Expression of immune check point gene TIM-3 in patients newly diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia: Significance and impact on outcome

Despite recent advancements in the therapeutic landscape of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the prognosis of patients remains poor. Immune check point inhibitors have been investigated in hematological malignancies, including AML; however, the role of T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 (TIM-3) in AML has not yet been fully elucidated. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate TIM-3 gene expression in patients with AML and determine its associations with prognostic variables and clinical outcome. A total of 60 patients newly diagnosed with AML and 15 healthy matching individuals were recruited in the present study, and reverse transcription-quantitative PCR analysis was performed to detect TIM-3 expression. The results demonstrated that TIM-3 expression was significantly upregulated in patients with AML compared with that in healthy individuals (P<0.001). In addition, patients with extramedullary disease (EMD) exhibited significantly lower median TIM-3 expression levels compared with those without EMD (P=0.001). Furthermore, patients with high TIM-3 expression had significantly lower complete remission rates following induction chemotherapy compared with those with low TIM-3 expression (P=0.004). High TIM-3 expression was significantly associated with lower overall survival rates during the 1-year follow-up (P=0.001). Taken together, the results of the present study suggest that TIM-3 may act as a biomarker of a poor prognosis in patients with AML, and be used as a therapeutic target.