Prognostic and Therapeutic Value of Day 14 Bone Marrow Aspiration in Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients

Early blast clearance to induction chemotherapy in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an important prognostic indicator of treatment outcome in addition to genetics and molecular genetics. We evaluated the prognostic value of bone marrow aspiration (BMA) at day 14 (D14) and impact on outcome to asses the timing of a second induction.

This retrospective study included 303 adult AML patients managed at the National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, from the beginning of 2010 to the end of 2014.

Median age was 34 years (range, 18-67 years). Sixty-six percent had early blast clearance with < 5% blasts and 34% had ≥ 5% blasts at BMA D14; 38 patients died early during or shortly after induction. Initial blast load (bone marrow and peripheral blood) and initial platelet count were significantly higher in those with disease that did not respond to therapy compared to those whose disease did respond to therapy at D14 (P < .001, .035, and .006, respectively). The median disease-free survival for early blast clearance at D14 was 18.5 months, versus 18.7 months for those with late response to therapy (day 28), and was only 1.3 months for patients who received immediate second-line therapy on the basis of BMA D14 (P < .001). The median overall survival for early blast clearance was 13.6 months, versus 7.2 months for those with late response to therapy, and only 1.3 months for patients who received immediate second-line therapy on the basis of BMA D14 (P < .001).

BMA D14 has a significant prognostic impact on the therapeutic outcome of AML patients (complete remission, disease-free survival, and overall survival); however, a second induction in patients with BMA D14 blasts > 5% should be delayed until neutrophil recovery to minimize death in aplasia.