Chronic T-Cell Leukemia (CTCL) Samples

Bay Biosciences provides high-quality, matched fresh frozen sera (serum),  plasma, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) bio-fluids from patients diagnosed with chronic T-Cell leukemia (CTCL).

Moreover, the sera (serum), plasma and PBMC bio-fluids are processed from chronic T-Cell leukemia (CTCL) patient’s peripheral whole-blood using customized collection and processing protocols.

In addition, the matched bio-fluids are collected from unique patients with chronic T-Cell leukemia (CTCL) and are provided to a valued pharmaceutical customer for research, development and drug discovery.

Chronic T-Cell Leukemia (CTCL) Overview

Leukemia is a cancer of the blood cells. Leukemia begins when healthy blood cells change and grow out of control. Blood cells are made in the bone marrow, the spongy tissue inside the larger bones in the body. Changes in the bone marrow cells can cause too many or too few of certain blood cells. There are different types of blood cells:

  • Red blood cells that carry oxygen throughout the body
  • White blood cells that fight infection
  • Platelets that help the blood to clot

Types of leukemia are named after the specific blood cell that becomes cancerous, such as the lymphoid cells or myeloid cells. Lymphoid cells are a type of white blood cell. Myeloid cells are bone marrow cells that turn into the cells that fight bacterial infections. A T cell is a type of white blood cell that directly helps body’s immune system fight infection.

Following are the different types of chronic T-cell lymphocytic leukemia, a subtype of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL):

Subtypes of T-cell leukemia

Following are the subtypes of T-cell leukemia:

LGLL

  • First, Large granular lymphocytic leukemia (LGLL): In fact, large granular lymphocytic leukemia (LGLL) is a slow-growing T-cell leukemia. It is more common in women than in men. The cause of large granular lymphocytic leukemia (LGLL) is unknown. However, about 30% of people with large granular lymphocytic leukemia (LGLL) also have rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease causing swelling in the joints of the hands, feet, wrists, knees, hips, or shoulders. Also, nearly half of patients with large granular lymphocytic leukemia (LGLL) have a genetic change in either a gene called STAT3 or another called STAT5B.

T-PLL

  • Second, T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (T-PLL): Moreover, T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (T-PLL) is an aggressive subtype of CLL. It is the most common mature T-cell leukemia in adults. T-PLL is more common in older men, but women may also develop T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (T-PLL). It can affect the skin, but in a different way than Sezary syndrome. Patients with T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (T-PLL) often have genetic changes to their T-cells called a T-cell receptor rearrangement, which is linked to abnormal T-cell growth. This type of genetic change occurs from damage to the genes during a person’s life. It is not passed from parent to child.

ATLL

  • Next, Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL): Furthermore, Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) has four subtypes. Depending on the different features, it is subclassified as smoldering, chronic, acute, or adult T-cell lymphoma. Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymph system. The acute and the adult T-cell lymphoma subtypes grow quickly. Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) is caused by a retrovirus called the human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV1).

Sezary Syndrome

  • Finally, Sezary syndrome: Lastly, Sezary syndrome is a form of mycosis fungoides, a T-cell lymphoma that occurs only on the skin. Sezary syndrome is usually slow-growing and takes years to develop from mycosis fungoides. Sezary syndrome is generally diagnosed when large numbers of the lymphoma cells are found in the blood, often together with reddening of the skin, which is called erythroderma.

Signs and Symptoms of Chronic T-cell Leukemia

Patients with T-cell leukemia may experience the following symptoms or signs. Sometimes, people with T-cell leukemia do not have any of these changes. Or, the cause of a symptom may be a different medical condition that is not leukemia.

  • First, recurrent infections from low numbers of infection-fighting white blood cells called neutrophils
  • Second, bleeding or bruising easily
  • Third, unexplained fevers, chills, and/or night sweats 
  • Moreover, fatigue
  • Furthermore, persistent, unexplained abdominal pain on the left side from a swollen spleen (LGLL, T-PLL)
  • Next, swollen lymph nodes (T-PLL, ATLL); lymph nodes are tiny, bean-shaped organs that help fight infection.
  • For example, rash or skin lesions (T-PLL, ATLL, Sezary syndrome)
  • Also, frequent urination and/or constipation from high levels of calcium in the blood, called hypercalcemia (ATLL).
  • Likewise, itching involving the skin (ATLL, Sezary syndrome)
  • Lastly, feeling full quickly when eating or abdominal pain or fullness (T-PLL)
  • Finally, unexplained weight loss

Risk Factors of Chronic T-cell Leukemia

A risk factor is anything that increases a person’s chance of developing cancer. Although risk factors often influence the development of leukemia, most do not directly cause the disease. Some people with several risk factors never develop leukemia, while others with no known risk factors do.

