ABSTRACT
This study evaluated the serum levels of hepatocyte growth factor [HGF] and analyzed their prognostic significance in patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Enzyme linked immuno-sorbent assay [ELISA] was performed to quantify the HGF in stored samples obtained from 40 patients with acute myeloid leukemia [AML] at diagnosis and reanalysis was performed in those who obtained complete remission [CR]. Real time PCR was earned out on thirteen samples that were selected as having the lowest ELISA readings for HGF after complete remission. We aimed to study the potential role of HGF in prognosis and severity of AML. We investigated the other currently available methods for AML diagnosis including bone marrow morphology, cytochemistry, immunophenotyping and cytogenetics for all patients. Our data showed that the levels of HGF were significantly higher in patients with AML than in healthy individuals [4870.52 +/- 6310.48 Vs 410.2 +/- 185.89 with p<0.001] with a significant reduction of HGF levels after achieving complete remission [341.09 +/- 181.05 with p<0.001]. A significant correlation between HGF level and total leukocytic count [TLC] [p 0.001], bone marrow blasts [p 0.02] and time to complete remission [p 0.03] was found. We found no correlation between TLC and time to complete remission [p 0.32], but there was a poor correlation between bone marrow blast% and time to complete remission [p 0.17]. Only three samples out of the thirteen ones that were subjected to RT-PCR detection of HGF-mRNA showed mRNA down regulation, while the rest of cases did not express HGF mRNA, a finding which supports the assumption that chemotherapy down regulates the expression of HGF rather than its degradation