BackgroundB-Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) represents a hematologic malignancy with poor clinical outcome and low survival rates in adult patients. Remission rates in Hispanic population are almost 30 % lower and Overall Survival (OS) nearly two years inferior than those reported in other ethnic groups. Only 61 % of Colombian adult patients with ALL achieve complete remission (CR), median overall survival is 11.3 months and event-free survival (EFS) is 7.34 months. Identification of prognostic factors is crucial for the application of proper treatment strategies and subsequently for successful outcome. Our goal was to identify a gene expression signature that might correlate with response to therapy and evaluate the utility of these as prognostic tool in hispanic patients.MethodsWe included 43 adult patients newly diagnosed with B-ALL. We used microarray analysis in order to identify genes that distinguish poor from good response to treatment using differential gene expression analysis. The expression profile was validated by real-time PCR (RT-PCT).ResultsWe identified 442 differentially expressed genes between responders and non-responders to induction treatment. Hierarchical analysis according to the expression of a 7-gene signature revealed 2 subsets of patients that differed in their clinical characteristics and outcome.ConclusionsOur study suggests that response to induction treatment and clinical outcome of Hispanic patients can be predicted from the onset of the disease and that gene expression profiles can be used to stratify patient risk adequately and accurately. The present study represents the first that shows the gene expression profiling of B-ALL Colombian adults and its relevance for stratification in the early course of disease.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13046-016-0333-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Helicobacter pylori infection triggers a cascade of inflammatory stages that may lead to the appearance of non-atrophic gastritis, multifocal atrophic, intestinal metaplasia, dysplasia, and cancer. Deleted in malignant brain tumors 1 (DMBT1) belongs to the group of secreted scavenger receptor cysteine-rich proteins and is considered to be involved in host defense by binding to pathogens. Initial studies showed its deletion and loss of expression in a variety of tumors but the role of this gene in tumor development is not completely understood. Here, we examined the role of DMBT1 in gastric precancerous lesions in Caucasian, African American and Hispanic individuals as well as in the development of gastric pathology in a mouse model of H. pylori infection. We found that in 3 different populations, mucosal DMBT1 expression was significantly increased (2.5 fold) in individuals with dysplasia compared to multifocal atrophic gastritis without intestinal metaplasia; the increase was also observed in individuals with advanced gastritis and positive H. pylori infection. In our animal model, H. pylori infection of Dmbt1−/− mice resulted in significantly higher levels of gastritis, more extensive mucous metaplasia and reduced Il33 expression levels in the gastric mucosa compared to H. pylori-infected wild type mice. Our data in the animal model suggest that in response to H. pylori infection DMBT1 may mediate mucosal protection reducing the risk of developing gastric precancerous lesions. However, the increased expression in human gastric precancerous lesions points to a more complex role of DMBT1 in gastric carcinogenesis.

BackgroundSurvival of adults with B-Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia requires accurate risk stratification of patients in order to provide the appropriate therapy. Contemporary techniques, using clinical and cytogenetic variables are incomplete for prognosis prediction.MethodsTo improve the classification of adult patients diagnosed with B-ALL into prognosis groups, two strategies were examined and combined: the expression of the ID1/ID3/IGJ gene signature by RT-PCR and the immunophenotypic profile of 19 markers proposed in the EuroFlow protocol by Flow Cytometry in bone marrow samples.ResultsBoth techniques were correlated to stratify patients into prognostic groups. An inverse relationship between survival and expression of the three-genes signature was observed and an immunophenotypic profile associated with clinical outcome was identified. Markers CD10 and CD20 were correlated with simultaneous overexpression of ID1, ID3 and IGJ. Patients with simultaneous expression of the poor prognosis gene signature and overexpression of CD10 or CD20, had worse Event Free Survival and Overall Survival than patients who had either the poor prognosis gene expression signature or only CD20 or CD10 overexpressed.ConclusionBy utilizing the combined evaluation of these two immunophenotypic markers along with the poor prognosis gene expression signature, the risk stratification can be significantly strengthened. Further studies including a large number of patients are needed to confirm these findings.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13046-017-0506-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.