Impact of quality of response on survival outcomes among multiple myeloma patients treated with novel agents - a retrospective analysis

Abstract BACKGROUND: In this era of target therapies, novel data on the correlation between response endpoints and survival outcomes in multiple myeloma have arisen. OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of quality of response on clinical outcomes, using first-line treatment, and identify risk factors influencing progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) among myeloma patients. DESIGN AND SETTING: Retrospective analysis on myeloma patients who were treated at the Clinic of Hematology and Clinical Immunology, University Clinical Centre, Niš, Serbia, over a four-year period. METHODS: A total of 108 newly diagnosed patients who received first-line therapy consisting of conventional chemotherapy or novel agent-based regimens were included in this analysis. RESULTS: The quality of response to first-line therapy for the whole cohort was classified as follows: complete response (CR) in 19%; very good partial response (VGPR) in 23%; partial response (PR) in 38%; and less than PR for the remaining patients. After a median follow-up of 25.4 months, the three-year PFS and OS for the entire study population were 47% and 70%, respectively. Achievement of CR was the main factor associated with significantly prolonged PFS and OS, in comparison with patients who reached VGPR and PR. Likewise, addition of the new drugs bortezomib and thalidomide to standard chemotherapy led to considerably extended PFS and OS, compared with conventional therapy alone. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis demonstrated that the quality of response after application of first-line treatment using novel agent-based regimens among multiple myeloma patients was a prognostic factor for PFS and OS, which are the most clinically relevant outcomes.

Influence de la toxicité hématologique chimio-induite sur l'observance de la chimiothérapie anticancéreuse à Ouagadougou / Influence of haematological toxicity on the observance of cancer chemotherapy in Ouagadougou

Contexte et Objectif. Déterminer l'infl uence des toxicités hématologiques induites par la chimiothérapie sur l'adhésion à une chimiothérapie anticancéreuse chez des patients traités pour un cancer à l'hôpital universitaire Yalgado Ouédraogo (Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso). Méthodes. Il s'est agi d'une étude rétrospective ayant analysé les dossiers médicaux des patients cancéreux suivis par le service de cancérologie du CHU-YO. Tous les adultes ayant reçu six séances d'une première ligne de chimiothérapie ont été inclus. Pour chaque patient, nous avons analysé toutes les numérations formule sanguines effectuées environ 16 à 18 jours après la cure de chimiothérapie précédente et 3 à 5 jours avant la suivante. Ont été considérés comme observants, les patients ayant respecté tous les intervalles inter-cures. Résultats. Vingt-six patients (27,6%) ont présenté au moins un épisode d'anémie, 46 patients (48,9%) ont au moins un épisode de neutropénie et 9 patients (9,6%) ont au moins un épisode de thrombopénie. Les neutropénies de grade 3 et 4 représentaient de 67,9% à 87% des cas de neutropénie. Aucun cas de thrombopénie de grade 3 ou 4 n'a été observé. Vingt-deux patients ont respecté tous les intervalles intercures. Après ajustement sur les autres toxicités hématologiques en analyse multivariée, la neutropénie était associée de manière signifi cative au non-respect de la chimiothérapie (OR: 0,43). Conclusion. L'amélioration de la disponibilité et de l'accessibilité des moyens de prévention et de traitement des toxicités hématologiques pourraient permettre une amélioration de l'observance de la chimiothérapie anticancéreuse.

Aim and Objective. This study aims to identify the infl uence of chemotherapy induced haematological toxicities on adherence to anti-cancer chemotherapy in patients treated for cancer at Yalgado Ouédraogo University Hospital (Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso). Methods. This study was grounded on the analysis of the medical fi les of the patients, and the consultation and hospitalisation registers for the cancer patients who were monitored by the oncology department of CHU-YO. All adults having received six treatment sessions as fi rst-line chemotherapy were taken into account. For each patient, we analysed all the blood counts carried out approximately 16 to 18 days after the previous treatment session, and 3 to 5 days before the following one. Were considered adherent patients, the patients who complied with every intertreatment interval. Results. 26 patients (27.6%) presented with at least one episode of anaemia, 46 patients (48.9%) with at least one episode of neutropenia, and 9 patients (9.6%) with at least one episode of thrombocytopenia. Grade 3 and grade 4 neutropenia represented from 67.9% to 87% of neutropenia cases. No case of grade 3 and grade 4 thrombocytopenia was noticed. Twenty-two patients respected all the inter-treatment intervals. Adjusted on the other haematological toxicities as a multivariate analysis, neutropenia was significantly associated to non-adherence to chemotherapy (OR: 0.43). Conclusion. Improving availability and access to prevention and treatment for haematological toxicities could lead to improving adherence to anti-cancer chemotherapy

Utility of GPR68 and TIL in TPF-induced chemotherapy and prognosis evaluation in middle-advanced hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma / 中华耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

