Genomic Alterations in Acute Myeloid Leukemia in Routine Clinical Practice

Abstract

Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), the most common acute leukemia in adults, is a genetically heterogeneous disease. Genomic alterations condition the pathophysiology of AML. Nowadays, these changes are considered to be important biomarkers for risk stratification, treatment decisions (including new targeted drugs) and Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) monitoring during followup of AML. Positive MRD in AML patients is associated with a higher risk of relapse and shorter overall survival compared to MRD negative individuals. Nevertheless, MRD-targets, diagnostic techniques, time points of MRD determination, and analyzed material are not standardized. Thus, integration of MRD testing in individual AML patients in routine practice is still a workin- progress. This review article comprehensively focuses on key molecular biomarkers in AML and their utilization in clinical practice, especially regarding risk assessment and MRD testing. Moreover, new AML molecular-targeted therapies are briefly summarized here.