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Cell-cycle-associated expressions of proliferating cell nuclear antigen and Ki-67 reactive antigen of bone marrow blast cells in childhood acute leukemia.

To investigate the growth characteristics of human leukemia cells, the expression of proliferation-associated nuclear antigens was examined in relation to cell cycle phases in marrow blast cells obtained from 37 untreated children with acute leukemia. Ki-67 monoclonal antibody reactive antigen and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) were measured by the simultaneous flow cytometric analysis of DNA and nuclear antigens. The percentage of PCNA-positive cells was always higher than that of Ki-67-positive cells in individual patients. The level of PCNA was greatly increased in G1 or early S phase, but was generally stable in S and G2 phases. Accordingly, most of the cells in the proliferative compartments (greater than 2C DNA) showed a high expression of PCNA. In contrast, expression of Ki-67 antigen varied greatly from patient to patient, and differed significantly in different subtypes of the disease. The level of Ki-67 antigen increased with the cell cycle progression, showing maximum expression in late S and G2 phases. However, in most of the patients, a distinct population of Ki-67-negative cells was found not only in G1 phase, but also in the proliferative compartments. These results appear to reflect differences in the proliferative activity of bone marrow blast cells in childhood acute leukemia.

Cell Cycle↗

Treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia with recombinant human interleukin-2 and interferon-alpha 2a.

The safety, tolerance, and clinical effects of combined therapy with recombinant interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) and interleukin-2 (rIL-2) administered subcutaneously for 2 courses of 4 weeks each, with 4 weeks interval between courses, given as outpatient therapy have been assessed in 10 patients with Philadelphia chromosome (Ph1)-positive chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). All patients were previously treated with conventional chemotherapy and 3 failed to respond to IFN-alpha administered prior to our study. Median duration of disease from diagnosis was 36 months. Seven patients were in first chronic phase and the other 3 were in blast crisis, second chronic phase, and relapse post-bone marrow transplantation (BMT), respectively. Hematological response (median follow-up 16 months) was observed in 9 patients, with a decline in number of white blood cells and platelets. Elimination of Ph1 was observed in the patient who relapsed post-BMT with complete elimination bcr/abl RNA by polymerase chain reaction. Rebound lymphocytosis and eosinophilia were observed in most of the patients. Toxicity was acceptable. The main adverse effects were fever, chills, fatigue, anorexia, nausea, and vomiting. The side effects were reversible and no interruption of treatment was required. There was no treatment-related hospitalization or deaths. These data suggest that simultaneous subcutaneous IFN-alpha and rIL-2 home therapy is feasible, reasonably well tolerated, and potentially beneficial in CML patients. These observations may have important implications for the treatment of minimal residual disease following allogeneic and autologous marrow transplantation.

Adolescent↗

[Bone marrow transplantation as therapy in chronic myeloid leukemia].

Between April 1982 and December 1986, HLA-identical bone marrow transplantations were performed on 25 patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myelocytic leukaemia (CML), 18 in the chronic phase, 7 in acceleration or blast crisis. Twelve of the 18 patients (67%) in the chronic phase are still alive a median period of 570 days after transplantation, but only two of the seven (29%) in acceleration or blast crisis a median period of 227 days after transplantation (P less than 0.025). The duration of the chronic phase was of great importance for survival after transplantation: 86% of patients in the chronic phase for less than two years survived, but all patients in the chronic phase for over two years died (P less than 0.001). CML relapses occurred in one patient in a late chronic phase and in two in an advanced stage of the disease. These results confirm the unfavorable outcome of bone marrow transplantation in the accelerated phase or blast crisis, as well as in the late chronic phase. Since at present there are no reliable risk factors for the occurrence of acceleration or blast crisis, bone marrow transplantation should be undertaken as early as possible in the chronic phase of CML.

Adolescent↗

Effects of sCD23 on proliferation of leukemic cells from a patient with chronic myelogenous leukemia during blast crisis.

