From www.bloodjournal.org by guest on February 6, 2015. For personal use only. Rearrangement of the MLL Gene Confers a Poor Prognosis in Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Regardless of Presenting Age By F.G. Behm, S.C.Raimondi, J.L. Frestedt, Q. Liu, W.M. Crist, JR. Downing, G.K. Rivera, J.H. Kersey, and C.-H. Pui MLL gene rearrangements are associated with an extremely poor prognosis in infants with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), but little is knownabout their clinical significance in older children. Therefore, we studied 45 cases of childhood ALL with abnormalities of chromosome 11q23 for rearrangement of the MLL gene t o determine if this feature confers a uniformly poor prognosis. MLL gene rearrangements were detected in all 18 cases with the commont(4; 11). t(9;ll) or t(11;19) translocations, whereas only 5 of 12 patients with either unbalanced or uncommon balanced translocations demonstrated a rearrangement. Abnormalities of the MLL gene were notdetected in any of the 15 caseswith a deletion or inversion of thechromosome l l q 2 3 region. The presence of an MLL rearrangement was significantly associated with age less than 1 year (P< .001), leukocyte count >50 x lo9/ A BNORMALITIES OF chromosome 1 1, band q23, are relatively frequent in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). In an earlier study of 368 childrenwith newly diagnosed ALL, alterations of this chromosome region, including balanced and unbalanced translocations, deletions, andduplications,werefound in lymphoblasts of 5.7% of patients.' Although generally characterized by hyperleukocytosis, a very young age, lack of CD10 expression, and a poor clinical outcome, these cases appeared to constitute a heterogeneous group of B- and T-lineage leukemias 1l), bearinga variety of translocations,includingt(4; t( 1 I ; 19), and others. Of the several genes that are affected by structural abnormalities ofthe 1 lq23 region,"(' MLL (alsotermed H R X , ALLI, HTRX1) is the most c o m ~ n o n . The ~ ~ ~MLL ' gene is uniformly rearranged in cases with the t(4; 1 l)(q21;q23),'"' but the frequency of its involvement in other translocations affecting the 1 lq23 regions is uncertain. By contrast, most cases of ALL with deletions or inversions of 1 lq23 do not involve MLL." We and others haveshown a high frequency From the Departments of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Biostatistics, Tumor Cell Biology and Hematology/Oncolog.~,St Jude Children's Reseurch Hospitai; the Departments of Patholop and Pediutrics, Universir?,of Tennessee College of Medicine. Memphis, TN; and the Departments of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology and Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Submitted July 13, 1995; accepted November 7, 1995. Supported in part by Grants No. CA 20180, CA 21765, and an Outstanding Investigator Grant award CA 49721 (J.H.K.)from the National Cancer Institute; Children's Cancer ResearchFund Grant (J.L.F. und J.H.K.); and by the American Lebanese Syrian Associuted Charities (ALSAC). Address reprint reque.st.r to F.G. Behm, MD, Department of Pathology andLaboru601yMedicine, St Jude Children's Research Hospital. 332 N Lauderdale, Memphis, TN 38105. The publication C O S ~ S($this urticle were defrayedin part by puge charge puyment. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. section 1734 solely to indicate this fact. 0 1996 by The American Sociel): of Hematology. 0006-4971/96/8707-0037$3.00/0 2870 L (P= .003),and theabsence of leukemic cell CD10 expression ( P < .001). In a stratified statistical analysis adjusted for age and treatment protocol, MLL gene rearrangement was correlated with an inferior treatment outcome ( P = .028). The 4-year event-free survival estimate(?SE)was 10% k 6.5% for cases with a rearranged MLL gene and 64% C 19.2% for other cases. When infants were excluded from the analysis, MLL rearrangement was still significantly associated with a poor outcome (P= .02), and remained so with the exclusion of t(4;llJ-positivecases (P=.05). Thus,regardless of presenting age, MLL gene rearrangement identifies a high-risk subgroup of patients who are not likely to be cured with conventional treatment. 