Cyclophosphamide exposure via sweat of patients receiving CHOP therapy.

INTRODUCTION: "Secondary exposure to anticancer drugs" refers to exposure to anticancer drugs after chemotherapy via the patient's urine and other excretions. The necessity of countermeasures against secondary exposure to anticancer drugs has been recently highlighted. Although anticancer drugs are also excreted through sweat, few studies have reported exposure to drug residues via this route. We investigated the amount of cyclophosphamide (CPA) excreted in the sweat of patients receiving CHOP therapy (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone). METHODS: The study population included eight patients with malignant lymphoma who received CHOP therapy between May and December 2021. The amount of CPA in their underwear (namely, cotton short-sleeved shirts) worn from the start of the CHOP therapy until 24 h after the end of CPA administration was measured, using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). RESULTS: CPA was detected in the underwear of all the patients, with levels ranging between 7.38 and 160.77 ng/cm2. No subjective changes were observed in the sweating status of any patients during the study period. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested that patients' sweat, as well as urine, is a potential route for exposure to anticancer drugs. Whether visibly contaminated or not, the clothing and linen worn directly by patients should be handled as a source of sweat-mediated exposure to anticancer drugs both in medical facilities and at home.

Intracranial hemorrhage following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Charts and radiographs of 622 allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients, over a 20-year period, were retrospectively reviewed for intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) following transplant. A total of 21 cases of ICH were identified (3.4%) including 15 cases of intraparenchymal hemorrhage (IPH), two cases of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), and four cases of subdural hematoma (SDH). The median time from transplantation to the onset of ICH was 63 days (range, 6-3,488 days). The clinical features of post-transplant ICH patients were similar and included hypertension, diabetes mellitus, chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), systemic infection, and veno occlusive disease (VOD), recently referred to as sinusoidal obstruction syndrome, in addition to severe thrombocytopenia. Mortality rate was especially high (89%) after IPH with a median survival of 2 days (range, 0-148 days). In contrast, all patients with SAH or SDH following HSCT survived. The cause of post-transplant ICH appears to be multifactorial, including thrombocytopenia, hypertension, acute GVHD, VOD, and radiation therapy. Most patients in our series displayed severe thrombocytopenia at the onset of ICH, even though adequate prophylactic platelet transfusions were given. By univariate analysis, cord blood transplantation, acute GVHD, systemic infection, and VOD were related to the incidence of ICH, whereas prior CNS episodes and radiation therapy did not reach statistical significance. A multivariate analysis with logistic regression identified acute GVHD as the only factor that significantly influenced ICH occurrence.

Multiple myeloma with multiple and bulky extramedullary plasmacytomas as initial presentation.

We herein describe a rare case of multiple myeloma with an aggressive clinical course and the unusual manifestation of multiple organ involvement by plasma cells. A 58-year-old man noted difficulty in walking due to progressive swelling of his left lower limb. CT scan revealed a huge mass in the inguinal region in addition to masses located on the head, and in the aero-digestive tract and spinal canal. The pathological diagnosis of plasmacytoma was made on biopsied specimens of these masses, while plasma cells did not increase (5.8%) in aspirated bone marrow obtained at the same time. Serum IgG level was 6,387 mg/dl and immunoelectrophoresis demonstrated monoclonal IgG-kappa in the serum. Chemotherapy with vincristine, adriamycin, dexamethasone, subsequent high-dose cyclophosphamide, and irradiation involving both thoracic vertebral canal and inguinal regions resulted in improvement of initial symptoms. However, the patient relapsed soon after; new lesions developed in various parts of the body, including the left thigh and body trunk. Salvage therapy including bortezomib was no longer effective, and he eventually died 10 months after the initial diagnosis. Autopsy revealed the diffuse involvement of plasma cells of multiple organs, including the liver, spleen, abdominal lymph node, and bone marrow in addition to the left leg.