Acute Bilateral Stroke in a Moyamoya Patient With High Risk of Thrombosis Due to Multiple Myeloma With Chemotherapy.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a common hematologic malignancy. Multi-agent chemotherapy and anti-myeloma immunomodulatory drugs increase the incidence of arterial and venous thrombosis. We present a moyamoya patient with MM who had a stroke shortly after induction chemotherapy. We present the case of an adult female patient who arrived at the ER due to automatism seizures, dysarthria, and left hemiparesis. The patient had a medical history of MM and underwent six cycles of induction chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide, dexamethasone, thalidomide, and bortezomib). MRI of the brain showed bilateral watershed ischemic strokes. Angiogram showed occlusion at the supraclinoid segment of both internal carotid arteries consistent with moyamoya. The patient was discharged with full-dose anticoagulation, levetiracetam, and physical therapy. At three years of follow-up, the patient has no recurrent cerebrovascular disease. MM patients treated with thalidomide/lenalidomide in combination with high-dose dexamethasone, doxorubicin, or multiagent chemotherapy should be on anticoagulation for venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis. There are no clear recommendations for arterial thrombosis prevention. Moyamoya is a vasculopathy characterized by progressive intracranial artery stenosis with a high risk of ischemic stroke, ischemia recurrence, and intracerebral hemorrhage. Despite the risk of intracerebral hemorrhage, we decided on anticoagulation due to the high risk of thrombosis due to MM, multi-agent chemotherapy, and moyamoya.

[Obesity and risk of relapse in patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A retrospective study]. / Obesidad y riesgo de recaídas en pacientes con Leucemia Linfoblástica Aguda: Estudio retrospectivo.

BACKGROUND: Obesity has been associated with a low-grade proinflammatory state, and it has been related to the development of cancer in general, including hematologic cancer. AIM: The present work aimed to identify the association of the diagnosis of obesity according to the body mass index (BMI) with prognostic factors of adult patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). PATIENTS AND METHOD: This observational, retrospective study included hospitalized patients diagnosed with ALL of the B-cell lineages. BMI was estimated based on the weight and height registered on clinical records at the admission of the patients. The relapse risk and bone marrow relapse were determined, and the survival rate was measured. The statistical analysis included the Kaplan-Meier method using the log-Rank test. RESULTS: This study included 128 clinical records of patients. Weight had no significant association with relapse risk. The frequency of bone marrow relapse was 43.8%. Obesity did not impact overall survival (p = 0.640) or disease-free survival (p = 0.527). The presence of obesity does not behave as a relapse risk variable (p = 0.873). BMI with a 30 kg/m2 cut-off point did not influence relapse risk (OR 1.078). CONCLUSION: Obesity is not an independent risk factor for the prognosis of adult patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia B-lineage.

Leucemia promielocítica aguda durante el embarazo: reporte de 17 casos de un país en desarrollo / Acute promyelocytic leukemia during pregnancy: report of 17 cases from a developing country

Resumen OBJETIVO: Recopilar casos atendidos en centros oncológicos de México y reportar los tratamientos exitosos, con respuestas completas y las complicaciones del embarazo. MATERIALES Y MÉTODOS: Estudio retrospectivo de serie de casos que incluyó a pacientes con leucemia promielocítica aguda asociada con el embarazo atendidas en diferentes hospitales de la zona metropolitana de la Ciudad de México entre 1999 y 2021. RESULTADOS: Se identificaron 17 pacientes con leucemia promielocítica aguda asociada con el embarazo, con mediana de edad de 23 años (14-40 años); 7 correspondieron a madres menores de 20 años. En relación con su entorno social 9 tenían baja escolaridad, 12 se dedicaban al hogar y 13 tenían una pareja al momento de la concepción. Por último, 11 eran originarias de una zona urbana. Las pacientes atendidas entre 1999-2010 se trataron con interferón plus citarabina (7 de 17) o mediante soporte transfusional y esteroide (2 de 17), en 8 de los 17 casos el tratamiento se inició con tretinoína en combinación con quimioterapia (daunorrubicina) como tratamiento de inducción. CONCLUSIONES: El tratamiento de pacientes embarazadas y con leucemia promielocítica aguda representa un reto debido al riesgo trombótico y hemorrágico. Si bien la adición de tretinoína ha modificado el pronóstico de las pacientes con esta leucemia, su indicación a las embarazadas sigue siendo motivo de controversia, sobre todo por el riesgo de teratogenicidad.

Abstract OBJECTIVE: To collect cases attended in oncology centers in Mexico and to report successful treatments, with complete responses and complications around gestation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective case series study including patients with pregnancy-associated acute promyelocytic leukemia attended in different hospitals in the metropolitan area of Mexico City between 1999 and 2021. RESULTS: Seventeen patients with pregnancy-associated acute promyelocytic leukemia were identified, with a median age of 23 years (14-40 years); 7 corresponded to mothers younger than 20 years. In relation to their social environment, 9 had low schooling, 12 were homebased and 13 had a partner at the time of conception. Finally, 11 were originally from an urban area. Patients seen between 1999-2010 were treated with interferon plus cytarabine (7 of 17) or by transfusion support and steroid (2 of 17), in 8 of the 17 cases treatment was initiated with tretinoin in combination with chemotherapy (daunorubicin) as induction therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of pregnant patients and patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia represents a challenge due to thrombotic and hemorrhagic risk. Although the addition of tretinoin has modified the prognosis of patients with this leukemia, its indication in pregnant women remains controversial, especially because of the risk of teratogenicity.

Splenectomy outcomes in patients with autoimmune cytopenias and persistent antiphospholipid antibodies.

BACKGROUND: Splenectomy is a therapy for patients with treatment-refractory autoimmune cytopenias. Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) can be identified in 25%-85% of these patients. In this study, we sought to identify whether the presence of aPL was associated with worse outcomes in autoimmune cytopenia's patients who had undergone splenectomy. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent splenectomy from 2000 to 2018. We describe clinical characteristics and outcomes in patients with autoimmune cytopenia's diagnosis with positive determinations of aPL. Additionally, we performed a case-control sub-analysis 1:1 of the cases with autoimmune cytopenia's matched control patients with negative aPL determination. RESULTS: A splenectomy was performed in 707 patients, of which we included 34 for the analysis. The median age at the time of splenectomy was 37 years (range 19-61), 53% corresponded to immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) and 47% to autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA). Compared with controls (n = 34), patients had more treatment lines in addition to steroids (p = .02). There were no differences in complete response rate, 65% in cases and 80% in controls (p = .17). However, there was numerically a higher incidence of early infections (21% of cases vs. 3% controls, p = .05). During the entire follow-up, 15% of aPL patients compared with 9% of control patients had a thrombotic event (p = .70). DISCUSSION: Splenectomy for treatment-refractory autoimmune cytopenia's patients with persistent aPL is an effective treatment despite some safety concerns related to early infections. These results suggest that the presence of aPL should not impact the decision to undergo splenectomy.

Leucemia y Covid-19 (Leucovid-19): efecto de la pandemia sobre el diagnóstico de leucemia aguda en la Ciudad de México previo a Ómicron.

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Bispecific Antibodies in Hematologic Malignancies: When, to Whom, and How Should Be Best Used?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The purpose of this review is to discuss the current recommendations for the use of bispecific antibodies (bsAb) in hematologic malignancies and explore the future in this field. RECENT FINDINGS: Bispecific antibodies are molecules able to target two different antigen-binding sites: one towards a tumor antigen and another to activate a cytotoxic cell. Phase II/III trials on blinatumomab for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have demonstrated its efficacy for treating minimal residual disease (MRD+) and relapsed refractory (r/r) Philadelphia positive (Ph+) and negative (Ph-) ALL in adults and children. Currently, the only bispecific antibody (bsAb) approved for its use in hematologic malignancies is blinatumomab. However, multiple trials are under development not only to explore blinatumomab's clinical activity in other neoplasia, such as lymphoma or multiple myeloma, but also to develop new molecules against different antigens.