A high serum uric acid level is associated with poor prognosis in patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

Uric acid in serum (S-UA) is produced by the breakdown of the cellular nucleic acids of leukemia cells, and may be a marker of disease aggressiveness. S-UA levels were examined for association with clinical outcomes in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Fifty-six patients with AML admitted to our Institution were evaluated retrospectively. The median S-UA level at diagnosis was 5.0 mg/dl (range 2-13.8 mg/dl). The S-UA levels did not correlate with peripheral lactate dehydrogenase, peripheral white blood cell counts, or peripheral blast counts, and were not proportional to bone marrow blast counts or marrow cellularity. The S-UA levels in the patients who achieved complete remission were slightly lower than those in those who did not. S-UA levels less than, or equal to the median (5.0 mg/dl) were significantly associated with better prognoses, compared with S-UA levels greater than 5.0 mg/dl. Thus, the S-UA level may predict the prognosis of AML, and is a versatile and cost-effective test for such a purpose.