Circulating dendritic cells deficiencies as a new biomarker in classical Hodgkin lymphoma.

No robust biomarkers have been yet validated to identify the recurrence of disease in classical Hodgkin Lymphoma (cHL) patients upon induction treatment. The relevance of the inflammatory microenvironment in cHL prompted us to investigate the key immunomodulator myeloid dendritic cells type-1 (mDC1), type-2 (mDC2) and plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC). Blood DC levels were assessed in 52 newly diagnosed patients through multiparametric flow-cytometry. All but two patients received ABVD regimen (doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, dacarbazine). The median counts of all DC subsets were lower in cHL patients than in healthy controls (P < 0·001). Median mDC counts were inferior for the advanced vs early stage patients for both mDC1s and mDC2s (P = 0·008; P = 0·0007 respectively). Also, median mDC2 counts were reduced in case of bulky (P = 0·0004) and extra-nodal (P = 0·046) disease. Patients with B symptoms had lower levels for mDC1s (P = 0·046), mDC2s (P = 0·009) and pDCs (P = 0·040). All the DC subtypes increased at the end of treatment in 26 patients (P < 0·001): 4·6-fold for mDC1, 2·4-fold for mDC2, 4·5-fold for pDC and aligned DCs subsets with the reference frequencies and the interquartile ranges of the controls. In conclusion, DCs may contribute to the disturbed immunological interplay typical of cHL, prompting a further evaluation of their value as a potential new biomarker.

PATZ1 expression correlates positively with BAX and negatively with BCL6 and survival in human diffuse large B cell lymphomas.

Non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) include a heterogeneous group of diseases, which differ in both cellular origin and clinical behavior. Among the aggressive malignancies of this group, the diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCLs) are the most frequently observed. They are themselves clinically and molecularly heterogeneous and have been further sub-divided in three sub-types according to different cell of origin, mechanisms of oncogenesis and clinical outcome. Among them, the germinal center B-cell-like (GCB) derives from the germinal center and expresses the BCL6 oncogene. We have previously shown that Patz1-knockout mice develop B-cell neoplasias, suggesting a tumor suppressor role for PATZ1 in human NHLs. Here, by immunohistochemical analysis of a tissue-microarray including 170 NHLs, we found that PATZ1 nuclear expression is down-regulated in follicular lymphomas and DLBCLs. Moreover, consistent with our previous results showing a PATZ1-dependent regulation of BCL6 and BAX transcription, we show that low PATZ1 nuclear expression significantly correlates with high BCL6 expression, mainly in DLBCLs, and with low BAX expression, also considering separately follicular lymphomas and DLBCLs. Finally, by analyzing overall and progression-free survival in DLBCL patients that underwent rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone chemotherapy, low levels of PATZ1 were significantly associated to a worst outcome and demonstrated an independent prognostic factor in multivariate analysis, including known prognostic factors of DLBCL, IPI score and cell of origin (GCB/non-GCB). Therefore, we propose PATZ1 as a new prognostic marker of DLBCLs, which may act as a tumor suppressor by enhancing apoptosis through inhibiting and enhancing transcription of BCL6 and BAX, respectively.

A phase II study of dose-dense and dose-intense ABVD (ABVDDD-DI ) without consolidation radiotherapy in patients with advanced Hodgkin lymphoma.

