Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in Romania: a single-centre experience.

Epidemiologic studies of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in Eastern Europe are scarce in the literature. We report the experience of the "Ion Chiricuta" Institute of Oncology in Cluj-Napoca (IOCN), Romania, in the diagnosis and outcome of patients with NHL. We studied 184 consecutive NHL patients diagnosed in the Pathology Department of IOCN during the years 2004-2006. We also obtained epidemiological data from the Northwestern (NW) Cancer Registry. In the IOCN series, the most common lymphoma subtype was diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (43.5%), followed by the chronic lymphocytic leukaemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (21.2%). T-cell lymphomas represented a small proportion (8.2%). The median age of the patients was 57 years, with a male-to-female ratio of 0.94. Patients with indolent B-cell lymphomas had the best overall survival, whereas those with mantle cell lymphoma had the worst survival. The NW Cancer Registry data showed that the occurrence of NHL in the NW region of Romania was higher in men [world age-standardized incidence rate/100 000 (ASR)-5.9; 95% CI 5.1-6.6] than in women (ASR-4.1; 95% CI 3.5-4.7) with age-standardized male-to-female ratio of 1.44 (p = 0.038). Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma was the most common NHL in the NW region of Romania, accounting for 43% of all cases, followed by diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (36%). The 5-year, age-standardized cumulative relative survival for NHL in the County of Cluj in NW Romania, for the period of 2006-2010, was 51.4%, with 58.4% survival for men and 43.2% for women. Additional studies of NHL in Eastern Europe are needed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

TERT rs2736100 A>C SNP and JAK2 46/1 haplotype significantly contribute to the occurrence of JAK2 V617F and CALR mutated myeloproliferative neoplasms - a multicentric study on 529 patients.

Polycythaemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythaemia (ET) and primary myelofibrosis (PMF) represent typical myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), usually characterized by specific somatic driver mutations (JAK2 V617F, CALR and MPL). JAK2 46/1 haplotype and telomerase reverse transcriptase gene (TERT) rs2736100 A>C single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) could represent a large fraction of the genetic predisposition seen in MPN. The rs10974944 C>G SNP, tagging the JAK2 46/1 haplotype, and the TERT rs2736100 A>C SNP were genotyped in 529 MPN patients with known JAK2 V617F, CALR and MPL status, and 433 controls. JAK2 46/1 haplotype strongly correlated to JAK2 V617F-positive MPN and, to a lesser extent, CALR-positive MPN. The TERT rs2736100 A>C SNP strongly correlated to all MPN, regardless of the phenotype (PV, ET or PMF) and major molecular subtype (JAK2 V617F- or CALR-positive). While both variants have a significant contribution, they have nuanced consequences, with JAK2 46/1 predisposing essentially to JAK2 V617F-positive MPN, and TERT rs2736100 A>C having a more general, non-specific effect on all MPN, regardless of phenotype or major molecular subtype.

Cancer stem-like cells: the dark knights of clinical hematology and oncology.

According to recent epidemiological studies, malignant diseases represent the second cause of mortality worldwide and metastasis is the main cause of morbidity and mortality in most cancers. Even if the concept of "cancer stem cells" (CSCs) was anticipated by the genius of Rudolph Virchow, the father of modern pathology, more than 150 years ago, it is only in last few years that that scientists have begun to develop strategies aimed at inhibiting CSCs at a molecular level, the only way cancer can truly be attacked, by crossing the border between histology and molecular biology. The current concise review aims at emphasizing the main characteristics of tumor initiating cells, bridging the basic science to clinical hematology and oncology.

Peripheral blood stem cell collection in elderly patients.

Intensive treatments like autologous blood stem cell transplantations are standard consolidation treatments for lymphoma and myeloma in young people. The upper age limit for these procedures is constantly increasing. Instead of studying the impact of aging on harvesting peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC), we performed a retrospective study to explore the feasibility of collecting stem cells from patients older than 65 years and compared the efficacy to harvest in younger patients. During a period of 7 years, we identified 108 patients with myeloma or lymphoma who were older than 65 years who underwent PBSC collection. Only eight patients failed to produce a successful harvest. The majority of patients only needed one apheresis (71%). There was a median number of 5.3 x 10(6) CD34+ cells/kg. Our study demonstrated that older patients can also undergo PBSC harvests similar to younger patients.

