Prognostic impact of Annexin A1 expression in acute myeloid leukemia

Objective The aim was to assess expression of Annexin A1 (ANXA1) on malignant myeloid blast cells and its correlation with clinical outcome, overall survival (OS), and other prognostic factors among adult Egyptian patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Patients and methods A total of 60 patients with de novo AML were treated and followed up in Ain Shams University Hospitals, Hematology Unit and compared with 20 age-matched and sex-matched normal healthy controls. Expression of ANXA1 was detected by flow cytometry in bone marrow samples. Results Patients with AML had significant higher mean ANXA1 expression than mean ANXA1 expression in control at D0. The mean ANXA1 level in the favorable cytogenetics group was significantly higher than the mean ANXA1 level in the unfavorable cytogenetics group. ANXA1 was positive in 76.7% patients with AML and negative in 23.3% patients with AML. There was a significant difference between ANXA1-positive group and ANXA1-negative group of patients with AML regarding different outcomes. In ANXA1-positive group, 52.2% of patients with AML achieved complete remission (CR), whereas in ANXA1-negative group, 14.3% of patients with AML achieved CR. Highest mean ANXA1 expression was in the group of patients who had CR. High ANXA1 expression was associated with longer OS. Conclusion ANXA1 is significantly expressed in Egyptian patients with de novo AML, and its expression associated with favorable prognostic effect on clinical outcome and longer OS.