Expression of unmutated VH genes is a detrimental prognostic factor in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to X Troussard.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Splenic lymphoma with villous lymphocytes (SLVL) is a B cell chronic lymphoproliferative disorder. Splenectomy and/or chlorambucil are usually regarded as the most effective treatment in SLVL patients. However, a few patients relapse and the second-line treatment remains questionable. In a retrospective study, we evaluated the efficacy and toxicity of fludarabine (FDR) in 10 SLVL patients. The median duration between diagnosis and treatment was 17 months (range, 1-30). Two patients were previously untreated. The patients received FDR 25 mg/m2/day by venous infusion for 5 days with a median of four cycles of chemotherapy (range, 2-6). All patients were assessable: five patients achieved a good and persistent response after a median follow-up of 14 months (5-31), two achieved a good response but relapsed after a follow-up of 15 and 36 months. One out of the three partial responders have a persistent response. The treatment was well tolerated. FDR appears to be an efficient therapy with a favorable toxicity profile for patients in relapse after splenectomy or resistant to CLB. Furthermore it could constitute an alternative to splenectomy in older patients. A longer follow-up and the study of a larger group of patients are warranted to confirm our findings.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
INTRODUCTION: Chromosomal abnormalities are detected in 50 to 70% of patients with multiple myeloma (MM). By conventional cytogenetic analysis, a t(11;14)(q13;q32) is observed at a frequency of 3 to 14%. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To demonstrate a cyclin D1 expression in MM patients or MM cell lines, 14 patients with multiple myeloma (MM) and nine human multiple myeloma cell lines (HMCL) were screened by a competitive RT-PCR and/or Northern blot analysis for cyclin D1 expression. Furthermore, we screened 10 MM patients with FISH to demonstrate a relationship between the cyclin D1 expression and the presence of the t(11;14). RESULTS: Five HMCL had a cyclin D1 overexpression: three of them had a t(11;14)(q13;q32) and two had extra copies of chromosome 11. A cyclin D1 expression was found at diagnosis in seven out of 14 untreated MM patients (50%). Out of 14 MM patients, FISH studies were performed in 10 patients. A t(11;14) was detected in three out of 10 patients and extra copies of chromosome 11 were found in two additional patients. CONCLUSION: Cyclin D1 expression is a common event in MM patients (50%) and is associated either with a t(11;14)(q13;q32) or extra copies of chromosome 11. The prognostic role of the cyclin D1 expression and the level of this expression, as compared to other B-cell chronic lymphoproliferative disorders such as mantle cell lymphoma or hairy cell leukemia, remains to be determined in the pathogenesis of multiple myeloma.
Splenic lymphoma with villous lymphocytes (SLVL) is a B-cell chronic lymphoproliferative disorder. Splenectomy and/or chlorambucil (CLB) are usually regarded as the most effective treatment in SLVL patients. However, a few patients relapse and the second line therapy remains questionable. Although 2-Cda has been evaluated in patients with chronic lymphoid leukemia (CLL) and hairy cell leukemia (HCL), it has been reported as the treatment of SLVL in only one case report. Therefore, we have evaluated its efficacy and toxicity in 7 SLVL patients. The median duration between diagnosis and treatment was 18 months (range, 1 to 59). The patients received 2-CdA (0.1 mg/kg/d) by venous infusion for 7 days with a median number of 1 cycle (range, 1 to 2) either as a first line therapy (one patient) or after a failure of other therapies (splenectomy, chemotherapy). Two patients achieved a complete response. The first one maintained his CR during a follow-up of 9 months and then relapsed; the second patient remained in CR after a follow-up of 20 months. Four patients achieved a partial response and relapsed after a median follow-up of 3.5 months (range, 1 to 4). One patient had no response. The treatment was not well tolerated with many infectious events. In the limits of our study, 2-Cda does not appear to be efficient therapy for SLVL and is not well tolerated for patients in relapse after splenectomy or resistant to CLB.
