Favorable outcome of a histiocytic sarcoma patient treated with immune checkpoint inhibitor: a case report.

Introduction And Importance: Histiocytic sarcoma (HS) is an extremely rare malignancy in which there has been no standard treatment approach. Some preclinical studies have provided rationales for the application of immunotherapy in advanced HS.

Case Presentation: The authors reported a case of a 61-year-old patient with metastatic HS who had a rapid progression on ifosfamide, carboplatin, and etoposide chemotherapy.

Clinical Outcomes of Decitabine Treatment for Patients With Lower-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome on the Basis of the International Prognostic Scoring System.

Introduction: Decitabine has shown clinical benefits in patients with intermediate (INT)-2 or high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), determined according to the International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS), but the benefits have not been well demonstrated in patients with lower-risk (IPSS low or INT-1) disease. Recently, it was proposed that the prognosis for patients with IPSS lower-risk disease is heterogeneous, with a substantial proportion of these patients having poor survival.

Patients And Methods: This study included patients with IPSS lower-risk MDS from the DRAMA (An Observational Study for Dacogen Long-Term Treatment in Patients With Myelodysplastic Syndrome; NCT01400633) and DIVA (A Study for Dacogen Treatment in Patients With Myelodysplastic Syndrome; NCT01041846) studies, which were prospective observational studies on the efficacy and safety of decitabine treatment in patients with MDS.

The Derived Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio Is an Independent Prognostic Factor in Transplantation Ineligible Patients with Multiple Myeloma.

Background: The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is an independent prognostic marker in solid and hematological cancers. While the derived NLR (dNLR) was shown to be non-inferior to the NLR in large cohorts of patients with different cancer types, it has not been validated as a prognostic marker for multiple myeloma (MM) to date.

Methods: Between May 22, 2011 and May 29, 2014, 176 patients with MM from 38 centers who were ineligible for autologous stem cell transplantation were analyzed.

Relationship between physicians' perceived stigma toward depression and physician referral to psycho-oncology services on an oncology/hematology ward.

Objective: This study was performed to identify relationships between physicians' perceived stigma toward depression and psycho-oncology service utilization on an oncology/hematology ward.

Methods: The study participants were 235 patients in an oncology/hematology ward and 14 physicians undergoing an internal medicine residency training program in Inha University Hospital (Incheon, South Korea). Patients completed the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and residents completed the Perceived Devaluation-Discrimination scale that evaluates perceived stigma toward depression.

A prospective, open-label, multicenter, observational study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of bortezomib-melphalan-prednisone as initial treatment for autologous stem cell transplantation-ineligible patients with multiple myeloma.

Bortezomib-melphalan-prednisone (VMP) showed superior efficacy versus MP as first-line treatment for transplantation-ineligible multiple myeloma (MM). This study investigated the efficacy of VMP for Korean patients with MM.Overall, 177 MM patients received 9 cycles of VMP in this prospective, multicenter, observational study.

Salvage therapy for acute chemorefractory leukemia by allogeneic stem cell transplantation: the Korean experience.

Little is known about the characteristics that make patients with acute leukemia suitable for undergoing salvage therapy by allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Here, we analyzed the clinical outcomes of 223 patients with acute leukemia who underwent allo-HSCT while not in complete remission (CR). The primary end points were overall survival (OS) and CR rate.

Prognostic Value of the Pretreatment Advanced Lung Cancer Inflammation Index (ALI) in Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma Patients Treated with R-CHOP Chemotherapy.

Background: The Advanced Lung Cancer Inflammation Index (ALI, body mass index × albumin/neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio) has been demonstrated to be a prognostic factor of survival in some solid cancers. We retrospectively investigated the usefulness of the ALI to predict chemotherapy response and survival in 212 patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) treated with R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone) chemotherapy.

Methods: Patients were allocated to a low ALI group (n = 82, 38.

Peritoneal lymphomatosis confused with peritoneal carcinomatosis due to the previous history of gastric cancer: a case report.

Peritoneal lymphomatosis is a very rare disease of extranodal involvement of malignant lymphoma that is occasionally confounded with other peritoneal diseases. Herein, we reported the case of a 59-year-old woman who presented with massive ascites with prior history of stomach perforation during endoscopic procedure to treat early gastric cancer. Imaging studies showed massive ascites and tumor infiltration in the omentum and peritoneal wall.

