Reverse transcription recombinase-aided amplification assay for rapid detection of the influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 H275Y mutation that confers oseltamivir resistance.

The emergence of the influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus with the NA-H275Y mutation, which confers oseltamivir resistance, must be monitored, especially in patients undergoing neuraminidase inhibitor treatment. In this study, we developed a reverse transcription recombinase-aided amplification assay that has high sensitivity (detection limit: 1.0 × 101 copies/µL) and specificity for detecting the oseltamivir-resistant H275Y mutation; the assay is performed within 30 min at a constant temperature of 39° Celsius using an isothermal device. This method is suitable for the clinical application of targeted testing, thereby providing technical support for precision medicine in individual drug applications for patients with severe infection or immunosuppression.

Clinical analysis of hyperkalemia after esophagectomy: A case report.

RATIONALE: The occurrence of hyperkalemia after esophagectomy is clinically rare. Patients who underwent esophagectomy often have a serum potassium level due to perioperative reduced intake, fluids loss, consumption and other reasons. These patients often require the artificial administration of potassium. Rapid fluid loss and physiological consumption lead to the deficiency of potassium, even hypokalemia. Patients often require the addition of a large amount of potassium after operation. The occurrence of hyperkalemia after esophagectomy is never been reported. PATIENT CONCERNS: The patient presented with continuous tachycardia, palpitations, chest tightness, progressive nausea, irritability, progressive myasthenia gravis. DIAGNOSES: Hyperkalemia, sepsis, acidosis, diabetes, postoperative esophageal cancer. INTERVENTIONS: Prompt anti-infection treatment and the management of blood sugar, hemodialysis was performed to correct sthe acidosis and electrolyte disorder OUTCOMES:: All symptoms were alleviated. LESSONS: Therefore, there is a need to regularly test electrolytes, especially in patients with diabetes, as well as better blood glucose control. Attention should be paid to the potential of infection, and to avoiding ketoacidosis and risk of sepsis.

Adverse events of monoclonal antibodies used for cancer therapy.

In 1997, the first monoclonal antibody (MoAb), the chimeric anti-CD20 molecule rituximab, was approved by the US Food and Drug administration for use in cancer patients. Since then, the panel of MoAbs that are approved by international regulatory agencies for the treatment of hematopoietic and solid malignancies has continued to expand, currently encompassing a stunning amount of 20 distinct molecules for 11 targets. We provide a brief scientific background on the use of MoAbs in cancer therapy, review all types of monoclonal antibodies-related adverse events (e.g., allergy, immune-related adverse events, cardiovascular adverse events, and pulmonary adverse events), and discuss the mechanism and treatment of adverse events.

Folfox4 regimen administered through combined hepatic arterial and systemic infusion for treatment of colorectal cancer with unresectable liver metastases.

BACKGROUND: Hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy for liver metastases is under evaluation because of the high target dose and low general toxicity. To investigate the efficacy and safety of a Folfox4 regimen administered through a combined hepatic arterial and systemic infusion for the first-line treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC) with unresectable liver metastases. METHODS: Twenty-seven CRC patients with unresectable hepatic metastases and no prior chemotherapy were enrolled into the study. They received a Folfox4 regimen; 1st day: HAI of oxaliplatin 85 mg/m(2) and L-folinic acid 200 mg/m(2), followed by a bolus hepatic arterial injection of 5-fluorouracil 400 mg/m(2), then continuous HAI of 5-FU 600 mg/m(2); 2nd day: infusion of L-folinic acid 200 mg/m(2) i.v. followed by an intravenous bolus injection of 5-Fluorouracil 400 mg/m(2), then continuous infusion of 5-fluorouracil 600 mg/m(2) i.v. The patients received HAI during the odd cycles, and the intravenous administration of the same Folfox4 regimen during the even cycles. RESULTS: A total of 236 treatment cycles were given with a median of 10 cycles. The therapy generated the following results after six treatment cycles: complete response (CR) 1/27 (3.7%), partial response (PR) 17/27 (63.0%), stable disease (SD) 6/27 (22.2%), and progress disease (PD) 3/27 (11.1%). Five patients had hepatectomy. The serum levels of both carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and CA19-9 were significantly reduced (P < 0.05). A median time to progression of 11 months and a median overall survival of 24 months were documented. The major adverse events included grade 1/2 nausea/vomiting, upper abdominal pain, peripheral neuropathy, and neutropenia/thrombocytopenia. CONCLUSIONS: The Folfox4 regimen administered through combined hepatic arterial and systemic infusions is efficacious and safe for the treatment of CRC with unresectable liver metastases, and it facilitates the control of local lesions.

