A high mutation rate of immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region gene associates with a poor survival and chemotherapy response of mantle cell lymphoma patients

Immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region (IGHV) gene mutation status is a biomarker for the prognosis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, whether it is associated with the diagnosis, staging, and prognosis of patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) remains to be determined. The IGHV gene mutations of 52 MCL patients were determined by DNA sequencing and compared with published IGHV germline sequences. DNA sequence alignment of IGHV variable regions with published IGHV germline sequences showed that the coincidence rate was 94% to 100%. Ten cases (21%) were significantly mutated with the rate of 96.9% to 94.0%. The overall survival time of patients was negatively correlated with the degree of IGHV gene mutation. Further survival analysis with log-rank test demonstrated that the patients with significant IGHV gene mutations showed a trend towards poor survival. The mutation rate of the IGHV variant region may be determined to assess the prognosis and overall survival time of MCL patients.