Intensification of pegaspargase in pretransplant chemotherapy regimens reduced relapse of adult Philadelphia chromosome-negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia after transplantation / 中华器官移植杂志

Objective:To explore risk factors for relapse after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in adult Philadelphia chromosome-negative B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph-ALL).Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed for 65 adult Ph-ALL patients undergoing initial allo-HSCT from 2016 to 2018. The effect of baseline level and treatment pre-transplantation for relapse after allo-HSCT was analyzed.Results:There were 37 males and 28 females with a median age of 25(14-58) years during allo-HSCT. And the median follow-up period was 27 months post-HSCT. The 2-year overall survival (OS) was 78.8%(95%CI 67.8%-89.8%) and the 2-year relapse-free survival (RFS) 70.7% (95%CI 58.2%-83.2%). Pre-transplant chemotherapy was offered for 3 to 7 courses and the median dose of polyethylene glycol-conjugated asparaginase (PEG-ASP) was 3 doses (2 000 IU/m 2 per dose). Multiariate analysis revealed that the regimen included more than 4 doses of PEG-ASP pre-HSCT (HR=4.067, P=0.046) was a protective factor for post-transplant relapse (HR=0.193, P=0.009). High-risk chromosome karyotype was a risk factor for relapse (HR=0.193, P=0.009). The 2-year RFS rate was 90.0%(95%CI 79.2%-100.0%) for intensive PEG-ASP group and 56.9%(95%CI 39.1%-74.7%) for control group ( P=0.01). No significant inter-group difference existed in overall survival (OS)( P=0.079). The 2-year OS was 90.6% (95%CI 80.4%-100.0%) in intensive PEG-ASP group and 72.1% (95%CI 56.6%-87.6%) in control group. Conclusions:For adult ph-ALL patients, a higher dose of PEG-ASP in pretransplant chemotherapy regimens may improve post-transplant RFS and achieve a better outcome.

Clinical characteristics of chronic myeloid leukemia with T315I mutation and the efficacy of ponatinib / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To analyze the clinical features of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) with T315 I mutation (CML-T315I) and compare the effectiveness of different treatments.@*METHODS@#We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data and outcomes of 19 patients with CML-T315I receiving different treatments. The T315 I mutations in these patients were detected by examination of BCR-ABL kinase domain (KD) mutation by RTQ-PCR and Sanger sequencing. The relapse following the treatments, defined as hematological, cytogenetic and molecular biological recurrences, were analyzed in these patients.@*RESULTS@#Of the 19 patients with CML-T315I, 14 (73.7%) were in CML-CP stage at the initial diagnosis, and 13 (81.2%) were high-risk patients based on the Sokal scores. All the 19 patients were treated with TKI after the initial diagnosis, and during the treatment, 15 (78.9%) patients were found to have additional chromosomal aberrations, and 10 (52.6%) had multiple mutations; 13 (68.4%) of the patients experienced disease progression (accelerated phase/blast crisis) before the detection of T315I mutation, with a median time of 40 months (5-120 months) from the initial diagnosis to the mutation detection. After detection of the mutation, 12 patients were treated with ponatinib and 7 were managed with the conventional chemotherapy regimen, and their overall survival rates at 3 years were 83.3% and 14.2%, respectively ( < 0.001).@*CONCLUSIONS@#CML patients resistant to TKI are more likely to have T315I mutations, whose detection rate is significantly higher in the progressive phase than in the chronic phase. These patients often have additional chromosomal aberrations and multiple gene mutations with poor prognoses and a high recurrence rate even after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Long-term maintenance therapy with ponatinib may improve the prognosis and prolong the survival time of the patients.

Clinical characteristics and prognosis analysis of adult B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia with E2A-PBX1 fusion gene positive / 白血病·淋巴瘤

