The clinicopathologic significance of lymphocyte subsets in acute myeloid leukemia.

INTRODUCTION: While the role of the immune system in altering and modulating the progression of solid tumors is well studied, the impact of the immune system on the outcome and progression of hematolymphoid neoplasms is still poorly understood.

METHODS: Here, we report a retrospective study detailing our analysis of 130 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), with flow cytometry immunophenotypic evaluation of major lymphocyte subsets including B cells, T cells, and NK cells.

RESULTS: Our study identifies differential signatures of lymphocyte subsets pertaining to distinct subcategories of AML, and prognostic correlations in patients. In multivariate analysis, NK cells (specifically CD56+/CD16+ NK cells at a cutoff of ≥5%) were found to be an independent indicator of improved overall and disease-free survival; cytogenetic risk was also shown to be critical in stratifying patients with AML.

CONCLUSIONS: In total, we demonstrate that in AML, the subset distribution of immune system lymphocytes is nonrandom, and suggest an important role for distinct lymphocyte subsets, particularly NK cells, in this disease.