Leptomeningeal Metastasis in a Breast Cancer Treated with Two Lines of Intrathecal Chemotherapy - a Case Report.

Background: Leptomeningeal metastasis (LM) in breast cancer is associated with a poor prognosis. Although no randomised trial has demonstrated that intrathecal chemotherapy actually prolongs survival, this treatment is considered standard of care in this setting. The prognosis of patients with LM is poor, with a median overall survival time of less than 6 months.

A unique clinical presentation of de novo acute promyelocytic leukemia as a myeloid sarcoma of the breast.

Myeloid sarcoma is a rare presentation of acute leukemia as a solid tumor at various extramedullary sites. It may present concurrently, before or after the onset of systemic bone marrow leukemia. Unusual clinical localization may lead to misdiagnosis, or delayed diagnosis and treatment.

COX-2 expression in fibroblast aggregates as a functional indicator for the anti-inflammatory activity of leukemia patients' bone marrow-derived hematopoietic cells.

Reciprocal communication between hematopoietic cells and their surrounding bone marrow stroma is crucial for normal progression of hematopoiesis. This complex network of cell-to-cell signals in the microenvironment involves both cell contact-mediated and paracrine cues. In hematological malignancies the intricate balance is, however, disrupted to support cancer progression.

Flow cytometry of peripheral blood and bone marrow cells from patients with hairy cell leukemia: phenotype of hairy cells, lymphocyte subsets and detection of minimal residual disease after treatment.

By flow cytometry (FC) and an extensive panel of markers we characterized leukemia cells from the peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow (BM) of 13 symptomatic patients with hairy cell leukemia (HCL). Hairy cells (HCs) identified in the large cell gate always expressed B-cell markers - CD19, CD20, CD22, HLA-DR, and 'HCL-restricted' markers - CD22+CD11c, CD25 and CD103. Other markers, not followed regularly, were occasionally expressed, such as CD34, CD38, CD71, CD15, CD10 and kappa/lambda light chains.

Philadelphia-positive chronic myelogenous leukemia with a 5q-- abnormality in a patient following interferon-alpha therapy.

In this report, we describe a rare 5q--/CML association in a patient with Ph-positive chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) who achieved complete cytogenetic response on interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) treatment, but who developed a new clone in the blastic crisis. The patient was treated with interferon-alpha beginning in 1996 and a serial chromosome and molecular study was performed over the clinical course of the disease. The patient remained in complete hematologic and cytogenetic remission until November 1998, when a reverse transcriptase PCR study performed on the bone marrow and peripheral blood cells was negative for chimeric BCR/ABL mRNA.

Hematogenous trichosporonosis in cancer patients: report of 12 cases including 5 during prophylaxis with itraconazol.

Twelve cases of Trichosporon spp. fungemias occurring in a national cancer institution within 10 years are described. The trend of hematogenous trichosporonosis within the last 10 years is increasing.

Phenotypic heterogeneity and aberrant markers expression in T-cell leukemia.

For exact determination of lineage assessment there is a need of surface membrane and intracellular (cytoplasmic and nuclear) immunophenotyping performed by flow cytometry. We evaluated in detail the results of surface and intracellular immunophenotyping of 34 T-ALL cases. The great heterogeneity of T-cell differentiation markers has been observed which did not allow relevant subclassification of T-ALL according to the existing subclassification schemes and the proposed three-stage model of physiological T-cell differentiation.

Karyotypic and clinical progression of ANLL in a patient with constitutional der(15;21)(q10;q10).

A patient with a constitutional chromosomal abnormality who developed acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL-M4) at the age of 31 is presented. At the time of diagnosis the only acquired chromosomal change was the presence of a small marker chromosome. The patient was studied periodically for 11 years during his illness with no evidence of karyotypic progression, until the last study, when a deletion of the long arm of chromosome 7 was detected.

Fungaemia due to Fusarium spp. in cancer patients.

Five cases of fungaemia due to Fusarium spp. in cancer patients are described. Two were breakthrough cases, despite ongoing therapy with amphotericin B.

[Hypercirculatory heart failure in a patient with plasmacytic leukemia].

High cardiac output failure/state (HCOF) is regular feature of some illnesses e.g. thiamine deficiency, hyperthyroidism, severe anemia, Paget's disease or arteriovenous fistulae.

Candidosis, aspergillosis and zygomycosis in an oncology department.