Objective@#To investigate the clinical features of adult B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) with E2A-PBX1 fusion gene positive.@*Methods@#The clinical data of 91 Philadelphia chromosome negative B-ALL patients who received chemotherapy regularly in Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University from March 2015 to December 2017 were collected. According to the fusion gene detection results, the patients were divided into E2A-PBX1 fusion gene positive group and E2A-PBX1 fusion gene negative group. The clinical features and prognosis of both groups were retrospectively analyzed. And then E2A-PBX1 fusion gene negative group was further divided into MLL-AF4 fusion gene positive group and the other ALL groups,which were compared with E2A-PBX1 fusion gene positive group in the prognosis.@*Results@#There were 11 ALL patients with E2A-PBX1 fusion gene positive, and 80 ALL patients with E2A-PBX1 fusion gene negative. The level of lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) in E2A-PBX1 fusion gene positive group was higher than that in E2A-PBX1 fusion gene negative group [4 063 U/L (1 070- 9 554 U/L) vs. 454 U/L (103- 18 651 U/L), U=-4.700, P < 0.01], and there were no statistically significant differences in age, gender, white blood cell count and extramedullary invasion (all P > 0.05). The immunophenotypes of ALL patients with E2A-PBX1 fusion gene positive were all common B-cell phenotype. Out 4 of 7 ALL patients showed the different expression of Philadelphia-like ALL phenotype CRLF2 or phosphorylated CRKL or phosphorylated STAT5 by using flow cytometry. The complete remission (CR), minimal residual disease (MRD)-negative and the recurrence for 11 cases of E2A-PBX1 fusion gene positive group included 9, 7, 8 cases, respectively after first course of induction chemotherapy. The CR, MRD-negative and the recurrence for 80 cases of E2A-PBX1 fusion gene negative group included 71, 53, 26 cases, respectively after the first course of induction chemotherapy. There were no statistically significant differences in the CR and MRD-negative between the two groups after the first course of induction chemotherapy (P= 0.721, P= 0.487), but there was a statistical difference in the recurrence (χ2= 7.751, P= 0.012). The median follow-up time was 17 months (1-44 months), and the 1-year overall survival (OS) rate and 1-year event-free survival (EFS) rate of E2A-PBX1 fusion gene positive ALL group were lower than those of the negative group (OS: 43.6% vs. 70.0%, P= 0.020; EFS: 13.6% vs. 60.0%, P= 0.002). Subgroup analysis showed that there were no statistical differences between E2A-PBX1 fusion gene positive group and MLL-AF4 fusion gene positive group in 1-year OS rate and 1-year EFS rate (P= 0.617, P= 0.984).@*Conclusions@#E2A-PBX1 fusion gene positive rate is low in adult B-ALL patients with a good response to traditional chemotherapy in the early stage, but its cumulative recurrence rate is high. It is a high-risk cytogenetic abnormality which is similar to MLL gene rearrangement and needs to explore novel therapy strategies.

Clinical characteristics and prognosis analysis of adult B‐cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia with E2A‐PBX1 fusion gene positive / 白血病·淋巴瘤

Objective To investigate the clinical features of adult B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) with E2A-PBX1 fusion gene positive. Methods The clinical data of 91 Philadelphia chromosome negative B-ALL patients who received chemotherapy regularly in Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University from March 2015 to December 2017 were collected. According to the fusion gene detection results, the patients were divided into E2A-PBX1 fusion gene positive group and E2A-PBX1 fusion gene negative group. The clinical features and prognosis of both groups were retrospectively analyzed. And then E2A-PBX1 fusion gene negative group was further divided into MLL-AF4 fusion gene positive group and the other ALL groups, which were compared with E2A-PBX1 fusion gene positive group in the prognosis. Results There were 11 ALL patients with E2A-PBX1 fusion gene positive, and 80 ALL patients with E2A-PBX1 fusion gene negative. The level of lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) in E2A-PBX1 fusion gene positive group was higher than that in E2A-PBX1 fusion gene negative group [4 063 U/L (1 070 - 9 554 U/L) vs. 454 U/L (103 -18 651 U/L), U ＝-4.700, P<0.01], and there were no statistically significant differences in age, gender, white blood cell count and extramedullary invasion (all P＞ 0.05). The immunophenotypes of ALL patients with E2A-PBX1 fusion gene positive were all common B-cell phenotype. Out 4 of 7 ALL patients showed the different expression of Philadelphia-like ALL phenotype CRLF2 or phosphorylated CRKL or phosphorylated STAT5 by using flow cytometry. The complete remission (CR), minimal residual disease (MRD)-negative and the recurrence for 11 cases of E2A-PBX1 fusion gene positive group included 9, 7, 8 cases, respectively after first course of induction chemotherapy. The CR, MRD-negative and the recurrence for 80 cases of E2A-PBX1 fusion gene negative group included 71, 53, 26 cases, respectively after the first course of induction chemotherapy. There were no statistically significant differences in the CR and MRD-negative between the two groups after the first course of induction chemotherapy (P ＝ 0.721, P ＝ 0.487), but there was a statistical difference in the recurrence (χ2 ＝ 7.751, P ＝ 0.012). The median follow-up time was 17 months (1-44 months), and the 1-year overall survival (OS) rate and 1-year event-free survival (EFS) rate of E2A-PBX1 fusion gene positive ALL group were lower than those of the negative group (OS: 43.6% vs. 70.0%, P ＝0.020;EFS: 13.6% vs. 60.0%, P ＝ 0.002). Subgroup analysis showed that there were no statistical differences between E2A-PBX1 fusion gene positive group and MLL-AF4 fusion gene positive group in 1-year OS rate and 1-year EFS rate (P ＝ 0.617, P ＝ 0.984). Conclusions E2A-PBX1 fusion gene positive rate is low in adult B-ALL patients with a good response to traditional chemotherapy in the early stage, but its cumulative recurrence rate is high. It is a high-risk cytogenetic abnormality which is similar to MLL gene rearrangement and needs to explore novel therapy strategies.