[Comparative study on two types of 3S and P-loops digestive reconstruction after total gastrectomy for gastric cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical effect of 3S-type and P-loops digestive reconstruction after total gastrectomy for gastric cancer. METHODS: From February 2005 to February 2009, 85 cases underwent total gastrectomy in The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Science and Technology. Two types of digestive reconstruction were performed with 3S-type jejunum(n=46) and P-loops Roux-en-Y esophagojejunostomy(n=39). The postoperative complications, nutrition index and the quality of life at half a year after surgery were comparatively analyzed. RESULTS: Two types of digestive reconstruction had no statistical differences in operative time, postoperative complications and mortality(P>0.05). Compared with P-loops Roux-en-Y esophagojejunostomy at 6 months after operation, 3S-type jejunum had a lower incidence in dumping syndrome[4.3% (2/46) vs. 10.3% (4/39), P<0.05] and reflux esophagitis [10.8% (5/46) vs. 33.3% (13/39), P<0.05]. 3S-type jejunum was superior to P-loops Roux-en-Y esophagojejunostomy in serum total protein(55.7±3.1 g/L vs 50.3±5.1 g/L, P<0.05), albumin(36.5±3.6 g/L vs. 31.6±4.4 g/L, P<0.05), hemoglobin(120.2±13.4 g/L vs. 110.4±23.0 g/L, P<0.05), and nutritional assessment index(73.2±4.8 vs. 56.0±6.3, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Reconstruction of stomach with 3S-type jejunum may be an effective way to prevent reflux esophagitis and dumping syndrome, and to improve the nutritional status and the quality of life.

Endostar combined with chemotherapy for treatment of metastatic colorectal and gastric cancer: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Antiangiogenesis is a promising field of cancer therapy. Endostar, a novel recombinant human endostatin, is one of the few approved drugs acting as angiogenesis inhibitors of cancer in China. However, there are few clinical studies about Endostar in gastrointestinal cancer. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combination of Endostar and chemotherapy in patients with metastatic colorectal and gastric cancers. METHODS: From March 2007 to October 2009, 23 patients were enrolled. Patients received Endostar intravenously at a dose of 15 mg daily from day 1 to 14 and day 1 to 7 when combined with 3- and 2-week chemotherapy regimens, respectively, which were determined according to patients' previous chemotherapy history. Treatment was repeated until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity or patients' refusal. RESULTS: Seven, six and ten patients received Endostar as first-, second- and third-line therapy, respectively. A total of 75 cycles were administered. Twenty-one patients were assessable for responses. The overall response rate and disease control rate were 19.0% and 47.6%, respectively. All the four partial responses were among patients receiving Endostar as first-line therapy, whose response rate was 57.1%. The median time to progression and overall survival were 2.6 months (95%CI, 2.0 - 3.2 months) and 10.3 months (95%CI, 3.9 - 16.7 months), respectively. Toxicity was tolerable, with grade 3-4 toxicities observed for leucopenia (30.4%), neutropenia (34.8%), thrombocytopenia (17.4%) and anemia (13.0%). Three patients (13.0%) encountered transient sinus bradycardia with spontaneous remission. CONCLUSION: Endostar combined with chemotherapy is well-tolerated in patients with metastatic colorectal and gastric cancers, and it is relatively effective as a first-line therapy.

[Clinical pathological characteristics and treatment patterns of breast cancer in elderly women].

