Small nucleolar RNA expression profiling identifies potential prognostic markers in peripheral T-cell lymphoma

Blood. 2012 Nov 8;120(19):3997-4005. doi: 10.1182/blood-2012-06-438135. Epub 2012 Sep 18.

Abstract

Peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) is a rare, heterogeneous type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) that, in general, is associated with a poor clinical outcome. Therefore, a current major challenge is the discovery of new prognostic tools for this disease. In the present study, a cohort of 122 patients with PTCL was collected from a multicentric T-cell lymphoma consortium (TENOMIC). We analyzed the expression of 80 small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) using high-throughput quantitative PCR. We demonstrate that snoRNA expression analysis may be useful in both the diagnosis of some subtypes of PTCL and the prognostication of both PTCL-not otherwise specified (PTCL-NOS; n = 26) and angio-immunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL; n = 46) patients treated with chemotherapy. Like miRNAs, snoRNAs are globally down-regulated in tumor cells compared with their normal counterparts. In the present study, the snoRNA signature was robust enough to differentiate anaplastic large cell lymphoma (n = 32) from other PTCLs. For PTCL-NOS and AITL, we obtained 2 distinct prognostic signatures with a reduced set of 3 genes. Of particular interest was the prognostic value of HBII-239 snoRNA, which was significantly over-expressed in cases of AITL and PTCL-NOS that had favorable outcomes. Our results suggest that snoRNA expression profiles may have a diagnostic and prognostic significance for PTCL, offering new tools for patient care and follow-up.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Cell Cycle / genetics
  • Cell Proliferation
  • Cluster Analysis
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Profiling*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • Humans
  • Lymphoma, T-Cell, Peripheral / diagnosis*
  • Lymphoma, T-Cell, Peripheral / genetics*
  • Lymphoma, T-Cell, Peripheral / mortality
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Prognosis
  • RNA, Small Nucleolar / genetics*

Substances

  • RNA, Small Nucleolar