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Rationale

The correlation between cytopenias and infection, malignancy, and mortality has not been systematically characterized in patients with inborn errors of immunity (IEIs).

Methods

We evaluated the association between anemia, thrombocytopenia, lymphopenia, and neutropenia and infection, malignancy, and mortality rates in IEI patients enrolled in the United States Immunodeficiency Network (USIDNET) registry.

Results

Of the 4,005 IEI patients enrolled in the USIDNET cohort through April 2019, we excluded 438 patients due to prior solid organ or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. In the final cohort (n = 3,657), the median age of participants was 27 (IQR 16-50) years. Approximately 47.9% of participants were female. The majority of patients (57.2%) were classified as predominantly antibody deficiencies per the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS) categorization with common variable immunodeficiency being the most common diagnosis (38.9%). A total of 1,093 (29.9%) patients had one or more cytopenias, including 656 (17.9%) with anemia, 481 (13.2%) with thrombocytopenia, 323 (8.8%) with lymphopenia, and 336 (9.2%) with neutropenia. Approximately 274 (7.5%) of patients had immune-mediated cytopenias. Patients with cytopenias exhibited higher odds of infection (OR = 4.00, 95% CI 3.07-5.28), malignancy (OR = 2.51, 95% CI 1.93-3.25), and mortality (OR = 2.81, 95% CI 2.01-3.92) as compared with patients without cytopenias. Neutropenic patients frequently developed bacterial infections (58.6%), followed by viral (51.5%), fungal (35.4%), and parasitic (5.1%). Our cohort also demonstrated a high rate of sinopulmonary infections (75.8%) and skin and soft tissue infections (31.9%).

Conclusions

Cytopenias are a common manifestation across various IEIs. Patients with cytopenias exhibited a heightened risk of infection, malignancy, and mortality, highlighting underlying immune dysregulation and calling for the need to address cytopenias in the management of IEIs.

Table 1.

