Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the combined impact of IKZF1 deletions/high expression of CRLF2 on the prognosis of pediatric B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL). IKZF1 deletions and CRLF2 expression were assessed in bone marrow samples from 117 children with newly diagnosed BCP-ALL. Sixteen (13.7%) patients were found to harbor IKZF1 deletions, which was associated with inferior outcomes. The event-free survival (EFS) for patients with high -CRLF2 expression was significantly worse than that for low -CRLF2 expression. Moreover, combined modeling of IKZF1+/CRLF2high identified 7.8% of cases as the highest risk subgroup (7-year EFS 33.3 ± 15.7%). In a multivariate analysis, IKZF1+/CRLF2high remained a strong independent prognostic factor for EFS (HR: 14.263, p = 0.019). IKZF1 deletions and high -CRLF2 expression were associated with inferior outcomes, and the coexistence of IKZF1+/CRLF2high had a significant impact on an integrated prognostic model for high-risk BCP-ALL.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank all staff members in the hematology oncology center and in the laboratory of hematologic diseases who have taken care of the patients and given the help for the studies.
Disclosure statement
All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest to disclose.