Anti-CD20 antibody as consolidation therapy in a patient with primary plasma cell leukemia after high-dose therapy and autologous stem cell transplantation.

In multiple myeloma (MM), circulating malignant B cells are proposed as the proliferative compartment of the disease. In view of the close relationship between multiple myeloma and primary plasma cell leukemia (PCL), an anti-CD20 antibody treatment might also be considered as consolidation for patients with PCL. A 55-year-old patient diagnosed with PCL achieved complete remission after autologous transplantation.

Persistent polyclonal B-cell lymphocytosis--an important differential diagnosis of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Over the last 17 years, 83 cases of polyclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (PPBL) have been published. This rare hematological disorder of unknown etiology is characterized by morphologically atypical lymphocytes, polyclonal immunoglobulin M production in association with smoking, female gender, and HLA-DR7 phenotype. We studied another male patient with PPBL.

Fluorouracil versus folinic acid/fluorouracil in advanced colorectal cancer--preliminary results of a randomized trial.

Patients with advanced colorectal cancer were randomized to receive either fluorouracil (5-FU) 370 mg/m2 IV days 1 to 5 followed by weekly applications of 5-FU 600 mg/m2 or the same doses of 5-FU preceded by folinic acid 200 mg/m2. Because of toxicity, the weekly 5-FU dose in the combination treatment schedule was reduced to 500 mg/m2 in the course of the study. As of November 1990, 135 patients entered the study; 71 have received combination therapy, and 64 monotherapy.