Cytopenias in primary immunodeficiencies and IUIS categories

Immunodeficiency# Thrombocytopenia# Anemia# Neutropenia# Lymphopenia# Any cytopeniaTotal count (N = 3511)
Agammaglobulinemia10 (4%)25 (10%)23 (9%)3 (1%)45 (18%)257
Ataxia telangiectasia6 (23%)6 (23%)2 (8%)7 (27%)11 (42%)26
Autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS)14 (22%)29 (45%)9 (14%)7 (11%)34 (53%)64
Autoinflammatory disease1 (8%)0 (0%)1 (8%)0 (0%)2 (17%)12
CHARGE syndrome0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)1 (33%)1 (33%)3
Chronic granulomatous disease9 (6%)45 (31%)3 (2%)0 (0%)51 (35%)145
Combined immune deficiency9 (17%)11 (21%)10 (19%)16 (31%)22 (42%)52
Common variable immune deficiency (CVID)210 (15%)259 (18%)86 (6%)79 (6%)416 (29%)1416
Complement deficiency1 (4%)2 (8%)0 (0%)0 (0%)2 (8%)26
DiGeorge syndrome20 (4%)16 (3%)7 (1%)41 (8%)63 (13%)496
Dyskeratosis congenita0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)1 (100%)1 (100%)1
Ectodermal dysplasia with immunodeficiency (nemo and others)0 (0%)5 (21%)2 (8%)3 (12%)8 (33%)24
HLH, including XLP and pigmentary disorders5 (31%)5 (31%)4 (25%)4 (25%)8 (50%)16
Hyper IgE syndrome3 (3%)14 (15%)3 (3%)0 (0%)18 (19%)96
Hyper IgM syndrome1 (2%)4 (9%)18 (38%)1 (2%)19 (40%)47
Hypogammaglobulinemia11 (5%)21 (10%)10 (5%)10 (5%)35 (17%)209
IgA deficiency1 (1%)2 (3%)2 (3%)7 (10%)11 (16%)68
IgG subclass deficiency1 (4%)3 (12%)1 (4%)0 (0%)6 (23%)26
Immune deficiency with syndromic features (not otherwise listed)0 (0%)1 (12%)0 (0%)0 (0%)1 (12%)8
Immune dysregulation22 (29%)25 (33%)17 (23%)18 (24%)40 (53%)75
Immunodeficiency unknown cause3 (16%)4 (21%)2 (11%)2 (11%)5 (26%)19
Immunodeficiency with myelodysplasia (GATA2 and others)9 (33%)11 (41%)8 (30%)9 (33%)14 (52%)27
Interferonopathy (Aicardi-Goutières and others)0 (0%)2 (29%)0 (0%)0 (0%)4 (57%)7
Leukocyte adhesion deficiency0 (0%)3 (33%)0 (0%)0 (0%)3 (33%)9
Mucocutaneous candidiasis0 (0%)5 (12%)1 (2%)1 (2%)7 (16%)43
Neutropenia0 (0%)0 (0%)2 (100%)0 (0%)2 (100%)2
NK cell defect1 (25%)0 (0%)1 (25%)0 (0%)2 (50%)4
Omenn syndrome0 (0%)1 (100%)1 (100%)1 (100%)1 (100%)1
Other immune deficiency - known cause3 (6%)7 (13%)2 (4%)0 (0%)9 (17%)54
Other T-cell problems1 (14%)1 (14%)0 (0%)1 (14%)2 (29%)7
Predisposition to severe viral infections6 (20%)12 (40%)23 (77%)1 (3%)24 (80%)30
Severe combined immune deficiency (SCID)3 (5%)11 (17%)8 (12%)16 (24%)22 (33%)66
Specific antibody deficiency with normal Ig concentrations and normal numbers of B cells4 (4%)12 (12%)2 (2%)4 (4%)18 (19%)97
Susceptibility to mycobacteria (MSMD)0 (0%)1 (12%)0 (0%)0 (0%)1 (12%)8
TLR pathway abnormality0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)2
Transient hypogammaglobulinemia of infancy with normal numbers of b cells0 (0%)0 (0%)1 (7%)0 (0%)1 (7%)14
Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome35 (65%)13 (24%)3 (6%)3 (6%)38 (70%)54
Table 2.

