Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome-associated lymphoma: A retrospective Brazilian cohort.

After initiating combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), individuals with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may develop Hodgkin/non-Hodgkin lymphoma due to immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS). This retrospective cohort study evaluated the incidence, clinical features and prognosis of IRIS-associated lymphomas in Brazilian patients. Incidence in 2000-2019 was 9.8% (27/276 patients with HIV and lymphoma; viral load drop >1 log). Time between HIV diagnosis and cART initiation was <1 year in 70.3% of cases. Time between cART initiation and lymphoma diagnosis was <3 months in 11 cases and 3-6 months in 16 cases. Overall and progression-free survival rates were similar between cases of non-IRIS-associated lymphoma and IRIS-associated lymphoma.

Factors associated with survival in patients with lymphoma and HIV.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the factors associated with survival in the largest cohort of individuals with HIV and lymphoma so far described in Brazil. DESIGN: A retrospective, observational, multicenter study involving five institutions in São Paulo, Brazil. METHODS: The medical records of consecutive patients with HIV diagnosed with lymphoma between January 2000 and December 2019 were screened. Inclusion criteria consisted of age over 17 years and a biopsy-confirmed diagnosis of lymphoma. The data collected included age, sex, staging (Ann Arbor system), duration of HIV infection, CD4 + lymphocyte count, HIV viral load, lactate dehydrogenase, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and serum beta-2-microglobulin levels, treatment and outcome. RESULTS: Overall, 276 patients were included. Median age was 42 years. Most patients were male (74.3%) and with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1 (28.6% and 46.4%, respectively). Most had non-Hodgkin lymphomas (89.2%, n  = 246), particularly diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (40.9%) and Burkitt lymphoma (26.4%). Hodgkin lymphoma accounted for 9.4%. Advanced stages III/IV were predominant (86.8%). HIV viral load at the moment of lymphoma diagnosis was detectable in 52.9% of patients. A CD4 + cell count of <200 cells/µl was recorded for 53% of the patients. Most patients (62.4%) were on combination antiretroviral therapy. The factors that significantly affected survival were: the ECOG performance status, lymphoma subtype, staging, beta-2-microglobulin level, central nervous system (CNS) infiltration, site of CNS infiltration, relapsed/refractory lymphoma and International Prognostic Index score. CONCLUSIONS: HIV status, CD4 + -lymphocyte count and relapsed/refractory disease affected survival. Rituximab did not appear to improve outcome in HIV-related lymphomas.

Soluble CD137 as a potential biomarker for severe COVID-19.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a highly pathogenic infection responsible for the world pandemic in 2020. COVID-19 is characterized by an increased number of critically ill patients with a high risk of health care system collapse. Therefore, the search for severity biomarkers and potential therapies is crucial. In this study, we evaluated SARS-CoV-2 -induced cytokines, cytokines receptors and growth factors profile, in critical COVID-19 patients admitted in intensive care unit (ICU) aiming to identify potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets. We designed a prospective study enrolling 62 adults with severe COVID-19 during the first two Brazilian COVID-19 waves (from May to July 2020 and December 2020 to May 2021), convenience samples recruitment in first 24 hours and then, every 4 days until day 20 of ICU admission from a tertiary hospital in São Paulo, Brazil. Controls were healthy blood donors. Whole blood was used to evaluate 17 cytokines, cytokines receptors and growth factors. Due to low mortality rate, we used the need of mechanical ventilation as primary endpoint. In our analysis, we found a different pattern in soluble CD137 (sCD137) in critically ill patients with COVID-19, with a direct relationship between increased levels and worse clinical outcome. sCD137 was related with increased risk of mechanical ventilation and World Health Organization (WHO) clinical score for disease severity. CD137 is a tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNF) family member, mainly responsible for T-cell activation. Soluble isoforms of immune checkpoints competitively regulate function of their membrane-bound counterparts. Our study demonstrated the onward increase in sCD137 levels during severe SARS-CoV-2 infection and its correlation with worse outcomes, suggesting sCD137 as a potential reliable severity biomarker.

Impact of Epstein-Barr virus in the clinical evolution of patients with classical Hodgkin's lymphoma in Brazil.

INTRODUCTION: Classical Hodgkin's Lymphoma (cHL) has been frequently associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which can be found in a latent pattern in Reed-Sternberg (RS) cells. However, the impact of the presence of EBV in RS cells and its prognosis are still controversial. We analysed the presence of EBV in RS cells and its influence in the clinical evolution of patients with cHL treated in two public hospitals in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We selected 97 patients with cHL from 1994 to 2004. Patients were only included in this study if they had (1) >18 years, (2) negative HIV serology, (3) undergone similar chemotherapy protocols, (4) paraffin blocks available with enough material for systematic review and histological reclassification and for detection of EBV in RS cells by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry and (5) clinical, epidemiological and laboratorial parameters available after a thorough chart review. RESULTS: EBV was identified in 52.5% of the cases. Mixed cellularity (MC) subtype was more common in EBV-related tumours (25.5%) (p=0.005). There was no difference on age, gender, stage and the presence of B symptoms between the two groups. The presence of EBV did not influence event free survival (EFS) (p=0.38) or overall survival (OS) (p=0.80) with a median follow-up of 80 months. CONCLUSION: We demonstrate that the prevalence of EBV-related cHL in this Brazilian population is 52.5% and, that, the presence of EBV does not change the clinical evolution and OS of patients treated with similar chemotherapy protocols.

