Combination of rituximab and methotrexate followed by rituximab and cytarabine in elderly patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma.

The optimal treatment strategy for newly diagnosed primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) has yet to be established, especially in the elderly. In the current study, we conducted a phase II study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of rituximab plus high-dose MTX followed by rituximab plus cytarabine in patients aged ≥60 years newly diagnosed with PCNSL. Patients received an induction treatment of high-dose methotrexate plus rituximab followed by two cycles of a consolidation treatment of cytarabine plus rituximab.

Pembrolizumab for Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Extranodal NK/T-Cell Lymphoma in Korea.

Purpose: Programmed death-1 blockade with pembrolizumab has shown promising activity in relapsed/refractory (R/R) extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL), but studies are limited, with small patient numbers.

Materials And Methods: Thirteen institutes involved with the Consortium for Improving Survival of Lymphoma, a Korean lymphoma study group, collected the clinical data of 59 patients treated with pembrolizumab as salvage therapy between 2016 and 2022.

Results: The median age of the patients was 60 years (range, 22 to 87 years), and 76.

Limited benefits of thalidomide and dexamethasone maintenance after autologous stem cell transplantation in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients: a prospective phase II multi-center study in Korea.

Although the clinical outcome of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma has improved with maintenance therapy, maintenance with novel agents is not always available depending on medical expenses or drug accessibility. We intended to investigate the efficacy and toxicity of thalidomide/dexamethasone maintenance in Korean patients. In this multicenter phase 2 study, patients with newly diagnosed myeloma who underwent induction chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) were enrolled to receive maintenance treatment of 100mg thalidomide daily for 28 days and 40mg dexamethasone daily for 4 days each cycle.

Prestroke Glucose Control and Functional Outcome in Patients With Acute Large Vessel Occlusive Stroke and Diabetes After Thrombectomy.

Objective: To evaluate whether prestroke glucose control is associated with functional outcomes in patients with acute large vessel occlusive stroke and diabetes who underwent intra-arterial thrombectomy (IAT).

Research Design And Methods: From the Clinical Research Center for Stroke-Korea registry, we included patients with emergent large vessel occlusive stroke with diabetes who underwent IAT between January 2009 and March 2020. The association between the HbA level at admission and functional outcomes (modified Rankin Scale at 3 months after the index stroke) was assessed.

Hyperthermia Disturbs and Delays Spontaneous Differentiation of Human Embryoid Bodies.

Various types of stress stimuli have been shown to threaten the normal development of embryos during embryogenesis. Prolonged heat exposure is the most common stressor that poses a threat to embryo development. Despite the extensive investigation of heat stress control mechanisms in the cytosol, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) heat stress response remains unclear.

Clinicopathologic Significance and Immunogenomic Analysis of Programmed Death-Ligand 1 (PD-L1) and Programmed Death 1 (PD-1) Expression in Thymic Epithelial Tumors.

Thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) are rare malignant tumors that exhibit heterogeneous histology and clinical behavior. As immune check point inhibitors, drugs targeting anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) have shown remarkable results against many cancers; thus, the importance of PD-1/PD-L1 immunohistochemistry as a predictive or prognostic biomarker has grown. However, limited data on PD-L1 and PD-1 expression in TETs have been reported; moreover, these results have been variable.

MiR-9 Controls Chemotactic Activity of Cord Blood CD34⁺ Cells by Repressing CXCR4 Expression.

Improved approaches for promoting umbilical cord blood (CB) hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) homing are clinically important to enhance engraftment of CB-HSCs. Clinical transplantation of CB-HSCs is used to treat a wide range of disorders. However, an improved understanding of HSC chemotaxis is needed for facilitation of the engraftment process.

No benefit of hypomethylating agents compared to supportive care for higher risk myelodysplastic syndrome.

Background/aims: This study evaluated the role of hypomethylating agents (HMA) compared to best supportive care (BSC) for patients with high or very-high (H/VH) risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) according to the Revised International Prognostic Scoring System.

Methods: A total of 279 H/VH risk MDS patients registered in the Korean MDS Working Party database were retrospectively analyzed.

Results: HMA therapy was administered to 205 patients (73.

Infectious complications in multiple myeloma receiving autologous stem cell transplantation in the past 10 years.

Infection is one of the main causes of early-treatment mortality in multiple myeloma (MM) patients during autologous stem cell transplantation (autoSCT). In the present study, we sought to determine the incidence of, and risk factors for, infection during hospital stays after autoSCT. We retrospectively evaluated 324 autoSCT events that occurred in 285 MM patients between 2006 and 2015, and reviewed the clinical characteristics of patients and history of infections.

