High levels of B cell activating factor during the peritransplantation period are associated with a reduced incidence of acute graft-versus-host disease following myeloablative allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

B cell activating factor (BAFF), also known as B cell survival and activation factor, is associated with autoimmune disease and chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). T cells are known to be modulated by soluble BAFF (sBAFF). Considering the possible association of sBAFF with T cell as well as B cell function, sBAFF during the peritransplantation period may affect the development of acute GVHD (aGVHD). To test this hypothesis, we evaluated 45 patients who had undergone myeloablative (MA) allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) for hematologic malignancy. Serum sBAFF levels were measured before conditioning and on day 0, day +7, and day +14. Thirty-three of the 45 patients (cumulative incidence, 73%) developed aGVHD between 16 days and 98 days posttransplantation. Repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed significantly lower sBAFF levels during the peritransplantation period in patients with aGVHD than in those without aGVHD (P=.001). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that sBAFF levels at every time point were available for the prediction of aGVHD development, and that patients with a sBAFF level >43 pg/mL at each time point (which could ensure 75% sensitivity and 73%-82% specificity for the prediction of aGVHD at every time point) had a significantly lower cumulative incidence of aGVHD. This study is the first to demonstrate that sBAFF level during the peritransplantation period not only may be predictive of aGVHD, but also may have a protective effect against aGVHD in humans. Further investigation is needed to confirm our findings.

Cytomegalovirus ventriculoencephalitis after unrelated double cord blood stem cell transplantation with an alemtuzumab-containing preparative regimen for Philadelphia-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Despite the prophylaxis and preemptive strategies using potent antiviral agents, cytomegalovirus (CMV) remains a major infectious cause of morbidity and mortality in allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) recipients. Delayed immune reconstitution after SCT, such as cord blood and T-cell depleted SCT with the use of alemtuzumab, has been associated with an increased frequency of CMV disease as well as CMV reactivation. CMV disease involving central nervous system is an unusual presentation in the setting of SCT. We report a case of CMV ventriculoencephalitis after unrelated double cord blood SCT with an alemtuzumab-containing preparative regimen for Philadelphia-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Successful prevention of acute graft-versus-host disease using low-dose antithymocyte globulin after mismatched, unrelated, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for acute myelogenous leukemia.

In this study, we investigated the effects of low-dose antithymocyte globulin (ATG, thymoglobulin) in the prevention of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) in mismatched, unrelated hematopoietic stem cell transplantations (uHSCTs) in patients with the single disease entity of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Patients (n = 103) with a variable risk for AML who received uHSCTs from available Asian and Caucasian donors were enrolled. First, we compared HLA-matched (group 1, n = 54) and HLA-mismatched (group 2, n = 49) transplantation patients. Then, we divided the patients in group 2, who had received transplants from allele(s)/antigen-mismatched donors, into 2 subgroups: patients who used ATG (group 3, n = 24) and those who did not (group 4, n = 25). To prevent the development of aGVHD, the patients in group 3 received ATG at a dose of 1.25 mg/kg body weight per day for 2 consecutive days, together with our standard regimen of methotrexate (MTX) and tacrolimus. The median CD34(+) cell infusion was 4.2 x 10(6)/kg (range: 1.2-34.4). The median patient age was 41 years (range: 16-57), and the median follow-up duration of patients who were event-free survivors was 23 months (range: 2-72). The overall incidences of aGVHD and chronic GVHD (cGVHD) were 38% and 56%, respectively. Of 48 evaluable patients in group 2, 10 (21%) developed moderate to severe aGVHD (grades II-IV). In contrast, 2 (8%) of the 24 patients in group 3 and 7 (29%) of the 24 evaluated patients in group 4 required therapy for aGVHD (grades II-IV; P = .038). The incidence of cGVHD was not different between groups 3 and 4. The estimated probabilities of overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) at 2 years for group 2 were 55% and 44%, respectively. In comparison, the estimated probabilities of OS and EFS at 2 years for groups 3 and 4 were 68% versus 38% (P = .043) and 58% versus 38% (P = .103), respectively. The overall cumulative incidence of nonrelapse mortality (NRM) was 29% in group 2. The cumulative incidence of NRM differed markedly between group 3 (16%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4%-28%) and group 4 (44%, 95% CI, 34%-54%) (P = .013). We found no difference in cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation between groups 3 and 4. These results suggest that in mismatched uHSCT, a low dose of ATG (total 2.5 mg/kg) may prevent moderate to severe aGVHD, with comparable rates of relapse and CMV reactivation and a greatly decreased rate of NRM.

