Myelodysplastic Syndromes with Isolated 20q Deletion: A New Clinical-Biological Entity?

Aims: To define the peculiar features of patients with the deletion of the chromosome 20 long arm (del20q), data from 69 patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDSs) and isolated del20q, followed by the Gruppo Romano-Laziale Sindromi Mielodisplastiche (GROM-L) and Ospedale Torrette of Ancona, were collected and compared with those of 502 MDS patients with normal karyotype (NK-MDS). Results: Compared to the NK-MDS group, patients with del20q at diagnosis were older (p = 0.020) and mainly male (p = 0.006). They also had a higher rate of bone marrow blast < 5% (p = 0.004), a higher proportion of low and int-1 risk according to IPSS score (p = 0.023), and lower median platelet (PLT) count (p < 0.001). To date, in the del20q cohort, 21 patients (30.4%) received no treatment, 42 (61.0%) were treated with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESA), 3 (4.3%) with hypomethylating agents, and 3 (4.3%) with other treatments. Among 34 patients evaluable for response to ESA, 21 (61.7%) achieved stable erythroid response according to IWG 2006 criteria and 13 (38.2%) were resistant. Nine patients (13.0%) progressed to acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) after a median time from diagnosis of 28 months (IR 4.1−51.7). The median overall survival (OS) of the entire cohort was 60.6 months (95% CI 54.7−66.4). the 5-year cumulative OS was 55.9% (95% CI 40.6−71.2). Conclusion: According to our results, we hypothesize that MDSs with isolated del 20q may represent a distinct biological entity, with peculiar clinical and prognostic features. The physio-pathological mechanisms underlying the deletion of the chromosome 20 long arm are still unclear and warrant future molecular analysis.

Anagrelide in Essential Thrombocythemia (ET): Results from 150 patients over 25 years by the "Ph1-negative Myeloproliferative Neoplasms Latium Group".

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Anagrelide is a drug effective in reducing platelet counts in essential thrombocythemia (ET) and Ph1-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the real-life use of anagrelide in patients with ET followed over 25 years at the Haematological Institutes belonging to "Ph1-negative Myeloproliferative Neoplasms Latium Group." PATIENTS AND METHODS: Eligibility criteria were diagnosis of ET and treatment with anagrelide. Data were collected through an ad hoc case report form. RESULTS: One hundred and fifty patients received anagrelide for a median time of 7.4 years (0.1-23.2). Anagrelide was administered as first-line therapy in 34.7% of patients, as second-line in 52% and as third-line in 13.3%: 85.4% responded to therapy. Sixty-eight/136 evaluable patients reported side effects: palpitations, peripheral vasodilation, anaemia, diarrhoea and gastric distress. Fourteen thrombotic (arterial 10, venous 4) and 51 bleeding events (minor 48, major 3) occurred. Sixteen/150 (10.6%) patients developed secondary myelofibrosis and 3/150 (2%) an acute myeloid leukaemia. CONCLUSIONS: In our experience, anagrelide is an effective drug in reducing platelet levels in a high percentage of patients with ET. It is especially addressed to younger people. A careful assessment of the thrombotic risk and monitoring of cardiac function, at diagnosis and during follow-up, is mandatory.

Treatment of Philadelphia-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms in accelerated/blastic phase with azacytidine. Clinical results and identification of prognostic factors.

