TY - JOUR
T1 - Factors predicting the recurrence of Epstein–Barr virus-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis in children after treatment using the HLH-2004 protocol
AU - Yanagaisawa, Ryu
AU - Matsuda, Kazuyuki
AU - Ohga, Shouichi
AU - Kanegane, Hirokazu
AU - Morimoto, Akira
AU - Okamoto, Yasuhiro
AU - Ohara, Akira
AU - Fukushima, Keitaro
AU - Sotomatsu, Manabu
AU - Nomura, Keiko
AU - Saito, Akiko M.
AU - Horibe, Keizo
AU - Ishii, Eiichi
AU - Nakazawa, Yozo
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Clinical Cancer Research from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan (H20-GanRinsho-Ippan-017), by the Practical Research for Innovative Cancer Control from the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED_16ek0109055h0003 and AMED_18ck0106462h0001), and by the Japan Leukemia Research Fund. The authors would like to thank Yūka Miyajima for assistance with preparation of the manuscript as well as secretarial assistance. The authors also thank Enago (http://www.enago.jp) for the English language review.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, Japanese Society of Hematology.
PY - 2019/5/3
Y1 - 2019/5/3
N2 - Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is highly prevalent in Japan. To date, no standard treatment for EBV–HLH has been established owing to the diversity in treatment response and the difficulty in assessing prognostic factors. The present prospective study recruited 27 children with EBV–HLH who were also part of the HLH-2004 study. EBV load in the peripheral blood was monitored at diagnosis and 2, 4, and 8 weeks after treatment initiation. Additionally, T-cell receptor (TCR) clonality and other laboratory data were evaluated. TCR clonality was positive in 14 patients at diagnosis. Seven of 27 patients experienced recurrences after treatment. No correlation was noted among any clinical data at diagnosis of patients with and without recurrence. However, the recurrence rate was significantly higher in patients aged < 2 years and/or those with a high plasma EBV load of > 103 copies/mL 2 weeks after treatment than that in patients without these factors. These findings suggest that a younger age or a high EBV load in plasma at the early phase of treatment is a factor predicting a recurrence and helps guide the intensity of subsequent treatment phases for children with EBV–HLH.
AB - Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is highly prevalent in Japan. To date, no standard treatment for EBV–HLH has been established owing to the diversity in treatment response and the difficulty in assessing prognostic factors. The present prospective study recruited 27 children with EBV–HLH who were also part of the HLH-2004 study. EBV load in the peripheral blood was monitored at diagnosis and 2, 4, and 8 weeks after treatment initiation. Additionally, T-cell receptor (TCR) clonality and other laboratory data were evaluated. TCR clonality was positive in 14 patients at diagnosis. Seven of 27 patients experienced recurrences after treatment. No correlation was noted among any clinical data at diagnosis of patients with and without recurrence. However, the recurrence rate was significantly higher in patients aged < 2 years and/or those with a high plasma EBV load of > 103 copies/mL 2 weeks after treatment than that in patients without these factors. These findings suggest that a younger age or a high EBV load in plasma at the early phase of treatment is a factor predicting a recurrence and helps guide the intensity of subsequent treatment phases for children with EBV–HLH.
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U2 - 10.1007/s12185-019-02612-2
DO - 10.1007/s12185-019-02612-2
M3 - Article
C2 - 30788725
AN - SCOPUS:85064620881
SN - 0925-5710
VL - 109
SP - 612
EP - 617
JO - International Journal of Hematology
JF - International Journal of Hematology
IS - 5
ER -