Treatment efficacy of ponatinib as salvage therapy in relapse chronic myeloid leukemia with T315I mutation after allogeneic stem cell transplantation: report of 12 cases / 中华器官移植杂志

Objective To analyze the efficacy of ponatinib as salvage therapy in relapse chronic myeloid leukemia with T315I mutation (CML-T315D after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT).Methods Twelve patients with CML-T315I (10 cases of T315I mutation before transplantation and 2 cases of T315I mutation at the time of relapse after transplantation) were included in this retrospective analysis.Ponatinib was used as single agent or combined with chemotherapy and/or donor lymphocyte infusion.The samples obtained for RTQ-PCR were also analyzed for the BCR ABL1 mutation by direct sequencing.Scanning of the ABL KD (amino acids 219-506) for the presence of mutations was sequenced by Sanger.Results In 12 patients with relapse after transplantation,2 patients with molecular relapse were treated with only single-agent ponatinib,and among 10 patients with hematologic relapse,1 patient was treated with single-agent ponatinib and 3 patients were given ponatinib combined with donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI),the remaining 6 patients were treated with ponatinib combined with chemotherapy and DLI.After the treatment with ponatinib,11 patients had a good response,10 patients obtained complete hematologic remission (CHR),1 patient obtained partial hematologic remission (PHR) and 1 patient had no response (NR).For cytogenetic response,10 patients obtained complete cytogenetic response (CCyR),1 patient obtained partial cytogenetic response (PCyR) and one patient had no cytogenetic response.For the molecular biological response,9 patients obtained complete molecular response (CMR),1 patient obtained majore molecular response (MMR) and 2 patients had no molecular biological response.The median time to obtain CHR was 36 days (29-96 days),the median time to obtain CCyR was 63 days (32-127 days),and the median time to obtain CMR was 89 days (27-152 days).The median follow-up time after treatment with ponatinib was 598 (range,93-1470) days,9 patients survived and 3 died.Causes of deaths included leukemia relapse (n =2)and ineffective treatment (n =1).The 2-year overall and disease-free survival rate after relapse in 12 patients was 75.0％ ± 12.5％ and 31.7％ ± 14.9％,respectively.Conclusion This small sample data suggested that ponatinib as salvage therapy had a good response to the relapse CML-T315I after allo-HSCT.

Sorafenib combined with chemotherapy and donor lymphocyte infusion as salvage therapy in patients with FLT3-positive acute myeloid leukemia relapse after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation / 中华内科杂志

To explore the efficacy of sorafenib combined with chemotherapy and donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) in patients with FLT3-positive acute myeloid leukemia (AML) relapsed after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT).Of the 14 patients relapsed after allo-HSCT,9 achieved complete remission after salvage therapy of sorafenib combined with chemotherapy and DLI,6 with complete molecular remission,2 with partial remission,and 3 with no response.With a median follow up of 220 (range,30-1 782) days after post-transplantation relapse,7 patients were still alive and 7 died.Salvage therapy of sorafenib combined with chemotherapy and DLI shows a decent therapeutic effect for FLT3-positive AML relapsed after allo-HSCT.

Clinical analysis of adult Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia with p16 gene deletion / 中华血液学杂志

Objective@#To investigate the clinical implications of p16 gene deletion in adult Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL) .@*Methods@#Retrospective analysis of clinical, immunophenotypic, cytogenetics, molecular characteristics and prognosis of 80 newly diagnosed Ph+ ALL patients with p16 deletion.@*Results@#Of 80 adult Ph+ ALL, the prevalence of p16 gene deletion was 31.3%. p16 gene deletion carriers frequently accompanied with high WBC counts (WBC≥30×109/L) and CD20 expression. The incidence of complex chromosome abnormality in p16 gene deletion group was higher than that in non-deletion group, with alternations in chromosome 7, 8, 19 and der (22) more frequently observed. There was no difference occurred between patients with or without p16 gene deletion in complete remission (CR) rate following induction chemotherapy combined with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) . However, after three cycles of chemotherapy, the MMR and CMR rate in the p16 gene deletion group was lower than patients with wild-type p16 gene (P=0.034, P=0.036) . The p16 gene deletion patients showed no significant differences in MMR, CMR and relapse rate between Imatinib or Dasatinib plus chemotherapy (P>0.05) . Deletion of p16 gene was significantly associated with poor outcomes including worse overall survival (OS) (37.1% vs 54.1%, P=0.037) , lower disease free-survival (DFS) (12.4% vs 45.9%, P=0.026) , and increased cumulative incidence of relapse (P=0.033) . Among the 25 patients with p16 deletion, 14 underwent allo-HSCT and the median survival was 21 months, better than that of patients received chemotherapy alone (12 months) (P=0.030) .@*Conclusion@#This study indicated that deletion of p16 was associated with poor prognosis in adult Ph+ ALL, and the utility of second-generation TKI (Dasatinib) does not necessarily have an edge on efficacy over Imatinib, but allo-HSCT has the potential of elongating life expectancy. It is an important significance to define the status of p16 in Ph+ ALL for predicting prognosis and guiding therapy decision-making.