Objective: To evaluate the roles of G Protein-Coupled Receptor 68 (GPR68) and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) in TPF-(paclitaxel, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil) induced chemotherapy for middle-advanced hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas. Methods: A total of 31 patients with middle-advanced hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma before TPF-inducted chemotherapy were enrolled from September 2012 to November 2017 in Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, including 28 males and 3 females, aged 43 to 71 years old. The expression of GPR68 and tumor infiltrating CD4+and CD8+T cells before chemotherapy was detected by immunohistochemical staining, and the relationships between GPR68 expression and clinical features, chemotherapy efficacy and overall survival (OS) were analyzed using t-test. Results: After 3 cycles of chemotherapy, there were 4, 14, 10 and 3 patients respectively with complete response (CR), partial response (PR), stable disease (SD) and progressive disease (PD). The positive rates of GPR68 and CD8 were 25% and 40% respectively in the effective group (CR+PR), while 50% and 15% in the ineffective group (SD+PD), with statistically significant differences between two groups (t=5.17 and 12.86,P<0.001). Linear regression analysis showed that GPR68 was negatively correlated with CD8+T cells (r=-0.64,P<0.001). There was no significant correlation between the CD4 expression and TPF efficacy (P>0.05). The mean OS was 12.5 months in patients with high-expressed GPR68 and 25.0 months in patients with low-expressed GPR68, with a statistically significant difference (P=0.005). And mean OS was 25.0 months in patients with high-expressed CD8 and 14.5 months in low-expressed CD8, with a statistically significant difference (HR=2.58, P=0.019). Cox regression analysis showed that GPR68 and CD8+T cells were significant prognostic factors (OR(95%CI)=3.27(2.46-5.97) and 1.53(0.78-1.82), all P<0.05), while CD4 had no significant effect on prognosis (P>0.05). Conclusion: GPR68 and CD8+T cells are expected to be biomarkers for evaluating the efficacy and prognosis of TPF-induced chemotherapy in patients with middle-advanced hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Prognostic factors affecting the success of conversion chemotherapy in patients with unresectable liver metastases from initially colorectal cancer / 中华胃肠外科杂志

Objective: To investigate the factors affecting the success of conversion therapy in patients with initially unresectable colorectal cancer liver metastases (CRLM) in order to provide evidence-based medical evidence for formulating individualized treatment strategies for patients. Methods: A retrospective case-control study was used in this study. Clinical data of 232 patients with initially unresectable CRLM receiving first-line systemic treatment in Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center from January 2013 to January 2020 were collected, including 98 patients of successful conversion and 134 patients of failed conversion as control. Conversion therapy scheme: 38 patients received FOLFOXIRI regimen chemotherapy (irinotecan, oxaliplatin, calcium folinate and fluorouracil), 152 patients received FOLFOX regimen (oxaliplatin, calcium folinate and fluorouracil), 19 patients received FOLRIRI regimen (irinotecan, calcium folinate and fluorouracil), 23 patients received systemic chemotherapy combined with fluorouridine hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy; 168 patients received targeted therapy, including 68 of bevacizumab and 100 of cetuximab. Logistics analysis was used to compare the factors affecting the success of conversion therapy. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate progression-free survival (PFS), and the Log-rank test was used for survival comparison. Results: Among 232 patients, 98 patients had successful conversions and 134 patients had failed conversions with a successful conversion rate of 42.2%, meanwhile 30 patients underwent simple hepatectomy and 68 underwent hepatectomy combined with intraoperative radiofrequency ablation. After first-line chemotherapy, 111 patients (47.8%) were partial remission, 57 patients (24.6%) were stable disease, and 64 patients (27.6%) were progression disease. During the median follow-up of 18.8 (1.0-87.9) months, 148 patients were dead or with tumor progression. The median PFS time of patients with successful conversion was longer than that of patients with failed conversion (31.0 months vs. 9.9 months, P<0.001). Univariate analysis found that the bilobar distribution of liver tumors (P=0.003), elevated baseline carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels (P=0.024), tumor invasion of the portal vein (P=0.001), number of metastatic tumor>8 (P<0.001), non-FOLFOXIRI (P=0.005), and no targeted therapy (P=0.038) were high risk factors for the failed conversion therapy. The results of multivariate logistics analysis indicated that the number of metastatic tumor >8 (OR=2.422, 95%CI: 1.291-4.544, P=0.006), portal vein invasion (OR=2.727, 95%CI: 1.237-4.170, P=0.008) were the independent risk factors for failed conversion therapy, while FOLFOXIRI regimen (OR=0.300, 95%CI: 0.135-0.666, P=0.003) and targeted drugs (OR=0.411, 95%CI: 0.209-0.809, P=0.010) were independent protective factors for successful conversion therapy. Conclusions: The number of metastatic tumor and portal vein invasion are key factors that affect the outcomes of conversion therapy for initially unresectable CRLM. If a patient can tolerate chemotherapy, a combination program of three-drug and targeted therapy is preferred for the active conversion therapy.

