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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · J Lab Physicians 2022; 14(04): 435-442
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1748828
Original Article

Flow Cytometric Expression of CD49d in Newly Diagnosed Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Its Correlation with Established Prognostic Markers

Arathi Kunnumbrath
1   Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
,
Neha Singh
1   Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
,
Arvind Kumar Gupta
1   Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
,
Nilotpal Chowdhury
1   Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
,
Uttam Kumar Nath
2   Department of Medical Oncology and Hematology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
,
Harish Chandra
1   Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
› Author Affiliations Funding None.
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Abstract

Introduction Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the commonest hematological malignancy in the West but is relatively uncommon in India. The prognosis of CLL is determined by well-established prognostic markers. CD49d has been emerging as a promising prognostic marker in CLL. CD49d expression in CLL has been found to have an aggressive clinical course, shorter time to first treatment, and poorer prognosis. The aim of this study was to analyze the flow cytometric expression of CD49d in newly diagnosed CLL and to correlate its expression with clinico-hematological parameters.

Materials and Methods Twenty-five consecutive patients of CLL, diagnosed on flow cytometry, were included in the study. Patients on treatment or those with relapse were excluded. The panel for flow cytometry included the routine markers used for CLL diagnosis along with CD49d. The expression of CD49d was correlated with clinico-hematological parameters in all patients. “R” software was used for the statistical analysis. Fisher's exact test and Wilcox test were used to assess the correlation of CD49d to categorical and continuous data, respectively.

Results The mean age of the patients was 62.6 ± 12.5 years, and 80% were symptomatic at diagnosis. CD49d expression was found in 44% cases, with a higher proportion being male patients. CD49d and prolymphocyte percentage showed a statistically significant correlation (p = 0.0007). We found a statistically significant correlation between CD49d expression and lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly with p-values of 0.033 and 0.0472, respectively. CD49d positivity correlated significantly with a higher Rai stage (p = 0.0196) and intermediate and high-risk cases according to Binet staging (p = 0.033).

Conclusion CD49d expression in the present study correlated with a higher prolymphocyte percentage, lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, and higher Rai and Binet stages. CD49d expression on flow cytometry was reproducible and easy to interpret.

Keywords

CD49d - Chronic lymphocytic - flow cytometry - leukemia - prognosis

Note

This study has been presented as an oral paper at Haematocon 2021. The study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee (letter no.: AIIMS/IEC/19/1166).


Authors' Contributions

A.K. contributed to data acquisition, analysis, and literature search; N.S. contributed to the concept, definition of intellectual content, literature search, manuscript preparation, manuscript editing, and manuscript review; A.K.G. contributed to manuscript editing and manuscript review; N.C. contributed to statistical analysis and manuscript review; U.K.N. contributed to clinical details and follow-up of patient and manuscript editing; and H.C. contributed to the definition of intellectual content and manuscript review.




Publication History

Article published online:
10 June 2022

© 2022. The Indian Association of Laboratory Physicians. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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