The real-world efficacy and safety of frontline therapy of obinutuzumab plus bendamustine for untreated high-tumor-burden follicular lymphoma.

Background: While R-CHOP has been one of the standard therapies for untreated high-tumor-burden (HTB) follicular lymphoma (FL) for over 2 decades, obinutuzumab plus bendamustine (OB) is also currently regarded as the standard of care since its approval in 2018 in Japan; however, the long-term efficacy and safety of OB in the daily clinical practice has not been thoroughly evaluated.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter retrospective study for the clinical outcome of 53 patients with HTB FL treated by OB as the frontline therapy between 2018 and 2021 in the Kyoto Hematology Clinical Study Group (KOTOSG). All patients had at least 2-year follow-up period.

Binding characteristics of the doxepin E/Z-isomers to the histamine H receptor revealed by receptor-bound ligand analysis and molecular dynamics study.

Doxepin is an antihistamine and tricyclic antidepressant that binds to the histamine H receptor (HR) with high affinity. Doxepin is an 85:15 mixture of the E- and Z-isomers. The Z-isomer is well known to be more effective than the E-isomer, whereas based on the crystal structure of the HR/doxepin complex, the hydroxyl group of Thr112 is close enough to form a hydrogen bond with the oxygen atom of the E-isomer.

Negative impact of immunoparesis in response to anti-SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination of patients with multiple myeloma.

Multiple myeloma reduces cellular and humoral immunity. Optimal prediction of antibody response to anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine in patients with MM and related disorders is essential to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. This study analyzed the humoral response to the anti-SARS-CoV-2 messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine and its associated factor in 83 patients from June to November 2021 at seven member institutions of the Kyoto Clinical Hematology Study Group.

Genomic adaptation of giant viruses in polar oceans.

Despite being perennially frigid, polar oceans form an ecosystem hosting high and unique biodiversity. Various organisms show different adaptive strategies in this habitat, but how viruses adapt to this environment is largely unknown. Viruses of phyla Nucleocytoviricota and Mirusviricota are groups of eukaryote-infecting large and giant DNA viruses with genomes encoding a variety of functions.

Predicting global distributions of eukaryotic plankton communities from satellite data.

Satellite remote sensing is a powerful tool to monitor the global dynamics of marine plankton. Previous research has focused on developing models to predict the size or taxonomic groups of phytoplankton. Here, we present an approach to identify community types from a global plankton network that includes phytoplankton and heterotrophic protists and to predict their biogeography using global satellite observations.

Real-world practice-based prognostic model for higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes treated with azacitidine monotherapy: The Kyoto prognostic scoring system.

The prognostic impact of patient-related factors, including age, nutritional parameters, and inflammation status, in higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (HR-MDS) has been largely unexplored. This multicenter retrospective study aimed to establish a real-world practice-based prognostic model for HR-MDS by considering both disease- and patient-related parameters in 233 patients treated with AZA monotherapy at seven institutions. We found that anemia, presence of circulating blasts in peripheral blood, low absolute lymphocyte count, low total cholesterol (T-cho) and albumin serum levels, complex karyotype, and del(7q) or  - 7 were poor prognostic factors.

Impact of Treatment with Anti-CD20 Monoclonal Antibody on the Production of Neutralizing Antibody Against Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination in Mature B-Cell Neoplasms.

Background And Purpose: Anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs), rituximab (RIT), and obinutuzumab (OBZ) are the central components of immunochemotherapy for B-cell lymphoma (BCL). However, these agents potentially cause B-cell depletion, resulting in the impairment of antibody (Ab) production. During the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, the optimal prediction of Ab response against anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is critically important in patients with BCL treated by B-cell depletion therapeutics to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Watchful waiting is an acceptable treatment option for asymptomatic primary ocular adnexal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma: A retrospective study.

Background: Primary ocular adnexal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma (POAML) is the most common subtype of indolent ocular adnexal lymphomas. Although radiotherapy (RT) is the standard of care for localized POAML, it can occasionally lead to permanent side effects. Other treatment strategies, such as rituximab (R) monotherapy and immunochemotherapy, have been used for POAML treatment, but their long-term benefits and relative merits remain unclear.

Serum Albumin Levels Strongly Predict Survival Outcome of Elderly Patients with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Treated with Rituximab-Combined Chemotherapy.

In the current Japanese aging society, a high number of very elderly patients (age ranged from 80 to 93) with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL, most frequent hematological malignancy), who require chemotherapy are encountered. However, standard chemotherapy can result in severe adverse effects in elderly patients. Although various scoring systems are available to assess frailty, they are too complicated to immediately make a therapeutic decision, and studies on indications for chemotherapy in elderly patients are few.

Pretreatment serum level of interleukin-6 predicts carfilzomib-induced hypertension in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

Carfilzomib (CFZ) constitutes powerful combinatory therapy for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM); however, cardiovascular adverse events (CVAEs) have been shown as major treatment obstacles with the use of CFZ. Along with our multi-institutional prospective observational study by the Kyoto Clinical Hematology Study Group on the efficacy and safety of CFZ-based treatments (UMIN000025108), we here performed an ad hoc analysis of CFZ-related CVAEs in 50 patients with RRMM. We analyzed the association between CFZ-related CVAEs and pre-planned examinations, including patients' background, electrocardiographic findings, echocardiographic findings, and serum/plasma levels of 18 potential candidate biomarkers.

