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Acute Leukemia: From Basic Research to Clinical Application, Second Edition
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Acute Leukemia: From Basic Research to Clinical Application, Second Edition

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Oncology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 May 2026) | Viewed by 2371

Editor

Dr. Luca Lo Nigro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Center of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Azienda Policlinico–San Marco, 95123 Catania, Italy
Interests: acute lymphoblastic leukemia; acute myeloid leukemia; biomarkers; new targets of disease; novel immunotherapy; leukemia stem cell
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Acute leukemia is a significant contributor to human mortality. The scientific community has made significant efforts to understand the molecular basis of this disease to identify specific biomarkers and/or target aberrations for designing tailored treatment. Although the current use of chemotherapy has led to a high rate of survival, in children with cancer, acute leukemias represent the most significant cause of death. In adult settings, despite a high rate of remission at the end of induction therapy, relapse is a major concern in the management of patients with acute leukemia. Thus, it is essential to undertake efforts in translational research, starting with basic science and translating into clinical interventions. Therefore, the main aim of this Special Issue is to reveal the molecular mechanisms of acute leukemia that have clear, future translational impacts on treatment, including novel potential biomarkers and/or targets for tailored treatment.

The International Journal of Molecular Sciences invites both reviews and original articles; please note that pure clinical research or model studies, survey studies, and correlation research are beyond the scope of IJMS. However, clinical and model submissions with biomolecular experiments are welcome.

Dr. Luca Lo Nigro
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)
  • acute myeloid leukemia (AML)
  • genomic findings
  • post-genomic findings
  • targeted therapies
  • immunotherapies
  • novel markers

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (3 papers)