Comparison of follow-up treatment regimens for colorectal cancer liver metastases without objective response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy: direct surgery or surgery after second-line chemotherapy / 中华外科杂志

Objective: To compare the effect of direct surgery or surgery after second-line chemotherapy for colorectal cancer patients with liver metastases who did not achieve objective remission after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Methods: A retrospective case cohort study was used. The clinical and pathological data of 107 patients with colorectal cancer liver metastases who did not achieve objective response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy at Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery,Cancer Hospital,Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from December 2008 to December 2016 were retrospectively collected. There were 71 males and 36 females, median age was 57 years (range: 28 to 79 years). According to the different treatment regimens after neoadjuvant chemotherapy,107 cases were divided into a direct surgery group (direct group,n=65) and an operation after receiving second-line chemotherapy group (second-line group,n=42). The propensity score matching(PSM) of the Logistic regression model was used to match the bilobar distribution of liver metastases and the number of first-line chemotherapy cycles in the two groups of patients. The caliper value was set to 0.10 and the matching ratio was 1∶2. T test, Mann-Whitney U test, χ2 test or Fisher's exat test was used to analyzed the data between the tuo groups, respectively. Survival analysis design was used to investigate the difference in prognosis between the two groups of patients. Results: The follow-up time(M(IQR)) was 56.3(34.3) months (range: 2.1 to 95.0 months),and all patients were followed up. After PSM,there were 28 cases in the direct group and 42 cases in the second-line group, there were no significant differences in whether R0 resection was feasible,blood loss,blood transfusion,postoperative complications and postoperative hospital stay between the two groups (all P>0.05). The 1,3,and 5-year progression-free survival(PFS) rates of the direct group were 40.0%,16.5%,and 11.0%,and the 1,3,and 5-year overall survival(OS) rates were 98.5%,61.2%,and 41.4%,respectively, the second-line group 1,3,5 years PFS rates were 35.7%,14.3%,14.3%,1,3,5-year OS rate were 95.2%,55.1%,44.4%,respectively. The median PFS time of the direct group and the second-line group was 8.5 months and 7.5 months,respectively,and the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.826). The median OS time of the direct group and the second-line group were 33.8 months and 46.9 months,respectively. The difference was not statistically significant(P=0.646).The median PFS time of the direct group and second-line chemotherapy complete remission and partial remission group(CR/PR group) was 10.2 months and 9.1 months,respectively,and the difference was not statistically significant(P=0.669). The median OS time of the direct group and the second-line CR/PR group was 51.0 months and 46.9 months,respectively,and the difference was not statistically significant(P=0.427). The results of survival analysis suggested that major liver resection was an independent prognosis factor for PFS (HR=1.809,95%CI: 1.067 to 3.067,P=0.028) and OS(HR=2.751,95%CI: 1.317 to 5.747,P=0.007). Second-line chemotherapy was not an independent prognostic factor for PFS (HR=0.945, 95%CI:0.570 to 1.567,P=0.828) and OS (HR=0.866,95%CI: 0.468 to 1.602,P=0.646). Conclusions: There is no significant difference in the short-term outcome and long-term prognosis between direct surgery patients and second-line chemotherapy followed by surgery. Second-line chemotherapy is not an independent prognostic factor for colorectal cancer liver metastases patients who fail to achieve objective response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Significance of combination of targeted therapy and immunotherapy in conversion therapy of biliary tract cancer / 中华外科杂志

Biliary tract cancer has insidious onset and high degree of malignancy, and radical resection is often impossible when it is diagnosed.Conversion therapy can achieve tumor downgrading, so that patients who were initially unresectable have a chance to achieve R0 resection.However, due to the high heterogeneity and complex immune microenvironment of biliary tract cancer, conversion therapy is still in the stage of active exploration.As a new type of conversion therapy, combination of targeted therapy and immunotherapy is of great significance to effectively improve the efficiency of conversion therapy.Further exploration of combination mechanism and improvement of immune microenvironment are expected to become the future direction of combination of targeted therapy and immunotherapy.

A real world study on the relationship between drug resistance of targeted therapy and prognosis of HER-2-positive advanced breast cancer / 中华肿瘤杂志

Objective: To explore the effect of primary and acquired resistance to anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) on the overall survival of patients with HER-2 positive advanced breast cancer. Methods: The clinical characteristics of HER-2 positive patients with advanced breast cancer admitted to Cancer Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from January 1998 to December 2018 were collected, and their neoadjuvant/adjuvant and advanced three-line chemotherapy were summarized. Among them, targeted drugs for HER-2 included trastuzumab, pertuzumab, T-DM1, RC48-ADC, lapatinib, pyrotinib, allitinib, sipatinib, seratinib. Based on the duration of benefit from anti HER-2 treatment, the patients were divided into two groups: primary anti HER-2 resistance group and acquired anti HER-2 resistance group. In this study, the overall survival (OS) was used as the main end point. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional risk regression model were used to analyze the effects of different drug resistance mechanisms on the overall survival. Results: The whole group of 284 patients were included. The median age of recurrence and metastasis was 48 years old, 155 (54.6%) were hormone receptor (HR) positive and 129 (45.4%) were HR negative, 128 cases (45.1%) were premenopausal and 156 cases (54.9%) were postmenopausal, 277 cases (97.5%) had a score of 0-1 in ECoG PS and 7 cases (2.5%) had a score of more than 2 in the first diagnosis of relapse and metastasis. There were 103 cases (36.3%) in the primary drug resistance group and 181 cases (63.7%) in the secondary drug resistance group. The median overall survival time of the two groups was 24.9 months and 40.4 months, respectively, with statistical significance (P<0.001). Conclusion: Primary resistance to HER-2 is one of the factors of poor prognosis in HER-2 positive breast cancer, and its mechanism needs to be further explored.