There have been some reports on a possible role of azacytidine (AZA) in the treatment of accelerated/blastic phase evolved from Philadelphia-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN-AP/BP), but results are conflicting. In this study, we analyzed a cohort of 39 patients with MPN-AP/BP treated frontline with AZA at the standard dosage (75 mg/m2 ). Median time from diagnosis to AP/BP evolution was 92.3 months (IR 29.9-180.1). All patients were evaluable for hematologic response: two patients (5.2%) died early after AZA initiation, 13 patients (33.3%) had a progressive or stable disease, nine (23.1%) had a hematologic improvement (HI), seven (17.9%) achieved a partial response (PR), and eight (20.5%) a complete response (CR). Overall, 24 patients achieved a clinical hematologic response (HI + PR + CR), with an overall response rate of 61.5%. Median overall survival (OS) from AZA start of the whole cohort was 13.5 months (95% CI, 8.2-18.7). There was no difference in median OS among patients with HI, PR, or CR (P = .908). These three subgroups as "responders" having been considered, a significantly better OS was observed in responder compared with nonresponder patients, with a median OS of 17.6 months (95% CI, 10.1-25.0) versus 4.1 months (95% CI, 0.4-10.0) (P = .001) Only female gender was significant for both achievement of response (.010) and OS duration (P = .002). In conclusion, AZA is useful for the management of MPN-AP/BP, with an overall response rate (HI + PR + CR) of 61.5% and a longer OS in responders.

High platelet count at diagnosis is a protective factor for thrombosis in patients with essential thrombocythemia.

To assess the role of platelet (PLT) count for thrombotic complications in Essential Thrombocythemia (ET), 1201 patients followed in 11 Hematological centers in the Latium region were retrospectively evaluated. At multivariate analysis, the following factors at diagnosis were predictive for a worse Thrombosis-free Survival (TFS): the occurrence of previous thrombotic events (p=0.0004), age>60years (p=0.0044), spleen enlargement (p=0.042) and a lower PLT count (p=0.03). Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analyses based on thrombotic events during follow-up identified a baseline platelet count of 944×109/l as the best predictive threshold: thrombotic events were 40/384 (10.4%) in patients with PLT count >944×109/l and 109/817 (13.3%) in patients with PLT count <944×109/l, respectively (p=0.04). Patients with PLT count <944×109/l were older (median age 60.4years. vs 57.1years., p=0.016), had a lower median WBC count (8.8×109/l vs 10.6×109/l, p<0.0001), a higher median Hb level (14.1g/dl vs 13.6g/dl, p<0.0001) and a higher rate of JAK-2-V617F positivity (67.2% vs 41.6%, p<0.0001); no difference was observed as to thrombotic events before diagnosis, spleen enlargement and concomitant Cardiovascular Risk Factors. In conclusion, our results confirm the protective role for thrombosis of an high PLT count at diagnosis. The older age and the higher rate of JAK-2 V617F positivity in the group of patients with a baseline lower PLT count could in part be responsible of this counterintuitive finding.

Role of treatment on the development of secondary malignancies in patients with essential thrombocythemia.

Aim of this study is to explore the role of different treatments on the development of secondary malignancies (SMs) in a large cohort of essential thrombocythemia (ET) patients. We report the experience of a regional cooperative group in a real-life cohort of 1026 patients with ET. We divided our population into five different groups: group 0, no treatment; group 1, hydroxyurea (HU); group 2, alkylating agents (ALK); group 3, ALK + HU sequentially or in combination; and group 4, anagrelide (ANA) and/or α-interferon (IFN) only. Patients from groups 1, 2, and 3 could also have been treated either with ANA and/or IFN in their medical history, considering these drugs not to have an additional cytotoxic potential. In all, 63 of the 1026 patients (6%) developed 64 SM during the follow-up, after a median time of 50 months (range: 2-158) from diagnosis. In univariate analysis, a statistically significant difference was found only for gender (P = 0.035) and age (P = 0.0001). In multivariate analysis, a statistically significant difference was maintained for both gender and age (gender HR1.7 [CI 95% 1.037-2.818] P = 0.035; age HR 4.190 [CI 95% 2.308-7.607] P = 0.0001). The impact of different treatments on SMs development was not statistically significant. In our series of 1026 ET patients, diagnosed and followed during a 30-year period, the different therapies administered, comprising HU and ALK, do not appear to have impacted on the development of SM. A similar rate of SMs was observed also in untreated patients. The only two variables which showed a statistical significance were male gender and age >60 years.

