title: Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) expression and outcome in adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
abstract: We compared the gene expression profile of adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) to normal hematopoietic and non-ALL samples using oligonucleotide arrays. Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) was the highest overexpressed gene in B-cell ALL compared with the other groups, and displayed heterogeneous expression, suggesting it might have prognostic relevance. CTGF expression was examined by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (ORT-PCR) on 79 adult ALL specimens. CTGF expression levels were significantly increased in ALL cases with B-lineage (P < .001), unfavorable cytogenetics (P < .001), and blasts expressing CD34 (P < .001). In a multivariate proportional hazards model, higher CTGF expression levels corresponded to worsening of overall survival (OS; hazard ratio 1.36, for each 10-fold increase in expression; P = .019). Further studies are ongoing to confirm the prognostic value of CTGF expression in ALL and to investigate its role in normal and abnormal lymphocyte biology.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA. osala@fhcrc.org
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sala-Torra
authors.forename: Holly M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Gundacker
authors.forename: Derek L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Stirewalt
authors.forename: Paula A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Ladne
authors.forename: Era L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Pogosova-Agadjanyan
authors.forename: Marilyn L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Slovak
authors.forename: Cheryl L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Willman
authors.forename: Shelly
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Heimfeld
authors.forename: David H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Boldt
authors.forename: Jerald P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Radich
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001483:Base Sequence; D002051:Burkitt Lymphoma / Q000235:genetics / Q000401:mortality; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D055513:Connective Tissue Growth Factor; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D017874:Immediate-Early Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality; D011379:Prognosis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: C526317:CCN2 protein, human; D017931:DNA Primers; D017874:Immediate-Early Proteins; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D055513:Connective Tissue Growth Factor