Chromosomal abnormalities in 478 children with acute myeloid leukemia: clinical characteristics and treatment outcome in a cooperative pediatric oncology group study-POG 8821.

We determined the type and frequency of chromosomal aberrations in leukemic cells of 478 children diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and enrolled in the Pediatric Oncology Group study 8821. Of the 478 cases, 109 (22.8%) had normal karyotypes. Chromosomal abnormalities of 280 patients (58.6%) were classified into subgroups: 11q23 abnormalities (n = 88, 18.4%), t(8;21) (n = 56, 11.7%), t(15;17) (n = 55, 11.5%), inv(16)/t(16;16) (n = 28, 5.9%), trisomy 8 alone (n = 10, 2.1%), monosomy 7 (n = 9, 1.9%), non-Down-associated trisomy 21 alone (n = 7, 1.5%), and rare recurrent chromosomal translocations (n = 27, 5.6%). The remaining 89 patients (18.6%) had miscellaneous clonal abnormalities. Overall, 84.9% of the children achieved a complete remission; the 4-year event-free survival (EFS) estimate was 33.8% +/- 2.4%. Remission rates were significantly higher (96.4%, P =.011) for patients with t(8;21) and inv(16)/t(16;16) but significantly lower (74.5%, P =.022) for those with t(15;17). The 4-year survival rate for all patients was 43.5% +/- 2.4%; for those with an inv(16)/t(16;16), 75.0% +/- 8.6%; a normal karyotype, 53.8% +/- 4.9%; a t(8;21), 51.6% +/- 7.3%; a t(15;17), 39.8% +/- 6.9%; and an 11q23 abnormality, 32.9% +/- 5.1%. Four-year EFS estimates for patients with inv(16)/t(16;16) (58.2% +/- 10.9%, P =.007), t(8;21) (45.1% +/- 7.7%, P =.014), or normal karyotypes (43.1% +/- 5.0%, P =. 012) were higher than the 4-year EFS estimate for all patients, but EFS estimates for patients with t(15;17) (19.6% +/- 8.0%, P =.033) or 11q23 abnormalities (23.8% +/- 4.8%, P =.0013) were lower. EFS estimates did not differ significantly among 11q23 subgroups. Limited analysis suggested that patients with inv(16) can be salvaged better following relapse than those with t(8;21). Thus, patients with an inv(16)/t(16;16) may have high survival rates when treated with chemotherapy alone.