Publications by authors named "Bassan R"
Article Synopsis
- - In the last decade, significant advancements have been made in treating adults with newly diagnosed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, driven by better understanding of the disease and innovative treatment strategies like incorporating immunotherapy and tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
- - Despite these advancements, adults still have worse outcomes compared to children, facing higher rates of treatment failure and complications, leading to ongoing use of transplant consolidation for high-risk cases.
- - The article emphasizes the need for new trial designs to further improve treatment strategies and personalize care for adults with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, sharing insights from practices across Europe and other continents.
The introduction of pediatric-inspired regimens in adult Philadelphia-negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph- ALL) has significantly improved patients' prognosis. Within the Campus ALL network, we analyzed the outcome of adult Ph- ALL patients treated according to the GIMEMA LAL1913 protocol outside the clinical trial to compare the real-life data with the study results. We included 421 consecutive patients; median age 42 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 1-naphthaleneacetic acid-appended phenylalanine-derivative (Nap-F) forms a stable hydrogel with a minimum gelation concentration (MGC) of 0.7% w/v (21 mM) in phosphate buffer of pH 7.4.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExperts from the European Leukemia Net (ELN) working group for adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia have identified an unmet need for guidance regarding management of adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) from diagnosis to aftercare. The group has previously summarized their recommendations regarding diagnostic approaches, prognostic factors, and assessment of ALL. The current recommendation summarizes clinical management.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWorking groups of the European LeukemiaNet have published several important consensus guidelines. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has many different clinical and biological subgroups and the knowledge on disease biology and therapeutic options is increasing exponentially. The European Working Group for Adult ALL has therefore summarized the current state of the art and provided comprehensive consensus recommendations for diagnostic approaches, biologic and clinical characterization, prognostic factors, and risk stratification as well as definitions of endpoints and outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJCO We report the long-term results of the frontline trial with dasatinib and blinatumomab in induction/consolidation (GIMEMA LAL2116, D-ALBA) for adult Philadelphia-positive ALL (Ph+ ALL), which enrolled 63 patients of all ages. At a median follow-up of 53 months, disease-free survival, overall survival, and event-free survival are 75.8%, 80.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Risk stratification is essential for treating acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and involves creating an optimal prognostic model using factors like white blood cell count and minimal residual disease (MRD).
- Using data from four national clinical trials, researchers developed the European Working Group for Adult ALL prognostic index (EWALL-PI) to assess patient risk, finding that it accurately correlated with relapse and death rates.
- The EWALL-PI risk model outperformed existing algorithms and successfully differentiated patients into standard and high-risk groups, with high-risk patients showing significantly higher rates of relapse and lower survival.
Article Synopsis
- Treatment of lenalidomide refractory multiple myeloma (MM) patients remains a significant clinical challenge, prompting a study on the effectiveness of the daratumumab-bortezomib-dexamethasone (D-VD) combination.
- In a cohort of 57 Len-exposed or refractory MM patients, the overall response rate was 79.6%, with 43% achieving at least a very good partial response (VGPR).
- The D-VD regimen was found to be generally safe, showing low rates of severe side effects, and resulted in a median progression-free survival (PFS) of 17 months, highlighting its potential as a standard treatment option for these patients.
There are inconsistencies in the reporting of CD19 antigen status following treatment with CD19-targeted therapies. A majority of evidence comes from studies reporting small sample sizes. In this review, we systematically summarize published studies that have reported rates of CD19-negative relapse after treatment with either blinatumomab or CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy and report the rates of CD19-negative relapse when evaluated in a standardized way across trials.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPediatric-inspired chemotherapy is the standard of care for younger adults with Philadelphia chromosome-negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma (Ph- ALL/LL). In LAL1913 trial, the Gruppo Italiano Malattie EMatologiche dell'Adulto added pegaspargase 2000 IU/m2 to courses 1, 2, 5, and 6 of an 8-block protocol for patients aged from 18 to 65 years, with dose reductions in patients aged >55 years. Responders were risk stratified for allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) or maintenance per clinical characteristics and minimal residual disease (MRD).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- A retrospective observational study focused on adult patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated with blinatumomab through an expanded access program from January 2014 to June 2017.
