Effect of Chemotherapy on CXCL1 and CXCL10 Levels in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients with M4/M5 Subtype

Background and objectives: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous malignancy caused by various pathological mechanisms. Chemokines are involved in the initiation, progression, migration, survival, treatment and complications of AML. CXCL1 has an indirect effect on the progression of cancer and CXCL10 produced by leukemia cells attracts natural killer cells toward tumor sites to eradicate cancer cells. The present study investigated effects of chemotherapy on serum levels of CXCL1 and CXCL10 in patients with AML. Methods: Throughout this case-control study, blood samples were collected from AML patients with M4/M5 subtype (n=25) before and after the first stage of a chemotherapy regimen (7+3). Serum levels of the chemokines were determined using commercial ELISA kits. Data were analyzed using two-sample and paired T-test in SPSS 22 software. Results: The level of CXCL10 was high in patients but decreased following chemotherapy. After the chemotherapy the patients attained partial remission. However, the level of CXCL1 did not change in the patients. Conclusion: Although chemotherapy could decrease CXCL10 levels and induce partial remission, CXCL1 levels does not change in AML patients with M4/M5 subtype. Based on the results, the employment of CXCL1 and CXCL10 inhibitors in the chemotherapy regimen could prevent relapse in the later stages or even reduce the duration of treatment.