The present study has attempted to further delineate the growth factor requirements of peripheral blasts of a patient with CML in acute phase. Phenotypic analysis of leukemic blasts from this patient before culture has shown a homogenous population of CD34+ cells at the onset of blast crisis. In the second and third samples the percentage of CD34+ DR+ blast cells decreased slightly and up to 32% of cells in the third sample expressed the CD19 antigen. Optimal proliferation of cells derived from the first sample required the presence of exogenous sCD23 and to a lesser extent IL7. The stimulatory effects of sCD23 and IL7 were clearly reduced 4 months later and no longer detected after 6 months. This variability in growth factor response along with disease progression may be related to phenotypic differentiation. There was no evidence for lymphoid or myeloid maturation after 4 days of liquid culture. Our results in conjunction with previous studies are in agreement with sCD23-involvement in the complex control of proliferative processes at both normal and leukemic stages, demonstrating that cytokines are critical in determining CML cell proliferation.

Acute-Phase Reaction↗

Idarubicin and intermediate-dose cytarabine for myeloid blast crisis of chronic myelogenous leukemia--results of a phase-II trial.

Sixteen patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) in myeloid blast crisis were treated with cytarabine (AraC) 600 mg/m2 two times daily for 5 days and idarubicin 12 mg/m2 for 3 days. Patients achieving a second chronic phase received interferon (IFN) alpha 2b 5 mio units/day daily and AraC 20 mg/day subcutaneously 14 days every month. Study end points were remission rate and survival. Four patients (25%) entered a second chronic phase and had a median survival of 31.1 weeks (range 16.1-111 weeks). Nine patients (56%) experienced blast crisis again and had a median survival of 12.9 weeks (range 5.1-59.3 weeks). Three patients (18.8%) died of septic complications during marrow aplasia. The median overall survival was 16.1 weeks (range 2.6-111 weeks) with no significant difference between responders and nonresponding patients. We conclude that AraC/idarubicin is as effective as other intensive regimens in inducing second chronic phase in patients with myeloid blast crisis of CML. Remission duration and survival are comparable to previous results. Further studies to improve survival are required.

Adult↗

Acute blast crisis with EBV-infected blasts, in a patient with chronic myeloid leukemia, and vasculitis.

Unless they undergo transplantation, all patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) will eventually develop a late phase of acute blast crisis (ABC). Although additional chromosomal abnormalities to the Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome may herald ABC in many CML cases, the mechanisms leading to this fatal event are obscure. Viral etiology, including the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has never been implicated in the pathogenesis of ABC in CML. Iloprost is an analogue of epoprostenol (prostacyclin; PGI2) commonly used for the treatment of peripheral vascular diseases and acts via inhibition of platelet activation, and by vasodilation. A case of ABC with blasts of undetermined lineage showing EBV infection in a male patient with Ph positive CML is described here. This unusual event developed during a course of treatment with the prostacyclin analogue, iloprost administered for vasculopathic leg ulcers. The proliferating blasts stained positively by immunohistochemistry only for the leukocyte common antigen (LCA/CD-45), and the EBV-latent membrane protein 1 (LMP-1). The only chromosomal abnormality detected by cytogenetic analysis was the conventional Ph-chromosome. It is suggested that ABC in this case of CML, was associated with EBV-activated blasts of undetermined lineage.

Acute Disease↗

Different suppression of Ph1 positive hemopoiesis induced by intensive chemotherapy in lymphoid and myeloid blast crisis of CML.

BACKGROUND: The suppression of Ph1-positive hemopoiesis is a major goal in the treatment of CML; in this context the CML patients in blast crisis obtaining a complete clinical remission represent a useful model to investigate the behavior of the Ph1-positive and negative clones during bone marrow repopulation after ablative therapy. METHODS: Seven CML patients in blast crisis (four lymphoid and three myeloid) who obtained a complete clinical remission after an intensive polychemotherapy treatment were evaluated by cytogenetic and molecular analysis both in blast and remission phases. Standard cytogenetic and Southern techniques were employed; in addition, minimal residual disease status (MRD) was ascertained by amplification (PCR) of the specific bcr-abl chimeric transcripts. RESULTS: After a single cycle of induction, all lymphoid cases displayed a complete restoration of Ph1-negative hemopoiesis; by contrast, one myeloid blast crisis showed a partial suppression of Ph1-positive hemopoiesis only after two cycles of chemotherapy, and in the remaining two cases the hematological remission was indeed a reversion to the chronic phase. CONCLUSIONS: Ph1-positive chronic clones present in lymphoid blast crisis showed a higher degree of sensitivity to intensive chemotherapy than those present in the myeloid cases. This observation further suggests that the growth properties of the Ph1-positive clones are highly variable from case to case and probably tend to progress during the time-course of the disease.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗

Chemotherapy-induced mobilization of karyotypically normal PBSC for autografting in CML.

High-dose chemotherapy with autologous transplantation of in vivo purged PBSC is a new and interesting therapeutic option for CML patients not eligible for allogeneic transplantation. We investigated the feasibility and toxicity of this approach in 57 patients with Ph-positive CML. For mobilization of Ph-negative PBSC, patients were treated either with '5 + 2/7 + 3'- type chemotherapy or with 'mini-ICE/ICE' chemotherapy followed by administration of G-CSF. Fourteen patients were in early chronic phase, 30 patients in late chronic phase and 13 patients in accelerated phase (AP) or blast crisis (BC). Cytogenetic responses in the PBSC harvests were dependent on both disease stage and type of chemotherapy: in late chronic phase and AP/BC, a complete or major cytogenetic response could be obtained in nine out of 13 patients treated with 'mini-ICE/ICE' but only in three out of 23 patients treated with '5 + 2/7 + 3' chemotherapy. However, in early chronic phase a Ph-negative autograft could be obtained in three out of eight patients upon mobilization with '5 + 2' chemotherapy. Thirty-one patients underwent PBSC transplantation and all of them successfully engrafted. Post-transplant cytogenetic analysis was available on 21 cases, of whom seven achieved a complete or major cytogenetic response, with two minor cytogenetic remissions. One patient (1/57) in blast crisis died during mobilization therapy (1.8%). Transplantation related mortality was 0%. This study demonstrates that mobilization of Ph-negative PBSC after myelosuppressive chemotherapy is feasible in CML patients and is associated with acceptable toxicity. Autologous transplantation of in vivo purged PBSC is a safe procedure with rapid and complete hematopietic recovery.

Adult↗

P53 tumor suppressor gene in chronic myelogenous leukemia: a sequential study.

Loss of the p53 gene alleles was investigated in 26 patients with Ph+, BCR/ABL+ chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) by means of the polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis using the restriction enzyme AccII. In all cases, peripheral blood and/or bone marrow samples were obtained at different times during the chronic phase of the disease and at blast crisis, and in some of them also at the accelerated phase. Of the 12 cases considered informative, 11 evolved into myeloid type blast crisis and one into a lymphoid blast crisis, whereas only two showed an i(17q) chromosome at cytogenetic study. In four of the 12 informative cases, a loss of one p53 gene allele was observed, in all cases coincident with the development of the accelerated phase or blast crisis. One patient with a deleted p53 gene allele, in whom it was possible to analyze the gene structure in the three CML evolutive phases (chronic and accelerated phases and blast crisis), showed loss of the p53 gene allele in both the accelerated and the blastic phase, but not during the chronic phase. On the other hand, one of the two cases with an i(17q) chromosome exhibited one allelic deletion of the p53 gene. Thus, the relatively frequent monoallelic deletion of the p53 gene coincident with the appearance of the blast crisis registered in the present study would support a possible role of the p53 gene alterations in the evolution of CML to its final stages.

Adult↗

The location of breakpoints within the breakpoint cluster region (bcr) of chromosome 22 in chronic myeloid leukemia.

