The Role of Pre-bone Marrow Transplantation Pulmonary Function Test in Predicting Post-transplant Noninfectious Pulmonary Complications.

Background: Pulmonary function test (PFT) is used as a tool for pre-transplant risk assessment and as a predictor of post-transplant outcomes. As there are currently few studies that discuss the role of PFT in bone marrow transplantation (BMT) patients in Saudi settings, and as the number of transplant patients with benign and malignant conditions continues to increase, this study was conducted with the aim of assessing the local practice. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included all adult patients who underwent BMT at Princess Noorah Oncology Center, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Jeddah, between 2014 and 2020. The association between established patient-related risk factors and the incidence of pulmonary complications among autologous and allogeneic groups was assessed. Results: A total of 186 patients were included (autologous = 143; allogenic = 43), of which 115 (61.8%) were male. At the pre-BMT phase, about 30% of the patients had comorbidities and 51% had received two rounds of salvage chemotherapy, while 16.1% had received radiation therapy. In the autologous group, the only PFT parameter that was a significant predictor of post-BMT pulmonary complications was forced vital capacity <80% (P = 0.012), while in the allogenic group, no parameter was significantly associated with pulmonary complications. The patient-related factors that were associated with respiratory distress in the autologous group were lung involvement (P = 0.03) and pre-transplant radiation (P = 0.044). Conclusion: The findings of this study indicated that forced vital capacity <80% was a significant factor in predicting non-infectious complications in the autologous group. Furthermore, lung involvement and pre-transplant radiation were the patient-related factors associated with pulmonary complications.

Comparison of a modified pediatric protocol versus a hyper-CVAD protocol in adolescents and young adults with Philadelphia-negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A multicenter retrospective analysis.

BACKGROUND: The outcomes of Pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have improved dramatically whereas outcomes for ALL amongst adolescents and young adults (AYA) have lagged behind. The introduction of pediatric-like regimens to manage adult ALL has shown promising outcomes across several analyses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this analysis, we aimed to retrospectively compare the differences in outcomes among patients aged 14-40 years with Philadelphia-negative ALL treated with a Hyper-CVAD protocol versus a modified pediatric protocol. RESULTS: A total of 103 patients were identified with 58 (56.3%) in the modified ABFM group and 45 (43.7%) in the hyper-CVAD group. The median duration of follow-up for the cohort was 39 months (range 1-93). There were significantly lower rates of MRD persistence after consolidation (10.3% vs. 26.7%, P = 0.031) and transplantation (15.5% vs. 46.6%, P < 0.001) in the modified ABFM group. 5-year OS rates (83.9% vs. 65.3%, P = 0.036) and DFS rates (67.4% vs. 44%, P = 0.014) were higher in the modified ABFM groups. The incidence of grade 3 and 4 hepatotoxicity (24.1% vs. 13.3%, P < 0.001) and osteonecrosis (20.6% vs. 2.2%, P = 0.005) were higher in the modified ABFM group. CONCLUSION: Our analysis demonstrates that the use of a pediatric modified ABFM protocol demonstrated superior outcomes compared to the hyper-CVAD regimen in the treatment of Philadelphia-negative ALL amongst AYA patients. However, the modified ABFM protocol was associated with an increased risk of certain toxicities including high grade liver toxicity and osteonecrosis.

Autologous peripheral blood stem cell mobilization and collection in patients with lymphoma and multiple myeloma: A single-center experience using the plerixa for pre-emptive approach.