BK virus-hemorrhagic cystitis following allogeneic stem cell transplantation: Clinical characteristics and utility of leflunomide treatment.

Unlabelled: BK virus-hemorrhagic cystitis (BKV-HC) is a potential cause of morbidity and mortality in patients having undergone allogeneic stem cell transplantation (Allo-SCT). We analyzed the clinical features of BKV-HC following Allo-SCT and reported the utility of leflunomide therapy for BKV-HC.

Materials And Methods: From January 2005 to June 2014, among the 69 patients underwent Allo-SCT in our institution, the patients who experienced BKV-HC were investigated retrospectively.

Factor V Deficiency in Korean Patients: Clinical and Laboratory Features, Treatment, and Outcome.

Due to rarity of factor V (FV) deficiency, there have been only a few case reports in Korea. We retrospectively analysed the clinical-laboratory features of FV deficiency in 10 Korean patients. Between January 1987 and December 2013, 10 case reports published in a Korean journal or proceedings of Korea Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis were reviewed.

Allogeneic clonal mesenchymal stem cell therapy for refractory graft-versus-host disease to standard treatment: a phase I study.

Severe graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is an often lethal complication of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The safety of clinical-grade mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has been validated, but mixed results have been obtained due to heterogeneity of the MSCs. In this phase I study, the safety of bone marrow-derived homogeneous clonal MSCs (cMSCs) isolated by a new subfractionation culturing method was evaluated.

Clinical Outcome and Predictive Factors in the Response to Splenectomy in Elderly Patients with Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia: A Multicenter Retrospective Study.

Background: Because many physicians seem reluctant to recommend splenectomy for elderly patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), we investigated the safety and efficacy of splenectomy and the predictive factors for response in these patients.

Methods: 184 patients with primary ITP were retrospectively analyzed based on age at splenectomy: an elderly group (≥60 years, n = 52) and a younger group (<60 years, n = 132).

Results: There was no difference in the response rate of elderly versus younger patients (80.

Prevalence and Relationships of Iron Deficiency Anemia with Blood Cadmium and Vitamin D Levels in Korean Women.

Anemia, iron deficiency (ID), and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) are common disorders. This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of anemia, ID, and IDA in Korean females. We examined the associations between IDA, heavy metals in blood, vitamin D level and nutritional intakes.

Clinical efficacy and tolerability of vincristine in splenectomized patients with refractory or relapsed immune thrombocytopenia: a retrospective single-center study.

Therapeutic options for immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) patients after splenectomy failure are limited. In the present study, we evaluated the role of vincristine in patients who relapsed after or were refractory to splenectomy for ITP. Sixty-two ITP patients treated with vincristine after splenectomy were retrospectively analyzed.

A prospective, multicenter, observational study of long-term decitabine treatment in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome.

This prospective observational study evaluated the efficacy and safety of long-term decitabine treatment in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Decitabine 20 mg/m(2)/day was administered intravenously for 5 consecutive days every 4 weeks to MDS patients in intermediate-1 or higher International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) risk categories. Active antimicrobial prophylaxis was given to prevent infectious complications.

Cardiac involvement in CD56 negative primary pancreatic extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type, presenting with ventricular tachycardia during the early stages of chemotherapy.

We herein report the case of a 23-year-old man who presented with recurrent pancreatitis and was diagnosed with primary pancreatic extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type, involving the right ventricle. The cardiac involvement was screened and confirmed by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography. Although the patient did not have any cardiac symptoms or evidence of arrhythmia before chemotherapy, he presented with fatal newly developed ventricular tachycardia during the early stages of chemotherapy.

A Phase I Study of Oral Paclitaxel with a Novel P-Glycoprotein Inhibitor, HM30181A, in Patients with Advanced Solid Cancer.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD), safety, pharmacokinetics, and recommended phase II dose of an oral drug composed of paclitaxel and HM30181A, which is an inhibitor of P-glycoprotein, in patients with advanced cancers.

