STAT3^KO leads to increased CXCR4 expression which correlates with worse OS and negatively with STAT3 expression in patients with AML. Flow cytometry quantification of CXCR4⁺ of hCD45⁺ ex vivo THP-1, MOLM-13 and HEL cells from the (A) bone marrow and the (B) liver (THP-1, n = 18; MOLM-13, n = 8; HEL, n = 8). (C) Gene expression correlation of STAT3 and CXCR2/CXCR4 in patients with AML from the TCGA data set (n = 190). Red line represents linear regression with 95% confidence interval. (D) STAT3, CXCR2, and CXCR4 gene expression analysis of patients with AML of the LEUKEGENE AML study with and without MLL fusion genes (n = 365). (E) Kaplan-Meier plots showing OS of patients with AML expressing low and high CXCR2 or CXCR4 (n = 132). Patients were stratified according to the best cutoff value (kmplot.com). Statistical analysis was performed using Student t test. P values <.05 were considered statistically significant. ∗P < .05, ∗∗P < .01, and ∗∗∗P < .001. Error bars represent mean ± standard deviation. HR, hazard ratio; KO, knockout; TCGA, The Cancer Genome Atlas; WT, wildtype.