title: Analysis of hematogones in bone marrow from acute myeloid leukaemia cases posttherapy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Increased bone marrow (BM) hematogones (HGs) are often observed in patients with marrow regenerating status. Many studies have focused on the role of HGs in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), but very little has been done to understand their effects on acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).
  
  
  METHODS
  Through immunophenotyping, HGs were quantified in 471 BM samples from 292 postchemotherapy AML cases. These samples were analysed to determine whether there is any relationship between HGs percentages and French-American-British (FAB) subtypes or risk stratification of AML.
  
  
  RESULTS
  HGs were identified in 57.75% of 471 patient samples (271) with a mean percentage of 3.87 ± 0.25%. No significant differences were found amongst different FAB subtypes of AML (P > 0.05). However, significant differences (P < 0.05) in HG numbers were noted between AML patients experiencing haematological complete remission (HCR) and those who have relapsed. HGs were identified in 59.9% of samples under HCR with a mean per cent of 3.98 ± 0.31%, and 36.7% of individuals who have relapsed have detectable HGs with a mean per cent of 1.75 ± 0.47. In addition, HGs in patients groups with low risk or intermediate risk were elevated when compared with high-risk groups (P < 0.05), whilst no significant difference was found between low-risk patients and intermediate-risk patients (P > 0.05). Patients with >0.1% of HGs had a significantly better median leukaemia-free survival (LFS) and overall survival (OS) than those with <0.1% of HGs (P < 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Therefore, our data indicate that HGs in bone marrow may be used as a favourable prognostic factor that predict for a better outcome of AML patients.
authors.affiliation: Center for stem cell research & application, Institute of Hematology, Union Hospital, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Jine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Junxia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: You
authors.forename: Weiming
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yanli
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Xiaoqing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yaohui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Yanjie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Runming
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: Shiang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012008:Recurrence; D012074:Remission Induction; D018570:Risk Assessment; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Acute myeloid leukaemia; haematological complete remission; hematogones; prognosis; risk stratification