Effect of metformin on the survival of patients with ALL who express high levels of the ABCB1 drug resistance gene

Abstract Background In acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), high ABCB1 gene expression has been associated with treatment resistance, which affects patient prognosis. Many preclinical reports and retrospective population studies have shown an anti-cancer effect of metformin. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the effect of metformin on the treatment regimen in patients with ALL who exhibited high levels of ABCB1 gene expression and to determine its impact on overall survival. Methods A total of 102 patients with ALL were recruited; one group (n = 26) received metformin, and the other received chemotherapy (n = 76). Measurement of ABCB1 transcript expression was performed using qRT-PCR prior to treatment initiation. Survival analysis was performed using Kaplan–Meier curves. The impact of both the type of treatment and the level of expression on the response (remission or relapse) was analyzed by calculating the odds ratio. Results The survival of patients with high ABCB1 expression was lower than those with low or absent ABCB1 gene expression (p = 0.030). In the individual analysis, we identified a benefit to adding metformin in the group of patients with high ABCB1 gene expression (p = 0.025). In the metformin user group, the drug acted as a protective factor against both therapeutic failure (odds ratio [OR] 0.07, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.0037–1.53) and early relapse (OR 0.05, 95% CI 0.0028–1.153). Conclusion The combined use of metformin with chemotherapy is effective in patients with elevated levels of ABCB1 gene expression. Trial registration NCT 03118128: NC

Frequency and clinical association of NY-ESO-1 gene expression in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Objective: Our objective was to evaluate the frequency of expression and determine the expression levels of the NY-ESO-1 gene in patients with DLBCL as well as to examine its relationship with clinical parameters and survival. Methods: We analyzed NY-ESO-1 gene expression levels using real-time quantitative RT-PCR (RT-qPCR) in 112 patients with DLBCL. The associations between the expression of the NY-ESO-1 gene and the clinical variables were evaluated using the Chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test. Overall survival (OS) was determined using the Kaplan–Meier method. Result: The results showed that the NY-ESO-1 gene was expressed in 46.4% (52/112) of patients with DLBCL, and NY-ESO-1 gene expression was associated with clinical parameters such as LDH, clinical stage, and International Prognostic Index (IPI) (p ≤ 0.05). High levels of NY-ESO-1 gene expression were associated with advanced disease stages, and the survival rates after 5.3 years of tracking were lower in the patients expressing the NY-ESO-1 gene (66.4%) than in those not expressing the gene (23.1%). Conclusion: The expression levels of the NY-ESO-1 gene in patients with DLBCL may be of great utility for diagnosing and determining the prognosis of this disease