Evidence-based Korean guidelines for the clinical management of multiple myeloma: addressing 12 key clinical questions.

Multiple myeloma (MM), a hematological malignancy, is characterized by malignant plasma cell proliferation in the bone marrow. Recent treatment advances have significantly improved patient outcomes associated with MM. In this study, we aimed to develop comprehensive, evidence-based guidelines for the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of MM.

Nivolumab in Relapsed or Refractory Primary CNS Lymphoma: Multicenter, Retrospective Study.

Purpose: Given that 40~50% of primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) tissues exhibit aberrancy on 9p24.1, immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) may work for the disease.

Materials And Methods: To define the role of ICIs in PCNSL, we carried out a nationwide retrospect analysis for 22 patients who had been treated with nivolumab monotherapy for relapsed or refractory PCNSL.

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.

Real-world outcome of patients with extensively pretreated multiple myeloma who were treated with selinexor and dexamethasone: a Korean multicenter retrospective analysis.

The outcomes of patients with myeloma after exposed to penta-classes are extremely poor. Selinexor is the first approved exportin inhibitor for those patients, but intractable toxicities may limit its use. This retrospective study evaluated the real-world efficacy and safety of selinexor plus dexamethasone (XD) and involved 48 patients with multiple myeloma, who were treated from November 2020 to October 2022.

Outcome of Multiple Myeloma Patients With Hepatitis B Surface Antigen: Korean Multiple Myeloma Working Party 2103 Study.

Background: Hepatitis B virus reactivation (HBVr) is a well-known complication of systemic chemotherapy for particularly hematologic malignancies in HBV carriers. We performed a multicenter retrospective study to investigate the incidence and risk factors of HBVr in patients with hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive multiple myeloma (MM).

Methods: We included 123 patients with HBsAg-positive MM who had received systemic therapy.

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.

Comparison of first-line treatment with CHOP versus ICED in patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma eligible for upfront autologous stem cell transplantation.

Introduction: Upfront autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) has been recommended for patients who are newly diagnosed with peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL), and CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone), an anthracycline-based chemotherapy has been the frontline chemotherapy for PTCL. However, it is not clear whether anthracycline-based chemotherapies such as CHOP could be standard induction therapy for PTCL.

Methods: We conducted a randomized phase II study to compare CHOP with fractionated ifosfamide, carboplatin, etoposide, and dexamethasone (ICED) for patients eligible for ASCT.

Busulfan plus melphalan versus high-dose melphalan as a conditioning regimen for autologous stem cell transplantation in multiple myeloma with high-risk features (KMM 2015).

Despite the development of effective agents for multiple myeloma (MM), the management of patients with high-risk MM (HRMM) is challenging. High-dose treatment followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) is regarded as upfront treatment for transplant-eligible patients with HRMM. In the present study, we retrospectively investigated the efficacies of two conditioning regimens for upfront ASCT in newly diagnosed patients with MM and high-risk features: high-dose melphalan (HDMEL; 200 mg/m) and busulfan plus melphalan (BUMEL).

A non-interventional, post-marketing surveillance study evaluating the safety and effectiveness of biosimilar rituximab (CT-P10) during routine clinical practice in the Republic of Korea.

Background: CT-P10 was the first licensed rituximab biosimilar. This Korean post-marketing surveillance study evaluated CT-P10 safety and effectiveness in approved indications.

Research Design And Methods: This prospective, open-label, observational, phase 4 study collected routine clinical practice data across 27 centers in the Republic of Korea.

Bendamustine Plus Rituximab for Mantle Cell Lymphoma: A Korean, Multicenter Retrospective Analysis.

Background/aim: The combination of bendamustine and rituximab (BR) is highly effective in both treatment-naïve and relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). Due to the rarity of MCL and limited accessibility of BR, clinical outcome from BR in the routine clinical practice in Korean patients are limited.

Patients And Methods: To evaluate the real-world outcomes of BR treatment for MCL in Korea, medical records from 37 patients were retrospectively analyzed.

Development of a new risk stratification system for patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma using R-ISS and F-FDG PET/CT.

In multiple myeloma (MM), a high number of focal lesions (FL) detected using positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) was found to be associated with adverse prognosis. To design a new risk stratification system that combines the Revised International Staging System (R-ISS) with FL, we analyzed the data of 380 patients with newly diagnosed MM (NDMM) who underwent F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) PET/CT upon diagnosis. The K-adaptive partitioning algorithm was adopted to define subgroups with homogeneous survival.

Multicenter retrospective analysis of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in Korea.

Background: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common type of adult leukemia in Western countries but is rare in the East Asian countries. Due to its rarity and the lack of feasible novel agents and laboratory prognostic tools, there are limited data on the clinical outcomes of this disease in Asia. To clarify the current treatment status, we performed a multicenter retrospective analysis of patients with CLL in Korea.

Lenalidomide for anemia correction in lower-risk del(5q) myelodysplastic syndrome patients of Asian ethnicity.

Background: To estimate real-world outcomes in East Asian populations, we conducted a nationwide retrospective analysis of the efficacy and safety of lenalidomide for del(5q) myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients with transfusion-dependent anemia in Korea.

Methods: Patients aged ≥19 years who had received lenalidomide for the treatment of lower-risk, red blood cell (RBC) transfusion-dependent del(5q) MDS were selected. A filled case report form (CRF) with information from electronic medical records was requested from members of the acute myeloid leukemia (AML)/MDS Working Party of the Korean Society of Hematology.

Novel combination immunochemotherapy beyond CD20 for B-cell lymphomas.

Despite substantially improved survival with rituximab-based treatment regimens, there is an unmet medical need for better treatments of B-cell lymphoma, particularly for patients with relapsed or refractory disease. Retreatment with rituximab exerts a limited effect in these patients, and platinum-based salvage treatment followed by autologous stem cell transplantation remains the only curative option. Recent strategies have focused on targeting novel B-cell surface markers, inhibiting B-cell receptor signaling, and enhancing the cytotoxicity of effector cells.

Open-label, single arm, multicenter phase II study of VIDL induction chemotherapy followed by upfront autologous stem cell transplantation in patients with advanced stage extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma.

The clinical outcome of advanced-stage Extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma (ENKTL) patients using conventional chemotherapy is extremely poor. The aim of this study was to investigate the outcomes of advanced-stage ENKTL patients treated with non-anthracycline-based chemotherapy followed by upfront autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT). From 8 institutions, 27 patients were recruited from February 2016 to May 2019.

Clinical impact of frailty on treatment outcomes of elderly patients with relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma treated with lenalidomide plus dexamethasone.

We compared efficacy and safety, according to frailty, of elderly patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) treated with lenalidomide and dexamethasone (Rd), for whom bortezomib treatment had failed. Patients, 164 (52.9%) and 146 (47.

Reduced-Intensity Conditioning with Busulfan and Fludarabine for Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Purpose: Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) with optimal conditioning has helped better long-term survival in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). This study investigated the efficacy and safety of reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) with busulfan and fludarabine in adult ALL patients unfit for myeloablation.

Materials And Methods: Records of 78 patients who underwent HSCT with RIC consisting of 3.