Stratification of pediatric acute myeloid leukemia through cancer cell gene-expression profiling

Abstract

Evaluation of: Balgobind BV, Marry M, van den Heuvel-Eibrink MM et al. Evaluation of gene expression signatures predictive for cytogenetic and molecular subtypes of pediatric acute myeloid leukemia. Haematologica 96(2), 221–230 (2010).

Treatment of children^’s acute lymphoblastic leukemia has been at the forefront of conventional chemotherapy development. Despite outstanding results in long-term survival of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, development of therapies for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have lagged behind. AML in children demonstrate similar long-term survival compared with adults 18–65 years of age: 40–50% overall long-term survival. AML is a heterogeneous disease in both adults and children, but the presence of recurrent chromosome translocations and mutations in children are lower than in adult AML. In particular, patients without chromosome aberrancies have been examined for stratification through examination of gene expression. The paper from Baglobind and coauthors proposes a useful prognostication by gene-expression analysis of 75 gene pairs in 40% of patient cases, accurately discriminating mixed lineage leukemia (MLL) gene rearrangement, t(8;21)(q22;q22), inv(16)(p13q22), t(15;17)(q21;q22) and t(7;12)(q36;p13)-positive AML. Gene-expression analysis of AML has provided an important research tool for uncovering information about AML biology that can be used for the development of novel therapies.

Keywords::

• children
• disease stratification
• gene-expression signatures
• pediatric acute myeloid leukemia

Financial & competing interests disclosure

Bjørn Tore Gjertsen is supported by the Norwegian Cancer Society. The author has no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.