Sites of infection in IEI

ImmunodeficiencyUrogenitalSSTISino-pulmonaryCardiacOdontogenicOphthalmicMSKCNSGIBloodstreamAny siteTotal count (N = 3511)
Agammaglobulinemia18 (7%)92 (36%)221 (86%)0 (0%)1 (0%)67 (26%)25 (10%)34 (13%)66 (26%)29 (11%)235 (91%)257
Ataxia telangiectasia1 (4%)3 (12%)21 (81%)0 (0%)0 (0%)2 (8%)1 (4%)1 (4%)8 (31%)3 (12%)24 (92%)26
Autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS)9 (14%)32 (50%)33 (52%)0 (0%)0 (0%)1 (2%)0 (0%)2 (3%)16 (25%)9 (14%)54 (84%)64
Autoinflammatory disease1 (8%)3 (25%)5 (42%)0 (0%)0 (0%)2 (17%)0 (0%)1 (8%)1 (8%)0 (0%)9 (75%)12
CHARGE syndrome1 (33%)1 (33%)2 (67%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)2 (67%)3 (100%)3
Chronic granulomatous disease13 (9%)115 (79%)123 (85%)0 (0%)5 (3%)8 (6%)17 (12%)14 (10%)75 (52%)15 (10%)143 (99%)145
Combined immune deficiency5 (10%)25 (48%)40 (77%)1 (2%)0 (0%)11 (21%)3 (6%)5 (10%)12 (23%)12 (23%)43 (83%)52
Common variable immune deficiency (CVID)242 (17%)381 (27%)1211 (86%)4 (0%)18 (1%)126 (9%)32 (2%)62 (4%)248 (18%)91 (6%)1265 (89%)1416
Complement deficiency1 (4%)9 (35%)21 (81%)0 (0%)0 (0%)1 (4%)2 (8%)7 (27%)3 (12%)6 (23%)23 (88%)26
DiGeorge syndrome22 (4%)34 (7%)157 (32%)7 (1%)0 (0%)11 (2%)2 (0%)1 (0%)11 (2%)19 (4%)171 (34%)496
Dyskeratosis congenita0 (0%)0 (0%)1 (100%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)1 (100%)1
Ectodermal dysplasia with immunodeficiency (nemo and others)2 (8%)16 (67%)18 (75%)0 (0%)0 (0%)1 (4%)1 (4%)8 (33%)8 (33%)5 (21%)24 (100%)24
HLH, including XLP and pigmentary disorders2 (12%)5 (31%)12 (75%)0 (0%)0 (0%)1 (6%)0 (0%)1 (6%)3 (19%)2 (12%)13 (81%)16
Hyper IgE syndrome18 (19%)84 (88%)88 (92%)1 (1%)3 (3%)4 (4%)7 (7%)5 (5%)19 (20%)7 (7%)91 (95%)96
Hyper IgM syndrome3 (6%)12 (26%)43 (91%)0 (0%)1 (2%)4 (9%)0 (0%)3 (6%)11 (23%)5 (11%)44 (94%)47
Hypogammaglobulinemia34 (16%)56 (27%)162 (78%)0 (0%)2 (1%)10 (5%)3 (1%)1 (0%)23 (11%)6 (3%)173 (83%)209
IgA deficiency8 (12%)15 (22%)63 (93%)0 (0%)0 (0%)4 (6%)1 (1%)3 (4%)16 (24%)1 (1%)66 (97%)68
IgG subclass deficiency7 (27%)6 (23%)25 (96%)0 (0%)2 (8%)1 (4%)1 (4%)1 (4%)2 (8%)0 (0%)25 (96%)26
Immune deficiency with syndromic features (not otherwise listed)4 (50%)3 (38%)6 (75%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)1 (12%)1 (12%)8 (100%)8
Immune dysregulation15 (20%)40 (53%)66 (88%)1 (1%)5 (7%)9 (12%)1 (1%)5 (7%)20 (27%)9 (12%)69 (92%)75
Immunodeficiency unknown cause2 (11%)5 (26%)12 (63%)2 (11%)0 (0%)0 (0%)1 (5%)2 (11%)3 (16%)1 (5%)16 (84%)19
Immunodeficiency with myelodysplasia (GATA2 and others)7 (26%)14 (52%)16 (59%)1 (4%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)3 (11%)1 (4%)22 (81%)27
Interferonopathy (Aicardi-Goutières and others)0 (0%)2 (29%)3 (43%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)1 (14%)0 (0%)1 (14%)4 (57%)7
Leukocyte adhesion deficiency3 (33%)9 (100%)8 (89%)1 (11%)2 (22%)2 (22%)1 (11%)0 (0%)4 (44%)1 (11%)9 (100%)9
Mucocutaneous candidiasis10 (23%)37 (86%)32 (74%)1 (2%)0 (0%)3 (7%)3 (7%)3 (7%)11 (26%)4 (9%)42 (98%)43
Neutropenia0 (0%)0 (0%)2 (100%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)2 (100%)2
NK cell defect1 (25%)3 (75%)4 (100%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)1 (25%)4 (100%)4
Omenn syndrome0 (0%)1 (100%)1 (100%)0 (0%)0 (0%)1 (100%)0 (0%)0 (0%)1 (100%)1 (100%)1 (100%)1
Other immune deficiency - known cause6 (11%)13 (24%)44 (81%)0 (0%)0 (0%)4 (7%)1 (2%)1 (2%)11 (20%)3 (6%)46 (85%)54
Other T-cell problems0 (0%)3 (43%)4 (57%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)1 (14%)0 (0%)1 (14%)0 (0%)6 (86%)7
Predisposition to severe viral infections11 (37%)21 (70%)26 (87%)0 (0%)2 (7%)4 (13%)3 (10%)3 (10%)7 (23%)3 (10%)26 (87%)30
Severe combined immune deficiency (SCID)9 (14%)23 (35%)45 (68%)0 (0%)2 (3%)4 (6%)3 (5%)2 (3%)17 (26%)8 (12%)51 (77%)66
Specific antibody deficiency with normal Ig concentrations and normal numbers of B cells19 (20%)29 (30%)96 (99%)0 (0%)1 (1%)6 (6%)0 (0%)2 (2%)16 (16%)3 (3%)96 (99%)97
Susceptibility to mycobacteria (MSMD)3 (38%)5 (62%)4 (50%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)1 (12%)2 (25%)2 (25%)1 (12%)7 (88%)8
TLR pathway abnormality0 (0%)1 (50%)1 (50%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)2 (100%)2 (100%)0 (0%)2 (100%)2
Transient hypogammaglobulinemia of infancy with normal numbers of b cells3 (21%)2 (14%)13 (93%)0 (0%)0 (0%)2 (14%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)2 (14%)14 (100%)14
Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome0 (0%)20 (37%)33 (61%)0 (0%)1 (2%)6 (11%)3 (6%)2 (4%)9 (17%)5 (9%)39 (72%)54
Table 3.

