Endocrine characterization of primary mediastinal lymphoma.

Because of the characteristic presentation of primary mediastinal large cell lymphoma (PMLCL) in young females its known origin from thymic B-cells, there might be a role in lymphomagenesis for estrogen receptors as well as for known neuroendocrine thymic mediators. A retrospective review of all patients with diffuse large cell lymphoma seen at our institution from January 1985 to January 1994 revealed 75 consecutive cases with a diagnosis of PMLCL. Through retrieval from our pathologic archives and requests to outside pathologists, we recovered and analyzed 17 biopsy specimens for the presence of the following hormone receptors: estrogen, beta endorphin, prolactin, T3, growth hormone, and leutinizing hormone.

Hodgkin's disease variant of Richter's syndrome: experience at a single institution.

Patients developing Hodgkin's disease (HD) after a diagnosis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), are frequently included in a series of patients with Richter's syndrome (RS). We sought to determine the natural history of the association of CLL and HD. Over a 21 year period, 1374 patients with CLL have been registered in our computer data base.

Amplification of genomic DNA demonstrates the presence of the t(2;5) (p23;q35) in anaplastic large cell lymphoma, but not in other non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, Hodgkin's disease, or lymphomatoid papulosis.

Anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) is a distinct clinicopathologic variant of intermediate grade non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) composed of large pleomorphic cells that usually express the CD30 antigen and interleukin (IL)-2 receptors, and is characterized by frequent cutaneous and extranodal involvement. With variable frequency ALCL bear the t(2;5)(p23;q35) chromosomal translocation that fuses the nucleophosmin (NPM) gene on chromosome 5q35 to a novel protein kinase gene, Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK), on chromosome 2p23. We determined the frequency of this translocation with a novel DNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique using 0.

CD30 ligand is expressed on resting normal and malignant human B lymphocytes.

CD30, a member of the tumour necrosis receptor superfamily, is physiologically expressed on a subpopulation of T helper cells in normal individuals but is also expressed on several malignant and virally transformed cells. Its ligand (CD30L) is a pleiotropic cellular transmembrane protein that can induce cell death in several CD30+ cell lines. CD30L expression has been reported on activated human peripheral blood T lymphocytes and macrophages but not on B cells.

Mantle cell lymphoma: a lymphoproliferative disorder associated with aberrant function of the cell cycle.

Mantle cell lymphoma is a B cell lymphoproliferative disorder cytogenetically characterized by the t(11;14)(q13;q32) which at molecular level involves the Bcl-1/PRAD-1 gene. Immunophenotypically it is characterized by co-expression of CD5+/CD20+ and CD23- antigens. Histologic patterns are recognized as: diffuse, mantle zone and nodular.

Combined modality therapy for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

Background: Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) may respond to many therapies, but long-term disease-free survival is uncommon. Patients with advanced disease have a median survival of approximately 3 years.

Objective: Our purpose was to combine known effective agents sequentially to determine whether we could achieve remission in more patients or for longer duration.

Alterations in tretinoin pharmacokinetics following administration of liposomal all-trans retinoic acid.

We administered liposome-encapsulated all-trans retinoic acid (L-ATRA) to 48 patients with refractory hematologic malignancies using an every-other-day schedule for 28 days and doses of 15 to 175 mg/m2. In 19 patients, pharmacology studies were conducted after the first (day 1) and seventh (day 15) doses. In contrast to the decline in tretinoin concentration seen within 3 to 4 days of administration of daily oral ATRA, there were no differences between the area under the curve (AUC) of tretinoin concentration versus time on day 1 and day 15 (P = .

Fludarabine, mitoxantrone, and dexamethasone: an effective new regimen for indolent lymphoma.

Purpose: Although most patients with indolent lymphomas respond to initial therapy, virtually all experience relapse. Secondary therapy is often beneficial, but responses are rarely, if ever, durable. We conducted this phase II trail to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy and toxicity of fludarabine, mitoxantrone, and dexamethasone (FND) in patients with relapsed indolent lymphoma.

A pilot study of high-dose interleukin-3 treatment of relapsed follicular small cleaved-cell lymphoma: hematologic, immunologic, and clinical results.

