Low-dose thalidomide plus low-dose dexamethasone therapy in patients with refractory multiple myeloma.

We report the results of a non-randomized phase II study of low-dose thalidomide plus low-dose dexamethasone therapy in 66 patients with refractory multiple myeloma. The overall response rate (near complete, partial and minimal response) was 63.6%, and progression-free and overall survival periods were 6.

Reduced-intensity conditioning allogeneic stem cell transplantation for multiple myeloma: results from the Japan Myeloma Study Group.

We conducted a retrospective survey of multiple myeloma (MM) patients who underwent reduced-intensity conditioning allogeneic stem cell transplantation (RIST) at 11 hospitals participating in the Japan Myeloma Study Group. Forty-five patients (median age, 53 years) were included in this study. The conditioning regimen consisted of a fludarabine-based regimen in 24 patients and a regimen based on total body irradiation (1-2 Gy) in 18 patients.

Discovery of adult T-cell leukemia.

Adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) was first reported as a distinct clinical entity in 1977 in Japan. The predominant physical findings are skin lesions, lymphadenopathy and hepatosplenomegaly. The ATL cells are of mature T-helper phenotype and have a characteristic appearance with indented nuclei.

Management of patients with multiple myeloma in Japan: data of 1,383 patients from 16 hospitals and 1 treatment group.

The available information regarding relevant treatment approaches and outcome in Japanese myeloma patients has been fragmentary and clarification of the position is required. The Japan Myeloma Study Group collected data on 1,383 patients who had been diagnosed and treated during the 11 year period between 1990 and 2000 from 16 participating hospitals and 1 treatment group to investigate the status of the management of multiple myeloma across Japan. There were 724 (53%) male and 643 (47%) female patients with median age being 66-years-old.

Humanized anti-interleukin 6 receptor antibody induced long-term remission in a patient with life-threatening refractory autoimmune hemolytic anemia.

Refractory autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) is associated with considerable rates of mortality. Interleukin 6 (IL-6) has been reported to play a role in the pathogenesis of AIHA. This report describes a patient with AIHA who was successfully treated with a humanized anti-human IL-6 receptor (IL-6R) monoclonal antibody (MoAb).

High-dose chemotherapy and autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation in high-risk multiple myeloma.

We compared the effect of high-dose therapy together with autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (autoPBSCT) in 60 patients with multiple myeloma (MM) with 90 patients who underwent conventional chemotherapy. We scored the prognostic factors according to our reported classification system that includes measurements of serum albumin, serum beta-2-microglobulin, and morphology of myeloma cells selected by multivariate analysis. We separated the patients into three risk groups at stratification level I (low, intermediate and high) and into two risk groups at stratification level II (low and high).

[Thalidomide treatment of patients with refractory myeloma in the institutes participating in the Japan Myeloma Study Group].

Thalidomide was used in 73 patients with refractory myeloma in 15 of 45 institutes participating in the Japan Myeloma Study Group. The mean age and male/female ratio were 63.8 years and 0.

Deoxycoformycin-containing combination chemotherapy for adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma: Japan Clinical Oncology Group Study (JCOG9109).

Aggressive adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma (ATL) generally has a very poor prognosis. Deoxycoformycin (DCF, pentostatin), an inhibitor of adenosine deaminase, has shown promising therapeutic efficacy for ATL. To develop a new effective therapy against aggressive ATL, we carried out a multicenter phase II study of DCF-containing combination chemotherapy.

A comparative double-blind randomized trial of activated protein C and unfractionated heparin in the treatment of disseminated intravascular coagulation.

A randomized prospective double-blind trial was performed to compare the safety and efficacy of human activated protein C (APC) and unfractionated heparin for the treatment of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). One hundred thirty-two patients with DIC were enrolled in this study: 63 patients received APC (12.5 U [2.

Efficacy of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in the treatment of acute myelogenous leukaemia: a multicentre randomized study.

To investigate the efficacy and safety of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in patients with acute myelogenous leukaemia, a multicentre randomized study was performed. From October 1993 to September 1996, 270 patients with newly diagnosed acute myelogenous leukaemia were randomized to G-CSF or control groups after remission induction therapy. The G-CSF group received G-CSF (Filgrastim) from 48 h after the completing chemotherapy until the absolute neutrophil count exceeded 1.