Ruxolitinib in clinical practice for primary and secondary myelofibrosis: an analysis of safety and efficacy of Gruppo Laziale of Ph-negative MPN.

Ruxolitinib, a JAK1 and JAK2 inhibitor, has been tested and approved for the treatment of primary and secondary myelofibrosis (MF). Aim of our study is to report safety and efficacy of ruxolitinib in 98 patients affected by MF treated outside clinical trials and collected and treated consecutively by the Lazio Cooperative Group for Ph negative myeloproliferative diseases.There were 45 males and 53 females; median age was 61.8 years (range 35.3-88). Forty-five patients were diagnosed as primary MF and 53 as secondary MF. Seventy-seven patients (78.5%) experienced constitutional symptoms at baseline, and out of 94 patients tested, 66 (70%) were JAK2V617F mutated. Overall, 40 patients received hydroxyurea as firstline treatment, 30 patients received other chemotherapeutic approaches, whereas 28 were treated with ruxolitinib frontline. Median time from diagnosis to start of ruxolitinib in the whole cohort was 34.6 months. Fifty-eight patients (59%) required a dose reduction during the first 3 months due to hematological toxicity in the majority of cases. At 48 weeks, 52% of patients obtained a clinical benefit: of them 7 patients (7%) had a CR, 10 (10%) a PR, 6 patients (6%) a CI, and 28 patients (28.5%) a spleen response. Overall, 66% of patients had disappearance of baseline symptoms burden. After 1 year, of 72 evaluable patients, 52% achieved and maintained a clinical benefit. Adverse events of special interest at any grade included anemia (39.7%), thrombocytopenia (25.5%), infections (16.3%, of which 10 were bronchopneumonia), fluid retention (3%), diarrhea (2%) and abdominal pain (2%). After a median follow-up of 16 months from start of ruxolitinib, median daily dose decreased to 10 mg BID and 21 patients (21%) discontinued the drug. The results of this retrospective multicentric analysis confirmed the efficacy of ruxolitinib outside clinical trials with more than half of treated patients achieving and maintaining a clinical benefit and most of them reporting relief from symptoms.

Real-life use of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents in myelodysplastic syndromes: a "Gruppo Romano Mielodisplasie (GROM)" multicenter study.

The Gruppo Romano Mielodisplasie (GROM) conducted a retrospective study in 543 patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) to evaluate the safety and efficacy of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) in "real-life" clinical practice. The 40.000-UI/week erythropoietin (EPO)-alpha and 30.000-UI/week EPO-beta starting dose were defined "standard," and 80,000 UI/week EPO-alpha and 60.000 UI/week EPO-beta were defined "high." Response was defined according to International Working Group (IWG) 2006 criteria. At ESA's start, median age was 74.2 years (interquartile range (IR) 67.8-79.5) and median hemoglobin was 8.9 g/dl (IR 8.2-9.6). Median time from diagnosis to ESAs start was 3.8 months (IR 0.8-13.2). ESA starting dose was "standard" in 361 patients (66.5 %) and "high" in 182 patients (33.5 %). Erythroid response was observed in 82/185 (44.3 %) transfusion dependent (TD) patients as compared with 226/329 (68.6 %) transfusion independent (TI) ones (p < 0.001). At multivariate analysis, in TD patients, only endogenous EPO levels <50 mU/l were significant (p = 0.046), whereas in TI patients, high-dose ESAs (p < 0.001), abnormal creatinine levels (0.009), and endogenous EPO levels <50 mU/l (p = 0.014) were predictors of response. Responders showed a higher 5-year overall survival (OS) (57.8 vs. 32.2 %, p < 0.001) and leukemia-free survival (76.0 vs. 49.8 %, p < 0.001). At multivariable analysis for OS, response to ESA, low International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS), no transfusion need, and female sex showed an independent favorable prognostic role. Our results confirm that treatment with ESAs is effective in a real-life MDS setting, particularly at high dose and in TI patients. Prospective studies are needed to define the optimal starting dose.

