High-dose therapy followed by bone marrow transplantation for relapsed follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Dutch HOVON Group.

PURPOSE: To analyze whether, in addition to survival, and disease-free survival progression-free interval after transplantation would be longer than the last progression-free interval before transplantation, supporting the argument that high-dose therapy may change the biologic behavior of the disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with a poor-risk relapsed follicular NHL were treated with three cycles of doxorubicin 50 mg/m2 and teniposide 60 mg/m2, followed by etoposide 350 mg/m2, cyclophosphamide 60 mg/kg, and TBI and unpurged BMT. RESULTS: Twelve patients were entered in the study. Ten patients fulfilled the criteria for response and underwent transplantation, two of them with an allograft. Nine of ten patients with transplants achieved a complete remission after BMT. One patient died on day 41 due to veno-occlusive disease. The nine patients with transplants who were evaluable for follow-up had a conversion of remission or response duration after transplantation, their progression-free interval after BMT being superior to the last one before BMT with a median of 1044 + days. Overall survival and disease-free survival in the transplant patients after a median follow-up of 1160 days from BMT is 90%. CONCLUSION: High dose chemotherapy followed by stem cell rescue may change the clinical course in follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients.

The effect of cyclosporine on haematological parameters in patients with paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria.

Four patients with paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH) were treated with cyclosporine. The treatment with cyclosporine was based on the hypothesis that immune-mediated bone-marrow damage is the common pathogenetic mechanism of aplasia and PNH, with lack of GPI-linked ligands for an immune attack (i.e. LFA-3, CD58) rendering PNH cells a growth advantage over other bone marrow cells. In the first patient, presenting with a mixed AA/PNH syndrome, a gradual recovery from aplasia was seen after prolonged treatment with cyclosporine. In a second patient, with a mixed AA/PNH syndrome, no haematological improvement was noted during cyclosporine administration, but this patient became transfusion-independent with increasing neutrophil and platelet counts after a course of ATG in combination with androgen therapy. Both these patients showed an increment in the proportion of neutrophils with normal expression of GPI-linked proteins concurrently with the improvement of haematological characteristics. In the two other patients, presenting with typical PNH, cyclosporine treatment did not result in any change in haematological characteristics, nor in PNH parameters. No significant change in haemolytic parameters was seen in any of the patients. It is concluded that immunosuppressive therapy may be of benefit in patients with a mixed AA/PNH syndrome. This effect became apparent after prolonged treatment with cyclosporine in one patient, and after a subsequent course of ATG with concomitant androgen therapy in another.

Myelodysplasia following paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria: evidence for the emergence of a separate clone.

A patient with paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH) who developed a myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is described. After the onset of myelodysplasia the neutrophils of the patient fully expressed GPI-linked proteins. It is concluded that the myelodysplasia does not originate from transformed PNH stem cells, but represents the emergence of a separate clone arising from an injured marrow.

Sweet's syndrome in myeloid malignancy: a report of two cases.

Two patients with a myeloid malignancy in whom Sweet's syndrome (acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis) was diagnosed, are described. They suffered from fever and showed cutaneous lesions, with infiltration of the skin by mature neutrophils without signs of vasculitis. In one of them the clonal origin of the infiltrating neutrophils could be demonstrated by in situ hybridization. In this patient an association with the use of recombinant human granulocyte-colony stimulating factor was suspected. In the other patient, Sweet's syndrome was the initial symptom of haematological disease. Inadequate wound healing after surgical procedures led to the diagnosis.

Comparison of imipenem versus cefuroxime plus tobramycin as empirical therapy for febrile granulocytopenic patients and efficacy of vancomycin and aztreonam in case of failure.