The G allele of the JAK2 rs10974944 SNP, part of JAK2 46/1 haplotype, is strongly associated with JAK2 V617F-positive myeloproliferative neoplasms.

Polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, and primary myelofibrosis are myeloproliferative neoplasms, characterized in a majority of cases by a unique somatic point mutation, JAK2 V617F. Recently, it was shown that JAK2 V617F occurs more frequently on a specific JAK2 haplotype, named JAK2 46/1. We genotyped 149 myeloproliferative neoplasms patients (69 had polycythemia vera, 65 had essential thrombocythemia, and 15 had primary myelofibrosis) with a known JAK2 V617F mutational status and 150 controls for the JAK2 rs10974944 (C/G) single nucleotide polymorphism, in which the G allele tags the 46/1 haplotype. We found that the rs10974944 GG/CG genotypes were significantly enriched in patients compared to controls (p < 0.0001). After stratifying for the JAK2 V617F mutational status and for the mutant allele burden, we demonstrated that GG/CG genotypes were significantly more frequent in V617F positive compared to V617F negative patients (p = 0.001), but not in V617F negative patients compared to controls (p = 0.29). Similarly, the GG/CG genotypes were significantly enriched in V617F positive patients with a mutant allele burden >50% compared to those with a mutant allele burden <50% (p = 0.0006). Our results indicate that the G allele, part of the JAK2 46/1 haplotype, contributes significantly to the occurrence of JAK2 V617F-positive myeloproliferative neoplasms. Moreover, JAK2 46/1 seems to be associated with mutant allele burden >50% in JAK2 V617F-positive myeloproliferative neoplasms patients.

Transthoracic ultrasonography for the immunocompromised patient. A pilot project that introduces transthoracic ultrasonography for the follow-up of hematological patients in Romania.

In the past decade, there has been significant progress in clinical hematology with the discovery of targeted molecules and thus the achievement of both hematologic and molecular responses. Nevertheless, chemotherapy remains the treatment of choice for many types of hematological malignancies. Aggressive chemotherapy leads to immunosuppression, accompanied by a high rate of infections and an increased rate of treatment-related mortality. Invasive fungal infections as well as more common bacterial and viral infections are frequent in immunocompromised patients as they are difficult to diagnose and treat. Pleuropulmonary infections in immunocompromised patients are diagnosed using clinical examination, imaging and laboratory tests. Many laboratory tests are run for several days before a final result is given and are expensive. Computer tomography is a reliable technique, but it is encumbered by high irradiation and high cost, and can assess lesions larger than 1 cm. Transthoracic ultrasound is a modern method, used in the diagnostic algorithm of pleuropulmonary pathology. It allows the diagnosis of small lesions, can be performed at the patients' bedside, with acceptable costs and no irradiation. A fast, informed and accurate medical decision is essential for a favorable outcome in immunosuppressed patients with an adjacent infection. In the current case series we present the implementation of a new protocol for the follow-up of immunocompromised patients using transthoracic ultrasonography, of great potential use in the clinic.

Nilotinib first-line therapy in patients with Philadelphia chromosome-negative/BCR-ABL-positive chronic myeloid leukemia in chronic phase: ENEST1st sub-analysis.

