The bendamustine plus rituximab regimen is active against primary nodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma.

Primary nodal marginal zone lymphoma (NMZL) is a rare disease. There is no current consensus on how to treat it. The bendamustine plus rituximab (BR) regimen is effective for the treatment of follicular and other indolent lymphomas, but its efficacy in NMZL is not known. We analyzed the outcome of 14 patients diagnosed with NMZL (median age 67 years) who were treated with 375 mg/m2 of rituximab on day 1 and 90 mg/m2 of bendamustine on days 1 and 2. The overall and complete response rates were 93% and 71%, respectively. Major toxicity (grade 3/4 neutropenia) occurred in 5% of treatment courses. After a median follow-up of 22 months (range: 18-55), the overall survival and the free survival rates were 100% and 93%, respectively. None of the patients showing a complete or partial response developed secondary myelodysplastic syndrome/acute myeloid leukemia. Bendamustine plus rituximab was found to be an active and well-tolerated regimen leading to the rapid control of disease.

Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm: From Origin of the Cell to Targeted Therapies.

Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare hematological malignancy with an aggressive clinical course. It is grouped with acute myeloid leukemia-related precursor neoplasms in the 2008 World Health Organization classification. Most patients with BPDCN have skin lesions at diagnosis and subsequent or simultaneous involvement of the bone marrow, peripheral blood, and lymph nodes. Patients usually respond to initial chemotherapy but often relapse. Stem cell transplantation may improve survival. This neoplasm is derived from precursors of plasmacytoid dendritic cells and is characterized by the coexpression of the immunophenotypic markers CD4, CD56, CD123, blood dendritic cell antigen-2, blood dendritic cell antigen-4, CD2AP, and lineage(-). Atypical immunophenotype expression may be present, making diagnosis difficult. BPDCN is often associated with a complex karyotype, frequent deletions of tumor suppressor genes, and mutations affecting either the DNA methylation or chromatin remodeling pathways. A better understanding of the etiology and pathophysiology of this neoplasm could open the way to new therapies targeting specific signaling pathways or involving epigenetics.

Rituximab is an effective and safe treatment of relapse in elderly patients with resistant warm AIHA.

We evaluated the efficacy and safety of rituximab for the treatment of 23 elderly patients (median age 78 years) with warm autoimmune haemolytic anaemia (AIHA). The median follow-up was 31 months. Patients had received one to five previous treatments. Rituximab was administered by intravenous infusion at a dose of 375 mg/m(2) once weekly for 4 weeks. The OR rate was 86.9 % (CR = 39.1 %, PR = 47.8 %). Median OS was 87 months. The median OS of patients who reached CR could not be calculated, and that of patients with PR was 67 months. At last follow-up, eight of the 20 responding patients, including one patient in CR and seven in PR, had relapsed after a median of 6 months. Failure to achieve CR was a risk factor for relapse (p = 0.028). We did not identify any pretreatment characteristics predictive of response to rituximab. In conclusion, rituximab is an effective treatment for elderly patients with refractory warm AIHA.

R-CVP regimen is active in frail elderly patients aged 80 or over with diffuse large B cell lymphoma.

Patients aged 80 or over with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) often have comorbidities that increase drug toxicity and prevent the use of otherwise optimal treatment. We performed a retrospective analysis of 43 patients aged 80 or over (median age: 83; range: 80-93) unable to receive treatment with anthracyclines, at diagnosis of DLBCL, treated with an R-CVP treatment (standard R-CHOP without doxorubicin). The patients had one or more comorbidities: 18 patients (41.9 %) had a performance status (PS) of 3; 23 patients (53.5 %) had low creatinine clearance; 12 patients (27.9 %) had low left ventricular ejection fraction; seven patients (16.3 %) had poor hepatic function; and 26 patients (60.5 %) had a Charlson index score ≥4. Thirty patients (70 %) had two or three adverse factors according to the age-adjusted International Prognostic Index. Twenty-five patients (58.1 %) received eight cycles of R-CVP, but the full eight cycles could not be given to 18 patients (41.9 %). The OR rate was 58.1 % (CR 37.2 %). There were 34 deaths (79 %) during treatment and follow-up. Ten patients (23.3 %) died early from toxicity before interim evaluation; all had PS 3. The median follow-up of surviving patients was 52.6 months. The overall 2-year survival rate was 31.9 % and the median OS was 12.6 months. The median OS for patients who completed the entire treatment was 26.4 months. The median PFS was 11.2 months. In multivariate analyses, OS was only affected by performance status ≥2 and Charlson index score ≥4. The R-CVP regimen can be active in elderly frail patients aged 80 or more with DLBCL, but systematic geriatric assessment is required so that those unsuitable for chemotherapy are excluded.

Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm: the first report of two cases treated by 5-azacytidine.

Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare hematologic malignancy which was first included as an independent cutaneous lymphoma in the 2008 World Health Organisation (WHO) classification (1). BPDCN usually has an extremely poor prognosis, with quick relapses after chemotherapy (2; 3). Here, we report two cases of patients diagnosed in 2011 with BPDCN and myelodysplasia, and who were treated for the first time with 5-azacytidine (5-Aza); a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and mainly used in the treatment of myelodysplastic syndrome (Kaminskas E, et al. 2005 Clin Cancer Res, 11, 3604-8). The first case was an 81-year-old man who presented with unusual CD10+, CD56- immunohistochemistry and 45X, -Y abnormality using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis. The second case was a 78-year-old woman who manifested monosomy 13 and chromosome instability due to D13S319 locus deletion in 13q14 as determined by FISH. Both patients showed excellent responses of their skin lesions after one cycle of chemotherapy, and their hematological disease was stabilized; however, pulmonary sepsis set in, followed by neutropenia after the fourth and the fifth cycle of treatment, that is, eight and 9 months postdiagnosis, respectively, leading to patient death.

A primary immunodeficiency characterized by defective immunoglobulin class switch recombination and impaired DNA repair.

Immunoglobulin class switch recombination (CSR) deficiencies are rare primary immunodeficiencies, characterized by a lack of switched isotype (IgG, IgA, or IgE) production, variably associated with abnormal somatic hypermutation (SHM). Deficiencies in CD40 ligand, CD40, activation-induced cytidine deaminase, and uracil-N-glycosylase may account for this syndrome. We previously described another Ig CSR deficiency condition, characterized by a defect in CSR downstream of the generation of double-stranded DNA breaks in switch (S) mu regions. Further analysis performed with the cells of five affected patients showed that the Ig CSR deficiency was associated with an abnormal formation of the S junctions characterized by microhomology and with increased cell radiosensitivity. In addition, SHM was skewed toward transitions at G/C residues. Overall, these findings suggest that a unique Ig CSR deficiency phenotype could be related to an as-yet-uncharacterized defect in a DNA repair pathway involved in both CSR and SHM events.

Impact of the relative dose intensity on survival of patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes treated with Azacitidine.

We performed a retrospective analysis of 93 myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) patients with intermediate 2 or high-risk IPSS score to study the impact of Azacitidine (AZA) relative dose intensity (RDI) <80% on the overall survival (OS). There were 51.6% of patients who had full dose and 48.4% had dose reduction or delayed with a RDI <80%. Nineteen patients (20.4%) had RDI <80% before getting objective response. Overall and progression-free survivals (OS, PFS) probabilities for the whole population were 58% (95% CI: 48-69) and 47% (95% CI: 38-58) at 1 year; 35% (95% CI: 26-47) and 31% (95% CI: 23-43) at two years, respectively. When analyzing the outcomes according to the response to AZA, median OS was 32 months (range: 26-55) for responders and 8 months (range: 7-12) for nonresponders, with a respective 1-year and 2-year OS probabilities of 91% vs 28% and 66% vs 6%, respectively (P < 0.001). Interestingly, there was no impact of dose reduction on OS nor on PFS, however, when analyzing the timing of dose reduction as time-dependent variable, we found that patients who had dose reduction before achieving the objective response, had significantly lower OS (P = 0.02) and PFS (P = 0.01) compared to patients who had dose reduction after achieving the objective response. In multivariate analysis, acute myeloid leukemia with 21%-30% blasts in BM and poor and very poor karyotype significantly impacted OS, (HR = 2.09, 95% CI: 1.27-3.44, P = 0.004, and HR = 2.73, 95% CI: 1.6-4.6, P < 0.001 respectively), as well as PFS (HR = 1.84, 95% CI: 1.07-3.17, P = 0.028, and HR = 3.03, 95% CI: 1.7-5.39, P < 0.001, respectively).

[Shwachman-Diamond syndrome: a case report]. / Le syndrome de Shwachman-Diamond : à propos d'un cas.

Shwachman-Diamond syndrome is a constitutional disorder characterized by exocrine pancreatic failure and neutropenia with dysgranulopoiesis. It is a rare disease, with less than 100 cases reported in France. Here we report the case of a 23-year-old woman with this syndrome. The clinical feature and the diagnostic steps are described, as well as the evolution and management in medical and laboratory medicine practice.

Prognostic impact of elevated pretreatment serum ferritin in patients with high-risk MDS treated with azacitidine.

