Improved short-term outcomes of kidney transplants in controlled donation after the circulatory determination of death with the use of normothermic regional perfusion.

Normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) allows the in situ perfusion of organs with oxygenated blood in donation after the circulatory determination of death (DCDD). We aimed at evaluating the impact of NRP on the short-term outcomes of kidney transplants in controlled DCDD (cDCDD). This is a multicenter, nationwide, retrospective study comparing cDCDD kidneys obtained with NRP versus the standard rapid recovery (RR) technique. During 2012-2018, 2302 cDCDD adult kidney transplants were performed in Spain using NRP (n = 865) or RR (n = 1437). The study groups differed in donor and recipient age, warm, and cold ischemic time and use of ex situ machine perfusion. Transplants in the NRP group were more frequently performed in high-volume centers (≥90 transplants/year). Through matching by propensity score, two cohorts with a total of 770 patients were obtained. After the matching, no statistically significant differences were observed between the groups in terms of primary nonfunction (p = .261) and mortality at 1 year (p =  .111). However, the RR of kidneys was associated with a significantly increased odds of delayed graft function (OR 1.97 [95% CI 1.43-2.72]; p < .001) and 1-year graft loss (OR 1.77 [95% CI 1.01-3.17]; p = .034). In conclusion, compared with RR, NRP appears to improve the short-term outcomes of cDCDD kidney transplants.

Rituximab response in follicular lymphoma is associated with the rs20575 polymorphism in TRAILR1 extrinsic apoptosis trigger.

OBJECTIVE: Rituximab in combination with chemotherapy has been proven to increase progression-free and overall survival in follicular lymphoma (FL), but there is considerable interindividual variability in the response. Extrinsic pathway apoptosis triggered by death receptors seems to be involved in the mechanism of action of monoclonal antibodies. This study aimed to assess the association between TRAILR1/TRAIL polymorphisms (rs20575, rs20576, rs2230229, rs12488654) and rituximab response and the relationship with FASL rs763110, previously found to be associated with rituximab response. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Polymorphisms were determined in a study cohort of 125 FL patients treated with rituximab as first-line treatment and correlated with response, which was scored according to the International Working Group Consensus Revised as complete response, partial response, stable disease, and progressive disease. RESULTS: No significant association with response was found for rs20576, rs2230229, and rs12488654 polymorphisms. In contrast, rs20575 GC/GG carriers were more partial/nonresponders (88.2%) than complete responders (72.5%), showing a trend toward statistical significance (P=0.064). In a multivariable setting, we found that female sex [odds ratio=0.355, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.137-0.922, P=0.033] and the TRAILR1 rs20575 CC genotype (odds ratio=0.162, 95% CI: 0.035-0.757, P=0.021) were independent positive predictive factors of complete clinical response to rituximab, constructing a parsimonious model with good calibration [χ of 5.719 (d.f.=6, P=0.455)] and discrimination (C-statistic=0.739, 95% CI: 0.636-0.842). CONCLUSION: After studying the pharmacogenetic role of TRAILR1/TRAIL polymorphisms in rituximab-treated FL patients, we found that the rs20575 CC genotype is an independent predictive factor of better rituximab response, indicating the possible involvement of death receptors in anti-CD20 mechanisms of action.

Long-Term Follow-Up of a Phase II Trial of Six Cycles of Dose-Dense R-CHOP-14 for First-Line Treatment of Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma in Young and Elderly Patients.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Rituximab-cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP) every 14 days seems to achieve better outcomes than R-CHOP every 21 days in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients. Currently, the standard regimen is R-CHOP every 21 days. METHODS: This is a phase II clinical trial of treatment with 6 cycles of R-CHOP-14 with pegfilgrastim support in 2 populations of previously untreated DLBCL patients aged ≥65 years (n = 73) or <65 years (n = 51) with low-risk International Prognostic Index scores (0-2). RESULTS: With a median follow-up of 63.7 months, the 5-year event-free survival rate was 53.8% in patients aged ≥65 years and 71.0% in patients aged <65 years. The 5-year overall survival rate was 71.4 and 89.8%, respectively. The complete remission rate was 69.9% for older and 80.4% for younger patients. The median relative dose intensity of cytotoxic drugs was 143.2% in the elderly and 149.1% in the young patients. Febrile neutropenia was the most common grade 3-4 adverse event, being higher in elderly patients (21.3 vs. 9.3%). Eight deaths (7 in elderly patients) were considered treatment related. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the R-CHOP-14 regimen is feasible and very active, though it is more toxic in elderly patients mainly due to an increased incidence of infections. New strategies, such as new monoclonal antibodies or new targeted therapies, are needed to improve the outcomes of DLBCL patients.

Tetracyanometalates of Ni, Pd, and Pt with cyclic diquaternary cations of 2,2'-bipyridine and 1,10-phenanthroline. A vibrational, crystallographic, and theoretical study of intermolecular weak interactions.

The compounds (bpy-dq)[Ni(CN)(4)].2H(2)O (1), (bpy-dq)[Pd(CN)(4)].2H(2)O (2), and ((bpy-dq)[Pt(CN)(4)].2H(2)O (3) (bpy-dq = (C(12)H(12)N(2))(2+), 6,7-dihydrodipyrido[1,2-a:2',1'-c]pyrazinediium) and (phen-dq)[Ni(CN)(4)] (4), (phen-dq)[Pd(CN)(4)].H(2)O (5), and (phen-dq)[Pt(CN)(4)].H(2)O (6) (phen-dq = (C(14)H(12)N(2))(2+), 5,6-dihydropyrazino[1,2,3,4-lmn]-1,10-phenanthrolinediium) have been synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction. The three bipyridinium diquaternary salt derivatives are isostructural. The crystal structures of these dihydrated compounds consist of columns formed by alternating anion complexes and diquaternary cations, pi-pi interacting through cyanide ligands and the aromatic rings, and stabilized by an extended hydrogen-bond network. On the other hand, the packing in the phenanthrolinium diquaternary salt derivatives is strongly dependent on the hydration degree. Thus, the anhydrous [Ni(CN)(4)](2-) compound presents a laminar arrangement and the hydrated salts show a columnar packing, similar but not the same as compounds 1-3. The anhydrous form of compound 5 is isostructural with compound 4. Vibrational (IR, Raman) and thermogravimetric studies of these compounds have been carried out. Finally, DFT calculations have been performed on the isolated tetracyanometalate anions and diquaternary cations to assign the fundamental modes in the vibrational spectra. The intermolecular weak interactions were studied through the analysis of the charge density by using the theory of atoms in molecules (AIM).