Aberrant CD7 antigen expression as a prognostic factor for remission achievement in adult de novo acute myeloid leukemia patients treated with 3 + 7 regimen

BACKGROUND: Aberrant expression of cluster of differentiation 7 (CD7) antigen has emerged as a potential prognostic factor in adult de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients treated with the 3 + 7 regimen. Understanding the significance of CD7 expression in predicting remission achievement and treatment outcomes is crucial for developing personalized therapeutic strategies in AML. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to investigate the prognostic impact of CD7 antigen expression on remission achievement and overall survival (OS) in adult de novo AML patients receiving the 3 + 7 chemotherapy regimen. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included 37 adult de novo AML patients treated with the standard 3 + 7 induction regimen (3 days of daunorubicin plus 7 days of cytarabine). CD7 antigen expression was evaluated using multicolor flow cytometry. Patients were categorized into CD7-positive and CD7-negative groups. Clinical and laboratory parameters, including remission status at day 28 and OS duration, were collected and statistically analyzed to determine the association between CD7 expression and treatment outcomes. RESULTS: CD7 positivity was significantly associated with lower remission rates, with only 27.8% of CD7-positive patients achieving complete remission, compared to 68.4% of CD7-negative patients ( P = 0.01). In addition, CD7-positive patients had a significantly shorter mean OS of 2.6 months, whereas CD7-negative patients had a mean survival of 4.6 months ( P = 0.03). CONCLUSION: CD7 antigen expression in de novo AML is significantly associated with reduced remission rates and shorter survival, suggesting its potential role as a prognostic biomarker. Assessing CD7 expression at diagnosis may help stratify patients and guide individualized therapeutic strategies in AML.