Biomedical subjects
C Rozman
Publications and source records attributed to C Rozman.
Study of hematopoietic chimerism following allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation using PCR amplification of short tandem repeats.
Allogeneic peripheral blood progenitor cell transplantation (PBPCT) is increasingly being used to treat hematologic malignancies. However, the capacity of PBPC to maintain long-term hematopoiesis remains controversial. To add further information to this issue we studied the chimeric status in 12 patients receiving G-CSF-mobilized PBPC from HLA-identical sibling donors. All patients were conditioned with cyclophosphamide and total body irradiation. In six cases the apheresis product was partially T-cell depleted by counterflow centrifugation (n = 2) or the immunoadsorption biotin-avidin method (n = 4). The follow-up was longer than 6 months in five patients, with a maximum of 420 days. Molecular analysis of the engraftment was done using PCR amplification of short tandem repeats. Apparent complete donor chimerism was detected in all patients between 28 and 420 days after engraftment. This study indicates that full short-term engraftment is achieved in patients receiving allogeneic G-CSF-mobilized PBPC from healthy donors and suggests that this might also be true for long-term engraftment.
Effects of G-CSF administration and peripheral blood progenitor cell collection in 20 healthy donors.
The effects of both daily G-CSF administration and subsequent peripheral blood progenitor cell collection (PBPCC) by apheresis on 20 healthy adult donors were studied. All received daily G-CSF (filgrastim) 10 micrograms/kg for 5-7 days by subcutaneous injection. G-CSF administration was well tolerated, except for moderate bone pain and headache. Peak values of CD34+ cells were observed on days 5 (n = 12) or 6 (n = 8). In all donors a significant increase in CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD19+, and NK cells was observed on day 5 in relation to the baseline values. CD4/CD8 lymphocyte ratio was unmodified by G-CSF. None of the donors required a central venous line for PBPCC. Immediately after PBPCC, a platelet count below 100 x 10(9)/1 was observed in nine of 18 cases, although in all donors platelet counts were over 100 x 10(9)/1 7 days later. A lymphocytopenia on day 7 following PBPCC was observed, although there was a tendency to achieve baseline values 30-90 days after the procedure. Mean numbers ( +/- SD) of collected cells x 10(6)/kg after a median of two (1-4) apheresis sessions and a median of 20 1 (10-40) processed were: CD34+ 5.5 ( +/- 2.3), CD3+ 326 ( +/- 105), CD4+ 207 ( +/- 64), CD8+ 164 ( +/- 60), CD19+ 88 ( +/- 32), and NK cells 32 ( +/- 14). We conclude that G-CSF administration to healthy donors is a well-tolerated procedure which is associated with (a) obtaining a high number of hematopoietic progenitor cells, and (b) a significant increase in T, B, and NK cells in donors' blood. In addition, PBPCC by apheresis results in a moderate, rapidly reversible, and clinically irrelevant thrombocytopenia and a moderate lymphocytopenia, which tends to resolve within 3 months following the procedure.
Hodgkin's disease presenting as a cholestatic febrile illness: incidence and main characteristics in a series of 421 patients.
In order to determine the frequency and characteristics of patients with liver abnormalities as the presenting manifestation of Hodgkin's disease (HD), 421 consecutive HD patients were studied. Six patients in the series (1.4%) presented with liver abnormalities that led to of a liver biopsy and the subsequent diagnosis of HD. All had fever prior to HD diagnosis, four frank jaundice, and one hepatic failure. No patient had pruritus. Moderate hepatomegaly was present in four patients. Cholestasis was observed in all cases; in most patients a moderate increase in the transaminase activity was also seen. Two patients had a mild rise in the serum LDH, four had leukopenia, and one eosinophilia. At liver histologic study, Reed-Sternberg cells were demonstrated in four patients; in the remaining two, the presence of atypical histiocytes, lymphocytes, and eosinophils was highly suggestive of HD, the latter diagnosis being confirmed by subsequent study of bone marrow and/or retroperitoneal lymphadenopathies. In three of the six patients, HD was not demonstrated in sites other than the liver. Three patients older than 60 years died shortly after HD diagnosis. By contrast, three patients younger than 40 years showed a dramatic response to chemotherapy: two of them had a further relapse, and one is considered cured after 14 years of continuous remission. Liver disease constitutes an infrequent form of HD presentation which must be included in the differential diagnosis of any patient with fever of unknown origin.
