Background: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a malignancy of late B cells. In another late B-cell malignancy (multiple myeloma), levels of solubilized B-cell maturation antigen (sBCMA) are elevated and predict outcomes.
Objective: We sought to evaluate sBCMA as a possible prognostic factor and monitoring tool for patients with CLL.
Patients and methods: Using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), we assessed plasma (p) levels of BCMA in 171 CLL patients and compared them with levels in healthy individuals.
Results: pBCMA levels were significantly higher among patients with CLL than those from healthy donors (p < 0.0001). Among patients with aggressive disease, pBCMA was elevated compared with patients with indolent disease (p < 0.001). Those with an initial pBCMA level in the highest quartile had a shorter time to first treatment compared with CLL patients with pBCMA levels in the lowest three quartiles (p < 0.0001). Among those in the highest quartile (pBCMA > 110.9 ng/mL), overall survival was shorter than those in the lowest three quartiles (p = 0.0007). Finally, among those patients who underwent serial pBCMA testing, changes in these levels correlated with changes in their clinical status.
Conclusions: Together, our findings show that pBCMA is a promising new prognostic and predictive indicator for patients with CLL.