IGHV3-21 gene frequency in a Swedish cohort of patients with newly diagnosed chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

The IGHV3-21 gene has been shown to be overrepresented in Scandinavian patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). By investigating a population-based cohort of 337 Swedish patients with CLL, a lower (6.5%)IGHV3-21 frequency was determined relative to our previous hospital-based studies (10.1%-12.7%), yet this frequency remained higher compared to other Western CLL cohorts (2.6%-4.1%). Furthermore, we confirmed the poor outcome for patients with IGHV3-21 to be independent of mutational and stereotypy status. Scandinavian patients with CLL have shown an overrepresentation of the poor-prognostic IGHV3-21 gene. Furthermore, approximately 50% of patients with IGHV3-21 carry stereotyped B-cell receptors, which implicate antigen selection in leukemogenesis. These patients have also been reported to have shorter time to progression than patients with nonstereotyped IGHV3-21. To investigate the IGHV3-21 frequency and the clinical impact of IGHV3-21 stereotypy, 337 newly diagnosed Swedish CLL patients from a population-based cohort were analyzed. Interestingly, the IGHV3-21 frequency was indeed lower (6.5%) in this indolent patient cohort than in our previous hospital-based cohort studies (10.1%-12.7%). Hence, a selection bias of more-aggressive cases rendered a higher proportion of IGHV3-21 cases in our original studies. Nevertheless, the Swedish IGHV3-21 frequency still remained higher when compared with other larger European or American studies (2.6%-4.1%). Finally, we confirmed the poor outcome for IGHV3-21 patients to be independent of mutational status and found stereotypy to have no impact on survival or time to treatment. The Swedish geographic bias in IGHV3-21 gene frequency was validated albeit at a lower frequency than previously reported. Moreover, no prognostic value could be attributed to IGHV3-21 stereotype status. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Citation

Nicola Cahill, Lesley-Ann Sutton, Mattias Jansson, Fiona Murray, Larry Mansouri, Rebeqa Gunnarsson, Fergus Ryan, Karin E Smedby, Christian Geisler, Gunnar Juliusson, Richard Rosenquist. IGHV3-21 gene frequency in a Swedish cohort of patients with newly diagnosed chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Clinical lymphoma, myeloma & leukemia. 2012 Jun;12(3):201-6

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PMID: 22464020

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