The anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab has revolutionized the management of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Addition of rituximab to the frontline standard chemotherapy (fludarabine–cyclophosphamide, FC) within the rituximab fludarabine cyclophosphamide regimen has recently shown to statistically increase both progression-free survival (PFS) and overal...

Therapy of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is currently palliative, emphasizing the need for identification of new therapies for this disease. KRN5500 is a novel agent that has a unique sensitivity pattern in the National Cancer Institute cell line screening panel, suggesting a unique mechanism of action. To assess its in vitro activity in CLL, we exposed peripheral mononuclear cells ...

Purpose: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells in lymph nodes (LN), from which relapses are postulated to originate, display an antiapoptotic profile in contrast to CLL cells from peripheral blood (PB). The BH3 mimetic ABT-737 antagonizes the antiapoptotic proteins Bcl-XL and Bcl-2 but not Mcl-1 or Bfl-1. Previously, it was shown that CD40-stimulated CLL cells were resistant to ABT-737. We a...

Richter’s Transformation of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) to diffuse large B-cell lymphoma or Hodgkin lymphoma (both are B-cell origin) are well described in literature. Recently, transformation of CLL into histiocytic/dendritic/Langerhans cell sarcoma (all are myeloid origin), dubbed as “transdifferentiation”, has also been reported. The mechanisms behind this phenomenon are not clear. He...

background: to explore a possible rela!onship among blood groups and the prognosis of breast cancer, this case- control study was carried out in arak city, arak province, iran. materials and methods: one hundred and thirty four pa!ents with breast cancer were inves!gated. abo blood groups were obtained from medical records. mul!variate analyses were performed, including size of tumor, axillary ...

Dendritic cells (DCs) play a central role in the initiation and regulation of innate and adaptive immune responses and have increasingly been applied as vaccines for cancer patients. Ex vivo generation and antigen loading of monocyte-derived DCs allows a controlled maturation, with the aim of imprinting different DC functions that are essential for their subsequent induction of a T cell-mediate...

In this issue of Blood, Hjalgrim et al used the Scandinavian Donations and Transfusions (SCANDAT2) database, which includes comprehensive information on donors and recipients of >20 million blood products handled by the Danish and Swedish blood banks between 1968 and 2010, to address the clinically relevant question of whether chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is transmitted through blood tran...

CD200 is a transmembrane molecule with an important immunoregulatory role that is overexpressed onmost chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells. In this study, we characterized a previously unknown soluble form of thismolecule in humanplasma termed sCD200. Levels of sCD200were elevated in the plasma of patientswithCLL as compared with healthy controls, and there was a significant correlation wi...

Microenvironmental interactions are crucial for the survival and proliferation of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells. CD4þ T cells that express CD40 ligand (CD40L), along with other accessory immune and stromal cells within CLL lymph nodes, provide signals needed for activation and outgrowth of the tumor clone. Furthermore, correct positioning of CLL cells within lymphoid subcompartments ...

Glutathione (GSH) content may be the major determinant of a cell's sensitivity to cytotoxic alkylating agents. In the present study, the GSH concentration was determined in lymphocytes isolated from the blood of normal subjects and patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Comparable levels were found in both types of cells. Incubation for 20 hours led to a decrease in GSH to 51% of bas...