The risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among individuals with monoclonal B cell lymphocytosis
Year: 2022
Type: article
Abstract: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the underlying cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is a novel coronavirus that has caused a global pandemic, with more than 84 million cases and over 1 million deaths reported in the United States (US). Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) are at particularly high risk for developing the severe disease when infected by SARS-CoV-2. This increased risk is thought to be secondary to a dysregulated immune system inherently associated with CLL [ 1 ], in addition to CLL treatments that can further exacerbate immunosuppression and blunt response to vaccination [ 2 , 3 ]. In two large retrospective series of CLL patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 [ 4 , 5 ], the case fatality rate was 35%; patients with previously untreated CLL and those on active treatment had similar outcomes. Monoclonal B cell lymphocytosis (MBL), a precursor condition to CLL, is defined as an absolute clonal B cell count of <5 × 10 9 /L, in the absence of lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, and cytopenias [ 6 ]. MBL is one of the most common pre-malignant conditions in humans, affecting approximately 5–10% of adults over the age of 40 years [ 7 , 8 ]. MBL can be further subdivided into low-count MBL (typically identified through screening and defined by an absolute B-cell count <0.5 10 9 /L) and high-count MBL with absolute B cell count 0.5–4.9 × 10 9 /L (typically identified in the clinic). Recent data indicate that both low- and high-count MBL are at high risk of developing serious infections requiring hospitalization relative to healthy individuals without MBL [ 7 , 9 ], suggesting that immune dysfunction in CLL develops early during B cell leukemogenesis. To our knowledge, there are no studies examining the risk of COVID-19 infection in MBL.
Source: Blood Cancer Journal
Language: English
Subfield: Genetics
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,590
Awards: G1296830512, G1837978073, G1895907285, G1949568986, G2600835495, G2660289629, G3262422175, G3975782028, G4014759011, G5772772772, G6226249317, G644588067, G6842982902, Prevalence, etiology, and clinical implications of low count monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (MBL), G7418740055, Interdisciplinary Infrastructure for Aging Research: Rochester Epidemiology Project, Genetic Epidemiology of non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, Lymphoma Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in Human Cancer, G9000035104, G9000074902, G9000087465, G9000190434, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center Support Grant
OpenAlex ID: W4309701406