OBJECTIVES: To review and assess the efficiency of pre-emptive plerixafor administration for poor mobilization (PM) and to review and assess mobilization efficiency (≥2×106 CD34+ cells/kg) in patients who received autologous stem cell transplantation for lymphoma and multiple myeloma (MM) at the Department of Adult Hematology/Blood Marrow Transplant, Princess Noorah Oncology Center, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, over the past 7 years. METHODS: This retrospective study evaluated all patients with MM and lymphoma undergoing peripheral blood stem cell mobilization and collection at our institution between February 2014 and August 2021. Plerixafor was administered pre-emptively by a plateau of <10 peripheral blood CD34+/µl after chemotherapy-based mobilization or CD34+ of <8/µL on day 4 after mobilization with G-CSF alone. Between peak CD34+ levels of 10-15/µl, plerixafor will be used at the discretion of the treating physician. RESULTS: In total, 215 patients were enrolled. Among them, 80% had peak CD34+ level ≥20/µL, 11% had clear poor mobilization (peak CD34+ levels <10/µL), and 9% had borderline PM (CD34+ between 10-19/µL). Plerixafor was administered pre-emptively in 13% of the patients and 75% of patients with borderline PM were collected without plerixafor, suggesting that plerixafor is not needed if CD34+ >15/µL on the anticipated collection day. Mobilization failed in only one patient (<1%). CONCLUSION: Our data showed that with plerixafor pre-emptive administration, the primary endpoint was achieved for most patients identified with PM, preventing the need for a second mobilization attempt.

Effect of immediate dentin sealing on the fracture strength of lithium disilicate ceramic onlays.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of immediate dentin sealing (IDS) on the fracture strength of ceramic onlays when compared with delayed dentin sealing (DDS). Twenty extracted human maxillary premolars were randomly divided into 2 groups according to the dentin sealing technique (n=10). A standardized mesio-occlusal-distal cavity was prepared with reduction of the palatal cusp. The dentin surfaces of the IDS group were immediately sealed after finishing the preparation (before taking impressions, temporization, and 14-day storage at 37°C) using a bonding system (ALL-BOND 3®, ALL-BOND 3® RESIN) and flowable composite (Te-Econom Flow). Impressions were made and temporary restorations were fabricated using PRO-V FILL®. The wax patterns were milled and the onlays were fabricated by heat-pressing technique (IPS e.max Press). After bonding the final restorations with resin cement (Variolink N), the specimens were thermocycled. Fracture strength was measured using a universal testing machine (Testometric M350-10KN) at 1 mm/min until failure occurred. Student's t-test was used to evaluate the results of the fracture strength test. The failure mode was examined using a stereomicroscope. The mean fracture strength in the IDS group (1335 ± 335 N) was statistically significantly higher than that for the DDS group (931 ± 274 N) (p < 0.05). Fracture of the restoration with a small portion of the tooth was the most frequent mode of failure. Within the limitation of this in vitro study, there was an improvement in the fracture strength of ceramic onlays with the use of IDS. However, the ceramic onlays were strong enough to withstand the physiological mastication force in both groups.

Role of breast magnetic resonance imaging in early stage breast cancer

Background: globally, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in women. The surgical management of patients with early stage operable breast cancer is the main step of treatment and addresses both the primary tumor and regional lymphatics. Objectives: this study aims at highlighting the role of preoperative dynamic contrast enhanced breast MRI in early stage breast cancer and its impact on surgical management. Patients and Methods: this study was carried out over the period from March 2015 to October 2017 in Radiodiagnosis Department of Mansoura University Hospitals and Nasser Institute. The study was conducted on 29 female their ages ranging from 30 to 59 years old the study was approved by our Institution's Ethics Committee, and all patients gave their informed consent before inclusion in the study. Results: in our study, MRI was requested for different causes varying between dense breast which may obscure lesions (51.7%), multifocal lobular carcinoma (13.7%), exclude multicentric lesion (10. 3%) and in (24%) of patients MRI was requested as preoperative routine check. In our study, we found that in 10 patients (34.5%), MRI revealed additional lesions that were not seen on conventional imaging by mammography and ultrasound.Six lesions (20.7%) of those additional occult lesions were identified as malignant and all were ipsilateral. Our study reported that six patients (20. 7%) who had unsuspected abnormalities identified on MRI had changes in treatment based on MRI findings. Conclusion: the results of this study confirm previous reports that preoperative MRI of the breast alters clinical management and detects otherwise occult carcinoma in a substantial number of patients with early breast cancer

Fludarabine and busulfan plus low-dose TBI as reduced intensity conditioning in older patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant for myeloid malignancies.