Retrospective comparison of bortezomib-containing regimens with vincristine-doxorubicin-dexamethasone (VAD) as induction treatment prior to autologous stem cell transplantation for multiple myeloma.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with multiple myeloma (MM) achieving high-quality responses, defined as a complete response (CR) and a very good partial response (VGPR) after transplant, benefit from high-dose therapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). Induction pre-transplantation treatment with vincristine, doxorubicin and dexamethasone (VAD) is currently being replaced by new targeted agents with high anti-myeloma activity. The use of these novel agents may increase the CR + VGPR rate before ASCT, which may improve post-transplantation responses and survival. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of 69 patients with MM who received bortezomib-containing regimens (n = 30) or VAD (n = 39) before collection of peripheral blood stem cells and ASCT. RESULTS: Objective response rate (at least a partial response) prior to ASCT was documented in 27 (90%) of 30 and 31 (81.6%) of evaluable 38 patients with bortezomib-containing regimens and VAD, respectively. The difference between the two groups was not significant (P = 0.494). However, the high-quality response rate with VGPR or more in the bortezomib group was significantly higher compared with the VAD group (66.7% vs. 34.2%, respectively, P = 0.006). The superiority of bortezomib-containing regimens in the high-quality response rate remained significant for only the newly diagnosed patients (n = 16, P = 0.008). The engraftment data as well as stem cell harvesting were comparable between the two groups. The major bortezomib-related toxicities were thrombocytopenias and peripheral neuropathies; toxicities of VAD were hematologic and infectious. After ASCT, the difference between the two groups did not reach the level of statistical significance with respect to progression-free survival and overall survival (P = 0.498 and 0.835, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this retrospective comparison of bortezomib-containing regimens with the VAD as induction treatment prior to ASCT for MM provided a demonstration of the superiority of bortezomib therapy in terms of achieving a high-quality response. However, survivals following ASCT did not differ according to the induction regimens.

Comparison of quantitative cytomegalovirus real-time PCR in whole blood and pp65 antigenemia assay: clinical utility of CMV real-time PCR in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients.

Successful preemptive therapy for cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in transplant patients depends on the availability of sensitive, specific, and timely diagnostic tests for CMV infection. Although the pp65 antigenemia assay has been widely used for this purpose, real-time quantification of CMV DNA has recently been recognized as an alternative diagnostic approach. However, the guidelines for antiviral therapy based on real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RQ-PCR) have yet to be established. From November 2004 to March 2005, a total of 555 whole blood samples from 131 hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients were prospectively collected. RQ-PCR was conducted using an Artus CMV LC PCR kit (QIAGEN). Both qualitative and quantitative correlations were drawn between the two methods. Exposure to the antiviral agent influenced the results of the two assays. Additionally, the discrepancy was observed at low levels of antigenemia and CMV DNA load. Via ROC curve analysis, the tentative cutoff value for preemptive therapy was determined to be approximately 2x10(4) copies/mL (sensitivity, 80.0%; specificity, 50.0%) in the high risk patients, and approximately 3x10(4) copies/mL (sensitivity, 90.0%; specificity, 70.0%) in the patients at low risk for CMV disease. Further study to validate the optimal cutoff value for the initiation of preemptive therapy is currently underway.

The activating killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors as important determinants of acute graft-versus host disease in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for acute myelogenous leukemia.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the influence of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) genes, based on the genotypes of inhibitory or activating KIR, in stem cell recipients with acute myelogenous leukemia and their human leukocyte antigen-matched sibling donors on acute graft-versus host disease (GVHD) after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. METHODS: We studied 53 consecutive donor-recipient pairs to determine the impact of KIR genotypes and their bidirectional KIR interactions. RESULTS: All activating KIR genes in donors were important factors for determining outcome in a manner distinctive for each gene studied. Specifically, the 2DS2 gene and the 2DS4*003 allele were closely correlated with acute GVHD. The 2DS1 gene was associated with a better long-term survival, even if present only in the donor and not the recipient. The 2DS3-2DS5 dual genes were more often involved in a variety of transplant-related complications. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, these factors may help predict transplant outcomes and aid in our understanding of immunogenetic specificity.

