A single-center study of 253 consecutive patients with AML has shown that the negative impact of pre-transplant minimal residual disease (MRD) is similar for patients in first and second complete remission (CR1, CR2), and that even minute levels (≤0.1%) are associated with significantly worse outcomes. MRD was assessed in patients in CR1 (n=183) or CR2 (n=70) using pre-transplant marrow aspirates analyzed by 10-color flow cytometry. Three-year estimates of overall survival were 73% and 32% for MRD-negative and MRD-positive CR1 patients, respectively, and 73% and 44% for MRD-negative and MRD-positive CR2 patients. In a multivariate analysis of the entire patient cohort, adjusted risk of death was 2.61-times higher for MRD-positive patients (P<0.001).
Walter RB, et al. Blood
Negative Impact of Minimal Residual Disease is Similar for AML in CR1 and CR2
Jul 2013