143 aplastic episodes with fever in 91 haematological patients with granulocytopenia were treated empirically in a randomized prospective study using either imipenem (Imi) or a combination of tobramycin and cefuroxime (T/C). Response after 72 h was significantly better in patients receiving Imi (44/75 vs 27/68, p < 0.05). This was seen especially in patients with bacteriologically proven infections where the isolated staphylococci and streptococci were more susceptible to Imi. In both groups, patients who failed to respond to the initial antibiotic therapy were given vancomycin and aztreonam (V/A). The response rate after another 72 h, measured using the same criteria as after the first 72 h, did not differ statistically between the groups. One patient in each study group died from the bacterial infection, both from Gram-positive bacteraemia. Duration of fever was significantly shorter in the Imi group (4 days vs 7 days, p < 0.04). Serum peak and trough concentrations of the antibiotics were comparable. Both regimens were well tolerated. Our results show that monotherapy with imipenem is superior to the combination of tobramycin and cefuroxime during the first 72 h of therapy and can be safely administered to neutropenic patients with predominantly Gram-positive infections. A combination of vancomycin and aztreonam, given when initial imipenem treatment has failed, was effective in only a few patients. Adjuvant glycopeptide therapy from the outset in the treatment of febrile granulocytopenic patients did not seem worthwhile.

Detection of monosomy 7 and trisomy 8 in myeloid neoplasia: a comparison of banding and fluorescence in situ hybridization.

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is a powerful tool for detection of numerical and structural chromosomal aberrations. We have compared conventional banding techniques and FISH for the detection of monosomy 7 (-7) and trisomy 8 (+8) in 89 patients with myeloid malignancies. Of these patients, 21 had -7, 30 had +8, four had both, and 34 had no aberrations or aberrations other than -7 or +8 as assessed by banding techniques. Sequential samples were available in 23 patients. Alphoid DNA probes specific for chromosomes no. 7 and 8 were used for FISH. As controls, 10 normal bone marrow (BM) samples were hybridized with the chromosomes no. 7 and 8 probes, and in addition all tumor samples were hybridized with a chromosome no. 1 specific probe. The cut-off value for -7 was 18% one-spot cells, and for +8 was 3% three-spot cells. FISH analysis of 44 samples with -7 or +8, and at least 10 metaphases evaluated, showed that the proportions of aberrant metaphase cells mirrored the interphase clone sizes. Most samples with nonclonal metaphase aberrations, including those with only a few metaphases, had increased numbers of aberrant interphase cells: 20% to 80% for -7, and 3% to 43% for +8. Interphase cytogenetics of the 34 samples without -7 or +8 did not show significant cell populations with -7 or +8. In four patients, -7 or +8 could not be confirmed by FISH due to additional structural aberrations, marker chromosomes, or wrongly interpreted banding results. As FISH will be used more and more in cytogenetic diagnosis, clinical follow-up, and therapy monitoring, it will be necessary to standardize FISH procedures and supplement the Standing Committee on Human Cytogenetic Nomenclature (ISCN) definitions of a clone with criteria specifically for in situ hybridization.

Photodynamic therapy as an alternative treatment for surgery in a patient with lung cancer undergoing bone marrow transplantation.

We describe a patient who suffered from a bacterial pneumonia and had a left-sided infiltrate on his chest radiograph. He was found to be cytopenic and acute myeloid leukemia was diagnosed. A complete remission was achieved after chemotherapy, and the patient was scheduled to have autologous bone marrow transplantation. Bronchoscopy was performed because of persistent hemoptysis and a squamous cell carcinoma in the right upper lobe bronchus was found. This small tumor was successfully treated with photodynamic therapy preventing any delay in the treatment of his leukemia, which would have occurred if surgery had been the treatment of choice. The patient is still in complete remission after a follow-up period of 12 months.

Myeloid but not lymphoid cells carry the 5q deletion: polymerase chain reaction analysis of loss of heterozygosity using mini-repeat sequences on highly purified cell fractions.

Interstitial deletions of the long arm of chromosome 5 are among the most characteristic abnormalities observed in myeloid disorders. To assess the lineage involvement of peripheral blood cells from patients with a 5q--anomaly, purified neutrophils, monocytes, T lymphocytes, and B lymphocytes were analyzed for loss of heterozygosity using six different highly polymorphic mininucleotide and dinucleotide (CA) repeat sequences from the 5q31 to 5q33 region. Ten patients were screened by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and proved to be informative for at least one marker. Six patients showed a complete or partial disappearance of an allele in myeloid cells, whereas cells of lymphoid lineages exhibited full heterozygosity. The other patients displayed no allelic loss, indicating that the informative markers were located outside the deleted chromosomal segments. In addition, three female patients who were also polymorphic for the BstXI site in the PGK-1 gene were analyzed for the methylation status of this gene. Clonality of hematopoiesis, as determined by non-random X-chromosome inactivation, followed the same cell pattern as the 5q-specific allelic losses. In conclusion, using tumor-specific and clonal markers, we have demonstrated that the 5q- anomaly is restricted to cells of myeloid origin, leaving lymphoid cells unaffected.

Clonal involvement of granulocytes and monocytes, but not of T and B lymphocytes and natural killer cells in patients with myelodysplasia: analysis by X-linked restriction fragment length polymorphisms and polymerase chain reaction of the phosphoglycerate kinase gene.

To determine the clonal nature of hematopoiesis and to assess lineage involvement in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), we used restriction fragment length polymorphisms of the X-linked genes phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK1) and hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) and the X-linked probe M27 beta. Eleven female MDS patients heterozygous for at least one of these probes were studied: 3 with refractory anemia (RA), 2 with RA with ringed sideroblasts (RARS), 2 with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML), and 4 with RA with excess of blasts in transformation (RAEB-t). All exhibited clonal hematopoiesis as determined by Southern analysis of DNA prepared from peripheral blood (PB) and/or bone marrow (BM) cells. In three of the six patients heterozygous for the PGK1 gene, purified cell suspensions of polymorphonuclear cells (PMN), monocytes, lymphocytes, and/or T cells prepared from PB were tested. In addition, five of these patients were analyzed by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based procedure as described recently. This method was slightly adapted to facilitate the analysis of cell lysates of fluorescence-activated cell sorted (FACS) monocytes, T and B lymphocytes, and natural killer (NK) cells. The outcome of Southern and PCR analysis was concordant, showing that PMN and monocytes were clonally derived, whereas circulating T and B lymphocytes and NK cells exhibited random X-chromosome inactivation compatible with a polyclonal pattern. To address the question of whether T cells are derived from unaffected progenitor cells or that their origin had antedated the onset of MDS, naive and memory T cells were analyzed separately. Both subsets showed a polyclonal pattern. However, in one patient analysis of constitutive DNA suggested a skewed methylation, and the presence of clonal lymphocytes against a background of polyclonal lymphoid cells cannot be ruled out in this patient. PCR analysis of PB and BM cells showed a nonrandom, unilateral pattern of X-inactivation, compatible with a mixture of clonally (myeloid) and polyclonally (lymphoid) derived cells. In conclusion, in some patients, MDS represents a disorder with clonal hematopoiesis restricted to cells of myeloid origin, whereas a random X-inactivation pattern is found in lymphoid cells.

Combined immunophenotyping and DNA in situ hybridization to study lineage involvement in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes.

Clonality of myeloid and lymphoid cell fractions obtained from peripheral blood (PB) or bone marrow (BM) of five patients with a myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), was studied by combined immunophenotypic analysis and DNA in situ hybridization. This novel technique enables quantitative and direct analysis of cytogenetic alterations in nondividing cells of distinct cell lineages. Four patients with a trisomy 8 and one patient with a translocation (1;7) were studied. For cell lineage determination, antibodies specific for progenitor cells (CD34), myeloid cells (CD15), monocytes (63D3), T cells (CD3), and B cells (CD19,20,22) were used. In one patient with a trisomy 8, BM cells were available and the erythroid lineage could be studied. For detection of cytogenetic aberrations, we used chromosome-specific repetitive DNA probes. In three patients, all nonlymphoid cells carried the cytogenetic abnormality; in two patients, mosaicism within these lineages was suggested by the relative low numbers (35% to 55%) of aberrant cells. None of the T or B cells of the five patients carried the chromosomal aberrations. We conclude that combined immunophenotyping and in situ hybridization is a feasible technique to study lineage involvement. Our data suggest that the chromosomal aberrations studied in MDS are restricted to the myeloid lineages.

