Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors-A retrospective analysis of the Cooperative Weichteilsarkom Studiengruppe.

Background: Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs) are a rare subgroup of soft tissue tumors. The outcome of patients with IMT has been reported as favorable when the tumor is completely resected. If surgical resection is not possible, systemic therapy has to be considered.

Adoptive immunotherapy with allodepleted donor T-cells improves immune reconstitution after haploidentical stem cell transplantation.

Poor T lymphocyte reconstitution limits the use of haploidentical stem cell transplantation (SCT) because it results in a high mortality from viral infections. One approach to overcome this problem is to infuse donor T cells from which alloreactive lymphocytes have been selectively depleted, but the immunologic benefit of this approach is unknown. We have used an anti-CD25 immunotoxin to deplete alloreactive lymphocytes and have compared immune reconstitution after allodepleted donor T cells were infused at 2 dose levels into recipients of T-cell-depleted haploidentical SCT.

Adenovirus infection rates in pediatric recipients of alternate donor allogeneic bone marrow transplants receiving either antithymocyte globulin (ATG) or alemtuzumab (Campath).

Infectious complications due to adenovirus are of increasing concern after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Over the past 4 years, we have modified our conditioning regimens to use alemtuzumab in preference to anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) for pediatric patients receiving stem cell transplants from alternate donors. Recent reports in adult studies implicate alemtuzumab as a risk factor for adenovirus infection.

Adoptive immunotherapy for posttransplantation viral infections.

Viral diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality after hemopoietic stem cell transplantation. Because viral complications in these patients are clearly associated with the lack of recovery of virus-specific cellular immune responses, reconstitution of the host with in vitro expanded cytotoxic T lymphocytes is a potential approach to prevent and treat these diseases. Initial clinical studies of cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus in human stem cell transplant patients have shown that adoptively transferred donor-derived virus-specific T cells may restore protective immunity and control established infections.

Prompt versus preemptive intervention for EBV lymphoproliferative disease.

Posttransplantation lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLDs) caused by uncontrolled expansion of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-infected B cells after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) can be predicted by an increase in EBV DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. We used real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RQ-PCR) analysis to determine whether frequent monitoring of EBV DNA to allow preemptive treatment is truly of value in patients after HSCT. More than 1300 samples from 85 recipients were analyzed.