Abstracts of the Cell Therapy Transplant Canada 2022 Annual Conference.

On behalf of Cell Therapy Transplant Canada (CTTC), we are pleased to present the Abstracts of the CTTC 2022 Annual Conference. The conference was held in-person 15-18 June 2022, in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Poster authors presented their work during a lively and engaging welcome reception on Thursday, 16 June, and oral abstract authors were featured during the oral abstract session in the afternoon on Friday, 17 June 2022. Thirty-three (33) abstracts were selected for presentation as posters and six (6) as oral presentations. The top abstracts in each of four (4) categories, (1) Basic/Translational sciences, (2) Clinical Trials/Observations, (3) Laboratory/Quality, and (4) Pharmacy/Nursing/Other Transplant Support, received awards for both the oral and poster presentations. All of these were marked as "Award Recipient" with the relevant category. We congratulate all the presenters on their research and contribution to the field.

The relationship between physical activity and lymphoma: a systematic review and meta analysis.

BACKGROUND: The literature suggests an increased risk between anthropometrics including higher body mass index and lymphoma incidence; however, the association with physical activity remains unclear. A systematic review/meta-analysis was therefore performed to examine this association with physical activity (total, recreational or occupational). METHODS: PubMed, Web of Science and Embase were reviewed from inception to October 2019 identifying relevant observational studies. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) including subtypes diffuse large B cell lymphoma, follicular lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma, and Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) were analyzed. Included studies reported activity, lymphoma cases, effect size and variability measures, and were restricted to human subjects of any age. Data was pooled generating summary relative risk (RR) estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CI) using random-effects models with primary outcome of histologically confirmed incident lymphoma. RESULTS: One thousand four hundred studies were initially identified with 18 studies (nine cohort, nine case-control) included in final analysis. Comparing highest vs. lowest activity categories was protective for all lymphoma (RR 0.89, 95%CI 0.81-0.98). Sensitivity analysis demonstrated effect persistence within case-control studies (RR 0.82, 95% CI 0.71-0.96), but not cohort studies (RR 0.95, 95%CI 0.84-1.07). Borderline protective effect was seen for NHL (RR 0.92, 95%CI 0.84-1.00), but not HL (RR 0.72, 95%CI 0.50-1.04). Analysis by NHL subtype or gender showed no effect. Dose response analysis demonstrated a protective effect (p = 0.034) with a 1% risk reduction per 3 MET hours/week (RR 0.99, 95%CI 0.98-1.00). CONCLUSIONS: Physical activity may have a protective effect against lymphoma development; further studies are required to generate recommendations regarding health policy. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was registered prospectively at PROSPERO: CRD42020156242 .

Unfractionated Heparin in SARS-CoV-2 Pneumonia: Ischemic Stroke Case Report.

Thromboembolism is a known phenomenon in patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Recent investigations have revealed that a significant proportion of those hospitalized with severe COVID-19 demonstrate clinical and laboratory markers compatible with hypercoagulability, which is differentiated from disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), termed COVID-associated coagulopathy. Additionally, there is increasing concern for development of acute ischemic stroke because of this hypercoagulable state. We present a patient with COVID-19 pneumonia who was managed with unfractionated heparin (UFH) infusion and developed a large ischemic infarct shortly after cessation of the infusion. In retrospect, the patient's coagulation parameters were consistent with overt DIC, although some of these parameters are easily masked by the effects of UFH. These findings emphasize the importance of anticoagulation as well as its careful discontinuation, as failure to do so may result in a significant thromboembolic event.

Autologous transplantation improves survival rates for follicular lymphoma patients who relapse within two years of chemoimmunotherapy: a multi-center retrospective analysis of consecutively treated patients in the real world.

Although chemoimmunotherapy improves outcomes for patients with follicular lymphoma (FL), approximately 20% of patients experience early disease progression within two years of treatment and subsequently poor median survival. We conducted a retrospective study to evaluate survival rates of patients with early relapse who were treated with or without autologous transplantation. Of 517 patients with FL and who received chemoimmunotherapy, 152 relapsed and survived a minimum of four months after progression, including 84 (55.3%) with early relapse ≤2 years following initial therapy and 68 (44.7%) with later relapse. Five-year survival was superior for patients who received autologous transplantation compared to non-transplanted patients within the early relapse group (85.4% vs 57.9%, p = .001), but not within the late relapse group (p = .64). Given the limitations of a retrospective study, our study may suggest that the use of autologous transplantation for FL patients who relapse within two years of initial chemoimmunotherapy is associated with improved survival.

