M. Mielcarek et al., EXPRESSION OF INTERCELLULAR-ADHESION MOLECULE-1 (ICAM-1) IN CHILDHOODACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC-LEUKEMIA - CORRELATION WITH CLINICAL-FEATURES ANDOUTCOME, British Journal of Haematology, 96(2), 1997, pp. 301-307
To investigate whether expression of intercellular adhesion molecule 1
(ICAM-1, CD54) in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) has a
n impact on the biological behaviour of the disease, we evaluated 751
children of the ALL-BFM 90 trial with B-cell precursor- (n = 677) or T
-cell-ALL, (n = 74) for CD54 expression within immunological subgroups
, its correlation to certain clinical features, and therapy outcome. T
he highest percentage of patients expressing CD54 was found in common-
and pre-B-ALL (76.1% and 61.4%, respectively). There was intermediate
expression in pre-pre-B-ALL (47.8%), and the lowest expression was de
tected in T-ALL (12.2%). A significant positive correlation could be d
emonstrated between low CD54 expression (<20% stained blasts) and high
peripheral leucocyte counts, central nervous system (CNS) involvement
, and splenomegaly at the time of diagnosis (P < 0.01), In addition, C
D54 expression was a favourable but not independent prognostic factor.
Event-free survival estimate at 4.5 years was 86% for CD54(+) patient
s (n = 463), compared with 78% for CD54(-) patients (n = 241) (P < 0.0
1). These findings demonstrate that CD54 expression has an impact on d
issemination patterns and outcome of childhood ALL, and emphasizes the
potential relevance of adhesion mechanisms in influencing clinical ch
aracteristics and prognosis of haematological malignancies.