Prognostic impact of resistance to bortezomib and/or lenalidomide in carfilzomib-based therapies for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma: The Kyoto Clinical Hematology Study Group, multicenter, pilot, prospective, observational study in Asian patients.

Background: Combinatory strategies with carfilzomib (CFZ), a second-generation proteasome inhibitor, plus dexamethasone (DEX) with or without lenalidomide (LEN) have shown promising efficacy for patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) in pivotal clinical trials. However, their effects on patients who were resistance to bortezomib (BTZ) and/or LEN have not been fully evaluated in a daily practice setting.

Aims: To evaluate the real-world efficacy and safety of CFZ-based treatments; that is, CFZ with LEN plus DEX (KRD therapy) and CFZ with DEX (KD therapy), in Asian patients, we conducted a multicenter pilot prospective observational study in the Kyoto Clinical Hematology Study Group.

Quantitative Assessment of Nucleocytoplasmic Large DNA Virus and Host Interactions Predicted by Co-occurrence Analyses.

Nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDVs) are highly diverse and abundant in marine environments. However, the knowledge of their hosts is limited because only a few NCLDVs have been isolated so far. Taking advantage of the recent large-scale marine metagenomics census, host prediction approaches are expected to fill the gap and further expand our knowledge of virus-host relationships for unknown NCLDVs.

Eukaryotic virus composition can predict the efficiency of carbon export in the global ocean.

The biological carbon pump, in which carbon fixed by photosynthesis is exported to the deep ocean through sinking, is a major process in Earth's carbon cycle. The proportion of primary production that is exported is termed the carbon export efficiency (CEE). Based on in-lab or regional scale observations, viruses were previously suggested to affect the CEE (i.

Second primary malignancy after rituximab-containing immunochemotherapy for diffuse large B cell lymphoma.

Extended post-therapy long-term survival of patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) may also lead to an increase of late adverse events. We retrospectively investigated the frequency and clinical manifestation of second primary malignancy (SPM) after rituximab-containing immunochemotherapy in patients with DLBCL treated at seven institutes belonging to the Kyoto Clinical Hematology Study Group (KOTOSG) from the perspective of the existence of past or synchronous cancer history. In a median follow-up period of 899 days, 69 SPMs were observed in 58 of 809 patients.

Sequential therapy of four cycles of bortezomib, melphalan, and prednisolone followed by continuous lenalidomide and dexamethasone for transplant-ineligible newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.

The combinations of melphalan, bortezomib, and prednisolone (VMP) and of lenalidomide and dexamethasone (Rd) are standard treatment strategies for transplant-ineligible newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM). To make the most of these two strategies, we investigated the efficacy and feasibility of first-line treatment with 4 cycles of VMP followed by continuous Rd therapy in a multi-institutional phase 2 study in Japanese patients with transplant-ineligible NDMM. Thirty-six patients of median age 74 years old with NDMM initially received 35-day cycles of VMP: oral melphalan (6 mg/m) and prednisolone (60 mg/m) on days 1 to 4 and bortezomib (1.

A case of AL amyloidosis associated with follicular lymphoma with plasmacytic differentiation.

A 58-year-old woman underwent emergency surgical resection of the small intestine for intussusception as diagnosed at our hospital. Histopathological diagnosis of the resected specimen of the ileum was amyloid light chain (AL) amyloidosis. The colonoscopy after the surgical resection and following histopathological analysis of the biopsied specimens of the colon revealed follicular lymphoma (FL) grade 1 with plasmacytic differentiation.

Prediction of delayed platelet engraftment after autologous stem cell transplantation for B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Delayed platelet engraftment (DPE) is occasionally observed despite prompt neutrophil engraftment after autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (auto-PBSCT). To identify risk factors for DPE and to develop a simple and clinically applicable system for predicting the time required for platelet recovery, we conducted a multi-institutional retrospective study in 144 patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma who underwent auto-PBSCT. In a median observation period of 930 days (range: 25-5272 days), 139 patients successfully achieved platelet engraftment (≥50.

Combined rituximab, bendamustine, and dexamethasone chemotherapy for relapsed or refractory indolent B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and mantle cell lymphoma: a multicenter phase II study.

This multicenter phase II study (UMIN000008145) aims to investigate the efficacy and safety of six cycles of combination therapy (RBD) comprising rituximab, bendamustine, and dexamethasone (DEX) for relapsed or refractory (RR) indolent B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). Although the initial study protocol comprised 20 mg/body DEX on days 1 and 2, and 10 mg/body on days 3-5 [high-dose (HD-) DEX group], the dose of DEX was later decreased to 8 mg/body on days 1 and 2 [low-dose (LD-) DEX group] due to frequent cytomegalovirus (CMV) antigenemia and recurrent retinitis. We enrolled 33 patients, and LD-DEX and HD-DEX were administered in 15 and 18 patients, respectively.

Immunosuppressive therapy with rabbit antithymocyte globulin therapy for acquired aplastic anemia: a multi-institutional retrospective study in Japanese adult patients.

We retrospectively analyzed efficacy and safety of therapy with rabbit antithymocyte globulin (rATG) in combination with cyclosporine A (CsA) in 30 Japanese adult patients with acquired aplastic anemia (AA) in the Kyoto Clinical Hematology Study Group. The median observation period was 31 months and the median age of the patients was 54 years. The objective response rates (ORRs) to rATG plus CsA increased over time until 18 months after the start of treatment; the rate of achievement of better than partial response at 18 months was 66.