Risk of febrile neutropenia among patients with multiple myeloma or lymphoma who undergo inpatient versus outpatient autologous stem cell transplantation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Outpatient autologous stem cell transplantations (ASCTs) in multiple myeloma and lymphoma patients have been shown to reduce the overall costs and improve the quality of life relative to inpatient ASCTs. This systematic review and meta-analysis was performed with the aim of comprehensively comparing the risk of febrile neutropenia developing in ASCT outpatients and inpatients who have multiple myeloma or lymphoma. METHODS: To be eligible for the meta-analysis, studies needed to be either randomized, controlled studies or cohort studies. They also need to have two groups of patients with multiple myeloma or lymphoma who underwent ASCT, with the treatment being provided to one group in an outpatient setting and to the other on an inpatient basis. The studies had to report our primary outcome of interest, the rate of febrile neutropenia after stem cell infusion, for both groups. The Mantel-Haenszel method was used to pool the effect estimates and 95% confidence intervals of each study. RESULTS: From 9 eligible studies, a total of 1940 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Contrary to conventional concerns, the patients who underwent the outpatient ASCT had a significantly lower risk of developing febrile neutropenia than those admitted for ASCT, with a pooled odds ratio (OR) of 0.44 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.29-0.65; p < 0.0001; I2 = 52%). The risk of septicemia was also significantly lower for the outpatients than the inpatients, with a pooled OR of 0.40 (95% CI: 0.16-0.97; p = 0.04; I2 = 23%). Additional analyses found that the odds of having grade 2-3 mucositis and transplant-related mortality were numerically lower for the outpatient group, although the pooled result was not statistically significant. The odds of surviving at 2-3 years was also numerically higher for the ASCT outpatients, but the difference did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: This study found a significantly lower odds of developing febrile neutropenia and septicemia among patients with multiple myeloma and lymphoma who received an outpatient ASCT than among those who had an inpatient ASCT.

Transient adrenal insufficiency in diffuse large B cell lymphoma patients after chemotherapy with short-course, high-dose corticosteroids.

Data on the rate of adrenal insufficiency (AI) in patients receiving short-course and high-dose corticosteroids are limited. In this study, we aimed to determine the incidence of AI in newly diagnosed, diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients after receiving rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone [or prednisolone] (R-CHOP/CHOP) regimen. We enrolled newly diagnosed DLBCL patients who were scheduled to receive 6-8 cycles of R-CHOP/CHOP regimen. One-microgram adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulation tests were performed at the study entry and 3 weeks after each cycle of chemotherapy (CMT). AI was defined by a peak-stimulated serum cortisol of less than 18 µg/dL. For patients who had AI after completing a course of CMT, 1-µg ACTH stimulation tests were carried out at 60 and 90 days after the last CMT cycle to assess the duration of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis recovery. Ten DLBCL patients were included in this study, with a total of 84 1-µg ACTH stimulation tests. Their mean age was 52 years. AI occurred in 3 out of the 10 patients (30%). The first occurrence of AI was after the third CMT cycle, and the incidence was highest after the fifth cycle. Adrenal function recovered completely 3 to 5 weeks after completing the course of CMT, except for 1 patient, whose HPA axis suppression persisted 90 days after the last CMT cycle. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that a basal cortisol level of < 8.7 µg/dL was predictive of AI, with a sensitivity and specificity of 80% and 72.2%, respectively. Transient HPA axis suppression can occur in DLBCL patients receiving R-CHOP/CHOP regimen. We strongly encourage careful observation and examination for potential adrenal insufficiency in such patients, particularly after the fifth cycle of chemotherapy.

Multiple myeloma concealed by adrenal Cushing syndrome: a case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Cushing syndrome coexisting with multiple myeloma has been previously described in a few reports. Overlapping clinical manifestations can lead to misdiagnoses. CASE PRESENTATION: We presented an extremely rare case of a 33-year-old Thai woman with concomitant kappa light chain myeloma with adrenal Cushing syndrome, both of which were related to skeletal manifestations. A precedence report indicated that treatment of the Cushing syndrome could exacerbate the myeloma symptoms. Therefore, we were faced with the dilemma of which disease should be addressed first. We decided to treat our patient with a combination chemotherapy followed by an autologous stem cell transplant. Subsequently, a left laparoscopic adrenalectomy was successfully undertaken. CONCLUSION: We have reported the first association between adrenocorticotropic hormone-independent Cushing syndrome resulting from a left autonomous cortisol-secreting adrenal adenoma, and multiple myeloma.