Programmed death‐ligand 1 (PD‐L1) is involved in immunosuppression in variety of tumours. Regulatory B cells (Bregs) are critical immune regulatory cells, and it has been demonstrated that the number of regulatory B cells in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is much higher than that in healthy donors (HDs), which is linked to a poor prognosis. This study aimed to determine whether increased expression of PD‐L1, including in Bregs, is associated with a worse prognosis in individuals with AML. The proportion of Bregs, PD‐L1 expression in Bregs and PD‐1 expression in T cells were determined using flow cytometry using patient samples from 21 newly diagnosed AML patients at different stages of treatment and 25 HDs. We confirmed PD‐L1 expression in Bregs, and PD‐1 expression in CD3+CD4+T cells in bone marrow and peripheral blood samples from AML patients was higher than that in samples from HDs. The complete remission (CR) and progression‐free survival (PFS) of Bregs with high PD‐L1 expression were significantly decreased following induction chemotherapy. PD‐L1 expression is indeed increased in Bregs from individuals with AML, and high PD‐L1 expression is related to a poor prognosis.

Background Haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (haplo-HSCT) is widely used as a curative treatment strategy for most types of hematological diseases. However, strategies for enhancing the graft versus leukemia (GVL) effect without aggravating the graft versus host disease (GVHD) effect are still being pursued. Methods A retrospective cohort study was performed to compare the outcomes between combined unrelated umbilical cord blood (UCB-haplo HSCT) and haplo HSCT. Results The results showed that neither acute GVHD (aGVHD) nor chronic GVHD (cGVHD) was increased in the UCB-haplo HSCT group, and the engraftment and infection rates were similar between the two groups. However, overall survival and progression-free survival were significantly improved, while transplantation-related mortality and relapse were significantly decreased in the UCB-haplo HSCT group by both univariate and multivariate analyses. Conclusion Our results indicated that the addition of a UCB unit could improve the prognosis of haplo-HSCT and enhance the GVL effect without increasing the incidence of GVHD. Trial registration The cohort study was retrospectively registered at https://www.chictr.org.cn as ChiCTR2100046681.

Background :Haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (haplo-HSCT) is widely used as a curative treatment strategy for most types of hematological diseases. However, strategies for enhancing the graft versus leukemia (GVL) effect without aggravating the graft versus host disease (GVHD) effect are still being pursued.Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed to compare the outcomes between combined unrelated umbilical cord blood (UCB-haplo HSCT) and haplo HSCT.Results: The results showed that neither aGVHD nor cGVHD was increased in the UCB-haplo HSCT group, and the engraftment and infection rates were similar between the two groups. However, overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were significantly improved, while transplantation-related mortality (TRM) and relapse were significantly decreased in the UCB-haplo HSCT group by both univariate and multivariate analyses.Conclusion: Our results indicated that the addition of a UCB unit could improve the prognosis of haplo-HSCT and enhance the GVL effect without increasing the incidence of GVHD. Trial registration: The cohort study was retrospectively registered at https://www.chictr.org.cn as ChiCTR2100046681.

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is currently considered a disease with a higher cure rate. And cases of secondary malignant tumors following successful APL treatment are rare. Here we described a rare case of a 29-year-old man who was treated for APL in 2019 and developed BCR-ABL1-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia 2 years later. The patient responded well to tyrosine kinase inhibitors and chemotherapy, and achieved a molecular remission. Although APL usually has a good prognosis, the prognosis of its secondary malignancies is uncertain. There are no effective measures to prevent the occurrence of secondary tumors. Continuing to increase the monitoring frequency of laboratory tests, especially the molecular biomarkers, is essential for the diagnosis and treatment of secondary malignancies after the patients achieving complete remission.