Immature forms of low density granulocytes are increased in acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes.

Neutrophils can promote or suppress tumor growth. These different immunological functions mirror a great heterogenicity of neutrophil maturation and activation status: low-density granulocytes (LDGs) and normal-density neutrophils (NDNs). LDGs participate in immune dysregulation during autoimmune disorders with an activated phenotype, while NDNs might exert immunosuppressive activities.

Non-invasive prenatal test identifies circulating cell-free DNA chromosomal abnormalities derived from clonal hematopoiesis in aggressive hematological malignancies.

Liquid biopsy is a minimally invasive diagnostic tool for identification of tumor-related mutations in circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA). The aim of this study was to investigate feasibility, sensitivity, and specificity of non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) for identification of chromosomal abnormalities in cfDNA from a total of 77 consecutive patients with non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphomas, Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), or plasma cell dyscrasia. In this case series, half of patients had at least one alteration, more frequently in chromosome 6 (23.

Subclones with variants of uncertain clinical significance might contribute to ineffective hemopoiesis and leukemia predisposition.

Background: Splicing modifications, genomic instability, and hypomethylation are central mechanisms promoting myelodysplasia and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In this real-life retrospective study, to elucidate pathophysiology of clonal hemopoiesis in hematological malignancies, we investigated clinical significance of mutations in leukemia-related genes of known pathogenetic significance and of variants of uncertain clinical significance (VUS) in a cohort of patients with MDS and AML.

Methods: A total of 59 consecutive subjects diagnosed with MDS, 48 with AML, and 17 with clonal cytopenia with unknown significance were screened for somatic mutations in AML-related genes by next-generation sequencing.

[Air pollution and cardiac and respiratory function in three groups of patients].

The association between exposure to urban air pollution and cardiac or respiratory impairments in susceptible subjects was evaluated in a panel study including 11 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), 7 with ischemic heart disease (IHD), and 11 asthmatics resident in Rome (Italy). Patients underwent repeated 24 h Holter EKG monitoring, 12 h pulse oximetry at night and spirometry examinations during 1999 summer and winter. Multiple linear regression models for repeated individual measures (fixed-effect) were used to analyse the relationship between average daily concentrations of pollutants (PM10-2.