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D Sainty

Publications and source records attributed to D Sainty.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Role of induction chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation in adult lymphoblastic lymphoma: a report on 62 patients from a single center.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the outcome of an unselected large series of patients with lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL) treated in a single institution. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixty-two patients were treated between 1980 and 1992. Induction chemotherapy (CT) to achieve complete response (CR) was: French Multicenter Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) protocols (38), non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL) protocols (20). Thirty patients underwent transplant after achieving CR (allogeneic 12; autologous 18). RESULTS: Forty-six patients (74%) achieved CR and 16 (26%) failed to respond. The patients who received an ALL induction had an 89% CR rate, while the CR rate was 52% in patients who received a NHL-like regimen. With a median follow-up of 93 months (range 36-187), the actuarial overall survival (OS) rate for all patients is 49% at five years and 41% at 10 years, and the actuarial event-free survival (EFS) rate is 45% and 37%. OS and EFS in the grafted population are, respectively, 60% and 56% at five years. Our results also show a trend toward a longer OS in allografted group. CONCLUSIONS: ALL induction therapy is more effective than the NHL-like regimen for augmenting the CR rate. Autologous or allogeneic transplantation should be considered as consolidation therapy in high-risk group patients.

Adolescent↗

Anti-GM-CSF monoclonal antibody therapy for refractory acute leukemia.

Several phase I trials and pilot studies using Monoclonal Antibody (MoAb) have been performed in B-cell neoplasms, but this approach has not until now been extensively tested in myeloid leukemias. Recently, we evaluated the use of anti-Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor MoAb (Anti-GM-CSF MoAb) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Eight patients fulfilled inclusion criteria and received a single course of Anti-GM-CSF MoAb infusion during 5 to 15 days. Anti-GM-CSF MoAb was well tolerated and was detectable in pharmacokinetics studies. Using Human Anti-Rat Antibodies (HARA), we also observed an immunological response to the MoAb. Despite sufficient levels detected in the serum and biological activity of Anti-GM-CSF MoAb in vivo, no anti-leukemic effect was noted, except for one patient who had a decrease of 50% in the marrow blast cell mass. These observations indicate that leukemic proliferation in vivo involves a complex network spanning many mechanisms, and inhibition of leukemia is not effective if only one of these key targets is attacked. The development of these new approaches may be more effective in the future.

Adult↗

A phase II study of interleukin-2 in 49 patients with relapsed or refractory acute leukemia.

In this report we present the results of a multicenter phase II study of high-dose recombinant Interleukin-2 (rIL-2) in patients with refractory or relapsed acute leukemia. Forty-nine patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML: 30 patients) or acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL: 19 patients) were included. Median age was 30 years (range: 4-71). Four patients were treated for primary refractory disease and 45 for relapsed disease (16 patients > 2nd relapse). Twenty-four patients (49%) had previously received bone marrow transplantation (allogeneic: 5, autologous: 19). Patients were scheduled to receive three 5-day cycles of rIL-2 given every other week. rIL-2 was administered as bolus I.V. infusion of 8 x 10(6) UI/m2 every 8 hours during cycle I and every 12 hours during cycles 2 and 3. Patients received a mean of 76% of rIL-2 planned dose. Main toxicity was hematologic (grade IV thrombopenia: 84%). Hemodynamic and metabolic toxicities lead to treatment discontinuation in 10 patients (20%). Strong immune activation was achieved including a significant increase in activated T-cells and Lymphokine-Activating-Killer cell (LAK) activity. Twenty-seven out of 30 AML patients could be evaluated for response: 2(7%) achieved complete remission (CR) which lasted 3 and 4 months. No response was observed in the 18 assessable ALL patients, most of whom (77 %) presented absolute drug resistance. These results show that this high dose rIL-2 regimen induces significant biological effects and provides some anti-leukemic activity in patients with advanced leukemia. Considering the severe toxicity observed and the limited remission rate achieved here, rIL-2 does not appear to be a valuable therapeutic option for such patients. However, the undoubted anti-leukemic activity of this cytokine invites further investigation especially in the minimal residual disease situation.

Adolescent↗

Cytogenetic and molecular biology for acute leukemias at diagnosis: a cost/effectiveness comparison.

