Clinicopathological features and outcome of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia in Chinese patients.

Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is uncommon in Chinese population and its biology, genetics and treatment outcome in Chinese patients have not been comprehensively investigated. In this study, we studied the clinicopathological features and outcome of 212 Chinese patients with newly diagnosed CLL in Hong Kong and Singapore. The median age at diagnosis was 64 years. The majority of patients presented with early-stage disease (Binet stage A, 56.1%). Del(13)(q14) was the most frequent abnormality (41.7%) detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis. Del(17p) and TP53 gene mutations were detected in 7.8% and 8.2% of patients, respectively. MYD88 mutations were found at a higher frequency (11.5%) than expected. CLL with unmutated variable region of the immunoglobulin heavy chain genes (IGHV) occurred in only 31.2% of cases, and was associated with advanced-stage disease (p <0.01) and adverse FISH abnormalities (p<0.01). With a median follow-up of 39 months, the median overall survival (OS) was 108 months. The presence of del(17p) or TP53 mutations was associated with a significantly shorter time to first treatment and an inferior OS (p <0.01). Unmutated IGHV was also associated with a significantly shorter time to treatment (p <0.01). Among patients who required treatment, the median OS and progression-free survival (PFS) were 107 and 23 months, respectively. The presence of del(17p) was associated with a significantly inferior OS and PFS (p <0.01). In summary, Chinese CLL patients had similar genetic aberrations at diagnosis compared with those of Western populations. FISH abnormalities are major factors affecting outcome.

Clostridium difficile infection after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant: strain diversity and outcomes associated with NAP1/027.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) recipients are at high risk for developing Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). We studied the incidence, risk factors, NAP1/027 prevalence, and clinical outcomes, including acute lower gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease (GI GVHD), associated with early CDI in this population. A retrospective review was conducted of patients who underwent allogeneic HSCT at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center from January 1, 2005 to September 30, 2010. Early CDI was defined as infection occurring from day -10 to day +40 from stem cell infusion. Among 793 patients who received allogeneic HSCTs, early CDI occurred in 11.9%; 56% cases were between day -5 and day +5. Overall incidence was 25.2 cases/10,000 at-risk days. There was a high prevalence of NAP1/027 strains during peak incidence (61% in 2008). NAP1/027 was the most common strain in both adult and pediatric cases (24% and 23%, respectively). CDI was clinically mild, including those due to NAP1/027. Metronidazole was the primary treatment for 91 of 94 patients, 7 of 8 cases refractory to metronidazole had no response to vancomycin, and none was due to NAP1/027. Relapse of CDI was common (31%). The cumulative incidence of GI GVHD in patients with and without early CDI was 6.8% and 8%, respectively (P = .5). Most cases of CDI occurred during conditioning or immediately after transplant. Despite high prevalence of NAP1/027, we found only mild disease. Most patients were treated successfully with metronidazole, irrespective of NAP1/027 status. There was no significant association between early CDI and subsequent development of GI GVHD. This study demonstrates the high incidence of CDI early after allogeneic HSCT with wide diversity among infecting strains. Despite the high prevalence of NAP1/027, the disease is mild but relapses are common. No association was found between CDI and subsequent development of GI GVHD.