Prognostic irrelevance of HLA-G in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia

SUMMARY In the last few years, it has been suggested that the involvement ofhuman leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G) in several tumoral processes andits likely participation as a factor of immune tolerance in malignantcells. Recently, positive HLA-G surface expression has been associatedwith a poor prognosis in a small group of patients with B-cell chroniclymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL), a lymphoproliferative disorder char-acterized by a heterogeneous clinical course. In the present work, 169patients suffering from B-CLL were analyzed for the expression ofHLA-G by flow cytometry in order to verify its prognostic value in alarger cohort. We observed a low expression of this molecule onleukemic B cells and no significant relation to clinical data orprogression-free survival time, indicating that this molecule is not asgood immunologic prognostic marker for B-CLL as suggested. ORIGINAL ARTICLE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LABORATORY HEMATOLOGY 2008 The AuthorsJournal compilation 3272008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Int. Jnl. Lab. Hem.2009, 31, 327–337