Prognostic value of renin gene expression in acute myeloid leukemia

Aims To evaluate the renin gene (RG) expression pattern in newly diagnosed patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), aiming to figure out its prognostic value in correlation with clinical characteristics and outcomes of the chemotherapy course. Settings and design This study was clinical trial performed in the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Cairo University. Patients and methods We investigated the expression of the RG in 90 patients with AML using real-time PCR. Levels of RG were correlated with the different patients’ characteristics and outcomes of chemotherapy. Statistical analysis used χ2 test and Student t test were used to compare between RG positive and negative groups. SPSS software was used to perform the statistical analysis. Results RG presented in 90 (72%) patients with AML. Both renin positive and negative populations showed no statistically significant difference, regarding all clinical parameters evaluated and the prognostic outcomes. Positive gene patients were associated with nonsignificantly lower percentages of bone marrow and peripheral blood blasts (P=0.534 and 0.074, respectively). In addition, they showed nonsignificant difference regarding the incidence of all types of cytogenetics (P=0.467) and the same results for Flt3 gene expression (P=0.751). Moreover, they showed nonsignificant difference regarding complete response rates, relapse rates, and survival rates (P=0.473, 0.636, and 0.152, respectively). Conclusion RG expression has no significant role in determining the prognosis of patients with AML. This includes different prognostic outcomes, including response to treatment, survival rates, relapses, and disease-free periods.