Epstein-Barr viral load, interleukin-6 and interleukin-10 levels in post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease: a nested case-control study in a renal transplant cohort.

The possible correlation among Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) load, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) levels has become an attractive issue and can provide a useful tool for diagnosis and monitoring of patients at risk for post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) development. At the time of diagnosis of PTLD, 11 patients were prospectively enrolled and 55 nested controls were selected from a 1800 renal transplant cohort. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to quantify EBV load in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Serum IL-6 and IL-10 levels were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The median EBV load of PTLD cases was 17400 copies/10(6) PBMC, statistically different from controls (P=0.001). The median IL-6 level of PTLD cases was not different from controls (P=0.079). However, median IL-10 levels showed a significant difference in both groups (P < or = 0.001). The receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was applied to estimate the IL-10 cut-off value predictive of PTLD development. We found that 73.5 pg/ml has high sensitivity (1.00) and specificity (0.85). Also, Pearson's analysis showed a strong correlation between EBV load and serum IL-10 concentration (P < or = 0.001). This nested case-control study demonstrates that EBV load at diagnosis of PTLD correlates with IL-10 levels, and that monitoring of IL-10 can provide a less expensive and less time-consuming tool for PTLD diagnosis and close follow-up of patients at risk. Furthermore, we were able to define a cut-off value of IL-10 mostly predictive of PTLD development in this cohort. Our data suggest that serial measurements prior to PTLD development must be carried out to validate our hypothesis.

Imbalance of Pro- and Anti-Inflammatory Cytokines in Patients With cHL Persists Despite Treatment Compared With Control Subjects.

BACKGROUND: Classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) is a malignant lymphoma that most commonly affects young adults. The lymphomagenesis of cHL depends largely on immune alterations that contribute to proliferation and maintenance of the Hodgkin-Reed-Sternberg (HRS) neoplastic cells. A combination of different immune processes is responsible for the escape of HRS cells, the imbalance between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines being one of them. In this study, we aimed to measure serum levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in cHL patients before and after treatment compared with a healthy controls group, and to investigate associations with clinical and pathologic characteristics. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We prospectively studied all cases of cHL diagnosed between March 2009 to March 2013 at the Universidade Federal de São Paulo and Hospital Santa Marcelina, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Twenty-nine cases with sufficient clinical data were included in this study. Additionally, 18 healthy control subjects were included and recruited from our University Blood Bank. Serum cytokine levels of interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, soluble IL-2 receptor (sCD25), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and interferon (IFN)-γ were determined in serum of patients and controls using a multiplexed immunoassay system. RESULTS: Higher International Prognostic Score was positively correlated with increased levels of IL-6 (P = .003); sCD25 levels were higher in patients with low serum albumin (P = .04), and IFN-γ seemed to correlate with B symptoms, although did not reach statistical significance (P = .057). Pretreatment levels of IL-10, IL-6, TNF-α, and sCD25 were increased in cHL patients compared with in healthy control subjects (P < .001), with median values of 7 pg/mL (range, 0.3-230.9), 5.3 pg/mL (range, 0.4-72.7), 14.6 (range, 4.0-60.4), and 575.9 pg/mL (range, 7.5-1813.3), respectively. Treatment significantly reduced levels of IL-10 (7.0 to 0.3; P < .001), IL-6 (5.3 to 0.4; P = .014), and sCD25 (575.9 to 93.5; P < .001), however, levels of IL-4 increased (0.6 to 2.2; P = .002). Compared with normal control subjects, increased levels of IL-6 (0.4 to 0.4; P = .027), sCD25 (93.5 to 7.5; P = .002), and TNF-α (12 to 8.7; P = .003) persisted after treatment. CONCLUSION: In this study we showed higher levels of IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, and sCD25 in cHL patients at diagnosis than in healthy control subjects. After treatment, levels of IL-6, IL-10, and sCD25 decreased gradually but did not normalize. Understanding the cytokine pattern is extremely important in the development of future therapies that target interactions between neoplastic cells and the inflammatory microenvironment.

Quantification of Epstein-Barr viral load and determination of a cut-off value to predict the risk of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease in a renal transplant cohort.

Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) is a life-threatening Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-driven B-cell malignancy occurring in 1 to 3% of renal transplant patients. Recently, EBV DNA quantification has become a useful tool for identifying patients at risk of developing PTLD. However, studies on EBV load differ in design, methodology and type of patients.

Endocarditis due to glycopeptide-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus: case report and strain characterization.

