Outcomes of acute myeloid leukemia with KMT2A (MLL) rearrangement: a multicenter study of TROPHY group

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with KMT2A rearrangement (KMT2A-r) is associated with poor prognosis, but the benefit of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) for KMT2A-r AML is unclear. We reviewed adult AML patients treated within the TROPHY group and identified 292 cases of KMT2A-r AML, 254 (87.0%) of whom achieved first complete remission (CR1) and 192 (75.6%) of CR1 patients underwent allo-HSCT. We show that allo-HSCT is an independent favorable prognostic factor in CR1 patients for both overall survival (OS) (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.56, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.45–0.69, P < 0.001) and cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) (HR = 0.01, 95% CI: 0.005–0.04, P < 0.001). Among allo-HSCT recipients, survival outcomes were comparable between patients with KMT2A::MLLT3 and those with other 11q23/KMT2A rearrangements (3-year OS: 74.3% vs. 77.5%, P = 0.97; 3-year event-free survival [EFS]: 55.2% vs. 62.2%, P = 0.34; 3-year CIR: 24.4% vs. 20.8%, P = 0.32). Both multiparameter flow cytometry-based measurable residual disease (MFC-MRD) and KMT2A-r MRD determined by quantitative PCR prior to allo-HSCT were associated with worse transplant outcomes. Multivariable analysis identified detectable KMT2A-r MRD at allo-HSCT as a significant risk factor for reduced EFS (HR = 2.46, 95% CI: 1.32–4.60, P = 0.005). These findings confirm the survival benefit of allo-HSCT in adult patients with KMT2A-r AML and underscore the prognostic value of KMT2A-r MRD prior to transplantation.