American journal of hematology
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The myelodysplastic (MDS) are a very heterogeneous group of myeloid disorders characterized by peripheral blood cytopenias and increased risk of transformation to acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). MDS occurs more frequently in older male and in individuals with prior exposure to cytotoxic therapy. ⋯ There are no approved interventions for patients with progressive or refractory disease particularly after hypomethylating based therapy. Options include cytarabine based therapy, transplantation and participation on a clinical trial.
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Donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) is often given to induce a graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) effect after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). However, efficacy of DLI is limited in most hematologic cancers. As antigen presenting cells, dendritic cells (DC) bolster immune responses. ⋯ Four of 14 patients evaluable for disease response achieved durable remissions and are alive and cancer free 6.7, 8.4, 8.8, and 10.1 years from infusion. Sequential infusion of donor-derived DC with DLI is feasible in patients with relapsed hematologic cancers after allogeneic HSCT. Future studies may consider donor DC preloaded with tumor antigens to investigate whether DC infusion could augment the GVL effect.
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Many patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) have a reduced exercise capacity and abnormal lung function. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) can identify causes of exercise limitation. Forty-four consecutive SCD patients (27 HbSS, 11 HbSC, and 6 HbS-beta thalassemia) with a median age (interquartile range) of 26 (21-41) years underwent pulmonary function tests, CPET, chest x-ray, and echocardiography to further characterize exercise limitation in SCD. ⋯ In the present study we demonstrate that anemia is the most important determinant of reduced exercise tolerance observed in SCD patients without signs of pulmonary hypertension. We found a strong correlation between various parameters of lung volume and cardiothoracic ratio and we hypothesize that cardiomegaly and relative small chest size may be important causes of the impairment in pulmonary function, that is, reduced long volumes and diffusion capacity, in SCD. Taking into account anthropomorphic differences between SCD patients and controls could help to interpret lung function studies in SCD better.
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The combination of lenalidomide plus dexamethasone (RD) is very effective for patients with relapsed/ refractory myeloma. However, the effect of RD on bone metabolism has not been previously evaluated in these patients. To address this issue, we initially performed a retrospective study in 106 consecutive patients with relapsed or refractory myeloma who received RD. ⋯ No skeletal-related events were observed in the VRD arm while two, nonresponding patients treated with RD developed a vertebral fracture. We conclude that RD reduces bone resorption only in responding patients with relapsed/refractory myeloma but has no effect on bone formation. Combination with bortezomib, which enhances bone formation, seems to be preferred for the management of myeloma patients with osteolytic disease.
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This study aimed to investigate whether visual and quantitative (18) F-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT)-based bone marrow assessment can replace blind bone marrow biopsy (BMB) in newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). This retrospective study included 78 patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL who had undergone both FDG-PET/CT and BMB. FDG-PET/CT images were visually evaluated for bone marrow involvement. ⋯ In conclusion, FDG-PET/CT misses bone marrow involvement that has been detected by BMB in a non-negligible proportion of patients. Furthermore, both visual and quantitative FDG-PET/CT-based bone marrow assessments are prognostically inferior to BMB. Therefore, FDG-PET/CT cannot replace BMB in newly diagnosed DLBCL.