Let-7a-3 transcribes the miRNA let-7a, of which the expression is dysregulated in cancer. We evaluated the significance of let-7a-3 gene methylation in patients with de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Let-7a-3 was methylated in 81.1% (73/90), partially methylated in 12.2% (11/90), or unmethylated in 6.7% (6/90) of patients. Let-7a-3 methylation correlated with AML karyotyping and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein α (CEBPA) methylation. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis predicted that let-7a-3 hypermethylation correlated with better survival in AML with hypomethylated CEBPA or with hypomethylated CEBPA without the favorable karyotype. We conclude that let-7a-3 methylation is a positive prognosticator for AML patients with hypomethylated CEBPA.
Keywords: Acute myeloid leukemia; CCAAT/enhancer binding protein α; DNA methylation; miRNA let-7a-3.
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