title: Expression of JL1 in Burkitt lymphoma is associated with improved overall survival.
abstract: JL1 is a novel molecule expressed in the surface of hematopoietic precursor cells, but not on any other mature human tissue. Accordingly, JL1 is expressed in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells and can be used both for specific diagnosis and as a target for treatment. However, expression of JL1 by lymphomas has not been thoroughly assessed. Burkitt lymphoma is a potentially curable aggressive lymphoma, but prognostic markers that stratify risk have not been established. We therefore assayed JL1 expression in Burkitt lymphoma patients to assess its value as a prognostic marker for this disease. Tissue microarray blocks of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples from patients with Burkitt lymphoma and other B-cell lymphomas, at the Asan Medical Center and Seoul National University Hospital from January 1998 to December 2008 were immunohistochemically assayed using a mouse monoclonal antibody against JL1. We found that 30.2% of Burkitt lymphoma samples, but no other lymphoma samples, were positive for JL1. JL-1 expression was significantly correlated with patient survival (P = 0.022), but not with other clinical manifestations of the disease, with 91.6% of JL1-positive patients achieving complete remission in response to chemotherapy and 6.25% experiencing disease recurrence. JL1 positivity was significantly correlated with prolonged overall survival by both Kaplan-Meier survival (P = 0.035) and Cox proportional hazard model (P = 0.043) analysis. JL1 expression in Burkitt lymphoma was positively correlated with overall survival and better response to chemotherapy, suggesting that JL1 may be a prognostic marker for risk stratification in these patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Keimyung University School of Medicine, 194 Dongsan-Dong, Choong-Ku, Daegu, South Korea.
authors.forename: Ilseon
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Heounjeong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Go
authors.forename: Yoon Kyung
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.forename: Young Hyeh
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: Dok Hyun
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.forename: Cheolwon
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Suh
authors.forename: Joo Ryung
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Huh
authors.forename: Hyangsin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Minchan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gil
authors.forename: Chan-Sik
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D002051:Burkitt Lymphoma / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C114952:JL1 antigen