Non-specific Clones Hamper the Reliability of Ig Light Chain Gene Rearrangements in Next-Generation Sequencing-Based Measurable Residual Disease Monitoring in Pediatric B-Cell ALL: A Single-Center Cohort Study

Key Points

• The study aims to evaluate how non-specific clones affect the reliability of IGK rearrangements in monitoring measurable residual disease (MRD) in pediatric B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL).
• Analyzed IGK rearrangements in pediatric B-ALL using next-generation sequencing (NGS) for MRD monitoring.
• Identified and filtered out non-specific clones to assess their impact on accuracy.
• Conducted the study at a single center with a defined cohort of pediatric patients.
• Non-specific clones were found to significantly reduce the reliability of IGK rearrangements.
• Filtering these clones improved accuracy and reduced false positives.
• The overall reliability of NGS-based MRD monitoring was enhanced with marked reductions in non-specific cloning effects.