Bendamustine and rituximab as frontline therapy in extranodal marginal zone lymphoma: a single-institution experience.

Extranodal marginal zone lymphoma (EMZL) encompasses 70% of cases of marginal zone lymphoma. Frontline bendamustine and rituximab (BR) were derived from trials involving other indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. Only one trial has evaluated frontline BR prospectively in EMZL. This retrospective study reports outcomes among EMZL patients receiving frontline BR. Twenty-five patients were included with a median age of 69 years (40-81). Five (20.0%) patients had stage I/II disease, and 20 (80.0%) had stage III/IV disease. The median number of cycles was 6.0 (3.0-6.0). Maintenance rituximab was administered to 10 (41.7%) individuals. Overall response rate (ORR) was 100.0% (60.0% complete response, 40.0% partial response). Medians of overall survival and progression-free survival were not reached. The estimated 2-year progression-free survival was 85.2% and overall survival was 100.0%. Four (16.6%) patients had infections related to treatment; 3 (12.0%) transformed to diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; 5 (20.8%) had a relapse or progression of EMZL; and 3 (12.0%) died unrelated to BR. BR is an efficacious and well-tolerated front-line regimen for EMZL with response data consistent with existing literature.

Complement-mediated thrombotic microangiopathy treated with anticomplement protein 5 therapy, a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Complement-mediated thrombotic microangiopathy (CM-TMA), also called atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), is a difficult-to-diagnose rare disease that carries severe morbidity and mortality. Anti-C5 monoclonal antibodies (aC5-mab) are standard treatments, but large studies and long-term data are scarce. Here, we report our single institution experience to augment the knowledge of CM-TMA treated with aC5-mab therapy. METHODS: We aimed to assess the short and long-term effects of aC5-mab in patients diagnosed with CM-TMA treated outside of a clinical trial. This was a retrospective study. We included all patients diagnosed with CM-TMA and treated with aC5-mab at our institution. There were no exclusion criteria. Endpoints included complete TMA response (CR) defined as normalization of hematological parameters and ≥25% improvement in serum creatinine (Cr) from baseline in patients with renal disease, relapse defined as losing the previously achieved CR, morbidity, adverse events, and survival. RESULTS: We found 28 patients with CM-TMA treated with aC5-mab. The median age was 50 years. Baseline laboratories: platelet counts 93 × 109 /L, hemoglobin 8.6 g/dL, lactate dehydrogenase 1326 U/L, serum Cr 4.7 mg/dL, and estimated glomerular filtration rate 19 mL/min. One individual was on renal replacement therapy (RRT) and 10 initiated RRT within 5 days of the first dose of aC5-mab. Genetic variants associated with CM-TMA included mutations in C3, CFB, CFH, CFHR1/3, CFI, and MCP. The mean duration of hospitalization was 24 days. The median time to initiation of aC5-mab was 10 days. Sixteen subjects received RRT. At the time of hospital discharge, 27 were alive, 14 remained on RRT, and 4 had a CR. At 6 months, 23 patients were alive, 18 continued aC5-mab, 8 remained on RRT, and 9 had a CR. At the last follow-up visit past 6 months, 20 were alive, 14 continued aC5-mab, 5 remained on RRT, 12 had a CR, and 1 was lost to follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides real-world experience and insight into the long-term outcomes of CM-TMA treated with aC5-mab. Our findings validate that CM-TMA is an aggressive disease with significant morbidity and mortality, and confirm that aC5-mab is a relatively effective therapy for CM-TMA. Our study adds practical, real-world experience to the literature, but future research remains imperative.

A Retrospective Analysis of Vitamin D Levels in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients With Suspected Pulmonary Embolism.

Introduction Despite using anti-coagulation therapy in hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, they have high rates of pulmonary embolism (PE) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The main objective of this study was to evaluate the association between vitamin D deficiency and thrombotic events (defined as the occurrence of a new PE or DVT) in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Materials and Methods This was a retrospective, cross-sectional study of 208 hospitalized COVID-19 patients who received a computed tomographic pulmonary angiography (CTPA) based on clinical suspicion of PE between January 1, 2020, and February 5, 2021. A <20 ng/mL serum vitamin D level was used to categorize vitamin D deficiency. Nonparametric tests and multivariate binary logistic regression were used to evaluate the association between serum vitamin D levels and clinical outcomes. Results The mean vitamin D level was 26.7±13.0 ng/mL (n=208), and approximately one-third of patients were vitamin D deficient (n=68, 32.7%). No association was found between vitamin D deficiency and the occurrence of thrombotic events. The incidence of PE was 19.1% in vitamin D deficient patients compared to 11.4% in vitamin D sufficient patients (p=0.13). Vitamin D deficiency was positively associated with ICU admission (OR 3.047, 95%CI 1.57-5.91, p=0.001) and mortality (OR 3.76, 95%CI 1.29-11.01, p=0.016). Conclusions This study found no association between vitamin D deficiency and the occurrence of a new PE or DVT in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Patients with vitamin D deficiency were more likely to be admitted to the ICU and had increased overall mortality.

