Trial Information

A Study of the Relationship Between Natural Killer Cell Recognition and Lysis of Autologous Leukemic Blasts and Clinical Outcome of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients Treated With Interleukin-2: A CALGB Leukemia Tissue Bank Project

OBJECTIVES:

- Correlate the in vitro lysis of autologous pre-treatment leukemic blast cells by
interleukin-2 (IL-2)-expanded natural killer (NK) cells with relapse-free survival of
patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who were treated with interleukin-2 (IL-2).

- Correlate the expression of inhibitory (MHC class I) and activating ligands on AML
blast cells with relapse-free survival of these patients.

- Correlate the expression of activating and inhibitory NK receptors on IL-2-expanded
cells with relapse-free survival of these patients.

- Compare the susceptibility to autologous NK cell lysis of leukemic blasts obtained at
diagnosis with those blasts obtained at relapse of these patients.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to age (< 60 vs ≥ 60
years) and cytogenetic risk category (favorable vs average vs poor).

Previously banked tissue samples of leukemic blast cells from bone marrow and natural killer
(NK) cells from peripheral blood mononuclear cells are thawed and analyzed. Surface
expression on leukemic blasts of co-stimulatory molecules, known activating NKG2D ligands,
and MHC class I inhibitory ligands to NK cell receptors are quantified by monoclonal
antibody analysis and flow cytometry. Mean cell fluorescence intensity (MCFI) of each ligand
is correlated with relapse-free survival of the patients.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 451 patients will be accrued for this study.