Korean J Lab Med.  2007 Aug;27(4):237-243. 10.3343/kjlm.2007.27.4.237.

Prevalence of FLT3 Internal Tandem Duplication in Adult Acute Myelogenous Leukemia

• Lee JN
• Kim HR
• Shin JH
• Joo YD

• KMID: 1781490
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3343/kjlm.2007.27.4.237

Abstract

BACKGROUND: fms-like tyrosine kinase (FLT3), a member of the class III receptor tyrosine kinases, regulates the proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells. An internal tandem duplication of the FLT3 gene (FLT3/ITD) has been reported in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and may be associated with a poor prognosis. In this study we determined the prevalence and prognostic significance of FLT3/ITD in adult AML patients. METHODS: This study included 52 adult de novo AML. Exon 14 and 15 of the FLT3 gene were amplified by PCR and the PCR products were analyzed by 3730XL DNA analyzer (Applied Biosystems, USA) and GeneMapper Software. RESULTS: FLT3/ITD was found in 15 (28.8%) of the 52 AML patients. The presence of FLT3/ITD was significantly associated with absolute leukocyte counts (P=0.002) and bone marrow blast counts (P=0.036). FLT3/ITD was also more frequent in patients with normal karyotype (7 of 18) than in those with cytogenetic aberrations (3 of 25). Patients with t (15;17) showed a higher prevalence of FLT3/ITD (2 of 7). FLT3/ITD was significantly associated with overall survival (P<0.042). CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that FLT3/ITD is a common alteration in adult AML patients. Although based on a study with a limited number of AML patients, FLT3/ITD is a prognostic marker in patients with AML.

Keyword

Adult; Acute myelogenous leukemia; FLT3/ITD

MeSH Terms

Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Chromosomes, Human, Pair 15
Chromosomes, Human, Pair 17
Female
Humans
Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/*genetics
Male
Middle Aged
*Mutation
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Prognosis
Survival Analysis
Tandem Repeat Sequences/*genetics
fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 3/*genetics

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Gene scan analysis of FLT3/ITD in patients with ITD of different size. (A) wild type of FLT3 gene, (B-D) wild type and various size of ITD in FLT3 gene. Abbrevications: FLT3, fms-like tyrosine kinase; ITD, internal tandem duplication.

• 

  Fig. 2. Kaplan-Meier plot of the overall survival of patients with acute myelogenous leukemia according to FLT3 mutations. Abbrevications: See Fig. 1.

Reference

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