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Respiratory symptoms, lung function tests, airway responsiveness, and bronchoalveolar lymphocyte subsets in B-Chronic lymphocytic leukemia

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Abstract

A respiratory questionnaire was completed and spirometry, tests for lung volumes, diffusion capacity for CO, and methacholine bronchial challenge were performed in 24 outpatients with B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL), aged 44–79, presenting in different stages of their disease. In 10 patients, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid was also obtained. Ten of twenty-four patients had symptoms consistent with chronic bronchitis, unrelated both to smoking history and to the clinical stage. Abnormal values (<2 SD) were found in 4 patients for total lung capacity (TLC), in 9 for vital capacity (VC), 8 for forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1), 11 for MEF50, 15 for MEF25 and in 7 for diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide. Seven of nineteen patients had PD20FEV1 at less than 1,600 μg of methacholine chloride. There was a significantly negative correlation between white blood cell count and VC (r = 0.41, P < 0.05). A positive correlation was found between PD20FEV1 and FEV1/VC (r = 0.61, P < 0.01). The mean and SEM for BAL cells/ml was 463 (71.8) × 103. No leukemic cells but a marked increase in T lymphocytes (32.5 ± 7.8%) were found in BAL fluid. There were significantly negative correlations between the number of BAL CD3+ T lymphocytes and PD20FEV1 (r = 0.61, P < 0.05), and between the number of BAL CD8+ T lymphocytes and PD20FEVJ1(r = 0.84, P < 0.01). In conclusion, patients with B-CLL have a high prevalence of respiratory symptoms, small airway dysfunction and CD8 “alveolitis” related to airway responsiveness; despite the well-known lung interstitial lymphocyte infiltration in B-CLL, leukemic cells are not found in BAL fluid.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Scienze Biomediche and Oncologia Umana, University of Torino, Italy

    G. Rolla, C. Bucca, F. Chiampo, L. Brussino, E. Scappaticci, A. Stacchini, M. T. Bertero & F. Caligaris-Cappio

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  1. G. Rolla
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  2. C. Bucca
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  3. F. Chiampo
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  4. L. Brussino
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  5. E. Scappaticci
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  6. A. Stacchini
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  7. M. T. Bertero
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  8. F. Caligaris-Cappio
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Rolla, G., Bucca, C., Chiampo, F. et al. Respiratory symptoms, lung function tests, airway responsiveness, and bronchoalveolar lymphocyte subsets in B-Chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Lung 171, 265–275 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03215870

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