Immuno-phenotypes and prognosis of acute leukemia in elderly patients

Objective: This study is to provide reliable experimental treatment options for the diagnosis of acute leukemia, prognosis analysis and the detection of minimal residual disease. We observed the bone marrow CD123/CD117/CD34/HLA-DR antigen expression in 64 elderly patients with acute leukemia (AL). Methods: The immune phenotypes of 64 elderly AL patients were detected and the correlations of CD123, HLA-DR, CD34 and CD117 expression with the leukemia cell morphology were analyzed. The cell genetics, molecular biology and the prognostic stratification were compared based on flow cytometry. Results: In CDl23-positive patients, the complete remission (CR) rate was 21.5%. In CDl23-negative patients, the CR rate was 59.1%. The CR rate was 21.9% in HLA-DR-positive patients and 43.8% in HLA-DR-negative patients. The CR rate was 24.0% in CD34-positive patients and 41.1% in CD34-negative patients. The CR rate was 29.0% in CD117-positive patients and 42.3% in CD117-negative patients. The CR rate was 34.4% in CD38-positive patients and 0.00% in CD38-negative patients. Conclusions: These results suggest that CD123+, CD117+, CD34+, and HLA-DR+ are the factors related with the poor prognosis of elderly patients with acute leukemia.