title: [FLT3 mutations in children with acute myeloid leukemia: a single center study].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the clinical significance of FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) mutations including internal tandem duplication (ITD) mutation and point mutation of tyrosine kinase domain (TKD) in children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
  
  
  METHODS
  Bone marrow samples from 116 children with newly-diagnosed AML were obtained. Gene mutations of FLT3/ITD and FLT3/TKD were detected by RT-PCR. The relationship of FLT3 gene mutations with the clinical characteristics and the therapeutic efficacy was observed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  FLT3/ITD and FLT3/TKD mutations were detected in 9 cases (7.8%) and 13 cases (11.2%) respectively out of the 116 children. FLT3/ITD mutations were observed in 3 cases of AML-M3 (3/9; 33.3%) and in 3 cases of AML-M5 (3/9; 33.3%). FLT3/TKD mutations were the most common in AML-M3 patients (10/13; 76.9%). The patients with FLT3/ITD mutations had a significantly higher peripheral WBC count and marrow blast percentage compared with the patients without FLT3/ITD mutations at diagnosis (P<0.01). The 3-year overall survival rate in patients with FLT3/ITD mutations was significantly lower than that in patients without FLT3/ITD mutations (38.9% vs 64.3%; P<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FLT3/TKD mutations are common in children with AML-M3. The AML children with FLT3/ITD mutations present a high peripheral WBC count and a high marrow blast percentage at diagnosis and have an unfavorable outcome.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Hematology and Blood Disease Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ruan
authors.forename: Ya-Qin
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Tian-Feng
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xiao-Ming
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jia-Yuan
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: Yu-Mei
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Xiao-Fan
authors.initials: XF
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D009154:Mutation; D020080:Tandem Repeat Sequences; D051941:fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 3 / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C497970:FLT3 protein, human; D051941:fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 3