High VLA-4 expression is associated with adverse outcome and distinct gene expression changes in childhood B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia at first relapse

Abstract

Our results show that high VLA-4 expression is a marker of poor prognosis and a potential therapeutic target in children with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia and confirm that cellular interactions and biological effects related to VLA-4 play a decisive role in the survival of leukemia cells and response to therapy. (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00114348).