The JAK2 V617F mutation occurs frequently in myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative diseases, but is absent in true myelodysplastic syndromes with fibrosis.
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Publications and source records attributed to F Fend.
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The occurrence of primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) is well known. Thereby, the development of liver cirrhosis seems to be a prerequisite. Whether or not a hepatic iron overload in the context of hereditary hemochromatosis is an independent risk factor for HCC remains unclear. To date there are only a few reports about HCC arising in non-cirrhotic livers in the presence of HH. We report the case of a 64-year-old man who presented to our outpatient clinic with HCC. Liver cirrhosis could be excluded. Detailed exploration of the patient's history revealed that he had been treated by venesection for about 10 years up to 15 years ago. Subsequent investigations showed an elevated serum ferritin and transferrin saturation. The diagnosis of HH was confirmed by genetic testing, with homozygosity for the Cys282Tyr mutation. The patient received palliative chemotherapy and finally died 15 months after initial diagnosis of HCC.
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OBJECTIVES: No effective chemotherapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) exists. Expression of the platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) has been demonstrated in HCC, which may derive from hepatic stem cells that express c-kit. The aim of this trial was to evaluate imatinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor of PDGFR and c-kit, in patients with advanced HCC and impaired liver function. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients were treated with 400-600 mg imatinib daily. Immunohistochemical staining was performed for PDGFR and c-kit. Response was assessed by CT scans every 8 weeks. For pharmacokinetics studies, 74 plasma samples were assessed. RESULTS: Of the 17 patients enrolled in the study, 15 were evaluable for response. Only 1 tumor was positive for PDGFR and none was positive for c-kit. Grade 3/4 neutropenia occurred in 2 patients (1 had neutropenic fever). There was no objective response, and 5 (33%) patients had stable disease. Median time to treatment failure was 1.8 months in the whole study cohort and 3.7 months in the patients with stable disease. Patients treated with 400 mg imatinib did not significantly differ in pharmacokinetics from patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). CONCLUSION: In this small group of patients with advanced, mostly PDGFR- and c-kit-negative HCC, imatinib showed no therapeutic effect. In contrast to CML patients, the pharmacokinetics of imatinib were not significantly affected by impaired liver function.
Pulmonary involvement in ulcerative colitis may manifest as a variety of disorders. Ulcerative colitis-related interstitial lung disease is exceedingly rare and has been reported to be steroid-responsive. We describe the first case of a patient with acute exacerbation of ulcerative colitis-induced usual interstitial pneumonia, who did not respond to corticosteroid therapy and died 12 weeks after the onset of pulmonary symptoms. Early recognition of pulmonary disease in patients with ulcerative colitis is necessary to initiate further diagnostic work-up and may aid treatment decisions.
A new class of cell cycle inhibitors is currently entering clinical trials. These drugs exert their activity by inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinases (cdk) and induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in cancer cells. Roscovitine, a cdk2-inhibitor that is in preclinical evaluation, induced apoptosis in B-CLL cells at doses that were not cytotoxic for normal human B cells. At 20 microM, Roscovitine induced apoptosis in 21 of 28 B-CLL samples and was equally effective in zap-70-positive or -negative samples. Caspase-3 was cleaved in B-CLL cells exposed to Roscovitine and the pancaspase inhibitor z.VAD.fmk-blocked Roscovitine-induced apoptosis. Expression of the proapoptotic protein Bak was increased and Bax cleavage and conformational change was observed in Roscovitine-treated B-CLL cells. Antiapoptotic proteins Mcl-1 and XIAP were downregulated, but the expression of Bcl-2 remained unchanged. In contrast to previous reports in cancer cell lines, Roscovitine treatment was not accompanied by nuclear accumulation of p53. Cyc202 (R-Roscovitine) is in early clinical trials in cancer patients. Given its powerful effects on zap-70-positive and -negative B-CLL cells, but not on normal lymphocytes, Roscovitine might be an attractive drug to be tested in this incurable disease.
