Summary Background We sought to improve outcome of childhood acute myeloid leukemia (AML) by applying risk-directed therapy based on the genetic abnormalities of the leukemic cells and measurements of minimal residual disease (MRD) as determined by flow cytometry during treatment. Methods From October 13, 2002 to June 19, 2008, 232 patients with de novo AML (n=206), therapy- or myelodysplasia-related AML (n=12), or mixed-lineage leukemia (n=14) were enrolled at eight centers. Block, nonblinded randomization, stratified by cytogenetic or morphologic subtype, assigned patients to high-dose (18 g/m2, n=113) or low-dose (2 g/m2, n=117) cytarabine (A), given together with daunorubicin (D) and etoposide (E) (Induction I); achievement of MRD negative status was the primary endpoint. Induction II consisted of ADE with or without gemtuzumab ozogamicin (GO); consolidation therapy included three additional courses of chemotherapy or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Levels of MRD were used to allocate GO and determine the timing of Induction II; both MRD and genetic abnormalities at diagnosis were used to determine final risk classification. Low-risk patients (n=68) received 5 courses of chemotherapy, whereas high-risk patients (n=79), as well as standard-risk patients (n=69) with matched sibling donors, were eligible for HSCT (performed in 48 high and 8 standard-risk patients). All randomized patients (n=230) were analyzed for the primary endpoint. The other analyses were limited to the 216 patients with AML, excluding mixed-lineage leukemia. This trial, closed to accrual, is registered with ClinicalTrial.gov, number NCT00136084. Findings The complete remission rates were 80% (173 of the 216) after Induction I and 94% (203 of 216) after Induction II. Induction failures included two toxic deaths and 10 cases of resistant leukemia. The introduction of high-dose cytarabine did not significantly lower the rate of MRD positivity after Induction I therapy (34% vs. 42%, P=0.17). The cumulative incidences of grade 3 or greater infection were 79.3% ± 4.0% and 75.5% ± 4.2% for patients treated on the high-dose or low-dose arms. The 3-year estimates (± SE) of event-free and overall survival were 63.0% ± 4.1% and 71.1% ± 3.8%, respectively. Achievement of MRD < 0.1% after Induction II identified a large group of patients (80%) with a cumulative incidence of relapse of only 17% ± 3%. Post-Induction I MRD ≥ 1% was the only independent adverse prognostic factor that was statistically significant (P < 0.05) for both event-free (HR, 2.41; CI 1.36–4.26; P=0.003) and overall survival (HR, 2.11; CI 1.09–4.11; P=0.028). Interpretation Our findings suggest that the use of targeted chemotherapy and HSCT, in the context of a comprehensive risk-stratification strategy based on genetic features and MRD findings, can improve the outcome of childhood AML.

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A unique transient leukemia (TL) has been described in newborns with Down syndrome (DS; or trisomy 21 mosaics). This leukemia has a high incidence of spontaneous remission; however, early death and subsequent development of acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (AMKL) have been reported. We prospectively evaluated 48 infants with DS and TL to determine the natural history and biologic characteristics of this disease, identify the clinical characteristics associated with early death or subsequent leukemia, and assess the incidence of subsequent leukemia. Blast cells associated with TL in DS infants exhibited FAB M 7 morphology and phenotype. Most infants (74%) had trisomy 21 (or mosaicism) as the only cytogenetic abnormality in the blast cells. Most children were able to spontaneously clear peripheral blasts (89%), normalize blood counts (74%), and maintain a complete remission (64%). Early death occurred in 17% of infants and was significantly correlated with higher white blood cell count at diagnosis (P < .001), increased bilirubin and liver enzymes (P < .005), and a failure to normalize the blood count (P ‫؍‬ .001). Recurrence of leukemia occurred in 19% of infants at a mean of 20 months. Development of leukemia was significantly correlated with karyotypic abnormalities in addition to trisomy 21 (P ‫؍‬ .037). Ongoing collaborative clinical studies are needed to determine the optimal role of chemotherapy for infants at risk for increased mortality or disease recurrence and to further the knowledge of the unique biologic features of this TL. (Blood. 2006; 107:4606-4613)

Purpose-To investigate the molecular mechanism underlying intrinsic resistance to Experimental Design-Western blots and real-time RT-PCR were used to determine levels of Mcl-1 after Conclusions-Our results demonstrate that sequestration of Bim by Mcl-1 is a mechanism of intrinsic ABT-199 resistance and supports the clinical development of ABT-199 in combination with cytarabine or daunorubicin for the treatment of AML. HHS Public AccessAuthor manuscript Clin Cancer Res. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2017 September 01.

Highlights d Genetic and functional analyses of myeloid preleukemia and leukemia in Down syndrome d Non-GATA1 preleukemic mutations are often not required for preleukemia d Previously undescribed transforming hotspot mutation in CSF2RB identified d Loss of function of 18 genes validated in transformation of preleukemia to leukemia

A B S T R A C T PurposeIn acute myeloid leukemia (AML), initial treatment response by morphologic analysis of bone marrow predicts long-term outcome. Response can now be assessed by minimal residual disease (MRD) monitoring with flow cytometry or polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We determined the relation among the results of these approaches and their prognostic value. Patients and MethodsIn the multicenter AML02 study, follow-up bone marrow samples from 203 children and adolescents with newly diagnosed AML were examined by flow cytometry (n ϭ 1,514), morphology (n ϭ 1,382), and PCR amplification of fusion transcripts (n ϭ 508). Results were correlated with treatment outcome. ResultsAmong 1,215 samples with less than 5% leukemic myeloblasts by morphology, 100 (8.2%) were MRD positive (Ն 0.1%) by flow cytometry, whereas 96 (57.5%) of the 167 samples with Ն 5% blasts were MRD negative. Virtually all (308 of 311; 99.0%) MRD-negative samples by PCR were also MRD negative by flow cytometry. However, only 19 (9.6%) of the 197 PCR-positive samples were flow cytometry positive, with analyses of AML1-ETO and CBF␤-MYH11 accounting for most discrepancies, whereas eight of 13 MLL-positive samples had detectable MRD by flow cytometry. MRD by flow cytometry after induction 1 or 2 predicted lower event-free survival and higher relapse rate (P Ͻ .001) and was an independent prognostic factor in a multivariable analysis; prediction was not improved by morphologic information or molecular findings. ConclusionIn childhood AML, morphologic assessment of treatment response has limited value if MRD is measured by flow cytometry. MLL fusion transcripts can provide prognostic information in some patients, whereas monitoring of AML1-ETO and CBF␤-MYH11 transcripts is largely uninformative.

Summary The mechanism by which cells decide to skip mitosis to become polyploid is largely undefined. Here we used a high-content image-based screen to identify small-molecule probes that induce polyploidization of megakaryocytic leukemia cells and serve as perturbagens to help understand this process. We found that dimethylfasudil (diMF, H-1152P) selectively increased polyploidization, mature cell-surface marker expression, and apoptosis of malignant megakaryocytes. A broadly applicable, highly integrated target identification approach employing proteomic and shRNA screening revealed that a major target of diMF is Aurora A kinase (AURKA), which has not been studied extensively in megakaryocytes. Moreover, we discovered that MLN8237 (Alisertib), a selective inhibitor of AURKA, induced polyploidization and expression of mature megakaryocyte markers in AMKL blasts and displayed potent anti-AMKL activity in vivo. This research provides the rationale to support clinical trials of MLN8237 and other inducers of polyploidization in AMKL. Finally, we have identified five networks of kinases that regulate the switch to polyploidy.

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