Deletion ofIKZF1and Prognosis in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Abstract

Mullighan et al. (Jan. 29 issue)¹ report on the prognostic significance of IKZF1 alterations in pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The authors also find that the gene-expression signature in patients with BCR-ABL–negative ALL, which is associated with a poor outcome (as predicted by IKZF1 alterations), is similar to the gene-expression profile in patients with BCR-ABL–positive ALL. Given that approximately 85% of children with BCR-ABL–positive ALL also have a deletion of IKZF1, ² two questions with potential clinical and prognostic implications come to mind.