Soluble CD27 is a faithful marker of disease burden and is unaffected by the rituximab-induced IgM flare, as well as by plasmapheresis, in patients with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia.
BACKGROUND
The assessment of disease burden is often difficult in patients with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (WM) who receive rituximab due to the induction of an IgM flare, and following the removal of serum IgM by plasmapheresis. Soluble CD27 (sCD27) is a tumor necrosis factor family member secreted by WM cells which is strongly correlated with serum IgM levels and clinical responses in patients with WM. As such, we attempted to delineate its potential role in WM patients experiencing a rituximab-induced IgM flare and following plasmapheresis.


METHODS
sCD27 levels were serially measured by serum-based ELISA in 8 patients who ultimately demonstrated a response to therapy, and in whom a rituximab-mediated IgM flare was observed, as well as in 3 WM patients undergoing plasmapheresis.


RESULTS
Among the 8 patients who experienced a rituximab-mediated IgM flare, IgM levels rose from 3515 to a peak of 5270 mg/dL (P = .008), while sCD27 levels decreased from 174.1 to 155.9 U/mL (P = .012), with a decline observed in all patients. Among 3 patients undergoing plasmapheresis, IgM levels declined from a median of 6940 to 4770 mg/dL (P = .031), while median sCD27 levels remained without significant change (P = .317).


CONCLUSIONS
sCD27 is a faithful marker of disease burden and is unaffected by the rituximab-induced IgM flare, as well as plasmapheresis in WM. The use of this marker may aid in correctly predicting clinical outcome in patients undergoing treatment with rituximab and/or plasmapheresis in WM.
Bing Center for Waldenström's Macroglobulinemia, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Bryan T
BT
Ciccarelli
Guang
G
Yang
Evdoxia
E
Hatjiharissi
Leukothea
L
Ioakimidis
Christopher J
CJ
Patterson
Robert J
RJ
Manning
Lian
L
Xu
Xia
X
Liu
Hsiuyi
H
Tseng
Ping
P
Gong
Jenny
J
Sun
Yangsheng
Y
Zhou
Steven P
SP
Treon
D000368:Aged; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D008875:Middle Aged; D010956:Plasmapheresis; D000069283:Rituximab; D018127:Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor Superfamily, Member 7 / Q000097:blood*; D008258:Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy*
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D018127:Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor Superfamily, Member 7; D000069283:Rituximab