The Expression Level Of FoxO3a In Acute Myeloid Leukemia And Its Clinical Significance

ObjectiveTo explore the expression and clinical significance of FoxO3a gene in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients.MethodsWestern blot was used to test the expression level of FoxO3a in58de novo AML patients and the clinical features of these patients were analyzed.ResultsFoxO3a protein levels were detectable in bone marrow mononuclear cells from58AML patients and10healthy donors, the mean expression level were0.35(range from0.07to0.81)and0.22(range from0.08to0.41), respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in expression level of FoxO3a between the AML patients and healthy donor(p<0.05). Higher level of FoxO3a was associated with adverse prognosis evidenced by strong correlation with higher WBC count and FLT3-ITD mutation. All5patients with FLT3-ITD mutation were in FoxO3a higher expression group with normal karyotype. In the53treated AML patients, the higher expression level of FoxO3a was associated with lower complete remission rates(45%vs.69%) compared to the lower expression groups.ConclusionsHigher expression level of FoxO3a was seen mostly in AML patients with FLT3-ITD mutation and with lower complete remission rates. FoxO3a might be a prognostic molecular marker in AML patients with normal karyotype.