"Un antes y un después en mi vida": relato de una mujer con Linfoma no Hodgkin / "My life before and after": Biographical report of a woman with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

OBJETIVO PRINCIPAL: analizar las experiencias y el proceso de padecer un Linfoma no Hodgkin. METODOLOGÍA: se llevó a cabo un relato biográfico a través de una entrevista en profundidad. La informante es una mujer de 52 años que fue diagnosticada de Linfoma no Hodgkin de manera repentina. RESULTADOS PRINCIPALES: El Linfoma no Hodgkin es una enfermedad que produce alteraciones en el bienestar físico y emocional, afectando así a la calidad de vida de las personas. En este relato, la informante trasmite los cambios que se han ido produciendo durante su experiencia, aflorando de ella las siguientes categorías: antecedentes, historia de la enfermedad, diagnóstico, superación, dependencia y miedo a la recaída. CONCLUSIÓN PRINCIPAL: Son numerosos los sentimientos y emociones que van surgiendo durante el desarrollo de la enfermedad y en ocasiones tan determinantes como es el momento del diagnóstico. Su historia muestra que los sentimientos negativos son una parte importante del proceso y que pueden llegar a tener una repercusión drástica en el desarrollo de una vida normal

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the experiences and the process of suffering a Non Hodgkin Lymphoma. METHODS: Hence, a biographical report was carried out in the form of an in-depth interview. The patient is a 52 years-old woman who was diagnosed with a Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma unexpectedly. RESULTS: The Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma is a disease that causes a change in the physical and emotional wellbeing, consequently a person's life quality. In this report, the patient addresses the changes that have appeared during the illness, from which these stages emerge: personal background, the illness' development, diagnosis, overcoming of the illness, dependency and a fear for the illness to relapse. CONCLUSIONS: Numerous feelings and emotions arise during the illness' development and occasionally in decisive situations such as at the time of the diagnosis. Her story demonstrates how negative feelings are part of the process and that they can have a drastic impact on day to day life

Combination chemotherapy of solid tumors: an American-Italian collaboration: a celebration of the work of Gianni Bonadonna.

This article highlights the important collaboration between the U.S. NCI in Bethesda, Maryland and the Istituto Tumori in Milan, Italy that had a major impact on the development of curative regimens for breast cancer, Hodgkin's disease and diffuse large B cell lymphoma.In addition to his contribution to developing new therapies, Gianni Bonadonna played an important role in bringing highly focused, disciplined, ethical clinical trials to the European continent.

A prospective analysis of blood donation history and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Blood donation may influence subsequent NHL development via temporary immune system alterations. To test the hypothesis that frequent blood donation is associated with an increased risk of NHL and its most common histologic subtypes, this study followed 36 576 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS), who provided information on frequency of blood donation in the past 30 years in 1992. This study confirmed 544 incident cases of NHL through 2010. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to calculate hazards ratios (HR) and 95% CI for the risk of all NHL and major NHL histologic subtypes associated with number of blood donations. In this prospective study, there was no significant evidence of an association between blood donation frequency and incidence of NHL (age-adjusted HR = 1.26, 95% CI = 0.94-1.68, comparing > 20 donations vs 0 donations over 30 years, p for trend = 0.18) or of any major NHL subtypes.

Survival of patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in Germany in the early 21st century.

This study provides up-to-date and detailed cancer survival estimates of German patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL, International Statistical Classification of Diseases 10th Revision [ICD-10] codes C82-C85) based on data from 11 cancer registries. Period analysis was used to calculate 5-year relative survival in 2002-2006, overall and by gender, age and histology. Comparison was made with patients with NHL in the United States (US) Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database in the same time period. Overall 5-year relative survival for patients with NHL in Germany in 2002-2006 was 62.8% and in the US was 65.1%. Survival decreased with age from 81.7% at age 15-49 to 46.5% at age 75+. Survival in the US was 75.3% at age 15-49 and 52% at age 75+. Survival was higher for women than for men, at 65.2% for women and 60.7% for men. Survivals for diffuse B-cell lymphoma and follicular lymphoma, the two most common subtypes of NHL, were 57.3% and 77.5%, respectively. Between 2002 and 2006, overall 5-year relative survival increased by 5.3 percentage points. We conclude that survival for NHL is increasing in Germany in recent years. Survival was higher in Germany than in the US for patients aged 15-49 but lower for older patients.

