CD20 up-regulation in pediatric B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia during induction treatment: setting the stage for anti-CD20 directed immunotherapy.

ABSTRACT: CD20 is expressed in approximately one- half of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cases with B-cell precursor (BCP) origin. We observed that it is occasionally up-regulated during treatment. To understand the impact of this on the potential effectiveness of anti-CD20 immunotherapy, we studied 237 CD10(+) pediatric BCP-ALL patients with Berlin-Frankfurt-Munster (BFM)-type therapy. We analyzed CD20 expression changes from diagnosis to end-induction, focusing on sample pairs with more than or equal to 0.1% residual leukemic blasts, and assessed complement-induced cytotoxicity by CD20-targeting with rituximab in vitro. CD20-positivity significantly increased from 45% in initial samples to 81% at end-induction (day 15, 71%). The levels of expression also increased; 52% of cases at en

SUBMITTER: Dworzak MN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2581996 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature