Deep Sequencing to Verify Deep Remission in AML

Only about 30% of adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are cured by standard induction chemotherapy regimens. To assess the prognostic ability of a genomic assessment of molecular remission, investigators used whole-genome or exome sequencing to identify mutations in leukemic cells from patients with newly diagnosed, de novo AML. Paired samples from the time of initial diagnosis and approximately 30 days after induction initiation were compared for 50 patients who achieved morphologic complete remission in the bone marrow.

Compared with the 52% of patients who had no detectable residual mutation-positive cells following induction therapy, the 48% who had persistence of mutation in >5% of cells experienced significantly shorter me…