Japan's immunisation policy in routine, pandemic and post-tsunami situations.

Immunisation is an important tool to protect individual and public health both in routine universal coverage and in complex emergency situations. Japan legally supports routine childhood immunisation against only eight diseases and recently experienced pandemic influenza and devastating earthquake and tsunami. This perspective aims to describe the current issues on Japan's immunisation policy in routine, pandemic and post-tsunami situations and to suggest solutions for them.

Reduced dose of foscarnet as preemptive therapy for cytomegalovirus infection following reduced-intensity cord blood transplantation.

Although foscarnet is a promising alternative for the treatment of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, its toxicity can be significant in patients with advanced age. We retrospectively reviewed medical records of 123 patients (median age of 55; range, 17-79) who received reduced-intensity cord blood transplantation (RI-CBT). Patients preemptively received reduced-dose foscarnet 30 mg/kg twice daily when CMV antigenemia exceeded 10/50,000. Sixty-three patients developed CMV antigenemia on a median of day 34, and 29 received foscarnet preemptively. The median level of CMV antigenemia at the initiation of foscarnet was 30. Median duration of foscarnet administration was 24 days. Adverse effects included electrolyte abnormalities (n=19), renal impairment (n=13), and skin eruption requiring discontinuation of foscarnet (n=1). Preemptive therapy of foscarnet was completed in 18 patients. Seven patients died during foscarnet use without developing CMV disease. The remaining 3 developed CMV enterocolitis 5, 14, and 17 days after initiation of foscarnet. All of them were successfully treated with ganciclovir or foscarnet. Reduced dose of foscarnet is beneficial to control CMV reactivation following RI-CBT; however, it has considerable toxicities in RI-CBT recipients with advanced age. Further studies are warranted to minimize toxicities and identify optimal dosages.

Antifungal prophylaxis following reduced-intensity stem cell transplantation.

Reduced-intensity stem cell transplantation (RIST) has been developed to be a novel curative option for advanced hematologic diseases. Its minimal toxicity allows for transplantation in patients with advanced age or with organ dysfunction. Young patients without comorbidity can undergo RIST as outpatients. However, fungal infection remains an important complication in RIST. Given the poor prognosis of fungal infection, prophylaxis is critical in its management. The prophylactic strategy is recently changing with the development of RIST. Hospital equipment is important for fungal prophylaxis; however, the median day for the development of fungal infection is day 100, when most RIST patients are followed as outpatients. The focus of fungal management after RIST needs to shift from in-hospital equipment to oral antifungals. Various antifungals have recently been developed and introduced for clinical use. A major change in antifungal management will probably occur within several years.

Intestinal thrombotic microangiopathy following reduced-intensity umbilical cord blood transplantation.

Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) is a significant complication after hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT); however, there is little information on it following reduced-intensity cord blood transplantation (RI-CBT). We reviewed the medical records of 123 adult patients who received RI-CBT at Toranomon Hospital between January 2002 and August 2004. TMA was diagnosed in seven patients based on intestinal biopsy (n = 6) or autopsy results (n = 1). While these patients showed some clinical symptoms such as diarrhea and/or abdominal pain, mental status alterations or neurological disorders were not observed in any of them. Laboratory results were mostly normal at the onset of TMA; >2% fragmented erythrocytes (n = 1), <10 mg/dl haptoglobin (n = 1), and >200 IU/dl lactic dehydrogenase (LD) (n = 4). On endoscopic examination, TMA lesions, consisting of ulcers, erosions, and diffuse exfoliation, were distributed spottily from terminal ileum to rectum. Intestinal graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) colitis were confirmed in five and four patients, respectively. With therapeutic measures including supportive care (n = 4), fresh frozen plasma (n = 1), and a reduction of immunosuppressive agents (n = 1), TMA improved in four patients. The present study demonstrates that intestinal TMA is a significant complication after RI-CBT. Since conventional diagnostic criteria can overlook TMA, its diagnosis requires careful examination of the gastrointestinal tract using endoscopy with biopsy.

Reduced-intensity hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation for malignant lymphoma: a retrospective survey of 112 adult patients in Japan.

