The Prognostic Significance of the CD34 Antigen in Acute Myeloid Leukaemia

Abstract

The prognostic value of CD34 expression on leukaemic blast cells was assessed in 38 patients with acute myeloid leukaemia. Nineteen patients had more than 10% CD34 positive blast cells. Median survival for the CD34 positive patients was 125 days and for the CD34 negative patients the median survival has not yet been reached at day 575 (p = 0.06). Of those patients who received intensive chemotherapy, CD34 positive patients (n = 13) had a median survival of 150 days while for CD34 negative patients (n = 14) the median survival has not yet been reached (p = 0.01). Adjustment for age and pre-existing myelodysplastic syndrome did not affect the correlation of CD34 positivity with survival (p = 0.02). Over the period of observation (median 10 months, range 2-19 months) the relative risk of death was 5 times greater for the CD34 positive patients.

This study suggests that CD34 expression is an adverse prognostic marker, independent of age and pre-existing myelodysplasia.

Key Words:

• CD34 antigen
• immunophenotyping
• cell marker studies
• acute myeloid leukaemia