RESUMO
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a key role in the cross-talk between the innate and adaptive immune systems. Previous studies investigating associations between certain TLRs and acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) have reported contrasting results, and no studies relating aGVHD to the expression and function of all human TLRs together have been published to date. We prospectively evaluated the expression of 9 TLRs on T lymphocytes and monocytes by flow cytometry in relation to aGVHD in 34 patients. Induction of TNF-α, IL-4, IFN-γ, and monocyte chemotactic protein 1 on TLR activation was assessed by ELISA on cell supernatants. Nineteen patients developed aGVHD, at a median time of 28 days (range, 20-50 days) after transplantation. A 2-step multivariate analysis was performed using principal component analysis and multifactor analysis of variance. The levels of TLR-5 expression on monocytes and T lymphocytes were positively correlated to aGVHD (P = .01), whereas levels of TLR-1 and -9 were negative predictors (P = .03 and .01, respectively). This profile of TLR-1, -5, and -9 can promote an overall immunostimulatory/proinflammatory response. If our findings are confirmed by further studies, this TLR profile could be a useful biomarker of aGVHD.
Assuntos
Doença Enxerto-Hospedeiro/sangue , Transplante de Células-Tronco , Receptores Toll-Like/sangue , Doença Aguda , Adolescente , Adulto , Ensaio de Imunoadsorção Enzimática , Feminino , Citometria de Fluxo , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Monócitos/metabolismo , Linfócitos T/metabolismo , Transplante Homólogo , Adulto JovemRESUMO
OBJECTIVES: Infections are the major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). They primarily occur during the first course of induction chemotherapy and may increase the risk of leukaemia relapse, due to a significant delay in consolidation therapy. The intensification of induction chemotherapy and the use of non-conventional drugs such as fludarabine are considered responsible for the increased risk of infections. METHODS: In this study, we retrospectively analysed the infections occurred in 224 newly diagnosed AML patients =65 yr, consecutively treated between 1997 and 2002 with an induction regimen including fludarabine, arabinosyl cytosine and idarubicin, with or without etoposide (FLAI/FLAIE), in the context of three multicentric prospective trials (AML97, AML99, AML02). RESULTS: During the induction phase, 146 (65%) patients experienced fever of undetermined origin (FUO), 30 (13%) and 47 (21%) patients had Gram-negative and positive bacteremias, respectively, and 10 (4%) patients developed a probable/proven invasive fungal infection (IFI). The fatality rate for Gram-negative, Gram-positive bacteremias and probable/proven IFI was 10%, 8% and 60% respectively. During consolidation, 75 (35%) patients had FUO, 43 (20%) and 40 (19%) patients had Gram-negative and positive bacteremias, respectively, and 5 (2%) patients developed a probable/proven IFI. The fatality rate for Gram-negative, Gram-positive bacteremias and probable/proven IFI was 14%, 5% and 80% respectively. Interestingly, the overall incidence of microbiologically documented infections during induction was 38% and the incidence of probable/proven IFIs during the induction/consolidation programme was 7%. No infections caused by viruses or opportunistic pathogens were observed neither during induction, nor during consolidation. CONCLUSIONS: These data, although retrospectively collected, suggest that fludarabine-based chemotherapy is not associated with an increased incidence of infections, in particular IFIs, compared to conventional regimens commonly used for AML induction.
