High versus standard dose methylprednisolone in the acute phase of idiopathic thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura: a randomized study.

Therapeutic plasma exchange (PE) is the accepted therapy for thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). Because not all patients achieve remission, other treatment modalities have been used in addition to PE, but no randomized clinical trial evaluated their efficacy. The aim of this multicentric study was to compare the effectiveness of standard- versus high-dose methylprednisolone as an adjunctive treatment to PE in the acute phase of TTP.

153Sm: its use in multiple myeloma and report of a clinical experience.

Background: In the past years the bone seeking radiopharmaceutical samarium lexidronam ((153)Sm-EDTMP) has been increasingly used alone or in conjunction with chemotherapy and/or bisphosphonates for the treatment of painful bone metastasis.

Objective: Its use has been explored in different solid tumours. In this report we explore its interesting characteristics and describe our experience in multiple myeloma (MM).

Increased serum BAFF (B-cell activating factor of the TNF family) level is a peculiar feature associated with familial chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

In a series of 84 chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients we sought to establish whether BAFF (B-cell activating factor of the TNF family) circulating levels correlated with clinical characteristics of disease. BAFF serum levels were significantly higher in 20 healthy controls (i.e.

Front-line treatment of Philadelphia positive chronic myeloid leukemia with imatinib and interferon-alpha: 5-year outcome.

In 2004, we reported the short-term results of a multicentric, phase 2 study of imatinib 400 mg daily and pegylated interferon-alpha in the treatment of 76 early chronic phase Philadelphia-positive chronic myeloid leukemia patients. In this report, we update the results with an observation time of five years. After two years of treatment, all but 10 patients (13%) had discontinued pegylated interferon-alpha.

Comparison between patients with Philadelphia-positive chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia who obtained a complete cytogenetic response within 1 year of imatinib therapy and those who achieved such a response after 12 months of treatment.

Purpose: Imatinib mesylate is a potent inhibitor of BCR-ABL, the constitutively active tyrosine kinase protein critical for the pathogenesis of chronic myeloid leukemia.

Patients And Methods: We reviewed 284 patients with late chronic-phase Philadelphia chromosome (Ph) -positive chronic myeloid leukemia treated with imatinib 400 mg daily after interferon-alpha failure. In a retrospective study, we evaluated the pattern and rapidity of the response to imatinib, comparing the cytogenetic and molecular responses, progression-free and overall survival rates in patients who obtained a complete cytogenetic response within 1 year of treatment (early responders), and in patients where a complete cytogenetic response was detected after 12 months (late responders).

Cytosolic carbonic anhydrase activity in chronic myeloid disorders with different clinical phenotype.

Carbonic anhydrase family (CAs) plays an important role in the extracellular acidification and several studies suggest a possible involvement of such enzymes in the increased tumor progression due to the acidic extracellular pH. We measured the activities of carbonic anhydrase I and II isoforms in a group of patients affected by four specific chronic haematological diseases, sharing a common origin but characterized by a different neoplastic evolution: agnogenic myeloid metaplasia (AMM), essential thrombocythemia (ET), chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and polycythemia vera (PV) in order to understand the correlation between CAs activities and neoplastic outcome. In comparison to controls, our data demonstrate an increase of CAI and CAII activities in all our patients with a specific increase of the CAI activity in the group of the diseases with major malignancy (CML and AMM).