[Advance of research on survivin in hematological malignancies--review]

Survivin a novel member of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein family, is overexpressed in most types of cancer but not in normal differentiated adult tissues. Its mRNA expression levels among hematogical malignancies are characteristic in each type, subtype and distinctive in different phases of disease, making it a reliable diagnostic marker for clinical stages. Recently, researches indicate that high levels of survivin expression are associated with a poor prognosis and may be involved in tumor resistance to multiple chemotherapeutic drugs. In addition, experiments demonstrate that leukemic vaccination with DC pulsed with survivin antigen in vitro inhibit the proliferation of leukemic cells. Furthermore, when transferred survivin antisense oligodeoxynucleotide or dominant-negative mutant survivin into, malignant cells can be induced apoptosis mediated by downregulation in survivin expression. These findings suggest that survivin may serve as a potential target for biological strategies against hematological neoplasms. This review focuses on expression of survivin in hematological malignancies, effects of survivin on drug-resistance and prognosis of hematological malignancies, and application of survivin in the treatment of hematological malignancies.