Clinical significance of cytogenetic monitoring in chronic myeloid leukemia / 中华血液学杂志

Objective@#To analyze the association of cytogenetic abnormalities with the prognosis of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients in tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) era.@*Methods@#Karyotype analysis of chromosome G-banding was carried out in 387 newly diagnosed CML patients by short-term culture of bone marrow cells. The correlation of cytogenetic abnormalities and CML progression was explored in combination with ABL tyrosine point mutations.@*Result@#Of 387 patients with positive BCR-ABL fusion gene assayed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique, 94.1% (364/387) patients were Ph positive and 5.9% (23/387) Ph negative; 320 patients (87.9%) had a translocation t (9;22) (q34;q11) and 5 (1.4%) a variant translocation t (v;22) . Additional cytogenetic aberrations (ACA) at diagnosis were found in 10.7% (39/387) Ph+ patients, major route ACA in 22 (56.4%) cases and minor route ACA in 15 (38.5%) cases and 2 patients (5.1%) lacked the Y chromosome (−Y) ; 23.4% (71/303) patients occurred ACA during TKI treatment and the most frequent abnormalities were abnormal chromosome numbersd, which were likely associated with high proportion of disease progression (χ2=168.21, P<0.001) and ABL tyrosine point mutations (χ2=29.04, P<0.001) . Newly diagnosed CML-CP patients with t (9;22) (q34;q11) had a longer event-free survival (EFS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates than that of patients with ACA (P=0.037; P=0.003) , while the overall survival (OS) had no significant differences (P=0.209) . As for CML-CP patients that occurred ACA during TKI therapy would have a marked low OS, EFS and DFS (all P<0.001) compared with no ACA occurred patients. Survival of advanced patients that occurred ACA were dramatically reduced.@*Conclusion@#ACA often emerged during the disease progress in CML patients, regular and timely detection of chromosomes karyotype and ABL tyrosine point mutations during TKI treatment was important for therapeutic evaluation, progress and prognosis of CML.

Sorafenib as salvage therapy in refractory relapsed acute myeloid leukemia with positive FLT3 mutation / 中华血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze the effect of sorafenib as salvage therapy used before and/or after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in refractory relapsed FLT3-positive acute myeloid leukemia (AML).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 16 patients with refractory relapsed FLT3-positive AML, including 10 refractory relapsed pre-transplantation and 6 relapsed after allo-HSCT, were enrolled in this retrospective study. Sorafenib treatment protocols included sorafenib in combination with chemotherapy inducing remission, and sorafenib monotherapy as mauntenance treatment after complete remission (CR).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Thirteen of the 16 patients achieved CR after one or two courses of induction therapy, including 7 refractory relapsed pre-transplantation and 6 relapsed after allo-HSCT. With a median follow up of 472 (range, 59-1569) days post-transplantation, 12 patients survived and 4 died. Causes of death included leukemia relapse (n=3) and acute graft-versus-host disease (n=1). The 2-year overall and disease-free survival post-transplantation of the 16 patients were (75.0±10.8) % and (50.5±13.7) % respectively. The main side effect of sorafenib was the skin rash. The incidence of rash was lower in the patients used sorafenib pre-transplantation than those post-transplantation (30.0% vs 75.0%, P=0.043).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Sorafenib used as salvage therapy befor and/or after transplantation for refractory relapsed FLT3-positive AML could reduce the relapse rate and improve the survival.</p>

Value of C-reactive protein level on transplantation day in predicting early post-transplant infections and outcomes of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the value of C-reactive protein (CRP) on transplantation day in predicting early post-transplant infections and outcomes of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 78 recipients undergoing allo-HSCT. The clinical reference value of CRP on transplantation day was determined, and its sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing bacteremia was analyzed using receiver-operating characteristic curve (ROC). The incidence of transplant-related complications, overall survival, and relapse rate of the patients were analyzed with respect to the CRP level.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The clinical reference value of CRP for diagnosing bacteremia was 23.3 mg/L (AUC=0.735 [95% CI: 0.623-0.848], P=0.001), which had a diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of 0.793 and 0.592, respectively. Compared with the patients with low CRP levels, the patients with high CRP levels tended to have delayed neutrophil reconstitution and platelet engraftment by 0.71 days (P=0.237) and 4.09 days (P=0.048), respectively, and had a significantly higher incidence of bacteremia (17.1% vs 53.5%, P=0.001) and CMV viremia (37.1% vs 72.1%, P=0.003) within 100 days following the transplantation; the incidences of EBV viremia, pulmonary invasive fungal infection, or acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD) showed no significant difference between the two groups (41.9% vs 22.9%, P=0.094; 14.0% vs 5.7%, P=0.285; 51.2% vs 45.7, P=0.656, respectively). During the follow-up for a median of 318 (7-773) days in high-CRP group and for 299 (78-747) days in low-CRP group, the high-CRP group showed a significantly lower 2-year overall survival than the low-CRP group (42.5% vs 78.4%, P=0.022), and tended to have a higher 2-year cumulative relapse rate (52.3% vs 19.8%, P=0.235). Logistic multivariate analysis identified a high CRP level on transplantation day as the independent risk factor for post-transplant bacteremia within 100 days (OR=5.090 [95% CI: 1.115 -23.229], P=0.036).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>A high CRP level on transplantation day can be indicative of a high risk of early post-transplant bacteremia and CMV viremia and also a poor prognosis following allo-HSCT.</p>