We have been using a combination of fludarabine/busulfan plus low-dose total body irradiation (TBI) as the reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) regimen for patients age ≥ 60 years undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) for myeloid malignancies. We retrospectively analyzed outcomes of 116 older patients (median age 64 years) who underwent HCT from 2006 to 2015 for myeloid malignancies, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in first complete remission (CR1). On univariate analysis, overall survival (OS) for the cohort at 3 years was 33% (95% CI 25-42). Cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) and non-relapse mortality (NRM) at 3 years were 24% (95% CI 16-32) and 43% (95% CI 34-52), respectively. Multivariable analysis for OS demonstrated AML patients to have superior outcome (HR 1.60 for other myeloid, 95% CI 1.01-2.54, p = 0.045), as well as related donors (HR 1.92 for unrelated, 95% CI 1.22-3.03, p = 0.005). For NRM, AML patients had superior outcome (HR 1.76 for other myeloid, 95% CI 1.03-3.01, p = 0.038), as well as patients with related donors (HR 1.81 for unrelated, 95% CI 1.07-3.07, p = 0.028). We then demonstrated that AML patients with related donors (n = 45) had superior 3-year OS of 51% (95% CI 36-65), compared to 21% (95% CI 12-32) for all other patients (p = 0.0003). We conclude that the RIC regimen used is effective for older patients, particularly AML patients in CR1 with matched related donors.

Impact of comorbidities constituting the hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT)-comorbidity index on the outcome of patients undergoing allogeneic HCT for acute myeloid leukemia.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prognostic impact of the individual component comorbidities of the hematopoietic cell transplant comorbidity index (HCT-CI) in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) that underwent allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT). METHOD: This single-center study retrospectively investigated the individual comorbidities of the HCT-CI on the outcome of 418 patients that underwent HCT for AML, in CR1 (n = 303, 72%) or CR2 (n = 115, 28%) at our center between 1999 and 2014. RESULTS: Median age at HCT was 50 years (range 18-71). Univariate analysis of the HCT-CI, grouped as score 0 (n = 109), 1-2 (n = 157) and ≥3 (n = 152), demonstrated significant influence on overall survival (OS) (P = .004) and non-relapse mortality (NRM) (P = .02). For individual comorbidities constituting the HCT-CI, variables with a P-value ≤ .2 on univariate analysis were included in the multivariable analysis. For OS, none of the comorbidities of the HCT-CI demonstrated independent prognostic relevance. However, for NRM, multivariable analysis demonstrated pretransplant diabetes (HR = 2.17, 95% CI = 1.31-3.60, P = .003) and cardiovascular comorbidity (HR = 1.78, 95% CI = 1.15-2.76, P = .01) to be independent predictors of NRM post-transplant. CONCLUSION: Among the comorbidities that compose the HCT-CI, diabetes and cardiovascular comorbidity independently predict NRM in patients undergoing allogeneic HCT for AML. This information should be taken into consideration regarding post-transplant monitoring and care.

Treating heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. The unconventional way!

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia HIT is a potentially devastating complication of heparin therapy. The severe form of HIT has been associated with both venous and arterial thrombosis manifested by myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular occlusion, skin necrosis or limb ischemia. Several agents are now available as alternatives to heparin in patients with suspected HIT, including the thrombin specific inhibitors lepirudin and argatroban as well as the low molecular weight heparinoid known as danaparoid. When lacking these agents, here we report the use of plasmapheresis to create an artificial state of anticoagulation; exchanging patient's plasma with albumin rather than fresh frozen plasma, to allow the safe introduction of warfarin.