Frequency of FLT3–ITD Mutation in Newly Diagnosed Acute Myeloid Leukemia: A Single-Center Study in Pakistan

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the frequency of FLT3-ITD mutation in newly diagnosed cases of acute myeloid leukemia.        

Methodology: The cross sectional study was carried out over a period of one year from January to December in the department of hematology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), Rawalpindi Total 85 patients were included in this study. After obtaining 3 ml of venous blood in EDTA tubes, DNA was extracted using QlAamp DNA kit. Conventional PCR was performed for detection of FLT3-ITD mutation with positive and negative controls.

Results: FLT3-ITD mutations were detected in 15 cases (17.6%). Out of 85 cases, 56 (65.9%) were males while remaining 29 patients (34.1%) were females. Most common AML type according to French American British (FAB) classification was AML-M2. 33 cases (38.8%). Mean values of different hematological variables were TLC 51.8 x10⁹/L (±80.98), Hb9.16 g/dl (±8.15), Platelets 59.25 x10⁹/L (±60.49) and Myeloblasts 47.57% (±27.93) in bone marrow aspirates.

Conclusion: It is concluded that FLT3-ITD mutations are quite frequent in our AML patients with different age specificity. Frequency of FLT3-ITD mutation in our study was lower (17.6%) than other international studies. The detection of these mutations would be helpful in risk stratification and selection of appropriate management of the patients.