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Biomedical subjects

C D Bloomfield

Publications and source records attributed to C D Bloomfield.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Clinical significance of the BCR-ABL fusion gene in adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a Cancer and Leukemia Group B Study (8762).

The Philadelphia (Ph1) chromosome, or its molecular counterpart, the BCR-ABL fusion gene, is a rare but important prognostic indicator in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), but its impact on adult ALL has not been well ascertained. A prospective study of the BCR-ABL fusion gene was begun on patients entered on clinical trials conducted by the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB). All patients received intensive, multiagent chemotherapy that included daunorubicin. Over 2 years, 56 patients were studied for molecular evidence of a BCR-ABL gene using Southern blot and pulsed-field gel hybridization analysis. Results were compared with cytogenetic detection of a Ph1 chromosome, and clinical features were compared for the BCR-ABL-positive and -negative groups. Molecular methods detected the BCR-ABL gene in 30% of cases compared with cytogenetic detection of the Ph1 chromosome in only 23%. The majority of cases (76%) showed the p190 gene subtype similar to pediatric ALL; the BCR-ABL-positive cases displayed a more homogeneous immunophenotype than the BCR-ABL-negative cases and were predominantly CALLA positive (86%) and B-cell surface antigen positive (82%). The rate of achieving complete remission was similar in the BCR-ABL-positive and -negative groups (71% and 77%, respectively, P = .72). There were more early relapses in the BCR-ABL-positive group, resulting in a shorter remission duration that was especially marked in the CALLA-positive and B-cell antigen-positive populations. These preliminary data suggest that the impact of the BCR-ABL gene on clinical outcome in ALL may be on maintenance of complete remission (CR) rather than achievement of CR when aggressive, multiagent chemotherapy is used. This study identifies the BCR-ABL gene as an important factor in adult ALL and demonstrates the utility of molecular methods for its accurate diagnosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

ras oncogene activation and occupational exposures in acute myeloid leukemia.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic studies of acute myeloid leukemias (AMLs) show small increases in risk of disease associated with certain occupations and chemical exposures. PURPOSE: This study was designed to determine whether the presence of mutationally activated ras oncogenes in AML are associated with occupational and chemical exposures. METHODS: We interviewed 62 patients with newly diagnosed AML (or their next-of-kin), all of whom were enrolled in a national multicenter clinical trial, and 630 healthy control subjects. DNA extracted from patients' pretreatment bone marrow samples was amplified by using the polymerase chain reaction and probed with allele-specific oligonucleotides for activating point mutations at the 12th, 13th, and 61st codons of three protooncogenes: H-ras (also known as HRAS), K-ras (also known as KRAS2), and N-ras (also known as NRAS). RESULTS: Patients with ras mutation-positive AML had a higher frequency (six of 10 patients) of working 5 or more years in an a priori high-risk occupation than did patients with ras mutation-negative AML (eight of 52; odds ratio [OR] = 6.8; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.3-36). Patients with ras mutation-positive AML were more likely than patients with ras mutation-negative AML to have breathed chemical vapor on the job (OR = 9.1; 95% CI = 1.3-64) or to have had skin contact with chemicals (OR = 6.9; 95% CI = 1.3-37). When ras-positive patients were compared with healthy control subjects, the ORs for occupation and occupational exposures remained elevated, while patients with ras mutation-negative AML showed no increased risk when compared with control subjects. CONCLUSION: Activation of ras proto-oncogenes may identify an etiologic subgroup of AML caused by occupation and chemical exposure. IMPLICATION: Disease etiology may be better understood if epidemiologic measures of exposure are integrated with molecular assays of the genetic defects responsible for cancer initiation and promotion.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1992

Immunohistochemical identification of P-glycoprotein in previously untreated, diffuse large cell and immunoblastic lymphomas.

