Characteristics and Outcome of B-Cell Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia in HCV-Positive Patients.

Blood ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 106 (11) ◽  
pp. 4986-4986
Author(s):  
Stefano Molica ◽  
Rosanna Mirabelli ◽  
Demetrio Misuraca ◽  
Caterina Battaglia

Abstract HCV-associated B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHL) show distinctive clinico-pathological features such as older age, liver damage, presence of monoclonal gammopathy, increased incidence of autoimmune disorders, extranodal localizations and restricted histological subtypes. As far as B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is concerned, information dealing with either characteristics or outcome of HCV-associated CLL are limited. With this background we compared clinico-hematological features and outcome of 34 HCV-positive patients diagnosed at our institution as having immunologically typical B-cell CLL (i.e., CD5+/CD23+/CD79b-/SmIg dim) with 161 unselected CLL HCV-negative patients followed-up in the last 10 years. The two groups were alike with respect to main clinico-hematological features such as age (P=0.780), sex (P=0.650), absolute lymphocyte count (P=0.788), platelet count (P=0.362), haemoglobin level (P=0.704), β2-microglobulin (P=0.192), Binet stage distribution (P=0.224) and lymphocyte doubling time (LDT)(P= 0.620). As expected either ALT or AST serum levels at the time of CLL diagnosis were significantly higher in HCV-positive patients in comparison to HCV-negative ones (P<0.0001 for both). In contrast, no difference was found in the incidence of monoclonal gammopathy between HCV-positive and HCV-negative patients (10.3% versus 7.7%; P=0.708). The same applied for autoimmune disorders which were homogeneously distributed in the two subgroups (P=0.711) and accounted, more frequently, for autoimmune emolytic anemia (AEA)(HCV-negative subgroup, 5.5%; HCV-positive subgroup, 9.0%). The proportion of severe infections registered did not reflect the HCV-status (HCV-negative subgroup, 9.6%; HCV-positive subgroup 6.4%; P= 0.510). Also second tumours were equally distributed among HCV-positive and HCV-negative subgroups (10% versus 6.8%; P=0.655). Survival curves projected at 10 years did not show any statistical in terms overall survival (Hazard Risk, 0.690; 95% CI: 0.216–1.304; P=0.167). Finally, the short term hepatic toxicity of chemotherapy did not increase among HCV-positive patients (P=0.671). In conclusion, HCV-positive patients with B-cell CLL do not differ from other patients both for presentation and clinical outcome. The need to activate specific protocols of antiviral therapy appears less urgent in comparison to NHL, however, younger CLL patients HCV-positive who are eligible for therapies at higher immunosuppressive potential (i.e., chemo-immunotherapy) should be taken in special consideration.

Author(s):  
Т.Н. Жевак ◽  
Н.П. Чеснокова ◽  
Т.В. Шелехова ◽  
О.Е. Царева ◽  
И.А. Будник ◽  
...  