The growth stimulatory effects of interleukin-3 (IL-3) on normal hematopoietic progenitor cells are well established, and clinical trials using IL-3 after bone marrow transplantation for various malignancies including lymphomas are frequently conducted. Although the IL-3 receptor is expressed on the surfaces of follicular small cleaved-cell lymphoma (FSCCL) cells, the in vivo effects of IL-3 on FSCCL have not been studied previously. Because our preclinical data suggested that IL-3 may have dose-dependent inhibitory effects on FSCCL cells in vitro, we treated eight FSCCL patients with high-dose IL-3 in an outpatient setting.

Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for poor-prognosis lymphoma: response, toxicity and survival depend on disease histology.

Purpose: To evaluate outcomes and identify prognostic factors in allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in patients with end-stage lymphoma.

Patients And Methods: Data were retrospectively analyzed of 64 patients (42 men and 22 women) 18 to 48 years of age with recurrent or refractory lymphoma who underwent allogeneic bone marrow transplantation from matched sibling donors (or in 1 case from a one antigen-mismatched relative) between May 1981 and July 1994.

Results: Twelve patients survived free of disease.

High rate of prolonged remissions following combined modality therapy for patients with localized low-grade lymphoma.

Purpose: Involved field (IF) radiation can cure as many as 40% to 50% of patients with stage I-II low-grade lymphoma. We sought to improve these results by prospectively evaluating the combination of IF radiation and chemotherapy consisting of 10 courses of cyclophosphamide, vincristine, prednisone, and bleomycin, with doxorubicin added in a risk-adapted manner (COP/CHOP-Bleo).

Patients And Methods: From 1984 until December 1992, 91 patients, median age 56 years (range 28 to 77 years), with clinical stage I-II low-grade lymphoma were treated.

No effect of 96-hour paclitaxel infusion in patients with relapsed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma refractory to a 3-hour infusion schedule.

Purpose: Preclinical data suggest that the efficacy of paclitaxel (Taxol; Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, Princeton, NJ) is schedule-dependent. Schedule dependency is currently under investigation in ongoing randomized trials.

Patients And Methods: Twelve patients with relapsed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) refractory to a 3-hour infusion of 200 mg/m2 Taxol were crossed over to receive a 96-hour infusion of 140 mg/m2 Taxol every 3 weeks in an outpatient setting.

T-cell-rich B large-cell lymphoma simulating lymphocyte-rich Hodgkin's disease.

Immunophenotypic analysis of 50 cases fulfilling the histologic criteria for mixed cellularity Hodgkin's disease disclosed nine cases with a B-cell, non-Hodgkin's phenotype (CD20+, CD15-, CD30-, EMA-). The cases were characterized by a diffuse small lymphocytic milieu, interspersed atypical large cells including classic Reed-Sternberg cells, and infrequent plasma cells, eosinophils, and L&H cells. The male:female ratio was 7:2 (aged 22-65 years, median 39 years).

Cyclosporin A does not reverse clinical resistance to paclitaxel in patients with relapsed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Purpose: Cyclosporin A has been shown to reverse paclitaxel resistance in vitro by inhibiting P-gp function. Therefore, we determined whether addition of cyclosporine to paclitaxel reversed clinical paclitaxel resistance in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL).

Patients And Methods: Patients with relapsed NHL were eligible if they had no intervening treatment after failure to respond to paclitaxel (200 mg/m2 over 3 hours), and if they had adequate marrow, renal, and hepatic function, no serious cardiac disease, no CNS involvement, and no antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus-1.

16-year experience at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center with primary Ki-1 (CD30) antigen expression and anaplastic morphology in adult patients with diffuse large cell lymphoma.

One hundred and seven adult cases of untreated diffuse large cell lymphoma (DLCL) were retrospectively analyzed for primary CD30 antigen expression, anaplastic morphology, and long-term prognosis. Tissue samples from 36 patients stained strongly for CD30, and of these, 22 showed anaplastic morphology. Patients with CD30-positive DLCL presented more frequently with skin involvement, constitutional symptoms, more advanced Ann Arbor stage disease, and at a younger age when compared to patients with CD30-negative DLCL.

