Publications by authors named "Georg Stussi"

Article Synopsis
  • CD37-targeted therapies, like naratuximab emtansine, have shown promise in treating lymphoma, demonstrating strong anti-tumor activity both alone and when combined with rituximab.
  • The study investigated 54 lymphoma models, revealing that the drug's effectiveness varied with CD37 expression and discovered mechanisms of resistance related to genetic changes in cancer cells.
  • Notable combinations with other drugs (anti-IL6, PI3Kδ inhibitors, and BCL2 inhibitors) improved the drug's efficacy in resistant lymphoma models, suggesting new treatment strategies for tougher cases.
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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates a chemotherapy-free treatment combining atezolizumab, venetoclax, and obinutuzumab for patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma variant of Richter transformation, which is known for being difficult to treat and having a poor prognosis.
  • It was a phase 2, multicenter trial involving 15 hospitals across Italy and Switzerland, targeting patients with a specific type of cancer transformation after certain prior conditions.
  • The primary goal was to achieve an overall response rate of at least 67% by day 21 of cycle 6, with the study being registered under ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04082897, and completed by October 2022.*
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Further line treatment of patients with advanced stage AL amyloidosis with cardiac involvement is challenging. Venetoclax is a promising option, especially in t(11;14) and BCL2 expression.In our multicentre observational study, we report the 3-year follow-up of Venetoclax treatment in 9 patients with advanced, relapsed or refractory AL amyloidosis with t(11;14) and BCL-2 expression in > 50% of plasma cells.

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Aims Of The Study: Systemic amyloidoses are rare protein-folding diseases with heterogeneous, often nonspecific clinical presentations. To better understand systemic amyloidoses and to apply state-of-the-art diagnostic pathways and treatment, the interdisciplinary Amyloidosis Network was founded in 2013 at University Hospital Zurich. In this respect, a registry was implemented to study the characteristics and life expectancy of patients with amyloidosis within the area covered by the network.

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The Swiss Blood Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Group (SBST) leads a mandatory national registry for all hematopoietic stem cell transplants (HCT) and cellular therapies. After 25 years, information was available for 11,226 patients receiving an HCT (4031 allogeneic and 7195 autologous), including 925 pediatric patients. We compared patient characteristics and outcome by quinquennia 1997-2001, 2002-2006, 2007-2011, 2012-2016, and 2017-2021.

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BTK and PI3K inhibitors are among the drugs approved for the treatment of patients with lymphoid neoplasms. Although active, their ability to lead to long-lasting complete remission is rather limited, especially in the lymphoma setting. This indicates that tumor cells often develop resistance to the drugs.

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Objective: To understand the knowledge and awareness of palliative care in the Italian-speaking Swiss general population, describing main misconceptions or false beliefs and their relationship with attitudes towards palliative care.

Methods: Cross-sectional representative population survey (N = 313).

Results: We observed a high awareness of «palliative care,» although it is mainly associated with pain management and the very last days of life.

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Purpose: The transmembrane protein CD37 is expressed almost exclusively in lymphoid tissues, with the highest abundance in mature B cells. CD37-directed antibody- and, more recently, cellular-based approaches have shown preclinical and promising early clinical activity. Naratuximab emtansine (Debio 1562, IMGN529) is an antibodydrug conjugate (ADC) that incorporates an anti-CD37 monoclonal antibody conjugated to the maytansinoid DM1 as payload.

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Article Synopsis
  • Transthyretin (ATTR) amyloidosis often goes undetected until significant cardiac damage occurs, but lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) can serve as an early indicator for diagnosis.
  • In a study of patients over 50 undergoing LSS surgery, amyloid was found in 78.7% of ligamentum flavum tissue samples, with 64.9% classified as ATTR.
  • The presence of amyloid is linked to older age and increased thickness of the ligamentum flavum, suggesting that examining this tissue could help identify ATTR earlier and improve treatment decisions.
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Treatment choice according to the individual conditions remains challenging, particularly in older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and high risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). The impact of performance status, comorbidities, and physical functioning on survival is not well defined for patients treated with hypomethylating agents. Here we describe the impact of performance status (14% ECOG performance status 2), comorbidity (40% HCT-comorbidity index ≥ 2), and physical functioning (41% short physical performance battery < 9 and 17% ADL index < 6) on overall survival (OS) in 115 older patients (age ≥ 66 years) treated on a clinical trial with a 10-day decitabine schedule.

