Gene Expression Pattern of ESPL1 , PTTG1 and PTTG1IP Can Potentially Predict Response to TKI First-Line Treatment of Patients with Newly Diagnosed CML

The achievement of major molecular response (MMR, ≤ 0.1% IS) within the first year of treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) is a milestone in the therapeutic management of patients with newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). We analyzed the predictive value of gene expression levels of /Separase, /Securin and /Securin interacting protein for MMR achievement within 12 months. Relative expression levels (normalized to ) of , and in white blood cells of patients (responders = 46, non-responders = 51) at the time of diagnosis were comparatively analyzed by qRT-PCR. 3D scatter plot analysis combined with a distance analysis performed with respect to a commonly calculated centroid center resulted in a trend to larger distances for non-responders compared to the responder cohort ( 0.0187). Logistic regression and analysis of maximum likelihood estimates revealed a positive correlation of distance (cut-off) with non-achieving MMR within 12 months ( 0.0388, odds ratio 1.479, 95%CI: 1.020 to 2.143). Thus, 10% of the tested non-responders (cut-off ≥ 5.9) could have been predicted already at the time of diagnosis. Future scoring of , and transcript levels may be a helpful tool in risk stratification of CML patients before initiation of TKI first = line treatment.