The beneficial effect of chronic graft-versus-host disease on the clinical outcome of transplantation with fludarabine/busulfan-based reduced-intensity conditioning for patients with de novo myelodysplastic syndrome.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation following reduced-intensity stem cell transplantation (RIST) has enabled the treatment of older or medically infirm patients with myeloid malignancies; however, determining the value of RIST outcomes for myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is difficult because of the heterogeneity of the diseases included in most trials. To define the role of RIST in MDS, we performed RIST for 22 consecutive patients who had de novo MDS as classified by World Health Organization (WHO) criteria and who received an allograft with fludarabine/busulfan (Busulfex) or fludarabine/Busulfex/antithymocyte globulin (ATG) conditioning. Nineteen patients (86.4%) achieved engraftment. At a median follow-up of 18.9 months (range, 13.1-24.8 months), the estimated 2-year rates of overall survival, event-free survival (EFS), transplantation-related mortality, and relapse were 78.7%, 67.7%, 12.6%, and 22.5%, respectively. Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) greater than grade II developed in 3 patients (15.8%). Chronic GVHD developed in 10 patients (55.6%), none of whom received ATG as a conditioning regimen. Variables influencing EFS were chronic GVHD, marrow blasts before transplantation, and the WHO criteria. The present study clarifies the benefits of the fludarabine/Busulfex-based conditioning regimen for de novo MDS diagnosed according to the WHO criteria and shows that chronic GVHD appears to have a beneficial effect on survival rates, which are strongly associated with graft-versus-tumor effects.

Pseudomembranous colitis following bortezomib therapy in a myeloma patient.

The proteasome inhibitor, bortezomib, has antimyeloma activity even in myeloma cells refractory to multiple prior treatments. The most commonly reported adverse events in patients receiving bortezomib are sensory neuropathy, thrombocytopenia and gastrointestinal events. We report a patient with myeloma who developed pseudomembranous colitis after bortezomib treatment. Bortezomib has the boronic acid moiety which improves the specificity of proteasome inhibition and can be used as non-beta-lactam-based beta-lactamase inhibitors. This case indicates that gastrointestinal toxicities by bortezomib may be caused, in part, as a result of change in the colonization of colonic microflora.

Bortezomib in combination with conventional chemotherapeutic agents for multiple myeloma compared with bortezomib alone.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have demonstrated synergy between bortezomib and a number of conventional cytotoxic agents. This study examined whether or not the speed of the response, progression and safety from a combination treatment of bortezomib with common chemotherapeutic drugs is superior to bortezomib monotherapy. METHODS: Fifty-seven patients with relapsed, refractory multiple myeloma (MM) who had received at least two cycles of treatment including bortezomib were enrolled in this study. The median age was 56 (35-79) years and 49.1% were male. Thirty-two patients were treated with bortezomib alone and 25 were treated with chemotherapeutic agents that were given in combination with bortezomib. The monoclonal immunoglobulin (mIg) or free light chain (FLC) concentrations were determined in the sera before and after two cycles of bortezomib treatment. The adverse events were assessed and graded according to the NCI Common Toxicity Criteria (version 2.0). RESULTS: Thirty-one of the 57 patients (54.4%) attained an early objective response (EOR) after the second bortezomib treatment, defined as a >/=50% decrease in the serum mIg or FLC concentration. Improvements in the response were observed when common chemotherapeutic agents were added to bortezomib monotherapy. In patients who received bortezomib combined with chemotherapeutic agents, 19 out of 25 patients (76%) showed an EOR, whereas 12 out of 32 patients (37.5%) given bortezomib monotherapy achieved an EOR after the second cycle of bortezomib treatment (P = 0.004); the median decrease from the baseline in the paraprotein level was 74.6 +/- 5.9 and 39.7 +/- 4.2%, respectively (P = 0.003). A statistically significant elevation of serum lactic dehydrogenase (P = 0.007) and alkaline phosphatase (P = 0.027) from baseline within two cycles of bortezomib treatment was observed in responding patients. With the combination treatment, peripheral neuropathy of >/=Grade II occurred in 12 out of 25 patients (48%) compared with 12 of 32 (37.5%) in those given bortezomib alone (P = 0.589). The median time to progression of disease was similar in the two groups (359 +/- 43.5 versus 365 +/- 103.5, P = 0.688). The multivariate Cox regression model showed that a high serum albumin and low beta2-microglobulin are favorable factors for the progression-free survival following bortezomib treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Bortezomib in combination with common chemotherapeutic agents is more active in the treatment of relapsed, refractory MM than with bortezomib alone. However, more effective post-bortezomib treatment is needed to reduce the rate of disease progression particularly in patients with high tumor burden.