Цель. Изучить закономерности изменения экспрессии интерлейкина-10 и интерлейкина-24, обладающих иммуномодулирующим эффектом, при развитии B-клеточного хронического лимфолейкоза. С учетом этого выявить информативные прогностические критерии развития гемобластоза и/или нового подхода к терапии заболевания. Методы. У 120 больных с разными стадиями В-клеточного хронического лимфолейкоза методом твердофазного иммуноферментного анализа исследована динамика уровней интерлейкина-10 и интерлейкина-24 в сыворотке крови. Результаты. Обнаружено закономерное повышение содержания интерлейкина-10 и интерлейкина-24 в сыворотке крови пациентов уже на начальной стадии B-клеточного хронического лимфолейкоза и сохранение их достоверно высоких уровней на последующих стадиях заболевания. Заключение. Обнаруженный нами факт повышения содержания интерлейкина-10 в сыворотке крови пациентов с В-клеточным хроническим лимфолейкозом является фактором риска снижения противоопухолевой защиты организма вследствие подавления им механизмов клеточного иммунитета и способности ингибировать апоптоз малигнизированных клеток. Напротив, повышение экспрессии интерлейкина-24, обладающего проапоптотической активностью и стимулирующего дифференцировку клеток, может способствовать повышению эффективности механизмов противоопухолевой резистентности организма. Устранение дисбаланса продукции и/или содержания указанных цитокинов в сыворотке крови может создать условия повышения эффективности терапии пациентов с В-клеточным хроническим лимфолейкозом. Aim. To study serum levels of immunosuppressive cytokines (interleukin (IL)-10 and IL-24) in patients with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia for assessment of the disease progression and elaboration of a new treatment strategy. Methods. 120 patients with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia were enrolled in the study and divided into four groups according to the disease stage (Rai stage I-IV). Control group included 30 healthy volunteers. Concentrations of IL-10 and IL-24 were measured in serum using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results. Serum levels of IL-10 and IL-24 levels were significantly increased in all patient groups compared to the control. No difference in the cytokines levels between the patient groups was observed. Conclusion. In patients with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia, the increased serum level of IL-10 might impair the antitumor defence by inhibiting the cell immune response and preventing apoptosis of malignant lymphocytes. On the other hand, the increased serum level of IL-24 might oppose these effects by promoting cellular differentiation and inducing apoptosis in malignant cells. Therefore, correction of IL-10/IL-24 imbalance may be a beneficial therapeutic strategy for patients with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia.


Blood ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 110 (11) ◽  
pp. 3093-3093
Author(s):  
Stefano Molica ◽  
Gaetano Vitelli ◽  
Giovanna Cutrona ◽  
Giovanna Digiesi ◽  
Rosanna Mirabelli ◽  
...  

Abstract We analyzed the correlation between well-established biological parameters of prognostic relevance in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia [CLL] (i.e, mutational status of the immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region [IgVH], ZAP-70- and CD38-expression) and serum levels of BAFF (B-cell activating factor of the TNF family) by evaluating the impact of these variables on the time to first treatment [TFT] in a series of 69 previously untreated Binet stage A B-cell CLL patients. By using a commercial ELISA (R & D Systems, USA) we found that higher levels of BAFF characterized more frequently patients with Rai stage 0 (P=0.008) and mutated IgVH (P=0.03). In contrast, peripheral blood lymphocytosis (P=0.06), serum β2-m (P=0.159), LDH (P=0.333) and percentage of ZAP-70-positive (P=0.242) or CD38-positive B-CLL cells (P=0.142) did not reflect circulating levels of BAFF. The relationship among various bio-pathological parameters, analyzed by the multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), showed two different clinico-biological profiles. The first, characterized by higher BAFF serum levels (i.e., > 336 ng/mL), presence of mutation in the IgVH, low percentage of CD38-positive B-CLL cells (< 30%) and low LDH was associated with a stable pattern of disease generally not requiring therapy. The second, defined by lower BAFF levels, absence of mutation in the IgVH, high percentage of CD38- positive B-CLL cells and high LDH was associated with a more progressive pattern of disease and a shorter TFT. After a median follow-up time of 35 months (range, 2–120 months) 26 (37.6%) out of 69 patients experienced a need for chemotherapy. Kaplan-Meier estimates of patientsTFT, plotted after searching the best cut-off for BAFF (i.e., 336 ng/mL), demonstrated that low BAFF concentration was associated with a shorter TFT (median TFT 36 months) while median was not reached by patients with BAFF levels higher than 336 ng/mL (P<0.0001). Along with lower serum levels of BAFF (Hazard Ratio [HR], 0.19; P<0.0001), the univariate Cox proportional hazard model identified absence of mutation in IgVH (HR, 0.17; P<0.0001), CD38-positivity (HR, 3.32; P=0.01) and lower platelet count (HR, 0.19; P=0.03) as predictor of shorter TFT. Finally, in multivariate analysis only mutational status of IgVH (HR, 0.25; P=0.007) and serum concentration of BAFF (HR, 034; P=0.04) affected significantly TFT. Our results indicate that in early B-cell CLL clinico-biological profile including among other parameters BAFF may provide a useful insight into the complex interrelationship of prognostic variables and semplify their interpretation. The possible presence of BAFF isoform in B-CLL could peraphs account for the unexpected correlation between low soluble BAFF levels and poor clinical outcome in patients with early disease.