Gilteritinib Combined with Azacitidine as Salvage Therapy for B/Myeloid Mixed Phenotype Acute Leukemia.

Mixed phenotype acute leukemia (MPAL) is a rare group of acute leukemias with blasts that co-express antigens of more than one lineage or separate populations of blasts of different lineages. Though treatment guidelines are not well established, the standard of care in treating MPAL remains the acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)-derived chemotherapeutic regimen of hyper-cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin (also known by its trade name, Adriamycin), and dexamethasone (CVAD) followed by allogeneic stem-cell transplant (ASCT). Beyond induction chemotherapy, evidence-based treatments remain to be investigated, especially regarding patients who relapse prior to ASCT. This case report illustrates a patient with relapsed MPAL following induction hyper-CVAD who was not immediately eligible for ASCT. After brief treatment with gilteritinib alone, the patient was started on gilteritinib and azacitidine as salvage therapy and achieved and maintained complete remission with incomplete count recovery (CRi) for eight months. Targeted therapy is a novel approach to improve survival rate, but unfortunately, there have been very few studies in the context of MPAL. We report a patient with relapsed FLT3-mutant MPAL who achieved remission using a combination approach with targeted therapy.

An international analysis evaluating frontline bendamustine with rituximab in extranodal marginal zone lymphoma.

Extranodal marginal zone lymphoma (EMZL) is a heterogeneous non-Hodgkin lymphoma. No consensus exists regarding the standard-of-care in patients with advanced-stage disease. Current recommendations are largely adapted from follicular lymphoma, for which bendamustine with rituximab (BR) is an established approach. We analyzed the safety and efficacy of frontline BR in EMZL using a large international consortium. We included 237 patients with a median age of 63 years (range, 21-85). Most patients presented with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0 to 1 (n = 228; 96.2%), stage III/IV (n = 179; 75.5%), and intermediate (49.8%) or high (33.3%) Mucosa Associated Lymphoid Tissue International Prognosis Index (MALT-IPI). Patients received a median of 6 (range, 1-8) cycles of BR, and 20.3% (n = 48) received rituximab maintenance. Thirteen percent experienced infectious complications during BR therapy; herpes zoster (4%) was the most common. Overall response rate was 93.2% with 81% complete responses. Estimated 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 80.5% (95% CI, 73.1% to 86%) and 89.6% (95% CI, 83.1% to 93.6%), respectively. MALT-IPI failed to predict outcomes. In the multivariable model, the presence of B symptoms was associated with shorter PFS. Rituximab maintenance was associated with longer PFS (hazard ratio = 0.16; 95% CI, 0.04-0.71; P = .016) but did not impact OS. BR is a highly effective upfront regimen in EMZL, providing durable remissions and overcoming known adverse prognosis factors. This regimen is associated with occurrence of herpes zoster; thus, prophylactic treatment may be considered.

Cardiac Transthyretin Amyloidosis: Hidden in Plain Sight.

Amyloidosis is an underappreciated medical condition with symptoms camouflaging as common medical comorbidities leading to its underdiagnosis due to its systemic involvement. Despite common misconceptions, amyloidosis and its systemic comorbidities are more prevalent and treatable than previously acknowledged by the medical community. There are two major forms of amyloidosis: amyloid light-chain and transthyretin amyloidosis. Each of these have a distinct pathophysiology, diagnostic work-up, treatment, and prognosis. The patient described in this study was diagnosed with transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis months after presenting with heart failure of unknown etiology. Usually, clinicians presume that heart failure results from common comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia. Here, the correct etiology was transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis. The patient had five admissions for heart failure symptoms prior to a physician identifying the etiology as cardiac transthyretin amyloidosis. After initiating the transthyretin stabilizer tafamidis, the patient did not experience another heart failure exacerbation. This vignette provides an example of the clinical presentation, diagnostic work-up, and treatment of a patient with cardiac transthyretin amyloidosis. The review of the literature focuses on the epidemiology, and clinical symptoms that should prompt an evaluation for cardiac amyloidosis as well as the diagnostic and therapeutic options are available. Transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis is a rare and underdiagnosed disease, while heart failure is a highly prevalent condition. This clinical vignette seeks to provide education and awareness to an overlooked medical disorder.

