Kinetics of plasma-cell chimerism after allogeneic stem cell transplantation by highly sensitive real-time PCR based on sequence polymorphism and its value to quantify minimal residual disease in patients with multiple myeloma

2006 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 688-694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolaus Kröger ◽  
Maria Zagrivnaja ◽  
Sabine Schwartz ◽  
Anita Badbaran ◽  
Tatjana Zabelina ◽  
...  
Blood ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (11) ◽  
pp. 669-669
Author(s):  
Nicolaus Kroeger ◽  
Anita Badbaran ◽  
Ernst Holler ◽  
Joachim Hahn ◽  
Guido Kobbe ◽  
...  

Abstract The V617F-JAK2-mutation occurs in about 50 % of patients with myelofibrosis and is a reliable marker to monitor residual disease after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. The establishment of valid complete remission criteria for myelofibrosis especially after allogeneic stem cell transplantation remains a major issue. We developed a new, highly sensitive real-time PCR to monitor and quantify V617F-JAK2-positive cells after dose-reduced allogeneic stem cell transplantation. The mutated differs from the wild-type JAK2 allele by just one nucleotide exchange (G à T) leading to the valine to phenylalanine (V à F) transition. Using PrimerExpress® we designed a TaqMan® PCR where the reverse primer (RP) terminates at the (3′) nucleotide corresponding to this point mutation. Thus, this reverse primer should bind with higher affinity to the mutated than to the wild-type allele. To increase the specificity while conserving optimal sensitivity of the MRD-specific PCR we generated a set of primers shortened each time by one nucleotide at their 5’ end. In parallel, all those shortened primers were designed to contain an additional mutation at the third to last 3’ position. This allowed us to identify the reverse primer combining high specificity with so far not reported sensitivity(0.01 %). After 22 allogeneic stem cell transplantation procedures in 21 JAK2-positive patients with myelofibrosis, 78 % became PCR-negative. In 15 out of 17 patients (88 %), JAK2 remained negative after a median follow-up of 20 months. JAK2-negativity was achieved after a median of 89 days post allograft (range, 19 – 750 days). A significant inverse correlation was seen for JAK2 positivity and donor cell chimerism (r: −0.91, p<0.001). Four of five patients who never achieved JAK2-negativity fulfilled during the entire follow-up all criteria for complete remission recently proposed by the International Working Group, suggesting a major role for JAK2 measurement to determine depths of remission. In one case, residual JAK2 positive cells could be eliminated by donor lymphocyte infusion, supporting the graft versus myelofibrosis effect. In conclusion, allogeneic stem cell transplantation after dose-reduced conditioning induces high rates of molecular remission in JAK2-positive myelofibrosis-patients and quantification. V617F-JAK2 mutation by real-time PCR allows detecting minimal residual disease to guide adoptive immunotherapy.


Blood ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 109 (3) ◽  
pp. 1316-1321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolaus Kröger ◽  
Anita Badbaran ◽  
Ernst Holler ◽  
Joachim Hahn ◽  
Guido Kobbe ◽  
...  

Abstract The JAK2-V617F mutation occurs in about 50% of patients with myelofibrosis and might be a reliable marker to monitor residual disease after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. We describe a new, highly sensitive (≥ 0.01%) real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to monitor and quantify V617F-JAK2–positive cells after dose-reduced allogeneic stem cell transplantation. After 22 allogeneic stem cell transplantation procedures in 21 JAK2-positive patients with myelofibrosis, 78% became PCR negative. In 15 of 17 patients (88%), JAK2 remained negative after a median follow-up of 20 months. JAK2 negativity was achieved after a median of 89 days after allograft (range, 19-750 days). A significant inverse correlation was seen for JAK2 positivity and donor-cell chimerism (r: −0.91, P < .001). Four of 5 patients who never achieved JAK2 negativity fulfilled during the entire follow-up all criteria for complete remission recently proposed by the International Working Group, suggesting a major role for JAK2 measurement to determine depths of remission. In one case, residual JAK2-positive cells were successfully eliminated by donor lymphocyte infusion. In conclusion, allogeneic stem cell transplantation after dose-reduced conditioning induces high rates of molecular remission in JAK2-positive patients with myelofibrosis, and quantification of V617F-JAK2 mutation by real-time PCR allows the detection of minimal residual disease to guide adoptive immunotherapy.


Blood ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. 340-340
Author(s):  
Martin Bornhaeuser ◽  
Uta Oelschlaegel ◽  
Gesine Bug ◽  
Uwe Platzbecker ◽  
Karin Lutterbeck ◽  
...  

Abstract Relapse of hematological malignancy remains a major complication after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. This is especially true for patients receiving minimal or reduced-intensity conditioning therapy. Analysis of donor chimerism (DC) is an important diagnostic tool to assess the risk of relapse after allogeneic stem cell transplantation, especially in patients lacking a specific marker suitable for monitoring of minimal residual disease. The sensitivity of a standard PCR assay amplifying short-tandem-repeat sequences can be improved significantly by investigating sorted CD34+ peripheral blood cells. We prospectively compared the serial analysis of DC in selected CD34+ cells and unmanipulated whole blood (WB) within a randomised study in 131 patients with CD34+ hematological malignancies (AML, ALL and MDS) surviving more than 100 days after transplantation. The primary end-point was the association between decreasing CD34+ DC and haematological relapse. Whenever a decreasing CD34+ or WB DC was confirmed and no signs of active GvHD were present, a rapid taper of CsA or tracolimus (50% every 5–7 days) was suggested. If no GvHD occurred within 14 days after the stop of CsA or tacolimus, patients were scheduled to receive donor lymphocyte infusions (DLI) in incremental doses. The cumulative incidence of relapse was significantly increased in patients with decreasing or incomplete CD34+ DC (62% vs. 38%, p=0.01). This was associated with a lower probability of overall survival (20% vs. 39%, p=0.03). The interval between the decrease in CD34+ DC and hematological relapse was 35 days (range 0–567) in the study group compared to only 8 days (range 0–63) in the control group monitored by WB DC analysis (p=0.05). The median time between a decrease in CD34+ DC and WB DC was 14 days (range, 0 to 445). Patients receiving preemptive therapy triggered by decreasing CD34+ DC had a significantly higher probability of disease-free survival compared to cases monitored and treated according to WB DC (19% vs. 0%, p=0.009). Multivariate analysis revealed age, disease-risk and decreasing CD34+ DC as independent risk-factors for overall survival in the study group. In summary, we could demonstrate that the quantification of DC in CD34+ selected cells is a sensitive method to predict relapse and survival after allogeneic SCT. Although this technology opens a window for preemptive therapy, new treatment approaches have to be employed to improve the overall outcome of patients with recurrence of residual disease after allogeneic stem cell transplantation.


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