Publications by authors named "Hong-Hu Zhu"

Article Synopsis
  • - Variant acute promyelocytic leukemia (vAPL) is a specific type of APL that involves atypical fusion proteins, which are difficult to identify using standard methods like PCR and FISH, necessitating newer techniques like next-gen sequencing.
  • - Patients with vAPL often show resistance to traditional treatments like arsenic trioxide and all trans-retinoic acid, leading to ambiguous prognoses, but venetoclax (VEN) has demonstrated effectiveness when combined with ATRA.
  • - This research presents the first recorded case of vAPL with a TFG-RARA fusion gene successfully treated with VEN and ATRA, achieving complete remission, suggesting that VEN could improve outcomes for vAPL patients.
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The maintenance of stable plasma drug concentrations within a therapeutic window can be critical for drug efficacy. Here, we developed a wearable osmotic microneedle (OMN) patch to support sustained drug dosing for at least 24 hours without the use of electronic components. The OMN patch uses an osmotic pressure driving force to deliver drug solution into the skin through three hollow microneedles with diameters of less than 200 micrometers.

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Venetoclax, a small molecule inhibitor of BCL-2, has demonstrated efficacy in treating acute leukemias and has been recommended as one of the first-line anti-leukemia therapies. Although venetoclax has been suggested to probably possess the ability to penetrate the central nervous system (CNS), current data to elucidate the characteristics of venetoclax in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), bone marrow (BM), and plasma are still lacking. This study investigated the real-world characteristics of venetoclax concentrations in CSF, BM, and plasma in acute leukemia patients.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Atypical acute promyelocytic leukemia (aAPL) showcases a variety of complex retinoic acid receptor (RAR) fusion genes, including 31 rare RARA and RARG fusions, which differ from the well-known PML::RARA fusion.
  • - Some experimental bipartite X::RAR fusions show positive responses to all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), unlike patients with ATRA resistance, prompting a deeper investigation into molecular mechanisms.
  • - The study identified novel tripartite fusion forms and significant differences in 3' splice patterns between RARA and RARG cases, suggesting transposable element involvement and highlighting the critical role of truncations in the ligand-binding domain that contribute to A
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The chemo-free concept represents a new direction for managing adult patients with Ph-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph + ALL). The tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), blinatumomab and venetoclax serve as the backbone of chemo-free regimens; several prospective studies involving these drugs have demonstrated high remission rates and promising, albeit short, survival outcomes. This review summarizes the latest updates on chemo-free regimens in the treatment of adult patients with Ph + ALL, presented at the 2023 ASH annual meeting.

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Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (PH + ALL) is the most common cytogenetic abnormality of B-ALL in adults and is associated with poor prognosis. Previously, the only curative treatment option in PH + ALL was allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (Allo-HSCT). Since 2000, targeted therapy combined with chemotherapy, represented by the tyrosine kinase inhibitor Imatinib, has become the first-line treatment for PH + ALL.

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Venetoclax plus 3 + 7 daunorubicin and cytarabine chemotherapy (DAV) has shown safety and efficacy in eligible patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, there are no direct comparisons between DAV and 3 + 7 daunorubicin and cytarabine chemotherapy (DA) alone. We performed a propensity score-matched analysis to compare the outcomes of DAV group with historical DA group and identify the clinical and molecular characteristics of patients who might benefit from the DAV regimen.

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To reducing chemotherapy-related toxicity, the chemo-free regimens become a new trend of Ph + ALL treatment. Therefore, we conducted a phase 2 trial of dasatinib plus prednisone, as induction (Course I) and early consolidation (Courses II and III) treating newly diagnosed Ph + ALL. The trial was registered at www.

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The soil-insect interaction has gathered significant attention in the recent years due to its contribution to bio-cementation. Termites, as a group of cellulose-eating insects, alter physical (texture) and chemical (chemical composition) properties of soil. Conversely, physico-chemical properties of soil also influence termite activities.

