Differential effects of recombinant human thrombopoietin on clinical outcomes in CD7-positive and CD7-negative acute myeloid leukaemia

To investigate the effect of recombinant human thrombopoietin (rhTPO) application on the clinical outcomes of CD7-positive acute myeloid leukaemia (CD7 + AML) patients following chemotherapy, we retrospectively studied 159 newly diagnosed non-M3 AML patients. Patients were divided into the following four groups according to the expression of CD7 in AML blasts and the use of rhTPO after chemotherapy: the CD7 + rhTPO group (n = 41), the CD7 + non-rhTPO group (n = 42), the CD7 negative (CD7-) rhTPO group (n = 37), and the CD7- non-rhTPO group (n = 39). The complete remission rate was higher in the CD7 + rhTPO group than in the CD7 + non-rhTPO group. Importantly, patients in the CD7 + rhTPO group had significantly higher 3-year overall survival (OS) rates and event-free survival (EFS) rates than those in the CD7 + non-rhTPO group, whereas they did not differ statistically between the CD7- rhTPO and CD7- non-rhTPO groups. In addition, multivariate analysis showed that rhTPO was an independent prognostic factor for OS and EFS in CD7 + AML. In conclusion, rhTPO led to better clinical outcomes for patients with CD7 + AML, while it had no significant effect on those with CD7- AML.