Myelodysplasia followed by Good's Syndrome: a unique manifestation associated with thymoma.

Good's syndrome, also known as thymoma with combined immunodeficiency, is rare. The immunodeficiency may precede, arise concurrently with or follow the diagnosis of thymoma. In addition to myasthenia gravis and Good's syndrome, paraneoplastic syndromes associated with thymoma can also be manifested with hematological disorders, such as pure red cell aplasia, aplastic anemia, agranulocytosis, hemolytic anemia, pernicious anemia, and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria. Myelodysplastic syndrome is a group of clonal hematopoietic stem cell diseases characterized by cytopenia(s), dysplasia in one or more lineages, ineffective hematopoiesis, and potential precursors of acute leukemia. One proposed pathogenesis of myelodysplasia is autoantibodies that directly reject against hematopoietic cells, but this situation is rare in thymoma. Herein, we report a thymoma patient with unique paraneoplastic syndromes who developed myelodysplasia prior to Good's syndrome. Early and accurate diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome is important for disease management, especially in patients whose myelodysplastic syndrome is possibly derived from autoimmunity. For thymoma patients with recurrent infections, comprehensive immunologic studies to exclude the possibility of Good's syndrome and prophylactic intravenous immunoglobulin infusion in suitable candidates are warranted.

Fenthion and terbufos induce DNA damage, the expression of tumor-related genes, and apoptosis in HEPG2 cells.

This study investigates the effects of fenthion and terbufos, two organophosphorous pesticides, on DNA damage, tumor-related gene expression, and apoptosis in HepG2 cells. We found that exposure to concentrations ranging from 50 to 200 µM of fenthion and terbufos for 2 hr caused significant death in HepG2 cells. Both compounds induced DNA damage in a concentration-dependent manner as measured using the alkaline comet assay. Tumor-related genes (jun, myc, and fos) and apoptosis-related genes (socs3, tnfaip3, ppp1r15a, and nr4a1) were up-regulated by both compounds. Finally, both compounds induced apoptosis. The results demonstrate that both terbufos and fenthion induce DNA damage and should be considered potentially hazardous to humans.