Objective To investigate the correlation of octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (OCT4) expression with clinicopathological features and its predictive value for treatment response as well as survival profiles in de novo acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) patients. Method One hundred fifty-two de novo AML patients and 52 non-hematologic malignancy patients were recruited in this prospective cohort study. OCT4 expression was determined in bone marrow sample collected before treatment. Complete response (CR), event free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) were evaluated. Results Compared with the controls, OCT4 mRNA expression was higher in AML patients (P < .001), and higher OCT4 expression was correlated with presence of complex karyotype (CK) (P = .037), FLT3-ITD mutation (P = .012) and poorer risk stratification (P < .001) in AML patients. As to predictive value, OCT4 mRNA expression was decreased in patients achieved CR compared to non-CR patients (P = .022). Kaplan-Meier (K-M) curves showed that shorter EFS (9.0 (95% CI (7.7-10.3)) months vs. 25.0 (95% CI (17.5-32.5)) months, P < .001) and shorter OS (20.0 (95% CI (17.8-22.2) months vs. 33.0 months, P < .001) were observed in OCT4 mRNA high expression patients compared to OCT4 mRNA low expression patients. Multivariate Cox's proportional hazards regression analyses revealed that OCT4 mRNA high expression was an independent predictive factor for shorter EFS and OS in AML patients. Conclusion OCT4 correlates with presence of CK, FLT3-ITD mutation and poorer risk stratification, and it could be served as a convincing biomarker for predicting unfavourable prognosis in AML patients.
Keywords: Octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (OCT4); acute myeloid leukaemia; biomarker; prognosis.