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13 pages, 1647 KB  
Article
Early Peripheral Blood WT1 Expression Predicts Relapse After Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
by Viktor Blaslov, Margareta Radic Antolic, Ivana Horvat, Tamara Vasilj, Zeljko Prka, Antonija Miljak, Davor Galusic, Lucana Vicelic Cutura, Marija Petric, Alen Ostojic, Pavle Roncevic, Iva Ivanko, Ivan Krecak, Goran Rincic, Lana Desnica, Ranka Serventi-Seiwerth, Ante Vulic, Mirta Mikulic, Nadira Durakovic, Radovan Vrhovac and Zinaida Pericadd Show full author list remove Hide full author list
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2026, 27(10), 4367; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27104367 - 14 May 2026
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Abstract
Relapse remains the leading cause of treatment failure after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Early identification of patients at increased post-transplant relapse risk is essential to enable intensified surveillance and pre-emptive therapeutic strategies. Wilms’ tumor 1 ( [...] Read more.
Relapse remains the leading cause of treatment failure after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Early identification of patients at increased post-transplant relapse risk is essential to enable intensified surveillance and pre-emptive therapeutic strategies. Wilms’ tumor 1 (WT1) is overexpressed in most AML cases and represents a broadly applicable molecular marker; however, its utility as a peripheral blood (PB) measurable residual disease (MRD) marker after allo-HSCT remains incompletely defined. In this prospective multicenter cohort study, 43 adults with AML in complete remission underwent allo-HSCT between 2021 and 2023. WT1 expression in PB was quantified using standardized real-time quantitative PCR before transplantation (WT1_pre) and at day +30 (WT1_30). Receiver operating characteristic analysis identified an optimal threshold for relapse prediction. A WT1 cutoff of ≥3 copies/104 ABL discriminated relapse risk. WT1_30 demonstrated strong prognostic performance (AUC 0.79; p = 0.005), whereas WT1_pre showed more modest predictive value (AUC 0.69; p = 0.037). Patients with WT1_30 ≥ 3 had inferior 12-month progression-free survival compared with those with WT1_30 < 3 (52.9% vs. 90.9%, p = 0.0059) and a higher 12-month cumulative incidence of relapse (31% vs. 9%, p = 0.054). WT1_pre ≥ 3 was also associated with inferior progression-free and overall survival (both p = 0.0008). Relapsed patients had significantly higher WT1_30 levels than non-relapsed patients (median 5.0 vs. 2.0 copies/104 ABL; p = 0.018). Peripheral blood WT1 expression, particularly at day +30, is associated with an increased relapse risk after allo-HSCT in AML and may support early post-transplant risk stratification. The identified cutoff should be considered exploratory and requires validation in larger independent cohorts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Acute Leukemia: From Basic Research to Clinical Application, Second Edition)
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22 pages, 6391 KB  
Article
Differential Expression and Target Gene Analysis of PBMC-Derived microRNAs as Prognostic Biomarkers in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
by Fatemah S. Basingab, Hadil Alahdal, Deemah Alwadaani, Ghaida Almuneef, Ahmed S. Barefah, Ali H. Algiraigri, Rawan Hammad, Mohamed Elnakeeb, Jehan S. Alrahimi, Kawther A. Zaher and Alia M. Aldahlawi
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2026, 27(9), 3868; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27093868 - 27 Apr 2026
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Abstract
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a clinically diverse cancer in which microRNA (miRNA)-mediated post-transcriptional regulation contributes to leukemogenesis and subtype heterogeneity. In this study, miRNA expression profiling by microarray was performed on ALL cases (B-ALL and T-ALL) and healthy controls. Data were normalized [...] Read more.
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a clinically diverse cancer in which microRNA (miRNA)-mediated post-transcriptional regulation contributes to leukemogenesis and subtype heterogeneity. In this study, miRNA expression profiling by microarray was performed on ALL cases (B-ALL and T-ALL) and healthy controls. Data were normalized and analyzed for differential expression using false discovery rate (FDR)-adjusted p-values. Differentially expressed miRNAs were further examined using unsupervised visualization to assess overall disease-related expression patterns. To explore their biological significance, experimentally validated miRNA–target interactions were obtained using multiMiR, limited to validated databases (miRTarBase, TarBase, and miRecords) and summarized via target-burden ranking, miRNA–target network analysis, and Circos–style interaction mapping. A unique miRNA expression signature was identified in ALL. Upregulated miRNAs included miR-106a-5p, miR-106b-5p, miR-17-5p, miR-20a-5p, miR-20b-5p, miR-181b-5p, and miR-128-3p, while miR-127-3p, miR-139-5p, miR-433-3p, and miR-584-5p were downregulated. Validated targets concentrated on key leukemia-related genes like PTEN, BCL2L11, CDKN1A, CCND1, RB1, E2F1, and TGFBR2. KEGG pathway analysis highlighted pathways associated with leukemic cell survival and growth, including MAPK, cell cycle, autophagy, Hippo, ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis, and mTOR signaling pathways. These findings reveal a concise ALL-associated miRNA panel predominantly comprising the miR-17/20/106 family and provide a prioritized set of candidate regulatory networks for subtype-specific validation and functional follow-up studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Acute Leukemia: From Basic Research to Clinical Application, Second Edition)
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10 pages, 1453 KB  
Case Report
CD19-Negative Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL): A Case Report and Review of Literature on a Rare Phenomenon De Novo and a Future Induced Struggle in Relapse
by Marta Arrabito, Emanuela Cannata, Piera Samperi, Manuela La Rosa and Luca Lo Nigro
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2026, 27(7), 3203; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27073203 - 1 Apr 2026
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Abstract
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common childhood malignancy, with most cases arising from B-cell precursors expressing the CD19 marker. CD19 negativity in B-lineage ALL (B-ALL) is very rare de novo and poses diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Sometimes, de novo CD19-negative B-ALL [...] Read more.
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common childhood malignancy, with most cases arising from B-cell precursors expressing the CD19 marker. CD19 negativity in B-lineage ALL (B-ALL) is very rare de novo and poses diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Sometimes, de novo CD19-negative B-ALL is associated with hypercalcemia, which is a potentially life-threatening metabolic disorder in children, rarely occurring in cancers. Most often it is reported in solid tumors, and few cases are reported in pediatric acute leukemia. CD19-negative B-ALL relapse is also an increasing dramatic event, secondary to immunotherapy. We describe a ten-month-old infant presenting with hypercalcemia, anemia, and osteolytic bone lesions. Bone marrow analysis revealed CD10-positive and CD19-negative B-ALL. The patient achieved complete remission but later experienced two relapses and died of respiratory failure after a second allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Only nine cases of de novo CD19-negative B-ALL have been reported so far. Many are associated with hypercalcemia and osteolytic lesions. However, here we highlight the clinical impact of the more common secondary form of CD19-negative B-ALL as a relapse of CD19-positive ALL, right after the administration of targeted immunotherapy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Acute Leukemia: From Basic Research to Clinical Application, Second Edition)
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