Effect of intermediate-dose cytarabine on mobilization of peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cell in acute myeloid leukemia / 中华血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the impact of courses of intermediate-dose cytarabine (ID-Ara-C) chemotherapy on the efficiency of hematopoietic stem cell mobilization in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-HSCT).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>90 patients with de novo AML undergoing auto-HSCT between August 1999 and November 2012 were enrolled. All patients received the mobilization regimen of cytarabine and etoposide chemotherapy in combination with recombinant human granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (rhG-CSF). Stem cell apheresis was scheduled when blood leukocyte count recovered greater than 4.0 × 10⁹/L or the proportion of CD34⁺ cells greater than 1% in peripheral blood. The impact of ID-Ara-C courses on the mobilization efficiency was analyzed retrospectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>According to the ID-Ara-C courses, patients were divided into group A (<2 courses), B (2 courses), and C (>2 courses). The median doses of CD34⁺ cells (×10⁶/kg) in three groups were 4.7, 2.7, 2.3, respectively (P=0.003). Of the available 87 patients who could be evaluated, 61 (70.1%) cases had CD34⁺ cells greater than 2.0 × 10⁶/kg, and 26 (29.9%) cases less than 2.0 × 10⁶/kg. Of the 26 patients without satisfactory mobilization efficiency, 7 (15.2%) were in group A, 10 (47.6%) in group B, and 9 (45.0%) in group C (χ²=10.05, P=0.007). In addition, patients with satisfactory mobilization efficiency (CD34⁺ cells ≥ 2.0×10⁶/kg) in groups C needed more times of collection, more volume of blood processed, and even high-dose and longer course of rhG-CSF (P<0.05). In univariate analysis. The ID-Ara-C courses and the cumulative dose were significant correlate with mobilization efficiency. In multivariate analysis, the ID-Ara-C courses was an independent correlation factor for mobilization efficiency (odd ratio=0.623, 95% confidence interval=0.418-0.926, P=0.019). The sex, age, cytogenetic risk, the standard chemotherapy courses did not correlate with mobilization efficiency.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The number of ID-Ara-C courses was independent factor for the mobilization efficiency and should be taken seriously in AML patients with auto-HSCT.</p>

Comparison of clinical efficacy between HLA-mismatched related and HLA-matched unrelated donor hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for hematopoietic malignancies / 中华血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the clinical efficacy of HLA- mismatched related donor (MRD) and HLA-matched unrelated donor (MUD) hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for hematopoietic malignancies.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>174 patients with hematopoietic malignancies undergoing allogeneic HSCT (allo-HSCT) (82 from MRD and 92 from MUD) between June 2002 and December 2012 were enrolled in this retrospective study. Hematopoietic engraftment, graft versus host disease (GVHD), relapse, overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were compared between MRD and MUD group.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There was no significant difference between MRD and MUD group in terms of age, gender, disease type and disease status before transplantation (all P>0.05). The incidence of Ⅰ-IV acute GVHD (aGVHD) was 62.2% and 54.3% in MRD and MUD group (P=0.295); the incidence of III-IV aGVHD between the two groups was 15.9% and 9.8% (P=0.229). The incidence of chronic GVHD (cGVHD) was 28.4% and 45.1% in MRD and MUD group (P=0.036), but there was no significant difference in the incidence of extensive cGVHD between the two groups (9.0% vs 12.2%, P=0.525). The mortality of GVHD was 8.5% and 10.9% in MRD and MUD group (P=0.605). The 10-year OS and DFS were (50.1±6.1)% and (48.8±6.1)% in MRD group, compared with (50.5±6.7)% and (46.3±6.2)% in MUD group (P=0.501, P=0.873, respectively). The 10-year cumulative relapse rate was (21.5±5.7)% and (37.6±7.3)% in MRD and MUD group (P=0.194).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>MRD is equivalent to MUD in efficacy and safety. Without HLA- matched related donors, MRD is superior to MUD because donor source is unlimited and transplantation could be made promptly according to disease status.</p>

