Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in extranodal natural killer/T cell lymphoma: a multinational, multicenter, matched controlled study.

Extranodal natural killer (NK)/T cell lymphoma, nasal type, is a recently recognized distinct entity and the most common type of non-B cell extranodal lymphoma in Asia. This retrospective analysis studied the potential survival benefits of hematopoeitic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) compared with a historical control group. A total of 47 patients from 3 previously published series of HSCT were matched according to NK/T cell lymphoma International Prognostic Index (NKIPI) risk groups and disease status at transplantation with 107 patients from a historical control group for analysis. After a median follow-up of 116.5 months, the median survival time was not determined for the HSCT group, but it was 43.5 months for the control group (95% confidence interval [CI] = 6.7 to 80.3 months; P = .127, log-rank test). In patients who were in complete remission (CR) at the time of HSCT or at surveillance after remission, disease-specific survival rates were significantly higher in the HSCT group compared with the control group (disease-specific 5-year survival rate, 87.3% for HSCT vs 67.8% for non-HSCT; P = .027). In contrast, in subgroup analysis on non-CR patients at the time of HSCT or non-HSCT treatment, disease-specific survival rates were not significantly prolonged in the HSCT group compared with the control group (1-year survival rate, 66.7% for HSCT vs 28.6% for non-HSCT; P = .141). The impact of HSCT on the survival of all patients was significantly retained at the multivariate level with a 2.1-fold (95% CI =1.2- to 3.7-fold) reduced risk of death (P = .006). HSCT seems to confer a survival benefit in patients who attained CR on postremission consolidation therapy. These findings suggest that, in particular, patients in CR with high NKIPI risk scores at diagnosis should receive full consideration for HSCT.

A case of primary mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma of the vagina.

We report the first case of primary mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma of the vagina, the diagnosis of which is supported by genetic and immunophenotypic studies. A 65-year-old, para 2 woman presented to our hospital in July 1997 with a history of prolonged vaginal discharge. Although cytologic examination suggested possible malignancy, a biopsy of the vaginal wall was diagnosed as chronic inflammation. In June 2000, she underwent gynecologic examination because of anuria. Excisional biopsy revealed subepithelial infiltration of atypical lymphoid cells that stained for CD20, CD79a, and BCL-2; stained weakly for IgM; and did not stain for CD3, CD5, CD7, CD10, CD56, CD23, and IgD, suggesting marginal zone B-cell lineage. Monoclonality was detected by Southern blot analysis, and this patient was finally diagnosed as having primary MALT lymphoma of the vagina. She received 3 cycles of chemotherapy (THP-COP) and concurrent radiation to the whole pelvis. The patient is alive and well 40 months after treatment. Because the vagina is one of the mucosa-associated tissues, MALT lymphoma, though rare, must be included in the differential diagnosis of the vaginal neoplasms.

Predictive value of the original content of CD34(+) cells for enrichment of hematopoietic progenitor cells from bone marrow harvests by the apheresis procedure.

We retrospectively investigated the feasibility of the apheresis procedure for red blood cell (RBC) reduction with a closed-bag system. We also sought to determine the optimal processing volume for the maximal recovery of hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC). Twelve bone marrow (BM) harvests were processed for major ABO-incompatible allogeneic transplantation and one BM harvest was processed for autologous transplantation. The processing was performed through seven apheresis cycles with a two-bag system using COBE Spectra Version 6.1. The mean recovery rates were compared in the products after four cycles and seven cycles of BM processing. Mean cell recovery rates were 79.2% (67.6-97.5%) and 87.3% (68.9-111.9%) for the mononuclear cells (MNC) and 84.5% (69.4-109.5%) and 92.0% (79.0-107.7%) for the CD34(+) cells after four and seven cycles, respectively. A mean of 96.3% (93.0-98.1%) of the RBCs were finally removed. The yield of CD34(+) cells after seven cycles of processing (median: 10.35 x 10(7) cells) was 7.9% greater than that after four cycles of processing (median: 9.65 x 10(7) cells), exhibiting a less-than-significant enhancement in yield. The CD34(+) cell contents recovered in the concentrates up to four cycles (r = 0.989) and up to seven cycles (r = 0.993) were strongly correlated with the original content of the CD34(+) cells. Engraftment was obtained in all patients except one patient infused with purified CD34(+) cells. This latter result confirmed the hematopoietic potential of the cell populations recovered. Granulocyte recovery (defined as an absolute neutrophil cell count > or = 500/microL for a period of three consecutive days) ranged from 8 to 25 days (median: 16 days) post-transplantation. No hemolytic reaction was observed in any of the patients. Our results confirmed the efficacy of BM processing cycles with the COBE Spectra device. However, we could not conclude that the large-volume apheresis for BM processing significantly enhanced the yields of HPC. The final recovery of CD34(+) cells after processing could be predicted from the CD34(+) cell content of the original collected marrow.

Evaluation of hematological reconstitution potential of autologous peripheral blood progenitor cells cryopreserved by a simple controlled-rate freezing method.

A novel and simple procedure for the controlled-rate cryopreservation of peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPCs) was introduced. A freezing bag housed in a protective aluminum canister was placed on top of a styrene foam box in the -85 degrees C electric freezer. A second set of samples was kept in cryotubes placed in a double styrene foam box in the same electric freezer. Measurement of the freezing rate in the PB bags and cryotubes demonstrated that this simple method for PBPC cryopreservation provided optimal conditions for both large-scale and small-scale cryopreservation. Within several days after autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation, we thawed the cells in the small sample tubes and evaluated the cell viability, the cell recovery, and the recovery rates of hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs), such as CD34+ cells and colony-forming unit-granulocyte/macrophage (CFU-GM) colonies. The median duration of cryopreservation was 59 days (range, 14-365 days). According to our analysis, infusions of more than 2 x 10(6) CD34+ cells/kg body weight and 0.5 x 10(6) CFU-GM colonies/kg body weight after thawing had favorable influences on the neutrophil engraftment. We have therefore established a simple freezing method for cryopreservation of human PBPCs, which ensures the transplantability of hematopoietic progenitors even after thawing. In vitro HPC assay after thawing is important to evaluate the quality of cryopreservation procedures.