In addition, we were also able to address the biological differences between del(11q) CLL patients including or not BIRC3 within their deleted region, showing that, in response to stromal stimulation and TLR ligation by CpG, del(11q)/BIRC3-deleted cases present marked levels of stabilized NIK and p52 activity. Here, NFKB2 is linked to B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia.