Therapy-related myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia with 17p deletion. A report on 25 cases

Two main types of therapy-related acute myeloid leukemias (tAML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (tMDS) have been described. The first classical type typically occurs late after use of alkylating agents and presents as MDS with −7/del 7q and/or −5/del5q. The second form occurs early after the use of agents targeted at topoisomerase II, and presents as AML with 11q23 or other rearrangements of de novo AML. Recently, we and others reported, in AML and MDS, a strong correlation between cytogenetic rearrangements leading to 17p deletion, a specific type of dysgranulopoiesis and p53 mutation; several of those cases of 17p− syndrome were therapy-related. Over the last 15 years, we observed 25 cases of tAML and tMDS with 17p deletion, which represented 36% of the AML and MDS with 17p deletion diagnosed during that period. Median age was 59 years. Twenty-one patients had tMDS and four tAML. Typical dysgranulopoiesis and p53 mutation and/or overexpression were seen in 22 of 24 and 16 of 19 evaluable patients, respectively. 17p deletion resulted from unbalanced translocations involving 17p (18 cases), monosomy 17 (five cases), i(17q) (one case) or del 17p (one case). Twenty-one patients also had −5/del 5q, and/or −7/del 7q. Median interval from treatment of the first tumor of tAML and tMDS was 94 months (range 19–252). Median survival was only 7 months. Based on primary tumor and antineoplastic agents used, patients could be relatively well divided into two groups: a first group of 11 cases, occurring mainly after a lymphoid neoplasm (eight cases) treated by chemotherapy with an alkylating agent (10 cases), and a second group of 14 cases occurring after essential thrombocythemia (ET) or polycythemia vera (PV) treated mainly by hydroxyurea (10 cases), pipobroman (eight cases), 32P (six cases) but rarely by alkylating agents (two cases). −7/del 7q was found in 10 of the 11 patients in the first group, as compared to three of the 14 patients of the second group (P = 0.0001). Therefore, therapy-related cases represent a high proportion of AML and MDS with the 17p− syndrome. They have many features in common with classical tMDS and tAML, including long interval from the first tumor, a usual preleukemic phase, and frequent occurrence of −5/del 5q. About one half of them, in addition, occur after alkylating agents and generally carry −7/del 7q. The other half, however, occur mainly after ET or PV treated by hydroxyurea or other non-alkylating agents, and usually have no −7/del 7q. These findings bring further support to a possible relationship between prior drugs used and cytogenetic rearrangements in tAML and tMDS.