Expression of costimulatory molecule B7-H3 and its prognostic implications in human acute leukemia

Objectives: This study focused on the expression pattern and clinical significance of B7-H3 expression in human acute leukemia. Methods: We systematically analyzed 134 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (101 cases) and acute lymphocytic leukemia (33 cases) by flow cytometry. Results: The frequency of B7-H3(+) cases was 44.8% in total. The B7-H3 expression rate differed from 0% to 74.8% in individual cases. The correlation between B7-H3 expression and traditional prognostic factors, such as age and gender, the white blood cell count was not confirmed. However, B7-H3 had a significant higher expression in CD34(+) cases and high risk karyotypes. Conclusions: Owing to the expression of B7-H3 being statistically relevant in predicting disease progression and a shorter life survival, our results demonstrated that B7-H3 expression in acute leukemia predicts an unfavorable outcome.