Clinical research at the postgraduate school of haematology 'Farreras-Valentí'.
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Transplantation of peripheral blood progenitor cells from HLA-identical sibling donors. European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT).
Transplantation of peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPCs) has largely replaced autologous bone marrow transplantation. The same might occur in the allogeneic setting if the favourable initial experience with allogeneic PBPCT is confirmed. We analysed all primary transplants utilizing unmodified PBPC from HLA-identical sibling donors reported to the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) for 1994. 59 patients with a median age of 39 years received myeloablative therapy for acute myelogenous leukaemia (23 patients, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (13), chronic myelogenous leukaemia (nine), lymphoma (seven), or other diagnoses (seven) mostly of advanced stages followed by transplantation of allogeneic PBPC. Three patients died soon after grafting, the others showed prompt haemopoietic recovery with median times to recover an absolute neutrophil count (ANC) above 0.5 and 1.0 x 10(9)/I of 15 (range 9-27) and 17d (range 10-28) respectively. Time to platelet recovery above 20 or 50 x 10(9)/I was 16 (range 9-76) and 18d (range 12-100) respectively. 27 patients (46%) developed no or mild acute graft-versus-host disease (GVIID). The incidence of moderate (grade II) disease was 27%; 24% of the patients developed severe acute GVHD (grades III or IV), 55% of patients who were alive 90d after transplantation developed chronic GVHD, the probability to develop extensive chronic GVHD was 32% (95% confidence interval 22-42) with a median follow-up of 14 months. Overall and event-free survival (EFS) at 1 year were 54% (CI 48-60) and 50% (CI 43-57), respectively, the relapse incidence was 23% (CI 17-29). EFS was 67% (CI 55-79) in patients transplanted for acute leukaemias in first complete remission, chronic myelogenous leukaemia in first chronic phase, or severe aplastic anaemia. Transplantation of allogeneic PBPC resulted in prompt and durable engraftment. The incidence and severity of acute and chronic GVHD seemed comparable to that observed after allogeneic BMT. Overall and event-free survival in this cohort of patients, most of whom suffered from advanced leukaemia or lymphoma, is encouraging, suggesting that the high numbers of T lymphocytes and/or natural killer cells contained in a typical PBPC collection product exert a vigorous graft-versus-leukaemia effect. Further evaluation of allogeneic PBPCT is highly desirable.
Treatment of multiple myeloma in elderly people: long-term results in 178 patients.
The purposes of the present study have been to analyse the presenting features, response to therapy and survival of myeloma patients aged 70 years or more, in comparison to younger patients. From January 1985 to December 1989, 487 patients with multiple myeloma (MM) were randomized to receive melphalan and prednisone (MP) versus alternating cycles of vincristine, cyclophosphamide, melphalan, and prednisone (VCMP) and vincristine, BCNU, adriamycin, and prednisone (VBAP). The subset of 178 patients who were 70 or more years is the subject of this study, whereas the 309 patients younger than 70 years were used as a control group. The presenting features and response to chemotherapy of older patients were no different to those of the younger population. However, the survival of elderly patients was significantly shorter (median 23.4 vs. 33.5 months, p < 0.001). The overall response rate to MP in older patients was 50% (28% objective plus 22% partial response) compared with 61% (44% objective plus 17% partial response) to combination chemotherapy (p = not significant). Myelosuppression was moderate in both arms, although MP produced a higher degree of thrombocytopenia. There were no significant differences in survival between patients given MP versus VCMP/ VBAP (median, 20 vs. 27 months, p = 0.2). Response to treatment was associated with a significantly longer survival. Older patients with symptomatic myeloma tolerate chemotherapy and should be offered treatment.
