1 to 36.4) for negative, intermediate, and high MRD levels, respectively (P <.0001), while for myeloid-style-treated patients the corresponding figures were 45.0% (95% CI, 23.9 to 64.1), 41.3% (95% CI, 23.2 to 58.5), and 45.9% (95% CI, 29.4 to 60.9).CONCLUSIONThis study provides support for the idea that induction therapy selects patients for subsequent therapy; infants with high EOI MRD may benefit from AML-like consolidation (DFS 45.9% v 23.2%), whereas patients with low EOI MRD may benefit from ALL-like consolidation (DFS 78.2% v 45.0%). Patients with positive EOC MRD had dismal outcomes. These findings will be used for treatment interventions in the next Interfant protocol.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)652-662
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Clinical Oncology
Volume39
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Feb 2021

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Clinical Implications of Minimal Residual Disease Detection in Infants with KMT2A -Rearranged Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Treated on the Interfant-06 Protocol'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this