Key clinical point: Novel gene fusions may have a role in developing biomarkers for monitoring of minimal residual disease (MRD) in patients with acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome.
Major finding: Overall, gene fusion events occurred in 37% of patients with acute myeloid leukemia compared to 3% of those with myelodysplastic syndrome. In addition, 67% of AML patients had TB53 mutations and 71% had complex karyotypes, compared with 26% and 21%, respectively, of MDS patients.
Study details: The data come from a review of gene transcripts from 572 adults with acute myeloid leukemia and 630 with myelodysplastic syndrome.
Disclosures: The study received no outside funding. Lead author Dr. Stengel had no financial conflicts to disclose.
Source: Stengel A et al. Blood Adv. 2020 Nov 10. doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2020003007.