Why leukemia associated to HTLV-1 is often under-recognised?

40^th World Cancer Conference

August 25-26, 2021 WEBINAR

Mirna Biglione

INBIRS UBA-CONICET. University of Buenos Aires, School of Medicine, Argentina

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Cancer Sci Ther

Abstract :

Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) is a mature peripheral T-cell neoplasm caused by the Human T-cell Leukemia Virus Type 1 (HTLV-1). HTLV-1 infects up to 10 million people worldwide and is most endemic in Southwestern Japan, the Caribbean basin, South America, and Western Africa. ATLL cases were classified according to the Shimoyama criteria into acute (A), lymphomatous (L), chronic (C) and smoldering (S). ATLL carries a dismal prognosis and is essentially incurable by conventional drugs. Latin American ATLL variant variant presents earlier and more aggressively than in Japanese pts. In the management of aggressive ATLL, chemotherapy remains the preferred choice for L type (with consideration of allo-HSCT upfront), while AZT-IFN is a good option to attempt for A type upfront. The skin is commonly affected in ATLL; 39% to 72% of ATLL patients have skin lesions. Thus, skin lesions may be the first symptom of ATLL, highlighting the importance of early recognition to perform the investigation of HTLV-1 infection.HTLV and HIV are human retroviruses that share the transmission route but with different immunopathogeny. Only 5% of HTLV-1 infected individuals will develop ATLL and it can be indistinguishable from other more common T-cell lymphomas. HTLV-1 is not well known and under-diagnosed because it is not included in Health or Surveillance (international and national) Programmes to prevent infection or to manage its associated diseases. In March 2021, the WHO put forward strategies for the global prevention of HTLV-1 recognizing this virus as a relevant pathogen to humans for the first time.

Biography :

Mirna Biglione is a medical doctor specialist in allergy and immunology who has completed his PhD at Buenos Aires University from Argentina. She is a National Referent in Human T Lymphotropic Virus. She has published papers in reputed journals, has been serving as an editorial board member and is the director of the HTLV Group at the “Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida” (INBIRS) UBACONICET. @MirnaBch (Up to 100 words)