PURPOSE: The ENEST1st sub-analysis presents data based on Philadelphia chromosome (Ph) status, i.e., Ph+ and Ph-/BCR-ABL1 + chronic myeloid leukemia. METHODS: Patients received nilotinib 300 mg twice daily, up to 24 months. RESULTS: At screening, 983 patients were identified as Ph+ and 30 patients as Ph-/BCR-ABL + based on cytogenetic and RT-PCR assessment; 76 patients had unknown karyotype (excluded from this sub-analysis). In the Ph-/BCR-ABL1 + subgroup, no additional chromosomal aberrations were reported. In the Ph+ subgroup, 952 patients had safety and molecular assessments. In the Ph-/BCR-ABL1 + subgroup, 30 patients had safety assessments and 28 were followed up for molecular assessments. At 18 months, the molecular response (MR) 4 rate [MR4; BCR-ABL1 ≤0.01% on International Scale (IS)] was similar in the Ph-/BCR-ABL1+ (39.3%) and Ph+ subgroups (38.1%). By 24 months, the cumulative rates of major molecular response (BCR-ABL1IS ≤0.1%;), MR4, and MR4.5 (BCR-ABL1IS ≤0.0032%) were 85.7, 60.7, and 50.0%, respectively, in the Ph-/BCR-ABL1 + subgroup, and 80.3, 54.7, and 38.3%, respectively, in the Ph+ subgroup. In both Ph-/BCR-ABL1 + and Ph+ subgroups, rash (20 and 22%), pruritus (16.7 and 16.7%), nasopharyngitis (13.3 and 10.4%), fatigue (10 and 14.2%), headache (10 and 15.8%), and nausea (6.7 vs 11.4%) were frequent non-hematologic adverse events, whereas hypophosphatemia (23.3 and 6.8%), anemia (10 and 6.5%), and thrombocytopenia (3.3 and 10.2%) were the common hematologic/biochemical laboratory events. CONCLUSION: Based on similar molecular response and safety results in both subgroups, we conclude that Ph-/BCR-ABL1 + patients benefit from nilotinib in the same way as Ph+ patients.

Impact of age on efficacy and toxicity of nilotinib in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in chronic phase: ENEST1st subanalysis.

PURPOSE: Achievement of deep molecular response with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is required to attempt discontinuation of therapy in these patients. The current subanalysis from the Evaluating Nilotinib Efficacy and Safety in Clinical Trials as First-Line Treatment (ENEST1st) study evaluated whether age has an impact on the achievement of deeper molecular responses or safety with frontline nilotinib in patients with CML. METHODS: ENEST1st is an open-label, multicenter, single-arm, prospective study of nilotinib 300 mg twice daily in patients with newly diagnosed CML in chronic phase. The patients were stratified into the following 4 groups based on age: young (18-39 years), middle age (40-59 years), elderly (60-74 years), and old (≥75 years). The primary end point was the rate of molecular response 4 ([MR4] BCR-ABL1 ≤0.01% on the international scale) at 18 months from the initiation of nilotinib. RESULTS: Of the 1091 patients enrolled, 1089 were considered in the analysis, of whom, 23% (n = 243), 45% (n = 494), 27% (n = 300), and 5% (n = 52) were categorized as young, middle age, elderly, and old, respectively. At 18 months, the rates of MR4 were 33.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 27.8-40.0%) in the young, 39.6% (95% CI, 35.3-44.0%) in the middle-aged, 40.5% (95% CI, 34.8-46.1%) in the elderly, and 35.4% (95% CI, 21.9-48.9%) in the old patients. Although the incidence of adverse events was slightly different, no new specific safety signals were observed across the 4 age groups. CONCLUSIONS: This subanalysis of the ENEST1st study showed that age did not have a relevant impact on the deep molecular response rates associated with nilotinib therapy in newly diagnosed patients with CML and eventually on the eligibility of the patients to attempt treatment discontinuation.

Castleman Disease. A Report of Six Cases.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Castleman's disease is a rare disorder situated at the boundary between reactive and neoplastic conditions. The pathogenesis is a subject of debate and the limited number of cases renders the study of the disease difficult. In our paper we present a series of six cases of Castleman disease with emphasis on the clinical presentation, pathology examination and the use of immunohistochemistry in the final diagnosis of the cases. PATIENTS AND METHOD: The classification of the disease was based on clinical, imaging and pathological assessment. Specimens were obtained by surgical excision and were routinely processed for the pathology examination. RESULTS: All cases were unicentric disease. Two cases were locally extensive. The clinical symptoms were related mostly to compression effects. Five case were of the hyaline-vascular type and one was included in the plasma cell variant. One case showed angiomyoid differentiation. CONCLUSIONS: We strongly believe that by understanding the pathogenesis of the precursor lesions we will gain better understanding of the pathways that lead to neoplasia and that Castleman disesase is a very interesting "natural experiment" illustrating the progression from chronic antigen stimulation to reactive lymphoid hyperplasia and finally to overt lymphoid neoplasia.