0 1996 by The American Society of Hematology. of MLL rearrangements in ALL of infants (70% to 80%) that may account for the dismalprognosis in this subgroup."."," More recently, we attributed the relatively favorable prognosis of ALL with deletions or inversions of the 1 lq23 region to thelack of MLL rearrangement." Whether rearrangements of the MLL gene has prognostic importance in children over 1 year of age or in those with 1 lq23 translocations other than the t(4; 1 1 ) is unknown. Therefore, we studied a large cohort of childhood ALL patients with various 1 lq23 abnormalities to address these issues. MATERIALS AND METHODS Putients. From September 1984 to September 1994,715 consecutive children with newly diagnosed ALL were admitted to St Jude Children's Research Hospital and enrolled in one ofthree successive XI-XIII,'h.'7 at St clinicaltrials,designatedTotalTherapystudies Jude Children's Research Hospital. Although testing different therapeutic strategies, these protocols uniformly relied on a similar multidrug induction regimen and intensification therapy. The diagnosis of ALL was based on morphologic criteriaof the French-AmericanBritish (FAB) Cooperative Group," and confirmed by immunologic testing. Leukemic cells were successfully karyotyped in 669 cases, S3 (8%) of which had abnormalities of chromosome 1 lq23. Banked cryopreserved leukemic cellsor banked DNA was available for analysis of MLL gene rearrangements in 45 of these S3 cases. Studies of the MLL gene of 12 cases (patients 8, 19-21, 24, 28, 30, 33, 37, and 41-43, Table I ) have been reported previously.'3 Informed conor their guardians, and the investisent was obtained from all patients gations were approved by the institution's Clinical Trials Review Committee. Cytogeneticevaluation. Bonemarrowsampleswere prepared by a direct method," with or without short-term (24-hour) culture. A modifiedtrypsin-Wrighttechnique was used forchromosome banding.Chromosomeabnormalitiesweredescribedaccording to conventions of the International Systemfor Human Cytogenetic Nomenclature (ISCN-91)."' Immunophenotyping studies. Surfaceantigensweredetected on leukemic cells by standard indirect immunofluorescence assayswith monoclonalantibodies to lymphoid-andmyeloid-associatedantigens. Blast cells were also tested for surface (slg) and cytoplasmic (clg) immunoglobulin as previously described." Depending on reactivity patterns, cells were classified as T (CD7' plus CD2', CD3 ' or CDS'), B (slg'), pre-B (clg'). transitional pre-B (clgp'. algp'. . Blood, Vol 87, No 7 (April 1 ), 1996: pp 2870-2877 From www.bloodjournal.org by guest on February 6, 2015. For personal use only. ALLPROGNOSIS IN WITH REARRANGEMENT OF MLL 287 1 4 0 11 5 38 17 H IF H R PB EPB EPB EPB EPB EPB 44.4 17.7 106 23.6 R G G R EPB T EPB EPB 6 8 35 11 CNS H H H 0.5 78.2 R EPB 60 + 12 13 0.6 0.6 106.4 6 R PB PB 19 3.3+ Death R 14 15 16 17 18 19 0.6 0.8 0.9 1.1 1.7 2 67.7 250 8.7 21.8 164 71.4 R PB EPB PB PB PB EPB 8 13 11+ 291 42 7+ H H, CNS 20 21 22 23 24 25 2.3 3.2 3.3 4.3 4.7 4.9 3.8 24.9 1.8 10.3 6 22.9 G G G G G EPB EPB NA EPB PB EPB 90+ 7+ 41 76+ 30+ 13+ 26 5.0 31.7 G EPB 13+ 27 6.1 15.1 G EPB 38+ 28 6.2 43.4 G PB 30 + 29 6.6 8.7 G PB 33+ 30 6.8 1.2 G EPB 9+ 31 7.5 3.5 G UD 43 + 32 33 9.7 9.2 R 34 9.6 1 2 3 4 5 6 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.4 7 8 9 10 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.5 11 110 440 330 438 1,136 81 R R R R R R R R R G R H H, CNS H H A ML G EPB EPB 25 10+ A ML 2.4 6.9 G EPB 44 H, CNS 581 From www.bloodjournal.org by guest on February 6, 2015. For personal use only. BEHM ET AL 2872 Table 1 (Cont'd). Characteristics of Patients With ALL and Chromosome l l q 2 3 Abnormalities Ordered by Age Remisslon Duration MLL Patient 13.3 Age (yr) WBC (x109/LI 35 36 10 10 1512 18.4 37 38 39 40 11.9 12.5 13.7 76.7 383 367 7.5 41 42 43 14 14.4 14.7 18.9 52 85.7 Karyotype Status 46,XX,t(4; 1 l)(q21;q23) R 46,X,-Y,t(2;12)(q23;p13),der(ll)t(3;11) lpll;q23),+mar/ 47.X.-Y,+X,der(l)t(l;?)(q32;?1, t(2;12),der(ll)t(3;11),+mar 46,XY,del(ll)(q23)* 46,XY,t(4;1l)(q21;q23),i(71(q10) G CD10 CD15 (mol lrnrnunotype EPB PB 35+ T 46,XY,t(ll;lS)(q23;p131* 46.XY.t(9;22)(q34;qll),de11111(q23)/ G R R G EPB PB EPB 18+ 19+ 4 54 + 47,XY,de1(11)(q23),+18* 46,XY,de111l)(q23)* 46,XX,del(ll)(q23)* 45,XX,inv(5)(p13q14),del~lO)(q22~, G G G EPB 20 EPB T Type of Relapse 20+ H CNS 27 i 0 IF del~ll)(q22-23).dic(12;17)(pll;pll)* 44 45 15.5 16.6 573 6.2 47.XY,+X.t~4;11)(q21;q23)/46,idem,-X* 48,XY,de1(4)(q21q31),deI(S)(p13), dic(9;13)(pl2;p121,t(11;19)(q23;p13) x2,+19,+20,-22,+marl/ 48,idem,-marl,+mar2* R R TPB T 13 1 H AML Boldface type indicates type of chromosome 11, band q23 abnormality. Abbreviations: R, rearranged; G, gerrnline; ND, not done; UD. undetermined; PB, pre-B ALL; EPB, early pre-B ALL; T, TALL; TPB, transitional pre-B ALL; H, hematologic; IF, induction failure; CNS, central nervous system; AML, relapse a s acute myeloidleukemia (lineage switch of secondary AML). *Previously reported karyotype. s l g C , slgx-), or early pre-B (clg-, slg", HLA-DR', CD19', CD10').2' Southern blot analysis. Genomic DNA was extracted from leukemic blasts obtained from patients at diagnosis. Aliquots (5 to I O pg) of high-molecular-weight DNA were digested with BamH1, HindIII, and Sac I restriction endonucleases, separated by electrophoresis in 0.8% agarose gels, and blotted onto nylon membranes using a standard Southern method. All blots were hybridized with a "P-labeled probe, termed MLL (Oncor, Gaithersburg, MD), derived from a 0.74-kb BumHI cDNA fragment of the MLL gene." The probe detects the common breakpoints of MLL between exons 5 through 1 I with BamHI digests, and breaks centromeric to exon 5 and telomeric to exon 11 with Hind111 and Sac I digests (Fig I). Membranes containing BamHI and Hind111 restricted DNA of cases demonstrating germline MLL bands with the cDNA MLL probe were stripped, and then sequentially examined with MLL genomic probes 98.40, 4.2E. and PS/4.'r.22.Z3 When used in parallel studies, these four probes detect breaks between exons 2 and I8 with DNArestricted with BamHIor Hind111 (Fig I). The 4.2E probe required 300 pg/mL total human placental DNA (Sigma Chemical CO, St Louis, MO) in the hybridization solution to block repetitive sequences. All blots included restricted DNA from a cervical carcinoma cell line that has two normal MLL genes. All blots also included DNA from the RS4; 11 cell line that contains one normal MLL gene and one MLL gene split by the t(4; 11) translocation." Hybridized membranes were exposed to Kodak XAR-5 film (Eastman Kodak, Rochester, NY) at -70°C for 5 to 7 days. Statistical analysis. Because of the limited number of patient samples, analyses were adjusted only for age and treatment that largely corrects for other presenting risk features. Event-free survival curves were constructed by the Kaplan-Meier method and were compared by the stratified log-rank test. Values ( P ) of .05 or less for survival were considered significant. Differences in the distribution of presenting features [age, sex, race, leukocyte count, central ner- vous system leukemia, CDIO, CD15, DNA index, mediastinal mass, and the t(4; 1 1 ) translocation] between cases with or without MLL rearrangements were tested by the two-sided Fisher exact test. For comparisons of presenting features, we adjusted the target significance value (.05) to compensate for the problem of multiple signiticance testing. This was done by dividing the target value of .05 by the number of comparisons performed (n = 10 in these analyses), so that a P value of at least ,005 was required to declare statistical significance. RESULTS Of the 45 cases studied, 30 (67%)had an 1 lq23 translocation, 13 (29%) had a del(1 l)(q23), and 2 (4%) an inv( 1 l)(pl3q23). The modal chromosome number was 46 in all but eight cases-4 with 47 chromosomes, 2 with 45, and 1 eachwith 48 and 55 (Table 1). The distribution of balanced translocations favored the t(4; I l)(q21 ;q23) and the t(l l ; 19)(q23;p13) [including a t(2; 19; 1 l)(q33;p13:q23) variant], each present in eight cases, followed by the t(9; ll)(p21;q23) intwo additional cases. The remaining five cases had other llq23 translocations, including a t(4; 1 l)(q31;q23) in an infant with pre-B leukemia (Table 1, patient 12). In addition to a del(1 l)(q23) or der(l1) t( I l;?)