Abstract
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with chromosome 11q23 abnormalities or MLL rearrangements have a poor prognosis when treated with conventional chemotherapy. However, the efficacy of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) for this type of leukemia is not yet clear.We describe 2MLL-AF6 fusion transcript-positive AML patients treated with allogeneic BMT who were monitored for minimal residual disease (MRD) by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Although long survival or cure of this type of AML is rarely reported, 1 patient had durable remissions. Fusion transcripts disappeared in 1 patient but not in the other, even after the graft-versus-host disease effect was increased by the discontinuation of immmunosuppressive therapy. This is the first report of MRD and the probability of graft-versus-leukemia effects following BMT in AML patients who areMLL-AF6 fusion transcript positive.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ziemin-van der Poel S, McCabe NR, Gill HJ, et al. Identification of a gene, MLL, that spans the breakpoint in 11q23 translocations associated with human leukemias.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1991;88:10735–10739.
Prasad R, Gu Y, Alder H, et al. Cloning the ALL-1 fusion partner, the AF-6 gene, involved in acute myeloid leukemias with the t(6; 11) translocation.Cancer Res. 1993;53:5624–5628.
Martineau M, Berger R, Lillington DM, et al. The t(6;11)(q27;q23) translocation in acute leukemia: a laboratory and clinical study of 30 cases.Leukemia. 1998;12:788–791.
Cimino G, Elia L, Rapanotti MC, et al. A prospective study of residual-disease monitoring of the ALL1/AF4 transcript in patients with t(4;11) acute lymphoblastic leukemia.Blood. 2000;95:96–101.
Mitterbauer G, Zimmer C, Pirc-Danoewinata H, et al. Monitoring of minimal residual disease in patients with MLL-AF6-positive acute myeloid leukaemia by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.Br J Haematol. 2000;109:622–628.
Forrest DL, Nevill TJ, Horsman DE, et al. Bone marrow transplantation for adults with acute leukaemia and 11q23 chromosomal abnormalities.Br J Haematol. 1998;103:630–638.
Takatsuki H, Umemura T, Sadamura S, et al. Detection of minimal residual disease by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction for the PML/RAR α fusion mRNA: a study in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia following peripheral stem cell transplantation.Leukemia. 1995;9:889–892.
Thirman MJ, Gill HJ, Burnett RC, et al. Rearrangement of the MLL gene in acute lymphoblastic and acute myeloid leukemias with 11q23 chromosomal translocations.N Engl J Med. 1992;329:909–914.
Corral J, Lavenir I, Warren AJ, et al. An Mll-AF9 fusion gene made by homologous recombination causes acute leukemia in chimeric mice: a method to create fusion oncogenes.Cell. 1996;85:835–861.
Harbott J, Mancini M, Verellen-Dumoulin C, Moorman AV, Secker-Walker LM. Hematological malignancies with a deletion of 11q23: cytogenetic and clinical aspects.Leukemia. 1998;12:823–827.
Kobayashi H, Espinosa R, Thirman MJ, et al. Do terminal deletions of 11q23 exist? Identification of undetected translocations with fluorescence in situ hybridization.Genes Chromosomes Cancer. 1993;7:204–208.
Higano CS, Brixey M, Bryant EM, et al. Durable complete remission of acute nonlymphocytic leukemia associated with discontinuation of immunosuppression following relapse after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. A case report of a probable graftversus-leukemia effect.Transplantation. 1990;50:175–177.
Kolb HJ, Mittermuller J, Clemm C, et al. Donor leukocyte transfusions for treatment of recurrent chronic myelogenous leukemia in marrow transplant patients.Blood. 1990;76:2462–2465.
Kolb HJ, Schattenberg KA, Goldman JM, et al. Graft-versusleukemia effect of donor lymphocyte transfusions in marrow grafted patients.Blood. 1995;86:2041–2050.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Takatsuki, H., Yufu, Y., Tachikawa, Y. et al. Monitoring Minimal Residual Disease in patients With MLL-AF6 Fusion Transcript—Positive Acute Myeloid Leukemia Following Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplantation. Int J Hematol 75, 298–301 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02982045
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02982045