2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 7103-7103
Author(s):  
Wei Duan-Porter ◽  
Alicia D. Volkheimer ◽  
Evan D. Davis ◽  
Youwei Chen ◽  
Sallie Allgood ◽  
...  

7103 Background: B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) results from the accumulation and proliferation of malignant B cells with a predisposition for autoreactivity and autoimmune disease, particularly hematologic disorders such as autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) and immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). We sought to define the prevalence of autoimmune conditions and associated prognostic factors in our CLL cohort. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the electronic medical records (EMR) of CLL patients at Duke University Medical Center (DUMC) and Durham VA Medical Center (DVAMC) for known diagnoses of autoimmune conditions, or clinical descriptions matching those disorders. Laboratory data confirming the diagnoses (e.g., Coombs test for AIHA) were verified directly in our EMR. IGVH mutation status, CD38 and ZAP-70 expression were previously determined. Results: We found 92 CLL patients with autoimmune disorders (21.4% prevalence), with higher numbers of both hematologic (58, 11.1%) and non-hematologic(42, 8.1%) conditions than previously published data [Barcellini et al. Haematologica (2006) 91:1689], although one series did show 9.7% of CLL patients with hematologic phenomena [Hamblin et al. J Clin Path (1986) 39:713-6]. CLL patients with AIHA and/or ITP had significantly shorter treatment-free survival [2.1 years (1-3.3)] and overall survival [11.9 years (9.6-15.8)] than those without [6.2 years (5.2-7.3) and 18.0 years (14.0-22.6), respectively]. 52% of CLL patients with autoimmunity had mutated IGVH (41/79 known results), 18% were CD38 positive (16/89) and 49% were ZAP-70 positive(39/80). In CLL patients without autoimmune disorders, the prevalence of mutated IGVH, and CD38 and ZAP-70 positivity were similar at 60% (219/364), 25% (99/395), and 47% (176/377), respectively. Conclusions: There is a higher prevalence of both hematologic and non-hematologic autoimmune disorders in our CLL cohort than previously reported. CLL patients with hematologic autoimmune disorders had shorter time to treatment and survival, compared to those without. There was no difference in frequency of mutated IGVH, CD38 or ZAP-70 expression between those patients with autoimmune conditions and those without.


Blood ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. 4158-4158
Author(s):  
Stefano Molica ◽  
Gaetano Vitelli ◽  
Giovanna Cutrona ◽  
Giovanna Digiesi ◽  
Rosanna Mirabelli ◽  
...  

Abstract We analyzed the correlation between well-established biological parameters of prognostic relevance in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia [CLL] (i.e, mutational status of the immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region [IgVH], ZAP-70− and CD38− expression) and serum levels of BAFF (B-cell activating factor of the TNF family) by evaluating the impact of these variables on the time to first treatment [TFT] in a series of 125 previously untreated Binet stage A B-cell CLL patients. By using a commercial ELISA (R & D Systems, USA) we found that higher levels of BAFF characterized more frequently females (P=0.01), patients with Rai stage 0 (P=0.03), mutated IgVH disease (P=0.008) and low ZAP-70 expression (P=0.04). In contrast, age (P=0.35), peripheral blood lymphocytosis (PBL)(P=0.09), hemoglobin (Hb) level (P=0.64), platelet (PLT) count (P=0.12), serum β2-m (P=0.49), LDH (P=0.85) and percentage of CD38-positive B-CLL cells (P=0.63) did not reflect circulating levels of BAFF. We used an optimal cut-point search to determine how to best split soluble BAFF data. Maximally selected log-rank statistics plots identified a BAFF serum concentration of 311 ng/mL as the best cut-off (P&lt;0.0001). Accordingly, patients who had BAFF levels higher than 311 ng/mL experienced a longer TFT (median 108 months) in comparison to patients whose BAFF levels were lower than 311 ng/mL (median 30 months; P&lt;0.0001). Along with serum concentration of BAFF, the univariate Cox proportional hazard model identified Rai substage I–II (P=0.003), lower PLT count (P=0.04), higher PBL count (P=0.01), increased LDH (P=0.01), ZAP-70 expression &gt; 20% (P=0.02) and absence of mutation of IgVH (P&lt;0.0001) as predictor of shorter TFT. In multivariate analysis only soluble BAFF (Hazard ratio [HR], 6.13; CI 95%, 2.31–16.25) and mutational status of IgVH, (HR= 2.99; CI 95% 1.33–6.76, P=0.008) maintained their discriminating power. The effects of BAFF on TFT were masked by mutational status of IgVH in patients with unmutated IgVH. However, serum levels of BAFF and mutational status of IgVH had a joint effect on TFT in patients with mutated IgVH which translates into a segregation of patients with mutated IgVH in two groups with different TFT according to BAFF levels (HR= 8.9; P&lt;0.0001). Our results indicate that in early B-cell CLL biological profile including among other parameters soluble BAFF may provide a useful insight into the complex interrelationship of prognostic variables. Furthermore, BAFF along with mutational status of IgVH can be adequately used to predict clinical behaviour of patients with low biological risk.


