De novo deletion 17p13.1 as a predictor for disease progression in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

To determine the prognostic impact of de novo deletion 17p13.1 (17p-) in previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients, we prospectively studied the outcome of 71 treatment-naïve CLL patients. About 18.3 % of them had 17p- detected by interphase fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) at diagnosis. There was statistically significant difference between 17p- negative and positive patients as regards 2-year overall survival [OS] (89.7 vs. 53.8 %, respectively; P = 0.001). On the other hand, 2-year progression-free survival [PFS] was also significantly higher in 17p- negative group than in 17p- positive one (82.8 vs. 23.1 %, respectively; P < 0.001). On univariate analysis for OS, 17p- positivity was significantly associated with shorter OS (P = 0.003). However, when we performed multivariate analysis, 17p- lost its significant impact. On the other hand, 17p- positivity was a significant risk factor for PFS in both univariate and multivariate analyses [independent risk factor] (P < 0.001 and P = 0.02, respectively). So, 17p- is a predictor for disease progression, but not for survival in CLL patients.