CHRONIC B CELL PROLIFERATION: An estimated 80 to 120 new cases of hairy cell leukemia are diagnosed annually in France. Median survival is 5 years for untreated patients who develop a series of infectious complications. For many years, interferon alpha was the standard therapy but the therapeutic strategy has changed with the arrival of purine analogs, deoxycoformicine and 2-CdA. THERAPEUTIC OPTIONS: We searched Medline, Pascal, and Current Contents for literature on the treatment of hairy cell leukemia over the last 10 years and discuss here available data on response rate, mechanism of action and adverse effects of different therapeutic options. BY TREATMENT: Interferon generally induces partial response and most patients relapse after treatment withdrawal. The purine analogs, desoxycoformycine and 2-chlorodeoxyadenosine, are more active than interferon inducing response in approximately 90% of the cases, even after interferon failure, complete response is achieved in 50% to 70% of patients. Relapse rate at 5 years appears to be limited to 10% n 15%. Besides infections, the main adverse effect is the constant deep and persistent decline in CD4 counts but with no special risk of opportunistic infection. The increased rate of secondary cancers in long-term survivors and its possible relationship with treatments remains a controversial topic.
Cyclin D1 participates in cell-cycle control, in the progression through the G(1) phase and in the transition from the G(1) to the S phase. The CCND1 locus, located in 11q13, is amplified and cyclin-D1 protein is over-expressed in a wide range of human solid tumors. In some B-lymphoid malignancies, the t(11;14)(q13;q32) translocation joins the Ig heavy-chain locus to the CCND1 locus and leads to cyclin-D1 over-expression. In this study, a series of 127 patients presenting a B-chronic lymphoproliferative disorder (B-CLPD) was analyzed using a competitive RT-PCR designed to detect cyclin-D1-mRNA over-expression. Cyclin-D1 mRNA was expressed in patients with mantle-cell lymphoma (MCL; 10/10), hairy-cell leukemia (HCL; 3/5), B-chronic lymphoid leukemia (B-CLL; 4/111) and B large-cell lymphoma (BLCL; 1/1). Densitometric analysis of RT-PCR products and Western-blot autoradiograms, in addition to cytogenetic data, indicated that activation of the cyclin-D1 gene occurred independently of the t(11;14)(q13;q32) translocation in patients with HCL. Indeed, a normal-sized protein of 36 kDa exhibiting a level incompatible with gene activation by a translocation mechanism was detected in lymphoid cells with a normal karyotype. Moreover, we found a discrepancy between cyclin-D1 mRNA and protein levels in MCL and B-CLL, which suggested that some regulatory mechanisms acting at a post-transcriptional level persist in tumor cells.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
The EMA86 study showed efficacy of intensive sequential chemotherapy with mitoxantrone, 12 mg/m2 day on days 1-3, etoposide, 200 mg/m2/day as a continuous infusion on days 8-10 and cytarabine (araC), 500 mg/m2/day as continuous infusion on days 1-3 and 8-10 (EMA regimen) in previously treated patients with AML. The goal of the EMA91 study was to determine whether administration of GM-CSF between the two sequences of EMA chemotherapy and during the second sequence could increase therapeutic efficacy by potentially increasing leukemic cell recruitment into the S phase of cell cycle before the second sequence. One hundred and ninety-two patients aged less than 65 years with previously treated AML received GM-CSF, 5 microg/kg/day or placebo from day 4 to day 8 of EMA chemotherapy. One hundred and twenty were refractory and 72 were in first relapse after a complete remission (CR) of more than 6 months duration. CR rates after one course of chemotherapy were 65% in the GM-CSF group (refractory: 51%; first relapse: 89%), not significantly different from the 59% CR rate (refractory: 46%; first relapse: 81%) in the placebo group. Median time to recovery of neutrophils was 38 and 37 days and median time to last platelet transfusion 32 and 32 days respectively in the GM-CSF and placebo groups. WHO grade > or = 3 non-hematologic toxicities were mainly sepsis (45% and 51%, respectively) and mucositis (34% and 31%) and did not differ between the two groups. Toxic death rate was 5% and 8%, respectively, in the GM-CSF and placebo groups. Patients achieving CR were scheduled to receive six courses of maintenance with reduced-dose EMA. Time to progression tended to be longer in the GM-CSF group (median 154 vs 115 days, progression-free rate at 18 months 33% vs 19%, P = 0.08), particularly in refractory patients (P = 0.06). However, at the current follow-up, this did not translate into a significantly longer disease-free survival and survival. Cell cycle studies showed increased recruitment of cells in the S phase between day 4 and day 8 in the GM-CSF group compared to placebo (P = 0.006). However, this did not significantly relate to prognosis in this cohort of patients. GM-CSF might marginally increase efficacy of sequential chemotherapy without increasing its toxicity in the absence of any detected relationship between this effect and observed leukemic cell recruitment into the cell cycle.
