title: The Expression and Prognostic Impact of CD95 Death Receptor and CD20, CD34 and CD44 Differentiation Markers in Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study investigated the expression and prognostic significance of the CD95 death receptor and CD20, a B cell-lineage associated marker, along with CD34 and CD44 non-lineage associated molecules in Iranian children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed immunophenotyping for expressions of the molecules in blood samples from children diagnosed with ALL by using a panel of monoclonal antibodies for flow cytometry analysis. The expression of markers was evaluated in relation to clinical and paraclinical features as well as response to treatment in the patients. Findings : CD95 showed a higher expression in T-ALL compared to B-ALL (P<0.001). Analysis of the clinical and laboratory findings at diagnosis in the group of B-ALL patients revealed an association between CD95 expression with lower white blood cell (WBC) numbers and bone marrow blasts (P<0.05). We detected a positive correlation between the expressions of CD95 and CD44 (r=0.445, P<0.01) in B-ALL patients. There was an association between CD20 expression and several poor prognostic factors that included increased extramedullary involvement (EMI) and decreased platelet numbers (P<0.008). The mean expression of CD34 in B-ALL was higher than T-ALL (P=0.004). At follow-up, complete remission duration (CRD) and survival duration did not significantly differ between patients who were positive or negative for each marker.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Association of the studied molecules with several prognostic factors implies the significance of CD95 molecule as favorable and CD20 as unfavorable prognostic markers for childhood ALL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Autoimmune Disease Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz.
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: M Kamazani
authors.affiliation: Onco-Pathology Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences.
authors.forename: Gholamreza
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bahoush-Mehdiabadi
authors.affiliation: Research Center of Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahnaz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aghaeipour
authors.affiliation: Research Center of Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Shahram
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vaeli
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Autoimmune Disease Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz.
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Amirghofran
keywords: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia; CD20; CD34; CD95; Prognosis