We explored activity and safety of a dose-dense/dose-intense adriamycin, bleomycin, vinblastine and dacarbazine regimen (ABVDDD-DI ) in 82 patients with advanced Hodgkin Lymphoma. Patients entered a two-stage Bryant-Day Phase II study to receive six cycles of ABVDDD-DI without consolidation radiotherapy. Cycles were supported with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and delivered every 21 d; drugs were administered on days 1 and 11 at the same doses of standard ABVD except for doxorubicin (35 mg/m2; first four cycles only). Co-primary endpoints were complete response (CR) rate and severe acute cardiopulmonary toxicity; secondary endpoints were event-free (EFS) and disease-free survival (DFS). All patients received the four doxorubicin-intensified courses and 96% concluded all six cycles (82.3% within the intended 18 weeks). This translated into a 66.9% increase of received dose-intensity for doxorubicin and 31.8% for the other agents over standard ABVD. The CR rate was 95.1% (78/82) and 87.8% (72/82) achieved a metabolic CR after two cycles. Cardiopulmonary toxicity never exceeded grade 2 and affected 14.6% of patients. Most frequent toxicities were grade 4 neutropenia (10%) and anaemia (9%), grade 3 infection (17%) and grade 2 mucocutaneous changes (30%). Five-year EFS and DFS was 88.3% and 93.7%, respectively. ABVDDD-DI regimen was well-tolerated and ensured substantial CR and EFS rates without radiotherapy.

Radioimmunotherapy with Tenarad, a 131I-labelled antibody fragment targeting the extra-domain A1 of tenascin-C, in patients with refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma.

PURPOSE: The extra-domain A1 of tenascin-C (TC-A1) is highly expressed in the extracellular matrix of tumours and on newly formed blood vessels and is thus a valuable target for radionuclide therapy. Tenarad is a fully human miniantibody or small immunoprotein (SIP, molecular weight 80 kDa) labelled with (131)I that is derived from a TC-A1-binding antibody. Previous phase I/II studies with a similar compound ((131)I-L19SIP) used for radioimmunotherapy (RIT) have shown preliminary efficacy in a variety of cancer types. In this ongoing phase I/II trial, Tenarad was administered to patients with recurrent Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) refractory to conventional treatments. METHODS: Eight patients (four men, four women; age range 19 - 41) were enrolled between April 2010 and March 2011. All patients had received a median of three previous lines of chemotherapy (range three to six) and seven had also undergone autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) or bone marrow transplantation. In addition, seven patients received external beam radiation. All patients had nodal disease, constitutional B symptoms and some showed extranodal disease in skeletal bone (four patients), lung (three), liver (two) and spleen (one). Baseline assessments included whole-body FDG PET with contrast-enhanced CT and diagnostic Tenarad planar and SPECT studies. Patients were considered eligible to receive a therapeutic dose of Tenarad (2.05 GBq/m(2)) if tumour uptake was more than four times higher than that of muscle. RESULTS: All patients were eligible and received the therapeutic dose of Tenarad. Only one patient developed grade 4 thrombocytopenia and leucocytopenia, requiring hospitalization and therapeutic intervention. All other patients had haematological toxicity of grade 3 or lower, which resolved spontaneously. At the first response assessment (4 - 6 weeks after therapy), one patient showed a complete response, one showed a partial response (PR) and five had disease stabilization (SD). Five patients were given up to three repeated Tenarad treatments. One patient showed SD which then improved to a PR, three showed clinical benefit while maintaining SD and one patient showed disease progression. CONCLUSION: Tenarad RIT is effective in chemorefractory HL and resulted in objective responses or clinical benefit in the majority of patients. Toxicity was acceptable despite the high load of prior treatments, previous ASCT and multiple Tenarad administrations. Further studies are planned to define the most effective schedule for this type of RIT in HL patients.

RD-CODOX-M/IVAC with rituximab and intrathecal liposomal cytarabine in adult Burkitt lymphoma and 'unclassifiable' highly aggressive B-cell lymphoma.

