Clinical significance of cancer-related fatigue in multiple myeloma patients.

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is one of the adverse events in multiple myeloma (MM) patients treated with cytotoxic agents, proteasome inhibitors (PIs), and immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs) such as bortezomib, lenalidomide, and thalidomide. The aims of our study were to prospectively analyze the clinical significance of CRF, and to evaluate the cumulative incidence of CRF and the survival rates of 16 MM patients who were treated with PIs and IMiDs. Reactivation of salivary human herpes virus (HHV)-6 and HHV-7 was analyzed using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR).

Successful treatment of myeloma cast nephropathy using bortezomib-based chemotherapy plus selective plasma exchange.

Myeloma cast nephropathy is a major complication of multiple myeloma. Recent evidence has demonstrated that the earlier induction of bortezomib-based chemotherapy with plasma exchange (PE) provides better results for kidney function and patient survival. Due to its non-selectivity, PE with albumin replacement carries the risk of fibrinogen loss, leading to bleeding.

Epstein-Barr Virus-associated Lymphoproliferative Disorder with Encephalitis Following Anti-thymocyte Globulin for Aplastic Anemia Resolved with Rituximab Therapy: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated lymphoproliferative disorders (LPDs) sometimes occur following Anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) administration for allogenic stem cell transplantation but are rare in aplastic anemia (AA) patients. A 55-year-old woman with AA following ATG developed refractory fever and was diagnosed with EBV-LPD. She was successfully treated with weekly rituximab monotherapy; however, she developed EBV encephalitis.

Clinical significance of granule-containing myeloma cells in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.

The clinical features and prognostic significance of myeloma cells containing granules remain unclear. The purpose of this retrospective study was to investigate the clinical significance of granule-containing myeloma cells in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM). We retrospectively analyzed the records of 122 patients diagnosed with NDMM between January 2007 and December 2013.

Pharmacokinetics for once-daily modified release formulation of tacrolimus hydrate in unrelated hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

A once-daily modified release formulation of oral tacrolimus (Tac QD) has been developed in response to the problem of nonadherence. However, there have been no data available about the efficacy of Tac QD conversion from intravenous Tac (Tac i.v.

Antigen-independent IFN-γ production by human naïve CD4 T cells activated by IL-12 plus IL-18.

The role of T cells in innate immunity is not well defined. In this report, we show that a subset of human peripheral blood CD4(+) T cells responds to IL-12 plus IL-18, but not to IL-12 or IL-18 alone, by producing IFN-γ in the absence of any antigenic stimulation or cell proliferation. Intracellular staining reveals a small percentage of resting CD4(+) T cells (0.

Administration schedule of daunorubicin for elderly patients with acute myelogenous leukemia: a single-institute experience.

We evaluated the efficacy of daunorubicin  (40 mg/m(2)/day for 5 days, 200 mg/m(2)/cycle) combined with standard dose of cytarabine (100 mg/m(2)/day for 7 days) for acute myelogenous leukemia patients aged 65-74 years as induction therapy. Complete remission (81.3%) was achieved in 13 of 16 patients following the therapeutic program.

Rapid progression and unusual premortal diagnosis of mucormycosis in patients with hematologic malignancies: analysis of eight patients.

Mucormycosis is a rare but emerging group of life-threatening opportunistic mycoses. We described experience of eight patients who developed mucormycosis. These patients had developed hematologic malignancies, and none achieved complete remission.

Fractionated administration of gemtuzumab ozogamicin for refractory acute myeloid leukemia.

It is difficult to decide an appropriate treatment strategy for elderly leukemia patients with other complications. We encountered 2 cases of refractory acute myeloid leukemia and safely treated the patients with fractionated administration of gemtuzumab ozogamicin (GO). Standard induction therapies were not effective for these patients.

Long-term follow-up high-dose chemotherapy (drug-only program) followed by autologous stem cell transplantation for aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.

Purpose: To investigate the feasibility of high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) for aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), we conducted HDCT with ASCT using a drug-only protocol without total body irradiation. Previously untreated and treated adult patients with aggressive lymphoma were enrolled onto this study. For the HDCT protocol, we developed the AECC regimen, a drug-only regimen consisting of etoposide, carboplatin, cyclophosphamide, and nimustine (ie, ACNU).

Toxicity and outcome of intensive chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia complicated with Turner's syndrome.

A 17-year-old woman was diagnosed as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). As she had chromosomal abnormalities of 44, XO, der(9)t(3;9)(q11;p13), der(10;19)(q10;p10), del(15)(q15), -16, -19, +22 with the presence of ovarian dysplasia and abnormal physical features, a diagnosis of Turner's syndrome was made. She received an induction chemotherapy, which consisted of daunorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, L-asparaginase and prednisolone.

Successful combination therapy with trastuzumab and Paclitaxel for adriamycin- and docetaxel-resistant inflammatory breast cancer.

We present a case of adriamycin-and docetaxel-resistant inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) in which partial response was achieved with combination therapy using trastuzumab and paclitaxel. A 48-year old woman noticed a lump in her right breast. She was diagnosed with IBC and the disease was staged as T4d N1 M0, stage III B.

Early cytomegalovirus (CMV) gastrointestinal disease that developed 19 days after bone marrow transplantation, with a high-level of CMV antigenemia, of up to 1120 cells/slide.

We report a 19-year-old male with acute myeloid leukemia who developed an early cytomegalovirus gastrointestinal disease with a high level of cytomegalovirus antigenemia after bone marrow transplantation. He underwent bone marrow transplantation from HLA-matched related donor. He developed acute graft-versus-host disease on day 15, and he immediately went on prednisolone.

[Successful induction of complete cytogenetic response with high-dose imatinib mesylate and subsequent allogeneic stem cell transplantation for CML blastic crisis].

A 29-year-old man was referred to our hospital with leukocytosis on March 7th, 2002. The white blood cell count was 132.9 x 10(3)/microliter with 42.

Intensified daunorubicin in induction therapy and autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation in postremission therapy (Double-7 protocol) for adult acute myeloid leukemia.

To investigate whether an intensified dose of daunorubicin (DNR) in induction therapy and autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) in the postremission period are effective treatments, we used a Double-7 protocol to treat adult patients with de novo acute myeloid leukemia (excluding M0 and M3). Induction therapy consisted of 40 mg/m2 of DNR intravenous drip infusion for 7 days and 200 mg/m2 of ara-C by continuous infusion for 7 days (7 + 7 DC regimen). Patients who achieved complete remission (CR) were given high-dose chemotherapy with autologous PBSCT in postremission therapy.

Irinotecan hydrochloride for the treatment of recurrent and refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma: a single institution experience.

Background: Irinotecan hydrochloride (CPT-11) has a broad range of antitumor activity and has demonstrated little cross-resistance with doxorubicin or vincristine. In the current study, the authors investigated the efficacy and adverse effects of irinotecan in the treatment of recurrent and refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma, for which current therapies appear to be unsatisfactory.

Methods: Irinotecan was administered by intravenous infusion at a dose of 40 mg/m(2)/day for 3 days, and this regimen was repeated 2-3 times at weekly intervals, followed by 2 weeks off therapy.