Detection and biological characteristic of FLT3 gene mutations in children with acute leukemia.

INTRODUCTION: FLT3 ITD and D835 mutations occur in high frequency in AML and to a lower rate in ALL patients with poor prognosis. METHODS: ITD and D835 mutations were studied in 100 diagnosed acute leukemia patients including 27 AML and 73 ALL with various FAB classifications by PCR and PCR-RFLP, respectively. Subsequently, PCR products of positive samples were confirmed by sequencing analyses. RESULTS: ITD mutations occurred in 10% of all pediatric acute leukemia, including AML and ALL. 25.9% of AML patients harbor a mutation in the ITD in various subtypes. The frequency of ITD mutations was 4% in ALL. Various insertions of nucleotides in ITD were observed, similar to those described in the literature previously. CONCLUSION: These preliminary data suggest that flt3-ITD mutations may play an important role in leukemogenesis in a proportion of children, particularly in the case of AML.