Changes in the serum sex steroids, IL-7 and RANKL-OPG system after bone marrow transplantation: influences on bone and mineral metabolism.

This study prospectively investigated the changes of the serum levels of the sex steroids, IL-7, soluble receptor activator of nuclear factor kappaB ligand (sRANKL) and osteoprotegerin (OPG) in bone marrow transplantation (BMT) recipients. This study also examined whether the changes of these cytokine levels and sex steroids actually influence bone turnover and post-BMT bone loss by correlation analysis. Data were analyzed from 39 patients (33.6+/-6.4 years, 19 men and 20 women) who had DXA performed before BMT and at 1 year after BMT. The bone turnover markers, sex steroids and the cytokine levels were measured before BMT and serially after BMT. The mean bone loss in the lumbar spine and the total proximal femur was 5.9% (P < 0.01) and 11.3% (P < 0.01), respectively. During the immediate post-BMT period, bone formation decreased, whereas the bone resorption increased. For the female recipients, the estradiol levels declined at 1 week after BMT, and they did not recover to the basal levels. For the male recipients, the testosterone levels decreased at 1 week and then it increased to its baseline level. The IL-7 levels reached their maximum at 1 week and then declined to baseline level by 3 months. The serum sRANKL, OPG levels and the sRANKL/OPG ratio showed their peak at post-BMT 3 weeks. The mean daily dose of steroid was associated with suppressed bone formation, enhanced bone resorption and increased sRANKL levels. The IL-7 levels were also noted to be either positively correlated with the levels of ICTP or they were negatively correlated with the levels of osteocalcin at 1 and 3 weeks after BMT. Bone loss at the lumbar spine and the proximal femur was influenced by the decreased sex steroids and increased IL-7 levels. During the observation period, the IL-7 levels showed positive correlations with the sRANKL levels and the sRANKL/OPG ratio. For the female patients, the serum IL-7 levels were negatively associated with the estradiol levels at 1 and 3 weeks after BMT. All these findings suggest that IL-7 plays an important role for post-BMT bone loss, and this possibly happens via the RANKL pathway. These data also suggest that the up-regulation of IL-7 during the early post-BMT period may result from a deficiency of estrogen.

The significance of minimal residual disease kinetics in adults with newly diagnosed PML-RARalpha-positive acute promyelocytic leukemia: results of a prospective trial.

Seventy adults with acute promyelocytic leukemia were studied to clarify the significance of the level and kinetics of minimal residual disease (MRD) over their entire treatment course by realtime quantitative polymerase chain reaction. At a median follow-up of 44 months, nine relapses had occurred. The 5-year probabilities of relapse and disease-free survival were 17.3+/-5.4% and 81.5+/-5.4%, respectively. A MRD level of >10-3 after first consolidation was the most powerful predictor of relapse (85.7+/-13.2% versus 7.3+/-4.1%, p<0.001) and disease-free survival (14.3+/-13.2% versus 91.2%+/-4.3%, p<0.001). Prospective MRD monitoring may allow us to identify subgroups of patients at high risk of relapse earlier during treatment.

Adoptive transfer of Epstein-Barr virus-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes for the treatment of angiocentric lymphomas.

