Minimal residual disease (MRD) is a powerful prognostic factor in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and is used for patient stratification and treatment decisions, but its precise role in Philadelphia chromosome positive ALL is less clear. This uncertainty results largely from methodological differences relating to the use of real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) to measure BCR-ABL1 transcript levels for MRD analysis. We here describe the first results by the EURO-MRD consortium on standardization of qRT-PCR for the e1a2 BCR-ABL1 transcript in Ph + ALL, designed to overcome the lack of standardisation of laboratory procedures and data interpretation. Standardised use of EAC primer/probe sets and of centrally prepared plasmid standards had the greatest impact on reducing interlaboratory variability. In QC1 the proportion of analyses with BCR-ABL1/ABL1 ratios within half a log difference were 40/67 (60%) and 52/67 (78%) at 10-3 and 36/67 (53%) and 53/67 (79%) at 10-4BCR-ABL1/ABL1. Standardized RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis and cycler platforms did not improve results further, whereas stringent application of technical criteria for assay quality and uniform criteria for data interpretation and reporting were essential. We provide detailed laboratory recommendations for the standardized MRD analysis in routine diagnostic settings and in multicenter clinical trials for Ph + ALL.
- MeSH
- akutní lymfatická leukemie genetika MeSH
- bcr-abl fúzové proteiny genetika MeSH
- filadelfský chromozom * MeSH
- konsensus MeSH
- kvantitativní polymerázová řetězová reakce metody MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- messenger RNA analýza MeSH
- reziduální nádor MeSH
- směrnice pro lékařskou praxi jako téma * MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
The ALL IC-BFM 2002 protocol was created as an alternative to the MRD-based AIEOP-BFM ALL 2000 study, to integrate early response criteria into risk-group stratification in countries not performing routine PCR-based MRD testing. ALL IC stratification comprises the response to prednisone, bone marrow (BM) morphology at days 15 and 33, age, WBC and BCR/ABL or MLL/AF4 presence. Here, we compared this stratification to the MRD-based criteria using MRD evaluation in 163 patients from four ALL IC member countries at days 8, 15 and 33 and week 12. MRD negativity at day 33 was associated with an age of 1-5 years, WBC<20,000 microl(-1), non-T immunophenotype, good prednisone response and non-M3 morphology at day 15. There were no significant associations with gender or hyperdiploidy in the study group, or with TEL/AML1 fusion within BCP-ALL. Patients with M1/2 BM at day 8 tended to be MRD negative at week 12. Patients stratified into the standard-risk group had a better response than intermediate-risk group patients. However, 34% of them were MRD positive at day 33 and/or week 12. Our findings revealed that morphology-based ALL IC risk-group stratification allows the identification of most MRD high-risk patients, but fails to discriminate the MRD low-risk group assigned to therapy reduction.
- MeSH
- akutní lymfatická leukemie diagnóza terapie MeSH
- dítě MeSH
- financování organizované MeSH
- hodnocení rizik MeSH
- imunofenotypizace MeSH
- kojenec MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mladiství MeSH
- počet leukocytů MeSH
- předškolní dítě MeSH
- prognóza MeSH
- reziduální nádor diagnóza MeSH
- tvar buňky MeSH
- věkové faktory MeSH
- výsledek terapie MeSH
- Check Tag
- dítě MeSH
- kojenec MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mladiství MeSH
- předškolní dítě MeSH
- Publikační typ
- klinické zkoušky MeSH
- multicentrická studie MeSH
