CD19 B Cells & Absolute CD19

[lakxtriplet]

Hi All, New to the GPA Group... My 21 year old daughter just completed her 1st 5 treatments of Rituxan in November.. Per the CD19 B cells (result less than 1%) and Absolute CD 19 blood (result 1 cells/ul) tests - her CD 19 B Cells are starting to show up... Seeing Dr. Seo again in April... Does anyone have any info what that actually means?? I've done some research via computer but I think I'm missing something... Thanks for any thoughts or input... Laura

[whatthewhat]

Hi, I'm just seeing your post. I'm sorry you haven't heard any other replies yet - but I hope you found some good things online to explain. But anyway, I'll throw in my two cents. Most of my notes on this topic were taken a few years ago when our daughter was diagnosed, and when she turned 18 she was awarded The Notebook, so I can't look it up. In other words take what I say with a grain of salt since my memory is not fully reliable.

We don't track both CD19s. For my laymen's eyes the difference in what they report is insignificant. I think we just focus on the non- absolute one.

We like to see it at zero. Especially since pediatric-onset WG is considered refractory, we watch it like a hawk when it starts to show positive. If our daughter had a positive CD19 that soon after a Rtx round got it down to zero I would be nervous. That being said, we (actually our daughter, now that she's in charge) let the CD19 bump up a little bit while everything else stayed great before she scheduled her next Rtx.

I also want to throw in there that WG is such a devilishly personal disease; markers and symptoms in one patient might not be what's crucial for another.

I hope something here helped. My best wishes to you both.

[lakxtriplet]

Hi, Thanks for the info.. I've done a little more research and agree with you... not the best to have CD19 bumping up so soon after Rtx. She has an appt with Dr. Seo in April..

Thanks again and best wishes to you and your daughter too..