Two other mutations – NPM1 and biallelic CEBPA are associated with improved outcomes, especially in people with normal cytogenetics and are used in current risk stratification algorithms.Researchers are investigating the clinical significance of c-KIT mutations in AML. These are prevalent, and potentially clinically relevant because of the availability of tyrosine kinase inhibitors, such as imatinib and sunitinib that can block the activity of c-KIT pharmacologically. It is expected that additional markers (e.g., RUNX1, ASXL1, and TP53) that have consistently been associated with an inferior outcome will soon be included in these recommendations. The prognostic importance of other mutated genes (e.g., DNMT3A, IDH1, IDH2) is less clear. Other prognostic factors
Elevated lactate dehydrogenase level were also associated with poorer outcomes. Use of tobacco is associated with a person having a poorer prognosis, and people who are married and live together have a better prognosis. People who are treated at place with a higher volume of AML have a better prognosis than those who are treated at those in the lowest quartile. As with most forms of cancer, performance status (i.e. the general physical condition and activity level of the person) plays a major role in prognosis as well. Epidemiology
AML is a relatively rare cancer. There were 19,950 new cases in the United States in 2016. In 2018, AML accounted for 1.2% of all cancer deaths in the United States.The incidence of AML increases with age and varies between countries.
Older people whose health is too poor for intensive chemotherapy have a typical survival of five to ten months. It accounts for roughly 1.1% of all cancer cases, and 1.9% of cancer deaths in the United States. Signs and symptoms
Most signs and symptoms of AML are caused by the crowding out in bone marrow of space for normal blood cells to develop. A lack of normal white blood cell production makes people more susceptible to infections. A low red blood cell count (anemia) can cause fatigue, paleness, shortness of breath and palpitations. A lack of platelets can lead to easy bruising, bleeding from the nose (epistaxis), small blood vessels on the skin (petechiae) or gums, or bleeding with minor trauma. Other symptoms may include fever, fatigue worse than what can be attributed to anaemia alone, weight loss and loss of appetite.Enlargement of the spleen may occur in AML, but it is typically mild and asymptomatic. Lymph node swelling is rare in most types of AML, except for acute myelomonocytic leukemia (AMML). The skin can be involved in the form of leukemia cutis; Sweets syndrome; or non-specific findings: flat lesions (macules), raised lesion papules), pyoderma gangrenosum and vasculitis.Some people with AML may experience swelling of the gums because of infiltration of leukemic cells into the gum tissue. Involvement of other parts of the body such as the gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract and other parts is possible but less common.