The role of the primitive marker CD133 in CD34-negative acute myeloid leukemia for the detection of leukemia stem cells.

The most important reason for dismal outcomes in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the development of relapse. Leukemia stem cells (LSCs) are hypothesized to initiate relapse, and high CD34+CD38- LSC load is associated with poor prognosis. In 10% of AML patients, CD34 is not or is low expressed on the leukemic cells (<1%), and CD34+CD38- LSCs are absent.