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasms / 白血病·淋巴瘤

Objective To investigate the effect of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) with intensified conditioning regimen followed by rapidly tapering immunosuppressants and sequential minimal residual disease (MRD)-guided donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) post-transplantation on outcome of blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN).Methods Two cases of BPDCN from January 2009 to May 2011 in Nanfang hospital were diagnosed according to 2008 WHO classification of tumours of haematopoietic and lymphoid tissues.Case 1 initially presented with typical cutaneous involvement and was promptly diagnosed with CD+4CD+56LCA+TdT+CD+43 BPDCN by skin biopsy.Case 2 was recognized as acute lymphocyte leukemia and acute non-lymphocytic leukemia,which was diagnosed to BPDCN at recurrence through flow cytometry analysis.Total-body-irradiation plus cyclophosphamide based intensified conditioning regimen were followed by allo-HSCT from sibling donor.Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis consisted of cyclosporine and methotrexate.Anti-thymocyteglobulin was included additionally for haploid donor allo-HSCT.Multi-color labeling flow cytometry was performed to monitor MRD.Rapidly tapering of prophylactic immunosuppressants and sequential MRD-guided donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) were performed to control relapse of primary malignancy.Results Two cases of BPDCN received allo-HSCT from sibling donor after intensified conditioning regimen.Both patients achieved complete remission and complete donor engraftment.Case 1 survived refractory acyclovir-resistant Epstein-Barr virus viremia benefiting from preemptive treatment with rituximab and DLI-induced grade Ⅳ acute GVHD,but died of thrombotic microangiopathy mixed with diffuse alveolar hemorrhage and sepsis on +243 days.Case 2 relapsed just 2 months after allo-HSCT despite DLI and rapidly tapering of CsA,died of sepsis followed by diffuse intravascular coagulation on +101 days.Conclusion BPDCN is characterized with typical cutaneous and/or bone marrow involvement with CD4+CD+56CD+123CD+43 blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell and highly aggressive clinical course.Allo-HSCT seems to be a promising treatment for early phase of aggressive BPDCN aided with MRD monitoring and DLI,but it deserves more intensive researches to promote outcome of advanced staged BPDCN.

A comparison of toxicity and efficacy between busulfan plus fludarabine and busulfan plus cyclophosphamide for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in acute myeloid leukemia / 中华内科杂志

Objective To compare the transplant-related toxicity and the efficacy of busulfan/fludarabine (Bu/Flu) and busulfan/cyclophosphamide (Bu/Cy) as conditioning regimen in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) for acute myeloid leukemia(AML) in the first complete remission (CR1).Methods Totally 32 AML-CR1 patients underwent allo-HSCT were divided into Bu/Cy (Bu 3.2 mg· kg-1 · d-1,7-4 days before transplantation; Cy 60 mg · kg-1 · d-1,3-2 days before transplantation) and Bu/Flu (Bu 3.2 mg · kg-1 · d-1,5-2 days before transplantation; Flu 30 mg · m-2·d-1,6-2 days before transplantation) groups.The regimen-related toxicity (RRT),incidence and severity of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD),3-year cumulative relapse rate,non-relapse mortality (NRM),3-year event-free survival (EFS) rate and overall survival (OS) rate were compared between the two groups.Results The median follow-up duration was 617.5 (6-1261) days.All patients achieved successful engraftment on 30 day after transplantation.There were no significant differences in the median time to neutrophil engraftment (P =0.121) and platelet engraftment (P =0.171) between the two groups.The median duration of neutrophil count under 0.1 × 109/L and platelet count under 20 × 109/L in the Bu/Cy group were significantly longer than those in the Bu/Flu group (P =0.000 and P =0.047).The incidence of grades Ⅱ-Ⅳ RRT were 68.8％ and 25.0％ (P =0.032) in the Bu/Cy and the Bu/Flu groups,respectively.There were no significant differences in the incidence of acute GVHD (P =0.149),chronic GVHD (P =0.149),incidence of NRM (P =0.333),3-year cumulative relapse rates (P =0.834),3-year EFS rate (P =0.362) and OS rate (P =0.111) between the two groups.Conclusion Compared with Bu/Cy,Bu/Flu is a myeloablative condition regimen with milder bone marrow suppression and lower RRT incidence rate in allogeneic HSCT for AML-CR1 patients without compromising the efficacy.

