• Prognostic stratification of patients through BAALC and ERG overexpression and microarray gene-expression signatures
  
• Differential microRNA expression
  
• Relative contribution of genetic markers in predicting clinical outcome
  

OBJECTIVES:

• Validate, on the larger number of patients with karyotypically normal acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treated uniformly on CALGB-19808, preliminary results from CALGB-9621 showing that BAALC and ERG overexpression and microarray gene-expression signatures can stratify the patients prognostically.
• Establish whether microRNAs are differentially expressed in subsets of patients with AML and normal cytogenetics, and, if so, attempt to identify a signature that stratifies patients prognostically.
• Explore the relative contribution in predicting clinical outcome of patients with cytogenetically normal AML using genetic markers such as BAALC, ERG, and EVI1 overexpression, MLL partial tandem duplication, FLT3 internal tandem duplication, NPM1 and CEBPA mutations, and microarray gene expression microRNA signatures.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter, pilot study.

Peripheral blood and bone marrow samples are analyzed to assess gene expression using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or reverse transcriptase-PCR assays and microarray assays. Genes to be studied include BAALC, ERB, EVI1, MLL, FLT3, NPM1, and CEBPA.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 100 patients will be accrued for this study.