FLT3 inhibitors in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia

Despite recent modest improvements in the chemotherapy regimens used to treat acute myeloid leukemia (AML), many patients diagnosed with AML ultimately die of the disease. Commonly occurring genetic alterations have been identified that strongly affect the prognosis for patients with AML. These alterations represent possible targets for investigational therapies that could act to specifically halt the aberrant growth of AML cells while limiting damage to normal cells. One such gene is the Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) gene, which is mutated in approximately 30% of adult patients with AML and has a significant impact on prognosis. In particular, internal tandem duplications in FLT3 confer a poor prognosis to this large subgroup of patients with AML. Agents that target FLT3 are in development for the treatment of patients who have AML and offer a potential paradigm change in the current standard treatment of AML. For this report, the authors reviewed the prognostic significance of genetic alterations observed in AML with a focus on the therapeutic implications of targeting FLT3. The introduction of such agents may be the next major step toward the era of personalized therapy in AML.     

FLT3 signals via the adapter protein Grb10 and overexpression of Grb10 leads to aberrant cell proliferation in acute myeloid leukemia

The adaptor protein Grb10 plays important roles in mitogenic signaling. However, its roles in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are predominantly unknown. Here we describe the role of Grb10 in FLT3-ITD-mediated AML. We observed that Grb10 physically associates with FLT3 in response to FLT3-ligand (FL) stimulation through FLT3 phospho-tyrosine 572 and 793 residues and constitutively associates with oncogenic FLT3-ITD. Furthermore endogenous Grb10–FLT3 association was observed in OCI-AML-5 cells. Grb10 expression did not alter FLT3 receptor activation or stability in Ba/F3-FLT3 cells. However, expression of Grb10 enhanced FL-induced Akt phosphorylation without affecting Erk or p38 phosphorylation in Ba/F3-FLT3-WT and Ba/F3-FLT3-ITD. Selective Grb10 depletion reduced Akt phosphorylation in Ba/F3-FLT3-WT and OCI-AML-5 cells. Grb10 transduces signal from FLT3 by direct interaction with p85 and Ba/F3-FLT3-ITD cells expressing Grb10 exhibits higher STAT5 activation. Grb10 regulates the cell cycle by increasing cell population in S-phase. Expression of Grb10 furthermore resulted in an increased proliferation and survival of Ba/F3-FLT3-ITD cells as well as increased colony formation in semisolid culture. Grb10 expression was significantly increased in AML patients compared to healthy controls and was also elevated in patients carrying FLT3-ITD mutants. The elevated Grb10 expression partially correlated to relapse as well as to poor prognosis. These results suggest that Grb10 binds to both normal and oncogenic FLT3 and induces PI3K–Akt and STAT5 signaling pathways resulting in an enhanced proliferation, survival and colony formation of hematopoietic cells.     

T-LAK cell-originated protein kinase presents a novel therapeutic target in FLT3-ITD mutated acute myeloid leukemia

Gain-of-function mutations of FLT3 (FLT3-ITD), comprises up to 30% of normal karyotype acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and is associated with an adverse prognosis. Current FLT3 kinase inhibitors have been tested extensively, but have not yet resulted in a survival benefit and novel therapies are awaited. Here we show that T-LAK cell-originated protein kinase (TOPK), a mitotic kinase highly expressed in and correlated with more aggressive phenotype in several types of cancer, is expressed in AML but not in normal CD34+ cells and that TOPK knockdown decreased cell viability and induced apoptosis. Treatment of AML cells with TOPK inhibitor (OTS514) resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in cell viability with lower IC₅₀ in FLT3-mutated cells, including blasts obtained from patients relapsed after FLT3-inhibitor treatment. Using a MV4-11-engrafted mouse model, we found that mice treated with 7.5 mg/kg IV daily for 3 weeks survived significantly longer than vehicle treated mice (median survival 46 vs 29 days, P < 0.001). Importantly, we identified TOPK as a FLT3-ITD and CEBPA regulated kinase, and that modulating TOPK expression or activity resulted in significant decrease of FLT3 expression and CEBPA phosphorylation. Thus, targeting TOPK in FLT3-ITD AML represents a novel therapeutic approach for this adverse risk subset of AML.     