We conducted a nation-wide survey of 112 adult Japanese patients who underwent reduced-intensity stem cell transplantation (RIST) from 1999 to 2002. Underlying diseases included indolent (n=45), aggressive (n=58) and highly aggressive lymphomas (n=9). Median age of the patients was 49 years. A total of 40 patients (36%) had relapsed diseases after autologous stem cell transplantation and 36 patients (32%) had received radiotherapy. RIST regimens were fludarabine-based (n=95), low-dose total body irradiation-based (n=6) and others (n=11). Cumulative incidences of grade II-IV acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and chronic GVHD were, respectively, 49 and 59%. Cumulative incidences of progression and progression-free mortality were 18 and 25%, respectively. With a median follow-up of 23.9 months, 3-year overall survival rates were 59%. A multivariate analysis identified three significant factors for progression, which are history of radiation (relative risk (RR) 3.45, confidential interval (CI) 1.12-10.0, P=0.03), central nervous system involvement (RR 6.25, CI 2.08-20.0, P=0.001) and development of GVHD (RR 0.28, CI 0.090-0.86, P=0.026). RIST may have decreased the rate of transplant-related mortality, and GVHD may have induced a graft-versus-lymphoma effect. However, whether or not these potential benefits can be directly translated into improved patient survival should be evaluated in further studies.

Optimal initial dose of oral cyclosporine in relation to its toxicities for graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis following reduced-intensity stem cell transplantation in Japanese patients.

Since the introduction of reduced-intensity stem-cell transplantation (RIST), allogeneic stem-cell transplantation has become available for elderly patients. While pharmacokinetics of cyclosporine might differ according to age or other factors, cyclosporine is uniformly started at an oral dose of 6 mg/kg/day. We retrospectively reviewed medical records of 35 patients aged between 32 and 65 (median 52) years who had undergone RIST. Doses of cyclosporine were adjusted to the target blood trough level of 150-250 ng/ml. Cyclosporine dosages were changed in 33 patients (94%). Dose reduction was required in 32 patients because of high blood levels (n=25), renal dysfunction (n=3), hepatic dysfunction (n=2), and hypertension (n=2). Cyclosporine doses were increased in one because of the suboptimal level. The median of the achieved stable doses was 3.1 mg/kg/day (range, 1.0-7.4). Five patients sustained Grade III toxicities according to NCI-CTC version 2.0: renal dysfunction (n=4), hyperbilirubinemia (n=2), and hypertension (n=2). No patients developed grade IV toxicity. There was no statistically significant difference in the frequency and severity of cyclosporine toxicities between patients aged 50 years and above and those below 50 years. The initial oral cyclosporine dose of 6 mg/kg/day was unnecessarily high irrespective of age. The possible overdose of cyclosporine might have aggravated regimen-related toxicities.

Reduced-intensity stem-cell transplantation for adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a retrospective study of 33 patients.

Efficacy of reduced-intensity stem-cell transplantation (RIST) for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was investigated in 33 patients (median age, 55 years). RIST sources comprised 20 HLA-identical related donors, five HLA-mismatched related, and eight unrelated donors. Six patients had undergone previous transplantation. Disease status at RIST was first remission (n=13), second remission (n=6), and induction failure or relapse (n=14). All patients tolerated preparatory regimens and achieved neutrophil engraftment (median, day 12.5). Acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) developed in 45 and 64%, respectively. Six patients received donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI), for prophylaxis (n=1) or treatment of recurrent ALL (n=5). Nine patients died of transplant-related mortality, with six deaths due to GVHD. The median follow-up of surviving patients was 11.6 months (range, 3.5-37.3 months). The 1-year relapse-free and overall survival rates were 29.8 and 39.6%, respectively. Of the 14 patients transplanted in relapse, five remained relapse free for longer than 6 months. Cumulative rates of progression and progression-free mortality at 3 years were 50.9 and 30.4%, respectively. These findings suggest the presence of a graft-versus-leukemia effect for ALL. RIST for ALL is worth considering for further evaluation.

