title: Frequency and prognostic impact of FLT3/ITD mutation in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was designed to evaluate the prevalence and the prognostic significance of fms-like tyrosine kinase-3 internal tandem duplication (FLT3/ITD), in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).
  
  
  METHODS
  We reviewed 123 newly diagnosed AML patients who have been treated at the Clinic of Hematology, Clinical Center of Nis, Serbia, during a 5-year period. The correlation between presence of the FLT3/ITD mutation and the subtype of disease according to FAB classification, white blood cell count, incidence of early relapse (<12 months) and overall survival was studied.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 103 patients for whom molecular analyses had been done, FLT3/ITD mutation was present in 46 (44.7%) cases; the highest frequency was seen in the M0 subtype (63.6%), and the lowest in the M1 subtype (16.7%). There were no statistically significant differences in the FLT3/ITD presence for the 3 groups of patients having different leucocyte counts. The FLT3/ITD mutation was associated with a higher incidence of early relapse compared with no mutation cases (78.7 vs. 21.4%; p < 0.001), and with a shorter survival time (<40 vs. >60 months; p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The FLT3/ITD mutation is a poor prognostic factor, which occurs frequently in AML, and is associated with higher incidence of early disease relapse and shorter overall survival.
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Hematology, Clinical Center of Nis, Nis, Serbia. audio.slave@sezampro.rs
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Govedarovic
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Marjanovic
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation; D011379:Prognosis; D020080:Tandem Repeat Sequences; D051941:fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 3 / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C497970:FLT3 protein, human; D051941:fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 3