Immunophenotype signature as a tool to define prognostic subgroups in childhood acute myeloid leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous diseasegroup morphologically classified, based on the French–American–British (FAB) classification, into eight main subgroupsdefined as subtypes M0–M7. Besides morphologic differences,genetic abnormalities have been recognized; cytogenetics andmolecular analyses are currently used to identify subgroups ofAML with different clinical prognosis. However, in spite ofavailable prognostic factors, accurate prediction of risk fortreatment failure or relapse is not completely satisfactory.In order to improve risk assignment and develop new therapeuticstrategies, gene expression profiling and proteomicanalysis seem to offer important improvements in leukemiaclassification.