In general, leukemia occasionally can be caused by a genetic mutation or change. These may be genetic mutations that families pass from generation to generation or that environmental factors, such as smoking or exposure to chemicals or radiation, cause. However, most often the cause of leukemia is not known.

The following risk factor can increase a person’s chance of developing T-cell leukemia:

  • Race/Ethnicity: ATLL is more common in people of Japanese, West Indian, and African American descent.

Diagnosis of Chronic T-cell Leukemia

In addition to a physical examination, the following are some of the tests performed for diagnosing T-cell leukemia:

Blood Tests

  • Blood tests: The diagnosis of T-cell leukemia begins with a blood test called a complete blood count (CBC). A CBC measures the numbers of different types of cells in the blood. If the blood contains many white blood cells, T-cell leukemia may be suspected.

Bone Marrow Aspiration

  • Bone marrow aspiration and biopsy: These two procedures are similar and often done at the same time to examine the bone marrow. Bone marrow has both a solid and a liquid part. A bone marrow aspiration removes a sample of fluid with a needle. A bone marrow biopsy is the removal of a small amount of solid tissue using a needle.  A common site for a bone marrow aspiration and biopsy is the pelvic bone, which is located in the lower back by the hip. The skin in that area is usually numbed with medication beforehand. Other types of anesthesia (medication to block awareness of pain) may also be used.

Molecular Testing

  • Molecular testing: Your doctor may recommend running laboratory tests on a bone marrow sample to identify specific genes, proteins, and other factors unique to the disease.
    • Immunophenotyping is the examination of antigens, a specific type of protein, on the surface of the leukemia cells. Immunophenotyping allows the doctor to confirm the exact type of leukemia.
    • Cytogenetics is the examination of the leukemia cells for abnormal changes to the long strands of genes called chromosomes. It helps doctors confirm the diagnosis and may help determine the patient’s chance of recovery.

    Results of these tests will also help decide whether your treatment options include a type of treatment called targeted therapy.

Biopsy

  • Biopsy: A biopsy is the removal of a small amount of tissue for examination under a microscope. A pathologist then analyzes the sample(s). In addition to a bone marrow aspiration and biopsy, the following types of biopsy may be needed depending on the type of T-cell leukemia suspected:
    • Skin biopsy: During a skin biopsy, a sample of skin tissue is removed to look for T cells in the skin.
    • Lymph node biopsy: In a lymph node biopsy, the doctor removes all or part of a lymph node to look for leukemia cells.

Biospecimens

biospecimens

Bay Biosciences is a global leader in providing researchers with high quality, clinical grade, fully characterized human tissue samples, bio-specimens, and human bio-fluid collections.

Moreover, human biospecimens are available including tumor tissue, serum, plasma and PBMC samples from most other therapeutic areas.

Furthermore, Bay Biosciences maintains and manages its own biorepository, the human tissue bank (biobank) consisting of thousands of diseased samples (specimens) and likewise normal healthy donors for controls. Additionally, available in all formats and types.

In fact, our biobank procures and stores fully consented, de-identified and institutional review boards (IRB) approved human tissue samples, human biofluids such as serum samples, plasma samples from various diseases and matched controls.

Also, all our human tissue collections, human biospecimens and human biofluids are provided with detailed, samples associated patient’s clinical data.

In fact, this critical patient’s clinical data includes information relating to their past and current disease, treatment history, lifestyle choices, biomarkers, and genetic information.

Additionally, researchers find the patient’s data associated with the human biospecimens extremely valuable and use it to help identify new effective treatments (drug discovery & development) in oncology, as well as in other therapeutic areas and diseases.

Bay Biosciences banks wide variety of human tissue samples and human biological samples, including fresh frozen human biospecimens cryogenically preserved at – 80°C.

For example fresh frozen tissue samples, tumor tissue samples, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE), tissue slides, with matching human bio-fluids, whole blood and blood-derived products such as human serum, human plasma and human PBMCs.

Bay Biosciences is a global leader in collecting and providing human tissue samples according to the specified requirements and customized, tailor-made collection protocols.

Please contact us anytime to discuss your special research projects and customized human tissue sample requirements.

Types of Biospecimens

Bay Biosciences provides human tissue samples (human specimens) and human biofluids from diseased and normal healthy donors which includes:

Moreover, we can also procure most human biospecimens and human biofluids, special collections and requests for human samples that are difficult to find. All our human tissue samples and human biofluids are procured through IRB-approved clinical protocols and procedures.

In addition to the standard processing protocols, Bay Biosciences can also provide human biofluids such as  human plasma, human serum, and human PBMCs bio-fluid samples using custom processing protocols; you buy donor-specific collections in higher volumes and specified sample aliquots from us.

Bay Biosciences also provides human biospecimens from normal healthy donors; volunteers, for controls and clinical research, Contact us Now.