Multiple myeloma, the disease characterized by the malignant proliferation of plasma cells that invades the bone marrow, produces osteolytic lesions and secretes monoclonal proteins. Several biomarkers have been shown to represent important tools in the pathogenesis of myeloma and offer insights into bone degradation and formation. The objectives of this current study were to assess the associations of modern biomarkers (TNF-α: tumor necrosis factor; IFN: Interferon; FreeRANKL: Free Receptor Activator for Nuclear Factor kappa B Ligand; RANKL: Receptor Activator for Nuclear Factor kappa B Ligand, Beta crosslaps, IL-6: Interleukin 6) with osteolytic lesions status after first-line treatment and to evaluate the correlations between modern and classical biomarkers (LDH: Lactate Dehydrogenase; VSH: Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate; Hgb: Hemoglobin, Calcium, Albumin, B2microglobulin) stratified by osteolytic lesions status.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Hyperuricaemia is necessary for gout. High urate concentrations have been linked to inflammation in mononuclear cells. Here, we explore the role of the suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) in urate-induced inflammation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is a haematological disease associated with a dismal prognosis, despite major progress made in recent years in terms of antileukemic agents and supportive care.
Methods: We investigated the results of the intensive treatment of 133 fit AML patients ( and secondary) from a referral cancer centre in Romania, treated between January 2015 and December 2021.
Results: We included 79 male and 54 female patients with a median age of 53 years (range 18-70).
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) have an important role in innate immunity, and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of genes influence the risk of developing hematological malignancies. We aimed to evaluate the effect of (rs5743708), (rs11536889, rs4986790, rs4986791), (rs187084, rs352140, rs5743836) on AML risk, the relation between investigated SNPs and somatic mutations, clinical features, and the overall survival of adult AML patients. All mentioned SNPs were genotyped in 511 AML cases and 503 healthy controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) represent a break-through treatment for a large number of cancer types. This treatment is increasingly being recommended. ICIs are prescribed for primary tumours and for metastases, adjuvant/neo-adjuvant therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Primary central nervous system lymphoma is an uncommon form of extranodal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, with increasing incidence, a relatively aggressive course and a poor 5-year survival. Because of its localization, the therapeutic compounds used in this disease must be able to pass through the blood-brain barrier. Chemotherapy regimens based on high-dose methotrexate are currently the standard of care for all patients who can tolerate such drugs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMultiple myeloma (MM) is a bone marrow neoplasia with increasing incidence compared to previous years. Although new therapeutic molecules have been introduced, it remains an incurable disease with severe repercussions to patients. For many patients, bone disease represents a severe problem often causing pain, pathological bone fractures, and spinal cord compression, which affects the quality of life.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecent years have brought about new understandings regarding the pathogenesis of anemia in sports. From hemodilution and redistribution considered to contribute to the so-called "sports anemia" to iron deficiency caused by increased demands, dietary restrictions, decreased absorption, increased losses, hemolysis, and sequestration, to genetic determinants of different types of anemia (some related to sport), the anemia in athletes deserves a careful and multifactorial approach. Dietary factors that reduce iron absorption (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMacrophage activation syndrome (MAS) represents an acute and severe inflammatory syndrome, idiopathic (primary) or secondary to infections, rheumatic diseases, malignancies, or drugs. MAS is underdiagnosed, being confused with sepsis, adverse effects of anti-arthritic drugs or exacerbated symptoms of evolving rheumatologic or infectious diseases. Because of the late diagnosis, most patients do not benefit from effective therapy, leading to death.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmong the different types, immunoglobulin light chain (AL) cardiac amyloidosis is associated with the highest morbidity and mortality. The outcome, however, is significantly better when an early diagnosis is made and treatment initiated promptly. We present a case of cardiac amyloidosis with left ventricular hypertrophy criteria on the electrocardiogram.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith the increasing overall survival of cancer patients due to recent discoveries in oncology, the incidence of side effects is also rising, and along with secondary malignancies, cardiotoxicity is one of the most concerning side effects, affecting the quality of life of cancer survivors. There are two types of cardiotoxicity associated with chemotherapy; the first one is acute, life-threatening but, fortunately, in most of the cases, reversible; and the second one is with late onset and mostly irreversible. The most studied drugs associated with cardiotoxicity are anthracyclines, but many new agents have demonstrated unexpected cardiotoxic effect, including those currently used in multiple myeloma treatment (proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory agents), tyrosine kinase inhibitors used in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia and some forms of acute leukemia, and immune checkpoint inhibitors recently introduced in treatment of refractory lymphoma patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Down syndrome (DS) or trisomy 21, brings together some unique aspects from clinical pediatrics. Among the hematological disorders present in DS, by far the most important is the predisposition for developing acute leukemia. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) of DS has a preleukemic state with the onset in the neonatal period, rarely symptomatic but with the presence of blasts in peripheral blood smear and apparently a spontaneous remission.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The complexity of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) cannot be characterized by acquired somatic mutations alone. Individual genetic background is thought to contribute to the development of MPNs. The aim of our study was to assess the association between the rs1548483 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and the susceptibility to polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET), primary myelofibrosis (PMF) or chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAcute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is characterized by a unique chromosome translocation t(15;17)(q24;q21), which leads to the PML/RARA gene fusion formation. However, it is acknowledged that this rearrangement alone is not able to induce the whole leukemic phenotype. In addition, epigenetic processes, such as DNA methylation, may play a crucial role in leukemia pathogenesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAcute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a hematologic malignancy characterized by abnormal proliferation and a lack of differentiation of myeloid blasts. Considering the dismal prognosis this disease presents, several efforts have been made to better classify it and offer a tailored treatment to each subtype. This has been formally done by the World Health Organization (WHO) with the AML classification schemes from 2008 and 2016.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF: Colorectal cancer (CRC) represents a major public health problem owing to the fact that many patients are diagnosed in locally advanced or metastatic stage when chemotherapy is the only remaining option. However, treatment response is still unpredictable and depends upon a diversity of factors such as tumor inherited or acquired drug resistance and the host immune response to the malignant cells. The aim of this study was to evaluate the serum levels of interleukin 6, 8, 10 (IL-6, 8, 10) as possible predictive factors for response to chemotherapy and the correlation between the cytokines and the psychological distress.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBasophils are white blood cells that play an important role in the human immune system. These cells physiologically increase in number in immune response to certain allergies, chronic inflammation, and parasitic infections. Basophils are also a significant indicator for the presence of certain malignancies such as chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms and acute myeloid leukemia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The objective of the present study was to determine the association between chemotherapy and infectious complications in patients diagnosed with Hematologic malignancies (HMs).
Materials And Methods: The study included 463 patients diagnosed with HMs multiple myeloma (MM), Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL), non-HL (NHL), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), acute lymphocytic leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and chronic myeloid leukemia, between January 2014 and June 2015. The patients were followed for 1 year after inclusion, to record the infectious complications.