Press Release: Contribution of cerebrospinal fluid sCD19 levels to the detection of CNS lymphoma and its impact on disease outcome

Abstract:  Flow cytometry (FCM) is more sensitive than conventional cytology for detection of occult leptomeningeal lymphoma; however, some FCM-negative patients show central nervous system (CNS) recurrence. Here we evaluated the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of 13 B-cell associated markers and their contribution to the diagnosis of CNS lymphoma in 91 diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL) and 22 Burkitt lymphomas (BL). From all markers tested, CD19 was the most informative. Thus, higher soluble CD19 levels (sCD19) were associated with a greater frequency of neurological symptoms in DLBCL and BL and with parenchymal CNS lymphoma in DLBCL, sCD19 emerging as a powerful predictor of event-free and overall survival in DLBCL and BL, particularly when combined with FCM detection of CNS disease. These results support the utility of combined FCM detection of lymphoma cells and assessment of sCD19 levels in CSF, for more accurate identification of CNS disease in DLBCL and BL patients.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24501214

Muñiz C¹, Martín-Martín L, López A, Sánchez-González B, Salar A, Almeida J, Sancho JM, Ribera JM, Heras C, Peñalver F, Gómez M, González-Barca E, Alonso N, Navarro B, Olave T, Sala F, Conde E, Márquez JA, Cabezudo E, Cladera A, García-Malo M, Caballero MD, Orfao A.