Efficacy and survival outcomes of dose-dense carboplatin plus paclitaxel as neoadjuvant chemotherapy for triple-negative breast cancer / 中华肿瘤杂志

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and survival outcomes of dose-dense (biweekly) carboplatin plus paclitaxel (PC) as neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), and to explore an optimal neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimen for TNBC. Methods: Patients diagnosed as TNBC(cT1-4N0-3M0) in Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College Between January 2008 and September 2018 who received dose-dense PC and standard 3-weekly PC as NAC were 1∶1 matched using propensity score matching (PSM) to compare the efficacy, safety and survival outcomes. Results: One hundred of TNBC patients were enrolled (50 patients were divided in dose-dense group, 50 patients in standard group). The objective response rate (ORR) of dose-dense group and standard group were both 90.0% (45/50). The grade 3-4 neutropenia in dose-dense group was less than that of standard group (32.7% vs. 68.0%, P=0.001), while the rate of ALT/AST elevation in dose-dense group was higher than that of standard group (57.1% vs. 32.0%, P=0.012). The pathological complete response (pCR) rates were 34.0% (17/50) in dose-dense group and 38.0% (19/50) in standard group, without statistically significance (P=0.677). The median follow-up time was 55 months (3-150 months). The 5-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) in dose-dense group and standard group were 83.5% and 75.2%, respectively the 5-year overall survival (OS) in dose-dense and standard group were 87.9% and 84.5% the difference were not statistically significant (P=0.322 and 0.647, respectively). Patients with residual disease (tumor size≥1 cm or lymph node positive) had poor prognosis, the 5-year RFS and OS were 59.3% and 68.5%, respectively. Conclusions: Dose-dense PC has similar efficacy with standard 3-weekly PC and has a good safety profile. Since dose-dense regimen can shorten the duration of therapy, it can be an alternative in TNBC.

Clinical trials on intrathecal pemetrexed treated leptomeningeal metastases from solid tumors / 中华肿瘤杂志

Objective: To investigate the feasibility, safety and efficacy of intrathecal pemetrexed (IP) treated for patients with leptomeningeal metastases (LM) from solid tumors. Methods: Forty-seven patients receiving pemetrexed intrathecal chemotherapy in the First Hospital of Jilin University from 2017 to 2018 were selected. The study of pemetrexed intrathecal chemotherapy adopted the classical dose-climbing model and included 13 patients with meningeal metastasis of non-small cell lung cancer who had relapsed and refractory after multiple previous treatments including intrathecal chemotherapy. Based on the dose climbing study, 34 patients with meningeal metastasis of solid tumor who did not receive intrathecal chemotherapy were enrolled in a clinical study using pemetrexed as the first-line intrathecal chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy. Kaplan-Meier method and Log rank test were used for survival analysis, and Cox regression model was used for influencing factor analysis. Results: The dose climbing study showed that the maximum tolerated dose of pemetrexed intrathecal chemotherapy was 10 mg per single dose, and the recommended dosing regimen was 10 mg once or twice a week. The incidence of adverse reactions was 10 cases, including hematological adverse reactions (7 cases), transaminase elevation (2 cases), nerve root reactions (5 cases), fatigue and weight loss (1 case). The incidence of serious adverse reactions was 4, including grade 4-5 poor hematology (2 cases), grade 4 nerve root irritation (2 cases), and grade 4 elevated aminotransferase (1 case). In the dose climbing study, 4 patients were effectively treated and 7 were disease controlled. The survival time was ranged from 0.3 to 14.0 months and a median survival time was 3.8 months. The clinical study of pemetrexed intrathecal chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy showed that the treatment mode of 10 mg pemetrexed intrathecal chemotherapy once a week combined with synchronous involved area radiotherapy 40 Gy/4 weeks had a high safety and reactivity. The incidence of major adverse reactions was 52.9% (18/34), including hematologic adverse reactions (13 cases), transaminase elevation (10 cases), and nerve root reactions (4 cases). In study 2, the response rate was 67.6% (23/34), the disease control rate was 73.5% (25/34), the overall survival time was ranged from 0.3 to 16.6 months, the median survival time was 5.5 months, and the 1-year survival rate was 21.6%. Clinical response, improvement of neurological dysfunction, completion of concurrent therapy and subsequent systemic therapy were associated with the overall survival (all P<0.05). Conclusions: Pemetrexed is suitable for the intrathecal chemotherapy with a high safety and efficacy. The recommended administration regimen was IP at 10 mg on the schedule of once or twice per week. Hematological toxicity is the main factor affecting the implementation of IP. Vitamin supplement can effectively control the occurrence of hematological toxicity.

