Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40071308›Full record

ArticleHLA2025

Somatic Genomic Alterations in Haematological Tumours Can Interfere With Accurate HLA and Chimerism Diagnostics.

Timo I Olieslagers, Mathijs Groeneweg, Gwendolyn N Y van Gorkom, Erik A M Beckers, Lotte Wieten, Christina E M Voorter

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in HLA, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Timo I OlieslagersDepartment of Transplantation Immunology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Mathijs GroenewegDepartment of Transplantation Immunology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Gwendolyn N Y van GorkomGROW School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Erik A M BeckersDepartment of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Lotte WietenDepartment of Transplantation Immunology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Christina E M VoorterDepartment of Transplantation Immunology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Tumour cells, which are often found in the peripheral blood of patients with acute leukaemia, may harbour multiple somatic alterations throughout the genome, including changes in the HLA region and short tandem repeat (STR) regions. We investigated whether such somatic alterations interfere with HLA and chimerism diagnostics conducted in preparation for an allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). This study describes 10 patient-based cases for which laboratory diagnostics were performed prior to a possible stem cell transplant in the Maastricht University Medical Center. In three acute leukaemia patients, somatic alterations were detected within the HLA region in peripheral blood samples: one case showed a complete loss of an HLA haplotype, while two cases exhibited somatic mutations affecting a single HLA class I gene. Additionally, seven patients with haematological malignancies revealed somatic variations within the STR regions, indicated by the presence of a third allele or the partial or complete loss of an allele in pre-transplant peripheral blood samples. In all patients, these somatic variations were confirmed by repeating the tests using buccal swab samples from patients or samples from family members. Furthermore, our study demonstrated that somatic alterations within STR regions used for chimerism testing occurred in 6% of the 176 patients who received an allo-HSCT between 2017 and 2022. This study underscores the clinical relevance of detecting somatic alterations prior to allo-HSCT, as they may interfere with HLA and STR analysis, potentially leading to HLA mistyping or incorrect chimerism detection. Additionally, it highlights the frequency with which genetic changes in tumour cells can affect chimerism diagnostics. The findings emphasise the vital importance of selecting the appropriate sample source for typing purposes and considering the patient's karyotype when choosing STRs, especially when tumour cells are present in the peripheral blood of patients with haematological malignancies.

Indexed as

ChimerismHematologic NeoplasmsHistocompatibility TestingHLA AntigensAdultAllelesFemaleHaplotypesHematopoietic Stem Cell TransplantationHumansMaleMicrosatellite RepeatsMiddle AgedMutationTransplantation, HomologousHLA Antigenschimerism testinghaematological malignanciesperipheral blastsomatic alterations

Identifiers

PMID40071308
PMCPMC11897862

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.