In acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), 84 patients with de novo AML receiving chemotherapy and 71 patients receiving allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) were analysed and the Kaplan–Meier survival assessment showed that high expression of both SMAD3 and SMAD7 was associated with poor event-free survival (EFS) and OS; high expression of SMAD6 was associated with shorter EFS and OS in allogeneic HSCT patients. The gene discussed is SMAD3; the disease is acute myeloid leukemia.