Evaluation of the Diagnostic and Prognostic Value of Syndecan-1 in Acute Leukemia Patients

Syndecan-1 (also known as SDC-1 or CD138) is a transmembrane proteoglycan that is expressed in many hematological and solid tumors and affects the prognosis of those cancers. We conducted this study to investigate the prognostic role of syndecan-1 in acute leukemia. Forty cases of de novo acute leukemia patients, 24 with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and 16 with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), presented at the Oncology Center of Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt, with a follow-up period of 26 months. Syndecan-1 was determined in serum and leukocytes by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results from acute leukemia patients were compared with those of 15 healthy subjects. We observed that soluble syndecan-1 was higher in AML (median, 160.60 ng/ml) compared with ALL (median, 76.10 ng/ml) and healthy controls (median, 30.95 ng/ml). There was a significant correlation between syndecan-1 either in leukocytes or soluble form and response to treatment in patients with AML (p = 0.02 and p = 0.04, respectively), but these correlations were not statistically significant for ALL cases. Finally, there was a significant correlation between the soluble syndecan-1 level and overall survival in AML cases (p = 0.04), but the correlation was not significant for ALL cases. In conclusion, syndecan-1 is a useful biomarker for AML but not for ALL.