Haploidentical Transplantation with Post-Transplant Cyclophosphamide versus Unrelated Donor Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is the standard treatment for patients with high-risk hematologic malignancies. Only approximately 25% of siblings are HLA-matched, and thus alternative donors-unrelated or haploidentical-are usually the only options available. This meta-analysis aimed to compare haploidentical HSCT with post-transplantation cyclophosphamide and unrelated donor (URD) HSCT. We searched the PubMed and Cochrane databases for pertinent studies indexed between 2008 and 2018. Twenty observational studies (with a total of 1783 haploidentical HSCT recipients and 6077 URD HSCT recipients) were included. Results for overall survival, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), nonrelapse mortality (NRM), and relapse incidence were pooled. Measures of association used were hazard ratios and risk differences. The median age was 51 years for haploidentical transplant recipients and 52 years for URD transplant recipients. Peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) grafts were more frequent in the URD transplant recipients (85%) than in the haploidentical transplant recipients (31%). Overall survival was not different between the 2 groups. NRM was lower for haploidentical transplantation. All forms of GVHD (acute grades II-IV and III-IV and moderate, severe, and extensive chronic) were lower with haploidentical donor HSCT. The risk of chronic GVHD was fairly proportional to the differential use of PBSC grafts across studies, however. All included studies were retrospective, representing the major limitation of this meta-analysis. In conclusion, haploidentical HSCT for hematologic malignancies achieved the same overall survival as URD HSCT, with a lower incidence of GVHD and NRM. The increased frequency of PBSC use in the unrelated donor group could partially explain the higher cGVHD rate. Haploidentical transplantation with post-transplantation cyclophosphamide should strongly be considered as the first option for adult patients with hematologic malignancies who do not have matched sibling donors in experienced centers. This systematic review has been registered at PROSPERO (65790).

Clinicopathological aspects and prevalence of human papillomavirus in anal cancer / Aspectos clínico-patológicos e prevalência do papilomavírus humano (HPV) em carcinomas anais

Anal cancer is relatively rare; however, its incidence has increased in recent years. Several risk factors are associated with the development of anal cancer, including age older than 50 years, low-fiber diet, chronic anal fistulas, smoking, multiple partners, anal intercourse practice, Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection and immunosuppression. However, the presence of human papillomavirus represents the main risk factor for the development of anal cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinicopathological aspects of a series of patients with anal carcinomas diagnosed in Hospital Araújo Jorge, Goiânia-Goiás, as well as the prevalence of human papillomavirus genome in these tumors. Clinical, pathological and socio-demographic data were collected from the respective medical files and paraffin blocks containing anal carcinomas specimens were used for DNA extraction and detection of human papillomavirus, by means of polymerase chain reaction, using short PCR fragment primers. Forty-three cases were selected and had the data analyzed, while 38 cases were tested for human papillomavirus genome detection. Among the evaluated patients, 62.8% were women; 53.4% of tumors were squamous cell carcinoma and 46.5% of the patients were aged between 60 and 75 years. Risk factors, such as smoking (39.5%) and alcoholism (20.9%) were recorded in the studied group. Lymph node metastases were detected in 30.2% of cases and 7.0% had distant metastasis. The detection of human papillomavirus DNA was positive in 76% of cases assessed and this was significantly associated with squamous cell carcinomas. Aggressive behavior and advanced stage of anal cancer described in this study highlight the need for preventive measures that contemplate these tumors, including vaccination against human papillomavirus. (AU)

O câncer anal é relativamente raro, entretanto, sua incidência aumentou nos últimos anos. Vários fatores de risco são associados ao desenvolvimento do câncer anal, incluindo idade maior que 50 anos, dieta pobre em fibras, fístulas anais crônicas, tabagismo, múltiplos parceiros, prática de intercurso anal, infecção pelo HIV e imunossupressão. Entretanto, a presença do Papilomavírus Humano (HPV) representa o principal fator de risco para o desenvolvimento do câncer anal. O objetivo deste estudo consistiu em avaliar os aspectos clínico-patológicos de uma série de pacientes com carcinomas anais diagnosticados no Hospital Araújo Jorge, Goiânia/GO, bem como a prevalência do genoma do HPV nesses tumores. Dados clínico-patológicos e sóciodemográficos foram colhidos a partir dos respectivos prontuários e blocos de parafina contendo espécimes de carcinomas anais foram usados para extração de DNA e detecção de HPV, por meio da reação em cadeia da polimerase, usando oligonucleotídeos iniciadores SPF. Quarenta e três casos foram selecionados e tiveram os dados clinico-patológicos analisados, enquanto 38 casos foram testados para a detecção do genoma do HPV. Dentre os pacientes avaliados, 62,8% eram mulheres; 53,4% dos tumores eram carcinomas de células escamosas e 46,5% dos pacientes estavam na faixa etária entre os 60 e 75 anos. Fatores de risco, como tabagismo (39,5%) e etilismo (20,9%) foram registrados no grupo estudado. Metástases linfonodais foram detectadas em 30,2% dos casos e 7,0% apresentaram metástase à distância. A detecção de HPV foi positiva em 76,0% dos casos analisados e este significativamente associado aos carcinomas de células escamosas. O comportamento agressivo e o estágio avançado dos carcinomas anais descritos no presente estudo destacam a necessidade de medidas de prevenção que contemplem esses tumores, incluindo a vacinação contra o HPV. (AU)