Publications by authors named "Hartmut Merz"

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the extent of DNA breaks in primary uveal melanoma (UM) with regard to radiotherapy dose delivery (single-dose versus fractionated) and monosomy 3 status.

Methods: A total of 54 patients with UM were included. Stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) was performed in 23 patients, with 8 undergoing single-dose SRT (sdSRT) treatment and 15 receiving fractionated SRT (fSRT).

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Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) constitutes a rare and aggressive malignancy originating from plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) with a primarily cutaneous tropism followed by dissemination to the bone marrow and other organs. We conducted a genome-wide analysis of the tumor methylome in an extended cohort of 45 BPDCN patients supplemented by WES and RNA-seq as well as ATAC-seq on selected cases. We determined the BPDCN DNA methylation profile and observed a dramatic loss of DNA methylation during malignant transformation from early and mature DCs towards BPDCN.

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Purpose: To determine the presence of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in patients with indeterminate small choroidal melanocytic lesions (SCMLs).

Design: Retrospective case series.

Participants: Forty-seven patients with choroidal melanocytic lesions 2.

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Background: There is growing evidence supporting multidisciplinary molecular tumor boards (MTB) in solid tumors whereas hematologic malignancies remain underrepresented in this regard.

Objective: The present study aimed to assess the clinical relevance of MTBs in primary refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphomas/high-grade B-cell lymphomas with MYC and BCL2 rearrangements (prDLBCL/HGBL-MYC/BCL2) (n = 13) and HGBL, not otherwise specified (NOS), with MYC and BCL6 rearrangements (prHGBL, NOS-MYC/BCL6) (n = 6) based on our previously published whole-exome sequencing (WES) cohort.

Patients And Methods: For genomic analysis, the institutional MTB WES pipeline (University Cancer Center Schleswig-Holstein: UCCSH), certified for routine clinical diagnostics, was employed and supplemented by a comprehensive immunohistochemical work-up.

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Introduction: Hematologic malignancies are currently underrepresented in multidisciplinary molecular-tumor-boards (MTB). This study assesses the potential of precision-oncology in primary-refractory plasmablastic-lymphoma (prPBL), a highly lethal blood cancer.

Methods: We evaluated clinicopathological and molecular-genetic data of 14 clinically annotated prPBL-patients from initial diagnosis.

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Immunotactoid glomerulopathy (ITG) occurs infrequently and is characterized by organized IgG containing deposits. It most usually manifests as a concomitant disease of a broad spectrum of oncologic entities. We here present an exceptional case of ITG without glomerular light chain restriction secondary to a IgM kappa type monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance.

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The molecular mechanisms for uveal ring melanoma are still unclear until today. In this case report, we describe a patient with a malignant uveal melanoma with exudative retinal detachment that had been treated with plaque brachytherapy, resulting in successful tumor regression. After 1 year, a ring-shaped recurrence with extraocular extension appeared, and the eye required enucleation.

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Gray-zone lymphoma (GZL) reflects an aggressive B-cell neoplasm with features intermediate between diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). The International Prognostic Index (IPI) and its derivatives (R-IPI, NCCN-IPI, and the Hasenclever IPS) have been established for DLBCL or cHL while the most suitable scoring system for GZL remains undetermined. In an exploratory multi-centric cohort of GZL ( = 61), we performed a comparative analysis of prognostic indices with regard to model fit and mutual concordance.

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High-grade B-cell lymphoma accompanied with double/triple-hit MYC and BCL2 and/or BCL6 rearrangements (HGBLDH/ TH) poses a cytogenetically-defined provisional entity among aggressive B-cell lymphomas that is traditionally associated with unfavorable prognosis. In order to better understand the mutational and molecular landscape of HGBLDH/ TH we here performed whole-exome sequencing and deep panel next-generation sequencing of 47 clinically annotated cases. Oncogenic drivers, mutational signatures and perturbed pathways were compared with data from follicular lymphoma (FL), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and Burkitt lymphoma (BL).

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Plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL) represents a clinically heterogeneous subtype of aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Targeted-sequencing studies and a single-center whole-exome sequencing (WES) study in HIV-positive patients recently revealed several genes associated with PBL pathogenesis; however, the global mutational landscape and transcriptional profile of PBL remain elusive. To inform on disease-associated mutational drivers, mutational patterns, and perturbed pathways in HIV-positive and HIV-negative PBL, we performed WES and transcriptome sequencing (RNA-sequencing) of 33 PBL tumors.

