Presence of high TNF-α levels in patients carrying unfavorable cytogenetic abnormalities.

TNF-α plasma levels in CLL patients subdivided according to cytogenetic analysis. Thirteen patients had 11q deletion, trisomy 12, or chromosome 17 abnormalities (alone or in combination); 48 patients had a diploid karyotype; and 21 had miscellaneous abnormalities (P < .001).