title: Early blast clearance by remission induction therapy is a major independent prognostic factor for both achievement of complete remission and long-term outcome in acute myeloid leukemia: data from the German AML Cooperative Group (AMLCG) 1992 Trial.
abstract: Risk assessment in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) using pretreatment characteristics may be improved by incorporating parameters of early response to therapy. In the 1992 trial of the German AML Cooperative Group (AMLCG), the amount of residual leukemic blasts in bone marrow was assessed one week after the first induction course (day 16 blasts). A total of 449 patients 16 to 76 years of age (median, 53 years) with de novo AML entered the trial and were evaluable. Treatment included TAD/HAM (thioguanine, cytosine arabinoside, and daunorubicin/high-dose cytosine arabinoside and mitoxantrone) double induction, TAD consolidation, and randomly either maintenance therapy or S-HAM consolidation. Cytogenetics were favorable, intermediate, unfavorable and not available in 10.0%, 48.3%, 13.1%, and 28.5%, respectively. Day 16 blasts ranged from 0% to 100% (median, 5%, mean +/- SD, 18.6 +/- 28.5%). Complete remission (CR) rate was 72.6%, 17.6% had persistent leukemia (PL), and 9.8% succumbed to hypoplastic death. Median overall survival (OS), event-free survival (EFS), and relapse-free survival (RFS) were 18, 9, and 15 months with 28.4%, 21.6%, and 30.1% at 5 years, respectively. As a continuous variable, day 16 blasts were related to CR rate (P < 0.0001), PL rate (P < 0.0001), OS (P < 0.0001), EFS (P < 0.0001), and RFS (P = 0.0049). Multivariate analyses identified the following parameters to be associated with the respective end points. CR rate: day 16 blasts (P <.0001), age (P =.0036), and LDH (P =.0072); OS: unfavorable cytogenetics (P <.0001), day 16 blasts (P <.0001), age (P <.0001), and LDH (P =.0040); EFS: unfavorable cytogenetics (P <.0001), LDH (P <.0001), day 16 blasts (P <.0001), and age (P =.0061); RFS: unfavorable cytogenetics (P <.0001), LDH (P <.0001), and day 16 blasts (P =.0359). The prognostic significance of day 16 blasts is independent of pretherapeutic parameters and predicts outcome even in patients achieving a CR.
authors.affiliation: Ludwig-Maximilians-University, University Hospital Grosshadern, Department of Internal Medicine III, Muenchen, Germany. wolfgang.kern@med3.med.uni-muenchen.de
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kern
authors.forename: Torsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Haferlach
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schoch
authors.forename: Helmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Loffler
authors.forename: Winfried
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gassmann
authors.forename: Achim
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Heinecke
authors.forename: Maria Christina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Sauerland
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Berdel
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Buchner
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hiddemann
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage; D001752:Blast Crisis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000473:pathology; D002452:Cell Count; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D006801:Humans; D007951:Leukemia, Myeloid / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018365:Neoplasm, Residual / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012074:Remission Induction; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome