Molecular purging of multiple myeloma cells by ex-vivo culture and retroviral transduction of mobilized-blood CD34+ cells.

Background: Tumor cell contamination of the apheresis in multiple myeloma is likely to affect disease-free and overall survival after autografting.

Objective: To purge myeloma aphereses from tumor contaminants with a novel culture-based purging method.

Methods: We cultured myeloma-positive CD34+ PB samples in conditions that retained multipotency of hematopoietic stem cells, but were unfavourable to survival of plasma cells.

HIC gene, a candidate suppressor gene within a minimal region of loss at 7q31.1 in myeloid neoplasms.

We studied monosomy and deletions of chromosome 7 in 170 patients with myeloid disorders and we identified a minimal region of loss in 7q31.1 spanning between the D7S2554 and D7S2460 markers. The closest gene to our most deleted microsatellite, D7S2554, is the human I-mfa domain containing (HIC) gene, alias MyoD family inhibitor domain containing (MDFIC).

The achievement of durable complete cytogenetic remission in late chronic and accelerated phase patients with CML treated with Imatinib mesylate predicts for prolonged response at 6 years.

Despite the positive results achieved by Imatinib mesylate (Imatinib) in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), over the past several years, Imatinib does not eradicate the leukemic clone. The long-term duration of response to the drug is not known. Long-term follow-up of CML patients treated with Imatinib will ultimately define the durability of such treatment and the frequency of reemergence of progressive disease.