Inv(16) may be one of the only 'favorable' factors in acute myeloid leukemia: a report on 19 cases with prolonged follow-up.
We report our experience of treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with inv(16). Nineteen of 531 (3.6%) cases of newly diagnosed AML karyotyped over a 12 year period had inv(16)(p13q22) and none had t(16;16) or del 16q. Morphologically, all patients had M4eo. All patients were treated with conventional anthracycline-Ara-C chemotherapy, followed by moderate or more intensive consolidation chemotherapy. All patients received central nervous system (CNS) prophylaxis with intrathecal methotrexate and Ara-C, and cranial irradiation. Eighteen patients (95%) achieved complete remission (CR). Three had a bone marrow relapse, one had a CNS relapse and 14 patients remained in first CR, 11 of them with a follow-up greater than 44 months. Disease-free survival was 74% after 10 months, and actuarial survival 88% after 4 years, and 62% after 6 years. No other AML subgroup, in our experience, had a long-term survival approaching that of AML with inv(16) (although similar favorable outcome may be anticipated in acute promyelocytic leukemia treated by a combination of retinoic acid and chemotherapy).
Plantier
I
I
Service des Maladies du Sang, C.H.U., Lille, France.
Lai
J L
JL
Wattel
E
E
Bauters
F
F
Fenaux
P
P
D000208:Acute Disease; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D025063:Chromosome Disorders; D007446:Chromosome Inversion; D002885:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 16; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007951:Leukemia, Myeloid / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics; D011379:Prognosis; D016019:Survival Analysis