Assuntos
Antineoplásicos/efeitos adversos , Infecções por Bactérias Gram-Negativas/mortalidade , Infecções por Bactérias Gram-Positivas/mortalidade , Leucemia Mieloide Aguda/mortalidade , Micoses/mortalidade , Vidarabina/análogos & derivados , Adulto , Antineoplásicos/administração & dosagem , Bacteriemia/induzido quimicamente , Bacteriemia/mortalidade , Feminino , Febre/induzido quimicamente , Febre/mortalidade , Infecções por Bactérias Gram-Negativas/induzido quimicamente , Infecções por Bactérias Gram-Positivas/induzido quimicamente , Humanos , Incidência , Leucemia Mieloide Aguda/tratamento farmacológico , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Micoses/induzido quimicamente , Estudos Retrospectivos , Fatores de Risco , Taxa de Sobrevida , Vidarabina/administração & dosagem , Vidarabina/efeitos adversosRESUMO
The prevalence of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is expected to double in the next 15 years. The introduction of imatinib significantly changed the prognosis of CML, challenging the concept of a fatal disease. Nowdays, imatinib, nilotinib and dasatinib are registered for first-line treatment of CML patients in chronic phase (CP). Considering elderly patients, the most extensively studied TKI is imatinib, that induces a rate of cytogenetic and molecular responses comparable between the younger and the elderly patients. Once a CCgR with imatinib is achieved, the probability to be alive and disease free at 8 years is more than 80%. These results confirm that imatinib has to be considered the first-line treatment for the elderly and that the CCgR is the guide parameter for treatment modulation and the most solid marker of long term outcome. Nevertheless, older patients tolerate imatinib worse in comparison to the younger, and this causes a higher rate of therapy discontinuation and less adherence to chronic treatment. Thus, the toxic profile of each TKI is one of the most important factors driving the choice of the best drug. Another important factor is the potency of the TKI. Since nilotinib and dasatinib are more potent than imatinib in inducing cytogenetic and molecular responses, they could be preferred for increasing the proportion of patients who can achieve deeper molecular responses, allowing treatment discontinuation. This approach is intriguing, but it is still experimental. Another therapeutic strategy could be the identification of the minimal effective dose of TKI in order to maintain the CCgR, but also this approach is under clinical investigation.
Assuntos
Antineoplásicos/uso terapêutico , Leucemia Mielogênica Crônica BCR-ABL Positiva/tratamento farmacológico , Inibidores de Proteínas Quinases/uso terapêutico , Proteínas Tirosina Quinases/antagonistas & inibidores , Fatores Etários , Antineoplásicos/efeitos adversos , Antineoplásicos/química , Desenho de Fármacos , Humanos , Leucemia Mielogênica Crônica BCR-ABL Positiva/enzimologia , Leucemia Mielogênica Crônica BCR-ABL Positiva/mortalidade , Leucemia Mielogênica Crônica BCR-ABL Positiva/patologia , Adesão à Medicação , Terapia de Alvo Molecular , Seleção de Pacientes , Inibidores de Proteínas Quinases/efeitos adversos , Inibidores de Proteínas Quinases/química , Proteínas Tirosina Quinases/metabolismo , Transdução de Sinais/efeitos dos fármacos , Resultado do TratamentoRESUMO
One hundred and six patients aged =60 years with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) treated with fludarabine-based regimens (cases) were matched with 106 AML patients treated with conventional non-fludarabine-based regimens (controls). The cases and controls were matched by expression of the multidrug resistance P-glycoprotein (MDR-Pgp), measured by flow cytometry as mean fluorescence index (MFI), cytogenetics, and age. The complete remission (CR) rate of the cases was 61% among the MDR-Pgp-positive (pos(ve)) patients (MFI >/= 6) vs. 75% among the MDR-Pgp-negative (neg(ve)) ones (MFI < 6) (P = 0.16). Conversely, in the controls, the CR rate was 44% among the MDR-Pgp-pos(ve) patients vs. 67% among the MDR-Pgp-neg(ve) ones (P = 0.02). The 4-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) of MDR-Pgp-pos(ve) cases were significantly longer than those of MDR-Pgp-pos(ve) controls (DFS, 28.1% vs. 6.5%, P = 0.004; OS, 33.5% vs. 9.6%, P = 0.01). This difference was not found among the MDR-Pgp-neg(ve) patients. By univariate (P = 0.007) and multivariate (P = 0.007) analysis, the MDR-Pgp-pos(ve) phenotype was negatively correlated with CR and it emerged as the most important independent negative prognostic factor, after cytogenetics. Our study confirms the prognostic impact of the MDR phenotype in AML and strongly suggests fludarabine-based induction treatments as a promising strategy for MDR-Pgp-pos(ve) AML patients. In this setting of patients, large prospective randomised studies should be planned.