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the clinical pathological characteristics and treatment patterns of breast cancer in elderly women. METHODS: A total of 87 patients (≥ 60 years) admitted to our hospital between January and December 2007 were included in this retrospective study. The patients were divided into 60-69-year group and ≥ 70-year group, and their clinical pathological data and treatment modes were summarized and compared. RESULTS: The tumor size (T2-T3), number of involved axillary lymph nodes,and positive rates of estrogen/progesterone receptors,over-expression of epidermal growth factor receptor 2, and ≥ 2 complication were not significantly different between two groups (P > 0.05). The ≥ 70-year group tended to have similar p53 gene mutation and Ki-67 labeling index with the 60-69-year group, although the P values were close to 0.05 (P = 0.09, P = 0.08,respectively). In the ≥ 70-year group, 33.3% of patients underwent extended resection,while in the 60-69-year group, all patients received modified radical treatment (P < 0.005). The percentages of adjuvant chemotherapy were 25% and 56.9% in the ≥ 70-year group and the 60-69-year group (0.005). The percentages of adjuvant endocrine therapy applied after surgery were similar in 2 groups (77.8% and 68.6% separately, P=0.347). Binary logistic regression showed that age,number of involved axillary lymph nodes,and estrogen receptor-positive rate were independently associated with adjuvant chemotherapy,while the pathological tumor size and complication were irrelevant. The 2-year disease-free survival rates of 2 groups were not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical pathological characteristics of breast cancer were similar in elderly patients who are 60-69 years old or ≥ 70 years. In the treatment pattern,patients who are ≥ 70 years tend to receive endocrine therapy rather than adjuvant chemotherapy.

[Comparison of the therapeutic effects of paclitaxel liposome-5-Fu versus paclitaxel-5-Fu on 67 patients with advanced gastric cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the efficacy, time to disease progression (TTP), overall survival (OS) and toxicity of paclitaxel liposome versus paclitaxel combined with 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) for patients with advanced gastric cancer. METHODS: The therapeutic efficacy of chemotherapy with either of the two regimens for 67 cases of naïve advanced gastric cancer was analyzed. Among them, 31 patients in the paclitaxel liposome-5-Fu group received paclitaxel liposome 175 mg/m(2) d1, CF 200 mg/m(2) d1, 5-Fu 2.6 g/m(2) civ. 46 hours, 21 days as one cycle, and 34 patients in the paclitaxel-5-Fu group received paclitaxel 175 mg/m(2) d1, CF 200 mg/m(2) d1, 5-Fu 2.6 g/m(2) civ. 46 hours, 21 days as one cycle. RESULTS: The objective response rate was 54.8% in the paclitaxel liposome group and 44.1% in the paclitaxel group (P = 0.388). The median time to progression was 5.10 months vs. 5.20 months (P = 0.266) and the median survival time was 10.07 months vs. 8.97 months (P = 0.186). The most frequent side-effects were nausea, vomit and hematological toxicities. The rates of grade III-IV nausea and vomit were 16.1% and 50.0% (P = 0.038), muscle and joint pain were 9.7% and 29.4% (P = 0.047). CONCLUSION: Both regimens are effective in the treatment of advanced gastric cancer. However, less adverse effects occur in the paclitaxel liposome group.

