Low­dose venetoclax combined with azacitidine in older and frail patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukaemia.

In the present study, the aim was to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of low-dose venetoclax combined with azacitidine for the treatment of older and frail patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Data of 26 older patients with newly diagnosed AML admitted to Yuyao People's Hospital (Yuyao, China) between January 2021 and May 2023 were retrospectively analysed. The treatment regimens were as follows: Subcutaneous injection of 100 mg azacitidine on days 1-5 and 100 mg oral venetoclax on days 3-16 or 200 mg oral venetoclax on days 3-30. The median age of the 26 patients was 73 years. After the first course of treatment, the complete remission (CR) and CR with incomplete haematological recovery rate was 84.6%, and the objective response rate was 96.2%. The most common adverse events noted during treatment were haematological adverse events including grade 3/4 granulocytosis (57.7%), febrile neutropenia (30.8%), pulmonary infection (32.0%), thrombocytopenia (42.3%) and anaemia (42.3%). A total of 13 (50.0%) patients did not require platelet (PLT) infusion during treatment. The main non-haematological adverse reactions included gastrointestinal reactions such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. Patients were followed up until December 2023, with a median follow-up time of 9.5 months (range, 1.9-26.0 months). Of the 26 patients, nine (34.6%) patients experienced relapse, with a mean recurrence time of 5.9 months. In conclusion, preliminary results indicated that low-dose venetoclax combined with azacitidine is effective and safe for the treatment of older and frail patients with newly diagnosed AML, providing a new treatment option for these patients.

A Web of Science-based scientometric analysis about mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway in kidney disease from 1986 to 2020.

BACKGROUND: The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway is vital for the regulation of cell metabolism, growth and proliferation in the kidney. This study aims to show current research focuses and predict future trends about mTOR pathway in kidney disease by the methods of scientometric analysis. METHODS: We referred to publications from the Web of ScienceTM Core Collection (WoSCC) Database. Carrot2, VOSviewer and CiteSpace programs were applied to evaluate the distribution and contribution of authors, institutes and countries/regions of extensive bibliographic metadata, show current research focuses and predict future trends in kidney disease's area. RESULTS: Until July 10, 2020, there are 2,585 manuscripts about mTOR signaling pathway in kidney disease in total and every manuscript is cited 27.39 times on average. The big name of course is the United States. Research hot spots include "diabetic nephropathy", "kidney transplantation", "autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease", "tuberous sclerosis complex", "renal cell carcinoma" and "autophagy". Seven key clusters are detected, including "kidney transplantation", "autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease", "renal transplantation", "renal cell carcinoma", "hamartin", "autophagy" and "tuberous sclerosis complex". CONCLUSIONS: Diabetic nephropathy, kidney transplantation, autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, tuberous sclerosis complex, renal cell carcinoma and autophagy are future research hot spots by utilizing scientometric analysis. In the future, it is necessary to research these fields.

A Review of the Current Practice of Diagnosis and Treatment of Idiopathic Membranous Nephropathy in China.

Idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN), a common pathological type of nephrotic syndrome, is one of the main causes of kidney failure. With an increasing prevalence, IMN has received considerable attention in China. Based on recent studies, we discuss advances in the diagnosis of IMN and the understanding of its genetic background. Although the pathogenesis of IMN remains unclear, our understanding has been substantially enhanced by the discovery of new antigens such as phospholipase A2 receptor, thrombospondin type-1 domain-containing 7A, exostosin1/exostosin2, neural epidermal growth factor-like 1 protein, neural cell adhesion molecule 1, semaphorin 3B, and factor H autoantibody. However, due to ethnic, environmental, economic, and lifestyle differences and other factors, a consensus has not yet been reached regarding IMN treatment. In view of the differences between Eastern and Western populations, in-depth clinical evaluations of biomarkers for IMN diagnosis are necessary. This review details the current treatment strategies for IMN in China, including renin-angiotensin system inhibitors, corticosteroid monotherapy, cyclophosphamide, calcineurin inhibitors, mycophenolate mofetil, adrenocorticotropic hormone, and traditional Chinese medicine, as well as biological preparations such as rituximab. In terms of management, the 2012 Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) clinical practice guidelines do not fully consider the characteristics of the Chinese population. Therefore, this review aims to present the current status of IMN diagnosis and treatment in Chinese patients, and includes a discussion of new approaches and remaining clinical challenges.

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio correlates with prognosis and response to chemotherapy in patients with non-M3 de novo acute myeloid leukemia.

BACKGROUND: Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte (NLR) ratio can predict survival outcome and assess response to chemotherapy in several tumors. However, the values of NLR in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains unknown. METHODS: A retrospective review of 181 patients with de novo AML excluding acute promyelocytic leukemia (M3) was conducted in our institute. We categorized the patients into two groups by defining NLR =2.0 as the cut-off point. NLR was calculated by the ratio of the number of neutrophils to lymphocytes in the peripheral blood (PB). The baseline clinicopathologic parameters were compared using Chi-squared test or Kruskal-Wallis H test. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to assess survival, and overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were analyzed using the Cox regression with log-rank tests. RESULTS: We found AML patients with low NLR (<2.0) had longer OS and DFS than those with high NLR (≥2.0). NLR, absolute neutrophil count (ANC), and absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) were significantly associated with OS and DFS in all AML patients. NLR, ANC, and ALC were associated with OS and DFS only in those case with myeloblasts over 50% in bone marrow (BM). Furthermore, the median NLR was dramatically increased in low NLR group when patients achieved complete remission (CR). CONCLUSIONS: Pretreatment NLR as a marker can predict the prognosis and NLR can assess the response to chemotherapy in patients with non-M3 AML, especially in those cases with myeloblasts over 50% in BM.