Molecular response to treatment redefines all prognostic factors in children and adolescents with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia: results in 3184 patients of the AIEOP-BFM ALL 2000 study

The Associazione Italiana di Ematologia Oncologia Pediatrica and the Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (AIEOP-BFM ALL 2000) study has for the first time introduced standardized quantitative assessment of minimal residual disease (MRD) based on immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor gene rearrangements as polymerase chain reaction targets (PCR-MRD), at 2 time points (TPs), to stratify patients in a large prospective study. Patients with precursor B (pB) ALL (n = 3184) were considered MRD standard risk (MRD-SR) if MRD was already negative at day 33 (analyzed by 2 markers, with a sensitivity of at least 10(-4)); MRD high risk (MRD-HR) if 10(-3) or more at day 78 and MRD intermediate risk (MRD-IR):…

• AS
  American Society of Hematology
• FC
  Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Padova e Rovigo
• BF
  Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
• FC
  Fondazione Cariplo
• MD
  Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca
• O
  Oncosuisse
• AI
  Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro
• DK
  Deutsche Krebshilfe
• SC
  Swiss Cancer Research Foundation