Tipifarnib as maintenance therapy did not improve disease-free survival in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia at high risk of relapse: Results of the phase III randomized E2902 trial.

Purpose: Despite the achievement of complete remission with chemotherapy in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), relapse is common and the majority of patients will die of their disease. Patients who achieve a remission after refractory or relapsed disease as well as elderly patients have a very high rate of relapse even if they achieve a complete remission. A phase 3 randomized ECOG-ACRIN-led intergroup study was conducted to determine whether post-remission therapy with the farnesyl transferase inhibitor, tipifarnib (R115777), improved the disease-free survival (DFS) of adult patients with AML in complete remission (CR), at high risk for relapse.

F-18 FDG-PET predicts outcomes for patients receiving total lymphoid irradiation and autologous blood stem-cell transplantation for relapsed and refractory Hodgkin lymphoma.

Total lymphoid irradiation (TLI) followed by high-dose chemotherapy and autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplant (aHSCT) is an effective strategy for patients with relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). We report outcomes for patients with relapsed/refractory HL who received TLI followed by high-dose chemotherapy and aHSCT. Pre-transplant fludeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) studies were scored on the 5-point Deauville scale.

Effect of an electronic health record on the culture of an outpatient medical oncology practice in a four-hospital integrated health care system: 5-year experience.

The electronic health record (EHR) was adopted into the NorthShore University HealthSystem, a four-hospital integrated health system located in suburban Chicago, in 2003. By 2005, all chemotherapy and medicine order entry was conducted through the EHR, completing the incorporation of a fully paperless EHR in our hospital-based oncology practice in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. The use of the EHR has dramatically changed our practice environment by improving efficiency, patient safety, research productivity, and operations, while allowing evaluation of adherence to established quality measures and incorporation of new quality improvement initiatives.

Optimizing the CD34 + cell dose for reduced-intensity allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Low CD34 + cell doses increase allograft-related mortality and very high doses increase the risk of graft-versus-host disease. The optimum CD34 + cell dose remains undefined. The effect of the CD34 + cell dose based on ideal weight was analyzed in 130 patients with hematologic malignancies undergoing reduced-intensity allogeneic blood cell transplantation in the context of factors known to affect the outcome: chemosensitivity, donor age, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), human leukocyte antigen (HLA) match, performance status, and platelet count.

Oxaliplatin-related acute myelogenous leukemia.

A 56-year-old woman diagnosed with a poorly differentiated cecal adenocarcinoma with metastases to ovaries, omentum, and sigmoid colon went into remission after 12 cycles of infusional 5-fluorouracil, luecovorin, and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX-4 regimen). Thirteen months later, a pelvic recurrence was diagnosed, and the patient received nine cycles of FOLFOX-6 plus bevacizumab, resulting in a clinical complete response but the development of pancytopenia. Bone marrow biopsy was consistent with therapy-related acute myelogenous leukemia.

High-dose chemotherapy with stem cell rescue as initial therapy for anaplastic oligodendroglioma: long-term follow-up.

We previously reported a phase 2 trial of 69 patients with newly diagnosed anaplastic or aggressive oligodendroglioma who were treated with intensive procarbazine, CCNU (lomustine), and vincristine (PCV) followed by high-dose thiotepa with autologous stem cell rescue. This report summarizes the long-term follow-up of the cohort of 39 patients who received high-dose thiotepa with autologous stem cell support. Thirty-nine patients with a median age of 43 (range, 18-67) and a median KPS of 100 (range, 70-100) were treated.

Multicenter phase 2 trial of rituximab for Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM): an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Study (E3A98).

Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) is a low-grade lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma that strongly expresses CD20 on the cell surface. This study was undertaken to determine the response rate of patients with untreated or previously treated WM to the monoclonal antibody rituximab, which is directed against CD20+ expressed by B-cell lymphomas. Thirty-four untreated and thirty-five previously treated patients received rituximab 375 mg/m2 weekly for 4 consecutive weeks by intravenous infusion on days 1, 8, 15, and 22.

High-dose chemotherapy with stem cell rescue as initial therapy for anaplastic oligodendroglioma.

Purpose: Anaplastic oligodendroglioma is a chemosensitive glial neoplasm. To improve disease control and postpone cranial radiotherapy, we designed a phase II study of intensive procarbazine, lomunstine and vincristine followed by high-dose thiotepa with autologous stem cell rescue for patients with newly diagnosed anaplastic or aggressive oligodendroglioma.

Patients And Methods: Sixty-nine patients with a median age of 42 (range: 18-67) and a median Karnofsky Performance Score of 90 (range: 70-100) were enrolled.