A phase II trial of mesna/ifosfamide, mitoxantrone and etoposide for refractory lymphomas.

Background: We have previously reported that combination chemotherapy based on the drugs cytarabine/platinum is effective in recurring lymphomas. In this phase II study, we prospectively studied a combination regimen of mesna/ifosfamide, mitoxantrone and etoposide (MINE) in patients with recurring lymphoma who had already received cytarabine/platinum but did not respond to the treatment.

Patients And Methods: 48 patients received MINE at the following doses: mesna 1.

Identification of B-cell growth factors (interleukin-14; high molecular weight-B-cell growth factors) in effusion fluids from patients with aggressive B-cell lymphomas.

The molecular basis of neoplastic B-cell growth is complex and poorly understood. Cytokines have been postulated to contribute to neoplastic cell growth, and many in vitro studies have confirmed this prediction, but little is known about the in vivo role of these growth factors. We have examined the production of interleukin-14 (IL-14) (high molecular weight [HMW], B-cell growth factor [BCGF]) by aggressive intermediate (diffuse large cell) lymphomas of the B-cell type non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL-B) in four patients with lymphomatous effusions.

Transformation of follicular lymphoma. Expression of p53 and bcl-2 oncoprotein, apoptosis and cell proliferation.

Transformation in follicular lymphoma represents an abrupt transition in tumor biology. The protein product of the bcl-2 oncogene is overexpressed in most follicular lymphomas and inhibits apoptosis. The protein product of the p53 oncogene prevents cell proliferation and induces apoptosis and is overexpressed in the dysfunctional (mutated) form.

Chromosome 17 numerical abnormalities in 55 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: a fluorescence in situ hybridization study.

Monosomy 17 and structural abnormalities of the short arm of chromosome 17 have been reported to influence prognosis and treatment outcome in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). In diffuse large cell lymphoma, these abnormalities were associated with refractoriness to chemotherapy, higher proliferative rate and poor prognosis. We studied the incidence of chromosome 17 abnormalities in 55 patients with NHL by using fluorescence in situ hybridization with a directly conjugated centromeric probe for chromosome 17.

Chromosome X numerical abnormalities in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. A study of 59 patients using fluorescence in situ hybridization.

Chromosome X numerical abnormalities are frequently observed in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), with an incidence of 3% to 14% for chromosomal loss and 7% to 33% for chromosomal gain. Because sex chromosome numerical abnormalities are thought to be due to aging, little information is known about their relation to gender, therapy, and prognosis. Therefore, to determine the incidence and clinical relevance of this abnormality in NHL, we studied specimens from 59 NHL patients (31 men and 28 women) by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using a directly conjugated centromeric probe for chromosome X.

Results of a salvage treatment program for relapsing lymphoma: MINE consolidated with ESHAP.

Purpose: We report the results of a prospective trial in which patients with relapsing non-Hodgkin's lymphomas were sequentially treated with two regimens (mesna, ifosfamide, mitoxantrone, and etoposide [MINE], and etoposide, methylprednisolone, cytarabine, and cisplatin [ESHAP]) if they had no history of disease resistance to these drugs.

Patients And Methods: Ninety-two patients received MINE (mesna 4 g/m2, ifosfamide 4 g/m2, mitoxantrone 8 mg/m2, and etoposide 195 mg/m2) for a maximum of six courses followed by ESHAP (etoposide 240 mg/m2, methylprednisone 500 mg/d, high-dose cytarabine 2 g/m2, and cisplatin 100 mg/m2) for three courses to consolidate complete response (CR) or for a maximum of six cycles after a partial response (PR) or no response to MINE. Pretreatment serum levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2M) were documented in 80 of 92 patients.

Primary lymphoma of the prostate: good outcome with doxorubicin-based combination chemotherapy.

Primary lymphoma of the prostate was diagnosed in 3 patients corresponding to 0.1% of those with previously untreated lymphoma and 0.09% of those with previously untreated prostatic malignancy presenting to our cancer center between January 1, 1980 and December 31, 1993.