Infection types in IEI

ImmunodeficiencyBacterialViralFungalParasiticAny InfectionTotal count (N = 3511)
Agammaglobulinemia129 (50%)81 (32%)23 (9%)12 (5%)235 (91%)257
Ataxia telangiectasia8 (31%)7 (27%)3 (12%)0 (0%)24 (92%)26
Autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS)17 (27%)22 (34%)39 (61%)3 (5%)54 (84%)64
Autoinflammatory disease1 (8%)2 (17%)0 (0%)0 (0%)9 (75%)12
CHARGE syndrome1 (33%)1 (33%)0 (0%)0 (0%)3 (100%)3
Chronic granulomatous disease98 (68%)33 (23%)75 (52%)2 (1%)143 (99%)145
Combined immune deficiency25 (48%)28 (54%)12 (23%)2 (4%)43 (83%)52
Common variable immune deficiency (CVID)503 (36%)332 (23%)218 (15%)35 (2%)1265 (89%)1416
Complement deficiency14 (54%)5 (19%)3 (12%)0 (0%)23 (88%)26
DiGeorge syndrome51 (10%)53 (11%)29 (6%)0 (0%)171 (34%)496
Dyskeratosis congenita0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)1 (100%)1
Ectodermal dysplasia with immunodeficiency (nemo and others)19 (79%)10 (42%)3 (12%)0 (0%)24 (100%)24
HLH, including XLP and pigmentary disorders5 (31%)5 (31%)2 (12%)0 (0%)13 (81%)16
Hyper IgE syndrome72 (75%)29 (30%)63 (66%)4 (4%)91 (95%)96
Hyper IgM syndrome14 (30%)16 (34%)19 (40%)4 (9%)44 (94%)47
Hypogammaglobulinemia70 (33%)51 (24%)26 (12%)0 (0%)173 (83%)209
IgA deficiency24 (35%)13 (19%)5 (7%)0 (0%)66 (97%)68
IgG subclass deficiency6 (23%)5 (19%)7 (27%)0 (0%)25 (96%)26
Immune deficiency with syndromic features (not otherwise listed)7 (88%)4 (50%)0 (0%)0 (0%)8 (100%)8
Immune dysregulation44 (59%)39 (52%)23 (31%)3 (4%)69 (92%)75
Immunodeficiency unknown cause11 (58%)8 (42%)4 (21%)0 (0%)16 (84%)19
Immunodeficiency with myelodysplasia (GATA2 and others)16 (59%)10 (37%)8 (30%)0 (0%)22 (81%)27
Interferonopathy (Aicardi-Goutières and others)2 (29%)3 (43%)1 (14%)0 (0%)4 (57%)7
Leukocyte adhesion deficiency9 (100%)6 (67%)4 (44%)0 (0%)9 (100%)9
Mucocutaneous candidiasis23 (53%)20 (47%)38 (88%)1 (2%)42 (98%)43
Neutropenia1 (50%)0 (0%)0 (0%)1 (50%)2 (100%)2
NK cell defect2 (50%)3 (75%)2 (50%)0 (0%)4 (100%)4
Omenn syndrome1 (100%)1 (100%)0 (0%)0 (0%)1 (100%)1
Other immune deficiency - known cause26 (48%)23 (43%)6 (11%)1 (2%)46 (85%)54
Other T-cell problems2 (29%)3 (43%)2 (29%)0 (0%)6 (86%)7
Predisposition to severe viral infections17 (57%)21 (70%)13 (43%)3 (10%)26 (87%)30
Severe combined immune deficiency (SCID)26 (39%)29 (44%)23 (35%)1 (2%)51 (77%)66
Specific antibody deficiency with normal Ig concentrations and normal numbers of B cells49 (51%)27 (28%)18 (19%)1 (1%)96 (99%)97
Susceptibility to mycobacteria (MSMD)7 (88%)2 (25%)3 (38%)1 (12%)7 (88%)8
TLR pathway abnormality1 (50%)1 (50%)1 (50%)0 (0%)2 (100%)2
Transient hypogammaglobulinemia of infancy with normal numbers of b cells6 (43%)3 (21%)1 (7%)0 (0%)14 (100%)14
Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome18 (33%)15 (28%)6 (11%)0 (0%)39 (72%)54
Table 4.

