PROGNOSTIC-SIGNIFICANCE OF IMMUNOGLOBULIN PHENOTYPE IN B-CELL CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC-LEUKEMIA

  • 1 January 1985
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 65  (2) , 340-344
Abstract
Consecutive untreated patients (76) with B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) and classified according to Binet''s staging system were studied at the clinical presentation. Several immunologic parameters (number of total and T circulating lymphocytes and their surface membrane Ig [Smlg] phenotypes and levels of serum Ig) were evaluated with the aim of identifying a biologic marker of prognostic relevance. In this series of persons, Binet staging confirmed its usefulness as a prognostic index (P < 0.001). With regard to Smlg, they were .mu.-type in 41 cases (53.9%), .mu.-type plus .delta.-type in 29 cases (38.2%), .alpha.-type in 1 case, and not detectable in five cases. No correlations were found between clinical stage and Ig phenotype, although all but 1 patient in stage C showed .mu.-type Smlg alone. On analyzing the survival curves of patients according to different Smlg phenotypes, patients with only .mu.-type Smlg had a poorer prognosis (P < 0.05) than those with .mu.-type plus .delta.-type; this difference was even more significant (P < 0.01) in patients in stage A, whereas there were no statistical differences in those in stages B and C. Because the appearance of surface H chain of .delta.-type could be an expression of cell maturation, these results suggest that in B-CLL the presence of phenotypically more mature leukemic cells may correlate with better clinical prognosis, particulary in the early phase of the disease.