Rearrangement of the breakpoint cluster region (bcr) was demonstrated by Southern blot analysis in the DNA in each of 68 patients with Ph chromosome-positive CML and in 3 of 7 patients with apparent Ph chromosome-negative CML. In contrast, no bcr rearrangement could be found in DNA from 17 normal individuals and 28 patients with various hematologic disorders other than CML or ALL. An analysis of the location of the breakpoints within the bcr indicated that 3' breakpoints were significantly more common in patients in blast crisis or accelerated phase disease compared to those with chronic phase disease. Patients with chronic phase disease and 3' breakpoints had shorter average disease duration than that for chronic phase patients with 5' breakpoints, although the difference between these two groups of patients was not statistically significant. For patients who had progressed to accelerated disease or blast crisis, a statistically significant difference in chronic phase disease duration could be demonstrated between 11 patients with 3' breakpoints (average chronic phase 30.2 months) and 15 patients with 5' breakpoints (average chronic phase 50.6 months). For 8 patients studied in both chronic phase and accelerated or blast crisis, the location of the breakpoint did not change. We suggest that the bcr-abl fusion protein associated with a 3' breakpoint could result in more rapid progression to acute disease, and this may account for differences in the relative frequency of 3' and 5' breakpoints at different disease stages. Although more studies are required, identifying CML patients with a higher propensity for early blast transformation may eventually prove to be of some clinical value.

Blast Crisis↗

A study on the incidence of ABL gene deletion on derivative chromosome 9 in chronic myelogenous leukemia by interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization and its association with disease progression.

Fluorescence in situ hybridization for the BCR/ABL rearrangement in 138 bone marrow specimens from 59 Philadelphia(+) (Ph(+)) chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) patients, 35 Ph(+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients, and 57 Ph(-) ALL patients was used. Sixteen (27.1%) of the 59 CML patients had deletions of the residual ABL gene on the derivative chromosome 9. During the study period, 32 of the 59 CML patients progressed to blast crisis or accelerated phase. Of these, nine patients had residual ABL gene deletions on the derivative chromosomes 9 and 23 patients had no deletions. The mean duration from first diagnosis to blast crisis or accelerated phase for the nine patients with ABL deletions was 32.8 months, and for the 23 patients without ABL deletions, it was 62.4 months (P = 0.017). The overall survival time for the 16 patients with deletions was 32.8 months, and for the 43 patients without deletions, it was 60.1 months (P = 0.164). ABL deletions were not detected among the 35 ALL patients (17 with major BCR/ABL, 18 with minor BCR/ABL), and it appears that this deletion occurs rarely or not at all in Ph(+) ALL patients, which is in contrast to the CML patients (27.1%). However, we detected two ALL cases with ABL deletion but without BCR/ABL rearrangement among 49 Ph(-) ALL and 66 Ph(-) AML patients. In conclusion, patients with ABL deletions progress to blast crisis or accelerated phase in a significantly shorter time than do those without such deletions. It is therefore suggested that the ABL deletion is an indicator of a poor prognosis in CML.

Acute Disease↗

N-ras mutations in myeloid leukemias.

The presence of mutations activating the N-ras gene was investigated by the polymerase chain reaction technique in twenty patients with acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) at onset and in four patients with Ph1 positive chronic myelogeneous leukemia (CML) either in chronic phase or in blast crisis. Four remission samples and four relapses from the AML cases were also studied. Mutations were found in five out of twenty (25%) untreated AML cases at onset. No mutations were detected in the complete remission samples, two of them with N-ras mutations during the leukemic phase. Two out of the four leukemia relapses were positive for the same N-ras mutation shown at presentation, whereas no new mutations were found in the other two initially negative cases. An N-ras mutation appeared during the blast crisis of one of the four CML, which were all negative during the chronic phase. In conclusion, whereas some data appear to be consistent with a role of the N-ras mutations as initiating events in myeloid leukemias, in other cases N-ras activation seems to represent a factor involved in progression. These data suggest that a partial overlapping between initiation and progression factors could exist in naturally occurring tumors.

Codon↗

Chromosome studies of enriched blast cell fractions in myelodysplastic syndromes terminating in acute myeloid leukemia.

