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Reply to Wheatley and Hills: interpretation of subgroups in the AML-BFM 93 study

Leukemia volume 15, page 1804 (2001)Cite this article

We appreciate the comments from K Wheatley and R Hills. They critize inappropriate reporting and interpretation of subgroups in the AML-BFM 93 study.

In study AML-BFM 93, patients were stratified at diagnosis in standard- and high-risk groups according to FAB morphology.1 Standard-risk patients were upgraded on day 15 to the high-risk group when presenting with a bone marrow blast count above 5% and received equal intensive treatment as high-risk patients defined by morphology. By contrast, the bone marrow count on day 15 in patients with morphological high-risk criteria had no therapeutic consequences. Bone marrow blast count on day 15 was also the target criterion for the randomisation of ADE vs AIE (ADE, cytosine arabinoside, daunorubicin and etoposide; AIE, idarubicin instead of daunorubicin, Ara-C and etoposide as in ADE). Therefore, a separate analysis of the FAB-based risk groups was of special interest and not only one among other subgroup analyses. In that case the criticism of Wheatley and Hills would have been fully justified.

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References

  1. Creutzig I, Zimmermann M, Ritter J, Henze G, Graf N, Löffler H, Schellong G . Definition of a standard-risk group in children with AML Br J Haematol 1999 104: 630–639

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  1. University Children's Hospital Dept of Hematology/Oncology, Münster, Germany

    M Zimmermann & U Creutzig

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  1. M Zimmermann
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  2. U Creutzig
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Zimmermann, M., Creutzig, U. Reply to Wheatley and Hills: interpretation of subgroups in the AML-BFM 93 study. Leukemia 15, 1804 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2402275

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