Adult de novo acute myeloid Leukemia with t(6;11)(q27;q23): Results from cancer and Leukemia Group B study 8461 and review of the literature

• Published in: Cancer 2004-09, Vol.101 (6), p.1420-1427
• Main Authors: BLUM, William, MROZEK, Krzysztof, RUPPERT, Amy S, CARROLL, Andrew J, RAO, Kathleen W, PETTENATI, Mark J, ANASTASI, John, LARSON, Richard A, BLOOMFIELD, Clara D
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acute Disease; Adult; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 11; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 6; Disease-Free Survival; Female; Hematologic and hematopoietic diseases; Humans; Karyotyping; Leukemia, Myeloid - diagnosis; Leukemia, Myeloid - genetics; Leukemia, Myeloid - therapy; Leukemias. Malignant lymphomas. Malignant reticulosis. Myelofibrosis; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Survival Analysis; Translocation, Genetic; Treatment Outcome; Tumors
• ISSN: 0008-543X; 1097-0142
• DOI: 10.1002/cncr.20489

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with t(6;11)(q27;q23) is a well established but rare entity, and few studies have reported the full clinical, hematologic, and outcome data of patients with this disease. To characterize the features of t(6;11) AML, the authors searched the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) cytogenetic database comprising 2667 adults with newly diagnosed, de novo AML and identified 16 patients (0.6%) with t(6;11). A review of the literature identified 33 adults with de novo t(6;11) AML for whom survival data were available. CALGB patients had a median age of 45 years (range, 22-65 years) and commonly presented with French-American-British (FAB) subtype M4 or M5 (81%). Gingival involvement at presentation was common (31%). All patients with gingival involvement had FAB M4. Compared with other patients with M4 AML in the CALGB database (n = 429), patients with M4 and t(6;11) (n = 7) had a higher frequency of gingival hypertrophy at presentation (71% vs. 17%, P = 0.003). Patients with t(6;11) were more likely to be African American (P = 0.02) and to die during induction (P = 0.03) than those without t(6;11). The complete response (CR) rate was 69% (11 of 16 patients), and CR duration was short (median, 9 months). The estimated probability of 2-year survival was 13%. Both long-term survivors received allogeneic stem cell transplantation. The estimated probability of 2-year survival of patients reported in the literature was 15%. Although the patient sample was small, the authors suggested that investigational approaches, including allogeneic transplantation, be considered for adults with t(6;11) AML.