MYC overexpression is associated with an early disease progression from MDS to AML.

Recent studies demonstrated that MYC epigenetically regulates AML cell survival and differentiation by suppressing IDH1/2-TET2-5hmC signaling and that MYC overexpression is associated with poor survival outcomes in multiple AML patient cohorts. However, the oncogenic roles of MYC in MDS remain to be explored. A total of 41 patients with de novo MDS were retrospectively identified using the Total Cancer Care database at the Moffitt Cancer Center. A total of 61 % of patients had low MYC expression and 39 % of patients had high MYC expression defined as MYC reactivity by immunohistochemical staining in ≥5% of bone marrow (BM) cells at the time of MDS diagnosis. The median MDS-to-AML progression free survival (PFS) was significantly shorter in the high MYC group (median PFS 9.3 vs. 17.7 months, HR = 2.328, p = 0.013). Further, overall survival (OS) was also shorter in the high MYC patients (median OS 19.7 vs. 51.7 months, HR = 2.299, p = 0.053). Multivariate analyses demonstrated that high MYC expression is an independent poor prognostic factor for the MDS-to-AML progression (HR = 2.275, p = 0.046). Our observations indicate that MYC may play a crucial role in MDS transformation to AML and the underlying mechanisms of MYC-driven MDS clonal expansion and leukemic transformation require further investigation.

Development of Lupus Erythematosus Tumidus During the Course of Systemic Sclerosis.

A man with systemic sclerosis (SS), manifested by characteristic skin lesions, gastro-esophageal reflux disease, and pulmonary fibrosis producing progressive respiratory failure, and a positive antinuclear antibody consistent with reactivity to fibrillarin, developed skin lesions with the clinical and histological characteristics of lupus erythematosus tumidus (LET) 10 years after the diagnosis of SS. His respiratory failure progressed and he expired from sepsis after tracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation two years after developing LET. The association of SS and LET, not described until now, raises questions about its pathogenesis and its prognostic significance.

Post Approval Experience with Caplacizumab for Acquired Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura at a Single Institution.

Caplacizumab prevents platelet adhesion and has been approved for acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (aTTP). This study was retrospective, including all patients diagnosed with aTTP and treated with caplacizumab since commercial availability in 2019 until 28 February 2021 at a single academic hospital with no exclusion criteria. Results used definitions for outcomes in aTTP from the International Working Group Consensus. Ten patients with aTTP received caplacizumab. The median age was 52 years. Six (60%) patients had refractory aTTP while 4 (40%) had newly diagnosed aTTP. The median laboratory values prior to therapy demonstrated: platelet count (PC) 29/uL, LDH 518 U/L (182-1850), ADAMTS13 activity 3% and ADAMTS13 inhibitor 1.4 BU. Everyone received glucocorticoids, rituximab, therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) and caplacizumab. The median number of TPE was 12 days. Caplacizumab was started at a median of 5 days after the first TPE and the median treatment duration was 31 days. Normalization of PC, LDH and ADAMTS13 activity in days were 5, 3.5, and 32.5, respectively. Six (60%) patients achieved complete response, 3 (30%) had refractory disease and 1 (10%) had relapsed aTTP. No subject suffered abnormal bleeding, or thrombotic event. There were no deaths. Caplacizumab with TPE, glucocorticoids and rituximab was a safe and effective therapy for aTTP.

Incidence and Management of Effusions Before and After CD19-Directed Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T Cell Therapy in Large B Cell Lymphoma.