急性髓系白血病患者外周血细胞中FLT3基因表达与FLT3／ITD突变的关系及其意义

背景与目的：研究表明FLT3／ITD突变的急性髓性白血病（acutemyeloid leukemia,AML）患者预后差,但关于AML患者FLT3基因的表达水平在预后中的作用及其与FLT3／ITD突变关系的研究尚不充分。本研究探讨初治AML患者FLT3基因的表达水平与FLT3／ITD突变的关系及其临床意义。方法：建立实时荧光定量PCR检测FLT3基因表达水平及PCR检测FLT3／ITD突变的方法。分析79例初治AML患者FLT3基因水平、FLT3／ITD突变及与预后的关系。结果：22．7％（18／79）的AML患者存在FLT3／ITD突变。92．4％（73／79）的患者标本中可检测到FLT3基因表达,FLT3基因表达水平为0-7320,中位数为312,正常对照组未检测到FLT3基因的表达。FLT3基因高表达及FLT3／ITD突变AML组的白细胞计数及骨髓白血病细胞均显著高于低表达和无突变AML组（P〈0．05）。FLT3基因高表达的AML组FLT3／ITD突变率（25．6％）同低表达的AML组（20．0％）相比,差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）,FLT3／ITD突变AML患者FLT3基因表达中位数与无突变组比较差异也无统计学意义。FLT3／ITD突变组的完全缓解率（58．8％）显著低于无FLT3／ITD突变组（82．1％）（P〈0．05）;FLT3基因高表达AML组FLT3／ITD的完全缓解率（68．6％）同低表达AML组（84．2％）相比差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）,但无FLT3／ITD突变组中,FLT3基因高表达组完全缓解率（69．2％）显著低于低表达组（93-3％）（P〈0．05）。结论：FLT3高表达与FLT3／ITD突变之间无明显相关性,FLT3高表达对于无FLT3／ITD突变AML患者可能是一个预后不良的指标。     

Association of the EGF-TM7 receptor CD97 expression with FLT3-ITD in acute myeloid leukemia

Internal tandem duplications within the juxtamembrane region of the FMS-like tyrosine kinase receptor FLT3 (FLT3-ITD) represents one of the most common mutations in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) which results in constitutive aberrant activation, increased proliferation of leukemic progenitors and is associated with an aggressive clinical phenotype. The expression of CD97, an EGF-TM7 receptor, has been linked to invasive behavior in thyroid and colorectal cancer. Here, we have investigated the association of CD97 with FLT3-ITD and its functional consequences in AML.Higher CD97 expression levels have been detected in 208 out of 385 primary AML samples. This was accompanied by a significantly increased bone marrow blast count as well as by mutations in the FLT3 gene. FLT3-ITD expressing cell lines as MV4-11 and MOLM-13 revealed significantly higher CD97 levels than FLT3 wildtype EOL-1, OCI-AML3 and HL-60 cells which were clearly decreased by the tyrosine kinase inhibitors PKC412 and SU5614. CD97 knock down by short hairpin RNA in MV4-11 cells resulted in inhibited trans-well migration towards fetal calf serum (FCS) and lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) being at least in part Rho-A dependent. Moreover, knock down of CD97 led to an altered mechanical phenotype, reduced adhesion to a stromal layer and lower wildtype FLT3 expression.Our results, thus, constitute the first evidence for the functional relevance of CD97 expression in FLT3-ITD AML cells rendering it a potential new theragnostic target.     

Advancing treatment of acute myeloid leukemia: the future of FLT3 inhibitors

Introduction: Mutations of the FLT3 gene are among most common genetic abnormalities occurring in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and are associated with dismal prognosis. Tremendous effort has been devoted to developing clinically effective FLT3 inhibitors. First generation inhibitors consisted of multi-kinase inhibitors (sorafenib, lestaurtinib, midostaurin), which blocked FLT3 as well as multiple other kinase receptors. The failure of these agents to induce durable responses led to the development of second generation FLT3 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (quizartinib, crenolinib, gilteritinib) exhibiting high potency and specificity for mutant FLT3 kinases and sustained in vivo FLT3 inhibition. These myriad FLT3 inhibitors possess diverse kinase inhibitory properties, toxicity profiles, and pharmacokinetics, which impact on their incorporation into therapeutic regimens.

Areas covered: This article reviews the medical literature on current and future FLT3 inhibitors for AML therapy. We provide algorithms for which kinase inhibitor should be utilized for different FLT3 mutations (ITD±TKD) and clinical scenarios (de novo, relapsed/refractory, fit vs. unfit) and discuss novel FLT3 targeted therapeutic approaches.

