Expression of BAFF and BAFF-R in follicular lymphoma: correlation with clinicopathologic characteristics and survival outcomes

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 7; no. 12; p. e50936
• Main Authors: Li, Ya-Jun, Jiang, Wen-Qi, Rao, Hui-Lan, Huang, Jia-Jia, Xia, Yi, Huang, Hui-Qiang, Lin, Tong-Yu, Xia, Zhong-Jun, Li, Su, Li, Zhi-Ming
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 13.12.2012; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Analysis; Antigens; Apoptosis; B-Cell Activating Factor - biosynthesis; B-Cell Activation Factor Receptor - biosynthesis; Biology; BLyS protein; Cancer; Cell activation; Cell Proliferation; Cell Survival; Classification; Correlation; Disease; Disease-Free Survival; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay - methods; Enzymes; Ethics; Female; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Humans; Immunohistochemistry - methods; L-Lactate dehydrogenase; Laboratories; Lactate dehydrogenase; Lactic acid; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes B; Lymphoma; Lymphoma, Follicular - metabolism; Lymphomas; Male; Medical prognosis; Medicine; Middle Aged; Models, Statistical; Multivariate analysis; Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas; Oncology; Paraffin; Patients; Prognosis; Proteins; Risk analysis; Risk factors; Serum levels; Studies; Survival; Treatment Outcome; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Viability; China
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0050936

B-cell activation factor (BAFF) and BAFF-receptor (BAFF-R) play crucial roles in the viability and proliferation of malignant lymphoma cells. Limited information exists regarding expression profiles and the prognostic role of BAFF and BAFF-R in follicular lymphoma (FL). We sought to determine the expression profiles of BAFF and BAFF-R in FL and to evaluate the correlation of BAFF and BAFF-R expression with clinicopathologic characteristics and outcome of FL. Correlation between expression levels of BAFF detected by immunohistochemical (IHC) and serum levels of BAFF was also evaluated. Paraffin-embedded specimens from 115 patients were immunohistochemically examined for BAFF and BAFF-R expression. Expression levels were dichotomized into low versus high categories based on immunostaining intensity. The correlation of BAFF and BAFF-R expression with clinicopathologic characteristics and patient outcome was assessed. Serum levels of BAFF in 35 of the 115 patients with IHC data were measured by Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent assay (ELISA). BAFF and BAFF-R were expressed in 88.7% (102/115) and 87.8% (101/115) of the cases, respectively. BAFF expression was significantly correlated with only one clinicopathologic feature: Ann Arbor stage. No significant correlation was found between expression levels of BAFF detected by IHC and serum levels of BAFF detected by ELISA. High expression of BAFF-R, but not BAFF, was significantly correlated with inferior progression-free survival (PFS; P = 0.013) and overall survival (OS; P = 0.03). High expression of BAFF-R, bulky disease, and elevated lactate dehydrogenase were correlated with inferior PFS and OS in multivariate analysis. A prognostic scoring system incorporating these 3 risk factors identified 3 distinct prognostic groups with 5-year PFS of 59.4%, 41.9%, and 10.7% and OS of 91.3%, 79.7%, and 45.8%, respectively. Most patients with FL variably express BAFF and BAFF-R. High expression of BAFF-R, but not BAFF, may be an independent risk factor for PFS and OS in FL.