This article presents a cost-effectiveness study comparing cytogenetic and molecular analyses for detection of chromosomal abnormalities which are prognostic factors in acute leukemia. The aim of the study was to determine how these two techniques could substitute or complement one another. The study sample consisted of 107 adult patients with de novo myeloid or lymphoid acute leukemias, tested by both techniques in 1994 and 1995, for identification of translocations t(9;22), t(8;21), t(15;17), t(4;11), t(1;19), the inversion of chromosome 16 and for monosomy 5 or 7 (or deletion of their long arms) and trisomy 8. The criterion for diagnostic effectiveness of these strategies was the rate of detection of true positive anomalies which are clinically relevant, according to the current state of knowledge. On the basis of these observations six alternative strategies at diagnosis were compared (each technique alone or different combinations of the two techniques). The study shows that:-for ALL, PCR alone appears the most cost-effective strategy;-for AML, cytogenetic analysis alone is the best strategy;-sequential strategies are more cost effective than simultaneous use of both techniques for minimising risk of false negatives.

Acute Disease↗

Immune reconstitution after blood cell transplantation.

Immune clinical events and pattern of recovery of total lymphocytes, T cells and CD4+/CD8+ T cell subsets, B cells and NK cells, were analysed after allogeneic blood cell transplantation (BCT) for 12 months following transplant (n = 33). Results were compared with immune recovery after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) (n = 15) and autologous blood cell transplantation (n = 19). Rates of acute GVHD were comparable in the two allotransplantation groups. Fourteen out of 17 evaluable alloBCT group patients have presented an extensive cGVHD. Total T cell, CD4+T cells and CD56+NK cell reconstitution were improved in alloBCT group vs alloBMT group. CD4+/CD8+ ratio evolution were improved in alloBCT group vs alloBMT and autoBCT groups. These results confirm that rapid immune recovery is associated with allogeneic blood stem cell transplantation.

Adult↗

Detection of CBFbeta/MYH11 fusion transcripts in acute myeloid leukemia: heterogeneity of cytological and molecular characteristics.

Pericentric inversion of chromosome 16, translocation (16;16) and del(16q), resulting in a chimerical fusion of CBFbeta and MYH11 genes, are typically seen in the M4Eo French-American-British (FAB) classification subset of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). In this study, we analyzed 70 cases of acute non-lymphoblastic leukemia, mainly of the M4 or M5 type. We report the very unusual presence of the t(16;16) and CBFbeta/MYH11 fusion transcript in an M7 patient. Ten M4Eo and four non-M4Eo patients presented an inv(16), t(16;16) or CBFbeta/MYH11 fusion transcript. In most cases, the common 'A-type' CBFbeta/MYH11 fusion transcript was detected. In addition to the eight different breakpoints and the three alternative splicing variants already described, evidence of a new CBFbeta/MYH11 fusion transcript was found which involves a 785-bp deletion of MYH11. Moreover, two patients had an unusual transcript, to our knowledge only observed once. Only one patient had abnormal eosinophilic differentiation without chromosome 16 cytogenetic abnormalities or detectable CBFbeta/MYH11 fusion. Conversely, only one patient presented CBFbeta/MYH11 fusion without abnormal eosinophilic differentiation. Altogether, our data suggest a correlation between the CBFbeta/MYH11 fusion transcript and characteristic abnormal eosinophilic differentiation, whatever the FAB subtype or the percentage of abnormal eosinophils

Adult↗

Chromosome 8 tetrasomies and pentasomies--a clonal abnormality closely associated with acute monocytic leukaemia.

We report four cases of polysomy 8 (one tetrasomy and three pentasomies) observed in acute monocytic leukemia (FAB M4 and M5). Three of them showed a rearrangement of 11q23 identified by conventional cytogenetic analysis and/or chromosome painting. Our cases as well as a review of the literature, suggest that polysomy 8 is preferentially associated with monocytic differentiation (24/31). These polysomies have been observed in 21 de novo leukemias and in 10 secondary hematological disorders. A 11q23 rearrangement has been detected in 9 out of 32 patients, by conventional cytogenetic techniques in 7 and by FISH in 2. We suggest that these cases should be analysed by FISH and molecular studies in order to detect a rearrangement of MLL/11q23. Monocytic differentiation is often associated with a change of the MLL gene and the polysomy 8 might be a particular clonal evolution secondary to 11q23 abnormality.

