scholarly journals An Unusual Case of Prolymphocytic Leukemia Transformation in a Patient With Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 232470962199076 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Bell ◽  
Natalia Lattanzio ◽  
Julaine Braham ◽  
Victoria Campdesuner ◽  
Qassem Abdelal ◽  
...  

B-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (B-PLL) is a rare leukemia characterized by rapidly increasing leukocytosis with splenomegaly and lymphadenopathy. Treatment strategies are largely based on studies of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Antibodies against the cell surface protein CD20 are considered to be first-line therapy. A 76-year-old male with known CLL presented 2 weeks after starting chemoimmunotherapy for newly refractory CLL after failing ibrutinib therapy. White blood cell count was elevated at 226.7 × 103/µL. Fluorescent in situ hybridization analysis of a bone marrow specimen showed new development of complex cytogenetics. Flow cytometry revealed B cells appearing slightly dimmer on CD45 and brighter on CD20 compared with typical B-CLL suggestive of less mature lymphocyte forms. The patient was diagnosed with B-PLL and started on obinutuzumab and venetoclax with rapid normalization of white blood cells. This case recapitulates the challenges in diagnosing and treating B-PLL. Ibrutinib resistance is a growing area of study with several proposed mechanisms of acquired resistance. The pathogenesis of B-PLL is not completely understood, although mutations in MYC are presumed to play a role.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferenc Takács ◽  
Lili Kotmayer ◽  
Ágnes Czeti ◽  
Gábor Szalóki ◽  
László Tamás ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Bruton ’ s tyrosine kinase inhibitor ibrutinib has revolutionized the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Although ibrutinib is a highly effective drug, continuous treatment is required to maintain remission, which may lead to acquired ibrutinib resistance. Early detection of acquired resistance preceding clinical disease progression is an important issue. This is why our aim was to investigate several phenotypic markers on CLL cells to reveal changes in their expression during ibrutinib treatment in sensitive and clinically resistant patients. Materials and methods: In our study 28 (treatment naive, ibrutinib sensitive, clinically ibrutinib resistant) peripheral blood (PB), and 6 paired PB and bone marrow (BM) samples from CLL patients were examined. The expression of several surface markers (CD69, CD184, CD86, CD185, CD27) was assessed by flow cytometry in each sample. Furthermore, the presence of the BTK C481S resistance mutation was tested using digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) in samples from ibrutinib sensitive and resistant cases. In addition, we investigated the changes of CLL cells ’ phenotype during ibrutinib treatment in one patient with acquired ibrutinib resistance. Results: We found that the expression of CD27 decreased during ibrutinib therapy but increased again at the onset of clinical resistance. Expressions of CD69 and CD86 were also elevated at the onset of clinical ibrutinib resistance. Furthermore, the expression of CD86 showed correlation between PB and BM samples. Relapsed cases with high CD86 expression were positive for BTK C481S mutation. In addition, our prospective study showed that the increases in the expression of CD27, CD69 and CD86 were detectable up to several months before the onset of clinical resistance. Conclusion: Our research suggests that the flow cytometric measurements of certain markers, especially CD86, may predict development of ibrutinib resistance, however, confirmatory experiments are still required. Monitoring CD86 expression on peripheral blood CLL cells during ibrutinib treatment may become a potential new method to detect acquired ibrutinib resistance in the near future.


Haematologica ◽  
2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Moreno ◽  
Richard Greil ◽  
Fatih Demirkan ◽  
Alessandra Tedeschi ◽  
Bertrand Anz ◽  
...  

iLLUMINATE is a randomized, open-label phase 3 study of ibrutinib plus obinutuzumab (n=113) versus chlorambucil plus obinutuzumab (n=116) as first-line therapy for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma. Eligible patients were aged ≥65 years, or


2000 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 531-533 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria de Lourdes L.F. Chauffaille ◽  
Eliana Azevedo Marques ◽  
Jose Salvador Rodrigues de Oliveira ◽  
Maria Madalena Rodrigues ◽  
Maria Stella Figueiredo ◽  
...  

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) presents a varying incidence of karyotypic abnormalities whose detection is complicated by difficulties in obtaining mitosis for analysis in this type of mature lymphocyte disorder. Since the introduction of molecular cytogenetics (FISH = fluorescent in situ hybridization), applying centromeric probes for chromosome 12 has made it possible to detect a higher percentage of trisomy 12 cases. The objective of the present study was to detect trisomy 12 by FISH (alpha satellite probe) in 13 patients with CLL whose karyotypes by G-banding were either normal or inadequate. Using this method trisomy 12 was detected in three patients in a percentage of positive cells varying from 55.5% to 79%, showing that FISH is a sensitive and highly specific method for trisomy detection and should be routinely performed when the karyotype is normal.


Blood ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 178-185
Author(s):  
JD Norton ◽  
J Pattinson ◽  
AV Hoffbrand ◽  
H Jani ◽  
JC Yaxley ◽  
...  

Fifty-nine patients with B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) were screened for clonal rearrangement of T cell receptor (TCR) beta and gamma chain genes. Four were found with rearranged TCR beta genes, but none had detectable rearrangement of TCR gamma genes. One typical patient with B-CLL had a TCR beta gene structure consistent with a variable-diversity-joining rearrangement into the C beta 2 gene on one allele. An apparently identical rearrangement pattern was seen in a second patient, which suggested that there may be a restriction on the repertoire of possible TCR beta gene recombinations in mature B cells. Two further patients had a simple deletion of sequences, consistent with a diversity-joining rearrangement into C beta 2 on one allele. All four patients had rearrangements of immunoglobulin heavy- and light- chain genes typical of mature B cell malignancies. However, on review of clinical, morphological, and immunophenotype data, two had features consistent with B cell prolymphocytic leukemia or B lymphoma, and a third had progressed to a prolymphocytic transformation. Low-level expression of a predominantly 1.0- to 1.2-kilobase germ line TCR beta gene transcript was detected in several B-CLLs and at a comparable level in the four with rearranged TCR beta genes. This, together with the low frequency of TCR gene rearrangement, suggests that most B-CLL cases arise at a developmental stage when factors required for TCR gene activity are not operative.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ebru Aydin ◽  
Sebastian Faehling ◽  
Mariam Saleh ◽  
Laura Llaó Cid ◽  
Martina Seiffert ◽  
...  

Phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) and their downstream proteins constitute a signaling pathway that is involved in both normal cell growth and malignant transformation of cells. Under physiological conditions, PI3K signaling regulates various cellular functions such as apoptosis, survival, proliferation, and growth, depending on the extracellular signals. A deterioration of these extracellular signals caused by mutational damage in oncogenes or growth factor receptors may result in hyperactivation of this signaling cascade, which is recognized as a hallmark of cancer. Although higher activation of PI3K pathway is common in many types of cancer, it has been therapeutically targeted for the first time in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), demonstrating its significance in B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling and malignant B-cell expansion. The biological activity of the PI3K pathway is not only limited to cancer cells but is also crucial for many components of the tumor microenvironment, as PI3K signaling regulates cytokine responses, and ensures the development and function of immune cells. Therefore, the success or failure of the PI3K inhibition is strongly related to microenvironmental stimuli. In this review, we outline the impacts of PI3K inhibition on the tumor microenvironment with a specific focus on CLL. Acknowledging the effects of PI3K inhibitor-based therapies on the tumor microenvironment in CLL can serve as a rationale for improved drug development, explain treatment-associated adverse events, and suggest novel combinatory treatment strategies in CLL.


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