The incidence, aetiology and treatment of fungal infections in a 60-bed department of clinical oncology over 2 years is reported. During the second year, after the moving of the department from an old to a new building with an improved epidemiologic regimen, the incidence decreased rapidly, although the mortality due to systemic disseminated mycosis did not change.

Intensive combination chemotherapy (TTL-I protocol) of large cell and immunoblastic lymphomas--long-term observation.

Fifty patients with advanced (Stage III and IV) large cell and immunoblastic lymphoma were treated with eight 4-week courses of chemotherapy. The first two identical A courses were composed of high dose cyclophosphamide, vincristine, 5-day administration of bleomycin, 2-week prednisone, and methotrexate with calcium leucovorin. The next two "B" courses were composed of vincristine, 3-day administration of doxorubicin together with bleomycin, and prednisone.

[Various antibiotics in the monotherapy and combined therapy of infections in cancer patients. Retrospective study of 290 patients].

The authors present in a retrospective study the results of treatment of infections in 290 immunodeficient patients, mostly with haematological malignancies. As compared with classical empirical combined treatment (aminoglycoside + IIIrd generation cephalosporins), combinations of quinolones and amoxycillin, amoxycillin clavulanate or vancomycin proved more satisfactory.

Comparison of two non-cross-resistant combinations (ABVP/LOPP) with COPP plus bleomycin in the treatment of advanced Hodgkin's disease.

Eighty patients with advanced Hodgkin's disease were randomized either to treatment with combination of doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and prednisone (ABVP), alternating with lomustine, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone (LOPP)--Group A, or to combination of cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, prednisone, and low dose of bleomycin (COPP-Bleo)--Group B. Thirty-nine out of 41 patients (95%) in Group A achieved complete remission (CR) as compared to 25 CR in 39 patients (64%) in Group B. Patients with systemic symptoms, bulky disease, and nodular sclerosis achieved significantly more CR after treatment with ABVP/LOPP regimen than with COPP-Bleo regimen.

Treatment of advanced Hodgkin's disease with modified MOPP regimens. A long-term observation.

Fifty-three patients with advanced Hodgkin's disease, most of them previously treated, received 8 to 16 courses of modified MOPP regimens (nitrogen mustard replaced by trichlormethine in arm A, with addition of vinblastine to the 4-drug regimen in arm B, and alternation of three drugs--trichlormethine, vincristine, and prednisone--with probably non-cross resistant two drugs--vinblastine and procarbazine in arm C). Thirty patients (57%) achieved complete remission. Higher complete remission rate and longer survival was recorded in patients treated with 5-drug regimens (arms B and C) as compared to the 4-drug regimen (arm A), but the differences were not significant.

Risk factors for coronary heart disease in rural Hungary.

This is a ten-year study of a cohort of 1088 Hungarian men aged 40-59 at entry, with a 99% baseline response rate and complete ascertainment of cases and follow-up. The methods were state of the art for the period the survey was performed, with quality control for standard procedure and training. Zero, five- and ten-year examinations were carried out and standard risk factors measured and analysed in relation to the ten-year experience, ie, age, blood cholesterol, blood pressure, smoking, body mass, vital capacity, and skinfolds.

Cell surface protein and glycoprotein electrophoretic patterns in some human hemopoietic malignancies.

Surface proteins radiolabeled by lactoperoxidase catalyzed radioiodination and/or sialoglycoproteins tritium-labeled by sodium metaperiodate/NaB3H4 technique, obtained from neoplastic cells of more than 50 patients with malignant hemopoietic disease have been analyzed with acrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis under denaturing conditions (SDS-PAGE). Electrophoretic protein and glycoprotein patterns were essentially similar within the group of examined chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients with major surface glycoproteins gp44 and gp29,35. Glycoprotein gp29,35 corresponds by its electrophoretic mobility to Ia-like (HLA-DR antigen), which was identified on some CLL cells also by immunoprecipitation with a conventional anti-Ia antigen serum and subsequent electrophoretic analysis of immuno-precipitated antigen.

Treatment of adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia: results of two trials.

Thirty eight patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia were treated protocol 0171 (VCR, PRED, MTX, cyclophosphamide +/- +/- 6-MP) and protocol 0276/A (VRC, PRED, L-ASP, MTX, 6-MP, cyclophosphamide). Overall complete remission rate in both studies was 84--85%, and additional treatment in protocol 0171 resulted in complete remission rate of 92%. Median duration of complete remission in protocol 0171 was 23 months and median survival of all patients was 33 months.