- Out of 249 patients, 109 had minimal residual disease (MRD+) and 140 had relapsed/refractory (R/R) leukemia; high rates of MRD response were observed in MRD+ patients and notable remission rates in the R/R group.
- The results indicated promising overall survival rates, reinforcing previous findings on the effectiveness of blinatumomab in real-world treatment settings for B-cell ALL.
Article Synopsis
- Recent advancements in managing adult T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) focus on molecular diagnostics, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and drug sensitivity profiling.
- Current treatment methods, including chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation, have resulted in a remission rate of up to 95%, with over 50% of patients being cured, especially among adolescents and young adults.
- The main challenge now is to effectively incorporate new research findings into treatment plans for newly diagnosed patients, particularly those with high-risk characteristics, to improve outcomes and increase cure rates.
Digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) is an implementation of conventional PCR, with the potential of overcoming some limitations of real-time quantitative PCR (RQ-PCR). To evaluate if ddPCR may improve the quantification of disease levels and refine patients' risk stratification, 116 samples at four time points from 44 (35 B-lineage and 9 T-lineage) adult Philadelphia-negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients enrolled in the GIMEMA LAL1913 protocol were analyzed by RQ-PCR and ddPCR. A concordance rate between RQ-PCR and ddPCR of 79% (P < 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: In patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), stroke is a major complication that increases morbidity and mortality. The presence of carotid stenosis (CS) increases risk of stroke, and the optimal treatment remains uncertain due to the lack of randomized clinical trials. The aim of this study is to compare three management approaches to CS in patients submitted to CABG.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe addition of venetoclax to hypomethylating agents (HMA-V) improved the outcome of patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) ineligible for intensive treatment. The aim of our study was to confirm data reported in literature, in a real-life multicenter experience. We retrospectively evaluated 56 naïve AML patients who received HMA-V at 8 different collaborating Hematology Units in the North-East of Italy, from September 2018 to October 2020.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose Of Review: Lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL) is a rare, highly aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma variant virtually indistinguishable from acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). We review the advancements in diagnostics, staging, treatment, and response assessment.
Recent Findings: T-LBL displays a mediastinal mass with pleuro-pericardic effusions as key distinctive features and is far more frequent than B-LBL.
In many clinical studies published over the past 20 years, adolescents and young adults (AYA) with Philadelphia chromosome negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph- ALL) were considered as a rather homogeneous clinico-prognostic group of patients suitable to receive intensive pediatric-like regimens with an improved outcome compared with the use of traditional adult ALL protocols. The AYA group was defined in most studies by an age range of 18-40 years, with some exceptions (up to 45 years). The experience collected in pediatric ALL with the study of post-induction minimal residual disease (MRD) was rapidly duplicated in AYA ALL, making MRD a widely accepted key factor for risk stratification and risk-oriented therapy with or without allogeneic stem cell transplantation and experimental new drugs for patients with MRD detectable after highly intensive chemotherapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAcute leukemias (ALs) of ambiguous lineage are a heterogeneous group of high-risk leukemias characterized by coexpression of myeloid and lymphoid markers. In this study, we identified a distinct subgroup of immature acute leukemias characterized by a broadly variable phenotype, covering acute myeloid leukemia (AML, M0 or M1), T/myeloid mixed-phenotype acute leukemia (T/M MPAL), and early T-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ETP-ALL). Rearrangements at 14q32/BCL11B are the cytogenetic hallmark of this entity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn updated strategy combining pediatric-based chemotherapy with risk-oriented allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) was evaluated in Philadelphia chromosome-negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph- ALL) and compared with a published control series. Following induction-consolidation chemotherapy, responsive patients were assigned to receive maintenance chemotherapy or undergo early HCT according to the risk stratification criteria and minimal residual disease (MRD) status. Of the 203 study patients (median age 41 years, range 17-67), 140/161 with Ph- ALL achieved complete remission (86.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Outcomes in patients with Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have improved with the use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Molecular remission is a primary goal of treatment.
Methods: We conducted a phase 2 single-group trial of first-line therapy in adults with newly diagnosed Ph-positive ALL (with no upper age limit).