Persistent and polyclonal lymphocytosis of B lymphocytes (PPBL) with binucleated lymphocytes is an entity characterized by a polyclonal lymphocytosis. The lymphocytosis is stable for years and binucleated lymphocytes are detected on peripheral blood smears. We previously described +i(3q) as a recurrent chromosomal abnormality in seven PPBL patients. In this study we report a large series of 25 PPBL patients and demonstrated that PPBL was associated with +i(3q) in 77% of cases, premature chromosome condensation (PCC) in 50% and both abnormalities in 41% of cases. Furthermore, we demonstrated that i(3q) was present in a minority of B cells, restricted to B lymphocytes independently of the kappa or lambda light Ig chain expression, and exclusively observed in non-binucleated cells. The benign clinical course of PPBL and the lack of biological evolution in the majority of cases suggest that recognition of these disorders is so important that aggressive therapy in PPBL has to be avoided. Whether this syndrome represents a premalignant or benign disease remains unclear. The persistence of cytogenetic abnormalities after stopping tobacco use suggests no association with cigarette smoking.
The excess risk of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) in the first-degree relatives of affected patients suggests that familial CLL might constitute a useful model to study the pathogenesis of this disease, as has been demonstrated in numerous other neoplastic disorders. Previous studies have shown non-random utilization of immunoglobulin genes in CLL, some germline in sequence and others containing numerous somatic mutations. To investigate whether familial cases of CLL exhibit similarities in the composition of the B-cell receptor repertoire to the pattern expressed by CLL patients as a whole, we have studied 25 CLL patients belonging to 12 different families (four French and eight Italian), each of which contained at least two affected members. Among familial cases, VH gene segment utilization proved non-random and diverged from the frequencies previously reported among unrelated patients with CLL. Specifically, although the 4-34 and 5-51 gene segments were found repeatedly, the 1-69 and 4-39 gene segments were used sparingly and the 3-23 gene segment presented with increased frequency. Following the pattern detected in studies of unrelated patients, the single 1-69 expressing CLL contained an unmutated H chain sequence and included a long HCDR3 interval. In contrast, 3-23 containing H chains all used JH4, retained at most 93% homology with germline sequence, and included only short HCDR3 intervals. The vast majority of the CLL variable domains contained a high degree of somatic mutation and exhibited an excess of replacement mutations in the CDR intervals. These findings suggest that familial CLL cases may preferentially derive from B-cell progenitors that have responded to antigen.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
IgE multiple myeloma is a rare disease characterized by a high frequency of Bence-Jones proteinuria and plasma cell leukaemia when compared to other isotypes of monoclonal proteins. Only 35 cases have been reported. We describe a 70-year-old woman with a stage III IgE kappa multiple myeloma presenting with a sacral plasmacytoma. Immunological and biochemical studies showed IgE kappa producing tumoral plasma cells. Serum total IgE was high without clinical symptoms suggesting an hyperIgE syndrome or mast cell activation. The patient underwent surgical removal of the sacral tumor and monthly melphalan-prednisone treatment together with intravenous pamidronate infusions. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the dorsolumbar spine revealed an epidural process leading to T6-T9 radiotherapy. Bone densitometry showed a decreased bone mineral content supporting the management of myeloma-related osteoporosis with bisphosphonate infusions. A good partial response with plateau-phase and increase of bone mineral content was achieved after 1 year of treatment and still persists after a 28 months follow-up.
