The chemoresistant human AML stem cells KG1a and the chemosensitive AML promyelocytic leukemia HL60 cells were used for the evaluation of the resistance capacity of the KG1a cells to conventional chemotherapeutic drugs (i.e. doxorubicin, Dox; 5-fluorouridine, FUrd) using specific pharmacological inhibitors such as SB202190, IKK inhibitor VII, and NAC for the blockade of the p38 MAPK survival pathway, NF-κB pathway and ROS production, respectively. Here, NFKB1 is linked to acute promyelocytic leukemia.