A‐kinase interacting protein 1 might serve as a novel biomarker for worse prognosis through the interaction of chemokine (C‐X‐C motif) ligand 1/chemokine (C‐X‐C motif) ligand 2 in acute myeloid leukemia

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to explore the association of A‐kinase interacting protein 1 (AKIP1) with chemokine (C‐X‐C motif) ligand (CXCL) 1/CXCL2, and further investigate their correlation with clinical features and prognosis in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. METHODS: Totally 160 de novo AML patients were recruited, and their bone marrow samples were collected before treatment for detecting the expressions of AKIP1, CXCL1, and CXCL2 by the quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Complete remission (CR) was assessed after induction treatment, and event‐free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated. RESULTS: AKIP1 expression was positively associated with CXCL1 (P < .001) and CXCL2 expression (P < .001). AKIP1 high expression was correlated with FAB classification (P = .022), monosomal karyotype (P = .001), and poor risk stratification (P = .013), while CXCL2 high expression was associated with monosomal karyotype (P = .001). As for treatment response, AKIP1 high expression exhibited a trend to be increased in non‐CR patients compared with CR patients, while without statistical significance (P = .105). However, no correlation of CXCL1 (P = .418) or CXCL2 (P = .685) with CR achievement was observed. Most importantly, AKIP1 and CXCL1 were negatively correlated with accumulating EFS and OS (all P < .05), while CXCL2 only showed a trend to be negatively associated with accumulating EFS (P = .069) and OS (P = .055; but without statistical significance). CONCLUSION: AKIP1 might serve as a novel biomarker for worse AML prognosis through the interaction of CXCL1/CXCL2.