[Long-term effects of androgen combined with low dose all-trans-retinoic acid on myelodysplastic syndrome: follow-up of 60 cases].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the long-term effects of androgen combined with low dose all-trans-retinoic acid on myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). METHODS: Sixty-two MDS patients, 48 with RA, 2 of RAS, 9 with RA with excess of blasts (RAEB), 2 with RAEB-transformation (RAEB-t ), and 1 with chronic myelogenous-monocytic leukemia (CMML) according to the FAB subtype standard, received stanazolol (6 mg/d) or danazol (600 mg/d) and low dose all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA 10 mg/d). Three months later the treatment was discontinued on 22 patients that showed ineffective and 2 more patients withdrew from the treatment due to exacerbation. The remaining 36 patients were treated according to the original protocol, and the doses of these 2 drugs were reduced by half until the condition was exacerbated. Follow-up was conducted for 47 (34-78) months. RESULTS: After 6 months of treatment, complete remission (CR) was seen in 1 patient, partial remission (PR) in 6 patients, and hematologic Improvement (HI) in 19 of the 60 patients evaluated with a response rate of 43.3% (26/60) in all patients, 50% (24/48) in RA/RAS group, and 16.7% (2/12) in RAEB/RAEB-t/CMML group. There were not significant differences in cellularity, dysplastic hematopoiesis, and myeloblast before and after treatment among the RA/RAS patients. After 12 months of treatment, CR was seen in 1 patient, PR in 7, and HI in 9, with a response rate of 28.3% (17/60) in all patients, 35.4% (17/48) in the RA/RAS group, and 0% (0/12) in the RAEB/RAEB-t/CMML group. Adverse effects were mild and did not require discontinuance of the therapy. The survival time of the 19 patients in the RA group that responded well to treatment was 54 months (41, 66), significantly longer than that of the 20 patients without good outcomes [23 months (13,32), chi2=4.72, P=0.025]. CONCLUSION: Effective, economic, and safe, stanozolol or danazol with low-dose all-trans-retinoic acid improves the life quality and prolongs the survival time of the MDS patients who respond well.

[Efficacy and safety of combination of irinotecan and capecitabine in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer after failure of chemotherapy with oxaliplatin].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of irinotecan combined with xeloda (CAPIRI regimen) in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer after failure of chemotherapy with oxaliplatin. METHODS: Totally 38 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer after failure of chemotherapy with oxaliplatin were enrolled. Patients received xeloda 1 000 mg/m2 orally twice daily on day 1 to 14 and intravenous irinotecan 100 mg/m2 on day 1 and 8 every 3 weeks. RESULTS: The median age of 38 patients was 58.5 (27-77) years. CAPIRI regimen was used 11.0 (3.0-24.0) months after the diagnosis of metastatic colorectal cancer (CAPIRI regimen as second-line chemotherapy in 33 patients, third-line in 4 patients, and fourth-line in 1 patient). A total of 121 cycles of chemotherapy (median 3.0) were administered. Thirty-four patients were evaluable for response. The overall response rate and disease control rate were 5.9% and 61.8%, respectively. The median time to progression and overall survival were 4.5 months (95% CI, 3.4-5.6 months) and 11.0 months (95% CI, 10.2-11.8 months), respectively. All 38 patients were evaluable for safety. The most common adverse events were leukopenia (73.7%), neutropenia (65.8%), nausea and vomiting (60.5%), and diarrhea (28.9%). The occurrence rates of these grade 3-4 events were 10.5%, 13.2%, 10.5%, and 7.9%, respectively. All adverse events were tolerable. CONCLUSION: CAPIRI regimen is effective and well-tolerated in Chinese patients with metastatic colorectal cancer after failure of chemotherapy with oxaliplatin.

Cloning and characterization of a novel intracellular protein p48.2 that negatively regulates cell cycle progression.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) microdeletion is a large genomic deletion that embraces at least 11 continuous genes at human chromosome 17q11.2. To date, most of these genes' functions still remain undefined. In this study, we report an unknown cytokine receptor like molecule (p48.2) that is frequently deleted in patients with type-1 and type-2 NF1 microdeletions in the neurofibromin locus. The cloned gene has 1317 base pair long that encodes a 438aa intracellular protein. The gene was subsequently named p48.2 based on its predicted molecular weight. A typical fibronectin type III (FNIII) domain was identified in p48.2 between Arg(176) and Pro(261) in which a palindromic Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) repeat plus a putative Trp-Ser-X-Trp-Ser (WSXWS) motif were found at the domain's C-terminus. p48.2 mRNAs were abundant in many tumor cell lines and normal human tissues and up-regulated in some freshly isolated lung cancer and leukemia cells. Interestingly, over-expression of p48.2 in human embryo kidney 293T cells could significantly cause G0/G1 arrest and prevented S phase entry. In contrast, repressing endogenous p48.2 gene expression by specific siRNA markedly reduced G0/G1 population. Importantly, over-expression of p48.2 could significantly up-regulate rather than down-regulate cyclin D1 and cyclin D3 expressions. We further showed that the induction of cyclin D1 expression was directly due to the activation of signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3), but was independent of RAS/mitogen-activated protein kinase (RAS/MAPK) signaling pathway. Thus, p48.2 may represent a novel type of intracellular protein functioning as a negative regulator at the G0/G1 phase.