Specific trials on adult Burkitt lymphoma (BL) and 'unclassifiable' lymphomas with features intermediate between BL and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (BL/DLBCL) are advocated which include substantial numbers of older patients, to improve treatment feasibility, while countering risks of systemic and central nervous system (CNS) recurrences. We prospectively evaluated a modified CODOX-M/IVAC (CODOX-M: cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, high-dose methotrexate; IVAC: ifosfamide, etoposide and high-dose cytarabine) regimen by the addition of rituximab (R) and liposome-encapsulated cytarabine (D) to increase antitumour activity and halve the number of intrathecal treatments. Thirty adults (40% >60years) with BL (n=15) and BL/DLBCL (n=15) were accrued. Primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS), CNS recurrence, and liposomal cytarabine-associated toxicity. Eighty percent of patients received the whole treatment programme, the remaining cases received at least three full courses. Application of the RD-CODOX-M/IVAC regimen resulted in remarkable 4-year PFS (78%) and complete remission (CR) rates (93%). However, PFS was significantly lower in patients older than 60years as compared to younger ones (49%vs 93%, P=0·03; median, 36months), despite high actual dose-intensity, CR rate and tolerability. Reduced-intensity intratechal prophylaxis through liposomal cytarabine was effective because the CNS failure rate was low (3·4%) and without severe neurological toxicities. The RD-CODOX-M/IVAC strategy is feasible and highly effective, but improving outcomes in elderly patients remains a priority.

Efficacy and safety of the third-generation chloroethylnitrosourea fotemustine for the treatment of chemorefractory T-cell lymphomas.

Patients with recurring T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (T-NHL) are incurable and candidate for investigational agents. Here, we report on five patients with T-NHL refractory to multiple chemotherapy lines, including in all cases alkylators and gemcitabine, who received the third-generation chloroethylnitrosourea fotemustine at a dose of 120 mg/m(2) every 21 d, up to eight courses. Median actual dose intensity was 79%; toxicity was manageable and mainly hematological. One complete remission, one partial remission, two protracted disease stabilization, and one transient, minor response were achieved. Time to progression ranged from 48 to 240+ d. This is the first evidence ever reporting the activity of fotemustine in end-stage T-NHL. Formal studies with this agent are warranted in T-cell malignancies.

Biweekly rituximab, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, non-pegylated liposome-encapsulated doxorubicin and prednisone (R-COMP-14) in elderly patients with poor-risk diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and moderate to high 'life threat' impact cardiopathy.

This Phase II study assessed feasibility and efficacy of a biweekly R-COMP-14 regimen (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, non-pegylated liposome-encapsulated doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone) in untreated elderly patients with poor-risk diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and moderate to high 'life threat' impact NIA/NCI cardiac comorbidity. A total of 208 courses were delivered, with close cardiac monitoring, to 41 patients (median age: 73years, range: 62-82; 37% >75years) at a median interval of 15·6 (range, 13-29) days; 67% completed all six scheduled courses. Response rate was 73%, with 68% complete responses (CR); 4-year disease-free survival (DFS) and time to treatment failure (TTF) were 72% and 49%, respectively. Failures were due to early death (n=3), therapy discontinuations (no-response n=2; toxicity n=6), relapse (n=6) and death in CR (n=3). Incidence of cardiac grade 3-5 adverse events was 7/41 (17%; 95% confidence interval: 8-31%). Time to progression and overall survival at 4-years were 77% and 67%, respectively. The Age-adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index (aaCCI) correlated with failures (P=0·007) with patients scoring ≤7 having a longer TTF (66% vs. 29%; P=0·009). R-COMP-14 is feasible and ensures a substantial DFS to poor-risk DLBCL patients who would have been denied anthracycline-based treatment due to cardiac morbidity. The aaCCI predicted both treatment discontinuation rate and TTF.

Long-term results of gemcitabine plus oxaliplatin with and without rituximab as salvage treatment for transplant-ineligible patients with refractory/relapsing B-cell lymphoma.