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The recent characterization of a group of non-MYC rearranged aggressive B-cell lymphomas, resembling Burkitt lymphoma (BL), characteristically harboring a telomeric 11q loss or combined 11q proximal gains/loss pattern has led to the introduction of the provisional entity of Burkitt-like lymphoma with 11q aberration (BLL-11q). Prompted by the discovery of a telomeric 11q loss in an HIV+ high-grade B-cell lymphoma patient, we investigated an extended cohort of aggressive B-cell lymphomas, enriched for cases with histopathological features intermediate between DLBCL and BL, including double- and triple-hit lymphomas (n = 47), for 11q loss/combined 11q proximal gains/loss pattern by fluorescence in situ hybridization. We provide first evidence that 11q aberrations can be found in both BLL in the context of an underlying HIV infection as well as in high-grade B-cell lymphomas with MYC, BCL2, and/or BCL6 rearrangements.

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Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma not otherwise specified (DLBCL NOS) constitute a distinct clinicopathological entity in the current World Health Organization (WHO) classification. However, its genomic features remain sparsely characterized. Here, we combine whole-genome sequencing (WGS), targeted amplicon sequencing (tNGS), and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) from 47 EBV + DLBCL (NOS) cases to delineate the genomic landscape of this rare disease.

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High-grade B-cell lymphoma, with and and/or rearrangements (double/triple-hit high grade B-cell lymphoma, HGBL-DH/TH) constitutes a provisional entity among B-cell malignancies with an aggressive behavior and dire prognosis. While evidence for the essential prognostic role of the composition of the tumor-microenvironment (TME) in hematologic malignancies is growing, its prognostic impact in HGBL-DH/TH remains unknown. In this study, we outline the adaptive immune response in a cohort of 47 HGBL-DH/TH and 27 triple-negative diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (tnDLBCL) patients in a large-scale, next-generation sequencing (NGS) investigation of the T-cell receptor (TCR) β-chain repertoire and supplement our findings with data on the Glasgow-Prognostic Score (GPS) at diagnosis, as a score-derived measure of systemic inflammation.

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Purpose: Plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL) is a rare and aggressive B-cell malignancy with a heterogenous clinical and prognostic spectrum, determined by multiple factors, including age, HIV- and MYC-status. While there exist several validated scoring systems for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, which incorporate basic clinical features (age, lactate dehydrogenase, sites of (extranodal) involvement, stage and performance), none of these have been systematically assessed in PBL.

Methods: We determined the (age-adjusted; aa)-International Prognostic Index (IPI), revised IPI (R-IPI), and National Comprehensive Cancer Network IPI (NCCN-IPI) in a comprehensive multi-center cohort (n = 78) of PBL patients.

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Monosomy-3 in uveal melanoma (UM) cells increases the risk of fatal metastases. The gene encoding the low-affinity glucose transporter GLUT2 resides on chromosome 3q26.2.

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Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is an aggressive B-cell-malignancy derived from germinal-centre B-cells. Curative therapy traditionally requires intensive immunochemotherapy. Recently, immuno-oncological approaches, modulating the T-cell tumour response, were approved for the treatment of a variety of malignancies.

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The prolonged storage of glucose as glycogen can promote the quiescence of tumor cells, whereas the accumulation of an aberrant form of glycogen without the primer protein glycogenin can induce the metabolic switch towards a glycolytic phenotype. Here, we analyzed the expression of = 67 genes involved in glycogen metabolism on the uveal melanoma (UM) cohort of the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) study and validated the differentially expressed genes in an independent cohort. We also evaluated the glycogen levels with regard to the prognostic factors via a differential periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining.

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Purpose: Adiponectin is an insulin-sensitizing and anticarcinogenic hormone that is encoded by a gene on chromosome 3. Here, we analyzed the expression of adiponectin and its receptor Adipor1 in primary uveal melanoma (UM) with regard to the monosomy-3 status and clinical factors, as well as the physiological response of UM cells to adiponectin.

Methods: Immunohistochemistry was performed on the primary UM of 34 patients.

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Immunity and inflammatory response affect the tumour microenvironment and the progression of malignancies. Metabolic and inflammatory parameters and ratios of the peripheral blood correlate with outcome in cancer patients. There exist several established and validated inflammation-based scores of prognostic significances including the Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS).

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Patients with EBV-positive diffuse large B cell lymphoma not otherwise specified (EBV DLBCL (NOS)) recurrently present with advanced age and reduced performance status. They are therefore insufficiently represented in clinical trials and treatment is likely to differ. Here we assess clinicopathological characteristics, therapeutic variability and clinical outcome in the largest consecutively diagnosed EBV DLBCL (NOS) cohort published to date (n = 80; median age 70 years; range 19-90).

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Purpose: The introduction of immunochemotherapy has led to a significant improvement in treatment results and prognosis of diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkins lymphoma (DLBCL) both at initial diagnosis and in relapse. Trofosfamide, an oxazaphosphorine derivative, has been utilized as alternative treatment option for patients with lymphoproliferative diseases unsuitable for conventional chemotherapy agents and protocols because of age, comorbidity, or poor performance score. While data on the activity and safety of single-agent trofosfamide have been published, the potential value of this agent in immunochemotherapy in combination with anti-CD20 antibodies such as rituximab has not been investigated to our knowledge.

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