Dynamic model for predicting death within 12 months in patients with primary or post-polycythemia vera/essential thrombocythemia myelofibrosis.

Purpose: Current prognostic tools in myelofibrosis (MF) fail to identify patients at the highest risk of death and are limited by their applicability only to the time of diagnosis. We aimed to define an accelerated phase (AP) in MF by characterizing disease features that can identify patients with median overall survival of
Patients And Methods: Baseline characteristics of 370 consecutive patients with MF from a single center were analyzed to identify features associated with a median overall survival of View Article and Find Full Text PDF

De novo deletion 17p13.1 chronic lymphocytic leukemia shows significant clinical heterogeneity: the M. D. Anderson and Mayo Clinic experience.

To determine the clinical fate of patients with de novo deletion 17p13.1 (17p-) chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), we retrospectively studied the outcome of 99 treatment-naive 17p- CLL patients from the M. D.

The role of cytogenetic abnormalities as a prognostic marker in primary myelofibrosis: applicability at the time of diagnosis and later during disease course.

Although cytogenetic abnormalities are important prognostic factors in myeloid malignancies, they are not included in current prognostic scores for primary myelofibrosis (PMF). To determine their relevance in PMF, we retrospectively examined the impact of cytogenetic abnormalities and karyotypic evolution on the outcome of 256 patients. Baseline cytogenetic status impacted significantly on survival: patients with favorable abnormalities (sole deletions in 13q or 20q, or trisomy 9 +/- one other abnormality) had survivals similar to those with normal diploid karyotypes (median, 63 and 46 months, respectively), whereas patients with unfavorable abnormalities (rearrangement of chromosome 5 or 7, or > or = 3 abnormalities) had a poor median survival of 15 months.

Pregnancy in a patient with hypereosinophilic syndrome.

Hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) is a rare entity of unknown etiology that may cause a multitude of problems, from skin rash to organ failure, due to eosinophil infiltrate of tissues. Information on the interaction of hypereosinophilia and pregnancy in patients with established HES is very limited. Here we report a case of a woman with a seven year history of HES whose pregnancy resulted in the delivery of a healthy infant without complications, and no evidence of elevated eosinophils in the infants blood.

Systemic mastocytosis in association with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: a rare diagnosis.

Systemic mastocytosis may be primary or be associated with other hematological malignancies, most commonly myeloid neoplasms. In contrast, the association of systemic mastocytosis with lymphoid neoplasms is comparatively rare, and in the absence of appropriate clinical vigilance the diagnosis may be missed. We report a case of aggressive systemic mastocytosis associated with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (SM-CLL), placing particular emphasis on the investigational algorithm used in establishing this diagnosis, and discussing key clinical considerations in the initiation of therapy.

Early results of a chemoimmunotherapy regimen of fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab as initial therapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Purpose: Fludarabine and cyclophosphamide (FC), which are active in treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), are synergistic with the monoclonal antibody rituximab in vitro in lymphoma cell lines. A chemoimmunotherapy program consisting of fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab (FCR) was developed with the goal of increasing the complete remission (CR) rate in previously untreated CLL patients to >/= 50%.

Patients And Methods: We conducted a single-arm study of FCR as initial therapy in 224 patients with progressive or advanced CLL.

Treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia with alemtuzumab: a review for nurses.

Purpose/objectives: To review the use of the monoclonal antibody alemtuzumab in patients with advanced refractory B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) and nursing management during treatment.

Data Sources: Published articles, abstracts, book chapters, Web sites, and training material.

Data Synthesis: Alemtuzumab can achieve disease remission in patients with chemorefractory B-CLL; however, management of high-risk patients presents certain challenges.