PURPOSE: To determine the efficacy and safety of the combination of gemcitabine plus oxaliplatin, with and without rituximab, in patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell lymphoma unsuitable for high dose therapy. METHODS: Patients were prospectively enrolled in two subsequent trials, GEMOX [gemcitabine (1200 mg/m(2), days 1 and 8) and oxaliplatin (120 mg/m(2), day 2), three-weekly] and R-GEMOX [rituximab (375 mg/m(2), day 1), gemcitabine (1200 mg/m(2), day 1) and oxaliplatin (120 mg/m(2), day 2), bi-weekly], up to six courses. RESULTS: Sixty-two patients were enrolled: GEMOX [n = 30; median age, 66 years (range, 46-85); previous chemotherapy > or =2, 70%; PS ECOG > or = 2, 57%]; R-GEMOX [n = 32; median age, 65 years (range 32-79); previous chemotherapy > or =2, 75%; PS ECOG > or = 2, 47%]. Overall and complete response rates were 57 and 30% (95% CI, 15-49) for GEMOX and 78 and 50% (95% CI, 32-68) in R-GEMOX, respectively. Grade 3/4 neutropenia occurred in 57 and 47% of cycles and grade 3/4 thrombocytopenia in 26 and 17% of courses for GEMOX and R-GEMOX, respectively. At 42 months, the failure-free survival (FFS) was 7% (95% CI, 0-16) for GEMOX and 28% (95% CI, 9-47) for R-GEMOX (P = 0.014), with overall survivals of 7 (95% CI, 0-16) and 37% (95% CI, 20-55), respectively (P = 0.016). CONCLUSIONS: Both regimes showed good tolerability and appealing response rates. FFS was more prolonged in R-GEMOX, but patients continuously relapsed without a clear plateau on survival curves.

Long-term follow-up study on the role of serum CA-125 as a prognostic factor in 221 newly diagnosed patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The present study has explored the possible value of sCA-125 as a prognostic factor in Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL). From August 1992 to June 2005 sCA-125 was measured at presentation and at the end of the treatments in 221 newly diagnosed adult patients with HL. In this study 90/221 (41%) patients showed a value greater than the standard upper limit of 35 U/ml, and 79/90 (88%) with an abnormal sCA-125 were at an advanced stage of the disease. Patients with elevated sCA-125 showed a significant reduction in complete remission (CR) rate (76%vs. 98%; p < 0.0001). Failure of normalization of sCA-125 during the treatment revealed that CR had not been reached. Furthermore, no traces of the glycoprotein sCA-125 were found in a series of paraffin-embedded samples coming from 15 patients of this study. In addition, soluble CA-125 was not detected in supernatants coming from four different Hodgkin-derived cell lines. The long-term follow-up revealed that the group of patients with sCA-125 lower than 35 U/ml, at diagnosis, had an estimated 92% event free survival (EFS) rate and a 94% overall survival (OS) rate, while the group of patients with sCA-125 greater than 35 U/ml had only a 60% EFS rate (log-rank 33.43, p < 0.0001) and a 70% OS rate (log-rank 23.52, p < 0.0001). Extranodal disease, severe lymphocytopenia and age proved to be the only standard factors that could represent a poor chance to survive. At multivariate analysis, high sCA-125, E sites >1 and age were the only independent factors producing poor outcomes in terms of CR, EFS and OS. Therefore, we believe that sCA-125 is a simple, reliable and reproducible tool, which may improve existing prognostic systems.

Pentostatin (2'-deoxycoformycin) for the treatment of hepatosplenic gammadelta T-cell lymphomas.

We report the results of treatment with single agent 2'-deoxycoformycin (Pentostatin) in two patients with Hepatosplenic gammadelta T-cell lymphoma (HSgammadeltaTCL), a rare lymphoma subtype with a highly unfavorable prognosis. Present and previous data reviewed here demonstrates the striking cytotoxic activity of Pentostatin against gammadelta+ tumor T cells. Further studies are warranted to define the optimal strategy to fully exploit therapeutic potential of this drug in patients with HSgammadeltaTCL.

A case of congenital dyserythropoietic anemia type II, Gilbert's syndrome and malleolar trophic ulcers.

A case of a woman with congenital dyserythropoietic anemia type II (CDA-II), Gilbert's syndrome (GS) and trophic malleolar ulceration is described. The association of CDA-II and GS caused early gallstone formation that led the patient to undergo cholecystectomy at the age of 15. GS is typified by increased production of both unconjugated and monoconjugated bilirubin, which is more lithogenic. The development of ulcers is not typical of CDA-II, even though they are associated with many of the hemolytic anemias, and were thought in our patient to be due to a thrombophilic tendency which manifest with Antithrombin III and Protein C deficiency.