Assuntos
Protocolos de Quimioterapia Combinada Antineoplásica/uso terapêutico , Resistência a Múltiplos Medicamentos , Leucemia Mieloide/tratamento farmacológico , Vidarabina/análogos & derivados , Doença Aguda , Adulto , Estudos de Casos e Controles , Distribuição de Qui-Quadrado , Intervalo Livre de Doença , Feminino , Humanos , Cariotipagem , Leucemia Mieloide/mortalidade , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Fenótipo , Prognóstico , Indução de Remissão , Estatísticas não Paramétricas , Taxa de Sobrevida , Resultado do Tratamento , Vidarabina/uso terapêuticoRESUMO
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Hereditary systemic amyloidoses are autosomal dominant, late-onset disorders caused by mutations in the genes for a group of plasma proteins including transthyretin, lysozyme, fibrinogen Aalpha chain, gelsolin, apolipoprotein A-I, and apolipoprotein A-II. We investigated both phenotypic and genotypic aspects of apolipoprotein A-I amyloidosis unexpectedly disclosed by liver biopsy in 13 unrelated individuals with asymptomatic, persistent elevation of alkaline phosphatase and gamma-glutamyltransferase levels. METHODS: Immunoelectron microscopy was used for in situ characterization of amyloid deposits on liver biopsy specimens. Mutation analysis was performed by sequencing of the apolipoprotein A-I gene in all patients. Wild-type/variant apolipoprotein A-I ratio in plasma high-density lipoproteins was assessed by a peptide mass fingerprinting approach after purification of total apolipoprotein A-I of 2 patients. RESULTS: Family history was informative in 5 cases. Renal failure developed in 9 cases. Hypogonadism due to testicular involvement was observed. Amyloid fibrils specifically stained with anti-apolipoprotein A-I antibody. A novel (Leu75Pro) heterozygous mutation in the apolipoprotein A-I gene was present in affected individuals but not in controls. Variant apolipoprotein A-I was about 10% of the total protein in high-density lipoproteins. CONCLUSIONS: The high number of individuals with apparently sporadic disease might reflect widespread occurrence of this mutation in the population and a milder phenotype of this variant compared with other apolipoprotein A-I amyloidogenic mutants. These findings suggest that specific staining for amyloid should be performed on liver biopsy of individuals with asymptomatic chronic elevation of alkaline phosphatase and gamma-glutamyltransferase levels.
Assuntos
Amiloidose/genética , Apolipoproteína A-I/genética , Fígado/patologia , Idoso , Apolipoproteína A-I/sangue , Biópsia , DNA/genética , Feminino , Heterozigoto , Humanos , Itália , Leucina , Masculino , Microscopia Imunoeletrônica , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Mutação , Linhagem , ProlinaRESUMO
High-dose therapy is an effective standard treatment for multiple myeloma patients. Evidence that intermediate-dose therapy improves survival is limited. At diagnosis, about 70% of patients are older than 65. Intermediate-dose regimen is very well tolerated in older patients. In a multicenter study, 194 patients were randomized to receive at diagnosis either conventional chemotherapy (6 courses of oral melphalan and prednisone [MP]) or intermediate-dose therapy (2 courses of melphalan at 100 mg/m(2) [MEL100]) with stem cell support. Response rate was higher after MEL100. Near-complete remission (nCR) was 6% after MP and 25% after MEL100 (P = .0002). At 3 years, MEL100 increased event-free survival (EFS) from 16% to 37% and overall survival (OS) from 62% to 77% (P < .001). Similar results were observed in patients aged 65 to 70: nCR was 8% after MP and 25% after MEL100 (P = .05); at 3 years, MEL100 improved EFS from 18% to 31% (P = .01) and OS from 58% to 73% (P = .01). Patients aged 65 to 70 had a median OS of 37.2 months (MP) versus 58 months (MEL100). Intermediate-dose melphalan improves response rate, EFS, and OS in myeloma patients, specifically in those aged 65 to 70. It constitutes a more effective first-line regimen than standard treatment for elderly patients.