Acute promyelocytic leukaemia long-term survivors: higher fatigue and greater overall symptom burden.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the association of fatigue with severity of other key cancer symptoms, as well as symptom interference with daily activities and outlook on life, in long-term survivors of acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL).

Methods: The study sample consisted of APL survivors (n=244), with a median time from diagnosis of 14.3 years (IQR=11.

Health-related quality of life, symptom burden, and comorbidity in long-term survivors of acute promyelocytic leukemia.

The objective of this study was to investigate health-related quality of life (HRQOL), symptom burden, and comorbidity profile in long-term acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) survivors treated with standard chemotherapy. Overall, 307 long-term APL survivors were invited to participate. HRQOL was assessed with the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and compared with that of age and sex-matched controls from the general population.

Improved Outcomes With Retinoic Acid and Arsenic Trioxide Compared With Retinoic Acid and Chemotherapy in Non-High-Risk Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia: Final Results of the Randomized Italian-German APL0406 Trial.

Purpose The initial results of the APL0406 trial showed that the combination of all- trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO) is at least not inferior to standard ATRA and chemotherapy (CHT) in first-line therapy of low- or intermediate-risk acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). We herein report the final analysis on the complete series of patients enrolled onto this trial. Patients and Methods The APL0406 study was a prospective, randomized, multicenter, open-label, phase III noninferiority trial.

High-dose cytarabine in induction treatment improves the outcome of adult patients younger than age 46 years with acute myeloid leukemia: results of the EORTC-GIMEMA AML-12 trial.

Purpose: Cytarabine plays a pivotal role in the treatment of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Most centers use 7 to 10 days of cytarabine at a daily dose of 100 to 200 mg/m(2) for remission induction. Consensus has not been reached on the benefit of higher dosages of cytarabine.

Whole-exome sequencing identifies somatic mutations of BCOR in acute myeloid leukemia with normal karyotype.

Among acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with a normal karyotype (CN-AML), NPM1 and CEBPA mutations define World Health Organization 2008 provisional entities accounting for approximately 60% of patients, but the remaining 40% are molecularly poorly characterized. Using whole-exome sequencing of one CN-AML patient lacking mutations in NPM1, CEBPA, FLT3-ITD, IDH1, and MLL-PTD, we newly identified a clonal somatic mutation in BCOR (BCL6 corepressor), a gene located on chromosome Xp11.4.

GIMEMA AIDA 0493 amended protocol for elderly patients with acute promyelocytic leukaemia. Long-term results and prognostic factors.

To reduce toxicity in elderly patients with acute promyelocytic leukaemia, in 1997 the Gruppo Italiano Malattie Ematologiche Dell'Adulto (GIMEMA) started an amended protocol for patients aged >60years, with the same induction [all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA)+idarubicin] as in younger patients, followed by a single consolidation course (idarubicin+ cytarabine) and maintenance with intermittent ATRA. Among 60 enrolled patients, 54 (90%) achieved haematological remission and six died during induction. Four additional patients died in complete remission (CR) from haemorrhage (2) and infection (2) prior or during consolidation therapy.

Brief Tale of a Bacteraemia by Rhodococcus equi, With Concomitant Lung Mass: What Came First, the Chicken or The Egg?

Rhodococcus equi is an uncommon Gram positive, variably acid-fast pathogen, that appears as hard to treat mostly owing to the establishment of intracellular niches. Lack of interpretive criteria for susceptibility testing may lead to under-reporting or overestimation of resistances, whereas knowledge about this pathogen's clinical impact may be affected by erroneous phenotype-based characterization at a genus and species level.We present the case of a bacteraemia with a concomitant lung mass in a lymphoma patient, that further highlights the emergence of rhodococcal diseases as a matter for concern in the fields of infectious diseases and haematology.

Liposomal daunorubicin versus standard daunorubicin: long term follow-up of the GIMEMA GSI 103 AMLE randomized trial in patients older than 60 years with acute myelogenous leukaemia.

This randomized phase III clinical trial explored the efficacy of DaunoXome (DNX) versus Daunorubicin (DNR) in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) patients aged >60 years. Three hundred and one AML patients were randomized to receive DNR (45 mg/m(2) days 1-3) or DNX (80 mg/m(2) days 1-3) plus cytarabine (AraC; 100 mg/m(2) days 1-7). Patients in complete remission (CR) received a course of the same drugs as consolidation and then were randomized for maintenance with AraC+ all trans retinoic acid or no further treatment.

Dual-color split signal fluorescence in situ hybridization assays for the detection of CALM/AF10 in t(10;11)(p13;q14-q21)-positive acute leukemia.

We developed dual-color split fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assays to detect AF10 and/or CALM rearrangements. Among nine cases of acute leukemia with translocation breakpoints at 10p13 and 11q14-21, a CALM/AF10 rearrangement was found in seven and was confirmed by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in all. In 2/7 cases, FISH detected CALM/AF10 in extramedullary leukemic infiltrations in the mediastinum and breast.

High dose sequential chemotherapy with autologous transplantation versus dose-dense chemotherapy MegaCEOP as first line treatment in poor-prognosis diffuse large cell lymphoma: an "Intergruppo Italiano Linfomi" randomized trial.

Background And Objectives: Poor prognosis diffuse large cell lymphoma (DLCL) responds poorly to standard chemotherapy. Randomized studies comparing high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT) against standard chemotherapy have produced conflicting results. Dose-dense chemotherapy with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) support seems to hold promise.