Haematologica (Dec 2008)

Autoimmune conditions and chronic infections in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients at diagnosis are associated with unmutated IgVH genes

  • Katrina Vanura,
  • Trang Le,
  • Harald Esterbauer,
  • Florentin Späth,
  • Edit Porpaczy,
  • Medhat Shehata,
  • Karin Eigenberger,
  • Alexander Hauswirth,
  • Cathrin Skrabs,
  • Elisabeth Krömer,
  • Ilse Schwarzinger,
  • Berthold Streubel,
  • Christoph Steininger,
  • Christa Fonatsch,
  • Stephan Stilgenbauer,
  • Oswald Wagner,
  • Alexander Gaiger,
  • Ulrich Jäger

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3324/haematol.12955
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 93, no. 12

Abstract

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Few data are available concerning the prevalence of autoimmune disease or chronic infections in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients at diagnosis as well as their clinical outcome. We studied the frequency of such chronic conditions in relation to prognostic markers. A history of autoimmune disease or chronic infection was found in 21% of 186 chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients (12% in autoimmune diseases, 9% in chronic infections). Patients with a history of chronic stimulation were more likely to have unmutated IgVH genes (p