(q23;?), leukemic cells of patients 29, 3 I , and 40 also contained a t(9;22)(q34;ql l), but these children surprisingly remain free of disease at 33+, 43+ and 54+ months, respectively. A rearranged MLL gene was demonstrated in 21 of the 45 cases using the cDNA probe and BarnHI digests. Two additional cases (patients 2 and 3) were detected with HindIII and Suc I digests. To exclude possible MLL breaks in the From www.bloodjournal.org by guest on February 6, 2015. For personal use only. PROGNOSIS IN ALLWITHREARRANGEMENT 15+ kb 4 2873 OF MLL L 8.5W B H H HH 15+ W L r - b r - E B E BH SE E H HHE EEHB EH B H BH H I Dl II I I I ! I I I I I II I I I I I I I 1 4 3 2 1314 15 16 7586 Tel I 18 19 21 20 17 11 12 98.40 PSI4 4.2E MLL Fig 1. Schematic representationof MLL gene. Locations of exons 1through 21 are representedby black rectangles. BsmH1, Hindlll. EcoRI. and Sac I restriction sites are denoted by B, H, E, and S,respectively. Regions of MLL identified by 98.40, PSl4. and 4.2E probes are represented by grey rectangles. Line enclosed by arrowheads shows portion of MLL detected by cDNA MLL probe. The 98.40 probe detects a 15+ kb BamHl fragment (telomeric to exon 1through exon 5). The cDNA MLLand PSI4 probes recognize an 8.5 kb BamHl fragment (exons 5 through 11). The 4.2E probe recognizes 8.5 kb (exons 5 through 11) and 15+ kb (exons 11 through 18) BamHl fragments. remaining 22 patients, membranes with their BurnHI and Hind111 restricted DNA were stripped and reexamined with probes 4.2E, 98.40, and PSl4. None of these studies uncovered additional cases with an MLL gene rearrangement. The frequency of MLL rearrangement varied according to the type of 1 Iq23 abnormality (Tables 1 and 2). Rearrangement of MLL was detected in 20 of 23 cases with a balanced translocation, including all 18 cases with the common t(4; I 1 ), t( 1 I ; 19) or t(9; 1 I), and 2 of 5 cases (patients 9, 12, 22,23, and 26) with other balanced 1 lq23 translocations. In Table 2. Involvement of the M L L Gene in 45 Cases of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia With Cytogenetic Abnormalities of Chromosome llq23 Clinical Outcome Cytogenetic Group and MLL Status t(4;11)(q21;q23) MLL 3 rearranged t(11;19)(q23;p13)' MLL rearranged t(9;11)(p21;q23) MLL rearranged t(ll;V)(q23;V)t 5 germline . MLL MLL rearranged 4 Deletion 1lq23 11 germline MLL inv(ll)(p13q23) MLL germline 1 No. of Patients No. in Remission No. of Relapses addition, 3 of 7 cases with an unbalanced I lq23 translocation involved the MLL gene (Fig 2). None of the 15 cases with either del( I l)(q23) or inv( 1 I)(pl3q23) demonstrated an abnormal MLL gene. The presence of an MLL rearrangement was significantly associated with age less than 1 year ( P < .001), leukocyte count >50 X IOy/L ( P = .003), and lack of CD10 expression ( P < .001) (Table 3). Cases with rearranged MLL also had a higher frequency of initial CNS leukemia and CD15 expression than did other cases. When infant cases were excluded from the analysis, MLL rearrangements were correlated with lack of CD10 and aberrant CD15 expression ( P = .005 and P = .001, respectively), and tended to have higher leukocyte counts ( P = .03) (Table 4). With further elimination of the t(4; 1 l)-positive cases from the group older than I year, none of the presenting features were significantly associated with MLL rearrangement. The Kaplan-Meier estimate of event-free survival (+SE) for all patients at 4 years of follow-up was 10% 5 6.5% for patients with a rearranged MLL gene and 64% 19.2% for those without this abnormality (Fig 3). The difference in outcome was significant by the stratified log-rank test after adjustment for age (< I v > 1 year) and treatment ( P = .028). When the analysis was restricted to patients > I year