We have previously reported an overexpression of Smad1 in follicular lymphoma (FL) cells, which are characterized by the t(14;18) bcl2/IgH translocation. Smad1 is commonly involved in bone morphogenetic protein but not in tumor-transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta) signaling pathways. This study focuses on Smad1 signaling pathway in non-Hodgkin lymphoma cells including follicular or large-cell lymphoma cells. Our results support the notion that phosphorylation of Smad1 is mediated by TGFbeta present in the microenvironment and occurs in FL in vivo. Using an in vitro coculture system mimicking interactions between stroma cells and FL cells, we found that both the cell partners release TGFbeta at a sufficient concentration to activate Smad pathways in the malignant cells. This Smad1 activation involves TGFbetaRII but not ALK-1 receptors, and does not compete with the Smad2 pathway. Moreover, proliferation assays performed on lymphoma cells expressing wild-type or mutated Smad1, or in which endogenous Smad1 level was decreased by gene silencing, strongly supported that overexpression and activation of Smad1 modifies the biological response of lymphoma B cells to TGFbeta family members. This work opens new insights into aberrant Smad pathways and their pathophysiological role in FL and in other non-Hodgkin lymphomas.
BACKGROUND: The most frequent cytogenetic alteration in gastrointestinal (GI) B cell lymphoma (BCL) is t(11;18)(q21;q21). GI B cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas lacking this translocation vary in their biology and clinical outcome. The t(11;18) negative subgroup shows increased numerical changes of chromosome 18, although its clinical relevance remains unknown. METHODS: Thirty surgically resected primary GI BCLs were examined-11 low grade marginal zone mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphomas, four marginal zone lymphomas with diffuse large BCL (DLBCL), and 15 de novo DLBCLs. Chromosome 18 aberrations were examined using interphase fluorescence in situ hybridisation. Trisomy 18 was studied applying a centromere 18 probe and a dual colour probe for the MALT1 gene at 18q21. RESULTS: Using the MALT1 probe, only one marginal zone MALT lymphoma had a break apart pattern, indicating t(11;18) or variants. In the GI BCLs lacking MALT1 breaks, trisomy 18q21 was seen in seven patients (four with complete trisomy 18 and three with partial trisomy of 18q21). Trisomy 18q21 was found in two of 10 low grade MALT lymphomas and five of 19 GI BCLs with large cell component. Six of 17 patients with trisomy 18q21 presented with >/= stage II and one of 12 with stage I disease. Trisomy 18q21 was associated with significantly shorter disease specific survival in the whole group and GI BCLs with large cell component, but not in the low grade group. CONCLUSIONS: Trisomy 18q21, including MALT1, may be associated with advanced tumour stage and may be a predictor of poor outcome in surgically resected primary GI BCLs.
This study documents the characteristics of a large series of spontaneously occurring thymomas in a laboratory colony of European hamsters (Cricetus cricetus). Thymomas are rare organotypic neoplasms originating from the thymic epithelial compartment. Because the hamster thymomas largely resembled their human counterparts, the recent World Health Organization (WHO) classification of human thymic epithelial tumors was used. Forty hamsters of both sexes aged 3-29 months were examined macroscopically and histologically. In 22 (55%) of the 40 animals, necropsy revealed enormous whitish masses in the anterior mediastinum, with a diameter ranging from 0.5 to 4.5 cm and a lobulated structure. The anatomy of the thymus region was normal in the remaining 18 hamsters. Histologically, the tumors presented as thymuslike organoid structures with areas of medullary and cortical differentiation and a predominance of lymphoid cells. A network of epithelial cells in the cortical areas, demonstrated immunohistochemically with a cross-reactive antibody against pancytokeratin, supported the diagnosis of thymoma. Cortical lymphocytes showed positive staining with cross-reacting antibodies against CD3 and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase, characteristic of immature T cells. On the basis of these findings, the tumors were classified as B1 thymomas, in some cases with AB or B2 components, according to the new WHO classification for human thymic epithelial tumors.