Longitudinal analysis of point mutations of the N-ras proto-oncogene in patients with myelodysplasia using archived blood smears.

We performed a longitudinal analysis of point mutations of the N-ras proto-oncogene in patients with myelodysplasia and a follow-up of at least 2.5 years after diagnosis. Point mutations at codons 12, 13, and 61 of the N-ras oncogene were analyzed after in vitro amplification of N-ras specific sequences followed by dot-blot hybridization. Lysed cells scraped from archived blood and bone marrow smears were used as template for a polymerase chain reaction. In 3 of 90 patients tested (3.3%), a mutation in codon 12 could be detected in the most recent blood smears. All available blood and bone marrow samples of these patients were subsequently analyzed for the occurrence of that particular mutation. In all three cases the mutation was not detectable at diagnosis, but was acquired later during the course of the disease. In two of these patients this event was associated with rapid deterioration and transformation to acute leukemia. However, the third patient showed a protracted course during a period of 5 years after acquisition of the mutation. These results indicate that activation of the N-ras protooncogene in these three patients represents a secondary phenomenon associated with disease progression in some cases, but compatible with stable disease in others.

Nonradioactive in situ hybridisation of the translocation t(1;7) in myeloid malignancies.

Bone marrow cells of four patients with t(1;7) and myelodysplasia or acute myeloid leukemia were analyzed using nonradioactive in situ hydridisation. As probes, centromeric alphoid DNA sequences of chromosomes 1 and 7, a satellite DNA probe for 1q12, and chromosome-specific libraries of chromosomes 1 and 7 were used. The breakpoints of the t(1;7)(p11;p11) as determined by banding analysis could be studied more accurately, and the recently proposed designation t(1;7)(cen;cen) was confirmed in all four cases. Colocalization of alphoid DNA sequences of chromosomes 1 and 7 by double target in situ hybridisation was demonstrated in metaphase cells and also in interphase nuclei. The in situ hybridisation method described is applicable for the screening of peripheral blood cells or archival material.

Clonal hematopoiesis in patients with acquired aplastic anemia.

To determine whether patients with acquired asplastic anemia (AA) exhibit clonal hematopoiesis, we used restriction fragment length polymorphisms of the X-linked genes phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK1) and hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) and the X-linked probe M27 beta. Of the 19 female patients studied, 18 (95%) patients were informative for at least one marker. Of these, eight patients (42%) were heterozygous for PGK1, two (11%) for HPRT, and 16 (84%) for M27 beta. In 13 (72%) patients, a monoclonal pattern was found. Analysis of purified cell suspensions of four of these patients showed that both myeloid and lymphoid cells were of monoclonal origin, indicating the involvement of an early stem cell. The four patients who were studied at presentation all showed a monoclonal pattern. One of these patients showed a spontaneous recovery despite persistent clonal hematopoiesis. The presence of either clonal or polyclonal hematopoiesis did not show a correlation with the response to antithymocyte globulin (ATG) treatment. A relapse after ATG was also seen in a patient exhibiting polyclonal hematopoiesis. Conversely, a monoclonal pattern did not preclude the occurrence of a partial or complete response to ATG. Other potential markers to study clonality, including cytogenetic abnormalities or point mutations of the N-ras protooncogene, were not found in any of the patients. It is concluded that patients with AA may exhibit clonal hematopoiesis. The significance with respect to evolution to disorders with clonal hematopoiesis like paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, myelodysplasia, and acute leukemia remains to be determined.

Effect of subcutaneously administered human recombinant erythropoietin on erythropoiesis in patients with myelodysplasia.

