We conclude that the measurement of a single gene expressed by tumor cells (LMO2) and a single gene expressed by the immune microenvironment (TNFRSF9) powerfully predicts overall survival in patients with DLBCL.
We studied anomalous extracellular mRNAs in plasma from patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and their survival implications. mRNAs studied have been reported in the literature as markers of poor (BCL2, CCND2, MYC) and favorable outcome (LMO2, BCL6, FN1) in tumors.
HGAL and LMO2 are also expressed in GC-derived lymphomas and distinguish biologically distinct subgroups of diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL) associated with improved survival.
In T-lymphocytes, aberrant LMO2 expression beyond those stages leads to T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, while in B cells LMO2 is also expressed in germinal center lymphocytes and diffuse large B-cell lymphomas, where it predicts better clinical outcome.
In conclusion, germline genetic variation in LMO2 was associated with DLBCL prognosis and provided slightly stronger predictive ability relative to LMO2 IHC status.