Expert commentary: Integration of clinically active FLT3 inhibitors into all stages of therapy for all individuals with FLT3 mutant AML promises to significantly improve outcomes for this poor prognosis disease.     

BEX1 acts as a tumor suppressor in acute myeloid leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous disease of the myeloid lineage. About 35% of AML patients carry an oncogenic FLT3 mutant making FLT3 an attractive target for treatment of AML. Major problems in the development of FLT3 inhibitors include lack of specificity, poor response and development of a resistant phenotype upon treatment. Further understanding of FLT3 signaling and discovery of novel regulators will therefore help to determine additional pharmacological targets in FLT3-driven AML. In this report, we identified BEX1 as a novel regulator of oncogenic FLT3-ITD-driven AML. We showed that BEX1 expression was down-regulated in a group of AML patients carrying FLT3-ITD. Loss of BEX1 expression resulted in poor overall survival (hazard ratio, HR = 2.242, p = 0.0011). Overexpression of BEX1 in mouse pro-B and myeloid cells resulted in decreased FLT3-ITD-dependent cell proliferation, colony and tumor formation, and in increased apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. BEX1 localized to the cytosolic compartment of cells and significantly decreased FLT3-ITD-induced AKT phosphorylation without affecting ERK1/2 or STAT5 phosphorylation. Our data suggest that the loss of BEX1 expression in FLT3-ITD driven AML potentiates oncogenic signaling and leads to decreased overall survival of the patients.     

FLT3-ITD confers resistance to the PI3K/Akt pathway inhibitors by protecting the mTOR/4EBP1/Mcl-1 pathway through STAT5 activation in acute myeloid leukemia

FLT3-ITD and FLT3-TKD are the most frequent tyrosine kinase mutations in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), with the former associated with poor prognosis. Here, we show that the PI3K inhibitor GDC-0941 or the Akt inhibitor MK-2206 induced apoptosis through the mitochondria-mediated intrinsic pathway more efficiently in hematopoietic 32D cells driven by FLT3-TKD (32D/TKD) than FLT3-ITD (32D/ITD), which robustly activated STAT5. The resistance to GDC-0941 and MK-2206 was gained by expression of the constitutively activated STAT5 mutant STAT5A1*6 in 32D/TKD cells, while it was abrogated by the STAT5 inhibitor pimozide in 32D/ITD cells or FLT3-ITD-expressing human leukemic MV4–11 cells. GDC-0941 or MK-2206 induced dephosphorylation of 4EBP1 more conspicuously in 32D/TKD than in 32D/ITD, which was prevented or augmented by STAT5A1*6 or pimozide, respectively, and correlated with downregulation of the eIF4E/eIF4G complex formation and Mcl-1 expression. Furthermore, exogenous expression of Mcl-1 endowed resistance to GDC-0941 and MK-2206 on 32D/TKD cells. Finally, it was confirmed in primary AML cells with FLT3-ITD that pimozide enhanced 4EBP1 dephosphorylation and Mcl-1 downregulation to augment cytotoxicity of GDC-0941. These data suggest that the robust STAT5 activation by FLT3-ITD protects cells treated with the PI3K/Akt pathway inhibitors from apoptosis by maintaining Mcl-1 expression through the mTORC1/4EBP1/eIF4E pathway.     

Novel AXL-targeted agents overcome FLT3 inhibitor resistance in FLT3-ITD+ acute myeloid leukemia cells