Malignancy in IEI

ImmunodeficiencyHematologicSolid / LymphomaAny MalignancyTotal count (N = 3511)
Agammaglobulinemia2 (1%)0 (0%)2 (1%)257
Ataxia telangiectasia4 (15%)2 (8%)5 (19%)26
Autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS)3 (5%)1 (2%)4 (6%)64
Autoinflammatory disease1 (8%)0 (0%)1 (8%)12
CHARGE syndrome0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)3
Chronic granulomatous disease3 (2%)0 (0%)3 (2%)145
Combined immune deficiency4 (8%)0 (0%)4 (8%)52
Common variable immune deficiency (CVID)126 (9%)14 (1%)135 (10%)1416
Complement deficiency0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)26
DiGeorge syndrome1 (0%)0 (0%)1 (0%)496
Dyskeratosis congenita0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)1
Ectodermal dysplasia with immunodeficiency (nemo and others)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)24
HLH, including XLP and pigmentary disorders0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)16
Hyper IgE syndrome7 (7%)1 (1%)8 (8%)96
Hyper IgM syndrome3 (6%)0 (0%)3 (6%)47
Hypogammaglobulinemia14 (7%)2 (1%)16 (8%)209
IgA deficiency2 (3%)1 (1%)2 (3%)68
IgG subclass deficiency2 (8%)0 (0%)2 (8%)26
Immune deficiency with syndromic features (not otherwise listed)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)8
Immune dysregulation6 (8%)1 (1%)6 (8%)75
Immunodeficiency unknown cause3 (16%)1 (5%)3 (16%)19
Immunodeficiency with myelodysplasia (GATA2 and others)9 (33%)9 (33%)15 (56%)27
Interferonopathy (Aicardi-Goutières and others)1 (14%)0 (0%)1 (14%)7
Leukocyte adhesion deficiency0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)9
Mucocutaneous candidiasis3 (7%)0 (0%)3 (7%)43
Neutropenia0 (0%)1 (50%)1 (50%)2
NK cell defect1 (25%)0 (0%)1 (25%)4
Omenn syndrome0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)1
Other immune deficiency - known cause3 (6%)0 (0%)3 (6%)54
Other T-cell problems0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)7
Predisposition to severe viral infections4 (13%)0 (0%)4 (13%)30
Severe combined immune deficiency (SCID)11 (17%)0 (0%)11 (17%)66
Specific antibody deficiency with normal Ig concentrations and normal numbers of B cells9 (9%)0 (0%)9 (9%)97
Susceptibility to mycobacteria (MSMD)0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)8
TLR pathway abnormality0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)2
Transient hypogammaglobulinemia of infancy with normal numbers of b cells0 (0%)0 (0%)0 (0%)14
Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome4 (7%)2 (4%)6 (11%)54

This abstract is available under a Creative Commons License (Attribution 4.0 International, as described at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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