Effectiveness of venetoclax and azacytidine against myeloid/natural killer cell precursor acute leukemia.

Myeloid/natural killer (NK) cell precursor acute leukemia (MNKPL) is a rare leukemia subtype that possibly originates from precursor NK cells. The disease has a poor prognosis, and information on its treatment is lacking. We herein report the first case of a 46-year-old woman with MNKPL who was refractory to two lines of acute myeloid leukemia (AML)-type intensive chemotherapy but was successfully treated with venetoclax and azacytidine (VEN/AZA). She was diagnosed with MNKPL based on the conformations of immature lymphoblastoid morphology without myeloperoxidase reactivity that showed a CD7/CD33/CD34/CD56/HLA-DR positive phenotype and extramedullary regions. The disease was refractory to induction therapy with daunorubicin and cytarabine (DNR/Ara-C) and to reinduction therapy with mitoxantrone, etoposide, and cytarabine (MEC). After two lines of induction chemotherapy, massive pericardial and pleural effusion was found, and was suspected to be extramedullary lesions. The patient developed cardiac tamponade and required pericardiocentesis. Thus, VEN/AZA was administered as third-line therapy. After two cycles of VEN/AZA, the pericardial and pleural effusion disappeared, and complete remission was achieved. The patient received post-transplant cyclophosphamide-based haploidentical transplantation and has stayed relapse-free as of her last follow-up examination 2 years after diagnosis.

[Retrospective Analysis of Bortezomib or Lenalidomide for Very Elderly Patients with Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma].

In elderly patients aged≥80 with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma(NDMM), the optimal initial doses of bortezomib (Bor)and lenalidomide(Len)remain unclear. We performed a retrospective analysis that included 20 patients with NDMM aged≥80 years who underwent treatment with Bor or Len at our hospital from July 2010 to December 2019. Among the patients treated with Bor, the median time to next treatment(TTNT)was 4.2 months, and the median dose was 1.0 mg/m2 per injection. While patients with International Staging System(ISS)Ⅲ or an estimated glomerular filtration rate of < 40 mL/ min/1.73 m2 required dose reductions, dose intensity did not significantly affect TTNT. Among the patients treated with Len, the median TTNT was 14.6 months, and the median dose of Len was 10.0 mg/day. All patients who started with6le;10 mg Len continued the initial dose; the others required a dose reduction. Treatment was discontinued in 2 patients because of disease progression and in other 15 patients because of adverse events(AEs). In conclusion, initial doses of Bor at 1.0 mg/ m2 per injection and Len at 10 mg per day may provide potent disease control and permit continuing treatment with few AEs in elderly patients with MM.

Efficacy and safety of low-dose imatinib in an elderly patient with mixed phenotype acute leukemia with t(9;22)(q34;q11.2);BCR-ABL1.

Low-dose imatinib with monitoring of drug concentrations in blood may successfully control Philadelphia chromosome-positive mixed phenotype acute leukemia (Ph+MPAL), particularly in elderly patients with comorbidities.

[Spontaneous Splenic Rupture with Angioimmunoblastic T-Cell Lymphoma Successfully Treated Using Transcatheter Arterial Embolization].

A 75-year-old woman presented to our hospital with a history of fever, cervical lymphadenopathy, and fatigue. Computed tomography(CT)revealed systemic lymphadenopathy with prominent splenomegaly. Axillary lymph node biopsy results revealed diffuse proliferation of atypical lymphoid cells with arborizing high endothelial venules. Immunohistochemical staining was positive for CD3, CD5, and CD10, but negative for CD20 and CD79a. Given these findings, a diagnosis of angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma(AITL)was made. Due to the extremely high tumor burden, pre-therapy with corticosteroids was initiated. However, the patient suddenly went into hemorrhagic shock. Contrast-enhanced CT revealed abdominal bleeding due to splenic rupture. Bleeding was rapidly controlled using transcatheter arterial embolization(TAE). Five days after TAE, mini-CHOP therapy was initiated. Splenomegaly is common in hematologic disease. Owing to the lethality of the condition, in cases of progressive anemia with splenomegaly in patients with hematologic disease, the possibility of splenic rupture should be considered. Since TAE carries no risk of post-splenectomy infection and allows timely resumption of chemotherapy, it could be considered as one of the preferred treatment choices for splenic rupture in hemodynamically unstable patients.

Morphologic Classification Is an Important Prognostic Factor in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma Treated with Bortezomib or Lenalidomide.

