AIM: Outcomes of children with high-risk (HR) relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) (N = 393), recruited to ALLR3 and ALL-REZ BFM 2002 trials, were analysed. Minimal residual disease (MRD) was assessed after induction and at predetermined time points until haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (SCT).
METHODS: Genetic analyses included karyotype, copy-number alterations and mutation analyses. Ten-year survivals were analysed using Kaplan-Meier and Cox models for multivariable analyses.
RESULTS: Outcomes of patients were comparable in ALLR3 and ALL-REZ BFM 2002. The event-free survival of B-cell precursor (BCP) and T-cell ALL (T-ALL) was 22.6% and 26.2% (P = 0.94), respectively, and the overall survival (OS) was 32.6% and 28.2% (P = 0.11), respectively.
Induction failures (38%) were associated with deletions of NR3C1 (P = 0.002) and BTG1 (P = 0.03) in BCP-ALL. The disease-free survival (DFS) and OS in patients with good vs poor MRD responses were 57.4% vs 22.6% (P =10(-3)), HR cytogenetics and TP53 alterations in BCP-ALL.
CONCLUSION: Improvements in outcomes for HR ALL relapses require novel compounds in induction therapy to improve remission rates and immune targeted therapy after induction to maintain remission after SCT. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ALLR3: NCT00967057; ALL REZ-BFM 2002: NCT00114348.