Application and prospect of cytoreductive surgery combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy in the treatment of peritoneal metastasis from colorectal cancer / 中华肿瘤杂志

Colorectal cancer is one of the common malignant tumors in China, and its incidence is increasing with years. As the second most common metastatic site of colorectal cancer, peritoneum is difficult to diagnose early and with a poor prognosis. Systemic intravenous chemotherapy was used as the main treatment strategy for peritoneal metastasis in the past, but its systemic toxic and side effects were obvious, and it could not effectively control tumor progression. In recent years, the continuous development of surgical techniques, concepts, and equipment, as well as the introduction of new chemotherapy drugs and targeted drugs have significantly improved the quality of life and prognosis of patients with peritoneal metastasis of colorectal cancer. Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) can effectively eradicated the intraperitoneal free cancer cells and subclinical lesions, while reducing systemic side effects of chemotherapy drugs, and achieve the radical cure of the tumor at the macro and micro levels to the greatest extent. It has been used as the first-line treatment program for peritoneal metastasis of colorectal cancer at home and abroad. This article focuses on the analysis and summary of the survival efficacy, prognostic factor analysis, and chemotherapy safety of CRS+ HIPEC in the treatment of colorectal cancer peritoneal metastasis. The existing problems and controversies of HIPEC therapy are discussed simultaneously.

The prospects of DNA damage repair variants guiding platinum compounds in the treatment of triple negative breast cancer / 中华肿瘤杂志

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is prone to recurrence and metastasis, which is the subtype of poorest prognosis. Chemotherapy is the main treatment, although there is lack of effective adjuvant chemotherapy regimens. The unsatisfactory efficacy of chemotherapy has been a bottleneck in improving the outcome of TNBC. Platinum compounds act directly on DNA to kill tumor cells, and they have a stronger killing effect on tumor cells carrying DNA damage repair (DDR) defects, which is an important entry point to improve the efficacy of TNBC. Biomarkers for predicting the efficacy of platinum drugs in TNBC treatment have always been a hot topic. The DDR pathway contains a large number of related genes, and recent studies have shown that deficiencies in the DDR pathway may be associated with the efficacy of platinum drugs, which is expected to be a biomarker for predicting the efficacy of platinum drugs in breast cancer treatment.

Distribution and prognostic value of LymphGen genotyping in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To investigate the distribution characteristics of LymphGen genotyping in a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) population and verify its prognostic value. Methods: We collected the clinical data and paraffin-embedded tumor tissue samples of 155 patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL in the People's Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from June 2014 to December 2020. DNA was extracted from tumor tissue and 475 gene mutations were detected by next-generation sequencing technology. We investigated the distribution of LymphGen genotyping in the DLBCL population, patients with different COO genotypes in the Xinjiang region, and their effects on PFS and OS. Results: ①Among 155 patients, 105 patients (67.7%) could be genotyped, including 14 (9.0%) for MCD, 26 (16.8%) for BN2, 10 (6.5%) for N1, 8 (5.2%) for EZB, 27 (17.4%) for A53, and 20 (12.9%) for ST2. ②The distribution of each gene subtype was different in different cell origin (COO) types (P=0.021) . ST2 was dominant in the germinal center type (GCB) group (28.8%) , and A53 and MCD were dominant in the non-GCB group (35.8%, 17.0%) . The BN2 type was the most common in both groups (23.1%, 26.4%) . ③There were statistically significant differences in progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) among different gene subtypes (P=0.031 and 0.005, respectively) . N1 and A53 had poor prognosis. The 2-year PFS and OS rates of N1 were both (21.3±18.4) %, and the 3-year PFS and OS rates of A53 were (60.9±11.3) %, (46.8±10.9) %, respectively. ④ The 3-year PFS and OS rates of MCD were the best, but the 5-year PFS and OS rates were worse. ⑤In the ROC curve of LymphGen genotyping for OS prediction, the AUC was 0.66, showing a certain degree of differentiation. Conclusion: LymphGen genotyping in the DLBCL population was different from previous reports and was of great significance for the prognosis of patients with DLBCL.

Pathological characteristics and clinical prognosis of nodular sclerosis grade 2 of classic Hodgkin's lymphoma / 中华肿瘤杂志