Prognostic analysis of refractory anaemia in adult myelodysplastic syndromes.

BACKGROUND: Patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) display a very diverse pattern. In this study, we investigated prognostic factors and survival rate in adult patients with MDS refractory anaemia (MDS-RA) diagnosed according to French-American-British classification and evaluated the International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) for Chinese patients. METHODS: A multi-center study on diagnosis of MDS-RA was conducted to characterize the clinical features of Chinese MDS patients. The morphological criteria for the diagnosis of MDS-RA were first standardized. Clinical data of 307 MDS-RA patients collected from Shanghai, Suzhou and Beijing from 1995 to 2006 were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier curve, log rank and Cox regression model. RESULTS: The median age of 307 MDS-RA cases was 52 years. The frequency of 2 or 3 lineage cytopenias was 85.6%. Abnormal karyotype occurred in 35.7% of 235 patients. There were 165 cases (70.2%) in the good IPSS cytogenetic subgroup, 44 cases (18.7%) intermediate and 26 cases (11.1%) poor. IPSS showed 20 (8.5%) categorized as low risk, 195 cases (83.0%) as intermediate-I risk and 20 cases (8.5%) as intermediate-II risk. The 1-, 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-year survival rates were 90.8%, 85.7%, 82.9%, 74.9% and 71.2% respectively. Fifteen cases (4.9%) transformed to acute myeloid leukaemia (median time 15.9 months, range 3 - 102 months). Lower white blood cell count (< 1.5 x 10(9)/L), platelet count (< 30 x 10(9)/L) and cytogenetic abnormalities were independent prognostic factors by multivariate analysis, but age (= 65 years), IPSS cytogenetic subgroup and IPSS risk subgroup were not independent prognostic factors associated with survival time. CONCLUSIONS: Chinese patients were younger, and had lower incidence of cytogenetic abnormalities, more severe cytopenias but a more favourable prognosis than Western patients. The major prognostic factors were lower white blood cell count, lower platelet count and fewer abnormal karyotypes. The international prognostic scoring system risk group was not an independent prognostic factor for Chinese myelodysplastic syndrome patients with refractory anaemia patients.

[Post-operative adjuvant treatment with oxaliplatin, fluorouracil, and leucovorin for local advanced gastric cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the toxicity and efficacy of combination regimen with oxaliplatin plus fluorouracil and leucovorin(FOLFOX) as post-operative adjuvant chemotherapy in local advanced gastric cancer. METHODS: Twenty-five gastric cancer patients, 2 at the stage II, 17 at the stage III, and 6 at the stage IV received the FOLFOX regimen after surgery: intravenous infusion of oxaliplatin 85 mg/m2 for 2 h on day 1, intravenous infusion of leucovorin 200 mg/m2 for 2 h on days 1-2, and intravenous bolus injection of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) 400 mg/m2 on days 1-2, and continuous infusion of 5-FU 600 mg/m2 for 22 h on days 1-2; and this regimen was repeated every 2 weeks. The effect and adverse reactions were recorded. RESULTS: The median disease free survival time and overall survival time were 26.0 months and 38.0 months respectively. The frequent grade 3/4 toxicity of the FOLFOX regimen included: neutropenia (12.4%), thrombocytopenia (8.2%), and nausea (7.5%). CONCLUSION: The post-operative adjuvant chemotherapy of FOLFOX regimen has expectable efficacy in treatment of gastric cancer with light and well tolerable toxicity.

