Prognostic implication of Ecto-5′-nucleotidase activity in acute lymphoblastic leukemia

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Abstract
Ecto‐5′‐nucleotidase (5′‐N) activity was determined in 191 patients (71 children and 120 adults) with acute leukemia. Elevated values for 5′‐N were registered in common acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), but blast cells of T‐cell ALL (T‐ALL) and common ALL antigen‐negative non‐T‐ALL had low enzyme activity comparable with the values of acute non‐lymphocytic leukemia. Dependence of remission duration on 5′‐N activity was analyzed in 74 adults with ALL, treated similarly in a prospective multicenter trial. The remission curves for ALL patients with 5′‐N activity lower than 10 nmol/h × 106 cells were substantially and significantly better than those of patients with high activity (> 10 nmol/h × 106 cells). This difference was also evident in the immunologic subclass common ALL. Statistical evaluation showed that an interaction between immunologic subtype of the blast cells and their 5′‐N activity had prognostic significance for remission duration. In addition to the independent factor, initial age, this interaction was also prognostic for survival.

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