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BMC Cancer
Published in: BMC Cancer 1/2017

Open Access 01-12-2017 | Research article

Upregulation of the proto-oncogene Bmi-1 predicts a poor prognosis in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Authors: Hong-Xia Peng, Xiao-Dan Liu, Zi-Yan Luo, Xiao-Hong Zhang, Xue-Qun Luo, Xiao Chen, Hua Jiang, Ling Xu

Published in: BMC Cancer | Issue 1/2017

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Abstract

Background

Bmi-1, the B cell-specific moloney murine leukemia virus insertion site 1, is a member of the Polycomb-group (PcG) family and acts as an oncogene in various tumors; however, its expression related to the prognosis of pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has not been well studied.

Methods

The Bmi-1 expression levels in the bone marrow of 104 pediatric ALL patients and 18 normal control subjects were determined by using qRT-PCR. The association between the Bmi-1 expression and the clinicopathological characteristics of pediatric ALL patients was analyzed, and the correlation between Bmi-1 and the prognosis of pediatric ALL was calculated according to the Kaplan–Meier method. Furthermore, the association between Bmi-1 expression and its transcriptional regulator Sall4 was investigated.

Results

Compared to normal control subjects, patients with primary pediatric ALL exhibited upregulated levels of Bmi-1. However, these levels were sharply decreased in patients who achieved complete remission. A significant positive association between elevated Bmi-1 levels and a poor response to prednisone as well as an increased clinical risk was observed. Patients who overexpressed Bmi-1 at the time of diagnosis had a lower relapse-free survival (RFS) rate (75.8%), whereas patients with lower Bmi-1 expression had an RFS of 94.1%. Furthermore, in ALL patients, the mRNA expression of Bmi-1 was positively correlated to the mRNA expression of Sall4a.

Conclusions

Taken together, these data suggest that Bmi-1 could serve as a novel prognostic biomarker in pediatric primary ALL and may be partially regulated by Sall4a. Our study also showed that Bmi-1 could serve as a new therapeutic target for the treatment of pediatric ALL.
Appendix
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Metadata
Title
Upregulation of the proto-oncogene Bmi-1 predicts a poor prognosis in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Authors
Hong-Xia Peng
Xiao-Dan Liu
Zi-Yan Luo
Xiao-Hong Zhang
Xue-Qun Luo
Xiao Chen
Hua Jiang
Ling Xu
Publication date
01-12-2017
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Cancer / Issue 1/2017
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2407
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-017-3049-3

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