Independent effect of day 29 MRD and that of initial white blood cell count on the outcome of patients. The 5 y CCR rate for MRD negative patients with WBC<100,000/µl was 79.7±4.8%, while those who were MRD positive with a WBC≥100,000/µl was 27.7±11.8%. Patients with <100,000 WBC/µl who were MRD positive, or those with WBC≥100,000/ul and MRD negative had intermediate outcomes with 42.7±9.3% and 58.4±8.2% 5 y CCR respectively (p<0.0001). In subset analyses, elevated WBC was associated with significantly worse outcome in both the MRD negative (p=0.0049) and MRD positive patients (p=0.0063). Similarly, MRD positivity was associated with significantly worse outcome in both the lower (p<0.0001) and higher (p=0.027) WBC patients.