Expression of P-glycoprotein has been linked to multidrug resistance in cancer cell lines and human tumors. We investigated the frequency and clinical significance of P-glycoprotein immunoreactivity in 57 previously untreated diffuse large cell and immunoblastic lymphomas. Banked frozen tissue, which had been obtained prior to chemotherapy, was tested for reactivity with 2 monoclonal antibodies (MRK16 and C219) that recognize different domains of P-glycoprotein, using an immunoperoxidase technique. Thirteen of 57 lymphomas (23%) showed strong staining of greater than 50% of neoplastic cells; 15 of 57 (26%) showed labeling of a minority (11-50%) of neoplastic lymphocytes; 14 of 57 (25%) yielded equivocal results (reactivity in less than 10% of cells); and 15 of 57 (26%) were negative for P-glycoprotein. The 2 monoclonal antibodies were comparable in reactivity. Expression of MDR-1 mRNA was determined in 6 cases with sufficient available tissue, and did not correlate well with the percentages of cells reactive for P-glycoprotein by immunohistochemistry. Thirty-nine of our 57 patients completed multiagent chemotherapy. Contrary to our expectations, we found that P-glycoprotein immunoreactivity did not decrease the likelihood of response to induction chemotherapy. Median survival also was not adversely affected.

ABO Blood-Group System↗
PubMed1992

An altered 11-kilobase transcript in leukemic cell lines with the t(4;11)(q21;q23) chromosome translocation.

The 11q23 chromosome band is frequently associated with chromosomal aberrations in human leukemias. We have previously cloned a DNA fragment derived from chromosome 11 which could be used as a probe to detect rearrangements in DNAs from the leukemic cells of patients with the t(4;11), t(9;11), and t(11;19) translocations. In this study we now show that the same probe detects DNA rearrangements in malignant cells from patients with the t(1;11), t(6;11), t(10;11), and del (11q23) chromosomal abnormalities. A second probe obtained from a region located centrometric to the breakpoint cluster detects major and minor transcripts of 12.5 and 11.5 kilobases, respectively, in all cell lines examined. The same probe identifies an altered 11-kilobase RNA in all three independent cell lines with the t(4;11)(q21;q23) chromosome translocation.

Chromosomes, Human, Pair 11↗
PubMed1992

Recurring chromosome abnormalities in Hodgkin's disease.

Cytogenetic analysis was performed on lymph nodes or other tumor masses from 33 patients with Hodgkin's disease. Metaphase cells were obtained in 25 of the 33 cases. Analyzable abnormal clones were found in nine cases. Characteristic abnormalities included polyploidy and complex structural rearrangements nonrandomly involving certain chromosomal regions. Chromosomes most commonly gained were 2, 9, 11, 19, and 20, and those most often lost were 10, 13, 15, 16, 21, and Y. Translocation breakpoints clustered in bands 1p11-1p13, 1p36, 4q35, 14q11, and 15p11. In five patients, breakpoints were in bands to which T-cell receptor genes have been mapped. No specific, recurring translocation was identified. There was, however, recurring loss of chromosomal material from 1q, 4q, 6q, and 17p. Loss or deletions of chromosomes 4 and 6 were found in five and six patients, respectively. Deletions overlapped; the smallest overlapping segments included bands 4q25-4q27 and 6q21-6q23. The data suggest that loss of specific chromosomal regions may be important in the pathogenesis of Hodgkin's disease. With respect to tumor specificity, deletions of 4q are of particular interest because these have not been previously reported to occur nonrandomly in other human malignancies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

The use of monoclonal antibodies against primary myeloid granules in normal and leukemic cells.

Three monoclonal antibodies, K101, D46, and H36/71 (CD15), reactive with membrane components of primary granules of human promyelocytes, were studied to assess their binding to normal and leukemic cells. Using the alkaline phosphatase antialkaline phosphatase technique, these antibodies were applied to sections of normal organs and to peripheral blood and bone marrow films from hematologically normal individuals and patients with hematologic malignancies. In control experiments, antibodies showed reactivity with cytoplasmic constituents of granulocytes from the promyelocytic to the neutrophilic stage. In acute myeloid leukemia, antibody K101 was positive (more than 20% of blasts) in 13 of 21 (62%) cases, while antibody D46 was positive in 11 of 17 (65%) cases. Antibody H36/71 was positive in only 4 of 24 (17%) cases of acute myeloid leukemia. At least one marker was present in 6 of 8 (75%) cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia with myeloid antigen-positive blasts and was negative in 20 cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia with myeloid antigen-negative blasts. These results support the view that abnormal granules (with defective expression of the D46, K101, and H36/71 antigens) form in blastic and leukemic cells of patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Data also suggest that membrane components of myeloid granules are made in the cytoplasm of cells from some acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients with myeloid antigen-positive blasts.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1992

Cytogenetics and oncogenes in leukemia.

