Comparison of immunofixation, serum free light chain, and immunophenotyping for response evaluation and prognostication in multiple myeloma.

Purpose: To investigate the impact of immunophenotypic response (IR) versus complete response (CR) and CR plus normal serum free light chain (sFLC) ratio (stringent CR) in elderly patients with multiple myeloma (MM) treated with novel agents.

Patients And Methods: From a total of 260 elderly patients newly diagnosed with MM included in the GEM05>65y trial, 102 patients achieving at least a partial response with ≥ 70% reduction in M-component after the six planned induction cycles were simultaneously analyzed by immunofixation, sFLC, and multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC) immunophenotyping; this population is the focus of this study.

Results: Forty-three percent of patients achieved CR, 30% achieved stringent CR, and 30% achieved IR.

A molecular risk score based on 4 functional pathways for advanced classical Hodgkin lymphoma.

Despite improvement in the treatment of advanced classical Hodgkin lymphoma, approximately 30% of patients relapse or die as result of the disease. Current predictive systems, determined by clinical and analytical parameters, fail to identify these high-risk patients accurately. We took a multistep approach to design a quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction assay to be applied to routine formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples, integrating genes expressed by the tumor cells and their microenvironment.

Autologous peripheral blood progenitor cell transplantation with <2 x 10(6) CD34(+)/kg: an analysis of variables concerning mobilisation and engraftment.

Introduction: This study analyses the factors affecting mobilisation and engraftment in autologous peripheral blood progenitor cell transplantation according to the number of CD34(+) re-infused.

Materials And Methods: A total of 190 patients underwent mobilisation with G-CSF alone (n=113) or in combination with chemotherapy (n=77). A total of 116 patients (61%) were autografted with <2 x 10(6) CD34(+) cells/kg and 74 patients were transplanted with >2 x 10(6) CD34(+) cells/kg.

Is veno-occlusive disease a specific syndrome or the exacerbation of physiopathologic hemostatic changes in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT)?

The objective of the present study was to analyze whether veno-occlusive disease (VOD) is based on specific findings or whether this syndrome is the exacerbation of changes in hemostatic parameters that develop following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). 40 patients undergoing HSCT were enrolled (6 allogeneic bone marrow transplantation and 34 peripheral stem cell rescue-2 allogeneic, 32 autologous). Measurements of hemostatic parameters (endothelial, hypercoagulability and fibrinolytic markers) were obtained prior to chemotherapy and weekly thereafter for 3 weeks.