High expression of GTPase regulator associated with the focal adhesion kinase (GRAF) is a favorable prognostic factor in acute myeloid leukemia

Background: GRAF is a recognized tumor suppressor gene that was found inactivated in AML. However, the prognostic role of a GRAF transcript has not been studied in patients with AML. Methods: In this study, we investigated the expression of the GRAF transcript by real time quantitative PCR in 60 AML patients and 30 healthy age and sex matched controls. Results: GRAF expression was significantly lower in patients with AML when compared to controls (P = 0.008). There were no significant differences in clinical features, FAB subtypes and cytogenetic risk subgroups between patients with high and low GRAF expression levels. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with high GRAF expression had longer overall survival (OS). Multivariate analysis revealed that, besides WBC count, GRAF expression was also an independent prognostic factor for AML. Conclusion: We provide evidence that high GRAF expression is a favorable prognostic marker in patients with AML. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.