Spleen enlargement is a risk factor for thrombosis in essential thrombocythemia: Evaluation on 1,297 patients.

Spleen enlargement, present in 10-20% of Essential Thrombocythemia (ET) patients at diagnosis, is a feature clinically easy to assess, confirmable by echography with a very low chance of misinterpretation. Nonetheless, the clinical and prognostic role of splenomegaly has been seldom evaluated. From 1979 to 2013, 1297 ET patients retrospectively collected in the database of the Lazio Cooperative Group and Bologna University Hospital were evaluable for spleen enlargement at diagnosis and included in the analysis. On the whole, spleen was enlarged in 172/1297 (13.0%) patients; in most cases (94.8%) splenomegaly was mild (≤5 cm). Patients with splenomegaly were younger, predominantly male, presented higher platelet count and JAK2V617F allele burden and had a lower incidence of concomitant cardiovascular risk factors. At least one thrombotic event during follow-up occurred in 97/1,125 (8.6%) patients without spleen enlargement compared to 27/172 (15.7%) patients with spleen enlargement (P = 0.003). Despite comparable use of cytoreductive/antiplatelet therapies in the two groups, the cumulative risk of thrombosis at 5 years was significantly higher in patients with baseline splenomegaly (9.8% versus 4.4% in patients without splenomegaly, P = 0.012). In multivariate analysis exploring risk factors for thrombosis, splenomegaly retained its negative prognostic role, together with previous thrombosis, leucocyte count and male gender. Baseline splenomegaly seems to be an independent additional risk factor for thrombosis in nonstrictly WHO-defined ET patients. This data could be useful in the real-life clinical management of these patients.

Azacytidine for the treatment of retrospective analysis from the Gruppo Laziale for the study of Ph-negative MPN.

To highlight the role of azacytidine (AZA) in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms developing blast phase (MPN-BP), we evaluated retrospectively 19 patients [M/F 15/4, median age 71.3 years, interquartile range (IQR) 64.5-77.7] reported in the database of our cooperative group. Median time from diagnosis to BP evolution was 52.7 months (IQR 11.2-181.8). All patients were treated with AZA at the standard dosage of 75 mg/m(2). Two patients died early after 5-AZA initiation from pulmonary fungal infection and respiratory failure respectively, 4 patients had a disease progression, 4 patients a stable disease, 3 patients had an hematological improvement, 1 patient a partial response and 5 pts (26.3%) a complete response (CR) after 4, 4, 4, 5, and 12 months. The median cumulative survival from BP evolution was 9.9 months (95%CI 6.6-13.1): the comparison with an historical cohort of 72 patients with MPN-BP treated with approaches other than AZA (median cumulative survival 3.1 months, 95%CI 1.1-5.0) showed a significant advantage for patients treated with AZA (p=0.02). Our data confirm the relative efficacy and safety of AZA in this group of patients with otherwise dismal prognosis, underlining the possible achievement of long-lasting responses in a sizeable portion of them.

Hemoglobin levels and circulating blasts are two easily evaluable diagnostic parameters highly predictive of leukemic transformation in primary myelofibrosis.

To predict leukemic transformation (LT), we evaluated easily detectable diagnostic parameters in 338 patients with primary myelofibrosis (PMF) followed in the Latium region (Italy) between 1981 and 2010. Forty patients (11.8%) progressed to leukemia, with a resulting 10-year leukemia-free survival (LFS) rates of 72%. Hb (<10g/dL), and circulating blasts (≥1%) were the only two independent prognostic for LT at the multivariate analysis. Two hundred-fifty patients with both the two parameters available were grouped as follows: low risk (none or one factor)=216 patients; high risk (both factors)=31 patients. The median LFS times were 269 and 45 months for the low and high-risk groups, respectively (P<.0001). The LT predictive power of these two parameters was confirmed in an external series of 270 PMF patients from Tuscany, in whom the median LFS was not reached and 61 months for the low and high risk groups, respectively (P<.0001). These results establish anemia and circulating blasts, two easily and universally available parameters, as strong predictors of LT in PMF and may help to improve prognostic stratification of these patients particularly in countries with low resources where more sophisticated molecular testing is unavailable.

