Constitutive phosphorylation of FKHR transcription factor as a prognostic variable in acute myeloid leukemia

Abstract

The transcription factor FKHR, which is controlled by Akt–PKB signaling, is involved in regulating cell cycle progression and cell death. In this study, the phosphorylation of FKHR was observed in 45 (73.8%) of 61 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The phosphorylation of Akt–PKB was found to be significantly associated with phospho-FKHR (P<0.001). Patients with phospho-FKHR had a significantly shorter overall survival than those without (P<0.05). In conclusion, the constitutive phosphorylation of FKHR was observed in the majority of AML, and the detection of phospho-FKHR might provide a new tool for identifying AML patients with an unfavorable outcome.