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Aims Of The Study: Acquired haemophilia A is a rare disease with an annual incidence of 1.48 per million. Based on clinical observations, we suspect a higher incidence in southern Switzerland, and aimed at providing local epidemiological data, and clinical information regarding diagnosis, treatment and outcome in our region.

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Whereas the prognosis of adult patients with Philadelphia-negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has greatly improved since the advent of pediatric-inspired regimens, the impact of initial central nervous system (CNS) involvement has not been formerly re-evaluated. We report here the outcome of patients with initial CNS involvement included in the pediatric-inspired prospective randomized GRAALL-2005 study. Between 2006 and 2014, 784 adult patients (aged 18-59 years) with newly diagnosed Philadelphia-negative ALL were included, of whom 55 (7%) had CNS involvement.

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Unlabelled: BTK and PI3K inhibitors are among the drugs approved for the treatment of patients with lymphoid neoplasms. Although active, their ability to lead as single agents to long-lasting complete remission is rather limited especially in the lymphoma setting. This indicates that tumor cells often develop resistance to the drugs.

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Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has a heterogeneous biological behavior, which is highly influenced by its immunogenetic, epigenetic, and genomic properties. The remarkably variable clinical course of the disease has been associated with genetic features such as chromosomal abnormalities, the presence of either high or low numbers of somatic hypermutations (SHM) in the variable region of the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus (), and somatic mutations of several specific driver genes. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have provided a comprehensive characterization of the genomic and epigenomic landscape in CLL, elucidating important underlying mechanisms of the disease's biology.

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Objectives: Oncology palliative care (PC) services seek to improve quality of life in patients with cancer. PC providers face significant systemic obstacles, stemming from insufficient collaboration between healthcare providers. This study explores these obstacles and strategies to help facilitate successful collaboration amongst healthcare providers at a systemic level.

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PI3Kδ inhibitors are active in patients with lymphoid neoplasms and a first series of them have been approved for the treatment of multiple types of B-cell lymphoid tumors, including marginal zone lymphoma (MZL). The identification of the mechanisms underlying either primary or secondary resistance is fundamental to optimize the use of novel drugs. Here we present a model of secondary resistance to PI3Kδ inhibitors obtained by prolonged exposure of a splenic MZL cell line to idelalisib.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Splenic marginal zone B-cell lymphoma (SMZL) is a complex condition with varying clinical outcomes, influenced by multiple gene mutations and diverse regulatory pathways, making it critical to identify different subgroups based on their genetic and environmental features.
  • - Researchers analyzed 303 spleen samples from an international study to understand these subgroups, ultimately identifying two main genetic clusters: NNK (58% of cases) and DMT (32% of cases), each with unique genetic profiles and survival outcomes.
  • - The study revealed two types of immune microenvironments within SMZL: immune-suppressive and immune-silent, highlighting their distinct clinical implications and the potential for improving classification and targeted therapies in this disease.
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As life expectancy has increased, a growing number of people experience conditions, including cancers, that carry complex health and social needs. Palliative care services have the potential to address these needs but face significant obstacles. One major obstacle is suboptimal interprofessional collaboration.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study evaluated the effectiveness of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in patients with lymphoma undergoing treatment with ibrutinib and nivolumab, focusing on its use for mutation profiling and monitoring tumor response.
  • In a trial involving 67 patients, TP53 mutations were linked to shorter progression-free survival, while about 28.6% of patients showed a significant reduction in ctDNA levels after two treatment cycles, indicating a better response to therapy.
  • The research demonstrated that ctDNA can be a valuable tool for tracking lymphoma treatment progress and resistance, with clonal evolution and new mutations identified during treatment.
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Background: Influenza vaccination efficacy is reduced after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and patient factors determining vaccination outcomes are still poorly understood.

Methods: We investigated the antibody response to seasonal influenza vaccination in 135 HSCT patients and 69 healthy volunteers (HVs) in a prospective observational multicenter cohort study. We identified patient factors associated with hemagglutination inhibition titers against A/California/2009/H1N1, A/Texas/2012/H3N2, and B/Massachusetts/2012 by multivariable regression on the observed titer levels and on seroconversion/seroprotection categories for comparison.

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