Conceptos cambiantes en los linfomas / Changes in the lymphoma concepts

Los conceptos y la clasificación de los linfomas se han modificado a través de los años como resultado de los avances tecnológicos en el estudio de las neoplasias linfo-hematopoyéticas. Los linfomas desde mediados del siglo pasado se han clasificado en dos grupos: 1. Enfermedad de Hodgkin y 2. Linfomas no-Hodgkin; con sus tipos arquitectónicos y citológicos caracterizados con el microscopio de luz convencional. Sin embargo, la incorporación progresiva de técnicas de laboratorio especializada, principalmente inmunocito/histoquímicas y biología molecular, han permitido la identificación de nuevas variedades clínico-patológicas, inmuno-fenotípicas y genotípicas; de gran importancia terapéutica y pronóstica para los pacientes. En la actualidad, los linfomas se clasifican siguiendo las recomendaciones más recientes de la Organización Mundial de la Salud

The concepts and classification of the lymphomas have been modified throughout the years, as a result of the technological advances in the study of the lymphhematopoietic neoplasms. The lymphomas, since the middle of the last century have been classified in two groups: 1. Hodgkin´s disease, and 2. Non-Hodgkin’slymphomas; with its architectural and cytological types characterized with the conventional use of light microscope. Nevertheless, the progressive incorporation of specialized laboratory techniques mainly immunocyto-histochemestry and the molecular biology has allowed the identification of new clinic pathological, immuno-phenotypical and genotypic varieties; of great importance in the treatment and prognosis of the patients. At the present time, the lymphomas are classified following the most recent WorldHealth Organization recom mendations

Pesticides, soft-tissue sarcoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma--historical aspects on the precautionary principle in cancer prevention.

BACKGROUND: After the 2(nd) World War a long range of chemical agents have been introduced on the market, both in Sweden and most other countries. From the 1950's several pesticides gained increasing use in agriculture and forestry. In the 1970's public concern increased in Sweden especially regarding use of phenoxy herbicides to combat deciduous wood, although statements from different authorities were reassuring of the safety. MATERIALS AND METHODS: At the end of the 1970's the author and his colleagues published the first scientific evidence of an association between exposure to phenoxyacetic acids, chlorophenols and certain malignant tumours, i.e., soft-tissue sarcoma and malignant lymphoma. The study subjects were also exposed to contaminating dioxins such as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). Later studies showed also an association between certain persistent organic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) with an interaction with titers of antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus early antigen. These results have been corroborated in other studies. DISCUSSION: Over the years industry and its allied experts have attacked our studies, but in 1997 IARC classified TCDD as a human carcinogen, Group I. The increasing incidence of NHL in Sweden levelled off about 1990. The author postulated that the regulation or ban of the use of chlorophenols, certain phenoxy herbicides and some persistent organic pollutants in Sweden back in the 1970s has contributed to the now decreasing incidence of NHL. Unfounded criticism from industry experts may prohibit the precautionary principle and early warnings of cancer risk can be ignored. Cancer risks by certain chlorinated phenols may serve as a model of how the precautionary principle should be used by taking early warnings seriously.

Radioimmunotherapy for non-Hodgkin's lymphomas: a historical perspective.

One of the most promising therapeutic approaches currently under investigation for low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is the administration of monoclonal antibodies that recognize tumor-associated antigens. These antibodies can be used either in unmodified form or conjugated to cytotoxic drugs, toxins, or radionuclides. To date, the most promising of the immunoconjugates are radiolabeled antibodies. Radioimmunotherapy is an attractive approach because radiolabeled antibodies are effective even in the face of defective host immune effector function, antigen-negative variants, and poor penetration of the antibody into tumors. Iodine-131-and Yttrium-90-conjugated antibodies have shown superior response rates compared with unconjugated antibodies and have produced complete responses in 15% to 40% of treated patients. A variety of treatment approaches are currently being investigated, including administering radiolabeled antibodies in combination with chemotherapy and administering myeloablative doses with stem-cell rescue. This latter strategy has yielded complete remissions in the majority of treated patients, some durable for more than 5 years.