AXL receptor tyrosine kinase (AXL) upregulation mediates drug resistance in several types of human cancer and has become a therapeutic target worthy of exploration. The present study investigated AXL antigen expression and the effects of novel AXL-targeted agents in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells. AXL antigen expression in drug-sensitive and drug-resistant human AML cell lines, and AML blast cells from 57 patients with different clinical characteristics, was analyzed by flow cytometry and compared. Furthermore, the effects of the novel AXL antibody DAXL-88, antibody-drug conjugate DAXL-88-monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE), AXL small molecule inhibitor R428 and their combination with FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) inhibitor quizartinib (AC220) in AML cells were analyzed by Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, flow cytometry and western blotting. The present study revealed that AXL antigen expression was upregulated in FLT3-internal tandem duplication (ITD)/tyrosine kinase domain mutation-positive (TKD)⁺ AML blast cells compared with FLT3-ITD/TKD⁻ AML cells. Additionally, AXL antigen expression was markedly upregulated in the AC220-resistant FLT3-ITD⁺ MV4-11 cell line (MV4-11/AC220) and in FLT3 inhibitor-resistant blast cells from a patient with FLT3-ITD⁺ AML compared with parental sensitive cells. The AXL-targeted agents DAXL-88, DAXL-88-MMAE and R428 exhibited dose-dependent cytotoxic effects on FLT3-mutant AML cell lines (THP-1, MV4-11 and MV4-11/AC220) and blast cells from patients with FLT3-ITD⁺ AML. Combinations of AXL-targeted agents with AC220 exerted synergistic cytotoxic effects and induced apoptosis in MV4-11/AC220 cells and FLT3 inhibitor-resistant blast cells. The antileukemic effect of DAXL-88 and DAXL-88-MMAE may rely on their ability to block AXL, FLT3 and their downstream signaling pathways. The present study demonstrated the association between AXL antigen expression upregulation and drug resistance in FLT3-ITD⁺ AML, and proposed a method for overcoming FLT3 inhibitor resistance of FLT3-ITD⁺ AML using novel AXL-targeted agents.     

DNA damage accumulation and repair defects in FLT3-ITD acute myeloid leukemia: Implications for clonal evolution and disease progression

Acute myeloid leukemia is a group of hematological diseases that have a high mortality rate. During the development of this pathology, hematopoietic cells acquire chromosomal rearrangements and multiple genetic mutations, including FLT3-ITD. FLT3-ITD is a marker associated with a poor clinical prognosis and involves the activation of pathways such as PI3K/AKT, MAPK/ERK, and JAK/STAT that favor the survival and proliferation of leukemic cells. In addition, FLT3-ITD leads to overproduction of reactive oxygen species and defective DNA damage repair, both implicated in the appearance of new mutations and leukemic clones. Thus, the purpose of this review is to illustrate the molecular mechanisms through which FLT3-ITD generates genetic instability and how it facilitates clonal evolution with the generation of more resistant and aggressive cells. Likewise, this article discusses the feasibility of combined therapies with FLT3 inhibitors and inhibitors of DNA repair pathways.     

Clinical relevance of FLT3 receptor protein expression in Indian patients with acute leukemia

Aim: FLT3 is a receptor tyrosine kinase that plays an important role in the pathogenesis of leukemia. The present study aimed to evaluate the role of FLT3 protein in patients with acute leukemia. Method: FLT3 protein was quantified by flow cytometry on leukemic blasts using CD135 antibody in 160 patients with acute leukemia. Results: We demonstrated FLT3 protein expression (>20%) in 82% of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), 60% of B‐lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B‐ALL), 23% of T‐lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T‐ALL) and 80% of biphenotypic leukemia. Further, FLT3 expression was seen to be significantly higher in AMLM2, M4, and M5 than in AMLM3. In B‐ALL, FLT3 was found to be higher in pro‐B‐ALL and lower in early B‐ALL. A CD34 expression >20% was associated with FLT3 positive B‐ALL. When correlated with disease status, all patients in the relapsed AML group had FLT3 > 20% at diagnosis. Unlike AML, the relapsed group of B‐ALL showed a lower incidence of FLT3 than the remission group. Conclusion: In summary, our data imply that there is frequent overexpression of the FLT3 protein in AML and B‐ALL patients of Indian origin. In future, the FLT3 protein level may be used to select patients for whom FLT3 inhibitor therapy may be indicated.     

The FLT3 inhibitor PKC412 in combination with cytostatic drugs in vitro in acute myeloid leukemia