We report a case of infective endocarditis due to vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (VISA) that did not respond to high doses of vancomycin. Initial vancomycin MIC of the last isolate recovered from blood was 8 micro g/mL, but could be induced up to 32 micro g/mL by consecutive growing with vancomycin. Clinical response was only accomplished when linezolid was included in therapy.

Primary breast lymphoma: an uncommon but curable disease.

Primary malignant breast lymphoma (PBL) is a rare disease with an incidence of 0.04-0.5% of all malignant breast neoplasms. The majority of cases are B-cell lymphomas and the most common histologic type is diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLCL). In this study, we report our experience with three cases of PBL. The treatment was the same currently indicated for early stage aggressive NHL, i.e. anthracycline based chemotherapy followed by the involved field radiation therapy. Unfortunately, two patients underwent mastectomy to carry out correct diagnosis. The three patients are alive without any evidence of relapse after 24, 67 and 135 months of follow-up. Considering that aggressive NHL is very sensitive to chemotherapy, mastectomy should be avoided to preserve the quality of life of these patients, once surgery does not change the good prognosis of PBL.

Serum free light chains and post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder in patients with renal transplant.

The aim of the present study was to determine whether there is an association between serum free light chains (sFLC) quantification and the development of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD), using serum samples from a nested case-control cohort of patients with renal transplant. Ten new cases of PTLD and 46 controls were enrolled. Additional comparison groups consisted of five human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals, five with untreated Hodgkin lymphoma and six normal individuals. Serum κ and λ FLC concentrations were measured by nephelometry and compared with reference ranges (normal and renal ranges). κ and/or λ were above the normal range in 90% of cases and in 65% of matched controls. There was no statistically significant difference between all groups, except for λ FLC concentrations between cases of PTLD and normal individuals (p = 0.016). The κ/λ sFLC ratios of cases and controls were within the renal range and normal range. Our results suggest that sFLC are not useful to predict PTLD development in renal transplant recipients.

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 is consistently expressed in Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg cells and has no impact on survival in patients with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-related and non-related Hodgkin lymphoma in Brazil.

Clinical and histological features of classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) are primarily due to the effects of cytokines and enzymes produced by Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg (HRS) cells and their surrounding inflammatory cells. In EBV-related cancers, the expression of viral latent membrane protein 1 correlates with an increased MMP9 expression. In this study, we evaluated the prognostic relevance of MMP9 expression and EBV status in HRS cells in patients with cHL in Brazil. We selected 97 patients with cHL for EBV and MMP9 detection. EBV was detected in 52.5%, and MMP9 expression positivity was found in 87.6%. Of all cases, there was no correlation between MMP9 expression and EBV status. Response to treatment and relapse rate was independent of MMP9 expression and EBV status. MMP9 positivity did not influence overall survival and event-free survival. The consistent and increased intensity of MMP9 expression in HRS cells make this enzyme a potential target for therapy.

Increased expression of CD4+CD25 +FOXP3+ regulatory T cells correlates with Epstein-Barr virus and has no impact on survival in patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma in Brazil.

The tumor microenvironment of classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) is clearly responsible for the maintenance of the malignant Hodgkin-Reed-Sternberg (HRS) cells, and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been shown to play a role in this immune evasion. EBV can increase the migration of CD4(+)CD25(+)FOXP3(+) lymphocytes, named regulatory T cells (Tregs). In this study, we assessed the distribution and biological significance of Tregs in patients with cHL. Tissue microarrays were constructed using diagnostic biopsies available in 130 cHL patients and stained with CD4, CD8, CD25, and FOXP3 antibodies. For the present study, only cHL patients whose histology could be confirmed and EBV association established were studied. From the 130 cHL patients selected for this study, 56 were classified as EBV-related and 74 EBV non-related cHL. There were no association between clinical characteristics and the expression of Tregs. However, higher levels of Tregs correlated with EBV presence on HRS cells (p = 0.02), although it did not influence event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (p = 0.98 and p = 0.59, respectively). This study demonstrates that Tregs expression correlates with EBV presence in HRS cells and has no impact on survival of patients with cHL. Further studies investigating the mechanisms in which EBV recruits Tregs to the tumor microenvironment will contribute not only to our understanding on the pathogenesis of cHL but also to the development of new therapeutic strategies.

Impact of highly active antiretroviral therapy in the treatment of HIV-infected patients with systemic non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Twenty cases of systemic non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in HIV-infected patients were reviewed over a 10-year-period, divided into Group A, including 13 NHL cases treated before the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) era, and Group B, including 7 patients who received HAART. A Kaplan-Meier survival curve was performed and log-rank was applied to assess statistical differences between the groups. In group A, the median CD4 count was 36 cells/mm3. No complete remission was found. In group B, the median CD4 count was 137 cells/mm3. Four patients (57.0%) are still alive and in complete remission. Group A had a median survival of 5 months and group B 31 months (p = 0.0032). Our results are in agreement with recent reports in that a higher CD4 count and better immune status achieved with HAART is predictive of a better outcome. We found that HAART in combination with chemotherapy improves overall survival of NHL patients without increasing adverse effects.