title: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia in Korean patients: frequent atypical immunophenotype and relatively aggressive clinical behavior.
abstract: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a mature B-cell neoplasm characterized by the expansion of CD5-positive lymphocytes in peripheral blood. While CLL is the most common type of leukemia in Western populations, the disease is rare in Asians. Hence, clinical and laboratory data and studies of CLL in Asian populations have been limited. In this study, we investigated the clinical and laboratory characteristics of CLL in Korea. A total of 39 patients who had been diagnosed with CLL during the period from January 2000 to October 2010 at a single institution in Korea were examined. Clinically, 67 % of the patients were classified as having advanced Binet stages B or C. Up to 56 % of the patients had an atypical immunophenotype with high frequencies of FMC7 positivity and strong CD22 positivity. Twenty-six patients (67 %) received chemotherapy, and more than half of the treated patients (54 %) expired. The overall survival rate at 5 years was estimated at 71 %, which was lower than previously reported. These findings suggested that CLL in Korea has atypical immunophenotypes and that its clinical behavior may be more aggressive than that in Western populations.
authors: Department of Laboratory Medicine and Genetics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 135-710, Korea.
authors: Mi-Ae
authors: MA
authors: Jang
authors: Eun-Hyung
authors: EH
authors: Yoo
authors: Kihyun
authors: K
authors: Kim
authors: Won Seog
authors: WS
authors: Kim
authors: Chul Won
authors: CW
authors: Jung
authors: Sun-Hee
authors: SH
authors: Kim
authors: Hee-Jin
authors: HJ
authors: Kim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D018956:CD5 Antigens / Q000097:blood; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015451:Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell / Q000097:blood / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D018956:CD5 Antigens
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