Kupsa T, et al. - Given a high resistance of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells to chemotherapeutic drugs, and the likely contribution of cytokines and adhesion molecules to this resistance as well as their influence on the treatment outcome, researchers assessed the independence as well as the additional prognostic information of baseline serum levels of selected cytokines and soluble adhesion molecules, incorporated in analyses with standard prognostic indicators. Via biochip array technology, they analyzed serum samples from 80 newly diagnosed AML patients to measure levels of selected cytokines and soluble adhesion molecules in these samples. In newly diagnosed AML, overall survival was predicted by baseline levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptor-α. The tumour necrosis factor-α type I soluble receptor was identified as a candidate prognostic marker in AML.