BAX/BCL2 RMFI ratio predicts better induction response in pediatric patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

BAX/BCL2 ratio in pediatric AML has not been evaluated. In this first prospective study, we evaluated BAX/BCL2 transcript and RMFI ratio in 64 patients using real-time PCR (TaqMan Probe chemistry) and flow-cytometry, respectively. There was no correlation of BAX/BCL2 transcript ratio with RMFI ratio (R = -0.05; P = 0.715). Patients with WBC count >50,000/mm(3) had lower BAX/BCL2 RMFI ratio (P = 0.043), whereas no difference in ratio was observed among patients of different cytogenetics subgroups (P = 0.786). Higher BAX/BCL2 RMFI ratio was associated positively with CR rate (P = 0.03), but this study was unable to show that it translated into improved EFS or OS.