Objective: To investigate the pathological characteristics and clinical prognosis of nodular sclerosis grade 2 of classic Hodgkin's lymphoma (cHL-NS2) in our cancer center. Methods: A retrospective collection of 23 cases of cHL-NS2 admitted in Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College from July 2008 to April 2019 was performed. Fifty-five cases of nodular sclerosis grade 1 of classical Hodgkin's lymphoma (cHL-NS1) during the same period were selected as control group. Survival curves were plotted using the Kaplan-Meier method, and Cox regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors for survival. Results: The median age of 23 cases of cHL-NS2 was 30 years old. Five cases had extra nodal invasion, and 19 cases were Ⅰ-Ⅱ stage based on Ann Arbor system. The pathological morphology of cHL-NS2 showed that the lymph node structure was completely destroyed and was divided into nodules by thick collagen. The tumor cells in the nodules were abundant and proliferated in sheets. The boundaries between the tumor cells were not clear. The incidence of tumor necrosis in cHL-NS2 was 43.5% (10/23), which was significantly higher than 18.2% (10/55) in cHL-NS1 (P=0.040). The 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) rate of patients in the cHL-NS2 group was 58.1%, which was significantly lower than 89.7% in the cHL-NS1 group (P=0.002). In all of 78 cases, the 3-year PFS rate of patients who did not obtain complete response (CR) was 67.1%, which was significantly lower than 92.2% in patients who achieved CR (P=0.030). Multivariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated that both cHL-NS2 and failure to obtain CR by first-line treatment were independent indicators for short PFS time (P<0.05). Conclusions: In cHL-NS2, the morphology of tumor cells are diverse, and tumor necrosis can be easily found. Under the current first-line treatments of doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD) or bleomycin, etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone (BEACOPP), cHL-NS2 is an independent indicator for worse PFS.

Correlation between Serum miR-34a Level and Thrombocytopenia after Chemotherapy in Patients with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To analyze the relationship between serum miR-34a level and thrombocytopenia after chemotherapy in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).@*METHODS@#A total of 69 eligible DLBCL patients who received chemotherapy in our hospital from January 2018 to January 2020 were prospectively included as the research subjects, all patients received R-CHOP 21 regimen (rituximab + cyclophosphamide + adriamycin + vincristine + prednisone) for chemotherapy, 3 weeks was 1 cycle, and 2 cycles of chemotherapy were used. The patients were divided into a reduction group and a non reduction group according to whether there was thrombocytopenia after chemotherapy, the general data and laboratory indexes of the two groups were investigated and compared, the relationship between serum miR-34a before chemotherapy and thrombocytopenia after chemotherapy in patients was analyzed.@*RESULTS@#Among the 69 DLBCL patients, 36 patients developed thrombocytopenia after 2 cycles of R-CHOP 21 regimen for chemotherapy, the incidence was 52.17%; the level of serum IL-11 and the relative expression of miR-34a mRNA in the reduction group were significantly lower than the non reduction group (P<0.05), compared other data between groups, there was no statistical significant difference (P>0.05); after Logistic regression analysis, the results showed that the level of serum IL-11 and the relative expression of miR-34a mRNA were related to thrombocytopenia after chemotherapy in DLBCL patients, low expression of each index may be a risk factor of thrombocytopenia after chemotherapy in DLBCL patients (OR>1, P<0.05); ROC curve was drawn, and the results showed that the AUC of serum IL-11 level and miR-34a mRNA relative expression before chemotherapy alone and in combination predicted the risk of thrombocytopenia after chemotherapy in DLBCL patients were all >0.80, and the predictive value was ideal, when the cut-off value of serum IL-11 level before chemotherapy was 42.094 pg/ml, and the cut-off value of miR-34a mRNA relative expression was 3.894, the combined prediction value was the best.@*CONCLUSION@#The relative expression of miR-34a mRNA is associated with thrombocytopenia after chemotherapy in DLBCL patients, which may be a risk factor for thrombocytopenia in patients after chemotherapy, has certain value in predicting the risk of thrombocytopenia of patients after chemotherapy.

Rituximab-Based Regimens for Treatment of Primary Gastric Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To analyze clinical response of the Rituximab-based chemotherapy and prognostic features in patients with primary gastric diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (PGDLBCL).@*METHODS@#From June 2008 to December 2020, the data of 53 PGDLBCL patients were analyzed retrospectively.@*RESULTS@#The median age was 46(25-77) years old in 53 patients including 35 males and 18 females. Stomachache is the most common symptom. The diagnosis were confirmed in 47 patients by endoscopic biopsy and 6 patients by surgery. Twenty-six patients had Ⅰ/Ⅱ1 stage (Lugano staging system) disease and 27 cases had II2/IV stage disease. All patients were treated with chemotherapy, including RCHOP (25/53) and R-DA-EPOCH (28/53). Complete remission rate was 79.2%（42/53）. The 3-year and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were 77.4% and 69.8%. Univariate analysis showed that lactate dehydrogenase(LDH), Lugano stage and lesion size affected OS. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that IPI score and Lugano stage were independent prognosis risk factors affecting OS. The patients in the R-DA-EPOCH group presented better survival outcomes than those in the RCHOP group with late stage (P5-year OS=0.035).@*CONCLUSION@#Rituximab in combination with chemotherapy is the backbone of therapy for PGDLBCL. IPI score and Lugano stage are independent prognosis risk factors affecting OS of PGDLBCL. R-DA-EPOCH can be superior to R-CHOP as a first-line regimen in PGDLBCL patients with late stage.