The Adverse Consequences of Initial Watchful Waiting for Patients With Follicular Lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: Patients with low tumor burden follicular lymphoma (FL) are commonly managed with watchful waiting (WW). The incidence of organ dysfunction and/or transformation at disease progression, and subsequent impact on outcomes is poorly understood. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients managed with WW during 1994 to 2011 were identified through the Alberta Lymphoma Database. Individuals receiving immediate rituximab (R)-chemotherapy were identified as a comparator group to those on WW who received R-chemotherapy at progression. Endpoints included transformation, organ dysfunction, time to progression, time to next treatment, progression-free survival (PFS) after chemotherapy, and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: We identified 238 patients managed with WW (28.9% of registry patients) during this 17-year period. The median follow up was 8.2 years. At a median of 29.9 months, 58 (24.4%) of these patients developed organ dysfunction and/or transformation. Of 169 (71%) patients who required therapy, 10-year OS was inferior for those with transformation (hazard ratio, 2.88; P = .002) and organ dysfunction (hazard ratio, 2.10; P = .028). PFS after R-chemotherapy and OS in patients without organ dysfunction and/or transformation was not affected by the initial WW period, compared with immediate R-chemotherapy. WW resulted in increased high risk FL International Prognostic Index scores at initiation of R-chemotherapy (45% vs. 20%), and more frequent transformation at progression (5-year risk, 17.8% vs. 3.5%; P < .001). Baseline characteristics did not predict organ dysfunction. CONCLUSION: Patients with FL accepting initial WW should be aware of the 1 in 4 risk of organ dysfunction and/or transformation, and subsequent inferior OS. Physicians should consider surveillance for progression to consider early therapy.

Thalidomide-prednisone maintenance following autologous stem cell transplant for multiple myeloma: effect on thrombin generation and procoagulant markers in NCIC CTG MY.10.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) has an increased incidence in patients with multiple myeloma (MM), especially during chemotherapy. Mechanisms including upregulation of procoagulant factors, such as factor VIII, have been postulated. The National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group MY.10 phase III clinical trial compared thalidomide-prednisone to observation for 332 patients with MM post-autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT), with a primary endpoint of overall survival and various secondary endpoints including the incidence of VTE. One hundred and fifty-three patients had biomarker data, including D-dimer, factor VIII and thrombin anti-thrombin (TAT) levels collected post-ASCT at baseline and 2 months after intervention investigating in-vivo thrombin generation. Differences between the time-points included a significant reduction over time in D-dimer, factor VIII and TAT levels in the observation group and sustained elevation of D-dimer, significant increase in factor VIII and reduction in TAT levels in the thalidomide-prednisone group. Eight VTE events were reported in this subset of study patients, all in the thalidomide-prednisone arm, with a trend to increase in D-dimer levels over time in those patients with VTE. This study provides physiological and clinical evidence for an increased risk of VTE associated with thalidomide-prednisone maintenance therapy post-ASCT for MM.

Spontaneous retroperitoneal hemorrhage in a patient with prolymphocytic transformation of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Prolymphocytic transformation of chronic lymphocytic leukemia is a rare but recognized entity. We present the case of a 76-year-old gentleman with a previous diagnosis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia who presented with fatigue, fever, and a white blood cell count of 500 000 with prolymphocytes on peripheral blood examination. Chlorambucil and dexamethasone were initiated. He developed progressive anemia during his admission with no clear cause on initial CT examination. Bilateral hip pain began several days later and he was unfortunately diagnosed with a large spontaneous retroperitoneal hemorrhage postmortem. This condition is rare and generally occurs in those receiving therapeutic anticoagulation or dialysis, with known bleeding disorders or vascular malformation, none of which were present in our patient. Pathology revealed marked leukemoid engorgement of the vessels of many organs with prolymphocytes. We discuss the potential etiologies and relationships between these critical diagnoses.