The Expression and Prognostic Impact of CD95 Death Receptor and CD20, CD34 and CD44 Differentiation Markers in Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Objective: This study investigated the expression and prognostic significance of the CD95 death receptor and CD20, a B cell-lineage associated marker, along with CD34 and CD44 non-lineage associated molecules in Iranian children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).Methods: We performed immunophenotyping for expressions of the molecules in blood samples from children diagnosed with ALL by using a panel of monoclonal antibodies for flow cytometry analysis. The expression of markers was evaluated in relation to clinical and paraclinical features as well as response to treatment in the patients.Findings: CD95 showed a higher expression in T-ALL compared to B-ALL (P<0.001). Analysis of the clinical and laboratory findings at diagnosis in the group of B-ALL patients revealed an association between CD95 expression with lower white blood cell (WBC) numbers and bone marrow blasts (P<0.05). We detected a positive correlation between the expressions of CD95 and CD44 (r=0.445, P<0.01) in B-ALL patients. There was an association between CD20 expression and several poor prognostic factors that included increased extramedullary involvement (EMI) and decreased platelet numbers (P<0.008). The mean expression of CD34 in B-ALL was higher than T-ALL (P=0.004). At follow-up, complete remission duration (CRD) and survival duration did not significantly differ between patients who were positive or negative for each marker.Conclusion: Association of the studied molecules with several prognostic factors implies the significance of CD95 molecule as favorable and CD20 as unfavorable prognostic markers for childhood ALL.