Measurable Residual Disease and Fusion Partner Independently Predict Survival and Relapse Risk in Childhood KMT2A-Rearranged Acute Myeloid Leukemia: A Study by the International Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster Study Group

van Weelderen RE, Klein K, Harrison CJ, Jiang Y, Abrahamsson J, Arad-Cohen N, Bart-Delabesse E, Buldini B, De Moerloose B, Dworzak MN, Elitzur S, Fernández Navarro JM, Gerbing RB, Goemans BF, de Groot-Kruseman HA, Guest E, Ha SY, Hasle H, Kelaidi C, Lapillonne H, Leverger G, Locatelli F, Masetti R, Miyamura T, Norén-Nyström U, Polychronopoulou S, Rasche M, Rubnitz JE, Stary J, Tierens A, Tomizawa D, Zwaan CM, Kaspers GJL. Measurable Residual Disease and Fusion Partner Independently Predict Survival and Relapse Risk in Childhood KMT2A-Rearranged Acute Myeloid Leukemia: A Study by the International Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster Study Group. J Clin Oncol. 2023 Jun 1;41(16):2963-2974. doi: 10.1200/JCO.22.02120. Epub 2023 Mar 30. PubMed PMID: 36996387; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10414713.

A previous study by the International Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster Study Group (I-BFM-SG) on childhood KMT2A-rearranged (KMT2A-r) AML demonstrated the prognostic value of the fusion partner. This I-BFM-SG study investigated the value of flow cytometry-based measurable residual disease (flow-MRD) and evaluated the benefit of allogeneic stem-cell transplantation (allo-SCT) in first complete remission (CR1) in this disease. A total of 1,130 children with KMT2A-r AML, diagnosed between January 2005 and December 2016, were assigned to high-risk (n = 402; 35.6%) or non–high-risk (n = 728; 64.4%) fusion partner-based groups. Flow-MRD levels at both end of induction 1 (EOI1) and 2 (EOI2) were available for 456 patients and were considered negative (<0.1%) or positive (≥0.1%). End points were 5-year event-free survival (EFS), cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR), and overall survival (OS).