Clonal expansions of cytotoxic T cells exist in the blood of patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia but exhibit anergic properties and are eliminated by nucleoside analogue therapy

Abstract

T cells contribute to host-tumor interactions in patients with monoclonal gammopathies. Expansions of CD8+CD57+ T-cell receptor Vβ-positive (TCRVβ+)-restricted cytotoxic T-cell (CTL) clones are found in 48% of patients with multiple myeloma and confer a favorable prognosis. We now report that CTL clones with varying TCRVβ repertoire are present in 70% of patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM; n = 20). Previous nucleoside analog (NA) therapy, associated with increased incidence of transformation to aggressive lymphoma, significantly influenced the presence of TCRVβ expansions (χ2 = 11.6; P