[Prevalence of FLT3 internal tandem duplication in adult acute myelogenous leukemia].
BACKGROUND
fms-like tyrosine kinase (FLT3), a member of the class III receptor tyrosine kinases, regulates the proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells. An internal tandem duplication of the FLT3 gene (FLT3/ITD) has been reported in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and may be associated with a poor prognosis. In this study we determined the prevalence and prognostic significance of FLT3/ITD in adult AML patients.


METHODS
This study included 52 adult de novo AML. Exon 14 and 15 of the FLT3 gene were amplified by PCR and the PCR products were analyzed by 3730XL DNA analyzer (Applied Biosystems, USA) and GeneMapper Software.


RESULTS
FLT3/ITD was found in 15 (28.8%) of the 52 AML patients. The presence of FLT3/ITD was significantly associated with absolute leukocyte counts (P=0.002) and bone marrow blast counts (P=0.036). FLT3/ITD was also more frequent in patients with normal karyotype (7 of 18) than in those with cytogenetic aberrations (3 of 25). Patients with t (15;17) showed a higher prevalence of FLT3/ITD (2 of 7). FLT3/ITD was significantly associated with overall survival (P<0.042).


CONCLUSIONS
Our data indicate that FLT3/ITD is a common alteration in adult AML patients. Although based on a study with a limited number of AML patients, FLT3/ITD is a prognostic marker in patients with AML.
Lee
Jeong Nyeo
JN
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Busan Paik Hospital, College of Medicine, Korea. jeong418@medimail.co.kr
Kim
Hye Ran
HR
Shin
Jeong Hwan
JH
Joo
Young Don
YD
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002884:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 15; D002886:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 17; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011379:Prognosis; D016019:Survival Analysis; D020080:Tandem Repeat Sequences / Q000235:genetics*; D051941:fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 3 / Q000235:genetics*
D051941:fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 3