Management of Relapsed/Refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia/Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma in the Era of Targeted Therapies

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is characterized by a high degree of genetic variability and interpatient heterogeneity. In the last decade, novel alterations have been described. Some of them impact on the prognosis and evolution of patients. The approval of BTK inhibitors, PI3K inhibitors and Bcl-2 inhibitors has drastically changed the treatment of patients with CLL. The effect of these new targeted therapies has been widely analyzed in TP53-mutated cases, but few data exist about the response of patients carrying other recurrent mutations. In this review, we describe the biological pathways recurrently altered in CLL that might have an impact on the response to these new therapies together with the possibility to use new actionable targets to optimize treatment responses.

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The pathological features of leukemic cells infiltrating the renal interstitium in chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma from a large single Chinese center

Diagnostic Pathology ◽

10.1186/s13000-021-01120-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Hui Wang ◽

Xiaojuan Yu ◽

Xu Zhang ◽

Suxia Wang ◽

Minghui Zhao

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia ◽

Renal Injury ◽

Lymphocytic Leukemia ◽

Leukemic Cells ◽

Cell Infiltration ◽

Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma ◽

Tubulointerstitial Injury ◽

Renal Interstitium ◽

Monoclonal Immunoglobulins

Abstract Background Chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) is rare in Asians, and patients with CLL/SLL seldomly undergo kidney biopsy. The histopathological features and clinical relevance of tubulointerstitial injury in CLL/SLL have not been extensively characterized. Hence, we attempted to describe the clinical characteristics, renal pathology and clinical outcome of a well-characterized population of CLL/SLL patients with CLL cell infiltration in the renal interstitium from a large single center in China. Methods Between January 1st, 2010 and September 31st, 2020, 31946renal biopsies were performed at Peking University First Hospital, and 10 CLL/SLL patients with CLL cell infiltration in the renal interstitium were included. Complete clinical data were collected from these 10 patients, and renal specimens were examined by routine light microscopy, immunofluorescence and electron microscopy. Results The extent of the infiltrating CLL cells in patients with CLL/SLL varied among different patients and ranged from 10 to 90% of kidney parenchyma. Six (60%) of 10 patients presented with an extent of infiltrating CLL cells ≥50%. Interestingly, we found that three patients (3/10, 30%) expressed monoclonal immunoglobulins in the infiltrating CLL cells, and special cytoplasmic crystalline structures were found in two of the three patients by electron microscopy for the first time. Severe renal insufficiency (Scr ≥200 μmol/L) was associated with ≥50% interstitial infiltration of CLL cells in the renal interstitium. Conclusions The current study confirmed that CLL cells infiltrating the renal interstitium can directly secrete monoclonal immunoglobulins, indicating that the interstitial infiltrating CLL cells possibly cause renal injury directly by secreting monoclonal immunoglobulins in situ. This finding may prove a new clue to elucidate the pathogenetic mechanism of renal injury involved with CLL/SLL.

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