Purpose: Activating Flt3 mutations are observed in about 30% of patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and individual Flt3 mutations are applicable for minimal residual disease (MRD) analyses.
Methods: We investigated the MRD status in four AML patients carrying different Flt3 mutations (three patients with Flt3 length mutations of the juxtamembrane domain, one patient carrying a mutation of the Flt3 tyrosine kinase domain, i.e. Flt3-TKD mutation) who underwent allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT). Residual leukaemia cells were retrospectively determined by real-time PCR at different time points.
Results: We can demonstrate a good correlation between the course of MRD status and clinical events in all four investigated patients.
Conclusion: These examples demonstrate the potential impact of Flt3 based MRD status not only after but also prior to allogeneic PBSCT.