Expression of CD20 in B Cell Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Abstract

CD20 is a B cell differentiation antigen with variable expression in B cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL). The significance of CD20 expression has been evaluated in BCP-ALL with conflicting results. There is paucity of data regarding CD 20 expression in BCP-ALL in Indian patients. We retrospectively analyzed 100 patients of BCP-ALL for CD20 expression. CD20 positivity was defined as expression of CD20 to be more than or equal to 20 % in the blast population. 62 % patients expressed CD20 while 38 % patients were negative for CD20. The positivity ranged from negative to dim (35.5 % patients), moderately bright (19.3 % patients) to bright (45.2 % patients). Additional prospective studies are needed to determine the optimal use of rituximab in treatment of CD20-positive BCP-ALL.

Immunophenotypic aberrancies in acute lymphoblastic leukemia from 282 Iraqi patients

“…Another significant observation was the higher rates of CD20 expression found in children compared to adults. Some studies have reported expression of CD20 in nearly half of childhood and a quarter of adult B‐ALL, although other studies have not revealed any differences in these two age groups …”

Spectrum and Immunophenotypic Profile of Acute Leukemia: A Tertiary Center Flow Cytometry Experience

“…In our cohort, CD20 was found to be positive in 53.5% (n=146/273) cases similar to that reported in Indian literature8–10 but higher than that reported in western literature (20–40%). These differences could be due to the choice of fluorochromes used in different studies 30…”

Immunophenotypic Profile in Adult Patients with Acute Leukemia Association with Clinical Feature: Fluorescence Cytometry Quantitative Analysis

“…In addition, CD20 is expressed only in a small subset of precursor B cells [31]. Expression of cyt IgM and immaturity antigens (e.g.…”