Th17 cells and their effector cytokines have emerged as important mediators in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases and serve as an ambitious field in current immunology research. Recent studies suggest a potential impact of Th17 cells on solid tumors but relatively little is known about their contribution in hematological malignancies. The current study was designed to investigate the possible involvement and clinical significance of circulating Th17 cells in acute leukemia. Flow cytometry was used to analyze percentages of Th17 cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 93 acute leukemia patients (ALL, n = 30; AML, n = 63) and 40 healthy volunteers. Serum levels of IL-17 and IL-21 were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Circulating Th17 cells were increased in patients with acute leukemia (2.88 ± 0.65 % and 2.90 ± 0.57 % in ALL and AML patients, respectively) and were significantly higher than in healthy controls (1.10 ± 0.28 %; P = 0.001). Furthermore, pretreatment Th17 cells were reduced significantly in patients who achieved complete remission after induction therapy (2.25 ± 0.44 % and 1.63 ± 0.27 % in ALL and AML patients, respectively, P < 0.0001). Serum levels of IL-17 and IL-21 were significantly elevated in acute leukemia patients. Kaplan–Meier curves revealed a significantly longer overall survival in patients with high Th17 levels (P = 0.029 and P = 0.027 for ALL and AML, respectively). In the multivariate analysis, Th17 cells retained statistical significance for overall survival in patients with ALL (OR 0.331; P = 0.043) and AML (OR 0.489; P = 0.032). These results strongly suggest Th17 cells as a powerful new prognostic determinant which could serve as a potential therapeutic target to modulate anti-tumor response in acute leukemia patients.

Numerous prognostic markers were introduced to screen for patients with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) likely to have a progressive course, bearing the potential to facilitate risk-adapted treatment strategies. Extracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) functions as a "natural adjuvant" that boosts immune response in the tumor microenvironment. Ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase-1 (CD39/ENTPD1) is the ectonucleotidase that catalyzes the hydrolysis of ATP. The present study was conducted to analyze CD39 expression in T cells and B-CLL cells to evaluate its impact on the clinical course of patients with B-CLL and correlate its levels with well-established risk factors. T-cell CD39 expression was significantly increased in patients' peripheral blood compared to healthy controls. The higher levels were associated with advanced stages of disease and negatively interacted with time to first treatment. Overall, our data indicate that T-cell CD39 expression may identify subsets of patients with B-CLL with an unfavorable clinical outcome. Moreover, it can be incorporated into prognostic schema to improve the prediction of CLL disease progression.

SummaryBackgroundTo assess inter-observer agreement of revised RECIST criteria (version 1.1) for computed tomography assessment of hepatic metastases of breast cancer.Material/MethodsA prospective study was conducted in 28 female patients with breast cancer and with at least one measurable metastatic lesion in the liver that was treated with 3 cycles of anthracycline-based chemotherapy. All patients underwent computed tomography of the abdomen with 64-row multi- detector CT at baseline and after 3 cycles of chemotherapy for response assessment. Image analysis was performed by 2 observers, based on the RECIST criteria (version 1.1).ResultsComputed tomography revealed partial response of hepatic metastases in 7 patients (25%) by one observer and in 10 patients (35.7%) by the other observer, with good inter-observer agreement (k=0.75, percent agreement of 89.29%). Stable disease was detected in 19 patients (67.8%) by one observer and in 16 patients (57.1%) by the other observer, with good agreement (k=0.774, percent agreement of 89.29%). Progressive disease was detected in 2 patients (7.2%) by both observers, with perfect agreement (k=1, percent agreement of 100%). The overall inter-observer agreement in the CT-based response assessment of hepatic metastasis between the two observers was good (k=0.793, percent agreement of 89.29%).ConclusionsWe concluded that computed tomography is a reliable and reproducible imaging modality for response assessment of hepatic metastases of breast cancer according to the RECIST criteria (version 1.1).

Older adults are mostly affected by chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The present study aimed to evaluate oxidative stress in CLL and to assess its impact on IL-9, Th9 cells levels and prognosis of cases. Seventy Egyptian CLL patients and 15 healthy controls were included. Th9 cell and immunophenotyping of abnormal B cells were assessed by flow cytometry, IL-9 level using ELISA, IL-9 mRNA by qRT-PCR, cytogenetics using FISH, and oxidative stress parameters were determined spectrophotometrically and with native gel electrophoresis. Oxidative stress was elevated in CLL that correlated with abnormal immunophenotyping, cytogenetic changes, bad prognosis, Th9 cells, and overexpression of IL-9. Levels of IL-9 and Th9 cells were strongly correlated with oxidative stress and bad prognostic markers in CLL, indicating that these cells may contribute to CLL by novel mechanisms that could include oxidant injury.

B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (B-CLL) is a heterogeneous disease with some patients having an indolent course never needs treatment, while others having rapidly progressive one requires intensive treatment. In recent decades, numerous prognostic markers, such as immunoglobulin variable region heavy-chain (IgVH) mutational status, ZAP-70 and the expression of CD38 on leukaemic cells were introduced to screen for patients likely to have progressive course of B-CLL bearing the potential to facilitate risk-adapted treatment strategies. In B-CLL, T cell function is shown to be dysregulated. CD38 has been demonstrated to be an important transmembrane signalling molecule of T cell with a direct effect on its function. The present study was conducted to analyse CD38 expression on T cells by flow cytometry to evaluate its impact on the clinical course of 88 unselected B-CLL patients and correlate it with other risk factors. CD38 expression level on T cells was shown to predict the clinical course of B-CLL in male patients but not in female patients. Male patients showed CD38 expression on T cells in a stage-dependent manner, in contrast to female patients who showed higher expression irrespective to clinical staging. CD38 expression on T cells negatively interacted with treatment-free survival in male patients. Multivariate analysis revealed that CD38 expression level on T cells is an independent prognostic factor in B-CLL male patients. Simultaneous evaluation of CD38 expression on both B-CLL cells and T cells allowed predicting male patient groups with the most favourable prognosis as well as those with the worst.