Prognostic value of the FUT family in acute myeloid leukemia

Cancer Gene Ther. 2020 Feb;27(1-2):70-80. doi: 10.1038/s41417-019-0115-9. Epub 2019 Jun 17.

Abstract

Genetic abnormalities are more frequently viewed as prognostic markers in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in recent years. Fucosylation, catalyzed by fucosyltransferases (FUTs), is a post-translational modification that widely exists in cancer cells. However, the expression and clinical implication of the FUT family (FUT1-11) in AML has not been investigated. From the Cancer Genome Atlas database, a total of 155 AML patients with complete clinical characteristics and FUT1-11 expression data were included in our study. In patients who received chemotherapy alone showed that high expression levels of FUT3, FUT6, and FUT7 had adverse effects on event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) (all P < 0.05), whereas high FUT4 expression had favorable effects on EFS and OS (all P < 0.01). However, in the allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) group, we only found a significant difference in EFS between the high and low FUT3 expression subgroups (P = 0.047), while other FUT members had no effect on survival. Multivariate analysis confirmed that high FUT4 expression was an independent favorable prognostic factor for both EFS (HR = 0.423, P = 0.001) and OS (HR = 0.398, P < 0.001), whereas high FUT6 expression was an independent risk factor for both EFS (HR = 1.871, P = 0.017) and OS (HR = 1.729, P = 0.028) in patients who received chemotherapy alone. Moreover, we found that patients with low FUT4 and high FUT6 expressions had the shortest EFS and OS (P < 0.05). Our study suggests that high expressions of FUT3/6/7 predict poor prognosis, high FUT4 expression indicates good prognosis in AML; FUT6 and FUT4 have the best prognosticating profile among them, but their effects could be neutralized by allo-HSCT.

Publication types

  • Observational Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / therapeutic use
  • Bone Marrow / pathology
  • Disease-Free Survival
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Fucosyltransferases / genetics*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Leukemic*
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation*
  • Humans
  • Kaplan-Meier Estimate
  • Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / genetics*
  • Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / mortality
  • Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / pathology
  • Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / therapy
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / epidemiology*
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / genetics
  • Prognosis
  • Risk Factors
  • Transplantation, Homologous
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Fucosyltransferases