Cytogenetic and genetic mutation features of de novo acute myeloid leukemia in elderly Chinese patients.

OBJECTIVES The present study aimed to examine the cytogenetic and genetic mutation features of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in elderly Chinese patients. METHODS A retrospective analysis of cytogenetics and genetic mutations was performed in 113 cases (age range 50-82 years) with de novo AML. RESULTS The most frequent cytogenetic abnormality was t (15;17) (q22;q21), detected in 10.0% (n = 9) of successfully analyzed cases, followed by t (8;21) (q22;q22) in 8.89% (n = 8), and complex karyotypes in 5.56% (n = 5). Those with complex karyotypes included 4 cases (4.44%) of monosomal karyotypes. The frequencies of NPM1, FLT3-ITD, c-kit, and CEBPA mutations were 27.4% (31/113), 14.5% (16/110), 5.88% (6/102), and 23.3% (7/30), respectively. The complete remission rates of patients in low, intermediate, and high risk groups were 37.5%, 48.6%, and 33.3%, respectively (χ2 = 0.704, P = 0.703) based on risk stratification. CONCLUSION Cytogenetics and genetic mutations alone may not be sufficient to evaluate the prognoses of elderly AML patients. The search for a novel model that would enable a more comprehensive evaluation of this population is therefore imperative.