CD49d was a strong predictor of overall survival in a cohort of 778 unselected patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, reported Michele Dal Bo, MD, of Centro di Riferimento Oncologico, in Aviano, Italy, and colleagues.
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High CD49d expression was an independent predictor of poor overall survival in a multivariate Cox analysis (hazard ratio = 1.88, P less than .0001) and in each category of a risk stratification model. Among other biological prognosticators, CD49d was among the top predictors of overall survival (variable importance = 0.0410) along with immunoglobulin heavy chain variable (IGHV) gene mutational status and TP53 abnormalities. “In this context, TP53 disruption and NOTCH1 mutations retained prognostic relevance, in keeping with their roles in CLL cell immuno-chemoresistance,” the authors wrote.