Clinical characteristics and prognostic significance of DNA methylation regulatory gene mutations in acute myeloid leukemia

BACKGROUND: DNA methylation is a form of epigenetic modification that regulates gene expression. However, there are limited data on the comprehensive analysis of DNA methylation regulated gene mutations (DMRGM) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) mainly referring to DNA methyltransferase 3α (DNMT3A), isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1), isocitrate dehydrogenase 2 (IDH2), and Tet methylcytidine dioxygenase 2 (TET2). RESULTS: A retrospective study of the clinical characteristics and gene mutations in 843 newly diagnosed non-M3 AML patients was conducted between January 2016 and August 2019. 29.7% (250/843) of patients presented with DMRGM. It was characterized by older age, higher white blood cell count, and higher platelet count (P < 0.05). DMRGM frequently coexisted with FLT3-ITD, NPM1, FLT3-TKD, and RUNX1 mutations (P < 0.05). The CR/CRi rate was only 60.3% in DMRGM patients, significantly lower than in non-DMRGM patients (71.0%, P = 0.014). In addition to being associated with poor overall survival (OS), DMRGM was also an independent risk factor for relapse-free survival (RFS) (HR: 1.467, 95% CI: 1.030–2.090, P = 0.034). Furthermore, OS worsened with an increasing burden of DMRGM. Patients with DMRGM may be benefit from hypomethylating drugs, and the unfavorable prognosis of DMRGM can be overcome by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). For external validation, the BeatAML database was downloaded, and a significant association between DMRGM and OS was confirmed (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our study provides an overview of DMRGM in AML patients, which was identified as a risk factor for poor prognosis. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13148-023-01474-0.