Cytogenetic and molecular studies have assumed an increasing role in the evaluation and management of patients with leukemia. Many cytogenetic findings have become well established as important independent indicators of prognosis in the acute leukemias. There has been a recent explosion of knowledge about the genes involved in leukemogenesis and the manner in which their structure or expression is altered by chromosomal translocations or point mutations. Application of newer techniques such as the polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridization has begun to allow quantitation of residual leukemia cells after therapy. Cytogenetic and molecular findings should allow us to use more individualized therapy in treating leukemia, as well as therapy targeting leukemia-specific abnormal gene products.

Chromosome Aberrations↗
PubMed1992

A phase II study of recombinant interleukin-2 with or without recombinant interferon-beta in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. A study of the Cancer and Leukemia Group B.

Interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon-beta (IFN-beta) have demonstrated activity against lymphoid malignancies, presumably mediated by the augmentation of lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell and natural killer (NK) cell activity. There is in vitro and in vivo evidence to suggest that the combination of IL-2 and IFN-beta is synergistic. The Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) conducted a randomized phase II trial of IL-2 with or without IFN-beta in 49 patients with relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Overall toxicity was severe, with 17 patients experiencing life-threatening toxicity. Three patients had treatment-related deaths. Responses were noted in seven patients (17%). There were no meaningful differences between treatment arms in toxicity profile, response rate, or modulation of in vivo NK and LAK activity. We conclude that IL-2 with or without IFN-beta is not effective therapy for NHL in the doses and schedule used in this study.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Trisomy 13 in acute leukemia.

Trisomy 13 occurring as a sole cytogenetic abnormality has recently been demonstrated to have adverse prognostic significance in acute leukemia. Trisomy 13 is seen primarily in an older male population, and has been reported in treatment-associated acute leukemia and acute leukemia evolved from myelodysplastic syndromes, as well as in de novo leukemia. The 36 cases of acute leukemia with trisomy 13 reported to date include 26 AML, 6 AUL, 2 ALL and 2 mixed lineage patients. Immunophenotyping studies have demonstrated an undifferentiated phenotype or biphenotypic markers in most cases. Trisomy 13 is associated with a low complete remission rate and with brief remission duration. The role of the additional copy of chromosome 13 in the pathogenesis of these cases of acute leukemia and the gene(s) of importance on chromosome 13 are yet to be determined.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1992

Predictive value of flow cytometric analyses of blast cells in assessing the phenotype of the leukemia colony-forming cell (L-CFC) population in acute myeloid leukemia.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) blast cells (BC) express antigens that are commonly found on their normal counterparts. The leukemia colony-forming cell (L-CFC) subpopulation, identified by its ability to form leukemia colonies in vitro, is thought to be the stem cell population that produces BC. To ascertain the association between myeloid antigens on the BC and the L-CFC from the same patient, we compared the expression of CD14, CD15, CD33, p124 and HLA class I from 17 cases of AML. These particular myeloid antigens were studied because they are suitable targets in purging bone marrow for autotransplantation. We found no significant difference in the expression of CD14, CD15, CD33, and HLA class I on the BC and L-CFC from the same patient, although we observed considerable heterogeneity among different AML cases. Analysis of the progenitor cell antigen p124 revealed significant within-patient differences on the BC and L-CFC (p = 0.007), with a greater tendency for expression on the L-CFC. This heterogeneity may be due to differences in maturation stage of the L-CFC and BC. This information is important when L-CFC phenotype is used to determine the appropriate selection of antibodies for purging of residual disease in the context of auto-transplantation.

Antigens, Differentiation↗
PubMed1992

Leukemias and myelodysplastic syndromes secondary to drug, radiation, and environmental exposure.

