Is assessment of surface CD38 expression worthwhile as a prognostic factor in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients?
We studied the clinical impact of CD38 expression in 226 chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients (CLL) at disease presentation and during follow up to determine its prognostic significance, progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), and to verify whether this parameter changed over time. Various patients' characteristics were studied including gender, Rai and Binet stages, immunoglobulin light chain expression, lymphocyte doubling time and CD38 expression. After a median follow up of 53 months (range 6-282), 62% CD38 positive(+) patients required therapy. PFS and OS at 84 months were significantly lower for CD38(+) patients: 20 and 71% respectively, compared to CD38 negative(-): 70 and 96%. At multivariate analysis CD38(+) showed to be the best factor for predicting progression: HR 3.3, 95%CI 2.10-5.14, p = 0.000. Its expression did not change in 98% re-evaluated patients. We confirm that CD38(+) is a stable parameter for the identification of CLL patients with a more aggressive disease course.
Pavlovsky
Carolina
C
FUNDALEU, Uriburu 1450 (1114 AAN), Buenos Aires, Argentina. cpavlovsky@fundaleu.org.ar
Pardo
Laura
L
Pavlovsky
Miguel A
MA
Corrado
Claudia
C
Sapia
Sandra
S
Mountford
Pablo
P
Monreal
Mariela
M
Fernandez
Isolda
I
Milone
Gustavo
G
Pavlovsky
Astrid
A
Juni
Mariana
M
Pavlovsky
Santiago
S
D051997:ADP-ribosyl Cyclase 1 / Q000097:blood*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015451:Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology*; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000145:classification*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
D015415:Biomarkers; D051997:ADP-ribosyl Cyclase 1