Recombinant human erythropoietin in very elderly patients with myelodysplastic syndromes: results from a retrospective study.

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are common in elderly patients. Recombinant human erythro-poietin (rHuEPO) has been widely used to treat anemia in lower risk MDS patients, but few data are known about rHuEPO treatment in the very elderly patient group. In order to investigate the role of rHuEPO treatment in terms of response, overall survival (OS), and toxicity in a very elderly MDS patient group, 93 MDS patients treated with rHuEPO when aged ≥80 years were selected among MDS cases enrolled in a retrospective multicenter study by the cooperative group Gruppo Romano Mielodisplasie (GROM) from Jan 2002 to Dec 2010. At baseline, median age was 82.7 (range 80-99.1) with a median hemoglobin (Hb) level of 9 g/dl (range 6-10.8). The initial dose of rHuEPO was standard (epoetin alpha 40,000 IU/week or epoetin beta 30,000 IU/week) in 59 (63.4 %) patients or high in 34 (36.6 %) (epoetin alpha 80,000 IU/week) patients. We observed an erythroid response (ER) in 59 (63.4 %) patients. No thrombotic event was reported. Independent predictive factors for ER were low transfusion requirement before treatment (p = 0.004), ferritin <200 ng/ml (p = 0.017), Hb >8 g/dl (p = 0.034), and a high-dose rHuEPO treatment (p = 0.032). Median OS from rHuEPO start was 49.3 months (95 % CI 27.5-68.4) in responders versus 30.6 months (95 % CI 7.3-53.8) in resistant patients (p = 0.185). In conclusion, rHuEPO treatment is safe and effective also in the very elderly MDS patients. However, further larger studies are warranted to evaluate if EPO treatment could be worthwhile in terms of quality of life and cost-efficacy in very old patients.

Thrombosis and survival in essential thrombocythemia: a regional study of 1,144 patients.

To identify prognostic factors affecting thrombosis-free survival (TFS) and overall survival (OS), we report the experience of a Regional cooperative group in a real-life cohort of 1,144 patients with essential thrombocythemia (ET) diagnosed from January 1979 to December 2010. There were 107 thrombotic events (9.4%) during follow-up [60 (5.3%) arterial and 47 (4.1%) venous thromboses]. At univariate analysis, risk factors for a shorter TFS were: age >60 years (P < 0.0054, 95% CI 1.18-2.6), previous thrombosis (P < 0.0001, 95% CI 1.58-4.52) and the presence of at least one cardiovascular risk factor (P = 0.036, 95% CI 1.15-3.13). Patients with a previous thrombosis occurred ≥24 months before ET diagnosis had a shorter TFS compared to patients with a previous thrombosis occurred <24 months (P = 0.0029, 95% CI 1.5-6.1); furthermore, patients with previous thrombosis occurred <24 months did not show a shorter TFS compared with patients without previous thrombosis (P = 0.303, 95% CI 0.64-3.21). At multivariate analysis for TFS, only the occurrence of a previous thrombosis maintained its prognostic impact (P = 0.0004, 95% CI 1.48-3.79, RR 2.36). The 10-year OS was 89.9% (95% CI 87.3-92.5): at multivariate analysis for OS, age >60 years (P < 0.0001), anemia (P < 0.0001), male gender (P = 0.0019), previous thromboses (P = 0.0344), and white blood cell >15 × 10(9) /l (P = 0.0370) were independent risk factors. Previous thrombotic events in ET patients are crucial for TFS but their importance seems related not to the occurrence per se but mainly to the interval between the event and the diagnosis.

