The Prognostic Significance of c-KIT Mutations in Core Binding Factor Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Many recurrent mutations are encountered in core binding factor acute myeloid leukemia (CBF-AML) which may affect the prognosis. Approximately 20 to 45% of CBF-AML patients have KIT mutations which are having poor prognosis and high incidence of relapse. There is still insufficient data to categorize the patients with c-kit mutation into which risk group and there is a debate around whether Tyrosine kinase inhibitors can decrease the relapse risk and improve the prognosis of those patients.

This study was conducted throughout a period of 3 years, where 102 CBF-AML were enrolled in our study. We analyzed the incidence of c-KIT exon 8 and 17 D816V mutations in CBF-AML patients and studied the prognosis.

The prevalence of CBF-AML was 102 of 989 (10.3%), 13.7% and 8.7% in pediatrics and adults' groups respectively. c-KIT fragment mutation analysis revealed a mutant form in 27 of 102 (26.5%) patients. Exon 8 mutation was found in 4 of 40 pediatric and 2 of 62 adult patients, while exon 17 mutation was found in 9 of 40 pediatric and 12 of 62 adult patients. The c-KIT mutations was more common in t(8;21). There was no significant relationship between c-kit mutation and CR rates, while there was a significant inferior overall, disease free as well as progression free survival in the c-KIT mutant patients as compared to the wild group (P value .045, .036 and .024 respectively) in the pediatric group, however, this significance was not evident in the adults' group.

According to our study, the results may suggest c-KIT mutation as a poor risk factor in pediatric CBF-AML.