Post-induction residual leukemia in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia quantified by PCR correlates with in vitro prednisolone resistance

Long-term results of NOPHO ALL-92 and ALL-2000 studies of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia

“…35,36 Monitoring of MRD by PCR for clonal immune-gene rearrangements or by flowcytometric identification of leukemic cells with aberrant antigen expression has emerged as one of the most powerful predictors of relapse. 16,37,38 It allows early modification of chemotherapy based on the in vivo response, and it has emerged as a powerful tool to determine the efficacy of early treatment phases. 37,39 Stratification of patients by MRD will allow identification of low-risk groups that can be cured by less intensive therapy as well as resistant patients that can be allocated to very intensive therapy with or without hematopoietic SCT.…”

“…16,37,38 It allows early modification of chemotherapy based on the in vivo response, and it has emerged as a powerful tool to determine the efficacy of early treatment phases. 37,39 Stratification of patients by MRD will allow identification of low-risk groups that can be cured by less intensive therapy as well as resistant patients that can be allocated to very intensive therapy with or without hematopoietic SCT. Although such stratification may improve the balance between cure rates and toxicities within the risk groups, it remains to be proven that this approach will improve the overall cure rates of childhood ALL.…”

Design and standardization of PCR primers and protocols for detection of clonal immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor gene recombinations in suspect lymphoproliferations: Report of the BIOMED-2 Concerted Action BMH4-CT98-3936

“…It was therefore decided to exclude the 1000 bp product in order to improve the reproducibility of the assay. By increasing the MgCl 2 concentration to 2 mM and adding the primers in a 1:1:1:2 ratio, it was possible to reproducibly amplify four bands (100,200,400, and 600 bp) of equal intensity from high molecular weight DNA samples. However, for DNA extracted from paraffin blocks, it was thought that an extra size marker at 300 bp would be extremely informative and that the 600 bp marker might not be necessary.…”

Dexamethasone-induced apoptosis in acute lymphoblastic leukemia involves differential regulation of Bcl-2 family members

“…37,40,42 On the other hand, several studies using cell viability assays have demonstrated that ex vivo GC-sensitivity has a predictive value in relation to the short-term response to systemic GC monotherapy and to the long-term clinical outcome in response to combination chemotherapy. [46][47][48][49][50] Therefore, analysis of GC-mediated changes of several Bcl-2 family members might provide an even more reliable predictive assay. Our data on Dex-induced changes in the levels and activation status of Bcl-2 family members in a limited set of samples from patients show a good correlation between the ex vivo response to Dex and an early response to treatment in vivo.…”