Expression of programmed death ligand-1 (PDL-1) in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients and its relation to post induction Response

Background and aim: In spite of approval of new therapeutic modalities, the clinical outcome of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains unsatisfactory. Accurate risk stratification of patients is crucial for improving their outcome. Programmed death receptor-ligand 1 (PD-L1) plays an important role in the progression of malignant disorders. So we aimed to analyze PD-L1 expression on AML cells by flow cytometry and its relation to post induction response.
Patients and Methods:
Our study was conducted on fifty three newly diagnosed AML patients presented to pediatric and medical oncology departments in south Egypt cancer institute. Age ranged from 1 year to 74 years old with median age 26 years. Assessment of PD-L1 expression on blasts was performed by flow cytometry and its relation to post induction therapy according based on complete blood counts and BM blast percent .Student t-test and spearman's correlation were used to determine significant relations and correlations. An informed written consent was taken from all cases.
Results:
The study showed PD-L1 mean expression percentage by flow cytometry of 18.69±3.35. PD-L1 expression significantly affected the response to induction therapy so that higher expression was associated with poor response to induction therapy.