The meaning, the utility, and the prognostic significance of the International Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis overt disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) score and other parameters of coagulation activation including soluble fibrin monomer complexes (SFMC), antithrombin and protein C consumption, and formation of lipoprotein-C-reactive protein (LP-CRP) complexes (MDA slope 1 and flag A2) were evaluated in 165 inpatients from a general hospital for whom DIC testing was required by the attending physicians. Of these 165 patients, 148 had an underlying disease that clearly justified the laboratory request from our systematic post hoc review of the clinical charts. Of these 148 patients, 28 had a positive overt DIC score, 19 had an A2 flag, and 4 had both.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report the results of a prospective study in patients more than 65 years of age in whom two different therapeutic strategies were compared: immediate intensive-induction chemotherapy (arm A) versus "wait and see" and supportive care and mild cytoreductive chemotherapy only for relief of progressive acute myeloid leukemia (AML)-related symptoms (arm B). The major objective of the study was to compare survival outcome of both regimens. Thirty-one patients on arm A received one or two courses of daunorubicin, vincristine, and cytarabine for remission induction followed by one additional cycle for consolidation in case of complete remission (CR).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFifty-five consecutive patients with stage II and III myeloma were treated at 7 centers with alternating combinations of 7 cytostatics and prednisolone. 30/48 evaluable patients responded to the combination chemotherapy, 10/55 patients died within 15 months, and the median survival was 40 months. No advantage could be shown over a previous non-alternating combination of two cytostatics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn order to study if enzymes of purine metabolism could be used as cell markers in B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL), the activities of adenosine deaminase (ADA), purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP), and 5'-nucleotidase (5'N) were repeatedly measured in blood mononuclear cells from B-CLL patients and were compared to those obtained in normal controls. Enzyme activities in patients were also compared to other biological parameters indicative of B-CLL to activities of ADA and PNP in erythrocytes. Results show that B-leukemic cells display abnormal enzyme patterns: subnormal ADA activity is characteristic; 5'N activity is depressed in 60% of the cases but increased in 15%.
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