For a better understanding of the karyotype evolution of different marrow cell populations in the course of MDS, 6 patients who eventually developed overt leukemia, belonging to a series of 46 MDS referred to our Institution, were studied ad diagnosis and at leukemic progression. In each case the blast cells were separated from the maturing precursors of the erythroid and granulocytic lineage by centrifugation on a Percoll density gradient. Parallel chromosome investigations were performed in each cell fraction. Cytogenetic analysis performed at presentation did not reveal distinctive karyotype features in metaphases arising in the blast enriched cell fraction, as compared with those obtained from the fraction containing erythroblasts and promyelocytes--myelocytes. These findings suggest that in the initial phase of MDS blast cells may lack distinctive cytogenetic features and may thus represent part of a clonal preleukemic proliferation. At the time of leukemia onset, clonal aberrations [trisomy 21 and del(11)(q23)] showing a restricted pattern of distribution within the blast cell enriched fractions were detected in two patients, whereas one patient showed an increase in size of the abnormal clone carrying monosomy 7, an aberration detected in metaphases obtained from both cell fractions. Thus, some evolutive steps in the natural history of these disorders can be heralded by the acquisition of chromosome aberrations more readily detectable in blast enriched cell fractions. In some cases, partial loss of differentiative capability by the abnormal clone may account for the detection, at leukemia onset, of chromosome aberrations involving both the blast cell fraction and the erythroblast-promyelocyte enriched cell fraction.

Blast Crisis↗

Interphase ribosomal RNA cistron staining in chronic myeloid leukaemia.

Aim-To evaluate the haemopoietic function of bone marrow blood forming cells in human chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) by means of silver staining of nucleolar organiser region (AgNOR).Methods-Nucleoli were investigated in bone marrow blast cells and in erythroid, granulocytic, and megakaryocytic cells from 10 haematologically healthy subjects and from 26 patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (17 in benign phase, nine with blast crisis). The investigation was done before treatment, by means of a one step silver staining method. In every case 50 to 100 blasts, promyelocytes, myelocytes, immature (pronormoblastic and basophilic normoblastic) and mature (polychromatic normoblastic) erythroid elements, and megakaryocytes were evaluated for the mean numbers of nucleoli and for the average number of AgNORs per nucleus. Student's t test was used to compare the patient and control groups. Other statistical analyses were carried out by means of the computer assisted "HEMA" system.Results-Compared with controls, activation of NORs was noticed only in CML blasts, while there was a decrease in NORs in the erythroid elements, promyelocytes, and megakaryocytes. The AgNOR score of polychromatic normoblasts and megakaryocytes started to decrease in the benign stage of CML, whereas a similar decrease in pronormoblasts, basophilic normoblasts, and promyelocytes was detected only in patients with CML blast crisis.Conclusions-The loss of AgNOR sites in cell series in CML may be related to intrinsic defects in their proliferation.

Journal Article↗

Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for chronic myeloid leukemia. Working Party Chronic Leukemia of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT).

Results of 3000 patients transplanted for chronic myeloid leukemia in Europeere used to assess outcome and main risk factors for survival (SURV), leukemia free survival (LFS), relapse incidence (RI) and transplant related mortality (TRM). More than one third (39%) of all patients are alive at + 10 years. SURV at 10 years is better for patients transplanted in first chronic phase (49%) than in accelerated phase (19%) or blast crisis (0%) due to both decreased TRM (41% versus 67% versus -) and RI (35% versus 51% versus -). For those patients transplanted in first chronic phase from an HLA-identical sibling donor with non-T-cell depleted bone marrow, modern conditioning and GVHD prevention method, median SURV has not been reached at +10 years and exceeds 55%. Other risk factors are discussed.

Acute Disease↗

BCR-ABL antisense oligodeoxynucleotide in vitro purging and autologous bone marrow transplantation for patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia in advanced phase.

