The absence of IL-1β, IL-10, IL-12p70 and TNF-α expression in our cohort of patients with APL, observed in the groups with and without DS, highlights the difference in cytokine profiles of APL and non-APL AML because Turzanski et al. and Sanchez-Correa et al. have reported that IL-1β and IL-10 are detected in the plasma of patients with AML without t(15;17) and may play a role in apoptosis-resistant phenotype and clinical outcome, respectively [18, 19]. Here, TNF is linked to acute myeloid leukemia.