Fluorescence in situ hybridization supplements to conventional karyotype for detecting aberration of chromosome 5, 7, or 17 in newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the clinical significance of Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in detecting aberration of chromosome 5, 7, or 17 in newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients.

METHODS

We retrospectively evaluated the clinical features and outcomes of 77 adult newly diagnosed AML patients with 5/5q, 7/7q, or 17/17p loss detected by either FISH or conventional karyotype.

RESULTS

Among 77 patients, all (100%) were identified by FISH, while only 47 (61%) were positive with conventional karyotype. Patients with FISH-positive displayed similar age at onset, gender, WBC, and gene mutation spectrum with those identified by karyotype. In FISH-positive but karyotype-negative group, the 3-year OS and EFS were 28.9% and 23.9%, respectively, which were similar to 29.1% and 21% with FISH-positive and karyotype-positive (P = 0.59 and 0.48). When comparing the outcomes of patients with or without hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), both groups of patients with and without HSCT showed similar outcomes. Patients underwent HSCT with 3-year OS at 76.2% in FISH and 64.3% in FISH-positive and karyotype-positive group (P = 0.66), while patients without HSCT had 3-year OS at 33.3% and 39% (P = 0.63), respectively.

CONCLUSION

Overall, patients with 5, 7, or 17 chromosomal abnormalities identified by either FISH or karyotype have similar clinical characteristics and outcomes. FISH could supplement to conventional karyotype for detecting aberration of chromosome 5, 7, or 17 in newly diagnosed AML.