COLUMBUS, Ohio A study shows for the first time that the three most common chromosome changes seen in chronic lymphocytic leukemia disrupt a molecular network that includes several important genes and strongly influences the outcome of the disease.
The research was led by investigators at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC James) and at University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, working in collaboration with investigators at seven other centers in Italy and the United States. The findings were published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
The network involves genes on chromosome 13, chromosome 11 and chromosome 17, along with the important tumor-suppressor gene TP53, the prognostically important molecule called ZAP-70 and two sets of regulatory molecules called microRNA.
"Our findings might allow doctors to better identify which CLL patients need closer follow-up or earlier treatment," says first author Dr. Muller Fabbri, a research scientist at the OSUCCC James. "Moreover, our study provides important new information about how CLL develops and identifies new molecular targets for the development of new treatments."
CLL is the most common leukemia in the U.S., where 15,000 new cases were expected in 2010, along with 4,400 deaths from the disease.
The disease has an extremely variable clinical outcome, Fabbri notes. While most patients have a slowly progressing form of the disease that requires little or no treatment for many years, others have aggressive disease that requires immediate therapy.
Chromosome damage is common in CLL, and it often involves the loss of pieces of chromosome 13. The loss of pieces of chromosomes 11 and 17 may also occur. More specifically, these changes are called the 13q deletion, and the 11q and 17p deletions.
"Patients with a 13q deletion generally
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| Contact: Darrell E. Ward Darrell.Ward@osumc.edu 614-293-3737 Ohio State University Medical Center Source:Eurekalert |
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