Ovarian dermoid cyst-associated autoimmune hemolytic anemia: a case report with emphasis on pathogenic mechanisms.
Autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) as a manifestation of ovarian dermoid cyst (ODC) is a rare paraneoplastic syndrome of unknown pathogenesis. Among mechanisms postulated to explain this association, cross-reactivity between cyst and red blood cell (RBC) antigens, and local production of RBC autoantibodies by intracyst B lymphocytes are the most likely. Studies to test these hypothesis were done in a patient diagnosed of AIHA associated with a nonpalpable ODC, in whom the AIHA subsided after tumor excision. The RBC-bound autoantibody was an IgG directed against the Rh complex. The cyst's fluid content lacked detectable RBC autoantibodies or immunoglobulins, the latter being measured by a high-sensitivity assay. It also failed to inhibit the ability of the purified autoantibody to agglutinate RBCs. Ovarian dermoid cyst histology disclosed that (1) the biotin-labelled RBC autoantibody did not bind to ODC structures; (2) scanty amounts of small mature lymphocytes (50% CD45RO+; 50% CD20+) were present only in a few tissue sections; (3) plasma cells producing IgM or IgG were extremely scarce; and (4) deposits of immunoglobulins were not detected into the ODC. These data fail to support any of the aforementioned hypotheses on the pathogenesis of this paraneoplastic syndrome. Other possible mechanisms are discussed, and a wider use of imaging diagnosis to search for ODC in women with AIHA is emphasized.
An assessment of the clinicohematological criteria for the accelerated phase of chronic myeloid leukemia.
In order to assess the relative importance of the clinicohematological features most commonly associated with the accelerated phase (AP) of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in 175 consecutive patients, 12 variables generally considered as indicating AP were analyzed for their predictive value for blast crisis (BC) appearance in less than 1 yr. At the time of analysis, 118 patients had died and 104 had developed BC. At univariate study, 6 features were associated with a significantly higher BC-probability: poor performance status (ECOG score > or = 2), unexplained fever/sweats, severe bone pain, progressive splenomegaly despite adequate therapy, blood basophils (> or = 20%) and peripheral blasts (6-12%). At logistic regression, only bone pain and blood blasts (6-12%) retained their prognostic importance; the relative risk of unexplained fever/sweats and progressive splenomegaly was also clinically relevant. One-year BC-probability from the appearance of 1 or more of the above features was 77.3% (95% CI: 66-86.6) and 100% since all 4 were observed. Finally, at least 1 of the 4 features was present prior to death in 6 of 7 patients dying from CML-related causes while not in BC. AP can be defined by the appearance along CML evolution of 1 or more of the 4 above-mentioned clinicohematological features.
Undetected viral infection in diffuse alveolar damage associated with bone marrow transplantation.
To investigate the presence of nondiagnosed viral lung infections in patients who developed acute respiratory failure and diffuse pulmonary infiltrates after bone marrow transplantation (BMT), we studied necropsy-obtained lung specimens with features of diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) where no other specific histological diagnosis could be established, by using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. Lung tissue samples obtained at necropsy from 19 patients (12 males and 7 females; 31 +/- 11 yrs mean +/- SD age) who died 56 +/- 36 days after BMT (12 allogeneic and 7 autologous), were studied retrospectively using specific deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) probes to detect cytomegalovirus (CMV), herpes simplex virus (HSV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and adenovirus genomes. Tissue samples were additionally processed with antibodies to CMV and HSV antigens. Cells infected by CMV were detected by in situ hybridization in five cases, and by immunohistochemistry in four cases. Combining the results of both procedures, a previously undiagnosed CMV infection was found in six patients. All of them had received an allogeneic BMT and had developed graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). No evidence of cells infected by HSV, EBV, or adenovirus was found in any case. No viral infection was detected either in recipients of autologous marrow or in recipients of allogeneic BMT without GVHD. These results indicate that pulmonary cytomegalovirus infection not detected by conventional histological examinations may be present in patients with diffuse alveolar damage associated with bone marrow transplantation, especially in recipients of allogeneic marrow who develop graft-versus-host disease. Furthermore, the use of in situ hybridization and/or immunohistochemistry on pulmonary histology might improve the diagnosis of viral lung infections in patients receiving bone marrow transplantation.