The median latency of 2 degrees MDS/AL is 4 to 5 years. A high percentage of patients with 2 degrees MDS/AL convert to 2 degrees AL. Survival of either is less than 1 year. A constellation of morphologic abnormalities from all 3 cell lines produces a unique appearance. Both 2 degrees MDS and 2 degrees AL are difficult to classify by the FAB system. With the exception of the identification of karyotypic abnormalities, the biology of 2 degrees MDS/AL remains largely unexplored. Alterations of chromosomes 5 and 7 predominate, but other associated cytogenetic abnormalities are being increasingly recognized. A synthesis of data regarding 2 degrees MDS/AL resulting from the treatment of several primary malignancies generates the tentative conclusions that (a) many of the alkylating agents, and the nonclassic alkylating agent procarbazine, are leukemogens; (b) melphalan is a more potent leukemogen than cyclophosphamide. None of the other alkylating agents has been clearly established to be more or less potent than another; (c) increasing duration or amount of alkylator-based chemotherapy increases the risk of leukemogenesis; (d) low doses of radiation delivered to large volumes of bone marrow are weakly leukemogenic. High doses of radiation delivered to small volumes are not. Due to the latter, there is minimal additive risk for 2 degrees MDS/AL among studies using alkylator-based chemotherapy and radiotherapy, either concurrently or sequentially; (e) the older patient (greater than 40) is at increased risk for 2 degrees MDS/AL, at least in Hodgkin's disease. Children may be at lesser risk than adults, and younger children at lesser risk than older children; (f) the risk of 2 degrees MDS/AL peaks within the first decade after treatment for the primary malignancy. The incidence rates during the second decade are low. Identified occupational/environmental risks for 2 degrees MDS/AL include benzene, ambient and diagnostic radiation exposure, and perhaps ethylene oxide. The similarities in karyotype abnormalities among leukemic cells of those whose occupations expose them to chemical hazard, and those who are exposed to cytotoxic agents, suggest that many more environmental leukemogens have yet to be discovered. Karyotype is an important prognostic factor for both achievement of CR and for survival. Nonaggressive treatment approaches have not proven useful, although the use of hematopoietic growth factors offers promise in this area. Combination chemotherapy is justified in patients with adequate performance statuses and "favorable" karyotypes. Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation is currently the only curative approach, and can be applied without attempts to first reduce the leukemic burden.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMed1991

Expression of the CD15 antigen on normal and leukemic myeloid cells: effects of neuraminidase and variable detection with a panel of monoclonal antibodies.

Normal and malignant myeloids cells are known to express cell surface molecules having in common the carbohydrate antigen lacto-N-fucopentaose-III (LNF-III--termed CD15). We used flow cytometry to examine the variability of CD15 expression in normal cells and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells as detected by 24 murine monoclonal antibodies (mAb). Important differences in the levels of binding were observed with the various mAb. Titrations of each mAb were performed to confirm that these differences in binding were due to increased antigen detection and not differences in concn. In studies of CD15 expression on AML cells selected from a large prospective study, anti-CD15-1 (also known as PM-81) showed the highest binding to each case. Neuraminidase was added to cells from seven AML patients that we had previously found to be low in CD15 expression, in order to determine if cryptic CD15 was present on these cells. Neuraminidase enhanced binding of each of the entire panel of mAb on five patients' cells, thus demonstrating the ubiquitous expression of CD15 on AML cells. In two cases, binding of only some of the mAb was increased, indicating exposure of unusual epitopes on those cells. Subpopulations of normal peripheral blood lymphocytes, cells not associated with CD15 expression, also substantially increased their level of binding to some of the mAb after the addition of neuraminidase. Two-color flow cytometry was used to determine the immunologic phenotype of the lymphocytic population that expressed CD15. This technique revealed that 9.5% normal lymphocytes coexpressed the CD15 and CD3 (T cell) antigens. In addition, by gating on large granular lymphocytes we found that 24.4% of these cells coexpressed CD15 (detected by PM-81) and CD2 (sheep erythrocyte receptor), while 50.3% expressed CD15 and CD16 (type III Fc receptor, natural killer cell-associated). This is consistent with the notion that sialylated CD15 is expressed on some natural killer cells and T cells.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1991

The clinical significance of biological characteristics of the cells in acute myeloid leukemia.

An understanding of the biological heterogeneity of acute myeloid leukemia has been gained from studies of morphology, cytogenetics, cell surface antigen expression, level of leukemic transformation, responsiveness to hematopoietic growth factors, in vivo and in vitro differentiation, and protooncogene expression. Knowledge acquired from these studies has begun to lead to stratification of therapy and to new avenues of treatment.

Cell Differentiation↗