Angiocentric lymphoma, known as natural killer (NK)/T-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, has been reported to be associated with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). We performed adoptive transfer of EBV-specific polyclonal T-cell lines in 3 patients with extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type, and evaluated the treatment for safety, immunologic reconstitution, and clinical outcomes. The tissue samples collected from the 3 patients were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction analysis to be EBV positive. In the cases of the first and second patients, EBV-transformed B-lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) and T-cell lines were generated from peripheral lymphocytes of HLA-matched sibling donors. The third patient's T-cell lines were induced with autologous lymphocytes. Polyclonal T-cell infusion was carried out after high-dose radiotherapy because active relapsed disease remained in all of the patients. The first patient received 4 weekly infusions of 2 3 10(7) cells/m(2), and the second and third patients underwent treatment with 2 cycles of infusions of the same dosage. All T-cell lines showed >60% NK activity, cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses of >40% against autologous LCLs, and no CTL activity against patient-derived lymphoblasts. The level of cytotoxicity increased substantially in all patients after cell infusion. The 2 patients who received T-cell therapy twice had stabilized disease for more than 3 years. These safe treatments exhibited no severe inflammatory response, and no serious toxicity developed during T-cell therapy. Our findings demonstrate that adoptively transferred cells may provide reconstitution of EBV-specific CTL responses in patients with active relapsed angiocentric lymphoma. These results provide a rationale for the immunotherapy of angiocentric lymphoma.

A multicenter retrospective analysis of adverse events in Korean patients using bortezomib for multiple myeloma.

The proteasome inhibitor bortezomib has demonstrated clinical activity in patients with multiple myeloma (MM). Adverse events, including thrombocytopenia and peripheral neuropathy, have affected 30% to 60% of patients overall, and interrupted therapy in 10% to 20%. No prior toxicity data are available for Asian patients who have used bortezomib for MM. We used National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 3.0, to review the clinical records of patients with an MM diagnosis from 25 centers in Korea. The included patients were treated with bortezomib alone or in combination with other agents, including thalidomide. Ninety-five MM patients were treated. The patients had a median age of 60 years (range, 42-77 years). The median number of previous treatments was 3 (range, 0-10), and 39% of the patients had been treated with 4 or more major classes of agents, including thalidomide (67%), and autologous stem cell transplantation (51%). Regimens included bortezomib only in 38 patients (40%), bortezomib plus dexamethasone in 34 patients (36%), and bortezomib plus a thalidomide-containing regimen in 23 patients (24%). The analysis of patient response to therapy revealed a complete response (CR) or a near-CR in 31 patients (33%) and a partial response in 30 patients (32%), for an objective response rate of 65% in 93 patients. The most common adverse events reported were thrombocytopenia (47%), sensory neuropathy (42%), anemia (31%), and leukopenia (31%). Thirteen patients (14%) stopped therapy because of adverse events (neuropathy, 8; infection, 4; diarrhea, 1). Neuropathy greater than grade 2 was more frequent in patients who received 4 or more prior therapy regimens (17/37) than in those who received 3 or fewer (14/58). In addition, therapy including thalidomide was significantly correlated with neuropathy of grades 1 to 3 (P = .001). We identified 6 therapy-related deaths (6%) within 20 days after the last dose of bortezomib. The causes of death were infection in 3 patients, disease progression in 2 patients, and suicide in 1 patient. The incidences of thrombocytopenia and neurotoxicity were similar; however, gastrointestinal toxicities were relatively low in Korean patients compared with those reported in Western studies. Significant neuropathy was associated with the number of prior regimens and combination with thalidomide. These findings provide useful information for clinicians and patients using bortezomib.

Protective effect of irradiated renal carcinoma expressing hepatitis B surface antigen against renal-cell carcinoma-mediated tumors.

Radiation therapy and chemotherapy have little effect on renal-cell carcinomas (RENCAs). We investigated the effect of the tumor vaccination strategy on preventing tumor formation after a challenge with RENCA. The hepatitis surface antigen (HBsAg) was used to enhance the antitumor immunity and tumor vaccination efficiency. RENCA cells expressing HBsAg (RENCA/HBS) were completely susceptible to HBsAg vaccination, which implies that HBsAg vaccination induces specific antitumor immunity against HBsAg- expressing cancer cells. As with HBsAg vaccination, vaccination with irradiated RENCA/HBS retarded tumor formation following a RENCA/HBS challenge. After HBsAg vaccination, the irradiated RENCA/HBS tumor vaccine completely prevented the tumor formation by RENCA/HBS. Tumor vaccination with irradiated RENCA/HBS (5 x 10(4) cells), but not with RENCA, reduced the tumor rate after a challenge with 5 x 10(6) RENCA cells, whereas a lower tumor load was overcome by the RENCA vaccination alone. These results confirm the postulate that RENCA/HBS vaccination elicits an antitumor immune response to some putative antigens or enhances the general immune competence in immunosuppressed renal tumor patients.

