Incidence and Prognostic Importance of Molecular Genetic Defects in Children with Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia

Introduction: Acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) accounts for 15 to 25 percent of childhood acute leukemias.The most common genetic abnormalities seen in pediatric AML patients are AML1-ETO, PML-RARα andCBFB-MYH11 genes resulting in t(8;21), t(15;17) and inv(16). These genetic defects are seen in approximately20-25% of AML patients.
Objective: We investigated in this study, incidence and prognostic significance of theAML1-ETO, PML-RARα and CBFB-MYH11 genes in children with AML. Materials and
Methods: The authorsanalyzed 34 children with AML using the real time-polymerase chain reaction for AML1-ETO, PML-RARαand CBFB-MYH11 genes.
Results: Of the patients, 8.8% were positive for t(8;21), 8.8% for t(15;17) and 3% forinv(16). There were a statistically significant differences between 48 month overall survival rates of the patientspositive and negative for t(8;21), t(15;17) and inv(16).
Conclusion: It was concluded that t(15;17), t(8;21) andinv(16) impact on disease prognosis positively, but comprehensive studies with larger patient series are nowneeded for confirmation.