CNS involvement in mantle-cell lymphoma.
PURPOSE: In non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, CNS involvement is highly dependent on the histology of the lymphoma. Mantle-cell lymphoma (MCL) is a lymphoma type with distinctive histologic, biologic, and clinical features in which CNS involvement has only been rarely described. The purpose of this report is to describe the incidence, clinical characteristics, and outcome of CNS infiltration in patients with MCL seen at a single institution. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty-two patients with MCL, who account for 6% of all patients with nodal lymphomas diagnosed and monitored at a university hospital from 1987 to 1994, were studied. Analysis of the incidence of CNS involvement by the disease was performed. RESULTS: Five of 22 patients (22%; exact 95% confidence interval [CI], 7.8% to 45.4%) with MCL developed CNS involvement at a median of 18 months (range, 6 to 59) from diagnosis. All of these patients presented with poor MCL histologic subtypes and advanced disease. When the CNS infiltration became apparent, all of the patients displayed neurologic signs and had lymphoid cells consistent with the diagnosis of MCL in the CSF. In most of the cases, CNS infiltration was part of resistant disease or generalized relapse and had an ominous significance. CONCLUSION: The incidence of CNS involvement in MCL might be higher than previously recognized. The frequency of CNS infiltration in MCL deserves to be investigated in other series and, if a high incidence is confirmed, the risk factors, mechanisms, and clinical implications of such a complication should be further studied.
Feasibility and results of bone marrow transplantation after remission induction and intensification chemotherapy in de novo acute myeloid leukemia. Catalan Group for Bone Marrow Transplantation.
PURPOSE: To evaluate prospectively the feasibility and results of bone marrow transplantation (BMT) after induction and intensification chemotherapy (CT) in patients with de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 159 patients less than 51 years of age were treated. Induction CT consisted of daunorubicin 60 mg/m2 for 3 days, cytarabine (ARA-C) 100mg/m2 for 7 days, and etoposide 100 mg/m2 for 3 days. The first intensification therapy included mitoxantrone 10 mg/m2 for 3 days and ARA-C 1.2 g/m2 every 12 hours for 4 days. Amsacrine (100 or 150 mg/m2 for 3 days) and ARA-C (1.2 g/m2 every 12 hours for 2 or 4 days) were given as the second intensification therapy. Depending on the availability of a human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-identical sibling, the intention of treatment after CT was allogeneic BMT (allo-BMT) or autologous BMT (ABMT). RESULTS: Complete remission (CR) was obtained in 120 patients (75%) and partial remission (PR) in 11 (7%), while 15 patients (10%) were refractory and 13 (8%) died during induction. There was a trend for better leukemia-free survival (LFS) at 4 years for patients assigned to the ABMT group (50% +/- 6%) compared with the allo-BMT group (31% +/- 7%) (P = .08). This difference in LFS reached statistical significance when considering only transplanted patients (63% +/- 3% at 4 years after ABMT and 38% +/- 11% after allo-BMT, P = .02). The favorable results in patients who received ABMT (no toxic deaths and 37% +/- 7% probability of relapse at 4 years) contrast with the poor outcome of allografted patients (11 patients with transplant-related mortality). CONCLUSION: Our study reflects the difficulties in the completion of a therapeutic strategy that include BMT and suggests that intensification before BMT may be useful in the setting of ABMT, but this approach was associated with a high mortality rate in allo-BMT patients.
Survival of multiple myeloma patients who are potential candidates for early high-dose therapy intensification/ autotransplantation and who were conventionally treated.
