Publications by authors named "Clodagh Keohane"

A 72-year-old man was referred to our urology outpatient department with a left hemi-scrotal swelling increasing in size over a matter of weeks, initially suspicious for a left hydrocoele. Initial investigation with ultrasound (US) identified a heterogenous enlargement of the left testis and epididymis with a soft tissue mass extending through the inguinal canal. Subsequent CT detected this soft tissue mass to extend along the left gonadal vein to the level of the left renal vein.

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Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) presenting in elderly, unfit patients represents a clinical challenge. Front-line 'attenuated' or low-intensity immunochemotherapy is often employed, although outcomes are relatively unexplored. We report outcomes of attenuated immunochemotherapy in 95 patients with MCL across 19 centres in the UK and Ireland considered unfit for full-dose rituximab-bendamustine or rituximab-cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisolone (R-CHOP).

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Standard first-line therapy choice for essential thrombocythaemia (ET) requiring cytoreduction, supported by randomized trials, is low-dose aspirin with hydroxycarbamide, but the role of recombinant interferon-alfa (IFNα)-2a/2b and pegylated (PEG)-IFN-α-2a/2b is increasingly highlighted. Longer-term outcome data, however, remains somewhat scarce, particularly in the 'real world'. We hereby report on a large, well-annotated cohort of ET patients from a single referral centre undergoing therapy with either IFNα or (PEG)-IFN-α-2a/2b and demonstrate high rates of complete haematological responses, good tolerability and safety, low rates of thromboembolic events in compliant patients and confirm feasibility of long-term therapy in a significant proportion of patients.

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CD4(+) T cells maintain cancer surveillance and immune tolerance. Chronic inflammation has been proposed as a driver of clonal evolution in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), suggesting that T cells play an important role in their pathogenesis. Treatment with JAK inhibitors (JAKi) results in improvements in MPN-associated constitutional symptoms as well as reductions in splenomegaly.

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Myelofibrosis (MF) is characterized by bone marrow fibrosis, progressive anemia and extramedullary hematopoiesis, primarily manifested as splenomegaly. Patients also experience debilitating constitutional symptoms, including sequelae of splenomegaly, night sweats and fatigue. Ruxolitinib (INC424, INCB18424, Jakafi, Jakavi), a JAK1 and JAK2 inhibitor, was approved in November 2011 by the US FDA for the treatment of intermediate- or high-risk MF, and more recently in Europe and Canada for the treatment of MF-related splenomegaly or symptoms.

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Unlabelled: Ruxolitinib, a JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor, is currently the only pharmacological agent approved for the treatment of myelofibrosis. Approval was based on findings from two phase 3 trials comparing ruxolitinib with placebo (COMFORT-I) and with best available therapy (COMFORT-II) for the treatment of primary or secondary myelofibrosis. In those pivotal trials, ruxolitinib rapidly improved splenomegaly, disease-related symptoms, and quality of life and prolonged survival compared with both placebo and conventional treatments.

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Myelofibrosis (MF) can present as a primary disorder or evolve from polycythemia vera (PV) or essential thrombocythemia (ET) to post-PV MF or post-ET MF, respectively. MF is characterized by bone marrow fibrosis, splenomegaly, leukoerythroblastosis, extramedullary hematopoiesis, and a collection of debilitating symptoms. Until recently, the therapeutic options for patients with MF consisted of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (alloHSCT), the use of cytoreductive agents (ie, hydroxyurea), splenectomy and splenic irradiation for treatment of splenomegaly, and management of anemia with transfusions, erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs), androgens, and immunomodulatory agents.

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Article Synopsis
  • * In 2007, the drug ruxolitinib was tested in patients with high-risk myelofibrosis, leading to significant improvements in symptoms and spleen enlargement.
  • * Subsequent COMFORT trials proved ruxolitinib's effectiveness compared to placebo and standard treatment, though the exact mechanisms of action of JAK inhibitors and their target pathways remain unclear.
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