Autologous peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the treatment of three cases of severe pemphigus / 中华皮肤科杂志

ObjectiveTo explore the clinical efficacy and safety of autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation(APBSCT) in the treatment of pemphigus.MethodsTotally,3 patients with pemphigus vulgaris who responsed poorly to 6-month treatment with glucocorticoids or immunosuppressants or experienced aggrevation of disease and developed treatment-related complications,received APBSCT and were followed up for more than 5 years.There were 1 male and 2 females with an average age of 27.3(21-39) years.The mobilization program included cyclophosphamide (CTX) 4 g/m2,recombinant human granulocyte colonystimulating factors(G-CSF) and Rituximab 375 mg/m2,and the preconditioning regimen included intravenous CTX (50 mg/kg per day on days -6,-5,-4,-3),antithymocyte globulin at 2.5 mg/kg per day(on days -3,-2,-1 and 0) and Rituximab (600 mg/d on days 0 and 7).ResultsAll the 3.patients were successfully engrafted.The mean time for peripheral reconstruction:white blood cells 13.3 days (from day 11 to 16),platelet 16.3 days (from day 16 to 17).Monitoring of immunity indices and related antibodies showed no abnormality and the immune system was well reconstructed.No serious complications occurred during the follow up,and the patients' quality of life was obviously improved.ConclusionAPBSCT may be an effective and safe option for the treatment of pemphigus.

Conditioning regimen with or without total body irradiation for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in acute Ieukemia / 中华器官移植杂志

ObjectiveTo investigate the therapeutic effects of the conditioning regimen with or without total body irradiation on allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in acute leukemia.Methods We retrospectively evaluated clinical outcomes in 287 allo-HSCT recipients with acute leukemia (ALL- 105,AML-129,and AUL-53) who received myeloablative conditioning regimen with or without total body irradiation from January 2002 to August 2011.Two hundred and six patients obtained complete remission (CR) and 81 non-remission (NR) before transplantation.One hundred and ninety-nine patients received conditioning with total body irradiation (TBI+ Cy group,9 Gy given over 2 days),and 88 patients received busulfan (BuCy group,3.2 mg·kg-1 ·d-1 ),both followed by cyclophosphamide.ResultsThere were no statistically significant differences in hematopoietic reconstitution,regimen-related toxicity (RRT),graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and relapse between two groups.For patients with AML and AUL,there was no significant difference in the 5-year survival between the two regimens (P＞ 0.05),while for ALL-CR patients,the TBI + Cy regimen had a higher over survival rate (52.0％ vs.31.3％,LogRank=4.249,P＜0.05) and DFS (50.4％ vs.27.8％,LogRank =4.445,P＜0.05) than BuCy.In TBI + Cy group and BuCy group,the proportion of CD19+ B cells at the first month after HSCT was (4.04 ± 1.86)％ and (1.47 ±0.99) ％ (P＜0.05),that of NK cells at 12th month after HSCT was (23.38 ± 12.19) ％ and (13.11± 7.99) ％ (P＜0.05),and that of CD4+ CD45RO+ cells at 9th month after HSCT was (14.63 ±6.17)％ and (9.07 ± 3.12)％ (P＜0.01),respectively.ConclusionUsing TBI-containing regimen was more effective for treating ALL-CR patients than busulphan-containing regimen,but no difference was found for long-term outcomes in patients with AML and AUL between the two regimens.The 9 Gy TBI-based regimens may not affect recipients' thymic function,T-cells reconstitution and immune tolerance,coming out a non-increase of GVHD.

Analysis of infection-related mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients with refractory/relapse acute leukemia / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate infection-related mortality (IRM) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients with refractory/relapse acute leukemia.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We conducted a retrospective analysis of 127 patients with refractory/relapse acute leukemia and investigated the incidence, causes and risk factors of IRM.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Sixty-seven of the patients died after the transplantation. The 5-year overall survival and disease-free survival was (35.2∓5.3)% and (30.8∓5.6)% among these patients, respectively. IRM occurred in 28.3% (36/127) of the patients. Multivariate analysis showed that grade II-IV acute graft-versus-host diseases (aGVDH, P=0.049, OR=3.017) and post-transplant invasive fungal infection (P=0.032, OR=3.223) were independent risk factors of IRM.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>As a common cause of transplant-related mortality, IRM is more frequent in cases of refractory/relapse acute leukemia than in cases with a standard risk profile, and effective prophylaxis and treatment of severe GVHD remain currently the primary measures for reducing post-transplant IRM.</p>

Long-term outcomes of nilotinib treatment for chronic myelogenous leukemia patients with imatinib resistance or intolerance / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the long-term clinical efficacy and safety of nilotinib in the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) patients with imatinib resistance or intolerance.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty-six CML patients with imatinib resistance or intolerance received nilotinib treatment at the dose of 400 mg once or twice daily. The patients were followed up for nearly 5 years with regular monitoring of the hematologic, cytogenetic and molecular biological markers and recording of the clinical manifestations and biochemical indicators to evaluate the therapeutic effect and adverse events.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The median duration of nilotinib therapy was 17 (1-56) months, and the patients were follow up for a median of 51 months. At the last follow-up, 16 (61.5%) patients achieved a complete hematologic response, 13 (50.0%) achieved a major cytogenetic response, 9 (34.6%) achieved a complete cytogenetic response, and 7 (26.9%) achieved a major molecular response accumulatively. Nonhematologic adverse events were mostly of grade l or 2. The most common adverse effects possibly related to nilotinib were increased bilirubin (69.2%) and rash (57.7%). Grade 3 or 4 hematologic adverse events included thrombocytopenia (53.8%), neutropenia (26.9%) and anemia (19.2%). The patients in chronic and remission phase had better efficacy and fewer hematological side effects than those in advanced phase.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Nilotinib is an effective and safe treatment option for imatinib-resistant or -intolerant CML patients, especially for those in chronic and remission phase.</p>

