Assessment of serum interleukin-15 in adult acute leukemia patients (Egyptian sample)

Abstract

Background Interleukin 15 (IL-15), proinflammatory cytokine, regulates immune system functions and controls hematopoietic cell differentiation. It promotes leukemia development through enhancing survival, proliferation, and differentiation of leukemic precursors. Aim The aim was to assess the expression of IL-15 level in adult Egyptian acute leukemia patients, its correlation with disease-free survival, overall survival and relapse rate, and its possible correlation with other prognostic parameters. Patients and methods Serum IL-15 was measured using ELISA in 30 newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients, 30 newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients, and 30 healthy controls recruited from Ain Shams University Hospital from 2017 to 2018. Results In ALL patients IL-15 was higher in patients compared with the control. IL-15 was higher in patients with non-high-risk cytogenetics compared with those with high-risk cytogenetics. Patients with high IL-15 who achieved first complete response (CR) were less than those with low/average IL-15. Patients with high IL-15 who achieved minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity were less than those with low/average IL-15. Patients with high IL-15 had shorter survival compared with those with low/average IL-15 level. Optimal cutoff value for IL-15 in predicting patient survival in ALL patients was 200 ng/l. In AML patients: IL-15 was higher in patients compared with the control. IL-15 was higher in patients with high-risk features compared with those without. Patients with high IL-15 achieved first CR less than those with average IL-15. Patients with high IL-15 achieved MRD negativity less than those with average IL-15. Patients with high IL-15 had shorter survival compared with those with low/average IL-15. Optimal cutoff value for IL-15 in predicting patient survival in AML patients was 190 ng/l. IL-15 has negative correlation with death date in AML patients. Conclusion IL-15 is a useful poor prognostic marker in newly diagnosed acute leukemia patients’ also it can be used as a predictor for CR, MRD, and survival.