Clinical application of next-generation sequencing-based monitoring of
minimal residual disease in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Abstract
Background: Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is an emerging technology
that can comprehensively assess the diversity of the immune system. We
explored the feasibility of NGS in detecting minimal residual disease
(MRD) in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) based on
immunoglobulin and T cell receptor. Methods: Bone marrow samples were
collected pre- and post-treatment with pediatric ALL admitted to
Shenzhen Children’s Hospital from February 1st, 2020 to January 31st,
2021. We analyzed the MRD detected by NGS, multiparametric flow
cytometry (MFC) and real-time quantitative PCR (RQ-PCR), and analyzed
risk factors of positive NGS-MRD at the end of B-ALL induction
chemotherapy. Results: A total of paired 236 bone marrow samples were
collected from 64 children with ALL (58 B-ALL and 6 T-ALL). The decrease
in the clonal rearrangement frequency of IGH, IGK, and IGL was generally
consistent after treatment. Positive MRD was detected in 57.5% (77/134)
of B-ALL and 80% (12/15) of T-ALL by NGS after chemotherapy, which was
higher than those detected by MFC and RQ-PCR. In B-ALL patients, MRD
results detected by NGS were consistent with MFC(r = 0.708, p
< 0.001)and RQ-PCR(r = 0.618, p < 0.001). At the
end of induction, NGS-MRD of 40.4% B-ALL was >0.01% and
multivariate analysis indicated that ≧2 clonal rearrangement sequences
before treatment were an independent factor of negative NGS-MRD.
Conclusions: NGS is more sensitive than MFC and RQ-PCR for MRD
measurement. B-ALL children with ≧2 clonal rearrangements detected by
NGS before treatment are difficult to switch to negative MRD after
chemotherapy.