Compared with the survival group, the early death group had more male patients, more with intermediate-risk APL, earlier occurrence of DS, more severe DS, higher WBC count (day 3), lower HGB (at diagnosis), lower PLT count (at diagnosis, day 3, day 5 and chemotherapy), more patients with elevated creatinine at diagnosis and high cystatin C at chemotherapy, fewer patients treated with combination chemotherapy, and more transfusion usages of average daily plasma, all with statistically significant differences (P<0.05, Table 1). This evidence concerns the gene CST3 and acute promyelocytic leukemia.