Application of nucleic acid sequence-based amplification for diagnosis of and monitoring the clinical course of invasive aspergillosis in patients with hematologic diseases.

BACKGROUND AND METHODS: We evaluated nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA) and a galactomannan enzyme immunosorbent assay (GM-EIA) for the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis (IA) in neutropenic febrile patients and for monitoring of its clinical course and outcome. Blood samples were collected twice per week from 128 patients with hematologic diseases during periods of neutropenic fever after undergoing chemotherapy or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. A total of 448 blood samples were tested. RESULTS: There were 14 patients with IA (2 patients with proven IA and 12 with probable IA). The median index of the initial NASBA in the IA group was more than 10-fold higher than that in the non-IA group. Galactomannan antigenemia (index, >0.5) was detected with a sensitivity of 86%. In receiver-operator characteristic analysis, the cutoff index of NASBA for the presumptive diagnosis of IA was determined to be 5.0. Combination of these 2 parameters (either a GM-EIA index of >or=0.5 or a NASBA index of >or=5.0) improved the sensitivity of diagnosis to 100%. There was a close relationship between patient outcome and the kinetics of NASBA values: failure of negative conversion during treatment resulted in death in almost all cases. CONCLUSION: If either GM-EIA or NASBA results suggest IA, the diagnostic yield for IA could be improved, and NASBA could be a useful marker for predicting the clinical course and outcome of treatment.

Fas, Fas-associated death domain-like interleukin 1beta-converting enzyme-like inhibitory protein, and apoptotic features of elderly acute myeloid leukemia based on response to induction chemotherapy.

A study was performed to examine the clinical outcome of triple-combination induction chemotherapy in 26 elderly Korean acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients and to investigate apoptotic responses during and after treatment to determine whether the responses can be used as prognostic markers. Patients who had Western blot or polymerase chain reaction analysis findings of higher expression levels of Fas-associated death domain-like interleukin 1beta-converting enzyme-like inhibitory protein (FLIP) on day 7 after chemotherapy were more likely to have complete remission, but there was less or no correlation with Fas or a proapoptosis/apoptosis reaction. Expression of FLIP molecules may be, at least in part, an early prognostic indicator in the treatment of elderly AML patients.

Comparison of 2 preparative regimens for stem cell transplantation from HLA-matched sibling donors in patients with advanced myelodysplastic syndrome.

The objective of this study was to compare how cyclophosphamide (CY) and oral busulfan (BU) therapies, each in combination with total body irradiation (TBI), affect the outcome of stem cell transplantation in patients with advanced myelodysplastic syndrome. This study was conducted with 31 patients who received bone marrow from an HLA-matched sibling and underwent treatment with BU-TBI (n = 18) or CY-TBI (n = 13). The incidence of acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) grades II to IV was higher, but not significantly, in the BU-TBI group (58.8%) than in the CY-TBI group (30.8%). However, the incidences of chronic extensive GVHD were significantly different (41.7% [CY-TBI] versus 80.0% [BU-TBI], P = .04). Trends after BU-TBI conditioning indicated a lower 3-year probability of disease-free survival (DFS) (38.1% versus 53.9%, P = .4), lower relapse rates (28.5% versus 36.4%, P = .8), and higher nonrelapse mortality rates (46.7% versus 15.4%, P = .2). After adjusting for the International Prognostic Scoring System risk group and the cytogenetic risk group, DFS in the CY-TBI group (relative risk, 9.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.5-52.5; P = .015) was found to be significantly increased compared with the BU-TBI group. Approaches to minimize transplantation-related toxicity should be pursued, and efforts other than the potentiation of the conditioning regimen should be made to reduce the likelihood of posttransplantation relapse.

