Evaluation of contraception methods in chronic myeloid leukemia patients: A Turkish multicenter study.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) incidence has recently increased in younger individuals. With time, given the nature of the disease and available therapies, as well as the existing paucity and inconsistency of advice, worries about fertility have surfaced. With all these clear unknowns, we designed this study to raise awareness among both physicians and CML patients about whether male and female patients of childbearing age were using contraception at the time of diagnosis, and if so, which methods they were using. In this context, this study aimed to evaluate the contraception methods in patients with CML. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighteen centres from Turkey participated in the study. Male and female patients of childbearing age diagnosed with chronic and accelerated phase CML between the years 2000 and 2024 were evaluated retrospectively. RESULTS: Of the two hundred and thirty-two patients included, one hundred and twenty-five (53.9%) of these patients were female and 107 (46.1%) were male. At diagnosis, all female patients were in the childbearing age, and male patients were sexually active. The median age at diagnosis of the patients was 38 (range, 18-77) years. Eighty-six (68.8%) female patients were using any contraception method, while this was 53.2% (n = 57) among male patients. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, since CML patients are diagnosed at an earlier age and the desire of these patients to have children, adequate information and evaluation should be provided regarding fertility and contraception issues, especially in female patients, from the moment of diagnosis.

Complications of therapeutic plasma exchange: A retrospective, single-center study of 2505 procedures performed in 338 patients over 15 years.

INTRODUCTION: Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) may involve complications. We aimed to review the demographic data, indications, technical information, and complications. METHODS: Data for TPE procedures (TPEPs) performed between 2004 and 2018 were retrospectively. RESULTS: This study covered 2505 TPEPs performed on 338 patients; 55% of them were female (n = 186), and the median age was 36 years (range, 11-93 years). Most TPEPs were administered for hematological (40.6%) indications. The incidence of complications on the first procedure was 3.2% (n = 80); only 16 procedures (0.6%) were failed. The complication incidence was 19.8% (n = 497), with 789 total complications. Most of the complications were patient-related (90.4%), and the most of them were urticaria (29.1%), occlusion (3.2%), and faulty systems (1.01%), respectively. The use of only fresh frozen plasma as replacement fluid caused a higher complication rate (22.1%, p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The number of TPEPs is increasing every day. Hematologic indications for TPE and the use of fresh frozen plasma may increase the risk of complications.

Chronic Myeloid Leukemia in Renal Transplantation Patients in the Era of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Lifelong immunosuppression, cytotoxic effects of some immunosuppressive drugs, and opportunistic oncogenic viruses increase malignancy risks in solid organ recipients. The risk of myeloid neoplasms including chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is also increased in this patient population. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), the key element of CML therapy, should be used cautiously in transplantation patients as they may interact with calcineurin inhibitors. With this report, a 63-year-old female kidney transplant recipient who developed CML 9 years after kidney transplantation is presented. CML in this patient was treated with a slightly reduced dose of imatinib (300 mg) due to concerns of adverse events including its interaction with tacrolimus. Deep molecular response (DMR) was achieved at 12 months under imatinib treatment. The patient is still in DMR after 30 months of follow-up, and she did not experience any adverse events or acute rejection episodes. CML and the use of TKIs in kidney transplant patients have been discussed with an extensive literature review. In this patient population, TKIs are generally well tolerated with achievement of treatment responses and good prognosis. Graft functions are also well maintained as long as drug interactions are monitored.

Ascites does not accompany pleural effusion developing under dasatinib therapy in patients with CML-CP.

Objectives: Pleural effusion (PE) is the most frequent pulmonary complication of dasatinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). Concurrent pericardial effusions have been reported in about one-third of the cases. In this study, we aimed to investigate ascites generation in chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML-CP) patients developing PE under dasatinib. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study to evaluate whether pericardial effusion and ascites accompany PE in CML-CP patients treated with dasatinib. For this purpose, consecutive patients with CML-CP who developed PE under dasatinib therapy have been evaluated with chest X-ray, transthoracic echocardiography, and abdominal ultrasonography. Results: There were seven patients, and the median age was 50 years (range, 31-73 years). Most of patients were male (n=5). All patients received imatinib as first-line TKI. Six patients received dasatinib following imatinib failure in second line. The median duration from dasatinib initiation to PE generation was 58 months (range, 8-135 months). Consequently, four patients had grade 1 pericardial effusion, and no patient had ascites. Conclusions: In our small study, dasatinib-related PE was associated with low-grade pericardial effusion but no ascites. There are hypothetical explanations of this phenomenon including the simultaneous activation/inhibition of kinases; however, more research needs to be performed on this topic.

Impact of CALR and JAK2V617F Mutations on Clinical Course and Disease Outcomes in Essential Thrombocythemia: A Multicenter Retrospective Study in Turkish Patients.