Defective apoptosis is a mechanism which could possibly explain B chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) cell accumulation. Differences in evolution and prognosis of B-CLL patients may be due to heterogeneity in apoptotic cell death. We studied the apoptotic response to in vitro gamma radiation of blood mononuclear cells from 18 untreated B-CLL patients. In cells irradiated with 2, 4 or 8 Gy and then cultured for 20 hours, the percentage of trypan blue excluding (viable) cells was not modified (>92%). An apoptotic response to irradiation was detected in the majority of the patients, but the individual percentage of apoptotic cells varied widely (8 to 81% after 8 Gy irradiation) in individual cases. The flow cytometric analysis of nick-end DNA labeling demonstrated a dose effect of irradiation, particularly in patients with an apoptotic response of over 20%. In the future, a valuable clue to the selection of irradiation regimens for B-CLL patients may be the investigation of correlations between in vitro radiation-induced apoptosis and the in vivo response to radiation therapy.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
In order to characterize the genetic diversity in splenic lymphoma with villous lymphocytes (SLVL), we have undertaken cytogenetic and molecular analyses of CCND1 expression and BCL1-IgH PCR rearrangement in 76 cases diagnosed predominantly on morphological criteria. Cytogenetic abnormalities were detected in 19/44 (43%) of cases, including in 16/25 (64%) of cases with an absolute lymphocytosis. Abnormalities included those involving chromosome 14q32 (9/19, 47%), predominantly t(11;14)(q13;q32) (5/19, 26%), chromosome 3 (26%), predominantly 3q, chromosome 17p (26%) and trisomy 12 (3/19, 16%) and were thus suggestive of pathogenetic diversity. CCND1 was expressed in 8/30 (27%) cases, including in all t(11;14) cases, 5/10 (50%) CD5-positive cases and also in 3/20 (15%) CD5-negative cases. Three CCND1-positive SLVL demonstrated immunophenotypic features similar to mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) but the majority differed in their CD5 negativity or CD23 positivity. BCL1-IgH rearrangement was only seen in 1/62 (2%) of cases overall and in none of the t(11;14) cases, which demonstrated FISH breakpoints both centromeric and telomeric to the BCL1/MTC, suggesting that, if genomic clustering exists in t(11;14) SLVL, it differs from MCL. Although CCND1 expressing SLVL more commonly had marked lymphocytosis, they did not demonstrate a more aggressive clinical course than their negative counterparts, demonstrating that the detection of CCND1 expression or of a t(11;14) should not suffice to alter diagnostic classification in the absence of other criteria.
T-prolymphocytic leukaemia (T-PLL) is a rare disorder with a poor outcome. Presentation features were studied in 78 T-PLL cases. Although 53 patients (group A) presented with typical progressive disease including rapidly increasing leucocytosis. 25 patients (group B) experienced an initial indolent clinical course with stable moderate leucocytosis. The morphology and antigenic profile of abnormal cells were similar in both groups, except for a lower incidence of CD45RO+ CD45RA- pattern in group B. A high incidence of inv(14)(q11;q32), t(14;14)(q11;q32) and i(8)(q10) chromosomal abnormalities were found in both groups. After an initial indolent phase (median 33 months; 6-103 months), 16 group B patients progressed to an aggressive stage with clinical and laboratory features similar to group A. Moreover, median survival after progression was short in both groups. In conclusion, T-PLL may start as an indolent disease similar to that reported in ataxia telangectasia. In this rare genetic disorder, some patients develop stable T-cell clones which progress toward T-PLL-like leukaemia. Moreover, ATM gene mutations have been reported in T-PLL. Thus, both diseases are likely to be closely related.
Hairy cell leukemia represent 2% of all the leukemias. The etiology is unknown. The diagnosis is based on the peripheral blood examination, showing characteristic lymphoid B cells, with loose lacy chromatin and unconstant cytoplasmic projections. The abnormal lymphoid cells express CD19, CD20, CD22, CD79a, CD25 and CD103. The tumor cells are Sig + with clonal light chain restriction. The treatment is based on recombinant IFN: we discuss the interest and the risks of second malignancy related to the prescription of the purine analogues.