Materials And Methods: Patients with advanced solid tumors received standard therapy were given the study drug at escalating doses, using a 3+3 design. The study drug was orally administered on days 1, 8, and 15, with a 28-day cycle of administration.

Clinical characteristics and treatment outcome of acute myeloid leukemia in elderly patients in Korea: a retrospective analysis.

Background: The clinical characteristics of elderly patients with AML differ from those of younger patients, resulting in poorer survival and treatment outcomes. We analyzed retrospectively the clinical data of AML patients 65 years old and above to describe patients' characteristics and treatment patterns, and to define meaningful prognostic factors of survival in the Korean population.

Methods: Basic patients' characteristics, clinical outcomes according to treatments, and prognostic factors associated with survival and treatment intensity were examined in a total of 168 patients diagnosed in 5 institutes between 1996 and 2012 as having AML.

Klebsiella pneumoniae associated extreme plasmacytosis.

Infection-associated plasmacytosis is not uncommon; however, marked plasmacytosis in both peripheral blood and bone marrow that mimicks plasma cell leukemia is a very rare condition. We encountered a case of extreme plasmacytosis associated with Klebsiella pneumoniae sepsis in an aplastic anemia patient. A 42-year-old man presented with high fever of 5 days' duration.

A case of gastric cancer manifesting as a solitary brain metastasis in the cerebellopontine angle that mimicked acoustic neuroma.

At the time of diagnosis, about 20% of patients with gastric cancer have stage IV disease involving the liver, lung, and bone. Brain metastasis from gastric cancer is exceedingly rare, with an incidence of <1% of clinical cases. A 59-year-old man was admitted with hearing loss in the left ear and left facial palsy for 1 month.

Clinical features and survival outcomes of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: analysis of web-based data from the Korean Lymphoma Working Party Registry.

Background: This study aimed to survey the clinical spectrum of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in terms of epidemiology, pathologic subtypes, stage, and prognostic index as well as treatment outcomes.

Methods: In 2007-2008, 13 university hospitals evenly distributed in the Korean peninsula contributed to the online registry of DLBCL at www.lymphoma.

The relationship between the success rate of empirical antifungal therapy with intravenous itraconazole and clinical parameters, including plasma levels of itraconazole, in immunocompromised patients receiving itraconazole oral solution as prophylaxis: a multicenter, prospective, open-label, observational study in Korea.

To identify the role of therapeutic drug monitoring of itraconazole (ITZ) in the setting of empirical antifungal therapy with intravenous (IV) ITZ, we performed a multicenter, prospective study in patients with hematological malignancies who had received antifungal prophylaxis with ITZ oral solution (OS). We evaluated the plasma levels of ITZ and hydroxy (OH) ITZ both before initiation of IV ITZ and on days 5-7 of IV ITZ. A total of 181 patients showed an overall success rate of 68.

Comparative analysis between azacitidine and decitabine for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes.

The present study aimed to directly compare the efficacy and safety of azacitidine and decitabine in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). We compared the overall response rate (ORR) (complete responses, partial responses, marrow complete responses, and haematological improvements), overall survival (OS), event-free survival (EFS), time to leukaemic transformation, and adverse outcomes between azacitidine and decitabine. To minimize the effects of treatment selection bias in this observational study, adjustments were made using the propensity-score matching method.

A case of inguinal sparganosis mimicking myeloid sarcoma.

We report here a case of inguinal sparganosis, initially regarded as myeloid sarcoma, diagnosed in a patient undergone allogeneic hematopoietic transplantation (HSCT). A 56-year-old male patient having myelodysplastic syndrome was treated with allogeneic HSCT after myeloablative conditioning regimen. At day 5 post-HSCT, the patient complained of a painless palpable mass on the left scrotum and inguinal area.

Angioimmunoblastic T cell lymphoma in an ankylosing spondylitis patient treated with etanercept.

Angioimmunoblastic T cell lymphoma (AITL) is a rare non-Hodgkin lymphoma that presents with profound immune dysfunction and immunodeficiency. The clinical and laboratory findings associated with AITL are similar to those of rheumatic disease, and AITL has been reported to be concurrent in patients with several rheumatic diseases. We present one case of AITL occurring in a patient with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) after treatment with etanercept.