Assessment of the Diagnostic and Prognostic Values of CD200 and CD43 in CLL and Leukemic Phase of NHL

Abstract BACKGROUND: Chronic lymphoproliferative disorders (LPDs), such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), are comprised heterogeneous malignant hematopoietic clinicopathologic syndromes with broad clinical features. Molecular diagnostic procedures such as immunophenotyping and cytogenetics have improved the accuracy of diagnosis in recent years. While CLL and NHL were previously indistinguishable based on clinical or immunophenotypic parameters, new biomarkers such as CD200 and CD43 have facilitated separation from one another allowing for prognostication in these hematological disorders. AIM OF STUDY: To evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic significance of CD200 and CD43 expression in CLL and the leukemic phase of NHL. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The patients studied were 145 who have chronic lymphoproliferative disorders that attended the Baghdad Teaching Hospital at Medical City from (January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2020; they were divided into CLL and NHL groups observed in this cross-sectional study. CD200 and CD43 were assessed as baseline. Clinical and laboratory results were collected, combining CLL staging with the Ann Arbor method and NHL staging with the modified Rai system, respectively. RESULTS: CD200 and CD43 were found to have a significant correlation in distinguishing between CLL and NHL. Most CD200-positive patients have moderate to extreme levels of CLL expression, whereas NHL patients generally have dim- or moderate-positive expression patterns. CD43 expression is also dim to moderate in most cases in CLL and few NHL cases. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows CD200 and CD43 useful in distinguishing CLL from NHL in leukemic phase. These two markers have the highest co-expression in CLL relative to NHL, which suggests their combination might significantly improve diagnostic power.