رسائل ماجيستير
English
2025
Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers in Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
رحيم مهدي رحيم, رويدة عايد صيهود إسماعيل, زياد طارق حبيب
كلية التربية للعلوم الصرفة-جامعة كربلاء · العراق
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common malignancy in childhood, and central nervous system (CNS) involvement represents a serious complication that adversely affects prognosis; however, conventional diagnostic approaches, particularly cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytology, have limited sensitivity and may fail to detect early leukemic infiltration, highlighting the need for more reliable biomarkers. This analytic cross-sectional study evaluated the diagnostic value of osteopontin (OPN) and soluble interleukin-2 receptor alpha (sIL-2Rα) in the CSF of 80 pediatric patients (1–17 years) with confirmed ALL enrolled between October 2024 and February 2025. CNS involvement was determined by cytospin CSF cytology, classifying patients as CSF-positive or CSF-negative, while CSF concentrations of OPN and sIL-2Rα were measured using sandwich ELISA. CNS infiltration was identified in 8.75% of patients, and both biomarkers were significantly elevated in the CSF-positive group compared with the CSF-negative group (p < 0.05). Moreover, a moderate positive correlation was observed between OPN and sIL-2Rα levels, and receiver operating characteristic analysis demonstrated good diagnostic accuracy for both markers in distinguishing CNS involvement. These findings indicate that elevated CSF levels of OPN and sIL-2Rα are strongly associated with CNS leukemia in pediatric ALL and suggest that these biomarkers may provide valuable diagnostic support, either individually or in combination, beyond conventional cytological methods.