Nasal NK/T-cell lymphoma is a unique form of lymphoma highly associated with Epstein-Barr virus, and with a characteristic geographic distribution. Recently, we showed that p53 is overexpressed in a high percentage of nasal NK/T-cell lymphomas. The aim of this study was to analyze the status of the p53 gene, and correlate it with the expression of p53 protein and its downstream target, the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21, in a series of 25 cases of well-characterized nasal NK/T-cell lymphoma from Mexico. The highly conserved exons 5 to 8 of the p53 gene were amplified by polymerase chain reaction and screened for mutations by denaturing high-pressure liquid chromatography. Abnormal polymerase chain reaction products detected by denaturing high-pressure liquid chromatography and additional selected cases were sequenced. In addition, the incidence of loss of heterozygosity at the p53 locus was analyzed in 12 cases. Of the 25 patients, 17 were male and 8 female (M:F ratio, 2.1:1), with a median age of 43 years (range, 21 to 93 years). Morphologically, most of the cases were composed of a mixture of medium-sized cells and large transformed cells (21 cases), and four cases were composed exclusively of large transformed cells. Three different groups determined by p53 gene status and expression of p53 protein were identified: group 1 was p53 +/p53 mutated (five cases, all with p53 missense mutations). Morphologically, three of the five cases were composed of large cells. All five cases revealed overexpression of p53 in the majority of the tumor cells with a mean of 86%. Unexpectedly, three of these cases also showed overexpression of p21. Four of the five patients presented with clinical stage IVB and died with disease. Group 2 was p53+/p53 wild-type (10 cases). Histologically, nine cases were of the mixed type, and one of the large cell type. The percentage of p53 overexpressing cells was lower than in the previous group with a mean of 23%. p21 was positive in 7 of the 10 cases. Six patients in this group presented with clinical stages I to II and four patients with advanced disease (stage III and IV). Five patients are alive 12 to 120 months later (mean, 24 months), three with no evidence of disease. Group 3 was p53-/p53 wild-type (10 cases). All cases showed mixed cell morphology. p21 was positive in 5 of 10 cases. Four patients presented with clinical stage I to II and six patients with advanced disease. Four patients are alive with no evidence of disease 9 to 60 months later (mean, 10 months). Overall, p53 mutations were present in 24% (5 of 21) of the evaluable cases, all of them overexpressing p53 in the majority of tumor cells. Cases with p53 mutations were associated with large cell morphology (P = 0.0162) and presented more often with advanced stage disease. Loss of heterozygosity at chromosome 17p was found only in 2 of the 12 (17%) cases investigated, both cases showed p53 mutations of the remaining allele. P21 overexpression (60% of cases) is frequent in nasal NK/T-cell lymphoma and seems to be independent of p53 gene status. The overexpression of p53 and p21, independent of p53 mutations, although as yet not clear, might be the result of Epstein-Barr virus infection, and warrants further investigation.
The pathogenesis and clonal evolution of gastric diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and its relationship to extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma (MZBL), mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) type, are still controversial. The aim of this study was to establish the clonality of morphologically distinct areas of gastric lymphomas as well as their genetic relationship to each other. Six gastric lymphomas, consisting of two MZBL, MALT type, two DLBCL, and two "composite" lymphomas were subjected to laser capture microdissection and subsequent PCR-based amplification of the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene. One DLBCL showed a biclonal pattern of rearranged immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) genes of two different areas without evidence of a common origin. Two composite DLBCL with areas of extranodal MZBL, MALT type, were also biclonal and displayed different IgH gene rearrangements in the small-cell and in the large-cell components, respectively. Sequencing of the CDR3 region revealed unique VH-N-D and D-N-JH junctions, thus corroborating the presence of two genuinely distinct tumor clones in each of these three cases. In contrast, the remaining three gastric lymphomas (one DLBCL and two MZBL, MALT type) showed IgH gene rearrangements in which CDR3 regions were identical in the different tumor areas. Our results suggest that gastric DLBCL may be composed of more than one tumor cell clone. Further, DLBCL may not necessarily evolve by transformation of a low-grade lymphoma, but may also originate de novo. An ongoing emergence of new tumor clones may considerably hamper molecular diagnosis and follow-up of gastric DLBCL.
The association of mycosis fungoides (MF) and Hodgkin's lymphoma is a relatively frequent occurrence, but the potential clonal relationship of the two neoplasms is still controversial. We report a case of a patient with a history of MF in Clinical Stage 1A who developed retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy 9 years after the initial diagnosis of MF. A bone marrow biopsy obtained at this time showed nodular involvement by a mixed cellular infiltrate with large, atypical cells consistent with Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg (RS) cells. These atypical cells were positive for CD30 and CD15 and did not express B- or T-cell markers. In addition, they lacked evidence of infection by Epstein-Barr virus, both by immunohistochemical staining for latent membrane protein 1 and by in situ hybridization for EBER1/2. The background population consisted mainly of small T cells without morphological or phenotypical signs of malignancy. Review of the skin biopsy obtained 9 years before showed the typical features of MF. Polymerase chain reaction analysis of the T-cell receptor T-gene confirmed the presence of a clonal T-cell rearrangement in the skin specimen. The bone marrow biopsy, however, showed a polyclonal pattern both for the T-cell receptor gamma-gene, as well as for immunoglobulin heavy chain genes. Isolation of RS cells stained for CD30 was performed by laser capture microdissection. Polymerase chain reaction analysis of several groups of RS cells showed a reproducible biallelic rearrangement of IgH genes, which was confirmed by cloning and sequencing of polymerase chain reaction products. To our knowledge, this is the first case in which a distinct clonal origin of MF and Hodgkin's lymphoma arising in the same patient is clearly demonstrated, based on molecular analysis of microdissected RS cells.
