Minimal residual disease evaluation by flow cytometry is a complementary tool to cytogenetics for treatment decisions in acute myeloid leukaemia

•Prognostic impact of MRD after induction therapy by flow cytometry in 306 AML patients.•Allogeneic transplantation is better than autologous in patients with MRD > 0.1%.•MRD has special interest in the intermediate cytogenetic group.•Scoring system based on MRD and cytogenetics for the prognostic stratification.

The clinical utility of minimal residual disease (MRD) analysis in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is not yet defined. We analysed the prognostic impact of MRD level at complete remision after induction therapy using multiparameter flow cytometry in 306 non-APL AML patients. First, we validated the prognostic value of MRD-thresholds we have previously proposed (≥0.1%; ≥0.01–0.1%; and <0.01), with a 5-year RFS of 38%, 50% and 71%, respectively (p = 0.002). Cytogenetics is the most relevant prognosis factor in AML, however intermediate risk cytogenetics represent a grey zone that require other biomarkers for risk stratification, and we show that MRD evaluation discriminate three prognostic subgroups (p = 0.03). Also, MRD assessments yielded relevant information on favourable and adverse cytogenetics, since patients with favourable cytogenetics and high MRD levels have poor prognosis and patients with adverse cytogenetics but undetectable MRD overcomes the adverse prognosis. Interestingly, in patients with intermediate or high MRD levels, intensification with transplant improved the outcome as compared with chemotherapy, while the type of intensification therapy did not influenced the outcome of patients with low MRD levels. Multivariate analysis revealed age, MRD and cytogenetics as independent variables. Moreover, a scoring system, easy in clinical practice, was generated based on MRD level and cytogenetics.