Molecular and cellular markers for measurable residual disease in acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Subclassification of B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia according to age, immunophenotype and microenvironment, predicts MRD risk in Mexican children from vulnerable regions

Introduction

The decisive key to disease-free survival in B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children, is the combination of diagnostic timeliness and treatment efficacy, guided by accurate patient risk stratification. Implementation of standardized and high-precision diagnostic/prognostic systems is particularly important in the most marginalized geographic areas in Mexico, where high numbers of the pediatric population resides and the highest relapse and early death rates due to acute leukemias are recorded even in those cases diagnosed as standard risk.

Methods

By using a multidimensional and integrated analysis of the immunophenotype of leukemic cells, the immunological context and the tumor microenvironment, this study aim to capture the snapshot of acute leukemia at disease debut of a cohort of Mexican children from vulnerable regions in Puebla, Oaxaca and Tlaxcala and its potential use in risk stratification.

Results and discussion

Our findings highlight the existence of a distinct profile of ProB-ALL in children older than 10 years, which is associated with a six-fold increase in the risk of developing measurable residual disease (MRD). Along with the absence of CD34+ seminal cells for normal hematopoiesis, this ProB-ALL subtype exhibited several characteristics related to poor prognosis, including the high expression level of myeloid lineage markers such as MPO and CD33, as well as upregulation of CD19, CD34, CD24, CD20 and nuTdT. In contrast, it showed a trend towards decreased expression of CD9, CD81, CD123, CD13, CD15 and CD21. Of note, the mesenchymal stromal cell compartment constituting their leukemic niche in the bone marrow, displayed characteristics of potential suppressive microenvironment, such as the expression of Gal9 and IDO1, and the absence of the chemokine CXCL11. Accordingly, adaptive immunity components were poorly represented. Taken together, our results suggest, for the first time, that a biologically distinct subtype of ProB-ALL emerges in vulnerable adolescents, with a high risk of developing MRD. Rigorous research on potential enhancing factors, environmental or lifestyle, is crucial for its detection and prevention. The use of the reported profile for early risk stratification is suggested.

Role of Vitamin D in the diagnosis of acute Myeloid Leukemia

A range of hematological and biochemical markers have been investigated in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) patients to determine the relationship between cancer growth and metabolic problems. This study aimed to determine the effects of vitamin D deficiency in Iraqi patients with acute myeloid leukemia who had recently been diagnosed. There was a significant inverse correlation between the total serum cholesterol (TC) level of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients group [(148.77±12.2) for males, (165.29±9.64) for females] and the control group [(164.50±7.26) for males, (180.05±7.31) for females], also an inverse correlation between high-density lipoprotein (HDL) level of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients group [(46.00±2.04) for males, (46.18±1.08) for females] and control group [(54.25±1.86) for males,(51.94±1.37) for females]. A significant difference was between the serum triglyceride (TG) level of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients group [(128.71±13.07) for males, (152.48±10.6) for females] and control group [85.12±11.30) for male, (90.50±10.90) for females], also between vitamin D level of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients group [(17.23±1.18) for males, (12.96±0.74) for females] and control group [(42.62±1.43) for males, (40.76±0.82) for females]. A statistically significant difference was between the serum calcium levels of individuals with acute myeloid leukemia [(8.99±0.32) for males, (8.91±0.23) for females] and the control group [(13.13±1.16) for males, (10.73±0.28) for females]. AML patients can benefit from vitamin D treatment, according to a pairwise analysis of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The above results are related to concluding that Vitamin D can be utilized as a diagnostic test for AML patients. Keywords; acute myeloid leukemia (AML), Hypereosinophilia, ROC curve, hypocholesterolemia, vitamin D.