<i>IKZF1</i>^plusDefines a New Minimal Residual Disease–Dependent Very-Poor Prognostic Profile in Pediatric B-Cell Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

<jats:sec><jats:title>Purpose</jats:title><jats:p>Somatic deletions that affect the lymphoid transcription factor–coding gene IKZF1 have previously been reported as independently associated with a poor prognosis in pediatric B-cell precursor (BCP) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). We have now refined the prognostic strength of IKZF1 deletions by analyzing the effect of co-occurring deletions.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Patients and Methods</jats:title><jats:p>The analysis involved 991 patients with BCP ALL treated in the Associazione Italiana Ematologia ed Oncologia Pediatrica–Berlin-Frankfurt-Muenster (AIEOP-BFM) ALL 2000 trial with complete information for copy number alterations of IKZF1, PAX5, ETV6, RB1, BTG1, EBF1, CDKN2A, CDKN2B, Xp22.33/Yp11.31 (PAR1 region; CRLF2, CSF2RA, and IL3RA), and ERG; replication of findings involved 417 patients from the same trial.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>IKZF1 deletions that co-occurred with deletions in CDKN2A, CDKN2B, PAX5, or PAR1 in the absence of ERG deletion conferred the worst outcome and, consequently, were grouped as IKZF1<jats:sup>plus</jats:sup>. The IKZF1<jats:sup>plus</jats:sup>group comprised 6% of patients with BCP ALL, with a 5-year event-free survival of 53 ± 6% compared with 79 ± 5% in patients with IKZF1 deletion who did not fulfill the IKZF1<jats:sup>plus</jats:sup>definition and 87 ± 1% in patients who lacked an IKZF1 deletion ( P ≤ .001). Respective 5-year cumulative relapse incidence rates were 44 ± 6%, 11 ± 4%, and 10 ± 1% ( P ≤ .001). Results were confirmed in the replication cohort, and multivariable analyses demonstrated independence of IKZF1<jats:sup>plus</jats:sup>. The IKZF1<jats:sup>plus</jats:sup>prognostic effect differed dramatically in analyses stratified by minimal residual disease (MRD) levels after induction treatment: 5-year event-free survival for MRD standard-risk IKZF1<jats:sup>plus</jats:sup>patients was 94 ± 5% versus 40 ± 10% in MRD intermediate- and 30 ± 14% in high-risk IKZF1<jats:sup>plus</jats:sup>patients ( P ≤ .001). Corresponding 5-year cumulative incidence of relapse rates were 6 ± 6%, 60 ± 10%, and 60 ± 17% ( P ≤ .001).</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion</jats:title><jats:p>IKZF1<jats:sup>plus</jats:sup>describes a new MRD-dependent very-poor prognostic profile in BCP ALL. Because current AIEOP-BFM treatment is largely ineffective for MRD-positive IKZF1<jats:sup>plus</jats:sup>patients, new experimental treatment approaches will be evaluated in our upcoming trial AIEOP-BFM ALL 2017.</jats:p></jats:sec>