Multidrug resistant cells with high proliferative capacity determine response to therapy in acute myeloid leukemia

High spontaneous proliferation of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in vitro is an unfavorable, tumor-specific prognostic factor. We investigated the frequency of drug-resistant tumor cells with high proliferating capacity in de novo AML and analyzed the expression of multiple resistance parameters in relation to the response to chemotherapy and overall survival. Thirty-eight patients were included in this study. P-glycoprotein (P-gp) expression was found in 28/38 patients and was associated with lower intracellular accumulation of DNR (P = 0.0001). Thirty-five out of 38 patients were treated with 1-2 regimens of daunorubicin (DNR)/cytarabine (Ara-C), and 57% attained a complete remission (CR). Failure to achieve a CR correlated with autonomous growth (P = 0.0064), CD34 and P-gp expression alone (P = 0.0005 and P = 0.048 respectively), and with simultaneous expression of P-gp and CD34 (P = 0.0001), but not with expression of the non-P-gp drug resistance associated-protein (p110), the multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP), Ara-CTP formation or Ara-C incorporation, respectively. AML cells with CD34/P-gp double expression were more frequently observed in samples with high autonomous growth (P = 0.003). The median survival was 6 months in CD34+/P-gp+ patients as compared with 15 months in other AML patients (P = 0.003). In patients with de novo AML who fail on chemotherapy, a population of autonomously proliferating, immature AML cells with a multidrug resistant phenotype can be recognized. These cells thus show primary resistance to chemotherapy and have the potential for rapid regrowth, leading to resistant disease.