A subset of CD45+/CD19 − cells in bone marrow may be associated with clinical outcomes of patients with mantle cell lymphoma

Abstract

Mantle cell lymphoma has features of both indolent and aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Repeated relapses leading to treatment failure in patients with mantle cell lymphoma might suggest the presence of cancer stem cells. A small cell population with CD45+/CD19 − was previously reported to represent cancer stem cells. We evaluated the clinical relevance of CD45+/CD19 − cells in bone marrow of patients with mantle cell lymphoma (n = 20). A CD45+/CD19 − cell population was observed in newly diagnosed mantle cell lymphoma, and its percentage correlated with tumor cells in bone marrow (r = 0.832, p = 0.001) and score on the simplified mantle cell lymphoma prognostic index (r = 0.675, p = 0.016). After treatment, CD45+/CD19 − cells decreased (mean: 0.012%), and CD45+/CD19 − cells (0.276%) were higher at relapse or progression than at diagnosis. In conclusion, a CD45+/CD19 − cell population in bone marrow aspirates correlated with the clinical outcome of patients with mantle cell lymphoma.

Keywords::

• Cancer stem cell
• mantle cell lymphoma
• bone marrow

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by grants from the Samsung Biomedical Research Institute (SBRI C-B0-211-2) and the National Research Foundation of Korea's Basic Science Research Program, which is funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (2012R1A1A2008573).

Potential conflict of interest

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