Department of Medicine (DIMED), Hematology and Clinical Immunology Section, Padua University School of Medicine, Padua, Italy.
Veneto Institute of Molecular Medicine (VIMM), Padua, Italy.
Leukemia. 2020 Apr;34(4):1116-1124. doi: 10.1038/s41375-019-0644-0. Epub 2019 Nov 18.
Large granular lymphocyte leukemia (LGLL) is a rare and chronic lymphoproliferative disorder characterized by the clonal expansion of LGLs. LGLL patients can be asymptomatic or develop cytopenia, mostly neutropenia. Somatic STAT3 and STAT5b mutations have been recently reported in approximately 40% of patients. The aim of this study is to analyze clinical and biological features of a large cohort of LGLL patients to identify prognostic markers affecting patients' outcome. In 205 LGLL patients, neutropenia (ANC < 1500/mm) was the main feature (38%), with severe neutropenia (ANC < 500/mm) being present in 20.5% of patients. STAT3 mutations were detected in 28.3% patients and were associated with ANC < 500/mm (p < 0.0001), Hb < 90 g/L (p = 0.0079) and treatment requirement (p < 0.0001) while STAT5b mutations were found in 15/152 asymptomatic patients. By age-adjusted univariate analysis, ANC < 500/mm (p = 0.013), Hb < 90 g/L (p < 0.0001), treatment requirement (p = 0.001) and STAT3 mutated status (p = 0.011) were associated to reduced overall survival (OS). By multivariate analysis, STAT3 mutated status (p = 0.0089) and Hb < 90 g/L (p = 0.0011) were independently associated to reduced OS. In conclusion, we identified clinical and biological features associated to reduced OS in LGLL and we demonstrated the adverse impact of STAT3 mutations in patients' survival, suggesting that this biological feature should be regarded as a potential target of therapy.
大颗粒淋巴细胞白血病 (LGLL) 是一种罕见的慢性淋巴增殖性疾病,其特征是 LGL 的克隆性扩张。LGLL 患者可能无症状,也可能出现血细胞减少症,主要是中性粒细胞减少症。最近报道大约 40%的患者存在体细胞 STAT3 和 STAT5b 突变。本研究旨在分析大量 LGLL 患者的临床和生物学特征,以确定影响患者预后的预后标志物。在 205 名 LGLL 患者中,中性粒细胞减少症(ANC<1500/mm)是主要特征(38%),其中 20.5%的患者存在严重中性粒细胞减少症(ANC<500/mm)。检测到 28.3%的患者存在 STAT3 突变,与 ANC<500/mm(p<0.0001)、Hb<90g/L(p=0.0079)和治疗需求(p<0.0001)相关,而 STAT5b 突变则在 15/152 名无症状患者中发现。通过年龄调整的单因素分析,ANC<500/mm(p=0.013)、Hb<90g/L(p<0.0001)、治疗需求(p=0.001)和 STAT3 突变状态(p=0.011)与总生存(OS)降低相关。通过多因素分析,STAT3 突变状态(p=0.0089)和 Hb<90g/L(p=0.0011)与 OS 降低独立相关。总之,我们确定了与 LGLL 降低 OS 相关的临床和生物学特征,并证明 STAT3 突变对患者生存有不良影响,表明该生物学特征可作为潜在的治疗靶点。