A Complex Karyotype but Not Monosomy 7 Is an Independent Prognostic Factor in Advanced Childhood MDS.

Disclosure: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

To study the clinical significance of recurrent chromosome aberrations in childhood MDS, cytogenetic data of 394 consecutive children with refractory cytopenia (RC) (N=215), RAEB (N=141) and RAEB-T (N=38) analyzed in the regional cytogenetic reference centers and registered in the prospective study EWOG-MDS 98 between 1998 and 2005 were evaluated. At diagnosis, a karyotype could be defined in 279/394 patients (pts) (71%). No karyotype was obtained in 16% of pts with RC compared to 8% pts with RAEB and RAEB-t (p<0.001). Clonal chromosome aberrations were more common in pts with advanced MDS (RAEB and RAEB-T, 61%) compared to RC (29%), and in pts with secondary (69%) compared to primary MDS (36%) (p<0.001). Monosomy 7 was the most frequent aberration occurring with similar frequency in RC (47% of abnormal karyotypes) compared to advanced MDS (49%) and in primary (53%) compared to secondary (41%) MDS. In addition, aberrations typical for de novo AML such as aberrations involving 11q23 or 3q, t(6;9) and del(9q) were noted in morphologically and clinically unequivocal MDS cases. Recurrent aberrations of adult MDS like isolated del(5q), del(20q) and -Y were very uncommon indicating a different pathogenesis of these cases. In pts with advanced MDS, there was no significant difference in overall survival (OS) of pts with normal karyotype (44% ± 18) compared to pts with monosomy 7 (58% ± 19) and patients with other karyotypes (61% ± 22). However, pts with advanced MDS and a complex karyotype (defined by ≥ 3 chromosome aberrations, presence of structural aberrations and excluding clonal evolution of monosomy 7) had a shorter OS (16% ±15, p<0.01). OS and event-free survival after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in pts with complex karyotypes was inferior compared to that of pts with other cytogenetic aberrations (p=0.012 and 0.039, respectively). Within the group of pts with secondary MDS, complex karyotypes were found in MDS evolving from inherited bone marrow failure disorders or after radio-/ chemotherapy, but absent in familial MDS and cases evolving from acquired aplastic anemia. As shown in a multivariate Cox analysis, advanced MDS, secondary MDS, the presence of a complex karyotype and HSCT were identified as independent prognostic factors for OS. Thus, this study demonstrates the prognostic significance of cytogenetic findings in advanced childhood MDS independent of HSCT.