Risk-adapted preemptive therapy for cytomegalovirus disease after allogeneic stem cell transplantation: a single-center experience in Korea.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) remains a major cause of infection in recipients of hematopoietic stem cell transplants (HSCT) and results in significant mortality and morbidity. We present the results of CMV pp65 antigenemia-guided, risk-adapted preemptive therapy aimed at preventing CMV disease in allogeneic HSCT. Preemptive ganciclovir treatment was started when more than 5 CMV antigen-positive cells were detected in the low-risk group (with grade 0-I acute GVHD and matched related HSCT) and when any antigen-positive cells were seen in the high-risk group (with grade II-IV acute GVHD or matched unrelated HSCT). At least 1 episode of antigenemia was observed in 53 (59.6%) of 89 patients before day 100, and preemptive therapy was performed in 33 patients. CMV disease occurred in 6 patients (5 in the high-risk group and 1 in the low-risk group), and late CMV disease developed in 4 patients. Only 1 patient died of CMV pneumonitis before day 100. Neutropenia was observed in 51.5% of ganciclovir-treated patients, and coinfection/superinfection was observed in 42.4%. A strategy of ganciclovir treatment focusing on patients at higher risk could reduce the toxicity from the antiviral drug and be cost-effective. Extended surveillance for CMV disease using more sensitive diagnostic methods is necessary in high-risk patients.

Generation of Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes Specific for Human Cytomegalovirus Using Dendritic Cells In Vitro.

SUMMARY: For the adoptive immunotherapy in immunodeficient bone marrow transplant recipients to prevent and treat human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)-associated diseases, HCMV-pulsed dendritic cells (DCs) were used as antigen-presenting cells for the induction of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) specific to HCMV antigens in vitro. The antiviral CTL responses induced by HCMV-pulsed DCs were as highly efficient as those induced by HCMV-infected dermal fibroblasts, and endogenous viral gene expression was not required to induce virus-specific T-cell lines. The strong cytotoxic activity against HCMV-pp65, known as HCMV major antigen, was identified using autologous B lymphoblastoid cell line expressing pp65 antigen. The cytotoxic activity toward HCMV-infected target cells was found to be mediated primarily by CD8+ T cells, although both CD8+ cells and CD4+ cells were able to lyse autologous virus-infected target cells. The CTLs contained a mixture of effector cells that recognized virus peptides in the context of major histocompatibility complex. This system may be useful for defining the cellular immune response to HCMV and for the treatment of HCMV infection in immunocompromised patients.

Polymorphisms of IL-1B, IL-1RN, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, and IFN-gamma genes in the Korean population.

Cytokines play a crucial role in regulating the immune and inflammatory responses. The collective influence of several cytokines can regulate immune responses as complex as those underlying allograft rejections or autoimmune diseases. Polymorphisms in the regulatory regions of the cytokine genes may influence their expression. Therefore, the polymorphisms of cytokine genes are potentially important as genetic predictors of the disease susceptibility or clinical outcome. In 311 unrelated healthy Korean individuals, we investigated the polymorphisms of cytokine genes (interleukin-1 [IL-1], IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, and interferon-gamma [IFN-gamma]), which had been previously reported to be associated with a number of immune diseases, transplant complications, and direct or indirect influences on the level of expression and production. And we also compared the results to those published for other populations. The genotype distributions were consistent with the assumption of the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, with the exceptions of IL-1B +3954 and IL-6-174 polymorphisms. The polymorphisms examined in this study were almost similar to that observed in Asian populations. There were significant differences of the polymorphisms, except for IL-4 receptor alpha +1902, between Korean and other populations. Comparing the alleles associated with higher level of expression and production, IL-1B +3954*T, IL-2-330*G, and IL-4-590*T alleles were significantly higher, and IL-1RN*A2, IL-10-1082*G, and IFN-gamma*2 alleles were lower in Koreans than other populations. Especially in IL-6 promoter -174 polymorphism, we found only the G allele associated with higher plasma IL-6 levels. In haplotype analysis of IL-10 promoter polymorphisms, the GCC haplotype, associated with higher expression of IL-10, was significantly lower in Koreans. These results may be helpful for understanding transplant-related complications, immune or autoimmune diseases, and malignant diseases in the Korean population.