[Clinical analysis of primary mediastinal germ cell tumors].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical and pathological features, optimal treatment and prognostic factor in primary mediastinal germ cell tumors (PMGCT). METHODS: The clinical presentation, pathological features and therapeutic results of 29 patients with PMGCT were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: All the 29 patients were male with a mean age of 26.1 +/- 9.6 years at diagnosis. All tumors were originated from the anterior mediastinum with a mean diameter of 16.0 +/- 5.2 cm. There were 5 (17.2%) primary mediastinal seminomas (PMSGCT) and 24 (82.8%) primary mediastinal nonseminomas (PMNSGCT) in this series. Dyspnea, cough and chest pain were the most common symptoms. Multimodality treatment consisting of cisplatin-based chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy was the principal therapy for PMGCT patients. The median survival of the 24 PMNSGCT patients was 19.0 months with 1-, 2-year survival rate of 65.3% and 28.1%, respectively; whereas the median survival of the 5 PMSGCT patients has not reached but longer with significant differences (P = 0.008). Cox multivariate analysis indicated that limited mediastinal disease at diagnosis (P = 0.004) and the use of cisplatin-based combined chemotherapy (P = 0.005) were independent good prognostic factors of PMNSGCT. CONCLUSION: Primary mediastinal nonseminoma constitutes the most of primary mediastinal germ cell tumors. Cisplatin-based combined chemotherapy may be the most effective for the treatment of primary mediastinal germ cell tumors. The prognosis of primary mediastinal nonseminomas is significantly worse than that of primary mediastinal seminomas, and correlated with the extent of disease and chemotherapy.

[Erythroleukemia - a subtype of myelodysplastic syndrome?].

In order to study whether erythroleukemia was really a subtype of acute leukemia, the clinical laboratory characteristics and development of disease in 21 cases of erythroleukemia were analyzed. The results indicated that the percentage of patients with leucocytopenia, anemia and thrombocytopenia were 42.9%, 81% and 81% respectively at the time of diagnosis. These were 85.7% of patients with myelocytes and premonocyte, 52.4% of patients with erythroblast in their blood smear respectively. All of the bone marrow showed active or significantly active proliferation. The median percentage of erythro-lineage, myeloblast of NEC and displasia were (58.3 +/- 8.0)%, (58.0 +/- 18.4)% and 66.7% respectively, that is different from typical AML. 52.4% of M(6) patients transferred to RAEB/RAEB-T and AML-M(2) subtype in the disease progression. 11/19 cases (57.4%) achieved remission (CR 10; PR 1) after chemotherapy. The median remission length were 6 months for CR patients and 2 months for PR patients, but most of CR patients displayed obvious displasia of bone marrow and cytopenia of blood in the period of CR. The median survival length of M(6) and MDS-->M(6) from time of diagnosis were 13.0 +/- 13.2 and 2.3 +/- 1.3 months respectively. It is concluded that there are differences between M(6) and typical AML. Most of M(6) patients would rather be classified MDS RAEB and RAEB-t with over-hyperplasia of erythron lineage than a subtype of AML.

[Clinical analysis of 32 primary intestinal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical and pathological features, optimal treatment and prognostic factors in primary intestinal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. METHODS: The clinical presentations, pathological features and therapeutic results of 32 primary intestinal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were retrospectively analyzed. Statistical analyses were performed with SSPS 10.0 software. RESULTS: The most frequently site of the lesions in the 32 patients was the large intestine (n = 16, 50.0%), followed by small intestine (n = 8, 25.0%), ileocaecal region (n = 6, 18.8%) and multiple intestinal sites (n = 2, 6.2%). Clinical presentations were as follows: abdominal pain and/or distention (n = 26, 81.2%); abdominal mass (n = 14, 43.8%); diarrhea (n = 12, 37.5%); melena (n = 10, 31.3%); weight loss (n = 10, 31.3%) and fever (n = 8, 25.0%). Twenty-one patients (65.6%) were diagnosed as B-cell lymphoma, 15 (46.9%) were diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Ten patients (31.2%) were diagnosed as T-cell lymphoma and one (3.1%) as histiocytic lymphoma. Twenty-nine patients were treated initially by surgery with or without chemotherapy, 19 of them (59.4%) achieved complete response. Based on Cox multivariate analysis, stage III - IV, B symptoms and T cell phenotype of the disease were the independent adverse prognostic factors (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The clinical presentation of primary intestinal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are not specific clinically. Most of the histological types are diffuse large B-cell type lymphoma. Complete resection combined with chemotherapy may be the best effective approach for treatment of this disease. The prognosis of this disease are correlated with the stage, B symptoms and T cell phenotype.

