Survival curves based on CD38 expression, β₂-microglobulin, sCD23, sBcl-2, and sAPO1/Fas levels within the intermediate Rai stage.

(A) Kaplan-Meier plot comparing numbers of CD38⁺ B-CLL cells (> 30%, 41 cases; < 30%, 75 cases) with overall survival. The difference between these 2 groups remained highly significant (P = .00015). (B) The significant difference between less than 2200 μg/mL (38 cases) and more than 2200 μg/mL (75 cases) β₂-microglobulin was maintained within the Rai intermediate risk category (P = .012). (C) The difference between less than 60 U/mL (39 cases) and more than 60 U/mL sCD23 (76 cases) was also confirmed within the intermediate Rai stage (P = .00018). (D) Within the Rai intermediate risk group, patients with higher sBcl-2 levels (57 patients) had a shorter survival (P = .038) than those with lower sBcl-2 levels (44 patients). (E) Within the intermediate Rai risk group, lower sAPO1/Fas expression (63 patients) was characterized with a better outcome (P = .034) than higher sAPO1/Fas expression (48 patients).