We aimed to compare whole-blood transcriptional levels of CASP8 and CASP3 across ALPS, chronic ITP, and healthy controls.<h4>Methods</h4>CASP8 and CASP3 mRNA expression was quantified by real-time PCR in whole blood from clinically diagnosed ALPS patients, chronic ITP patients, and healthy controls.<h4>Results</h4>CASP8 mRNA expression was significantly increased in ALPS and ITP versus controls (<i>p</i> = 0.0009 and <i>p</i> < 0.0001, respectively) and was lower in ALPS than in ITP (<i>p</i> = 0.0265). Here, CASP3 is linked to autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome.