Prognostic Value of CD11b Expression Level for Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients: A Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: Study results on the prognostic value of CD11b for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients are inconsistent. An up-to-date meta-analysis was conducted to assess the prognostic value of CD11b expression level for AML patients. METHODS: Electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and Chinese BioMedical Literature Database (CBM) were searched to identify studies that investigated the association between CD11b expression level and prognosis of AML patients. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) and pooled odds ratio (OR) with 95% CI for complete remission rate (CRR) were calculated using Revman 5.3 and Stata 11.0. RESULTS: 13 total studies with 2619 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Results of the meta-analysis showed that CD11b positivity was associated with lower CRR (OR = 0.44; 95% CI, 0.25–0.79; p = 0.006) and shorter OS (HR = 0.66; 95% CI, 0.55–0.80; p < 0.0001), but did not affect DFS (HR = 0.67; 95% CI, 0.31–1.48; p = 0.32). Subgroup analysis by ethnicity, cut-off value for CD11b positivity, treatment, subtype and sample preparation method showed no significant interaction between these factors with the prognostic value of CD11b expression level for AML patients. Sensitivity analysis yielded consistent results with the main meta-analysis. CONCLUSION: CD11b positivity could predict a poor prognosis for AML patients. Thus, CD11b expression level might be considered a prognostic biomarker for AML patients.