Expressions of CD34 and CD38 antigens in leukemia cells of patients with acute myeloid leukemia and their clinical significances

Objective To investigate the expressions of CD34 and CD38antigens in the leukemia cells in the patients with firstly-diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia(AML)and their relationships with the prognosis,and to explore the role of the expressions of CD34 and CD38antigens in predicting the prognosis of the AML patients.Methods The expressions of CD34 and CD38antigens in the leukemia cells in 94 cases of AML patients were detected by flow cytometry.36 patients with CD34+CD38-antigen and 58 patients with CD34+CD38+antigen were identified by the expressions of CD38 and treated with IA Regimen.The complete remission rate(CRR),the relapse rate,the median overall survival(OS),the median disease free survival(DFS)and the survival rate of the patients in two groups were compared.Results There was no significant difference of the CRR of the patients between CD34+CD38-and CD34+CD38+groups(77.8%vs 86.2%,P0.05).However,the relapse rate and the 1-year relapse rate of the patients with CD34+CD38-antigen(53.8% and 36.0%)were higher than those of the patients with CD34+CD38+antigen(27.0% and 14.3%)(P0.05).The median OS and median DFS of the patients in CD34+CD38-group(13.60 months and 12.87 months)were shorter than those in CD34+CD38+group(20.33 months and 33.93 months)(P0.05).The 1-year and 2-year survival rates of the patients in CD34+CD38-group(52.8% and 38.9%)were lower than those in CD34+CD38+group(75.9% and 48.3%)(P0.05).Conclusion The expression of CD34+CD38-antigen in the leukemia cells offers a new prognostic factor for the AML patients.The expression of CD34+CD38-antigen predicts a worse prognosis in the AML patients.