title: Antiphospholipid antibodies: prevalence, clinical significance and correlation to cytokine levels in acute myeloid leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
abstract: This study was designed to explore the prevalence and clinical significance of elevated antiphospholipid antibodies (APA) titres in patients affected by acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). We also analyzed possible correlations with circulating levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and the soluble form of the receptor for interleukin-2 (sIL-2r). Nineteen patients with de novo AML and 14 patients with newly-diagnosed NHL were investigated. Tests for APA included the measurement of anticardiolipin antibodies (ACA) with a solid-phase immunoassay, and the detection of the lupus-like anticoagulant (LA) activity. Five patients with AML (26.3%) and 5 patients with NHL (35.7%) presented elevated APA at diagnosis, as compared to 3 of 174 persons of the control group (p < 0.0001). APA titres became normal in all patients responding to treatment, whereas non-responders retained elevated levels. In addition, 6 patients (4 with AML and 2 with NHL), who had normal APA at diagnosis and were either refractory to treatment or in relapse, subsequently developed LA and/or ACA positivity. At presentation, the mean levels of IgG- and IgM-ACA in patients were not significantly different from controls, and concordance between ACA and LA results reached just 30%. With regard to the clinical course, we were not able to detect any statistically significant difference between patients with normal and elevated APA. Pretreatment concentrations of IL-6 and TNF-alpha in AML, and sIL-2r in NHL were found significantly elevated compared to controls (p = 0.003, p = 0.009 and p = 0.024 respectively).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Division of Haematology, University Tor Vergata of Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stasi
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stipa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Masi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Oliva
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sciarra
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Perrotti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zaccari
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Papa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017152:Antibodies, Antiphospholipid / Q000097:blood*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D007951:Leukemia, Myeloid / Q000276:immunology*; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D015375:Receptors, Interleukin-2 / Q000378:metabolism; D012307:Risk Factors; D012995:Solubility; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D017152:Antibodies, Antiphospholipid; D016207:Cytokines; D015850:Interleukin-6; D015375:Receptors, Interleukin-2; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha