A research team at St. Mary's Seoul Hospital has identified a method to measure micro-residual leukemia, a risk factor for recurrence of acute myeloid leukemia, and predict recurrence and survival rate.
According to the hospital, acute myeloid leukemia, the most common acute leukemia, is characterized by cytogenetic heterogeneity.
This means that a patient has several groups of leukemia cells with different genetic characteristics, it said. As the genomic mutation of leukemia cells closely relates to the prognosis of leukemia, it is necessary to accurately analyze it at the time of diagnosis to establish an appropriate treatment plan.
To resolve this issue, the research team -- led by Professors Cho Byung-sik and Kim Myung-shin -- used the target genome next-generation sequencing method developed at the hospital on 132 patients with acute myeloid leukemia who received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation before and after transplantation at the hospital from 2013 to 2018, it added.
As a result, the team demonstrated the efficacy of micro-residual leukemia as a biomarker for predicting recurrence and survival rate.
"Patients with micro-residual leukemia before transplantation and one month after transplantation showed significantly higher recurrence rates and lower survival rates than those without," the hospital said. "Notably, this study improved the reliability of the data by using clinical information and samples of patients enrolled in two prospective study cohorts."
It is different from previous studies by confirming the dynamic change of residual leukemia through micro-residual leukemia measurement at various time points after transplantation – one, three, and six months, annually, and relapse.
The researchers also stressed that the target gene next-generation sequencing method used in this study could test various genomic mutations at once. As a result, they could simultaneously measure multiple genomic and conduct quantitative analysis and actively used the method to improve the accuracy of response evaluation after treatment and during leukemia diagnosis.
Seoul St. Mary's Hospital has also used the latest prognostic prediction model for treatment after checking the presence or absence of abnormalities in 67 genes related to acute myeloid leukemia at once through next-generation sequencing of target genes developed at the hospital since 2017.
"We expect that hospitals will use the micro-residual leukemia measurement using the target gene next-generation sequencing method extensively as a core scrutiny method to provide a differentiated treatment strategy by accurately predicting high-risk groups for recurrence after transplantation," Professors Cho and Kim said. "Notably, as a key diagnostic technology for personalized treatment strategies for each patient, it will contribute to vitalizing clinical trials related to the development of new treatments as well as the medical field."
The two professors stressed that the team is preparing to use micro-residual leukemia measurement using the target gene next-generation sequencing method by applying new medical technology in the medical field.
"We will continue to play the role of a leading group in customized treatment based on precision medicine for blood cancer by conducting follow-up research to improve the precision of the analysis method," they said.
The study results were published in the latest issue of Blood Cancer Journal.