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Research Article Volume 17 Issue 1
Frequent aberrant CD56 and CD7 expression in acute myeloid leukemia: a distinct immunophenotypic pattern in Yemeni patients
Gamal Abdul Hamid, Rahma G Nasser
University of Aden, National Oncology Center, Yemen
Received: March 10, 2026 | Published: March 16, 2026
Citation: Nasser RG, Hamid GA. Frequent aberrant CD56 and CD7 expression in acute myeloid leukemia: a distinct immunophenotypic pattern in Yemeni patients. J Cancer Prev Curr Res. 2026;17(1):15‒18. DOI: 10.15406/jcpcr.2026.17.00600
Abstract
Aberrant
expression of lymphoid-associated antigens in acute myeloid leukemia (AML)
exhibits geographic variability, with limited data from Middle Eastern
populations, particularly Yemen. We conducted a retrospective analysis of flow
cytometry data from 24 AML patients diagnosed at a tertiary Yemeni cancer
center between January 2025–December 2025. Immunophenotyping was performed
using a standardized 25-marker panel, with aberrant expression defined as ≥20%
blast positivity. The AML cohort comprised 24 patients (median age 28 years,
range 1–85; M:F 1.4:1). Aberrant CD56 and CD7 expression was observed in 29.2%
(7/24) and 25.0% (6/24) of AML cases, respectively. Co-expression of CD56 and
CD7 occurred in 16.7% (4/24). CD56 positivity was significantly associated with
monocytic differentiation (AML-M4/M5 subtypes; 85.7% vs. 35.3%, *p*=0.01). CD7+
cases exhibited higher peripheral blast percentages (median 97% vs. 70%,
*p*=0.03) and lower platelet counts (median 22 vs. 65 ×10⁹/L, *p*=0.02). For
comparison, data from 16 B/T-ALL and 2 MPAL cases from the same period are also
presented. Yemeni AML patients display a distinct immunophenotypic profile
characterized by frequent aberrant CD56 and CD7 expression, forming a unique
subgroup with potential clinical and prognostic relevance. These findings
underscore the importance of population-specific immunophenotyping and
highlight regional biological variations in AML.
Keywords: acute myeloid leukemia, immunophenotyping, CD56, CD7, aberrant antigen expression, Yemen
©2026 Nasser, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially.