[Myelofibrosis with myeloid metaplasia. A study of 24 consecutive patients].

A series of 24 consecutive patients affected by myelofibrosis with myeloid metaplasia was reviewed. The clinical-pathological features at onset were similar to those reported in literature; in particular in all the patients we observed splenomegaly and the typical leuko-erythroblastic picture in peripheral blood. The median survival of our series was of 57 months; the deaths were caused by severe anaemia and/or infection and/or haemorrhage; the blastic terminal transformations were rare.

[Validity of the International Prognostic Index in non-Hodgkin's lymphomas of varying grades of malignancy].

Objective: The "International Prognostic Index" (IPI) has been published for patients with histological intermediate grade malignancy non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) according to the Working Formulation (WF). The IPI is based on pre-treatment clinical characteristics: age, performance status, Ann Arbor stage, extranodal sites, serum lactate-dehydrogenase concentration. We investigated whether the IPI also had prognostic value for NHL patients with a low grade malignancy or high grade malignancy according to the WF.

[Prognostic value of bone marrow biopsy in chronic myeloproliferative disorders].

The aim of the present research was to verify the prognostic value of some histologic bone marrow parameters in chronic myeloproliferative disorders. Diagnostic bone marrow biopsies were revised in 38 patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia, 30 with polycythemia vera, 14 with essential thrombocythemia and 16 with idiopathic myelofibrosis-myeloid metaplasia. An unfavourable clinical evolution was associated to "granulocytic" histotype in chronic myeloid leukaemia, to "erythrocytic/granulocytic and/or megacaryocytic" histotype in polycythemia vera, to "cluster" distribution of megacaryocytes in essential thrombocythemia, to classical myelofibrosis without osteomyelosclerosis in myelofibrosis-myeloid metaplasia.