The distinction between mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and other small B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) is important because MCL has a more aggressive clinical course. In bone marrow (BM) biopsy specimens, this distinction can be particularly difficult. Although cyclin D1 immunostaining and molecular detection of the t(11;14) translocation are highly specific markers for MCL, they fail to detect a proportion of cases. We have recently described that MCL typically lacks detectable expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27(kip1) protein by immunostaining, which is expressed at high levels in most small B-cell NHL inversely correlated to the proliferation rate. We therefore examined whether p27(kip1) immunostaining could be a useful adjunct for the differential diagnosis of small B-cell NHL infiltrates in the BM. Trephine BM biopsy specimens of 96 patients, including well-characterized MCL (19 cases), B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (27 cases), follicular lymphoma (18 cases), hairy cell leukemia (22 cases), and marginal zone lymphoma (10 cases) as well as 10 reactive BM, including five with benign lymphoid aggregates were investigated. In addition, the presence of a t(11;14) translocation involving the major translocation cluster was studied by PCR in all MCL. All cases of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia, follicular lymphoma, and marginal zone lymphoma revealed a strong p27(kip1) nuclear staining in the majority of neoplastic cells. Fourteen (78%) cases of MCL were p27(kip1)-negative in the tumor cells, whereas four cases revealed a weak nuclear positivity. Seventeen (77%) cases of hairy cell leukemia were also either completely negative for p27(kip1) or showed a faint positive staining in a minority of the neoplastic cells. Nine of 19 cases (47%) of MCL showed a bcl1 rearrangement involving the major translocation cluster region. These findings demonstrate that p27(kip1) immunostaining is a valuable additional marker for the differential diagnosis of small B-cell NHL infiltrates in BM biopsies. The reduction or lack of p27(kip1) protein expression in MCL, as well as in hairy cell leukemia, might be an important event in the pathogenesis of these disorders.
Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLPDs) are predominantly B-cell lymphoproliferations, whereas a T-cell origin is rarely observed. In contrast to B-cell PTLPD, T-cell PTLPDs show an inconsistent association with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Until now, only 13 cases of EBV-associated T-cell PTLPDs have been reported. We describe a case of an EBV-associated T-cell PTLPD in a renal allograft recipient 2 years after transplantation. Histologic examination showed medium- to large-sized lymphoid cells with an angiocentric growth pattern and necrosis. The atypical cells showed a CD2+, CD3epsilon+, CD7+, CD43+, CD45R0+, CD56+, and CD4-, CD5-, CD8- betaF1- phenotype with expression of the latent membrane protein (LMP)-1 of EBV. In addition, EBV-specific RNAs (EBER 1/2) were identified by in situ hybridization. Molecular analysis of the T-cell receptor (TCR) gamma chain by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) showed a polyclonal pattern. The morphologic, immunohistochemical, and molecular findings were consistent with a diagnosis of an EBV-associated extranodal natural killer (NK)/T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) of nasal type. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of this rare entity in the posttransplant setting.
We hereby present a retrospective clinicopathological and immunohistochemical study of surgically resected primary gastrointestinal (GI) lymphoma with an analysis of parameters of potential prognostic relevance. From a larger series of 144 cases of primary GI lymphomas, we chose 61 cases with sufficient clinical follow-up (mean 60, range 1-219 months), classified either as extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of MALT type (MALT lymphoma) or diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), after having excluded other subtypes. In addition to conventional clinical and morphological parameters, the expression levels of Ki-67 (MIB-1), bcl-2 and p53 were evaluated for prognostic significance. Twenty-one (34.4%) cases were classified as pure low grade marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of MALT type, 12 (19.7%) cases as low grade MALT lymphoma with a high grade component (mixed type), and 28 (45.9%) cases as primary extranodal DLBCL. Most of the lymphomas (53/61; 86.9%) were localized in the stomach, 3 (4.9%) in the small bowel, 3 (4.9%) multifocal in both stomach and small intestine and 2 (3.3%) in the large bowel. MIB-1 expression in more than 30% of tumor cells was detected in 42 (68.6%), bcl-2 expression in 20 (32.8%) and p53 accumulation in more than 10% of neoplastic cells in 16 (26.2%) lymphomas. Both high Ki-67 expression and p53 accumulation were more prevalent in the DLBCL. 30 (49%) patients showed lymph node involvement at surgery, 14 (23%) patients suffered tumor recurrence, and 24 (38.5%) died during the follow-up period. Tumor recurrence occurred primarily in patients who had presented lymph node involvement (9/14, 64.3%). The 5-year survival rate was 66.1% for all patients. Important prognostic factors for overall survival were tumor stage (p < .004) and p53 accumulation (p < .05) in univariate analysis, and tumor stage in multivariate analysis (p < .001). Although p53 accumulation did not reach statistical significance in our small study group, it may be both important in the transformation of low grade MALT lymphoma and an indicator for aggressive behavior in high grade tumors.
