KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The study aimed to analyze EBP levels in AML and assess its prognostic value using TCGA and clinical data.
- The results showed that high EBP expression in AML is a poor prognostic factor, but transplantation may mitigate its effects.
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a diverse disease, making it essential to identify reliable prognostic markers for accurate prognosis and treatment optimization. Inhibiting emopamil-binding protein (EBP) expression has been shown to induce cancer cell death by depleting downstream sterols. However, comprehensive studies on EBP in AML and other tumors have not yet been conducted.
Jiaying Lian and the team aimed to evaluate EBP expression as a prognostic marker in AML by analyzing TCGA data and quantifying EBP levels in 120 patients with AML.
Survival analyses were conducted using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). EBP levels were measured with real-time qPCR in 120 AML patients, and EBP value was further evaluated using clinical data.
The results showed that patients with high EBP expression had worse overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) compared to those with low EBP expression, both in the TCGA dataset and clinical data.
Additionally, white blood cell (WBC) counts were higher in patients with high EBP expression (P= 0.032). For patients with intermediate-risk AML, elevated EBP expression was associated with worse EFS (P= 0.038).
Multivariate analysis revealed that high EBP expression was an independent prognostic factor, linked to shorter OS and EFS (OS: P= 0.041; EFS: P= 0.017). Moreover, transplantation improved survival in the high-EBP group (OS: P= 0.001; EFS: P= 0.001) and in intermediate-risk AML patients (OS: P= 0.026; EFS: P= 0.026).
The study concluded that high EBP expression in patients with AML is an adverse prognostic factor, but transplantation has the potential to mitigate its negative effects.
Funding was provided by Natural Science Foundation of Ningbo grants, the Basic Public Welfare Research Project of Zhejiang Province, Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang grants and Ningbo Medical & Health Leading Academic Discipline Project (2022-S05), China.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39087796/
Lian J, Zhuang H, Li F, et al. (2024). “High expression of EBP is an adverse prognostic factor for de novo acute myeloid leukemia.” Hematology. 2024;29(1):2381171. doi:10.1080/16078454.2024.2381171
