[Recurrent infections in hematologic diseases treated with cefoxitine (author's transl)].

Forty febrile patients during several hematologic diseases (28 acute leukemias, 8 lymphocytic chronic leukemias, 3 drug induced agranulocytosis, 1 myeloid aplasia) received intensive combination antibiotherapy including cefoxitin (with gentamicin in all cases : Carbenicillin was added in 17 cases). Thirty-five patients had severe neutropenia before treatment. Infection's regression was obtained in 35 cases (in spite of persistence of neutropenia in 20 cases).

[Contribution of ABVD chemotherapy in refractory Hodgkin's disease. Study of 21 observations (author's transl)].

On a two years period, 21 patients with advanced Hodgkin's disease who failed usual therapeutic proceedings were treated by a sequential combination chemotherapy with adriamycin, bleomycin, vinblastine and dacarbazine (ABVD, first described by Bonadonna). Initially 16 patients among 21 had a disseminated disease with stage III B (9 obs.) or IV B (7 obs.

Application of the study of prognostic factors to the treatment of childhood (less than 20 years old) acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

405 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia were stratified according to age, initial leucocytes count, lymph nodes, liver and spleen size, into three prognostic classes I, II, III. Protocol 08 LA 74 which they were applied included: 1)initial randomization between Prednisone, Vincristine, Daunorubicin or the same plus Cyclophosphamide for induction and reinductions; 2)doses adjustments to prognostic factors, increased doses being given to increased risk patients; 3)comparison between intrathecal Methotrexate and intrathecal Methotrexate plus Ara-C in addition to skull irradiation for CNS prophylaxis; 4)L-Asparaginase consolidation for all patients; 5)maintenance by 6-Mercaptopurine and Methotrexate in all patients and reinductions. The most striking conclusions to date are the improvement for increased risk patients, the frequency of primary testicular relapses contrasting with the low rate of meningitis, the prognostic implication of sex, the influence on remission duration of the number of courses necessary to achieve complete remission, the importance of using Cox Method to improve the identification of prognostic groups.

[Hypercalcemia and osteoclast activating factor (OAF) associated with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (author's transl)].

The occurence of hypercalcemia appears to be unusual in leukemia. The mechanisms are numerous: secretion of PTH of PTH like substance, prostaglandin E2 or vitamin D like sterols. The reported case is one of lymphoblastic acute leukemia and hypercalcemia associated with osteoclast activating factor secreted by leukemic cells.

[Therapy of bacterial infections occuring during aplastic phasis of acute leukemias (author's transl)].

On a three years' period, 122 patients with AL (45 children, 76 adults) received 158 treatments of induction, involving a severe medullary aplasia. In 48 cases (30.4%) none infectious complication was recorded.

[Detection of platelet antibodies in idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (author's transl)].

The amount of IgG present on the surface of platelets (platelet-bound IgG, or PBIgG) was measured using a quantitative antiglobulin consumption assay developed by Dixon et al. (1975). Normal platelets or platelets from patients with thrombocytopenia due to a decreased production had less than 10 X 10(-15) g of IgG/platelet.