This study describes the clinicopathologic features of 5 patients who developed a fulminant Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive clonal T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder (LPD) after acute EBV infection. One additional patient developed a similar disorder in the setting of long-standing chronic active EBV infection. Detailed immunophenotyping, in situ hybridization for EBV early RNA-1 (EBER1) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analyses for immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy chain and T-cell receptor (TCR)-gamma gene rearrangements were performed on paraffin-embedded tissue from all patients. In addition, EBV strain typing and detection of the characteristic 30-bp deletion of the latent membrane protein-1 (LMP-1) gene were performed by PCR. Controls included 8 cases of uncomplicated infectious mononucleosis (IM). Patients included 4 males and 2 females with a median age of 18 years (2-37 years). Three patients were Mexican, 2 were white, and 1 was of Asian descent. All presented with fever, hepatosplenomegaly, and pancytopenia; 5 were previously healthy, but had a clinical history of a recent viral-like upper respiratory illness (1 week to 2 months), and 1 patient had documented chronic active EBV infection for 7 years. Serologic data for EBV were incomplete but titers were either negative or only modestly elevated in 3 cases. In 1 case serology was consistent with severe chronic active EBV infection. In the remaining 2 cases serologic studies were not performed. All patients died within 7 days to 8 months of presentation with T-cell LPD. On histologic examination, the liver and spleen showed prominent sinusoidal and portal lymphoid infiltrates of CD3(+), beta F1(+), EBER1(+) T cells lacking significant cytologic atypia. Two cases were CD4(+), 2 cases were CD8(+), and 2 cases had admixed CD4(+) and CD8(+) cells without clear subset predominance. All were TIA-1(+), CD56(-). Only rare B cells were noted. Marked erythrophagocytosis was present. Molecular analysis revealed identical T-cell clones in 2 or more sites (liver, spleen, lymph node) in 5 cases. All patients carried type A EBV; 4 cases had wild-type EBV-LMP, and 2 showed the 30-bp deletion. This fulminant T-cell LPD after acute/chronic EBV infection is characterized by hepatosplenomegaly, often without significant lymphadenopathy, fever, liver failure, pancytopenia, and erythrophagocytosis indicative of a hemophagocytic syndrome. EBV serology may be misleading, with lack of elevated titers. The presence of an EBER1(+) T-cell infiltrate with scant B cells should alert one to this diagnosis. Although cytologic atypia is minimal, studies for T-cell clonality confirm the diagnosis. (Blood. 2000;96:443-451)
In this study, we wished to determine whether familial chronic lymphocytic leukemia of B-cell phenotype (CLL) shares with sporadic B-CLL the same immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy chain variable region (VH) gene usage and occurrence of somatic mutation, to gain insight into the pathogenetic relatedness of these epidemiologically distinct forms of CLL. We therefore analyzed the expressed Ig heavy chain genes in 23 cases (11 families) of familial CLL, and compared these results with data previously reported for sporadic CLL. In addition, we assessed the relationship of the occurrence of somatic mutation to several clinical and phenotypic features. The distribution of V genes among these cases was similar to that observed in sporadic CLL: VH3 > VH1 > VH4. Thirteen of the 23 cases (57%) showed germ line VH gene sequences, whereas somatic mutations were detected in 10 cases (43%). The average mutation frequency of these latter 10 cases of was 6.7% (ranging from 1.7% to 8.8%), and evidence of antigen selection was noted in 6. Intraclonal variation, followed by clonal evolution and the appearance of a second clone over a 20-year period was observed in 1 case, suggesting that mutations can continue to accumulate after neoplastic transformation. The presence of somatic mutations correlated with age at presentation, low white blood cell (WBC) count, and low fluorescence intensity of surface CD5, and the potential significance of these relationships is discussed. Our data indicate that familial and sporadic B-CLL display a similar pattern of immunoglobulin gene usage and frequency of somatic mutation, and are consistent with a common ontogeny and immunogenetic origin for these 2 epidemiologically distinct forms of CLL. (Blood. 2000;95:1413-1419)
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