title: The significance of B-clonal excess in peripheral blood in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in remission.
abstract: By taking advantage of the monoclonal nature of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) it has been possible to detect small numbers of lymphoma cells which are not evident by routine morphological methods. These new methods are based on the detection of either a restricted light chain expression - clonal excess analysis (CE) or a monoclonal rearrangement of the Ig or T-cell receptor genes. We have studied the impact on relapse and survival of CE in peripheral blood in 202 patients in remission. The patients were sampled repeatedly during follow-up in remission. Median follow-up was 55 months (range 1-180). CE was found more frequently during remission in patients with low-grade NHL 18% as compared to 8% in high-grade NHL. There was no correlation with initial stage and the occurrence of CE in remission. Survival and time to relapse did not differ in those with CE and those with a normal light chain distribution. The conclusion is that CE in remission does not herald a poor prognosis and that an isolated finding of CE in remission is not an indication to start therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, University Hospital of Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cavallin-Ståhl
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akerman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001402:B-Lymphocytes; D002999:Clone Cells; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000097:blood* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012008:Recurrence; D012074:Remission Induction; D015996:Survival Rate; D013601:T-Lymphocytes