of age, MLL rearrangement still correlated with aninferior treatment outcome ( P = .02, Fig 4). Even when only cases over 1 year of age with no t(4; 1 1) were analyzed, MLL rearrangement remained an adverse prognostic feature ( P = .05). Results of this latter analysis are not likely to be confounded by other presenting risk factors, because these factors did not differ significantly between children greater than 1 year of age with a rearranged MLL gene but no t(4; 1 1) and patients greater than 1 year of age and normal MLL genes. Of the 7 patients with an 1 lq23 translocation that did not involve MLL, only patients 9 and 34 had an adverse event; the other + 5 8 8 2 6 2 0 2 7 5 1 13 2 2 1 Includes patient4 with a t(2;19;1l)(q33;p13;q23). t Includes patient 12 with a t(4;11)(q31;q23) and 7 patients with unbalanced translocations. The "V" in t(ll;V)(q23;V) indicates variable or unknown translocation partners. From www.bloodjournal.org by guest on February 6, 2015. For personal use only. 2874 BEHM N R S 3 4 2 9 2 5 AL N RS23362612 7 17 6 v*.- b . " " V . " ~ Fig 2. Southern blots of BamHI-digested DNA of leukemic marrow cells from patients with translocations of llq23. Lanes labeled " N contain DNA from a cell linewith two normal MLL genes. Lanes labeled "RS" contain DNA from the RS4;ll cell line that contains one normal and one rearranged MLL gene. Other lanes are labeled with patient numbers thatcorrespond t o Table 1. Blots were hybridizedwith a cDNA probe that recognizes sequences between exons 5 and l 1 of the MLL gene. Arrowheads identify the 8.5-kb band of germline MLL. Lanes labeled "RS" show one germline band andt w o additional bands respresenting one normal MLL gene and one splithearranged MLL gene, respectively. Cases 6, 12, 7, and 17 (lanes labeled accordingly) had der(ll)t(7;117)17;pl4 q23;7), t(4;11)(q3l;q231, t(9;ll)(p21;q23) and t(ll;19)(q23;p13), respectively, and show a germline band and one or t w o additional rearranged bands. All other cases had translocationsof 1lq23 and show only germline bands. - S patients (nos. 23, 25, 26, 29, and 36) remain in complete remission for 13+ to 76+ months (median, 27+ months). DISCUSSION This study illustrates the heterogeneity of clinical and molecular findings among cases with structural abnormalities involving band 23 of chromosome 1 I . MLL gene involve- ment was found in all cases with the common t(4; 1 I ) , t( 1 1 ;19) or t(9; 1 l ) translocations; however, not all cases with other 1 lq23 translocations involved this gene, especially patients over I year of age. Cases with deletions or inversions of 1 lq23 also did not have MLL rearrangements. It is unlikely thatrearrangements of MLL were missed in this study, because the multiple probes used should have detected allbreaks between exons 2 and 18. Indeed, the reported breakpoints of MLL in acute leukemias have oc- Table 3. Correlations of MLL Gene Rearrangements With Presenting Features in 45 Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemias With Abnormalities ofChromosome l l q 2 3 Table 4. Correlations of MLL Gene Rearrangements With Presenting Features in 29 Children Over Age 1 With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemias With Abnormalities of Chromosome l l q 2 3 MLL Status Feature Age (yr) Sex .25Race Leukocyte count (X 1 0 ~ ~ ) CNS leukemia Present Category >50 S 50 Present Absent 21 CDlO CD15 11 Rearranged <l 1-9 210 Male .90 Female 20 White Black Absent Present Absent 14 4 5 14 9 18 5 16 7 7 14 <.001= 5 17 11 Germline P 2 14 6 13 9 <.001* MLL Status Feature Sex Race 2 5 17 0 .003* ,009 Leukocyte count (~1091~) CNS leukemia CDlO 18 3 2 18 CD15 .007 Values less than .005 are considered significant (see comment in Materials and Methods for correction of significance values in multiple comparisons). Not included in the table are comparisons for the t(4;ll) translocation, DNA index, and mediastinal mass. Ofthese three features, only the t(4;ll) was significantly associated with MLL gene rearrangement. t(4;llI Category Rearranged Germline Male Female White Black >50 s50 Absent Present