Patients' perceptions about diagnosis and treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia: a cross-sectional study among Brazilian patients.

Context And Objectives: Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) requires strict daily compliance with oral medication and regular blood and bone marrow control tests. The objective was to evaluate CML patients' perceptions about the disease, their access to information regarding the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment, adverse effects and associations of these variables with patients' demographics, region and healthcare access.

Design And Setting: Prospective cross-sectional study among CML patients registered with the Brazilian Lymphoma and Leukemia Association (ABRALE).

Quality of life of chronic myeloid leukemia patients in Brazil: ability to work as a key factor.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality of life (QOL) of patients receiving treatment by the public health system in Brazil for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), a disease requiring daily and strict compliance to oral medication and regular blood and bone marrow controls, which are invasive exams.

Methods: Between 2008 and 2010, patients with CML were surveyed by telephone. Quality of life was evaluated by the functional assessment of chronic illness therapy (FACIT) tool.

Validation of the EBMT risk score in chronic myeloid leukemia in Brazil and allogeneic transplant outcome.

Background And Objectives: The management of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) has changed radically since the introduction of imatinib therapy. The decision of whether to offer a patient a hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) must be based on the probability of success of the procedure. The aim of this retrospective analysis of 1,084 CML patients who received an allogeneic HSCT in 10 Brazilian Centers between February 1983 and March 2003 was to validate the EBMT risk score.

A systematic approach to molecular quantitative determination of mixed chimaerism following allogeneic bone marrow transplantation: an analysis of its applicability in a group of patients with severe aplastic anaemia.

Mixed chimaerism (MC) following allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (allo-BMT) is defined as the persistent cohabitation of haematopoietic cells from recipients and donors. Its kinetics, clinical implications and more efficient laboratory approaches for MC detection are the object of ongoing research in view of the possibility of developing useful markers. Here we describe a sequential analysis of chimaerism using variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by quantitative, fluorescent labelled, short tandem repeat (STR) PCR.

A child with Philadelphia positive (Ph+)-acute leukemia with myeloid morphology: one case of stem cell origin.

Philadelphia positive (Ph+) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a rare and heterogeneous condition, mainly reported in adults, associated to poor prognosis and unfavorable response to therapy. Here we report clinical and laboratory findings in an 8-year-old patient diagnosed with Ph+ acute leukemia with myeloid (FAB M4) morphology. The patient consistently expressed variable levels of m-bcr, e1a2 transcripts during a 42-month follow-up after two different stem cell transplantation protocols.

Granulocytic sarcoma of the small intestine with CBFbeta/MYH11 fusion gene: report of an aleukaemic case and review of the literature.

Granulocytic sarcomas (GS) are rare extramedullary tumours composed of immature myeloid cells. Inversion of chromosome 16 [inv(16)] is a cytogenetic marker for M4Eo subtype of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). The possibility of an association between the development of granulocytic sarcoma of the small intestine (GSSI) and the M4Eo subtype of AML was suggested in nine previous case reports.

Laboratory strategies for efficient handling of paraffin-embedded tissues for molecular detection of clonality in non-hodgkin lymphomas.

We herein present a technical strategy to optimize DNA isolation from paraffin-embedded tissue (PET). This includes the choice of adequate buffers for proteinase K digestion and multiplex PCR amplifications for assessing the appropriateness of DNA extracts for subsequent PCR assays for detecting clonality. We found that the association of proteinase K digestion in nonionic buffer and subsequent extract dilutions accounted for 79% of successful amplifications.

Acute promyelocytic leukemia: a case-based review.

Retinoid therapy for acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is one of the major achievements of leukemia research in the last 15 years. Use of all trans retinoic acid (ATRA) has changed the prognosis of APL from a fatal leukemia to a highly curable disease. This case-based review examines the available clinical and scientific data to form evidence-based decisions in the management of APL.

Estimations of BCR-ABL/ABL transcripts by quantitative PCR in chronic myeloid leukaemia after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation and donor lymphocyte infusion.

Serial assays of qualitative (multiplex and nested) and quantitative PCR were carried out for detecting and estimating the level of BCR-ABL transcripts in 39 CML patients following bone marrow transplantation. Seven of these patients, who received donor lymphocyte infusions (DLIs) following to relapse, were also monitored. Quantitative estimates of BCR-ABL transcripts were obtained by co-amplification with a competitor sequence.