Incidence and clinical background of hepatitis B virus reactivation in multiple myeloma in novel agents' era.

There are some reports regarding hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation in patients with myeloma who are HBV carriers or who have had a resolved HBV infection, and there is no standard prophylaxis strategy for these patients. We performed a retrospective multicenter study to determine the incidence and characteristics of HBV reactivation in patients with multiple myeloma. We identified 641 patients with multiple myeloma who had been treated using novel agents and/or autologous stem cell transplantation with high-dose chemotherapy between January 2006 and June 2014 at nine Japanese hospitals. The patients' characteristics, laboratory data, and clinical courses were retrieved and statistically analyzed. During a median follow-up of 101 weeks, one of eight (12.5 %) HBV carriers developed hepatitis and 9 of 99 (9.1 %) patients with resolved HBV infection experienced HBV reactivation; the cumulative incidences of HBV reactivation at 2 years (104 weeks) and 5 years (260 weeks) were 8 and 14 %, respectively. The nine cases of reactivation after resolved HBV infection had received entecavir as preemptive therapy or were carefully observed by monitoring their HBV DNA levels, and none of these cases developed hepatitis. Among patients with multiple myeloma, HBV reactivation was not rare. Therefore, long-term monitoring of HBV DNA levels is needed to prevent hepatitis that is related to HBV reactivation in these patients.

YM155 suppresses cell proliferation and induces cell death in human adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma cells.

Adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) is an aggressive malignancy of peripheral T cells infected with human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1). The prognosis of patients with aggressive ATL remains poor because ATL cells acquire resistance to conventional cytotoxic agents. Therefore, development of novel agents is urgently needed. We examined the effects of YM155, sepantronium bromide, on cell proliferation and survival of ATL or HTLV-1-infected T-cell lines, S1T, MT-1, and MT-2. We found that YM155 suppressed cell proliferation in these cells and induced cell death in S1T and MT-1 cells. Both real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunoblot analyses showed suppression of survivin expression in S1T, MT-1, and MT-2 cells. In addition, we observed the cleavage of caspase-3 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase in YM155-treated S1T and MT-1 cells, indicating that YM155 induces caspase-dependent apoptosis in these cells. To clarify the mechanism of drug tolerance of MT-2 cells in terms of YM155-induced cell death, we examined intracellular signaling status in these cells. We found that STAT3, STAT5, and AKT were constitutively phosphorylated in MT-2 cells but not in S1T and MT-1 cells. Treatment with YM155 combined with the STAT3 inhibitor S3I-201 significantly suppressed cell proliferation compared to that with either YM155 or S3I-201 in MT-2 cells, indicating that STAT3 may play a role in tolerance of MT-2 cells to YM155 and that STAT3 may therefore be a therapeutic target for YM155-resistant ATL cells. These results suggest that YM155 presents potent antiproliferative and apoptotic effects via suppression of survivin in ATL cells in which STAT3 is not constitutively phosphorylated. YM155 merits further investigation as a potential chemotherapeutic agent for ATL.

[Consolidation and maintenance therapy after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation].

High-dose therapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation is recommended as part of the initial treatment strategy in symptomatic multiple myeloma. To improve the outcome, the treatment approach to reduce tumor burden after transplantation and maintain the responses will be needed. Consolidation therapy incorporating novel agents improves the depth of responses and progression-free survival. Maintenance therapy also improves the duration of disease control and survival. Although consolidation/maintenance treatment has not been established as a widely accepted standard, this approach can be considered at least for patients with less than a complete response and high-risk factors for early relapse. Treatment decisions for individual patients must balance potential benefits and risks in clinical practice.

Resveratrol suppresses cell proliferation via inhibition of STAT3 phosphorylation and Mcl-1 and cIAP-2 expression in HTLV-1-infected T cells.

Adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) is an aggressive malignancy of peripheral T cells infected with human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1). The prognosis of patients with aggressive ATL remains poor because ATL cells acquire resistance to conventional cytotoxic agents. Therefore, development of novel agents is urgently needed. We examined the effects of resveratrol, a well-known polyphenolic compound, on cell proliferation and survival of HTLV-1-infected T-cell lines, MT-2 and HUT-102. We found that resveratrol suppressed cell proliferation and induced cell death of MT-2 and HUT-102 cells. Immunoblot analysis showed inhibition of myeloid cell leukemia sequence (Mcl)-1 and cellular inhibitor of apoptosis protein (cIAP)-2 expression as well as signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) 3 phosphorylation at Tyr(705) and Ser(727) in resveratrol-treated cells. We also observed cleavage of caspase-3 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase in resveratrol-treated cells, indicating that resveratrol induces caspase-dependent apoptosis in MT-2 and HUT-102 cells. In addition, the STAT3 inhibitor S3I-201 not only induced cell growth arrest and cell death but also activated caspase-3 in MT-2 and HUT-102 cells, indicating that STAT3 may be a therapeutic target for ATL. These results suggest that resveratrol presents a potent anti-proliferative effect in part via the suppression of STAT3 phosphorylation and Mcl-1 and cIAP-2 expression in HTLV-1-infected T cells. Resveratrol merits further investigation as a potential chemotherapeutic agent for ATL.