[THE COMPARISON OF RESULTS OF DETECTION OF MINIMAL RESIDUAL DISEASE IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD AND MARROW IN CHILDREN OF THE

Insights

Monitoring minimal residual disease in infants with acute lymphoblastic leukemia is crucial. Bone marrow analysis is more reliable than peripheral blood for prognosis, as residual disease in bone marrow indicates a poor outcome.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Hematology
  • Oncology
  • Molecular Diagnostics

Background:

  • Minimal residual disease (MRD) is a key prognostic indicator in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
  • Bone marrow analysis is the standard for MRD detection in ALL research.
  • The prognostic value of MRD in peripheral blood versus bone marrow requires further investigation, particularly in infant ALL.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the detection of MRD in peripheral blood and bone marrow in infants with ALL.
  • To evaluate the prognostic role of MRD in peripheral blood and bone marrow during MLL-Baby protocol therapy.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of 142 paired samples from 53 infant ALL patients (<365 days) with MLL gene rearrangements.
  • Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for chimeric transcript detection at 7 time points.
  • Comparative analysis of MRD detection in peripheral blood and bone marrow samples.

Main Results:

  • High comparability (84.5%) between peripheral blood and bone marrow MRD detection.
  • MRD detected exclusively in bone marrow in 15.5% of discordant samples.
  • MRD in peripheral blood lacked independent prognostic significance, unlike bone marrow MRD.

Conclusions:

  • Peripheral blood is inappropriate for monitoring MRD in infant ALL due to lower sensitivity.
  • Persistent MRD in bone marrow (TH4) is an independent unfavorable prognostic factor in infant ALL treated with the MLL-Baby protocol.