Clinical efficacy of combined therapy in children with stage 4 neuroblastoma / 中国当代儿科杂志

OBJECTIVES@#To study the early clinical efficacy of combined therapy of stage 4 neuroblastoma.@*METHODS@#A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data and follow-up data of 14 children with stage 4 neuroblastoma who were diagnosed in Hong Kong University-Shenzhen Hospital from January 2016 to June 2021.@*RESULTS@#The median age of onset was 3 years and 7.5 months in these 14 children. Among these children, 9 had positive results of bone marrow biopsy, 4 had N-Myc gene amplification, 13 had an increase in neuron-specific enolase, and 7 had an increase in vanilmandelic acid in urine. Based on the results of pathological examination, differentiated type was observed in 6 children, undifferentiated type in one child, mixed type, in one child and poorly differentiated type in 6 children. Of all the children, 10 received chemotherapy with the N7 regimen (including 2 children receiving arsenic trioxide in addition) and 4 received chemotherapy with the Rapid COJEC regimen. Thirteen children underwent surgery, 14 received hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and 10 received radiotherapy. A total of 8 children received Ch14.18/CHO immunotherapy, among whom 1 child discontinued due to anaphylactic shock during immunotherapy, and the other 7 children completed Ch14.18/CHO treatment without serious adverse events, among whom 1 child was treated with Lu177 Dotatate 3 times after recurrence and is still undergoing chemotherapy at present. The median follow-up time was 45 months for all the 14 children. Four children experienced recurrence within 2 years, and the 2-year overall survival rate was 100%; 4 children experienced recurrence within 3 years, and 7 achieved disease-free survival within 3 years.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Multidisciplinary combined therapy is recommended for children with stage 4 neuroblastoma and can help them achieve better survival and prognosis.

MYC and BCL-2 protein co-expression and prognosis of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: a propensity score matching analysis / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: We investigated the impact of MYC/BCL-2 protein co-expression on the prognosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients and observed whether double expression (DE) remains an independent poor prognostic factor in DLBCL after the addition of therapeutic factors such as DA-EPOCH-R, central prophylaxis, and transplantation. Methods: Available pathological findings were retrospectively collected from 223 DLBCL patients at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 2015 to 2018. Seventy-five patients with high MYC/BCL-2 expression were categorized as the DE group. From the 148 non-DE patients, 75 DLBCL patients were selected as the control group, using a 1∶1 matching on propensity scores for age, international prognostic index score, treatment choice, and etc. The differences in overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) between the two groups were compared. Results: The 3-year OS was (69.8±5.5) % for the DE group and (77.0±4.9) % for the non-DE group (P=0.225) , while the 3-year PFS was (60.7±5.8) % and (65.3±5.5) % , respectively (P=0.390) . Subgroup analysis in patients treated with the R-CHOP regimen revealed that for the DE and non-DE patients, the 3-year OS was (61.3±7.5) % and (77.2±5.6) % (P=0.027) , and the 3-year PFS was (52.1±7.5) % and (70.6±6.0) % (P=0.040) , respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that age, stage of Ann Arbor, COO staging, whether central prophylaxis was performed, and whether transplantation was performed were significant independent risk factors of the prognosis of DLBCL patients (P<0.05) . On the other hand, MYC/BCL-2 protein double expression was not significantly associated with prognostic outcomes. Conclusion: MYC/BCL-2 protein double expression was significantly associated with poor prognosis under R-CHOP regimen treatment, but the poor prognostic impact of DE on DLBCL was eliminated under intensive regimens such as DA-EPOCH-R and transplantation.

Efficacy and safety of daratumumab in the treatment of advanced light chain amyloidosis / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: The study investigated the efficacy and safety of daratumumab in the treatment of cardiac light chain (AL) amyloidosis. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical characteristics, hematologic response, organ response, long-term survival, and adverse events of 20 patients with newly diagnosed or relapsed/refractory cardiac AL amyloidosis treated with daratumumab in Peking Union Medical College Hospitalo from January 2017 to March 2021. Results: The overall median age of 20 patients was 62 (range, 45-73) yeas, with a male to female ratio of 2.3:1. Nine patients were newly diagnosed, while 11 patients had relapsed or refractory disease. Based on Mayo 2004 cardiac AL staging system, stages Ⅱ and Ⅲ diseases were present in 20 patients respectively. Four patients died during the first cycle of daratumumab, and the remaining 16 patients completed a median of 3 (range, 1-10) cycles of treatment. Overall hematologic response rates were 80% each at 1, 3, and 6 months after treatment initiation, and 45% , 60% , and 60% of the patients achieved at least a very good partial response at 1, 3, and 6 months respectively. The median duration to hematologic response was 13 (range, 6-28) days. At 3, 6, and 12 months, 20% , 30% , and 40% of the patients respectively achieved a cardiac response, and the median days to response was 91 (range, 30-216) days. As of the last follow-up, 9 (45% ) patients died. The 1-month mortality rate of all the patients and stage IIIb patients was 25% and 40% , respectively. The 1-year overall survival rate was 48.4% . Lymphocytopenia was the most common hematological adverse event (above grade 3) . Non-hematological adverse events were mainly infusion-related reactions and infections. Conclusion: Daratumumab could induce deep and rapid hematologic response in newly diagnosed and previously treated cardiac AL amyloidosis patients. However, daratumumab was not effective in preventing the high and early mortality rate in stage Ⅲb patients.