The morphological classification of multiple myeloma (MM) has long been known to have an impact on its clinical course. We retrospectively analyzed 30 cases of newly diagnosed MM initially treated with bortezomib or lenalidomide between November 2014 and November 2018. The morphological bone marrow types were assessed on the basis of the Greipp classification. The patients' median age was 74.5 years (range, 49-88), and the male-to-female ratio was 0.67. The International Staging System stages were as follows: stages I, II, and III accounted for 3.3%, 46.7%, and 50.0% of patients, respectively. The M-proteins were IgG (n=21) and non-IgG (n=9). The median progression free survival (PFS) was not reached. The proportion of plasma, immature, and plasmablastic cells in the bone marrow was significantly affected by PFS. When scored with 1 point each, PFS could be stratified into three groups. All patients who had ≥5% of immature cells had a complex karyotype. This study shows that the visual morphological classification of plasma cells is an important prognostic factor even when bortezomib or lenalidomide is used as induction therapy. Further research is expected to reveal the optimal treatment strategy for immature and plasmablastic MM.

Combination of Frailty Status and Comorbidity Score Improves the Stratification of Survival in Patients With Myelodysplastic Syndrome Owing to Good Predictive Capability for Infection-related Mortality.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the prognostic effects of frailty and its association with comorbidity in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective analysis included 118 consecutive patients diagnosed with MDS. Frailty was evaluated using the clinical frailty scale (CFS). Comorbidity was classified using the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) and MDS comorbidity index (MDS-CI). RESULTS: On multivariate analysis, CFS (≥ 5 vs. < 5; hazard ratio [HR], 3.37; P = .002), CCI (≥ 2 vs. < 2; HR, 2.59; P = .002), and Revised International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS-R) category (HR, 2.1; P = .009) were independently predictive of overall survival (OS). One-year OS of patients with CFS ≥ 5 or CCI ≥ 2 were significantly worse compared with those with CFS < 5 or CCI < 2 (55% vs. 91%; P < .001; 46% vs. 91%; P < .001, respectively). OS was clearly stratified into 3 groups according to CFS (≥ 5 vs. < 5) and CCI (≥ 2 vs. < 2; P < .001). When comparing these 3 groups, the incidence of infection-related mortality progressively increased with CFS ≥ 5 and/or CCI ≥ 2 (P < .001). This effect was more obvious in patients with lower IPSS-R. CONCLUSION: The present study suggests frailty and comorbidity may be patient-related, independent predictive factors of poor prognosis. This could probably be attributed to increasing infection-related mortality with frailty and comorbidity. Combining the evaluation of frailty and comorbidity with IPSS-R might aid in more precise prediction of OS, especially in patients with low risk of MDS.

[Efficacy and Safety of Ixazomib-Lenalidomide-Dexamethasone Therapy for Relapsed and Refractory Multiple Myeloma].

Ixazomib, an oral proteasome inhibitor, has been demonstrated to significantly improve progression-free survival(PFS)in patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma(RRMM). Ixazomib has recently been approved in Japan, but its effectiveness and safety have not been fully investigated in a clinical setting. We retrospectively analyzed the records of 28 patients with RRMM who were treated with ixazomib in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone(IRd)in our institution between June 2017 and June 2018. The median patient age was 75 years at the start of IRd therapy. In total, 46.4% of the patients had previously received more than 3 treatment lines, prior to this study. The overall response rate was 37.0%, and the median PFS was 286 days. Over a median of 5 cycles of IRd, Grade 3 to 4 leukocytopenia, thrombocytopenia, and anemia occurred in 17.9%, 14.3%, and 32.1% of the patients, respectively; these incidences were higher than in previous reports. The severity of diarrhea or rash, however, was comparable with that in other studies. Patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate of less than 50mL/min/1.73m2 received a lower cumulative dose of ixazomib and lenalidomide than those with other rates. PFS did not significantly differ between the 2 groups. Although it is necessary to carefully observe IRdtreated patients for hematological toxicity, IRd therapy is effective in heavily pretreated RRMM patients. It might be reasonable to reduce the dose of ixazomib in patients with renal impairment.

The First Autopsy Case of Fatal Acute Cardiac Failure after Administration of Carfilzomib in a Patient with Multiple Myeloma.