The alteration of immune functions in patients with acute leukemia complicated with invasive fungal infection / 中华传染病杂志

Objective To explore the relationship between immune functions of patients with acute leukemia (AL) and invasive fungat infection (IFI). Methods T lymphocyte subpopulations and natural killer (NK) cells in 61 AL patients complicated with IFI at first visit, AL remission, the time of IFI onset and 4 weeks after antifungal treatment were measured by flow cytometry. Meanwhile,levels of IgG, IgM and IgA were detected by immunoturbidimetry. The statistical analysis was done using ANOVA, t test and chi-square test. Results CD3+ , CD3+ CD4+ , CD8+ CD28+ T lymphocyte as well as CD4+/CD8+ ratio at the time of IFI onset in AL patients were all lower than those at first visit, AL remission and 4 weeks after antifungal treatment (F= 25.6,26.6,13. 1,167.9; all P＜0.05), while CD8+ CD28- T lymphocyte were higher than those at first visit, AL remission and 4 weeks after antifungal treatment (F= 220.2,P＜0.01). CD3+ , CD3+ CD4+ and CD4 + /CD8+ ratio of patients who responded effectively to antifungal treatment were all higher than those of non-responders (t=3.75,8. 61,3.17; all P＜0.05). The serum levels of IgG, Igm and IgA at first visit, ALremission, the time of IFI onset and 4 weeks after treatment were similar (F=0.78,0.72,0.81; all P ＞0.05). The effect rate of antifungal therapy in AL remission group was higher than that in nonremission group (87% vs 53%,x2 = 7.62, P＜0.05). Conclusions The cellular immune functions are impaired severely in AL patients complicated with IFI, while the levels of IgG, IgM and IgA are similar during IFI. Therefore, the efficacy of antifungal therapy may partly depend on the recovery of cellular immune functions and remission of AL.

Mesenchymal stem cells for treatment of steroid-resistant chronic graft-versus-host disease / 中华内科杂志

Objective To assess whether treatment with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is an effective adjunct therapy for refractory extensive chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) resistant to conventional therapy. Methods 12 patients with steroid-resistant extensive chronic GVHD were treated with MSCs. One patient received one dose, 10 received two doses, and the remaining three doses. The MSCs were obtained from HI,A-identical sibling donors (n = 14), haploidentical donors (n = 2), unrelated mismatched donor (n = 1) and third-party HLA-mismatched donors (n = 7). Of the 11 patients treated with multiple infusions, 5 received cells derived from two donors. The median first dose of MSCs was 1.0 (0. 4-2. 1) × 106/kg , the median second dose was 1.2(0. 8-1.9) × 106/kg , and the third dose in one patient was 1.1 × 106/kg. Meanwhile the proportion of CD3+ ,CD4+,CD8+ ,CD19+,CD4+ CD25+ ,FOXP3+,FOXP3+CD4+ and FOXP3+ CD25+ was determined with double fluorescent-labeled antibodies and flow cytometry before and 4 weeks after the MSCs infusion. Results No patients had side-effects during or immediately after the infusions of MSCs. After a treatment course of one to three doses, 3 patients had complete response(CR), 6 showed partial response(PR) and 3 did not respond; the total effective rate was 75% (9/12). Complete resolution was seen in the involvement of skin (3/12), lung (1/3), joints (1/5), liver (3/10), oralcavity (4/12) and eye (2/7). Response rate was not related to donor HLA-match. 3 CR patients discontinued all of the immunosuppressive agents without relapse 100 to 292 days after the MSC infusion and 6 PR patients taped all immunosuppressive agents after 60 to 79 days. Mean follow-up period was 1152(795-1914) days, leukemia free survival rate was 91.7% (11/12) and the overall survival rate was 75% (9/12). The ratio of CD4/CD8 and the proportion of regulatory T cells were significantly higher than that before MSCs treatment. Conclusion Third-party MSCs were as effective as HLA-identical or haploidentical cells. This finding has practical implications and suggests that third-party cells can be prepared and stored frozen to be used for steroid-resistant extensive chronic GVHD therapy. It is concluded that MSCs may prevent the lethal cGVHD after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and raise the survival rate by increasing the ratio of CD4/CD8 and proportion of regulatory T cells in vivo.