Value of surveillance blood culture for early diagnosis of occult bacteremia in patients on corticosteroid therapy following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Bloodstream infection (BSI) is a significant complication following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT). Corticosteroids mask inflammatory responses, delaying the initiation of antibiotics. We reviewed medical records of 69 allo-SCT patients who had been on >0.5 mg/kg prednisolone to investigate the efficacy of weekly surveillance blood cultures. A total of 36 patients (52%) had positive cultures, 25 definitive BSI and 11 probable BSI. Pathogens in definitive BSI were Staphylococcus epidermidis (n=7), S. aureus (n=4), Entrococcus faecalis (n=3), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n=5), Acenitobacter lwoffii (n=4), and others (n=10). The median interval from the initiation of corticosteroids to the first positive cultures was 24 days (range, 1-70). At the first positive cultures, 15 patients with definitive BSI were afebrile. Four of them remained afebrile throughout the period of positive surveillance cultures. Patients with afebrile BSI tended to be older (P=0.063), and had in-dwelling central venous catheters less frequently than febrile patients (P<0.0001). Bloodstream pathogens were directly responsible for death in two patients with afebrile BSI. This study demonstrates that cortisosteroid frequently masks inflammatory reactions in allo-SCT recipients given conrticosteroids, and that surveillance blood culture is only diagnostic clue for 'occult' BSI.

Disseminated tuberculosis following reduced-intensity cord blood transplantation for adult patients with hematological diseases.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) recipients are prone to infections. The incidences of mycobacterial infections after allo-SCT in several case series vary from less than 0.1-5.5%. However, no study has been published on tuberculosis following unrelated cord blood transplantation (UCBT). We retrospectively reviewed medical records of 113 adult patients with a median age of 54 years who underwent reduced-intensity UCBT (RI-UCBT) at Toranomon Hospital from March 2002 to May 2004. Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections were diagnosed in three patients (2.7%), of these two patients developed primary infection and one patient developed reactivation of latent tuberculosis. The interval between RI-UCBT and the diagnosis of tuberculosis was 34, 41 and 61 days. All the patients had disseminated disease at diagnosis. Histological examination showed the lack of granuloma in caseous necrosis. Combination antituberculous treatments showed limited efficacy, and two patients died immediately after diagnosis. M. tuberculosis caused life-threatening illness, rapidly progressing in RI-UCBT recipients. The lack of granuloma in caseous necrosis suggests the impaired T-cell function in early post transplant phase of RI-UCBT. We should consider M. tuberculosis in the differential diagnoses of fever of unknown source after RI-UCBT.

Regimen-related toxicity following reduced-intensity stem-cell transplantation (RIST): comparison between Seattle criteria and National Cancer Center Common Toxicity Criteria (NCI-CTC) version 2.0.

Acute regimen-related toxicity (RRT) is minimal in reduced-intensity stem-cell transplantation (RIST). However, the Seattle RRT grading (Bearman et al), developed in the context of conventional-intensity transplantation, is frequently applied to RIST. We compared the National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria (NCI-CTC) version 2.0 with the Seattle criteria after RIST in 86 patients. RRT within 30 days of transplant graded by both sets of criteria were significantly associated with the outcome confirming the predictive value of both the systems. A total of 15 patients died of disease progression, and 12 of transplant-related mortality: RRT (n = 2), graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) (n = 7), infection (n = 1), and others (n = 2). GVHD-related deaths primarily resulted from infections after steroid treatment (n = 6) and bronchiolitis obliterans (n = 1). This study shows that NCI-CTC is appropriate in toxicity evaluation of RIST, and that its application to RIST enables a toxicity comparison between RIST and other types of cancer treatments. Since GVHD is a significant problem in RIST, modifications are required to evaluate immunological complications following RIST.

Reduced-intensity stem cell transplantation from an HLA-identical sibling donor in patients with myeloid malignancies.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with a reduced-intensity regimen (RIST) in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). In all, 36 patients (median age 55 years) underwent RIST from an HLA-matched related donor between September 1999 and December 2002. The diagnoses included AML (n=14), leukemia evolving from MDS (n=10), and MDS (refractory anemia with excess blasts n=6, refractory anemia n=6). The RIST regimen consisted of purine analog (cladribine or fludarabine)/busulfan, with or without antithymocyte globulin. The regimen was well tolerated, and 34 patients achieved durable engraftment and most achieved remission after RIST. A total of 17 patients developed grade II-IV acute GVHD, and 27 developed chronic GVHD. Eight patients relapsed, and five of them received antithymocyte globulin (ATG) as part of the preparative regimen. A total of 12 patients died (four disease progression, six transplantation-related complications, and two others). Estimated 1-year disease-free survival (DFS) in low- and high-risk groups was 85 and 64%, respectively. We conclude that RIST can be performed safely in elderly patients with myeloid malignancies, and has therapeutic potential for those who fail conventional chemotherapy. In view of the significant association between GVHD or ATG and DFS, defined management of GVHD following RIST should become a major target of clinical research.