Elevated serum levels of soluble ICAM-1 in non-Hodgkin's lymphomas correlate with tumour burden, disease activity and other prognostic markers

The serum levels of soluble ICAM-1 (CD54) were significantly elevated in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL, n = 127) and hairy cell leukaemia (HCL, n = 15) compared with healthy controls (n = 31). In high-grade malignant NHL (n = 79) the sICAM-1 levels correlated with the tumour mass as reflected in the Am Arbor staging system but not with bulky disease. Further, the sICAM-1 levels correlated with disease activity as reflected by the presence of B symptoms and with other known prognostic markers, in particular serum thymidine kinase (sTK). In patients with low-grade malignant NHL (n = 48) a trend towards higher serum levels of sICAM-1 was found in patients with advanced stage and B symptoms. In both low- and high-grade malignant NHL, elevated levels of sICAM-1 were associated with poorer overall and disease-free survival. The present results indicate that sICAM-1 levels have a prognostic power equal to that of other serum markers claimed to be of prognostic value in NHL, namely serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), beta-a-microglobulin (beta(2)m), serum thymidine kinase (sTK), albumin and orosomucoid. The cellular origin and the possible interactions between soluble and surface ICAM-1 and its ligands needs further exploration.