Arterial and venous thrombosis in patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance: incidence and risk factors in a cohort of 1491 patients.

Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) has been associated with an increased risk of thrombosis. We carried out a retrospective multicentre cohort study on 1491 patients with MGUS. In 49 patients (3.3%) MGUS was diagnosed after a thrombotic event. Follow-up details for a period of at least 12 months after diagnosis of MGUS were obtained in 1238 patients who had no recent history of thrombosis (<2 years) prior to diagnosis, for a total of 7334 years. During the follow-up, 33 of 1238 patients (2.7%) experienced thrombosis, with an incidence of 2.5 arterial events and 1.9 venous events per 1000 patient-years. Multivariate analysis showed increased risks of arterial thrombosis in patients with cardiovascular risk factors [hazard ratio (HR) 4.92, 95%confidence interval (CI) 1.42-17.04], and of venous thrombosis in patients with a serum monoclonal (M)-protein level >16 g/l at diagnosis (HR 3.08, 95%CI 1.01-9.36). No thrombosis was recorded in patients who developed multiple myeloma (n = 50) or other neoplastic diseases (n = 21). The incidence of arterial or venous thrombosis in patients with MGUS did not increase relative to that reported in the general population for similarly aged members. Finally, the risk of venous thrombosis did increase when the M-protein concentration exceeded >16 g/l.

Symptomatic mucocutaneous toxicity of hydroxyurea in Philadelphia chromosome-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms: the Mister Hyde face of a safe drug.

BACKGROUND: The current study was conducted to evaluate severe mucocutaneous toxicity during treatment with hydroxyurea (HU) in a large cohort of patients with Philadelphia chromosome-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). METHODS: Among 993 consecutive patients newly diagnosed with MPN at 4 centers in Rome between January 1980 and December 2009, 614 patients (277 men and 337 women with a median age of 64.4 years [interquartile range (IR), 54.4 years-72.7 years]) received HU. HU was administered as first-line treatment in 523 patients (85.2%) and as ≥ second-line treatment in 91 patients (14.8%). RESULTS: Mucocutaneous toxicity was reported in 51 patients (8.3%) after a median period from the initiation of HU treatment of 32.1 months (IR, 10.5 months-74.6 months) and a mean HU dose of 1085 mg (± 390 mg); 30 patients (58.8%) developed a painful ulcerative skin toxicity, mainly located in the perimalleolar area; 11 patients (21.6%) had oral aphthous ulcers; and 10 patients (19.6%) developed a nonulcerative skin toxicity with erythema and skin infiltration. After the mucocutaneous toxicity occurred, HU treatment was continued at the same dose in 5 patients (9.8%), reduced in 12 patients (23.5%), and temporarily discontinued in 7 patients (13.7%); the remaining 27 patients (52.9%) required a permanent drug discontinuation. After a median period of 4.3 months (IR, 2.4 months-9.0 months) from the onset of the skin toxicity, 39 patients (76.5%) had a complete resolution and 12 patients (23.5%) had improvement without complete resolution. CONCLUSIONS: Mucocutaneous toxicity during HU treatment is more common than expected and may present with different clinical features. Moreover, it often requires a permanent drug discontinuation and only a partial resolution is reported to occur in approximately 25% of patients.

Effectiveness of fludarabine, idarubicin and cyclophosphamide (FLUIC) combination regimen for young patients with untreated non-follicular low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

