Mantle cell lymphoma has features of both indolent and aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Repeated relapses leading to treatment failure in patients with mantle cell lymphoma might suggest the presence of cancer stem cells. A small cell population with CD45+/CD19 - was previously reported to represent cancer stem cells. We evaluated the clinical relevance of CD45+/CD19 - cells in bone marrow of patients with mantle cell lymphoma (n = 20). A CD45+/CD19 - cell population was observed in newly diagnosed mantle cell lymphoma, and its percentage correlated with tumor cells in bone marrow (r = 0.832, p = 0.001) and score on the simplified mantle cell lymphoma prognostic index (r = 0.675, p = 0.016). After treatment, CD45+/CD19 - cells decreased (mean: 0.012%), and CD45+/CD19 - cells (0.276%) were higher at relapse or progression than at diagnosis. In conclusion, a CD45+/CD19 - cell population in bone marrow aspirates correlated with the clinical outcome of patients with mantle cell lymphoma.
Keywords: Cancer stem cell; bone marrow; mantle cell lymphoma.