Mutational analysis of K-ras codon 12 in blood samples of patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

Mutations in K-ras are frequent in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The association of these mutations to clinical features and their prognostic value are unclear. We used quantitative PCR with peptide nucleic acid mediated PCR clamping to specifically analyze 257 blood samples of 31 AML patients for K-ras codon 12 alterations. A total of 20 samples of nine patients harbored a K-ras mutation. The most frequent mutation was the GTT variant which causes an amino acid exchange from glycine to valine. Correlation with clinical data suggests K-ras mutations to be associated with higher age and a better response to anti-leukemic chemotherapy.