PURPOSE: To analyze the outcome of patients with multiple myeloma (MM) who were potential candidates for early high-dose therapy (HDT) intensification followed by autotransplantation from a series treated with conventional chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From January 1985 through December 1989, 487 patients with symptomatic MM were entered onto a randomized study to compare melphalan and prednisone (MP) versus vincristine, cyclophosphamide, melphalan, and prednisone (VCMP) /vincristine, carmustine (BCNU), doxorubicin, and prednisone (VBAP). The sub-group of 77 patients who could have been candidates for early intensification with HDT followed by stem-cell support (ie, < 65 years of age, stage II or III disease, performance status < 3, and objective or partial response to initial chemotherapy) are the subjects of this report. RESULTS: Seventy-seven of 487 patients could have been candidates for early intensification. The median age was 56 years (range, 27 to 64). At diagnosis, 12% had abnormal renal function, 16% hypercalcemia, and 42% serum beta 2-microglobulin level > or = 6 mg/L; 62% had stage III disease at diagnosis. Thirty-six patients were initially treated with MP and 41 with VCMP/VBAP. The median response duration to initial chemotherapy was 22 months, and the actuarial probability of being in continued first response at 5 years was 14%. After a median follow-up time of 58 months, 59 patients have died, one was lost to follow-up evaluation, and 17 are still alive 69 to 119 months after initial chemotherapy. The median survival time from initiation of treatment was 60 months and from the time when autotransplantation would be considered, 52 months. The only independent prognostic parameter for survival was renal function at diagnosis. CONCLUSION: The median survival time of patients with MM who are less than 65 years of age and who respond to initial chemotherapy is 5 years. This survival duration is similar to that reported in selected series of patients given early HDT and stresses the importance of ongoing randomized trials to determine the role of HDT in the treatment of younger myeloma patients.
Neurologic complications of autologous and allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in patients with leukemia: a comparative study.
We retrospectively evaluated the neurologic complications in 425 patients who underwent bone marrow transplant (BMT) (310 allogeneic, 115 autologous) for leukemia. Forty-six patients (11%) developed 47 central and three peripheral neurologic complications. The most common complications were cerebral hemorrhage (3.8%), metabolic encephalopathy (3%), and CNS infections (2%). All CNS infections occurred with allogeneic BMT. Eleven of 16 hemorrhages were subdural hematomas (69%), which were more frequent in autologous (8%) than in allogeneic (0.6%) BMT (p < 0.0001), and in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) (5%) than in the remaining leukemia patients (0.8%) (p = 0.013). Eight of 11 subdural hematomas occurred in AML patients receiving autologous BMT. When we compared patient-, disease-, and transplant-related characteristics of these patients with those without subdural hematoma, only platelet refractoriness correlated with an increased risk of subdural hematoma. The actuarial probability of developing subdural hematoma was 44% in patients with platelet-refractory disease and only 2.5% in the other patients (p < 0.0001). Ten patients with subdural hematoma did not have surgery and eight had significant clinical improvement associated with reduction or resolution of the hematoma, confirmed by CT scan in six patients. The subdural hematoma was the cause of death in only one patient. This study shows that the frequency of the different neurologic complications varies among types of BMT. Patients undergoing autologous BMT for AML with platelet refractoriness have an increased risk of subdural hematoma that may be treated with conservative measures.
Allogenic transplants with peripheral blood progenitor cells: a report of six cases.
Six patients with high-risk leukaemia received a myeloablative regimen followed by allogeneic peripheral blood progenitor cells transplantation (PBPCT) from an HLA-identical sibling donor. Donors received 10-12 mu g/kg/day of G-CSF subcutaneously for 5 days. G-CSF was well tolerated except for moderate bone pain. Peripheral blood leukapheresis product contained 1-4 times more CD34+ cells and approximately a log more of T lymphocytes than marrow grafts from normal donors. In the two first cases the leukapheresis product was partially depleted of T-lymphocytes using counterflow centrifugation. No growth-factors were administered post-transplant. GVHD prophylaxis consisted of cyclosporin A (CyA) in one case, and CyA and methotrexate in five cases. All patients engrafted with a neutrophil count reaching more than 0.5 x 10(9)/L by day 12 to 21 post-transplant and a platelet count above 20 x 10(9)/L by day 6 to 41 post-transplant. Acute GVHD was clinical grade 0 (n = 2), I (n = 1), II (n = I), grade III (n = I) and grade IV (n = 1). One case presents an extensive chronic cutaneous GVHD and is currently being treated with methylprednisolone. In conclusion, allogeneic transplants using PBPC can be performed safely. This may result in a rapid neutrophil and platelet engraftment, without an apparent increased risk of GVHD.