Blood ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 104 (11) ◽  
pp. 4786-4786
Author(s):  
Stefano Molica ◽  
Gaetano Vitelli ◽  
Rosanna Mirabelli ◽  
Giovanna Digiesu ◽  
Diana Giannarelli ◽  
...  

Abstract Insulin like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) is an important growth and antiapoptotic factor for the cancer cells in several malignancies and in multiple myeloma recent studies support the hypotesis of a role for IGF-1 in disease progression. Clinico-biological relevance of IGF-1 was never studied in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Using a quantitative sandwich immunoassay technique (ELISA)(QUANTIKINE®, Human IGF-1 and IGFBP-3, R & D Systems), we measured the concentration of IGF-1 and its major binding protein IGF-binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3) in serum drawn at the time of diagnosis from 77 Binet stage A CLL patients. Either IGF-1 or IGFBP-3 were significantly decreased compared to healthy age- and sex-matched controls (P&lt;0.0001 for both; Mann-Whitney test). Serum levels of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 paralleled each other (P=0.002); in contrast, no significant correlation was found between serum levels of IGF-1 and clinico-hematological variables including age (P=0.253), sex (P=0.270), Rai clinical substages (P=0.140), LDH (P=0.956), β2-microglobulin (P=0.368), lymphocyte count (P=0.703) and lymphocyte doubling time [LDT](P=0.233). When correlation were attempted with circulating levels of angiogenic cytokines such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)(P=0.971), basic fibroblastic growth factor (FGF-2)(P=0.695), angiogenin (P=0.282) or adhesion molecules such as vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 [VCAM-1] (P=0.318), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 [ICAM-1] (P=0.883) and platelet endothelial cell adhesion-1 [PECAM-1] (P=0.772) similar results were found. Serum levels of IGF-1 were further evaluated as a dichotomous variable with respect to progression-free survival (PFS), an endpoint surrogate for overall survival in early B-cell CLL. The best separation of curves was seen with the cutoff point at the 75th percentile of IGF-1 levels (i.e., 93 pg/ml). Median PFS was 63 months in the patient group with low IGF-1, compared to a median PFS of 40 months in the remaining patients (P=0.002; HR, 0.311, 95% C.I, 0.085–0.630). In the multivariate analysis performed including variables significant at univariate analysis [i.e., Rai substage (P=0.002); LDT (P=0.004), IGF-1 (P=0.01)], only Rai substage retained prognostic significance (P=0.006). However, after removing from analysis LDT (only 6 out of 77 had an LDT&lt; 12 months), either IGF-1 or Rai substage entered the model at a significant level ((P=0.03 and P=0.01, respectively). In conclusion, IGF-1 did not correlate with markers of tumor burden or clinical status in CLL thus suggesting that levels of this cytokine do not reflect the intrinsic malignancy of disease. Results of the present study highlight, however, its involvement in mechanisms of disease-progression in early CLL.


1991 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caterina Musolino ◽  
Enrico Di Cesare ◽  
Andrea Alonci ◽  
Alessandro Allegra ◽  
Annunziata Orlando ◽  
...  

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