Adolescent↗

Clinical and biological aspects of Philadelphia-negative/BCR-negative chronic myeloid leukemia.

The Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome was the first chromosomal abnormality associated with a specific leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). This chromosome arises from the t(9;22)(q34;q11) translocation which results in the juxtaposition of the bcr gene and the abl proto-oncogene. This BCR/ABL fusion gene encodes for a hybrid protein with the capacity of oncogenic transformation of hematopoietic cells. Nonetheless, very few myeloproliferative disorders (about 10%) included under the generic term of CML have no Ph chromosome. Half of these Ph-negative CML have the BCR/ABL fusion gene (BCR-positive) and are considered equivalent to Ph-positive CML. In contrast, the patients without detectable BCR/ABL fusion (BCR-negative) fulfil the criteria for atypical CML (aCML) of the French-American-British (FAB) classification, despite considerable variability at the individual level. Due to the very small number of patients with precise cytological descriptions already published, cooperative studies focused on aCML are warranted to draw definitive conclusions and to provide some pointers on physiopathology.

Adult↗

Clinical and biological effects of gamma interferon and the combination of gamma interferon and interleukin-2 after autologous bone marrow transplantation.

Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and interleukin-2 (IL-2) have shown synergistic immunomodulatory and anti-tumor effects in preclinical studies. The present study was designed to assess the effects of the combination of these cytokines after autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT). Ten patients received rIFN-gamma alone and 13 patients the combination of rIFN-gamma + rIL-2. Patients received transplants because of lymphoma (10 patients), acute leukemia (3 patients) or solid tumors (10 patients). Immunotherapy was started at a median of 67 days after ABMT. All patients received either 5 x 10(6) (8 pts) or 10 x 10(6) IU/m2 (16 pts) rIFN-gamma by subcutaneous injection 3 times weekly for 14 weeks. rIL-2 therapy consisted of 5 cycles of continuous intravenous infusion of 12 x 10(6) IU/m2/day starting 1 week after administration of rIFN-gamma. In the rIFN-gamma group, toxicity was mild and some biological changes were seen (NK/LAK activation, increase of phagocytosis and of NBT reduction). The combination of rIFN-gamma with rIL-2 did not increase the usual rIL-2 toxicity. NK/LAK cytotoxicity was strongly activated after the first cycle of rIL-2 and was maintained until the end of therapy. Granulocyte chemotaxis was defective after cycle 1 but recovered thereafter. We conclude that the administration of rIFN-gamma + rIL-2 is feasible after ABMT. Our data suggest that the combination may have prolonged the immunologic activation provided by rIL-2 and some improvement of the deleterious effects of rIL-2 on granulocyte functions was achieved. Controlled studies are warranted to assess the impact of this strategy on biological response and patient outcome.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗

[Chronic myeloid leukemia, biological aspects].

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a clonal myeloproliferative disorder of a stem cell, involving myeloid, erythroid, megacaryocyte, lymphoid B-cells and "natural killer" cells. The hallmark of CML is the Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome which is a shortened chromosome 22 (22q-) resulting from a reciprocal translocation involving chromosome 9 and chromosome 22, designed t (9;22) (q34;q11). This translocation juxtaposes parts of two genes; ABL on chromosome 9 and BCR (breakpoint cluster region) on chromosome 22. Transcription of the BCR/ABL fusion gene results in an hybrid mRNA that is translated into a 210 kDa or 190 kDa protein, depending on the location of the breakpoint in the bcr region. This protein plays a key role in CML: its tyrosine-kinase activity, that differs from the normal ABL product, may be involved in leukemic cell growth. Nonetheless, the loss of the negative cell growth regulation by c-ABL, or BCR/ABL fusion protein interaction with other cellular genes (such as RAS or c-MYC) could also be involved in CML pathophysiology. A better understanding of the molecular mecanisms of CML could lead to specific treatment, such as tyrosine-kinase inhibitors, synthetic oligodeoxynucleotides, or site-specific DNA-binding proteins designed against BCR/ABL oncogenic fusion sequence.

Cloning, Molecular↗