Deletions in IKZF1 are found in ∼15% of children with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL). There is strong evidence for the poor prognosis of IKZF1 deletions affecting exons 4-7 and exons 1-8, but evidence for the remaining 33% of cases harboring other variants of IKZF1 deletions is lacking. In an international multicenter study we analyzed the prognostic value of these rare variants in a case-control design. Each IKZF1-deleted case was matched to three IKZF1 wild-type controls based on cytogenetic subtype, treatment protocol, risk stratification arm, white blood cell count and age. Hazard ratios for the prognostic impact of rare IKZF1 deletions on event-free survival were calculated by matched pair Cox regression. Matched pair analysis for all 134 cases with rare IKZF1 deletions together revealed a poor prognosis (P<0.001) that was evident in each risk stratification arm. Rare variant types with the most unfavorable event-free survival were DEL 2-7 (P=0.03), DEL 2-8 (P=0.002) and DEL-Other (P<0.001). The prognosis of each type of rare variant was equal or worse compared with the well-known major DEL 4-7 and DEL 1-8 IKZF1 deletion variants. We therefore conclude that all variants of rare IKZF1 deletions are associated with an unfavorable prognosis in pediatric BCP-ALL.

doi.org/10.1038/leu.2015.199, hdl.handle.net/1765/87582
Leukemia
Department of Bioinformatics

Boer, J., van der Veer, A., Rizopoulos, D., Fiocco, M., Sonneveld, E., de Groot-Kruseman, H. A., … den Boer, M. (2016). Prognostic value of rare IKZF1 deletion in childhood B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia: An international collaborative study. Leukemia, 30(1), 32–38. doi:10.1038/leu.2015.199