The Role of CD133 and CD73 in Childhood B-Cell Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Despite the fact that the prognosis for children with pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has progressed in the past few years, a large number of cases recur, frequently with illness that is refractory to treatment. We aimed to assess the expression of CD133 and CD73 on blasts of childhood Precursor B-lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) as well as their relationship to clinical and pathological features and treatment response. A total of 41 patients and 40 apparently healthy normal participants were involved in this study. Patients were assigned into two groups: Group IA (n= 29 Newly diagnosed B-ALL), Group IB (n=12 Relapsed B-ALL). Flow cytometry was used to assess the expression of CD73 and CD133 on bone marrow B-ALL blasts as a percentage of positive cells expressing the markers. When compared to the control group, the proportion of CD73 and CD133 in Group IA and Group IB was significantly increased. Between Groups IA and IB, there was no significant variation in the proportion of CD73, however there was a substantial rise in the percentage of CD133 in Group IB compared to Group IA. We concluded that CD73 and CD133 could be used for detection of minimal residual disease (MRD) also CD133 expression is substantially linked with increased resistance to therapy, worse results, and a greater recurrence rate.