Relationship Between Minimal Residual Disease and Outcome in Adult Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

• Published in: Blood Vol. 87; no. 12; pp. 5251 - 5256
• Main Authors: Brisco, Michael J., Hughes, Elizabeth, Neoh, Sim H., Sykes, Pamela J., Bradstock, Kenneth, Enno, Arno, Szer, Jeffrey, McCaul, Kieran, Morley, Alexander A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC Elsevier Inc 15-06-1996; The Americain Society of Hematology
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Asparaginase - administration & dosage; Biological and medical sciences; Bone Marrow - pathology; Bone Marrow Transplantation; Combined Modality Therapy; Cranial Irradiation; Cyclophosphamide - administration & dosage; Cytarabine - administration & dosage; Daunorubicin - administration & dosage; Disease-Free Survival; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; Etoposide - administration & dosage; Gene Rearrangement, B-Lymphocyte, Heavy Chain; Hematologic and hematopoietic diseases; Humans; Leukemias. Malignant lymphomas. Malignant reticulosis. Myelofibrosis; Medical sciences; Mercaptopurine - administration & dosage; Methotrexate - administration & dosage; Middle Aged; Neoplasm, Residual; Philadelphia Chromosome; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma - genetics; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma - mortality; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma - pathology; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma - therapy; Prednisolone - administration & dosage; Prognosis; Survival Analysis; Treatment Outcome; Vincristine - administration & dosage; Human; Antineoplastic agent; Prognosis; Acute; Minimal residual disease; Malignant hemopathy; Induction treatment; Chemotherapy; Lymphoproliferative syndrome; Adult; Remission; Acute lymphocytic leukemia; Predictive factor; Quantitative analysis
• ISSN: 0006-4971; 1528-0020
• DOI: 10.1182/blood.V87.12.5251.bloodjournal87125251

In children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the level of minimal residual disease (MRD) at the end of induction strongly predicts outcome, presumably because it measures both drug sensitivity and the number of leukemic cells requiring elimination. Children with high levels (>10–3 leukemic cells per marrow cell) nearly always relapse, whereas those with low levels (<2 × 10–5) seldom do. However, the importance of MRD in adult ALL is unclear. We studied 27 patients aged 14 to 74 who were treated with a standard protocol and who attained morphological remission. MRD in the marrow at first remission was quantified by using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), with the rearranged immunoglobulin heavy chain gene as a molecular marker. Levels of MRD varied from 3 × 10–1 to <7 × 10–7. The probability of long-term relapse-free survival was significantly related to the level of MRD and only one of nine patients with MRD >10 3 did not relapse. For patients who did relapse, there was an inverse relationship between MRD level and the length of remission. Overall, MRD in adults in whom a translocation had not been identified was significantly higher than in comparably-treated children, suggesting that ALL in adults is more drug-resistant than in children.