Hypercalcemia in a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia evolving into Richter's syndrome.
Hypercalcemia is a rare complication of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), mostly seen in the context of advanced disease, for which different pathogenetic mechanisms have been postulated. A CLL patient who developed hypercalcemia in the setting of Richter's syndrome is reported. She was a 69-year old woman with stage B (II) CLL of 28-month duration, who presented with mental confusion, anorexia, vomiting, and diffuse bone pain, with hypercalcemia being subsequently found. A lymph node biopsy demonstrated evolution of CLL into Richter's syndrome. Serum levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH), PTH-related peptide and several cytokines were normal. The hypercalcemia initially responded to conventional treatment and chemotherapy, but it reappeared coincidentally with disease progression and the development of osteolytic lesions. Richter's syndrome should be kept in mind in CLL patients with hypercalcemia.
Risk factors for hepatic veno-occlusive disease following HLA-identical sibling bone marrow transplants for leukemia.
The objective was to analyze risk factors for veno-occlusive disease of the liver (VOD) after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. A cohort of 1717 recipients of HLA-identical sibling transplants for leukemia between 1988 and 1990, in 200 transplant teams worldwide, was studied. Patients were scored as having VOD if liver tissue showed typical histologic features or if they had all three of the following: (1) jaundice; (2) hepatomegaly and right upper quadrant abdominal pain; and (3) ascites and/or unexplained weight gain. Patients surviving more than 7 days post-transplant without histologic or any of these clinical features of VOD were classified as not having VOD. Patient-, disease- and transplant-related characteristics of 95 patients with VOD were compared to those of 1514 without VOD. Variables correlated with an increased risk of VOD were: pretransplant conditioning with busulfan and cyclophosphamide compared to total body radiation (relative risk (RR) 2.8; P < 0.0001), pretransplant fungal infection (RR 4.1; P = 0.011), pretransplant Karnofsky performance score < 90% (RR 1.9; P = 0.012), prior liver disease (RR 1.9; P = 0.05) and age > 20 years (RR 1.8; P = 0.05). In patients receiving radiation for conditioning, intravenous immune globulin decreased VOD risk (RR 0.26; P = 0.003). This analysis identifies risk factors for VOD. The data suggest several strategies for modifying transplant regimens to reduce VOD risk and which patients might be suitable subjects for trials of strategies of VOD prevention.
Chronic myeloid leukemia of thrombocythemic onset: a CML subtype with distinct hematological and molecular features?
Among 84 consecutive patients with chronic phase Ph-positive chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) who were investigated for the hybrid BCR/ABL mRNA, in six cases (7%) the disease mimicked essential thrombocythemia (ET) at presentation, because of marked thrombocytosis (platelet counts ranging from 1003 x 10(9)/l to 2800 x 10(9)/l) and moderate leukocytosis (WBC counts from 10 x 10(9)/l to 19 x 10(9)/l). At initial examination, four of the six patients showed a few (4-9%) immature myeloid cells in the peripheral blood, and two had blood basophilia. All six patients later developed increasing leukocytosis, and two subsequently died from blast crisis and accelerated CML, respectively. In the overall series, 38 patients (45%) expressed the b2a2 type of BCR/ABL mRNA, and 46 (55%) either the b3a2 or both mRNAs. By contrast, only one of the six patients with CML of thrombocythemic onset expressed the b2a2 mRNA vs five with either b3a2 (n = 4) or both mRNA types (n = 1). The above results, in conjunction with similar data from a few previously published cases, suggest an association between the above form of CML and b3a2 type of BCR/ABL transcript.