In patients with lymphoma, third-space fluid accumulations may develop or worsen during cytokine release syndrome (CRS) associated with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy. Pre-existing symptomatic pleural effusions were excluded by the ZUMA-1 trial of axicabtagene ciloleucel for large B cell lymphoma (LBCL) and variants. The incidence and management of effusions during CAR T cell therapy for LBCL are unknown. We performed a single-center retrospective study evaluating 148 patients receiving CD19-directed CAR T cell therapy for LBCL between May 2015 and September 2019. We retrospectively identified patients who had radiographic pleural, pericardial, or peritoneal effusions that were present prior to the time of CAR T infusion (pre-CAR T) or that newly developed during the first 30 days after CAR T-cell infusion (post-CAR T). Of 148 patients, 19 patients had a pre-CAR T effusion, 17 patients without pre-existing effusion developed a new infusion after CAR T, and 112 patients had no effusions. Comparing pre-CAR T effusions to new effusions post-CAR T, pre-CAR T effusions were more often malignant (84% versus 12%), persistent beyond 30 days (95% versus 18%), and required interventional drainage after CAR T infusion (79% versus 0%). Compared to patients with no effusion, patients with pre-CAR T therapy effusions had a higher frequency of high-risk baseline characteristics, such as bulky disease and high International Prognostic Index. Similarly, patients with pre-CAR T therapy effusions had a higher rate of toxicity with grade 3 or higher CRS occurring in 32% of patients. On multivariate analysis adjusting for age, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group status, bulky disease, albumin, and lactate dehydrogenase, a pre-CAR T therapy effusion was associated with reduced overall survival (hazard ratio, 2.34; 95% confidence interval, 1.09 to 5.03; P = .03). Moreover, there was higher non-relapse mortality (11% versus 1%; P = .005). Post-CAR T effusions were not associated with significant difference in survival. Effusions commonly complicate CAR T cell therapy for lymphoma. Malignant effusions that occur prior to CAR T therapy are frequently persistent and require therapeutic intervention, and patients have a higher rate of toxicity and death. Effusions that newly occur after CAR T therapy can generally be managed medically and tend not to persist.

Cerebral Venous Thrombosis in the Setting of Malignancy: Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is a rare condition that can be difficult to diagnose due to its vague and nonspecific symptoms. It is even more unusual to identify CVT in association with malignancy. Given the rarity of this disease, treatment and management of CVT in the setting of malignancy is not well defined. This case report and review of the literature addresses the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and medical treatment for malignancy-related CVT.

Exosomal secretion of a psychosis-altered miRNA that regulates glutamate receptor expression is affected by antipsychotics.

The ability of small secretory microvesicles known as exosomes to influence neuronal and glial function via their microRNA (miRNA) cargo has positioned them as a novel and effective method of cell-to-cell communication. However, little is known about the role of exosome-secreted miRNAs in the regulation of glutamate receptor gene expression and their relevance for schizophrenia (SCZ) and bipolar disorder (BD). Using mature miRNA profiling and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) of SCZ (N = 29; 20 male and 9 female), BD (N = 26; 12 male and 14 female), and unaffected control (N = 25; 21 male and 4 female) subjects, we uncovered that miR-223, an exosome-secreted miRNA that targets glutamate receptors, was increased at the mature miRNA level in the OFC of SCZ and BD patients with positive history of psychosis at the time of death and was inversely associated with deficits in the expression of its targets glutamate ionotropic receptor NMDA-type subunit 2B (GRIN2B) and glutamate ionotropic receptor AMPA-type subunit 2 (GRIA2). Furthermore, changes in miR-223 levels in the OFC were positively and negatively correlated with inflammatory and GABAergic gene expression, respectively. Moreover, miR-223 was found to be enriched in astrocytes and secreted via exosomes, and antipsychotics were shown to control its cellular and exosomal localization in a cell-specific manner. Furthermore, addition of astrocytic exosomes in neuronal cultures resulted in a significant increase in miR-223 expression and a notable reduction in Grin2b and Gria2 mRNA levels, which was strongly inversely associated with miR-223 expression. Lastly, inhibition of astrocytic miR-223 abrogated the exosomal-mediated reduction in neuronal Grin2b expression. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the exosomal secretion of a psychosis-altered and glial-enriched miRNA that controls neuronal gene expression is regulated by antipsychotics.

Tumoral Calcinosis of the Neck in a Patient with Systemic Sclerosis.

Tumoral calcinosis (TC) is rare in patients with systemic sclerosis but is associated with morbidity. Paraspinal TC may cause severe pain and potentially devastating neurological deficits. Surgical decompression by removing the TC masses and applying surgical techniques to support the spine have provided substantial relief of the symptoms in the majority of cases. However, death has occurred in the immediate postoperative period and can even occur after several months. Current indications for surgery include intractable neck pain and, most importantly, the development of neurological deficits. We present a patient with systemic sclerosis and symptomatic paraspinal TC in the neck treated conservatively for two years. This case report illustrates conditions permitting the sustained conservative treatment of paraspinal TC in systemic sclerosis patients.