Absent Present Absent Present Absent 6 3 7 .22 2 6 3 8 3 6 6 3 12 8 19 1 4 10 20 17 2 1 18 4 5 20 0 P 1.o .03 ,005 .001* .005 Values less than ,005 are considered significant (see comment in Materials and Methods for correction of significance values in multiple comparisons). Not included in the table are comparisons for DNA index and mediastinal mass. Neither of these two features was significantly associated with MLL gene rearrangement. From www.bloodjournal.org by guest on February 6, 2015. For personal use only. 2875 PROGNOSIS IN ALL WITH REARRANGEMENT OF MLL 1 0.8 0 1 0 I I I I I I I 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I 8 Yean from Dlagnosls Number of patients ai risk a1: Rearranged Y Y Y Y 14 Fig 3. Kaplan-Meier estimates of event-free survival (EFS) for all patients with (n = 23)or without (n = 2 2 ) MLL rearrangements. The subgroup with rearrangedgenes had a significantlyworse treatment outcome than did other patients. The poor outcome relationship in older children was seen even when the analysis excluded cases with the t(4; 11) translocation. Thus, the poor prognosis of older children with ALL involving the MLL gene is further evidence of this gene's adverse influence on clinical outcome, irrespective of the 1lq23 chromosome partner. The investigators of a previous study of childhood ALL with the t(4; 11)suggest that age has a significant prognostic impact on outcome for patients over I year of age.27.28 This study, which did not include molecular studies for MLL gene rearrangements, found that 3 of 8 (38%) patients with ages from 1 to 9 years failed therapy as compared to 7 of 8 (88%) patients 10 years of age or older. In the present study 60% or more of patients in both age groups had a poor clinical outcome. An explanation for the different outcome in our patients in not readily evident, but may be due to differences in therapy or to the small number of patients investigated. Although unlikely, it is also possible that the translocations in some of the patients in the t(4; l 1) study did notinvolve the MLL gene. The t(4; 1 l)(q21;q23)is thought to be invariably associated with rearrangement of the MLL but a single case of t(4; I I ) without a detectable rearrangement of MLL was described in a large molecular study of infant ALL." These unexplained differences clearly indicate the need for a larger, prospective cytogenetic and molecular investigation to determine the prognostic impact of MLL gene rearrangements in patients with ALL who are 1 to 9 years old. The results of this investigation provide a compelling reason to test for MLL rearrangements in all newly diagnosed cases of ALL entered onto treatment protocols. Cytogenetic studies may fail to detect llq23 translocations, even in infants.lZ.i5.30 A substantial proportion of cases with llq23 abnormalities, especially children older than 1 year, may not involve the MLL gene." Further, this report underscores the increasingly important role of molecular studies in establishing prognostic categories of childhood ALL and the need to curred exclusively between exons 4 and 15.R"0~'"i5~22~25 Several other genes, including RCK and PLZF, can also be involved in 1 lq23 translocations in cases of myeloid leukemias and lymphomas,'-' but they were not evaluated in the present analysis. In contrast to other molecular studies of pediatric leukemiaswith chromosome llq23 abnormalities, 7 of our 12 patients with unbalanced or uncommon translocations of 1 lq23 had no detectable breaks of the MLL gene. In two previous studies, all of 16 leukemia patients with translocations or aberrations of 1 lq23 other than t(4; 1 l), t(6; 1 l), t(9; 1 l), and t( 1 l: 19), demonstrated rearrangements of MLL.9.22However, only 2 of these 16 patients had ALL. This suggests that in acute leukemias with chromosome 1 lq23 abnormalities, breaks in loci other than MLL may be more common in ALL than in AML. This may be especially true for older children with ALL, because 6 of our 7 patients I n with unbalanced or uncommon translocations of l lq23 and no rearrangement of MLL were over age 1 year. In agreement with previous molecular s t ~ d i e s , ' ~ we .~~.'~ show that infants with ALL and rearrangement of MLL have an extremely poor prognosis. Furthermore, the poor outcome in infants with MLL gene rearrangements is irrespective of the type of cytogenetic abnormality. Of the 14 infants with 0.4 p30.02 MLL rearrangements, 4 of 5 with t(4; 11) and 7 of 9 with other I lq23 translocations failed treatment. These findings are in agreement with a larger molecular study of infant M U rearranged (n = 9) ALL," but contrasts with a smaller cytogenetic study.26In 0 , I I I 1 l I I the latter study, the investigators suggested that the specific 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 t(4; 11) translocation, and not other llq23 translocations or Y e e n from Dlagno6ls abnormalities, was associated with the poor prognosis of Number of patients ai risk m: % Yywyearsm infants. Because this latter study did not include molecular 2 1 Rearranged 8 2 studies for rearrangements of the MLL gene, it is possible that some of the non-t(4; 11) cases did not involve the MLL Fig 4. Kaplan-Meier estimates of event-free survival (EFS) for pagene and hence account for a better treatment outcome. More tients older than l year, with (n = 9) or without (n = 20) MLL rearimportantly, the adverse prognostic impact of an MLL rearrangements.The subgroup with rearrangedgenes had a significantly rangement in infant ALL appears to extend to older children. worse prognosis than did other patients. -l , I From www.bloodjournal.org by guest on February 6, 2015. For personal use only. 2876 BEHM ET AL devise treatments specifically directed to the molecular events underlying leukemogenesis. This studyand others have clearly shown that infants and older children with ALL and a rearranged MLL gene, irrespective of cytogenetic findings, have a very poor prognosis and should be considered for innovative therapies, including bone marrow transplant. Additional investigations into the prognostic importance of MLL gene rearrangements in ALL in children between I and 9 years of age are required before making more definitive therapeutic recommendations for this patient group. ACKNOWLEDGMENT We thank P. Odom, M. Griffin, J. Freeman, and R.O. Moore for technical assistance, and John Gilbert for editorial assistance. REFERENCES 1. Raimondi SC, Peiper SC, Kitchingman GR, Behm FG, Williams DL, Hancock ML, Mirro J: Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia with chromosomal breakpoints at 1 lq23. Blood 73:1627, I989 2. Akao Y, Seto M, Yamamoto K, Iida S, Nakazawa S, Inazawa J, Abe T, Takahashi T, Ueda R: The RCK geneassociated with t( I I ; 14) translocation is distinct from the MLUALL-l gene with t(4; 1 I ) translocations. Cancer Res 52:6083, 1992 3. Radice P, Tunnacliffe A: Distinct breakpoints in band l lq23 of the t(4; 1 1 ) and t( 11; 14) associated with leukocyte malignancy. Genes Chromosom Cancer 5:50, 1992 4. 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For personal use only. 1996 87: 2870-2877 Rearrangement of the MLL gene confers a poor prognosis in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia, regardless of presenting age FG Behm, SC Raimondi, JL Frestedt, Q Liu, WM Crist, JR Downing, GK Rivera, JH Kersey and CH Pui Updated information and services can be found at: http://www.bloodjournal.org/content/87/7/2870.full.html Articles on similar topics can be found in the following Blood collections Information about reproducing this article in parts or in its entirety may be found online at: http://www.bloodjournal.org/site/misc/rights.xhtml#repub_requests Information about ordering reprints may be found online at: http://www.bloodjournal.org/site/misc/rights.xhtml#reprints Information about subscriptions and ASH membership may be found online at: http://www.bloodjournal.org/site/subscriptions/index.xhtml Blood (print ISSN 0006-4971, online ISSN 1528-0020), is published weekly by the American Society of Hematology, 2021 L St, NW, Suite 900, Washington DC 20036. 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