Tehran University of Medical Sciences International Journal of Hematology-Oncology and Stem Cell Research 2008-2207 11 1 2016 12 29 1 12 EN Mahdi Jalili Hematology-Oncology and SCT Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Ali Salehzadeh-Yazdi Hematology-Oncology and SCT Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. AND Department of Systems Biology and Bioinformatics, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany. Saeed Mohammadi Hematology-Oncology and SCT Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Marjan Yaghmaie Hematology-Oncology and SCT Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Ardeshir Ghavamzadeh Hematology-Oncology and SCT Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Kamran Alimoghaddam Hematology-Oncology and SCT Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 2016 06 25 2016 08 21 Background: Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a unique subtype of acute leukemia. APL is a curable disease; however, drug resistance, early mortality, disease relapse and treatment-related complications remain challenges in APL patient management. One issue underlying these challenges is that the molecular mechanisms of the disease are not sufficiently understood. Materials and Methods: In this study, we performed a meta-analysis of gene expression profiles derived from microarray experiments and explored the background of disease by functional and pathway analysis. Results: Our analysis revealed a gene signature with 406 genes that are up or down-regulated in APL. The pathway analysis determined that MAPK pathway and its involved elements such as JUN gene and AP-1 play important roles in APL pathogenesis along with insulin-like growth factor–binding protein-7. Conclusions: The results of this meta-analysis could be useful for developing more effective therapy strategies and new targets for diagnosis and drugs. https://ijhoscr.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijhoscr/article/view/638 https://ijhoscr.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijhoscr/article/download/638/528