PREVALENCE OF VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY IN ADULT EGYPTIAN PATIENTS NEWLY DIAGNOSED WITH ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA AND ITS PROGNOSTIC VALUE

Abstract

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a malignancy characterized by infiltration of the bone marrow, blood, and other tissues by proliferative, abnormally differentiated, clonal hematopoietic malignant cells.Vitamin D is a steroid hormone, which is mostly synthesized in the skin following ultraviolet B (UVB) sunlight exposure and to a lesser extent from the diet. Vitamin D plays a central role in maintaining serum calcium and skeletal homeostasis as well as multiple other cellular effects including regulation of differentiation, proliferation, apoptosis, metastatic potential, and angiogenesis.Vitamin D deficiency was defined as a 25(OH)D level of less than 20 ng/ml (seriously deficient). A level of 21-30 ng/ml was considered to indicate a relative insufficiency and a level of 30 ng/ml or more was considered to indicate sufficient vitamin D (adequately supplied).Observational studies have indicated that inadequate 25(OH)D levels are a risk factor for certain types of cancer. Far less is known about the relationship between vitamin D and the risk of hematologic malignancy.AIM:The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in adult Egyptian patients newly diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and its correlation with disease status and prognostic markers.