Hematologic Malignancies (HM)-Screen-Japan 01: A Mutation Profiling Multicenter Study on Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Background: Recently, whole exome sequencing has been used for the next-generation sequencing of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and certain gene mutations have been identified in patients with AML. The treatment strategies for leukemia have undergone drastic changes with the rapid development of new drugs. However, the proper use of newly developed agents poses a major challenge in AML treatment. Genome profiling analysis can be used to select the optimal treatment for patients with newly diagnosed AML. Methods and Results: Hematologic malignancies (HM)-SCREEN-Japan 01 is an actionable mutation profiling multicenter study of patients with newly diagnosed AML who cannot be treated with first standard treatment or patients who have relapsed/refractory AML (R/R-AML). The objective of this study was to evaluate the frequency and characteristics of cancer-related genomic alterations in patients with AML using a comprehensive genome profiling assay (FoundationOne®Heme (F1H)) and determine the quality of specimens used in gene analysis. Before participant recruitment, approval was obtained from the institutional review board at each participating institution. The trial was registered in the UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN000035233). This study was conducted at 17 participating institutions and had a sample size of 200. The eligibility criteria were as follows: 1) histological diagnosis of AML through bone marrow aspiration; 2) fulfillment of either of the following conditions: i) newly diagnosed AML unfit for standard treatment (ND-unfit AML) or ii) R/R-AML; 3) sufficient sample collection via bone marrow aspiration; 4) Age of participants 20 years or above during registration; 5) provision of written informed consent by participants. The primary outcome was the frequency of each genomic alteration, as determined using F1H, which is a comprehensive genome profiling test based on next-generation sequencing, in the AML specimens. The secondary outcome was the association between each genomic alteration and the clinicopathological characteristics, prognosis, and quality of specimens used in the genetic analysis. Serial genome profiling analyses were performed to evaluate the time-dependent changes in the genome profiles of patients administered FLT3 inhibitors, gilteritinib, and quizartinib for treating AML. One hundred and eighty-two patients were recruited, and the F1H report was successfully obtained for 177 patients (97.3%). The median age of the 66 patients