Development and Validation of a Novel 13-Gene Prognostic Model for Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

BACKGROUND

Pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) arises from B- or T-lineage lymphoid progenitors is the most common form of childhood cancer.

AIM: This study aimed to develop a prognostic signature for overall survival (OS) in pediatric ALL patients.

METHODS

Pediatric ALL driver genes were used for LASSO-Cox regression to construct a prognostic model in a training cohort (GDC TARGET-ALL-P2, n = 103). The model's performance was assessed and validated in an independent cohort (GDC MP2PRT-ALL, n = 132).

RESULTS

Thirteen genes out of 367 potential driver genes associated with ALL were selected for model construction. In the training cohort, the model has AUC values of 0.73, 0.89, and 0.832 at 365, 1,095 and 1,825 days, respectively. High-risk patients had significantly worse OS (hazard Ratio, HR = 10.87, 95% CI: 5.93-19.95, P < 0.001). In the invalidation cohort, it has an AUC value of 0.82 at 365 days and an HR of 3.048 (95% CI: 1.780-5.219, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

This study identifies a 13-gene signature as a promising tool for risk stratification in pediatric ALL.