In a phase II study, 12 patients with a myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and anaemia (nine transfusion-dependent) were treated with recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEpo) to assess the therapeutic effect on erythropoiesis and on transfusion requirement. Patients with a low risk of developing acute leukaemia were included, i.e. refractory anaemia (RA), RA with ringed sideroblasts (RARS) and RA with excess blasts (RAEB), providing the percentage of myeloblasts in the bone marrow did not exceed 10%. Recombinant HuEpo treatment was initiated at a dose of 50 units/kg body weight and administered subcutaneously three times weekly. At 3-week intervals the dose was increased with 50 units/kg per injection, until after 15 weeks a maximum dose of 250 units/kg three times weekly was reached. All patients completed the study. Recombinant HuEpo was well tolerated and no serious side effects were seen. There was no evidence of the emergence of a new malignant clone in response to rHuEpo as shown by sequential karyotyping. In none of the patients was an increase in haemoglobin level or a diminished red blood cell transfusion requirement seen. In four out of 10 evaluable sequential bone marrow smears, an increase in erythropoiesis was seen, suggesting stimulation of ineffective red cell production. One of these patients also showed a rise in reticulocyte count. The number of erythroid progenitor cells (BFU-E and CFU-E) in blood and bone marrow was not affected by rHuEpo treatment. Also no change in the number of myeloid progenitor cells (CFU-GM) in blood and bone marrow was noted. In conclusion, subcutaneous treatment with rHuEpo at dosages up to 250 units/kg body weight (three times weekly) fails to increase the haemoglobin level or to diminish the transfusion requirement in patients with MDS and anaemia. It is unclear whether higher doses of rHuEpo are effective or whether patients with less severe anaemia who are transfusion independent, have a higher likelihood of response.

Detection of trisomy 8 in hematological disorders by in situ hybridization.

An alphoid repetitive DNA (D8Z2) probe specific for the pericentromeric region of chromosome 8 was used to detect extra copies of chromosome 8 in bone marrow cells obtained from 10 patients with hematological disorders and five controls. Numerical aberrations of chromosome 8 were established by conventional banding techniques. Trisomy 8 was found in four patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and three with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Three additional patients with MDS exhibited an extra chromosome 8 in only one metaphase. In five of the seven trisomy cases, the presence of the trisomy 8 clone was confirmed by in situ hybridization (ISH). In one case of AML with trisomy 8, detected by GTG-banding, no significant numbers of cells containing three spots were found using the alphoid repetitive probe; however, hybridization with a chromosome 8-specific library revealed that the alleged extra chromosome 8 was a translocation chromosome containing only the long arm of chromosome 8. Due to a lack of material, it was not possible to achieve optimal ISH results on the trisomy 8 bone marrow cells of patient 7. In the three MDS patients with a single trisomy 8 metaphase, a slight, albeit significant, increase of trisomy 8 interphase cells was found with ISH. We conclude that this probe is useful for cytogenetic studies. Moreover, ISH, in general, is a powerful tool for precise classification of chromosomal aberrations and can also contribute significantly to the clinical evaluation of patients with hematological disorders.

Optimization of a formulation for direct compression using a simplex lattice design.

In this paper it is demonstrated how the optimum composition of a mixture for direct compression consisting of alpha-lactose monohydrate, roller-dried beta-lactose and microcrystalline cellulose can be found using a systematic optimization technique. The experiments were chosen according to a simplex lattice design. The results of these experiments were used to fit a mathematical model, which then can predict the properties of all possible mixture compositions and enables a graphic representation of these properties in the form of contour plots. At a level of 4% the effect of three disintegrants (sodium starch glycolate, croscarmellose sodium and crospovidone) on the properties of the tablets compressed from these filler-binders, was evaluated by superimposing the contour plots of the different tablet responses. It was found that all the disintegrants used were effective in this combination of filler-binders. In order to evaluate drug dissolution rate an extra experiment with crospovidone as the disintegrant was performed, in which oxazepam was used as a test drug.