Acute megakaryoblastic leukemia
Acute megakaryoblastic leukemia | |
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AML-M7, bone marrow section | |
Specialty | Hematology, oncology |
Acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (AMKL) is life-threatening
AMKL is commonly regarded as a subtype of
Acute megakaryoblastic leukemia falls into three distinct groups which differ in underlying causes, ages of presentation, responses to therapy, and prognoses. These groups are: AMKL occurring in young children with Down syndrome, i.e. DS-AMKL; AMKL occurring in children who do not have Down syndrome, i.e. non-DS-AMKL (also termed pediatric acute megakaryoblastic leukemia or pediatric AMKL); and AMKL occurring in non-DS adults, i.e. adult-AMKL.[1] AMKL, while rare, is the most common form of AML in DS-AMKL, occurring ~500-fold more commonly in Down syndrome children than in children without Down syndrome; non-DS-AMKL and adult-AMLK are rare, accounting for <1% of all individuals diagnosed as in the AML-M7 category of leukemia.[4]
DS-AMKL
Pathophysiology
Individuals with Down syndrome almost always have three instead of the normal two copies of
Down syndrome fetuses
Rare cases of transient myeloproliferative disease and DS-AMKL occur in individuals who do not have Down syndrome.[11] These individuals usually have a history of TMD and invariably have megakaryoblasts which bear extra copies of key chromosome 21 genes, truncating mutations in GATA1, and somatic mutations in one or more of the genes listed in the previous section. These individuals have extra copies of only a portion of the genes on chromosome 21. This duplication of only some chromosome 21 genes results from: a) Robertsonian translocations, wherein part of chromosome 21 is duplicated on another chromosome; b) partial trisomy 21, wherein only part of chromosome 21 is duplicated); c) an isochromosome, wherein chromosome 21 contains two long but no short arms); or d) duplications, wherein extra chromosome 21 genes are on this or other chromosomes.[12] AMKL occurring in these individuals is classified as DS-AMKL.[6]
Presentation
DS-AMKL most often presents in children 1–2 years old but almost always less than 4 years old who have a history of TMD. Given this history, these children are usually followed-up medically with complete blood count tests. and therefore often present with elevated blood levels of abnormally appearing platelets and platelet precursor cells, particularly megakaryoblasts, and reduced blood levels of red blood cells. DS-AMKL usually progresses slowly with affected children gradually developing increasingly more severe changes in their blood counts as well as slowly developing symptoms of these developments such as fatigue and shortness of breath due to anemia.[9] In cases of advanced disease, individuals with DS-AMKL may present with signs and symptoms that are more typical of acute myeloid leukemic diseases such as liver enlargement, spleen enlargement,[13] leukemia cutis (i.e. skin nodules caused by leukemic infiltrates), or leukostasis (i.e. an emergency situation in which excessive elevations in circulating blast (i.e. early precursor) cells plug the microcirculation to cause life-threatening heart, lung, and neurological dysfunctions).[14]
Diagnosis
The diagnosis of DS-AMKL in young children is indicated by: a history of TMD; findings of increased presence of blast cells (e.g. ≥20% of nucleated cells) that have the megakaryoblast phenotype in blood and/or
Where indicated and available, the diagnosis of DS-AMKL is further supported by; immunophenotyping analysis using
Treatment
The
Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (i.e. transplantation of stem cells derived from the individual being transplanted) did not improve relapse-free survival in one large study of DS-AMKL.[17] Allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (i.e. transplantation of stem cells derived another individual) has given better disease-free survival results than autologous transplantation and, based on recent uncontrolled studies, should be considered in DS-AMKL cases that have relapsed after their first chemotherapy-induced complete remission.[1]
Prognosis
The 5-year event free survival, disease-free survival, and overall survival rate in the phase 3 clinical study in DS-AMKL were 79, 89, 84 percent, respectively.