Objective: In this study, we investigated the effects of calreticulin (CALR) and JAK2V617F mutational status on clinical course and disease outcomes in Turkish patients with essential thrombocythemia (ET). Materials and Methods: Seventeen centers from Türkiye participated in the study and CALR- and JAK2V617F-mutated ET patients were evaluated retrospectively. Results: A total of 302 patients were included, of whom 203 (67.2%) and 99 (32.8%) were JAK2V617F- and CALR-positive, respectively. CALR-mutated patients were significantly younger (51 years vs. 57.5 years, p=0.03), with higher median platelet counts (987x109/L vs. 709x109/L, p<0.001) and lower median hemoglobin levels (13.1 g/dL vs. 14.1 g/dL, p<0.001) compared to JAK2V617F-mutated patients. Thromboembolic events (TEEs) occurred in 54 patients (17.9%), 77.8% of which were arterial. Compared to CALR mutation, JAK2V617F was associated with a higher risk of thrombosis (8.1% vs. 22.7%, p=0.002). Rates of transformation to myelofibrosis (MF) and leukemia were 4% and 0.7%, respectively, and these rates were comparable between JAK2V617F- and CALR-mutated cases. The estimated overall survival (OS) and MF-free survival of the entire cohort were 265.1 months and 235.7 months, respectively. OS and MF-free survival durations were similar between JAK2V617F- and CALR-mutated patients. Thrombosis-free survival (TFS) was superior in CALR-mutated patients compared to JAK2V617F-positive patients (5-year TFS: 90% vs. 71%, respectively; p=0.001). Age at diagnosis was an independent factor affecting the incidence of TEEs. Conclusion: In our ET cohort, CALR mutations resulted in higher platelet counts and lower hemoglobin levels than JAK2V617F and were associated with younger age at diagnosis. JAK2V617F was strongly associated with thrombosis and worse TFS. Hydroxyurea was the most preferred cytoreductive agent for patients with high thrombosis risk.

A safety review of tyrosine kinase inhibitors for chronic myeloid leukemia.

INTRODUCTION: Since the introduction of first tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) imatinib, the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) has reached excellent survival expectancies. Long survival rates bring about issues regarding TKI safety. AREAS COVERED: The aim of this review is to compare the side effects of current TKIs both in the first and later lines and outline a safety andprofile of CML treatment. Seminal studies on TKIs and other newer drugs and extended follow-up of these studies; real-life data of each drug were usedduring the course of this. PubMed was used as a search database and onlyarticles in English were included. EXPERT OPINION: With longer follow-up CML patients, resistant slowgrade adverse events seem to be the major obstacle in the way of treatmentefficacy. If efficacy is the priority, vigorous treatment of side effect and administration of full dose TKI are reasonable. But when treatment goals are reached, dose modifications or alternative treatment regimens may be acceptedpossible. More studies are needed on dose modification protocols and potential benefits and safety of treatment-free remission.

Acute Thrombocytopenia Complicating the Initial Administration of Obinutuzumab: Is It More Frequent Than We Think?

Thrombocytopenia has been reported more frequently with obinutuzumab in clinical trials where it was directly compared with rituximab. However, more significant than the frequency, a unique form of severe thrombocytopenia manifesting very early after the first obinutuzumab infusion has been published in case reports. To further explore this subject, we went through the records of our clinic to identify similar cases of obinutuzumab-induced acute thrombocytopenia (OIAT). Among 24 patients who received obinutuzumab outside of clinical trials, we recovered three cases with OIAT. This paper describes these three cases in detail, placing emphasis on the timing, severity, and the clinical course. Notably, all three patients developed severe OIAT within 5 days of their first obinutuzumab exposure, responded well to transfusion, and recovered within a few days without severe bleeding. None of the patients experienced a similar event in the second course of the obinutuzumab-based therapy. Our observations suggest that OIAT may be a frequent, possibly non-relapsing, and unique event that deserves more attention than it currently receives.

Effect of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Therapy on Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate in Patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia.

INTRODUCTION: The advent of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) was revolutionary in the management of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Although TKIs were generally considered to be safe, they can be associated with renal injury. We evaluated the effect of TKIs on renal functions in a cohort of patients with long-term follow-up. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We retrospectively examined patients with chronic phase CML treated with TKIs. We analyzed the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of patients from the initiation of TKI to the last follow-up. eGFR values of CML patients were compared to those of patients with stage 1 or 2 chronic kidney disease (CKD). RESULTS: A total of 195 patients with CML and 138 patients with CKD were examined. eGFR decline was 1.556 ml/min/1.73m2/year for patients with CML (P = .221). Patients receiving second-generation TKIs (2GTKI) were estimated to have 0.583 ml/min/1.73m2 higher eGFR value than that of the imatinib group, but it was not significant (P = .871). eGFR of patients who had used bosutinib had a downward trend. Duration of TKI therapy, age, and hypertension were found to be significant factors in eGFR decline for CML patients. Lower baseline GFR was associated with an increased risk of CKD development. CONCLUSION: Imatinib could result in a decline in eGFR which was clinically similar to early-stage CKD patients. We did not observe significant kidney function deterioration in patients receiving 2GTKIs including dasatinib and nilotinib. We recommend close renal function monitoring in patients receiving imatinib, especially for elderly patients with lower baseline eGFR and hypertension.

