CD33_PGx6_Score Predicts Gemtuzumab Ozogamicin Response in Childhood Acute Myeloid Leukemia: A Report From the Children's Oncology Group

Purpose: The US Food and Drug Administration recently announced reapproval of gemtuzumab ozogamicin (GO) for treatment of CD33-positive acute myeloid leukemia (AML), thus opening up opportunities to develop strategies for effective use of GO. In light of our recent report showing prognostic significance of splicing single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), the objective of this study was to comprehensively evaluate SNPs for accurate prediction of patients with AML who are more or less likely to respond to GO.

Patients And Methods: We investigated the five new SNPs (rs2455069, rs35112940, rs61736475, rs1803254, and rs201074739) for association with CD33 leukemic cell surface expression and clinical response in pediatric patients with AML enrolled in the Children's Oncology Group AAML0531 trial. We further developed a composite CD33 pharmacogenetics (PGx) score using six SNPs (CD33_PGx6_score) for association with clinical outcome.

Results: Four SNPs were associated with cell surface CD33 levels and clinical response in the GO versus no-GO arms. Therefore, the CD33_PGx6_score was built using directional genotype scores for the previously reported splicing SNP and five new SNPs. Patients with a CD33_PGx6_score of 0 or higher had higher CD33 expression levels compared with patients with a score of less than 0 ( < .001). In addition, patients with a score of 0 or higher demonstrated an improved disease-free survival in the GO versus no-GO arms (62.5% ± 7.8% 46.8% ± 8.3%, respectively; = .008) and a reduced risk of relapse (28.3% ± 7.2% 49.9% ± 8.4%, respectively; < .001). No improvement from GO was observed in patients with a CD33-PGx6_score of less than 0. Consistent results were observed across the risk groups.

Conclusion: In this study, we report a composite CD33_PGx6_score using directional genotype scores of SNPs. Once validated, our findings hold promise for use of the CD33_PGx6_score to guide efficient use of GO in patients with AML. In addition, because the CD33_PGx6_score considers SNPs with varying abundance in different ethnic groups, it has potential for global application.