Prognostic significance of SET-NUP214 fusion gene in acute leukemia after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Medicine (Baltimore). 2020 Dec 11;99(50):e23569. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000023569.

Abstract

The SET nuclear proto-oncogene (SET)-nucleoporin (NUP) 214 fusion gene (SET-NUP214) is a rare leukemia fusion gene. Due to the limited number of samples with SET-NUP214 fusion gene in previous studies, the significance of SET-NUP214 for measurable residual disease (MRD) monitoring in patients with acute leukemia (AL) is still unclear. Our study aimed to observe the dynamic changes in SET-NUP214 expression before and after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT), and analyzed whether SET-NUP214 could be used to evaluate MRD status. Our study included 24 AL patients who were newly diagnosed with SET-NUP214 fusion gene and they all received allo-HSCT. Their MRD was evaluated by monitoring SET-NUP214 fusion gene and leukemia-associated immunophenotype (LAIP). The median follow-up time was 501 days (56-2208 days). Of the enrolled patients, 6 (25%) patients died, including 3 (12.5%) patients died of leukemia relapse. Total 5 (20.8%) patients experienced hematological relapse at a median of 225 days (56-1057 days) post-transplantation. The SET-NUP214 median expression level at diagnosis was 405.1% (14.6%-1482.4%). SET-NUP214 gene expression generally became positive prior to flow cytometry results. In addition, the Kaplan-Meier survival curves analysis showed that those who had SET-NUP214 positive (SET-NUP214+) post-transplantation had a higher 2-year cumulative incidence of leukemia relapse (CIR) of 43.7 ± 18.8% (P < .05). However, there was no significant difference between SET-NUP214 positive and SET-NUP214 negative patients with regard to their 2-year overall survival (OS) (82.5 ± 11.3 vs 64.6 ± 17.5%, respectively, P = .271). ROC curve analysis turned out that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.916 (95% CI: 0.784-1.0; P = .005). In conclusion, SET-NUP214 fusion gene determined by real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RQ-PCR) could be used to evaluate MRD status after allo-HSCT. Patients with positive SET-NUP214 expression after transplantation will have a poor prognosis.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / genetics*
  • Female
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / methods*
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / mortality
  • Histone Chaperones / genetics*
  • Humans
  • Kaplan-Meier Estimate
  • Leukemia / diagnosis
  • Leukemia / genetics*
  • Leukemia / mortality
  • Leukemia / therapy
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasm, Residual
  • Nuclear Pore Complex Proteins / genetics*
  • Oncogene Fusion / genetics*
  • Prognosis
  • Proto-Oncogene Mas
  • ROC Curve
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Survival Analysis
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Histone Chaperones
  • MAS1 protein, human
  • NUP214 protein, human
  • Nuclear Pore Complex Proteins
  • Proto-Oncogene Mas
  • SET protein, human