In the last years, fludarabine (FLU) alone or in combination with other drugs has been reported to be effective in the treatment of previously untreated low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (LG-NHL). We report on the therapeutic efficacy and toxicity of a combination of FLU, idarubicin and cyclophosphamide (FLUIC regimen) in untreated non-follicular LG-NHL. We administered a three-drug combination of FLU (25 mg/m2 i.v. on days 1 to 3), idarubicin (14 mg/m2 i.v. on day 1) and cyclophosphamide (200 mg/m2 i.v. on days 1 to 3) to treat 41 young, previously untreated patients with non-follicular LG-NHL. Chemotherapy was repeated every 4 weeks for a total of 6 cycles. Among 41 patients, 24 (59%) were diagnosed with small lymphocytic, 10 (24%) with immnocytoma, and 7 (17%) with marginal zone subtypes. Nineteen (46%) patients achieved complete response (CR) and 21 (51%) partial response, while the remaining 1 (3%) showed no benefit from the treatment. With respect to histology, we observed CR rates of 38% for the small lymphocytic subtype, 40% for the immunocytoma subtype, and 86% for the marginal zone subtype. Estimated 42-month overall survival and relapse-free survival rates were 64% and 100%, respectively. Hematologic grade 3-4 toxicity was seen in 9 (22%) patients; no opportunistic infection or death was associated with administration of the FLUIC regimen. These preliminary data suggest that FLUIC is a very active, well-tolerated regimen for young, untreated patients with advanced non-follicular LG-NHL.

Continuous low dose of melphalan and prednisone in patients with multiple myeloma of very old age or severe associated disease.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: The management of elderly patients with multiple myeloma is a relevant problem because it concerns a great number of patients. Patients with multiple myeloma who are very old or who have severe associated diseases have a dismal outcome. For these patients we retrospectively evaluated the effect of a mild approach with continuous low-dose melphalan and prednisone (cMP). DESIGN AND METHODS: 109 patients with multiple myeloma, observed between 1985 and 2000, were treated with cMP; 67 were treated at time of diagnosis (group A; median age 78 years) and 42 as a second or subsequent line of therapy (group B; median age 72 years). The toxicity of the treatment was compared with a control group of 29 patients aged over 70 years, treated in the same institution with the conventional cyclical melphalan/prednisone regimen. RESULTS: Major or minor responses were obtained in 32% of patients in group A and 13% of patients in group B. Disease was stabilised in 45% of group A and 47% of group B and progressed in 5 and 18%, respectively. Median survival was, respectively, 19 and 24 months in group A and B. Among the 42 patients who received cMP as a second-line therapy (group B), 36 (86%) had previously been treated according to the standard cyclical melphalan/prednisone schedule; of these 12 (33%) obtained a better M protein reduction after cMP compared with the previous response to first-line cyclical melphalan/prednisone. The cMP schedule was generally well tolerated, and the rate of haematological toxicity was lower than for a historical control group receiving cyclical melphalan/prednisone. CONCLUSION: The cMP treatment schedule is well tolerated and results in a high proportion of patients with stable disease, with acceptable survival even in patients with advanced disease.

Treatment of sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy (Rosai-Dorfman disease): report of a case and literature review.

Sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy (SHML) is a rare disorder of unknown etiology, usually associated with lymph node enlargement in various superficial or deep sites. It usually shows a prolonged clinical course with occasional exacerbation and remission phases. We describe the long-term follow-up of a case of SHML that showed typical clinical features and in which various therapeutic strategies were attempted. Chemotherapy and alpha-interferon (IFN) were ineffective; surgery was ultimately required with satisfactory results. From an extensive literature review we found different treatment strategies in SHML in the 80 cases published between 1969 and 2000. Spontaneous resolution of adenopathies is frequently observed: 32 out of 40 cases which did not receive chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery were healthy at the time of publication. Radiotherapy alone showed conflicting results: 3 complete remissions (CR) were obtained in the 9 patients treated. Surgical debulking when required was effective--8/9 CR--while chemotherapy showed generally negative results. IFN has been previously employed in only one case. In conclusion, clinical observation without treatment is advisable when possible. In the presence of vital organ compression and/or extranodal localization with important clinical signs, surgical debulking may be necessary. Radiotherapy has shown limited efficacy, while chemotherapy is in general ineffective. More experience is needed to evaluate the role of IFN.