An internal tandem duplication of FLT3 (FLT3/ITD) occurs in approximately 25% of newly diagnosed AML. PKC412 inhibits the growth of leukemic cell lines with FLT3 mutations such as the MV4-11. This study evaluated the in vitro effects of the combination of PKC412 and ara-C or daunorubicin, studying the effect of co-incubation, pre-incubation and sequential incubation of the drugs in patient samples and cell lines. Thirty-three patients with AML were included. Two cell lines were studied; MV4-11 that expresses the FLT3/ITD and HL-60 that does not. In the patient cells PKC412 exerted its effect at concentrations between 0.1 and 2.0 microM. For MV4-11 cells concentrations down to 1 nM were effective. In patient samples, the results of co-incubation of PKC412 with ara-C were synergistic in 5%, additive in 67%, sub additive in 17% and antagonistic in 11% of the cases. In patient cells, incubations with ara-C and PKC412 resulted in synergistic effects in 17% of the FLT3/ITD positive samples compared to 0% synergistic in the FLT3/ITD negative samples (p < 0.01). Antagonistic effects were more common in the FLT3/ITD negative samples. The timing of the drugs had little impact on the effect. In cell lines, antagonistic effects were seen frequently in HL-60 (90%) and less so in MV4-11 (60%) regardless of sequence or timing of the drugs. The combination of daunorubicin and PKC412 resulted in more synergistic and less antagonistic effects compared to combinations with ara-C, in both patient material and cell lines. The combination of Lonafarnib, a farnesyl-transferase inhibitor (FTI) and PKC412 had additive and synergistic effects in both FLT3/ITD positive and negative cell lines. In conclusion, the combination of PKC412 together with chemotherapeutic drugs is more effective in FLT3/ITD positive AML cells. Antagonistic effects can be seen, especially in patient samples without FLT3/ITD. Also, the combination of PKC412 and the farnesylinhibitor lonafarnib should be further explored.     

BCL-2 inhibitor synergizes with PI3Kδ inhibitor and overcomes FLT3 inhibitor resistance in acute myeloid leukaemia

Inhibitors targeting the antiapoptotic molecule BCL-2 have therapeutic potential for the treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML); however, BCL-2 inhibitors such as venetoclax exhibit limited monotherapy efficacy in relapsed or refractory human AML. PI3Kδ/AKT signalling has been shown to be constitutively active in AML patients. Here, we demonstrate that the combination of BCL-2 and PI3Kδ inhibitors exerts synergistic antitumour effects both in vitro and in vivo in AML. Cotreatment with venetoclax and the specific PI3Kδ inhibitor idelalisib significantly enhanced antiproliferative effects and induced caspase-dependent apoptosis in a panel of AML cell lines. The synergistic effects were mechanistically based on the inactivation of AKT/4E-BP-1 signalling and the reduction of MCL-1 expression, which diminished the binding of Bim to MCL-1. Notably, compared with the parental FLT3-ITD-positive MV-4-11, the acquired FLT3 inhibitor quizartinib-resistant xenograft model carrying the F691L mutation, exhibited a markedly higher sensitivity to venetoclax. Furthermore, venetoclax combined with idelalisib led to tumour regression in all animals in this quizartinib-resistant AML model. Thus, these data indicate that combined inhibition of BCL-2 and PI3Kδ may be a promising strategy in AML, especially for patients with FLT3-ITD and/or FLT3-TKD mutations.     

慢性粒细胞性白血病FLT3基因及FLT3/ITD基因突变的检测及意义

背景与目的:大部分急性髓细胞性白血病(acutemyeloidleukemia,AML)患者出现FLT3基因异常表达,20%～30%AML患者会出现FLT3/ITD基因突变并与临床预后相关。本研究旨在了解慢性粒细胞白血病(chronicmyeloidleukemia,CML)患者FLT3基因及FLT3/ITD基因突变情况。方法:采用聚合酶链反应(polymerasechainreaction,PCR)检测53例CML慢性期和34例CML加速期或急变期患者DNA水平FLT3基因及FLT3/ITD基因突变。结果:53例CML慢性期患者3例(5.7%)出现FLT3基因阳性,34例加速期或急变期患者有19例(55.9%)出现FLT3基因阳性,CML加速期和急变期患者FLT3基因阳性率显著高于慢性期患者(P<0.001),87例CML患者,仅2例(2.3%)出现FLT3/ITD基因突变。结论:在CML患者中,FLT3基因表达主要见于加速期或急变期患者;CML很少发生FLT3/ITD基因突变;FLT3基因及FLT3/ITD基因突变阳性CML患者可能提示预后不佳,此方面研究尚需深入。     

A novel prognostic scoring model for newly diagnosed FLT3-ITD-positive acute myeloid leukemia

FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3-internal tandem duplication (FLT3-ITD) is one of the most common somatic mutations in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, the molecular structure characteristics and widely accepted prognostic factors for FLT3-ITD are still not well described. This study aimed to retrospectively examine 81 patients with FLT3-ITD-positive AML diagnosed and treated at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University from December 2013 to March 2018 using the next-generation sequencing 185-gene platform. High variant allele frequency (VAF) [> 0.48, P = 0.0089 for overall survival (OS), P = 0.13 for relapse-free survival (RFS)], multiple ITDs (> 1 ITDs, P = 0.011 for OS, P = 0.033 for RFS) and longer insertion length (> 69 bp, P = 0.14 for OS, P = 0.0078 for RFS) predicted poor survival. The study further proposed an easily applicable scoring model for OS using the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selector Operation (LASSO) Cox regression model. Also, an independent cohort of 30 patients was used for external model validation. The mode was expressed as follows: 0.659 × FLT3-ITD VAF + 0.375 × FLT3-ITD number + 0.807 × Age + 0.688 × DNMT3A + 1.939 × U2AF1 (FLT3-ITD VAF > 0.48 scored 1; FLT3-ITD number scored 1 if carried 1 ITD, 2 if carried ≥ 2 ITDs; age > 44 years scored 1, the presence of DNMT3A or U2AF1 scored 1; 0 for other conditions). It categorized patients into low-risk (L-R, score < 1, n = 20) and high-risk (H-R, score ≥ 1, n = 61) groups based on the risk score with a significant difference in survival (3-year OS, P < 0.0001; 3-year RFS, P = 0.0005). A prognostic nomogram that integrated these five factors was developed with a concordance index calculation [OS: 0.68, 95% CI (0.64-0.72)].     

新型酪氨酸激酶抑制剂AC220治疗急性髓系白血病的研究进展

急性髓系白血病(AML)是一种高度异质性疾病,多个信号通路异常可导致其发病.AML的主要发病因素之一是FLT3基因突变,其主要形式是内部串联重复(ITD),与AML患者的不良预后密切相关.鉴于FLT3-ITD突变阳性在AML患者预后作用中的重要性,认识FLT3的通路以及开发针对FLT3突变的靶向药物显得十分关键.虽然FLT3抑制剂表现出一定程度的抗白血病活性,但单药使用的临床疗效仍有一定局限性.AC220(quizartinib)是强效的二代选择性FLT3抑制剂,以AML患者对FLT3抑制剂的耐药机制为基础,越来越多的学者开始研究AC220单药以及联合细胞毒性化疗药物、蛋白激酶抑制剂对FLT3-ITD细胞株及原始白血病细胞的抑制作用,但各组合方案的临床疗效还有待深入研究.     

Concomitant ABCG2 overexpression and FLT3-ITD mutation identify a subset of acute myeloid leukemia patients at high risk of relapse

BACKGROUND:

ABCG2 protein overexpression and FLT3 internal tandem duplication (ITD) correlate with higher relapse rate and shorter disease‐free survival (DFS) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), but no data are available on the possible effect of concomitant presence of these 2 factors.

METHODS:

The authors analyzed the outcome of 166 cases of adult AML patients who were homogeneously treated with a fludarabine‐based induction therapy.

RESULTS:

ABCG2 overexpression and FLT3‐ITD were detected in 83 (50%) and 47 (28%) patients, respectively. A significant correlation was found between ABCG2 positivity and FLT3 mutation, with 33 (40%) ITD in 83 ABCG2‐positive patients compared with 14 (17%) ITD in 83 ABCG2‐negative patients (P = .002). Complete remission (CR) after induction therapy was achieved in 95 (57%) patients. Neither ABCG2 overexpression nor FLT3‐ITD had any impact on achievement of CR. Relapse occurred in 42 of 95 (44%) patients at a median time of 28 months. Time to relapse was shortened in patients overexpressing ABCG2 (P = .0004). DFS was not affected by FLT3‐ITD alone, but FLT3 mutation significantly worsened long‐term outcome of ABCG2‐positive patients. DFS at 1 and 3 years in patients with overexpression of both ABCG2 and FLT3‐ITD was only 36% and 28%, respectively; in ABCG2‐positive/FLT3‐negative patients, DFS at 1 and 3 years was 65% and 48%, respectively; and in ABCG2‐negative cases (regardless of FLT3 status), DFS at 1 and 3 years was greater than 85% and 75%.

CONCLUSIONS:

Concomitant overexpression of ABCG2 and FLT3‐ITD is relatively frequent and identifies a subgroup of AML patients with a significantly worse prognosis. The possible interactions between these 2 prognostic factors need to be defined. Cancer 2011. © 2010 American Cancer Society.