[Curative effects of cyclosporin A therapy upon myelodysplastic syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of cyclosporin A (CsA) in treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). METHODS: Thirty-three patients with MDS, including refractory anemia (RA, n = 24), refractory anemia with ringed sideroblasts (RAS, n = 2), and refractory anemia with excess blasts (RAEB, n = 7), 23 males and 10 females, aged 46 (6 approximately 71), hospitalized in 4 CsA, grade 3 hospitals in Beijing who failed to respond to folic acid and vitamin B12, received CsA 3 approximately 5 mg x kg(-1)x d(-1), 2 times per days, taken orally in 2 separate doses for at least 3 months (2 approximately 27 months). During the course of treatment the dosage was adjusted according to the CsA blood concentration and curative effect. Follow-up was conducted for 14 months on average. The curative effect of those who took CSA for more than 2 months underwent statistical analysis, and for those who took CSA for less than 2 months only the side effects underwent statistical analysis. RESULTS: After 3 months of the treatment, the hematological improvement (HI) was observed in 18 of the 32 evaluative patients (56.3%) by the criteria of the International Working Group (IWG). At the end of the follow-up 4 patients showed alteration of disease progression, including 1 case of complete remission (CR) and 3 cases of partial remission (PR), and 16 patients showed homological improvement, responders numbering 20 totally, with a response rate of 62.5% (20/32). One of the 20 patients respondent to CsA died and 7 of the 12 patients who failed to respond to CsA died. CONCLUSION: Improving the clinical manifestations and lengthening the survival time, CsA therapy is effective in the patients with RA or RAEB, and both hypoplastic bone marrow and hyperplastic bone marrows respond to the therapy. CsA therapy is potentially the most effective therapy for MDS.

[Low dose all-trans retinoic acid and androgen therapy for patients with myelodysplastic syndrome].

To explore therapeutic efficacy of androgens and low dose all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) for myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients, 55 patients of MDS were observed, including 41 cases of refractory anemia (RA), 11 cases of refractory anemia with excess of blasts (RAEB), 2 cases of refractory anemia with excess of blasts in transformation (RAEB-t) and 1 case of chronic myeloic-monocytic leukemia (CMML). These patients received danazol (600 mg/day) or stanazol (6 mg/day) and ATRA (10 mg/day) for at least 3 months. The results showed that according to MDS international working group response criteria, at the end of three months,complete remission (CR) was seen in 1 patient, partial remission (PR) was found in 2 patients. Hematologic improvement: major response (MaR) were seen in 15 patients, minor response (MiR) were seen in 4 patients. The total response rate was 35.8%. In conclusion, danazol or stanazol in combination with low dose ATRA are partialy effective in therapy for patients with low-risk myelodysplastic syndrome.

[Significance of in situ identification of apoptosis and proliferation rates in diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndromes].

In order to investigate the significance of apoptosis and proliferation rates in differential diagnosis, evaluating curative effect and leukemia transformation in myelodysplastic syndromes, apoptosis index (AI) and proliferating index (PI) were assayed in marrow smears from 60 cases of MDS, 30 AML, 21 chronic aplastic anemia (CAA), 16 hemolytic anemia, 15 megaloblastic anemia and 30 normal controls. The apoptotic cells were assayed with TUNEL technique and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) by immunohistochemical method in situ. The results showed that average AI in marrow smears from 39 cases with MDS prior therapy was (11.2 +/- 8.8)% and PI was (17.3 +/- 8.7)%, significant differences were observed in MDS group and normal control group, as well as in AML, CAA, megaloblastic anemia and hemolytic anemia groups. Hypoplastic MDS can be distinguished from CAA by AI and PI. Clinical therapy induced significant alteration of AI and PI in MDS, AML and CAA. After therapy of MDS, the AI dropped from (11.2 +/- 8.8)% to (6.6 +/- 0.7)%. It was concluded that examination of AI and PI of marrow cells in situ may provide valuable prognostic information, also can contribute to evaluate therapeutic effectiveness.