Biomarkers in Young Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Stat3 Signaling Pathway Aberrancies in Pediatric AML

RATIONALE: Studying samples of tissue from patients with cancer in the laboratory may help doctors learn more about biomarkers related to cancer.

PURPOSE: This research study is studying biomarkers in tissue samples from young patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

OBJECTIVES:

• Determine the frequency of ligand-independent phosphorylation of Stat3 in a small cohort of samples from pediatric patients with acute myeloid leukemia including, but not limited to, samples known to express mutated c-kit.
• Measure the level of Stat3 phosphorylation in these samples after stimulation of three key cytokine receptors expressed on hematopoietic cells IL-6R, G-CSFR, and c-kit.

OUTLINE: Cryopreserved samples are analyzed for levels of various components of the Stat3 pathway via western blotting.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia

• One of the following karyotypes:

  • t(8;21) and WT c-kit
  • t(8;21) and mutant c-kit
  • Normal karyotype

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• Not specified

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• Not specified