History of antibody therapy for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were the first successful targeted therapy for cancer. In contrast to the nonspecific nature of most chemotherapy, antibodies bind with high specificity to cell-surface antigens, resulting in targeted killing of malignant cells, relative sparing of normal tissues, and low toxicity. Antibody therapy has undergone substantial development since Ehrlich's notion of a "magic bullet," in 1890. It was not until the 1970s, however, that mAbs became viable as therapeutic tools and clinical studies showed them to be effective. The results were most impressive in hematologic malignancies, especially B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In 1997, rituximab (Rituxan; Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, CA, and Biogen Idec Inc, Cambridge, MA) became the first mAb approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for use in the treatment of cancer. The first approval for a radiolabeled antibody to treat cancer was in 2002 for (90)Y ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin; Biogen Idec). This is a conjugate of an anti-CD20 mAb (ibritumomab, the murine parent of rituximab) with the beta-emitter radionuclide (90)Y. (90)Y ibritumomab tiuxetan has been shown to be safe and effective in the indicated patient population. Other radioimmunoconjugates are being investigated for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, as are several immunotoxins. This article reviews important events in the development of mAb therapy and radioimmunotherapy for B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

EORTC cutaneous lymphoma task force. European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer.

The Cutaneous Lymphoma Task Force has represented the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) over the last two decades and has received worldwide acceptance and the highest respect. The group has been able to bring together the world's experts in this field to try to solve the basic problems associated with primary lymphomas of the skin and to create a productive scientific research basis. The definition and the classification of the disease per se has been a major controversial problem and the development of an EORTC classification for primary cutaneous lymphoma has been one of the main goals of the group. The purpose of this paper is to highlight and to provide a historical perspective regarding the contribution of the EORTC Cutaneous Lymphoma Group to the development of consensus guidelines for securing uniform diagnosis, classification and management of the heterogeneous group of primary cutaneous lymphomas. Some future perspectives and strategies of the group are also presented.

Rituximab: an insider's historical perspective.

Rituximab (Rituxan; Genentech, Inc, South San Francisco, CA and IDEC Pharmaceutical Corporation, San Diego, CA) is a unique monoclonal antibody for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. This chimeric mouse/human antibody was discovered in 1991 at IDEC Pharmaceuticals' laboratories, where the antibody was genetically engineered and produced utilizing high-yield expression systems. It is a human IgG1 kappa antibody with mouse variable regions isolated from a murine anti-CD20 antibody, IDEC-2B8, that binds with high affinity to cells expressing the CD20 antigen found on the surface of malignant and normal B cells, but not on other normal tissues. It mediates complement-dependent cell lysis in the presence of human complement, and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity with human effector cells. Also, it has been shown to induce apoptosis and to sensitize chemoresistant human lymphoma cell lines in vitro. Clinical development was expedited (3 years) with the first patient entered in phase I trials in March 1993 and the last patient entered in the phase III study in March 1996. IDEC Pharmaceuticals began a collaboration with Genentech, Inc in March 1995 and with F. Hoffman-LaRoche (Nutley, NJ) shortly thereafter. Marketing approval was granted by the US Food and Drug Administration on November 26, 1997 (and by the European Union on June 2, 1998) for the indication of relapsed or refractory, CD20-positive, B-cell, low-grade or follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Rituximab is the first therapeutic monoclonal antibody approved for the treatment of cancer and the first single agent approved specifically for therapy for a lymphoma. Substantial research has been performed over the past 8 years to further the understanding of this novel therapeutic. Nevertheless, much remains to be accomplished in key areas such as mechanism of action and resistance, combinations with chemotherapy, biologics and radiotherapy/radioimmunotherapy, role within multimodality regimens, and nonmalignant applications. Research conducted in the coming years should be targeted toward resolving these important issues.

The lymphomas.

The history of therapeutic advances in the lymphomas is reviewed. The initial studies that led to the cure of Hodgkin's disease and diffuse large B-cell lymphomas set a paradigm of cancer treatment broadly applicable to a number of malignancies. In recent times our knowledge of the biology of the Immune system has clarified the origin of subsets of lymphomas and provided specific targets of future therapeutic approaches.