Association between (GT)n Repeats in Heme Oxygenase-1 Gene Promoter and 3-Year Survival of Patients with Acute Leukemia: A Controlled, Cross-Sectional Study

Acute leukemia is a common pediatric cancer. Novel strategies for treatment of acute leukemia have been developed, but treatment resistance has remained as the most problematic issue. It is hypothesized that the HO-1 gene up-regulation is responsible for tumor resistance to chemotherapy or radiotherapy-induced apoptosis. HO-1 expression levels have been related to (GT)n microsatellite polymorphisms in the location of its promoter.This study designed to compare allelic frequencies of (GT)n microsatellite polymorphisms in HO-1 gene between acute leukemia patients and healthy controls. Indeed, 3-year disease-free survival was also evaluated.
The study included 63 acute leukemia patients and 70 healthy infants. We used patient’s medical records to collect data regarding the post-chemotherapy survival. The number of GT repeats in HO-1 promoter was determined by an ABI 3100 sequencer.
The HO-1 GT repeats ranged from 14 to 34 with peaks at 27 repeats in both cases and controls. Children with longer alleles ((GT)n ≥ 27) had enhanced 3-year survival rate after treatment with chemotherapy or radiotherapy (P Although no significant differences were observed between leukemia patients and controls regarding allelic frequency, we found elevated frequency of “LL” genotype in leukemia patients with good 3-year surveillance. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy might elevate the expression levels of HO-1 with subsequent increased resistance of leukemia patients to therapy.