Chromosomal rearrangements of the human MLL/KMT2A gene are associated with infant, pediatric, adult and therapy-induced acute leukemias. Here we present the data obtained from 2345 acute leukemia patients. Genomic breakpoints within the MLL gene and the involved translocation partner genes (TPGs) were determined and 11 novel TPGs were identified. Thus, a total of 135 different MLL rearrangements have been identified so far, of which 94 TPGs are now characterized at the molecular level. In all, 35 out of these 94 TPGs occur recurrently, but only 9 specific gene fusions account for more than 90% of all illegitimate recombinations of the MLL gene. We observed an age-dependent breakpoint shift with breakpoints localizing within MLL intron 11 associated with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and younger patients, while breakpoints in MLL intron 9 predominate in AML or older patients. The molecular characterization of MLL breakpoints suggests different etiologies in the different age groups and allows the correlation of functional domains of the MLL gene with clinical outcome. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the MLL recombinome in acute leukemia and demonstrates that the establishment of patient-specific chromosomal fusion sites allows the design of specific PCR primers for minimal residual disease analyses for all patients.

Chromosomal rearrangements of the human MLL (mixed lineage leukemia) gene are associated with high-risk infant, pediatric, adult and therapy-induced acute leukemias. We used long-distance inverse-polymerase chain reaction to characterize the chromosomal rearrangement of individual acute leukemia patients. We present data of the molecular characterization of 1590 MLL-rearranged biopsy samples obtained from acute leukemia patients. The precise localization of genomic breakpoints within the MLL gene and the involved translocation partner genes (TPGs) were determined and novel TPGs identified. All patients were classified according to their gender (852 females and 745 males), age at diagnosis (558 infant, 416 pediatric and 616 adult leukemia patients) and other clinical criteria. Combined data of our study and recently published data revealed a total of 121 different MLL rearrangements, of which 79 TPGs are now characterized at the molecular level. However, only seven rearrangements seem to be predominantly associated with illegitimate recombinations of the MLL gene (∼90%): AFF1/AF4, MLLT3/AF9, MLLT1/ENL, MLLT10/AF10, ELL, partial tandem duplications (MLL PTDs) and MLLT4/AF6, respectively. The MLL breakpoint distributions for all clinical relevant subtypes (gender, disease type, age at diagnosis, reciprocal, complex and therapy-induced translocations) are presented. Finally, we present the extending network of reciprocal MLL fusions deriving from complex rearrangements.

Summary The prognostic value of minimal residual disease (MRD) measured by fusion‐gene transcript (FGT) detection was investigated in 76 infants (aged ≤1 year) with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) with lysine methyltransferase 2A (KMT2A) rearrangements. Either at the end of induction or at later time‐points, FGT‐MRD‐positivity was associated with poor outcome. FGT‐MRD‐positivity after first consolidation or first high‐risk block detected 46·5% of infants with extremely poor outcome [disease‐free survival (SE) 0·06 (0·06), cumulative incidence of relapse (SE) 0·91 (0·05)], which was also confirmed in multivariable analysis. Thus, FGT‐MRD measurement at a single time‐point clearly identifies infants with ALL who are curable with conventional chemotherapy and those who would benefit only from other treatment approaches.

No abstract

No abstract

The purpose of this work was evaluation of prognostic significance of 11q23/KMT2A rearrangements in infants (aged under 365 days) with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) enrolled in Russian-Belarus multicenter trial MLLBaby. This study is supported by the Independent Ethics Committee and approved by the Academic Council of the Research Institute of Medical Cell Technologies (Ekaterinburg). Various 11q23/KMT2A rearrangements were revealed in 100 (72%) of 139 patients. Event-free survival (EFS) in the intermediate risk group of MLL-Baby trial was 35.1% (standard error (SE) 6.9%), in the high risk group – 38.3% (SE 7.1%) (p = 0.941). The most unfavorable prognosis had infants with translocation t(9;11)/KMT2A-MLLT3: EFS 18.8% (SE 9.8%), cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) 75.0% (SE 9.7%). Intermediate results were obtained in patients with translocations t(4;11)/KMT2A-AFF1 and t(11;19)/KMT2A-MLLT1: EFS 36.9% (SE 7,2%) and 32,7% (SE 10.4%), respectively; CIR 46.3% (SE 7.8%) and 50.9% (SE 12.3%). The most favorable treatment outcome was achieved in infants carrying translocation t(10;11)(p12;q23)/KMT2A-MLLT10: EFS 83.3% (SE 15.2%), CIR 0,0%. In the multivariate analysis unfavorable outcome of KMT2A-rearranged infant ALL was associated with initial CNS involvement (p = 0.020), initial white blood cell count higher than 300 × 109 /L (p = 0.028), more than 5% blast cells on day 15 in bone marrow (p = 0.012) and presence of translocation t(11;19)/KMT2A-MLLT1 (p = 0.012).

Aim:The aim of the study was to evaluate the incidence and prognostic impact of central nervous system (CNS) involvement in infants with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL), as well as its relation with minimal residual disease (MRD) data.Methods: A total of 139 consecutive infants with BCP-ALL from the MLL-Baby trial were studied. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were investigated by microscopy of cytospin slides. MRD was evaluated according to the protocol schedule by flow cytometry and PCR for fusion gene transcripts (FGT).

No abstract