Homozygosity For Killer Immunoglobin-Like Receptor (Kir) Haplotype A Is Associated To Negative Interim Positron Emission Tomography (Pet) And A Favourable Outcome In Hodgkin Lymphoma

Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) represents an interesting model for the study of genetic and immunogenetic factors that may influence the pathogenesis of oncohematological disease and response to treatment. Natural killer (NK) cells represent a key component of the innate immune system against cancer. Their activity is modulated by the interaction between inhibitory and activating killer immunoglobin-like receptors (KIR) and their ligands. In the management of HL, Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a standard procedure for staging of the disease. Moreover interim PET, carried out after 2 cycles (PET-2) of treatment with doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine and dacarbazine (ABVD), is currently used in clinical practice as a strong predictor of response to therapy. In this study we investigated the frequencies of KIRs and their ligands in a cohort of HL patients and healthy controls. Moreover, we evaluated whether specific KIR genes or KIR haplotypes could be related to negative interim PET (PET-2) and progression-free survival (PFS).