Non-DS-AMKL
Pathophysiology
The most common genetic abnormality occurring in non-Down-AMKL is a nonreciprocal
Presentation
Non-DS-AMKL occurs in neonates, infants, and children of all ages.[18] Except for the lack of Down syndrome, no history of TMD, and occurrences in children that can be >4 years of age, individuals with non-DS-AMKL present with many of the symptoms, signs, and hematological findings seen in DS-AMKL.[14] However, non-DS-AMKL is a more aggressive and rapidly progressing disorder than DS-AMKL. Nonetheless, the presentation of non-DS-AMKL is also like DS-AMKL in that it is not often accompanied by one or more extramedullary signs or symptoms of the disease such as liver enlargement, spleen enlargement, leukemia cutis, and leukostasis.[1]
Diagnosis
The diagnosis of non-DS-AMKL is made in children who do not have Down syndrome but exhibit the same clinical symptoms, signs, hematological abnormalities, and specialized laboratory findings seen in DS-AMKL. These children should bear one or more of the genetic aberrations associated with the disease[1] but not the inactivating GATA1 mutations, extra copies of chromosome 21 genes, or other genetic abnormalities associated with DS-AMKL.[1] Non-DS-AMKL has many clinical and laboratory features similar to and must be distinguished from Acute panmyelosis with myelofibrosis, a disorder characterized by bone marrow fibrosis, abnormal megakaryocytes, macrocytic erythropoiesis, defects in neutrophil production, reduced blood levels of most circulating cells (i.e. pancytopenia), and low levels of circulating blast cells. Analyses of circulating and bone marrow blast cells for features of AMKL (see Diagnosis section of DS-AMKL) and genetic aberrations is helpful in distinguishing the two diseases.[1]
Treatment
In a review of 153 patients treated for non-DS-AMKL between 1990 and 2014 with various intensive chemotherapy protocols that included cytarabine, an anthracycline (e.g. daunorubicin, doxorubicin), and in 25% of cases human stem cell transplantation, the probability of overall 4 year survival rate, probability of 4 year event-free survival, and probability of 4 year cumulative relapse rate were 56, 51, and 29%, respectively.[17] A more recent treatment regimen that is similar to that used to treat DS-AMKL as described above (except it employs the high dose of cytarabine used to treat AML) gives better results and has been recommended for non-DS-AMKL. The response to this regimen approached that seen in non-DS-AMKL, i.e. its complete remission and estimated 10 year survival rates were both 76%.[1] Similar to DS-AMKL treatment regimens,[17] allogenic rather than autologous stem cell bone marrow transplantation should be considered in non-DS-AMKL cases that have relapsed following their first chemotherapy-induced complete remission. Further studies may indicate that this recent cancer chemotherapy regimen plus allogenic bone marrow transplantation in cases which relapse after the first remission are the preferred treatment for non-DS-AMKL.[1]
Prognosis
In a review of 153 patients treated for non-DS-AMKL between 1990 and 2014 with various intensive chemotherapy protocols that included cytarabine, an anthracycline (e.g. daunorubicin, doxorubicin), and in 25% of cases human stem cell transplantation, the probability of overall 4 year survival rate, probability of 4 year event-free survival, and probability of 4 year cumulative relapse rate were 56, 51, and 29%, respectively. Patients with non-DS-AMKL given the treatment regimen described for DS-AMKL above had a much better prognosis than patients treated with earlier-devised treatment regimens: their overall survival rate using these regimen was estimated to be 76%.[1]
Adult-AMKL
Pathophysiology
Adult-AMKL can result from the progression of other
Rare cases of adult-AMKL also occur with
Overall, the most common genetic aberrations occurring in adult-AMKL are the previously described inv(3)(q21q26) inversion, translocation between the q arm of chromosome 9 at position 34 and the q arm of chromosome 22 at position 11, i.e. t(9:22)(q34:q11) and various aberrations in chromosome 5 or chromosome 7. Aberrations in the latter two chromosomes are also commonly seen in an AML that is associated with myelodydplastic-related changes (i.e. predominance of immature blood cells in the bone marrow).[1] The underlying malignancy-causing mechanism behind these genetic aberrations requires further study.
Presentation
Adult-AMKL may occur in individuals who have a prior diagnosis of and/or present with chronic myelogenous leukemia, polycythemia vera, essential thrombocytosis, primary myelofibrosis, or mediastinal germ cell tumor.[1] AMKL associated with mediastinal germ cell tumors typically occurs in younger adults, i.e. ages 13–36 (average age 24).[1] Cases occurring in children aged ≤18 years, which represent ~20% of all cases, could be regarded in the non-DS-AMKL category.[20] Cases of the disease not associated with mediastinal germ cell tumors occur in adults who as a group have older median age centering around those 50–70 years old. The disorder is far more fulminant than non-DS-AMKL and DS-AMKL and generally presents with more serious hematological symptoms (e.g. anemia-related) and a much higher incidence of extramedullary manifestations (e.g. organ enlargement, leukemia cutis) than seen in the other two forms of AMKL.[1]
Diagnosis
Adult-AMKL commonly occurs in adults in their sixties and seventies but may be seen in adolescents as young as 13. Its diagnosis can be suspected in cases that have either a prior history of MPN or a history or current findings indicating the presence of mediastinal blast cell tumor. In all cases, the diagnosis adult-AMKL rests upon the same determinations used to diagnose DS-AMKL, e.g. increased blast cells in blood and/or bone marrow, immunochemical evidence that these blast cells bear platelet line-specific markers, and occurrence of the genetic aberrations in these blast cells that have been associated with the disease.[1]
Treatment
Adult-AMKL has remained poorly responsive to the treatment regiments used in DS-AMKL and non-DS-AMKL. These treatments have given complete remission rates of 43-50%.[1]
Prognosis
The prognosis of adult-AMKL in patients treated for the disease is far below that of other forms of AMKL. Their median overall survival times are only 18 to 41 weeks with 5 year survival rates of only 10-11 percent. Major improvements in these statistics will likely require new approaches directed at the underlying mechanisms driving the disease.[1]
See also
References
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External links
- Histology at University of Virginia
- Images at Nagoya University
- https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/524/acute-megakaryoblastic-leukemia (NIH Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center)