Topical Recombinant Human Epidermal Growth Factor for Oral Mucositis Induced by Intensive Chemotherapy with Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: Final Analysis of a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Phase 2 Trial.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of recombinant human epidermal growth factor (rhEGF) oral spray for oral mucositis (OM) induced by intensive chemotherapy with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. In this phase 2 study, patients were randomized to either rhEGF (50 microg/mL) or placebo in a 1:1 ratio. The primary endpoint was incidence of National Cancer Institute (NCI) grade ≥2 OM.

Clinical outcome and efficacy of current anti-leukemic therapy for leptomeningeal involvement in acute myeloid leukemia.

We investigated risk factors and outcome in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with leptomeningeal involvement. Medical records of patients with non-promyelocytic AML at Seoul National University Hospital from January of 2000 to November of 2013 were reviewed. Leptomeningeal involvement was defined as the presence of atypical or malignant hematopoietic cells in the cerebrospinal fluid.

A Case of Dasatinib-Induced Hemorrhagic Colitis Diagnosed by the Lymphocyte Transformation Test in a Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Patient.

Dasatinib is an effective treatment option for patients diagnosed with Philadelphia chromosome positive chronic myeloid leukemia and who are non-responsive or intolerant to imatinib treatment. Dasatinib, however, is associated with various adverse effects and on rare occasions, may cause hemorrhagic colitis. We report the case of a 68-year-old male patient with dasatinib-induced hemorrhagic colitis, the first such case in Korea.

Imatinib withdrawal syndrome and longer duration of imatinib have a close association with a lower molecular relapse after treatment discontinuation: the KID study.

The aim of the Korean Imatinib Discontinuation Study was to identify predictors for safe and successful imatinib discontinuation. A total of 90 patients with a follow-up of ≥12 months were analyzed. After a median follow-up of 26.

Varicella-zoster virus-specific cell-mediated immunity and herpes zoster development in multiple myeloma patients receiving bortezomib- or thalidomide-based chemotherapy.

Background: The incidence of herpes zoster is substantial during bortezomib treatment in patients with multiple myeloma (MM).

Objectives: This study aimed to elucidate the effect of chemotherapy with or without bortezomib in MM patients on their herpes zoster incidence and varicella zoster virus (VZV)-specific cell-mediated immunity (CMI).

Study Design: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were collected at baseline and after 1 month of bortezomib-based or thalidomide-based chemotherapy and then analyzed using VZV-specific interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay.

Psychometric analysis of the Korean version of the high-dose chemotherapy specific quality of life questionnaire module from the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC QLQ-HDC29).

Purpose: We evaluated the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer high-dose chemotherapy specific quality of life questionnaire module (EORTC QLQ-HDC29) when implemented with Korean patients by conducting a multicenter, longitudinal study in three Korean hospitals.

Methods: A total of 226 patients who scheduled to receive the HDC followed by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) were enrolled. The patients were asked to complete three questionnaires [the EORTC Core Questionnaire (QLQ-C30), QLQ-HDC29, and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Bone Marrow Transplantation] at four points in time: before HSCT and 100, 180, and 365 days after HSCT.

Inhibition of odontogenic differentiation of human dental pulp cells by dental resin monomers.

Background: Dental resin monomers that are leached from the resin matrix due to incomplete polymerization can affect the viability and various functions of oral tissues and cells. In this study, the effects of triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) on odontogenic differentiation of human dental pulp cells (HDPCs) were examined. To mimic clinical situations, dental pulp cells were treated with resin monomers for 24 h prior to the analysis of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and mRNA expression of genes related to pulp cell differentiation.

Change of health-related profiles after Imatinib cessation in chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia patients.

The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in health-related profiles including quality-of-life (HRQoL) in the chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients who discontinued imatinib (IM). An HRQoL survey composed of 43 parameters about IM-related adverse events (AEs), physical health-related and mental health-related was provided at baseline and 6 months post-discontinuation. A total of 55 patients with a sustained UMRD over 6 months were analyzed.

Low frequency of KRAS mutation in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas in Korean patients and its prognostic value.

Objectives: Low prevalence and prognostic relevance of KRAS mutations in Korean pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDACs) need to be validated with sensitive detection method.

Methods: Peptide nucleic acid (PNA)-mediated polymerase chain reaction (PCR) clamping was used to precisely detect KRAS mutation in 72 paraffinized tumor samples and was validated by pancreatic cell lines to compare the efficiency of direct sequencing.

Results: The PNA-mediated PCR clamping detected mutant allele proportions of as low as 0.

11C-Pittsburgh B PET imaging in cardiac amyloidosis.

Objectives: This study sought to investigate the efficacy of (11)C-Pittsburgh B (PiB) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) in the diagnosis of cardiac amyloidosis.

Background: The PiB compound has been promising for detection of amyloid deposits in the brain.

Methods: A total of 22 consecutive patients were enrolled in this prospective pilot study of monoclonal gammopathy patients with suspected cardiac amyloidosis.