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Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) with t (8;21) or inv (16), called core binding factor (CBF) AML, has a favourable prognosis. However, some CBF-AML patients have persistent measurable residual disease (MRD) and are more likely to relapse after standard chemotherapy treatment. The CAG regimen, composed of cytarabine, aclarubicin and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, has been proven to be effective and safe in treating refractory AML patients.

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Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a deadly hematological malignancy. Cellular morphology detection of bone marrow smears based on the French-American-British (FAB) classification system remains an essential criterion in the diagnosis of hematological malignancies. However, the diagnosis and discrimination of distinct FAB subtypes of AML obtained from bone marrow smear images are tedious and time-consuming.

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T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) occurs in approximately 25-30% of adult ALL. Currently, treatment approaches for adult patients with T-ALL remain quite limited, with intensive multiagent chemotherapy serving as the backbone; however, the cure rate remains unsatisfactory. Thus, the discovery of novel therapeutic strategies, especially targeted therapies, is crucial.

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Background: Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) as postremission treatment is recommended for Philadelphia-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL) in current guidelines. However, comparisons of later generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) plus chemotherapy with allo-HSCT have yielded similar outcomes. This meta-analysis was performed to evaluate allo-HSCT in first complete remission (CR1) versus chemotherapy for adult Ph+ ALL in the TKI era.

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Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with retinoic acid receptor γ (RARG) rearrangement has clinical, morphologic, and immunophenotypic features similar to classic acute promyelocytic leukemia. However, AML with RARG rearrangement is insensitive to alltrans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO) and carries a poor prognosis. We initiated a global cooperative study to define the clinicopathological features, genomic and transcriptomic landscape, and outcomes of AML with RARG rearrangements collected from 29 study groups/institutions worldwide.

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Background: Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a highly curable cancer, but it is not clear whether it is also necessary to monitor long-term toxicity in "cured" patients who survive for more than five years, which is critical to ensuring maximum survival in APL patients.

Methods: A total of 1952 APL 5-year survivors and 5973 non-APL acute myeloid leukemia (AML) 5-year survivors were included from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. The standardized mortality ratio (SMR) was calculated to measure the risk of death.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study explored the effectiveness of combining azacytidine (AZA) with a 15-day regimen of venetoclax (VEN-15d) in patients with refractory and relapsed high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (HR-MDS), revealing a notable overall response rate of 57.2%.
  • - Patients treated with this combination showed a median overall survival of 14 months, while experiencing common side effects like blood cell depletion and infections.
  • - The findings suggest this treatment may benefit patients who did not respond well to other hypomethylating agents and could potentially reduce disease burden for those needing a stem cell transplant, indicating a need for further clinical trials.
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The current classification of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) relies largely on genomic alterations. Robust identification of clinically and biologically relevant molecular subtypes from nongenomic high-throughput sequencing data remains challenging. We established the largest multicenter AML cohort (n = 655) in China, with all patients subjected to RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) and 619 (94.

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The combination of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO) has been demonstrated to have comparable effectiveness or better to ATRA and chemotherapy (CHT) in non-high-risk acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). However, the efficacy of ATRA-ATO compared to ATRA-ATO plus CHT in high-risk APL remains unknown. Here we performed a randomized multi-center non-inferiority phase III study to compare the efficacy of ATRA-ATO and ATRA-ATO plus CHT in newly diagnosed all-risk APL to address this question.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study focused on treating high-risk acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) using oral arsenic and all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) without chemotherapy, aiming for effective outpatient care.
  • - In a phase 2 clinical trial with 54 participants, the 2-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate was 94% and overall survival (OS) was 100%, with complete molecular remission achieved by all patients after consolidation.
  • - Adverse events were mostly mild (grade 1-2), with only three cases of serious (grade 3) complications, indicating that the combination therapy was a safe and promising first-line treatment for high-risk APL.
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