Treatment of anemia in myelofibrosis: focusing on novel therapeutic options.

INTRODUCTION: Myelofibrosis is a clonal myeloproliferative neoplasm associated with the proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells, increased bone marrow fibrosis, extramedullary hematopoiesis, hepatosplenomegaly, abnormal cytokine production, and constitutional symptoms. These and many other factors contribute to the development of anemia in myelofibrosis patients. AREAS COVERED: This review summarizes novel and promising treatments for anemia in myelofibrosis including transforming growth factor-ß inhibitors luspatercept and KER-050, JAK inhibitors momelotinib, pacritinib, and jaktinib, BET inhibitors pelabresib and ABBV-744, antifibrotic PRM-151, BCL2/BCL-XL inhibitor navitoclax, and telomerase inhibitor imetelstat. EXPERT OPINION: Standard approaches to treat myelofibrosis-related anemia have limited efficacy and are associated with toxicity. New drugs have shown positive results in myelofibrosis-associated anemia when used alone or in combination.

Erdheim-Chester disease of brain parenchyma without any systemic involvement: A case report and review of literature.

Erdheim-Chester disease is a non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis syndrome characterised by histiocytic infiltration of different organs and systems in the body. Erdheim-Chester disease with isolated central nervous system (CNS) involvement causes diagnostic difficulties due to the absence of systemic findings and may result in misdiagnosis and inaccurate treatment choices. The case discussed in this report exemplifies how challenging it is to diagnose Erdheim-Chester disease with isolated CNS involvement. This case, which presented with progressive pyramidocerebellar syndrome, was clinically and radiologically resistant to all immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory treatments administered. The presence of false negative results in repeated histopathological investigations and the absence of evidence for systemic disease hindered the diagnosis and treatment work-up. In this study, we reviewed and discussed the prominent features of the presented case in light of the relevant literature.

Does discontinuing bleomycin due to toxicity increase the risk of lymphoma progression? Real-life data from a homogeneous population of advanced stage Hodgkin lymphoma.

Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL) is often curable with ABVD therapy and improving outcomes is a main goal of ongoing research. Bleomycin-associated pneumonitis (BAPT) is a potentially life-threatening complication that necessitates bleomycin discontinuation. We conducted this study on a homogenous cohort of advanced stage HL treated only with ABVD for frontline therapy to assess if bleomycin discontinuation increases the risk of lymphoma progression. After the exclusion of patients who received radiotherapy or other drugs, 106 and 28 patients in the six-cycle ABVD and BAPT groups respectively had similar survival curves for progression and death with a 49-month median follow-up. PFS rates were also very similar at two and four years from diagnosis with 2-year PFS rates of 83.9% and 82.1% (RR = 1.1 95%CI = 0.45-2.2). Outcome comparisons were also similar between the two groups when stratified according to early response assessment with PET/CT. Patients who discontinued bleomycin due to toxicity did not experience an increased risk of progression compared to patients who completed six ABVD cycles.

Novel Janus-kinase (JAK) Inhibitors in Myelofibrosis.

INTRODUCTION: JAK inhibitors (JAKis), used in the treatment of myelofibrosis, have entered standard treatment, providing significant improvements in spleen size and symptom burden. Although splenomegaly provides a reduction and some improvement in cytopenia, there is still a way to go. Novel JAKis are being investigated to overcome barriers to treatment access, such as therapeutic challenges, intolerance, and unresponsiveness. AREAS COVERED: This review includes the current status of JAKi treatment for myelofibrosis, mainly focusing on investigational JAKis; jaktinib, lestaurtinib, itacitinib, gandotinib, BMS-911543, ilginatinib, TQ05105, and flonoltinib maleate. MEDLINE and clinicaltrials.gov were screened to identify all completed or active studies on this topic. The outcomes of the preclinical studies and clinical trials are presented and discussed for each drug. EXPERT OPINION: In patients with myelofibrosis, momelotinib was effective in treating anemia, whereas jaktinib was effective in both anemia and Total Symptom Score (TSS). More phase 3 studies are needed to provide more precise evidence. The increasing variety of JAKis will allow for more personalized treatment options for myelofibrosis in the future. The potential impact on disease progression, molecular responses, and the duration of this response will become important parameters for future evaluations of these drugs.

