The Significance of CD20 Intensity Variance in Pediatric Patients with B-Cell Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

B-cell precursor acute lyphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a common pediatric malignancy and patients may have significant benefits from monoclonal antibodies therapy with increased survival rates. Positive CD20 expression is identified in about half of these patients and its presence may serve as a prognostic factor in disease evolution. We performed a retrospective study including 114 patients diagnosed with B-ALL and evaluated the expression of CD20 through flow cytometry at diagnosis and on day 15. Additional immunophenotypic analyses as well as cytogenetic and molecular genetic analyses were also performed. We observed an increase in the mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of CD20 between diagnosis-1.9 (1.2-3.26) and day 15: 6.17 (2.14-27.4), (p < 0.0001). Furthermore, we assessed that both diagnosis and day 15 CD20 MFI had an impact on RFS and OS, respectively, for cut-off values of >8.08 at diagnosis and >28.65 at day 15. In conclusion, CD20 expression appears to be a poor prognostic feature of B-ALL in pediatric patients. In this study, stratification of the outcome by the intensity of CD20 has implications concerning the allocation to rituximab-based chemotherapy and may offer new, potentially useful information for pediatric patients with B-ALL.

Kaempferol: Antimicrobial Properties, Sources, Clinical, and Traditional Applications.

Flavonoids are a category of plant-derived compounds which exhibit a large number of health-related effects. One of the most well-known and studied flavonoids is kaempferol, which can be found in a wide variety of herbs and plant families. Apart from their anticarcinogenic and anti-inflammatory effects, kaempferol and its associated compounds also exhibit antibacterial, antifungal, and antiprotozoal activities. The development of drugs and treatment schemes based on these compounds is becoming increasingly important in the face of emerging resistance of numerous pathogens as well as complex molecular interactions between various drug therapies. In addition, many of the kaempferol-containing plants are used in traditional systems all over the world for centuries to treat numerous conditions. Due to its variety of sources and associated compounds, some molecular mechanisms of kaempferol antimicrobial activity are well known while others are still under analysis. This paper thoroughly documents the vegetal and food sources of kaempferol as well as the most recent and significant studies regarding its antimicrobial applications.

Controversial Flow Cytometry Monitoring of a Relapse Case of Pediatric T Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Case Report.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most frequent childhood cancer, with 80-85% represented by B cell ALL and only 15% by T cell ALL. T Cell ALL (T-ALL) carries a more reserved prognosis compared to B Cell ALL (B-ALL) with regard to response to treatment, risk of relapse, and overall survival. Progress made in current monitoring protocols such as via flow cytometry immunophenotyping (FCM) and by PCR-based amplification of antigen-receptor genes led to improved management of patients with ALL and superior rates of survival. Nevertheless, challenges remain in some clinical cases. This manuscript describes a unique case of T-ALL and raises awareness of such clinical challenges. The article presents an overview of the flow cytometry immunophenotyping at diagnosis and during treatment of a pediatric patient with T-ALL from Fundeni Clinical Institute. In this case, in spite of various therapeutic measures such as first-line chemotherapy for high risk group, salvage chemotherapy (FLAG), conditioning regimen (FLU-BU-TT-ATG), and stem cell transplant, a chemoresistance clone continued to be present.

Breast myeloid sarcoma after allogeneic stem cell transplantation for acute myelomonocytic leukemia - case report.

Defined as a rare extramedullary tumor, myeloid sarcoma (MS) is in the attention of specialists, although the information in the literature is represented especially through case reports. MS can precede acute myeloid leukemia (AML), appear simultaneous and can be the only manifestation of leukemia relapse after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT). We present the case of a 30-year-old female diagnosed with acute myelomonocytic leukemia (AML M4), with complete remission (CR) after chemotherapy, followed by allo-SCT for consolidation. After five months, the patient presented right breast tumors. Ultrasound-guided biopsy of the breast lesion displayed diffuse infiltration of undifferentiated tumor cells, with blastic granulocytic features, strongly immunopositive for cluster of differentiation (CD) 45, CD99, CD34 and myeloperoxidase (MPO) and negative for all epithelial markers [MNF116, cytokeratin 7 (CK7), estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), E-cadherin]. The final diagnosis was AML relapse with breast MS. After multiple leukemia relapses with breast MS, the patient died with cerebral bleeding secondary to severe thrombocytopenia.