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The objective of the study was to evaluate the incidence, characteristics, treatment and outcome of acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (AMeL) in patients enrolled in GIMEMA trials. Between 1982 and 1999, 3603 new consecutive cases of AML aged over 15 years were admitted to GIMEMA trials. Of them, 24 were AMeL. The incidence of AMeL among AML patients enrolled in GIMEMA trials was 0.6% (24/3603). Diagnosis was based on morphological criteria. Out of 11 cytogenetic studies performed two presented chromosome 3 abnormalities. Twelve patients (50%) reached a CR, five (21%) died in induction and seven (27%) were unresponsive. The median duration of CR was 35 weeks (range 10-441). Seven patients underwent transplantation procedures (1 BMT, 4 aBMT, 2 aPBSCT). Four patients died in CR due to chemotherapy-related complications. Comparing the CR rate between AMeL and the other cases of AML enrolled in GIMEMA trials, no differences were observed. These results were mirrored for different age groups. The median survival was 40 weeks. At present, after a follow-up of a minimum of 2 years, only two patients are alive in CR, all the others having died. A 5-year Kaplan-Meier curve shows a disease-free survival of 17% and an actuarial overall survival of 10%. AMeL is a rare form of AML. The CR duration and the overall survival in this group of patients are very poor, even if similar to those observed in other AML. Furthermore, a high number of deaths in CR were observed. On the basis of these data, a specific therapeutic approach, possibly with innovative treatments, should be evaluated.

To determine whether patients with a HLA-identical sibling donor have a better outcome than patients without a donor, an analysis on the basis of intention-to-treat principles was performed within the framework of the EORTC-GIMEMA randomized phase III AML 8A trial. Patients in complete remission (CR) received one intensive consolidation course. Patients with a histocompatible sibling donor were then allocated allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (alloBMT), the patients without a donor were randomized between autologous BMT (ABMT) and a second intensive consolidation (IC2). 831 patients <46 years old and alive >8 weeks from diagnosis were included. HLA typing was performed in 672 patients. AlloBMT was performed during CR1 in 180 (61%) out of 295 patients with a donor. Another 38 patients were allografted: five in resistant disease, 14 during relapse and 19 in CR2. ABMT was performed in 130 (34%) out of 377 patients without a donor in CR1, in six (2%) patients during relapse and in 38 (10%) patients during CR2. The disease-free survival (DFS) from CR for patients with a donor was significantly longer than for patients without a donor (46% v 33% at 6 years; P=0.01, RR 0.78, 95% confidence interval 0.63-0.96). The overall survival from diagnosis for patients with a donor was longer, but not statistically significant, than for patients without a donor (48% v 40% at 6 years; logrank P=0.24). When patients were stratified according to prognostic risk groups, the same trend in favour of patients with a donor was seen for survival duration and the DFS remained significantly longer for this group of patients.

BCR-ABL antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) have provided evidence of antileukemia effect when tested in vitro against Philadelphia-positive (Ph-pos) cells and in vivo when injected into leukemic mice. On the basis of the results obtained in vitro at diagnosis, eight patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) were selected and submitted to autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT) with bone marrow (BM) cells purged in vitro with junction-specific (J-sp) BCR-ABL antisense ODN at the time of transformation in accelerated phase or during second chronic phase. Mononuclear BM cells were treated in vitro for 24 or 72 hours with 150 micro/mL of antisense ODN yielding a median recovery of 47.6% mononuclear cells, 48.8% CD34(+) cells, and 20.3% clonogenic cells. After a conditioning regimen including busulphan and etoposide, the reinfused treated cells allowed engraftment and hematologic reconstitution in all patients. Evaluation of the antileukemic effect by standard cytogenetic analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization showed a complete karyotypic response in two cases and a minimal or no response in the other six. The patient autografted in second chronic phase died in blast crisis 7 months after ABMT; of the seven patients autografted in transformation, three developed blast crisis 21 to 39 months after reinfusion, one died from unrelated BMT complications 30 months after ABMT, and three are in persistent second chronic phase 14 to 26 months after autograft. The low toxicity of the protocol and the hemopoietic reconstitution observed in all patients make this approach feasible; the marked karyotypic response observed in some patients and the duration of the second chronic phase show that ODN-mediated BM purging and autograft is a promising treatment for this high-risk group of CML.

Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of the PML/RAR alpha fusion gene may predict relapse in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) patients in hematologic complete remission (CR). We have prospectively studied by RT-PCR 15 PML/RAR alpha+ APL patients undergoing autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT) in second CR. The median time of first CR duration was 12 months (range, 6 to 40). All patients were reinduced with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), followed in 12 of 15 cases by mitoxantrone and Ara-C as consolidation. Fourteen patients received the BAVC (BCNU, Ara-C, m-AMSA, and VP-16) schedule as conditioning regimen. Unpurged marrows were collected immediately before conditioning treatment, analyzed by RT-PCR, and reinfused at median of 2 months (range, 2 to 7) from the achievement of second CR. Seven patients were PCR+ and eight PCR for PML/RAR alpha in their pretransplant marrows. All seven patients of the former group remained PCR+ during the follow-up and relapsed at a median time of 5 months (range, 2 to 9) from ABMT and 9 months (range, 4 to 14) from second CR. Of the eight PCR- patients, all remained PCR- during the follow-up controls. One patient relapsed at 10 months from ABMT, one died of a secondary (PML/RAR alpha-) leukemia, and six are in hematologic and molecular remission at a median time of 28 months (range, 15 to 60) after ABMT and 32 months (range, 17 to 62) from second CR. Our results indicate that, in APL patients in second CR, ABMT with PML/RAR alpha- marrow cells is likely to result in prolonged clinical and molecular remissions. Conversely, patients who test PCR+ after reinduction necessitate the use of alternative aggressive approaches, including unrelated allogeneic transplant.

The outcome of a cohort of 218 consecutive patients who failed to respond to a single course of standard daunorubicin plus ARAC (three + seven) induction regimen has been retrospectively evaluated to assess the characteristics of this group of AML patients and the effectiveness of second-line induction programs. Seventy-four of the 218 patients (33.9%) attained complete remission with salvage chemotherapies. The multivariate analysis of pretherapy characteristics of the patients showed that peroxidase positivity and age were the most important factors in determining whether or not the patient would have a favorable response to second-line induction regimen. In addition, comparison of marrow characteristics at diagnosis with those of marrow after the first-line therapy (marrow leukemic index, MLI) provided the greatest differences between second-line CR and resistant patients. Finally, peroxidase positivity and MLI predicted for remission duration and overall survival. Allogeneic BMT, however, appeared the most important factor for survival and event-free survival of remitting patients. These results are of importance when considering that better defined prognostic factors provide an objective rationale for selecting appropriate strategies for the treatment of patients who do not respond to a single course of induction regimen.

The Leukemia Cooperative Groups of the EORTC and the GIMEMA conducted a prospective randomized phase III trial, in order to assess the value of autologous BMT (ABMT) vs a second intensive consolidation course (IC2), following a common intensive consolidation course (IC1) for patients with AML. Patients with an HLA-identical sibling donor were not randomized, but were included in an allogeneic BMT (alloBMT) program. This is an analysis of prognostic factors which influence the outcome of treatment after alloBMT in first complete remission (CR). The study included 730 patients < 46 years of age in CR, 270 having a histocompatible sibling donor. In 169 of these patients alloBMT was performed in first CR. Early remitters (122 patients achieving CR with one course of treatment) had a DFS at 3 years of 67%, significantly longer than that of 44% for late remitters (47 patients achieving CR after more than one course of treatment) (P = 0.006). The relapse risk for early vs late remitters was 16 and 40% at 3 years (P = 0.001) and the treatment-related mortality (TRM) at 2 years was 21 vs 27%. Age appeared to be a prognostic factor for TRM, WBC for DFS, whereas the FAB classification was not of prognostic importance. Patients with poor risk cytogenetic abnormalities showed a trend towards a higher relapse risk. Patients transplanted shortly after achieving CR appeared to have a worse prognosis than those transplanted further into remission. Overall, the number of courses of induction therapy needed to achieve CR was the most important prognostic factor for outcome after allogeneic BMT.

We treated a patient with chronic myeloid leukaemia in accelerated phase with autologous bone marrow transplantation. Before reinfusion, cells were purged in vitro with a 26-mer phosphorothioate antisense oligodeoxynucleotide specific for the B2A2 junction. Incubation with antisense oligodeoxynucleotides produced a 24 and 41% reduction of CFU-GM and CD34+ cells, respectively. However, an in vitro test previously performed as a screening for patient inclusion in this procedure, revealed a 38 and 75% reduction of colony formation after 24-h and 168-h incubation, respectively. The patient showed bone marrow engraftment 15 days after reinfusion and haematological reconstitution after 17 and 25 days for platelets and neutrophils, respectively. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization in interphase nuclei, we demonstrated the presence of a proportion of Ph-negative cells in repeated controls after the autograft. The patient is now in unmaintained complete haematological remission 9 months after the autograft.

Twenty-one acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) patients were submitted in second remission (II CR) to BAVC conditioning regimen followed by unpurged ABMT. Transplant was done after a median of 2 months from II CR (range, 1 to 13). Median first remission (I CR) duration was 16 months (range, 1-35). Conditioning regimen was well tolerated, with no major extra-medullary toxicity. One patient died during aplasia from fungal sepsis. Of the 20 evaluable patients, nine relapsed after a median time of 6 months (range, 2 to 18). Eleven patients are in continuous complete remission (CCR) after a median follow-up of 40 months (range, 24 to 63). The duration of II CR has exceeded the duration of I CR in all patients in CCR. Projected probability of disease-free survival is 52% at 63 months.