A cross-sectional study on restless legs syndrome (RLS) in polycythemia vera (PV): is iron deficiency the only culprit?

INTRODUCTION: In polycythemia vera (PV) patients undergoing phlebotomy, iron deficiency (ID) may develop. ID has been linked to restless legs syndrome (RLS), and in one study, 29.6% of PV patients had RLS. We aimed to evaluate the frequency of RLS in PV and to evaluate factors that might play a role in RLS development among PV and essential thrombocythemia (ET) patients. METHODS: We consecutively included PV cases as the patient group, and ET and ID patients and healthy subjects (HSs) were included as controls. Those with conditions that could lead to RLS were excluded. All subjects were questioned according to the diagnostic criteria of the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group. RESULTS: Twenty-seven PV, 23 ET, and 22 ID patients and 23 HSs were included. RLS was detected in 25.9%, 34.8%, and 45.5% of PV, ET, and ID patients, respectively. None of the HSs had RLS. In univariate analysis, interferon-α and anagrelide use, magnesium levels, and the Leeds assessment of neuropathic symptoms and signs (LANSS) scores had a significant impact on RLS in PV and ET patients (p = 0.014, p = 0.032, p = 0.036, and p = 0.003, respectively). CONCLUSION: RLS was more common among PV and ET patients than HSs, which was irrespective to the iron status. RLS was more frequent in ET patients than that observed in PV cases, indicating that ID may not be the only causative factor for RLS development in PV. Further prospective studies are needed to determine the prevalence and risk factors of RLS developing in PV and ET.

Fatal panresistant Lomentospora prolificans fungemia in a patient with aplastic anemia: First report from Türkiye.

Lomentospora prolificans is an opportunistic pathogen that can cause invasive lomentosporiosis in immunocompromised patients. Patients with hematological malignancies and those who have undergone stem cell or solid organ transplantations are in the highest risk group. In addition to the limitations and delays in diagnostic possibilities, L. prolificans has a high mortality due to its resistance to all available antifungal drugs. In a patient diagnosed with aplastic anemia, we described the first case of L. prolificans in Türkiye. L. prolificans was identified in the blood culture, and despite the initiation of antifungal treatments, the fungemia resulted in mortality on the 7th day of intensive care hospitalization. This case highlights the importance of early recognition and prompt initiation of appropriate antifungal therapy to improve the outcome of patients with rare mold infections.

Current and emerging tyrosine kinase inhibitors for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia in young adults.

INTRODUCTION: Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is more common in older adults, but nearly 15-20% of the patients is between 15 and 39 years of age. In this age group, patients may seek clinical care a much later period of the disease and they may have a heavier burden of disease. In addition, young patients with CML may face unique challenges related to their age, such as concerns about health care, fertility, or careers. The current standard of care for CML is the use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), which induce remission in most young patients and can achieve long-term disease control. AREAS COVERED: This review summarizes age-specific treatment-related conditions, as well as the effectiveness of TKI therapy in this age group. PubMed, Google Scholar, clinicaltrials.gov and other abstract databases were used while preparing this review. The period of 2001-2023 was chosen as the search window. EXPERT OPINION: Although we do not have sufficient data, young adult population has a special importance for TKI treatment. Clinical features, efficacy of treatments, and specific conditions in this age group should attract more attention of clinicians and more intensive studies should be conducted in the future.

Upregulation of SPINK2 in acute myeloid leukemia.

Objectives: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a highly heterogeneous disease. Although patients can be classified into risk groups based on their genetic changes, the prognosis of disease within these categories varies widely. This situation raises the need to search for new molecular markers related to AML. Serine peptidase inhibitor Kazal type 2 (SPINK2) has recently been reported to be upregulated in AML and associated with poor outcomes by meta-analysis and in a limited number of AML patients. Methods: We analyzed SPINK2 mRNA expression in 62 patients (45 adult and 17 pediatric) with AML and 11 cell lines using quantitative Real-Time PCR (qRT-PCR). SPINK2 protein level was determined using ELISA in cell lines. Results: We found that the expression of SPINK2 mRNA and protein levels in AML cell lines (HL60 and NB4) have increased compared to other cell lines (K562, Jurkat and NALM6, MCF7, HeLa, HUVEC, hFOB, 293T, U87). SPINK2 mRNA expression was upregulated in patients with AML compared to controls (p=0.004) and significantly lower in t(8;21)-positive patients compared to negative patients (p=0.0006). Conclusions: Our results suggest that SPINK2 serves an important role in AML development. Further studies are needed to evaluate SPINK2 expression in AML patients with t(8.21) and investigate to clarify its prognostic value in various subgroups of AML.