Immune Phenotype and Prognosis in Chronic B‐Lymphocytic Leukaemia and Leukaemic Immunocytoma

Abstract

Sweden.) Immune phenotype and prognosis in chronic B-lymphocytic leukaemia and leukaemic immunocytoma. Acta Med Scand 1985; 218: 33540.Fifty-nine patients with a leukaemic B-lymphocytic malignancy ("CLL") were studied. According to the Kiel classification, 29 patients had chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and 30 had immunocytoma (IC). Cell surface immunoglobulin staining showed p heavy chain phenotype in 14 patients, pa in 35, gamma in 7; in cells from 3 patients the staining was too weak to permit identification. The light chain phenotype was kappa in 39 patients, lambda in 17, and unidentified in 3. The immunoglobulin isotypes differed between the diagnoses. The gamma chain phenotype was found only in IC patients (p<0.02), and more CLL than IC patients showed a lambda chain phenotype (p<0.04). Blood lymphocytes from IC patients contained more T cells than CLL cell samples (p<0.002). No prognostic difference was found between the CLL and IC group. Compared to the lambda phenotype, the kappa phenotype was associated with a poorer prognosis in the IC group, but with a better prognosis in the CLL group. IC patients with p phenotype had a poorer prognosis than those with gamma phenotype. Low relative T cell numbers were associated with a poor survival (p40.01). Key words: chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, phenotype, prognosis.Abbreviations: "CLL" = classical chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, CLL = chronic B-lymphocytic leukaemia (Kiel), IC = immunocytoma, Ig = immunoglobulin, SmIg = surface membrane Ig.