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The activity of six different genes can help determine survival in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to a study published in Science Advances. The findings by researchers at the Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona lay the foundations for new ways of predicting how patients will fare with a type of blood cancer that has widely variable outcomes from one patient to the next.

The team created the scoring system by moving repeatedly between laboratory experiments with mice and patient records, crossing the two to look for genes that behaved consistently in both.

They found six genes that reliably predict patient survival. Some genes (CARMIL1, HOPX and ALDH1A1) were more active in patients with poor outcomes, while others (CALR, STAR and PHF19) were less active.

The collective activity of all six genes, which the researchers call PHFScore, divided patients into groups with sharply different survival prospects.

"PHF19 on its own already tells us something about how patients will fare, but combining it with five other genes is a dramatic improvement which gives us more accurate information for AML prognosis," says ICREA research professor Luciano Di Croce, senior author of the study and researcher at the CRG.

The researchers say the score could contribute to the development of future prognostic tests. Patients suspected of having AML already give a bone marrow sample for laboratory analysis, and measuring six genes is simpler and cheaper than reading a broader genetic profile.

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