BCR-ABL antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) have provided evidence of antileukemia effect when tested in vitro against Philadelphia-positive (Ph-pos) cells and in vivo when injected into leukemic mice. On the basis of the results obtained in vitro at diagnosis, eight patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) were selected and submitted to autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT) with bone marrow (BM) cells purged in vitro with junction-specific (J-sp) BCR-ABL antisense ODN at the time of transformation in accelerated phase or during second chronic phase. Mononuclear BM cells were treated in vitro for 24 or 72 hours with 150 micro/mL of antisense ODN yielding a median recovery of 47.6% mononuclear cells, 48.8% CD34(+) cells, and 20.3% clonogenic cells. After a conditioning regimen including busulphan and etoposide, the reinfused treated cells allowed engraftment and hematologic reconstitution in all patients. Evaluation of the antileukemic effect by standard cytogenetic analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization showed a complete karyotypic response in two cases and a minimal or no response in the other six. The patient autografted in second chronic phase died in blast crisis 7 months after ABMT; of the seven patients autografted in transformation, three developed blast crisis 21 to 39 months after reinfusion, one died from unrelated BMT complications 30 months after ABMT, and three are in persistent second chronic phase 14 to 26 months after autograft. The low toxicity of the protocol and the hemopoietic reconstitution observed in all patients make this approach feasible; the marked karyotypic response observed in some patients and the duration of the second chronic phase show that ODN-mediated BM purging and autograft is a promising treatment for this high-risk group of CML.

Adult↗

Relation of "lymphoid" phenotype and response to chemotherapy incorporating vincristine-prednisolone in the acute phase of Ph1 positive leukemia.

Forty-four patients with Ph positive leukemia (36 developing blast crisis after chronic phase and eight presenting in acute leukemia) were classified into subgroups on the basis of reactivity of blasts with an anti-serum made against non-T,non-B acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL+), levels of terminal transferase enzyme (TdT+) and morphology. Positivity with anti-ALL serum was the most sensitive and reliable marker, and TdT was an important aid. The presence of "lymphoid" blasts in blast crisis of CML was related to the response to chemotherapy incorporating Vincristine and Prednisolone (VP). Patients with ALL+ blasts frequently (14 of 15 cases) responded to therapy while 21 of 25 patients who had no ALL+ blasts failed to respond. The clinical course of the ALL+ patients was variable: eight patients remitted with return to the appearances of the chronic phase; four patients demonstrated elimination of the Ph1 positive clone with hypoplasia and this was followed by normal (Ph1 negative) marrow regeneration in two. Subsequent relapse was of either the ALL+ "lymphoid" or the ALL-myeloid type. A regimen incorporating VP should be the treatment of choice in "lymphoid" blast crisis of CML.

Antigens, Neoplasm↗

Embryonic and fetal hemopoiesis in the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus).

A study of the development of hemopoiesis in the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) was conducted in order to determine the temporal sequence, the organs involved and the cytology of blood cell formation in this species. Hemopoiesis in the intrauterine life of the gerbil can be divided into four phases based on the site of blood cell formation: (1) the vitelline phase, (2) the hepatic phase, including thymic histogenesis, (3) the splenic phase and (4) the medullary phase, with the development of secondary lymphoid tissues. At the onset of each of these phases a blast-like cell was identifiable in each hemopoietic organ which, because of its morphology and its presumed multipotentiality was classified as a "lymphoid cell". In the yolk sac phase (gestational day 12) two generations of erythrocytes, a primitive and a definitive, are formed. The liver is by day 15 erythropoietic and megakaryopoietic, but later, a few granulocytes are also found in its extravascular compartment. The thymus is exclusively lymphopoietic from the appearance of its earliest cells on day 15. Splenic hemopoiesis is initiated with the presence of lymphoid cells (day 20) followed later by the appearance of morphologically identifiable blood cell lines. Early normoblastic and granulocytic activity begins in the marrow cavities on day 23, though the marrow is not considered to be a source of circulating blood cells during fetal life. Lymph node histogenesis occurs during the last four days of gestation, first in the cervical region and then in other parts of the body. The finding of undifferentiated lymphoid cells in all organs at the initiation of hemopoiesis and in the peripheral blood throughout gestation is discussed in light of the migratory theory of hemopoiesis.

Animals↗