FLT3-ITD Incidence and FLT-D835 Mutations in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients with Normal Karyotype in Morocco: A Preliminary Study

Background: According to numerous studies, FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3, internal tandem duplication, and the D835 mutation are associated with a poor prognostic clinical outcome in acute myeloid leukemia patients. Detection of the FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 mutation in patients who present with normal karyotype acute myeloid leukemia helps in both the understanding of the disease and the treatment of patients. This study evaluates the incidence of FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3-internal tandem duplication and FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3-D835 mutation in newly diagnosed patients with normal karyotype acute myeloid leukemia. Methods: This study looked at 33 new cases who presented with normal karyotype acute myeloid leukemia at diagnosis. We collected peripheral blood samples from patients at diagnosis. FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3-internal tandem duplication mutation was detected using polymerase chain reaction and FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3-D835 mutation by restriction fragment length polymorphism after polymerase chain reaction. Results: FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3-internal tandem duplication mutation was found in 18% (6/33) of all patients and in 30% (6/20) of patients over 30 years of age. FMSlike tyrosine kinase 3-internal tandem duplication mutation was most common with M2 (50%), M5 (33.3%), and M0 (16.7%). FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3-D835 mutation was detected in one patient (3%) that had M2. No significant association was found between FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 mutation and age, sex, white blood cell count, platelets, or blasts percentage. Conclusion: Most of FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 mutations were found in patients older than 30 years. The frequency observed in this work is comparable with that observed in the literature. No pediatric case of FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 mutation was found in this study. A large scale study is needed to confirm our findings and to further appreciate the prognostic value of FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 mutation among Moroccan patients.