Carfilzomib (CFZ) improves progression-free survival for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (MM) but has shown higher frequency of cardiovascular adverse events (CVAEs) than other proteasome inhibitors. We report the first autopsy case of acute death from cardiac failure shortly after administration of carfilzomib. A 74-year-old female was diagnosed with IgA MM after a 2-year period of smoldering MM. She was refractory to both bortezomib plus dexamethasone and lenalidomide plus dexamethasone therapies, so she subsequently received CFZ in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone. The day after the start of the therapy, she complained of severe dyspnea with a significant decline in left ventricular ejection fraction. Her acute cardiac failure rapidly progressed, and she died on day 7 of the start of CFZ. The autopsy showed invasion of inflammatory cells between the myocardial cells and very little myocardial necrosis. There was no obvious thrombus in the coronary artery of the heart, and no infarction or amyloid deposition was observed in the myocardium. Pathological findings of hypersensitivity myocarditis, a drug-induced cardiomyopathy, appeared to agree with this case except for absence of an eosinophilic infiltration of the myocardium. A CFZ-induced CVAE is generally considered reversible. However, rapidly progressing fatal heart failure like in our case is rare. To characterize CFZ-associated CVAE, further case collection is needed.

Lymphocyte-depleted classical Hodgkin lymphoma accompanied by myelofibrosis.

A 91-year-old male with fever of unknown origin was referred to our department. 18F-FDG PET/CT scan revealed a high FDG uptake in abdominal lymph nodes and multiple bones. The bone marrow biopsy showed fibrosis and atypical megakaryocytes, which were consistent with myelofibrosis. The patient died 28 days after admission and an autopsy was performed. The lymph nodes and bone marrow specimens revealed scattered Reed-Sternberg cells and a dearth of lymphoid cells with fibrosis. A final diagnosis of lymphocyte-depleted classical Hodgkin lymphoma (LDCHL) with bone marrow involvement was made. It is necessary to identify LDCHL during differential diagnosis for bone marrow fibrosis accompanied by lymphadenopathy.

Prognostic Effect of Low Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue on Survival Outcome in Patients With Multiple Myeloma.

BACKGROUND: Increasing evidence suggests that decreased skeletal muscle mass (sarcopenia) or adipose tissue assessed using computed tomography (CT) predicts negative outcomes in patients with solid tumors. However, the prognostic value of such an assessment in multiple myeloma (MM) remains unknown. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Consecutive patients with newly diagnosed symptomatic MM were retrospectively analyzed. The cross-sectional area of skeletal muscles and subcutaneous or visceral adipose tissue was measured using CT. Body composition indexes (skeletal muscle index, subcutaneous adipose tissue index [SAI], and visceral adipose tissue index) were calculated. The association between these indexes and overall survival (OS) was examined. RESULTS: Of 56 evaluable patients, 37 (66%) had sarcopenia. The 2-year OS in patients with SAI < median was 58% compared with 91% in those with SAI ≥ median (P = .006). In multivariate analyses, SAI < median was significantly associated with poor OS (hazard ratio, 4.05; P = .02). Sarcopenia was not associated with OS. The maximum value of the standardized uptake value was significantly higher in patients with SAI < median (P = .02). CONCLUSION: The findings of this study suggest that low subcutaneous adipose tissue at baseline predicts poor survival outcome in patients with MM.

[A malignant lymphoma (non-hodgkin lymphoma, follicular type) patient who achieved complete remission by radiochemotherapy].

A 54-year-old female patient visited our hospital as an outpatient in August 2008 for her growing mass thigh, without pain, redness or fever. She had suffered discomfort from that swelling since she had been diagnosed with erysipelas by a dermatologist she had visited 6 months before and received some medication. Suspicious of a subcutaneous soft tissue tumor, we performed a biopsy, and histological examination of the lesion indicated malignant lymphoma (follicular lymphoma grade 2). PET-CT (as of September, 2008) showed abnormal migration at the right inguinocrural and right external iliac lymph nodes. In view of her age and the that rapid exacerbation, we considered chemotherapy (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, vincristine and prednisolone: R-CHOP) and involved field radiotherapy (IFRT) better to perform than 'watchful wait'. PET-CT (as of November, 2008) after 3 courses of R-CHOP therapy showed abnormal migration had been significantly improved (complete remission on PET-CT) and completely disappeared in the right external iliac lymph nodes. For long-term prognosis and prophylaxis of recurrence, we then added 2 courses of chemotherapy (rituximab alone) and IFRT (30 Gy/20 Fr) as radical therapy. She is now doing well and visits our hospital once a month for follow-up after achieving CR with RECIST guideline.