Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is a hematopoietic stem cell disease. IL-6 and IL-10 play critical roles in AML pathogenesis; IL-6 regulates hematopoiesis and leukemic blast formation, and IL-10 inhibits pro-inflammatory responses in leukemic cells.

OBJECTIVE:

To evaluate IL-6 and IL-10 levels in AML patients and assess their correlation with clinical and laboratory parameters.

METHOD:

A case-control study, conducted in Nineveh Province from January to October 2024, included 30 newly diagnosed AML patients and 30 healthy controls. Hematological and biochemical tests, including Complete Blood Count, bone marrow aspirate, flow cytometry, and serum IL-6 and IL-10 levels (measured by ELISA), performed at diagnosis and post-induction chemotherapy and compared to the control group.

RESULT:

The mean age of AML patients was 37.8±21.5 years and controls were 36.8±22.1 years, with male-to-female ratio of 1:1.50. At diagnosis, IL-6 and IL-10 levels were significantly higher in AML patients than controls (p=0.000). IL-6 was negatively correlated with hemoglobin (p=0.002) and platelets (p=0.021) and positively correlated with bone marrow blasts (p=0.035).IL-10 levels negatively correlated with hemoglobin (p=0.022) and platelets (p=0.040). Post-induction, hemoglobin and bone marrow blast percentage significantly improved. IL-6 and IL-10 levels decreased but remained high compared to controls. Post-induction IL-6 and IL-10 did not correlated with hematological parameters. Pre-and post-induction comparisons showed significant increases in hemoglobin and decreases in bone marrow blasts (p=0.000). IL-6 and IL-10 levels were lower in remission than in relapsed cases (p=0.000).

CONCLUSION:

IL-6 and IL-10 levels were significantly higher in AML patients than controls, correlating with hemoglobin, platelets, and bone marrow blasts at diagnosis and post-induction. Both cytokines decreased after induction but remained elevated in relapsed cases, suggesting they could be useful biomarkers for monitoring AML therapy and progression.