Iron overload has been associated with poor overall survival in patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, but has not been investigated in higher-risk MDS patients treated with hypomethylating agents. We evaluated the prognostic value of serum ferritin levels at diagnosis in a retrospective analysis of 48 patients with an intermediate 2 or high-risk International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) score treated with azacytidine. overall survival probability at 1 and 2 years was 58% and 42%, respectively. When stratifying according to serum ferritin level at azacytidine initiation, patients with serum ferritin level <725 ng/mL had significantly better OS than those with serum ferritin level ≥725 ng/mL, with an overall survival probability of 74% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 58-94) versus 44% (95% CI: 28-68) at 1 year and 57% (95% CI: 39-81) versus 28% (95% CI: 15-52) at 2 years, respectively (p = 0.034). Median progression-free survival was 16.15 months (range: 9-26) for the entire cohort. Progression-free survival probabilities according to serum ferritin cut-off level <725 ng/mL or ≥725 ng/mL at 1 and 2 years were 70% (95% CI: 53-91) versus 44 (95% CI: 28-68) and 52% (95% CI: 35-77) versus 24% (95% CI: 12-48), respectively (p = 0.031). We have demonstrated that an serum ferritin level ≥725 ng/mL was associated with worse overall survival and progression-free survival when adjusting for other covariables in multivariate analysis, in addition, unfavorable karyotype led to worse outcome. In conclusion, we believe that that negative effect of serum ferritin level on overall survival is not only related to the iron toxicity, but most probably may also be considered as a surrogate marker for very ineffective erythropoiesis leading to marked anemia.

[Chronic lymphocytic leukemia with t(14 ;18) and trisomy 12: a case report]. / Leucémie lymphoïde chronique avec t(14;18) et trisomie 12 : un cas clinique.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a B-cell neoplasm defined by the presence of at least 5×109 G/L monoclonal B lymphocytes in the peripheral blood. It is the most common type of leukemia in adult patients from Western countries. CLL is characterized by a gradual accumulation of small, longliving, immunologically dysfunctional, morphologically mature-appearing B-lymphocytes in blood, bone marrow and lymphoid tissues. It has also been reported that CLL cells have a proliferation rate higher than previously recognized, particularly in the lymphoid tissues. The flow cytometry analysis of typical CLL identifies a monotypic B-cell population expressing a low level of surface immunoglobulins, light chain being either kappa or lambda-, CD5+, CD19+, CD23+, CD79b (dim), negative for FMC7 and CD10. Clinical presentation, course and outcome are highly variable. Interphase fluorescent in situ hybridization (I-FISH) identifies chromosomal abnormalities in about 80% of cases, most commonly involving 13q14 (55%), 11q22-23 (18%), or 17p13 deletions (7%) and trisomy 12 (16%). Therefore, five prognostic categories have been defined with a statistical model, showing the shortest median survival and treatment-free intervals in patients harboring 17p and 11q deletions, followed by trisomy 12 and a normal karyotype, whereas 13q deletion as the sole abnormality is associated with the best prognosis. We report here a rare case of CLL in a 54 year-old-man.

Testing for triallelism: analysis of six BBS genes in a Bardet-Biedl syndrome family cohort.

The phenotype of Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) is defined by the association of retinitis pigmentosa, obesity, polydactyly, hypogenitalism, renal disease and cognitive impairement. The significant genetic heterogeneity of this condition is supported by the identification, to date, of eight genes (BBS1-8) implied with cilia assembly or function. Triallelic inheritance has recently been suggested on the basis of the identification of three mutated alleles in two different genes for the same patient. In a cohort of 27 families, six BBS genes (namely BBS1, BBS2, BBS4, BBS6, BBS7 and BBS8) have been studied. Mutations were identified in 14 families. Two mutations within the same gene have been identified in seven families. BBS1 is most frequently implied with the common M390R substitution at the homozygous state (n=2), or associated with another mutation at BBS1 (n=3). Compound heterozygous mutations have been found in BBS2 (one family) and BBS6 (one family). In seven other families, only one heterozygous mutation has been identified (once in BBS1, twice for BBS2 and three times in BBS6). Although our study did not reveal any families with bona fide mutations in two BBS genes, consistent with a triallelic hypothesis, we have found an excess of heterozygous single mutations. This study underlines the genetic heterogeneity of the BBS and the involvement of possibly unidentified genes.

Meningeal involvement in multiple myeloma.

A patient with multiple myeloma with a mass in the nasopharyngeal was diagnosed. He received melphalan autograft and radiotherapy, and obtained complete remission. He relapsed 3 months later, with meningeal involvement and without systemic relapse. He received intrathecal and systemic chemotherapy, without neurological improvement and died 4 weeks after relapse.

Incidental langerhans cell histiocytosis of thyroid: case report and review of the literature.

We report a case of a 42-yr-old woman with Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) confined to the thyroid and associated with lymphocytic thyroiditis and a papillary microcarcinoma. This patient remains free of symptoms 14 mo after surgery. Thyroid LCH is rare. In children, it usually occurs as part of a multisystemic disease, whereas it is usually exclusive in adults. Isolated thyroid LCH is frequently associated with another thyroid disease, especially lymphocytic thyroiditis, suggesting that it is a reactive process rather than a neoplastic proliferation. The prognosis of isolated thyroid LCH is good. However, because it can rarely precede or reveal a multisystemic disease, additional investigations as well as a prolonged follow-up are justified.