Chemotherapy initiation with single-course methotrexate alone or combined with dactinomycin versus multi-course methotrexate for low-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia: a multi-centric randomized clinical trial / 医学前沿

We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of single-course initial regimens in patients with low-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN). In this trial (NCT01823315), 276 patients were analyzed. Patients were allocated to three initiated regimens: single-course methotrexate (MTX), single-course MTX + dactinomycin (ACTD), and multi-course MTX (control arm). The primary endpoint was the complete remission (CR) rate by initial drug(s). The primary CR rate was 64.4% with multi-course MTX in the control arm. For the single-course MTX arm, the CR rate was 35.8% by one course; it increased to 59.3% after subsequent multi-course MTX, with non-inferiority to the control (difference -5.1%,95% confidence interval (CI) -19.4% to 9.2%, P = 0.014). After further treatment with multi-course ACTD, the CR rate (93.3%) was similar to that of the control (95.2%, P = 0.577). For the single-course MTX + ACTD arm, the CR rate was 46.7% by one course, which increased to 89.1% after subsequent multi-course, with non-inferiority (difference 24.7%, 95% CI 12.8%-36.6%, P < 0.001) to the control. It was similar to the CR rate by MTX and further ACTD in the control arm (89.1% vs. 95.2%, P =0.135). Four patients experienced recurrence, with no death, during the 2-year follow-up. We demonstrated that chemotherapy initiation with single-course MTX may be an alternative regimen for patients with low-risk GTN.

Diagnosis and treatment of multiple myeloma in Hunan Province / 中南大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVES@#There is less clinical data on multiple myeloma (MM) in China, and the aim of this study was to collect and analyze the clinical data of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM) patients in Hunan Province during 1 year, to understand the real clinical features and treatment outcome for Hunan Province patients with MM, and to strengthen the understanding of the standardized diagnosis process and treatment plan of MM.@*METHODS@#The clinical data of 529 patients with NDMM in 12 large-scale general hospitals in Hunan Province from January 1 to December 31, 2019 were collected and analyzed, including baseline data, treatment regimens, duration of treatment, and adverse reactions. The clinical characteristics, treatment, and safety of patients were analyzed by SPSS 21.0.@*RESULTS@#Among the 529 NDMM patients, the age was 33-90 (median 64) years and the male-female ratio was 1.38꞉1. The clinical features ranged from high to low were as follows: Bone pain (77.7%), anemia (66.8%), renal insufficiency (40.6%), hypercalcemia (15.1%). Typing: IgG 46.5%, IgA 24.6%, IgD 2.6%, IgM 0.8%, light chain 15.7%, double clone 3.0%, no secretion 0.6%, absence 6.2%. Staging: Durie-Salmon stage I, II, and III were 4.5%, 10.6%, 77.3%, respectively, and 40 cases (7.6%) missed this data. International Staging System (ISS) stage I, II, and III were 10.4%, 24.4%, and 47.6%, respectively, and 93 cases (17.6%) were missing. Revised International Staging System (R-ISS) stage I, II, and III were 5.5%, 27.0%, 23.1%, respectively, and 235 cases (44.4%) missed this data. Among the 98 NDMM patients in the Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Durie-Salmon (DS) stage missing 2.0%, ISS stage missing 12.3%, and R-ISS stage missing 12.3%.Treatment: Among the 529 patients,475 received treatment, the rate of treatment was 89.8%; 67.4% of the patients were able to complete four courses of chemotherapy at induction phase, 90.3% of the patients received proteasome inhibitor based combination chemotherapy regimen more than once, 67.2% received immunomodulator based regimen more than once, and 59.8% of the patients received proteasome inhibitor and immunomodulator based combination chemotherapy regimen more than once. Curative: Overall response rate (ORR) and high quality response rate (HQR) of the 4-course group were better than those of the 2-course group (ORR: 85% vs 65%, P=0.006; HQR: 68.3% vs 24.0%, P<0.001). The HQR of the standard chemotherapy group was better than that of the non-standard chemotherapy group (65.1% vs 48.2%, P=0.035). Adverse reactions during treatment included hematologic toxicity (17.5%), peripheral neuropathy (24.8%), gastrointestinal adverse events (23.8%), pulmonary infection (25.9%), herpes zoster (4.6%), and venous thrombotic events (1.7%).@*CONCLUSIONS@#In 2019, the missed diagnosis rate of MM patients was high, the medium age of diagnosis was older, and the accuracy of patient diagnosis was not high. There is a great difference among medical centers, especially in the stage and risk stratified, nearly half of NDMM patients are not diagnosed with R-ISS stage; the lack of cytogenetic data needs to be supplemented by follow-up studies. A high proportion of patients with NDMM present with bone pain and anemia.Patients received treatment have higher use of chemotherapy regimens containing proteasome inhibitors and/or immunomodulators, but there is a significant gap among different medical centers, and standardized treatment needs to be strengthened. The safety during chemotherapy is controllable.