Killing Two Birds With One Stone: Successful Management With Rituximab in the Coexistence of Myasthenia Gravis and Marginal Zone Lymphoma.

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune neuromuscular disorder characterized by motor weakness affecting various muscle groups. The simultaneous or sequential occurrence of lymphoma and MG, often seen in patients, could be influenced by common genetic and biological factors that drive unregulated lymphocyte growth, leading to autoimmunity and lymphoma. This case report describes a 72-year-old male with coexisting marginal zone lymphoma and MG, who exhibited a positive response to rituximab treatment intended for the lymphoma, but surprisingly effective for both conditions.

Chemotherapy-induced coronary arteries calcium score deterioration as detected with unenhanced CT portion of FDG PET/CT.

This study aims to detect the potential impact of chemotherapy on the coronary calcium scoring (CCS) in lymphoma patients undergoing FDG-PET/CT at baseline and for therapy response using the CT portion of the exam to calculate the CCS. One hundred twelve lymphoma patients were included in the study based on having both baseline and at least 2 post-chemotherapy scans. The unenhanced CT portions of the scans were reviewed to measure the CCS which was then extracted using the Toshiba Vital Program.

Acute myeloid leukemia induction with cladribine: Outcomes by age and leukemia risk.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) induction traditionally includes seven days of cytarabine and three days of an anthracycline (7 + 3). Because of evidence of increased efficacy of cladribine combined with this regimen, we conducted a retrospective analysis of 107 AML patients treated with idarubicin, cytarabine and cladribine (IAC) at our institution. Complete remission (CR) occurred in 71%, with overall response of 79%.

Idelalisib-induced colitis and skin eruption mimicking graft-versus-host disease.

Introduction: Idelalisib is a selective inhibitor of the delta isoform of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase which was approved by the United States Federal Drug Administration in 2014 for the treatment of relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia and indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Drug-induced injury of the gastrointestinal tract is a relatively frequent but usually under-recognized disease entity.

Case Presentation: We report the case of a 56-year-old male with a history of relapsed follicular lymphoma status post allogenic bone marrow transplant who developed severe diarrhea with a skin eruption mimicking graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) 6 months after starting idelalisib.

Narrowing down the common deleted region of 5q to 6.0 Mb in blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasms.

Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare and aggressive hematologic malignancy. Simple and complex recurrent cytogenetic abnormalities have been reported, which demonstrate predominantly genomic losses, of which deletions of 5q are the most frequent aberrations in BPDCN with or without cutaneous manifestation; however, the gene responsible for the disease remains unknown. Using microarray-based molecular characterization, a recent study on several cases of BPDCN with the 5q deletion identified a large, common deleted region (CDR) of 29 Mb that contains several possible candidate genes.

High-Dose Interleukin-2 (HD IL-2) Therapy Should Be Considered for Treatment of Patients with Melanoma Brain Metastases.

A retrospective review was performed on patients with stable melanoma brain metastases treated with HD IL-2 therapy (720,000 IU/kg per dose intravenously; 14 doses, 2 cycles per course, maximum 2 courses) from January 1999 to June 2011 at Saint Louis University. There were 5 men and 3 women; median age was 52.2 years (26.

Active Shingles Infection as Detected on (18)F-FDG PET/CT.

We present the case of a 56-year-old male with a history of recurrent follicular lymphoma undergoing chemotherapy with multiple (18)F-FDG PET-CT studies at an outside facility. He developed a painful erythematous, pruritic rash in the left back requiring a visit to the emergency room. He was diagnosed and treated for Varicella zoster infection.

Modified array-based comparative genomic hybridization detects cryptic and variant PML-RARA rearrangements in acute promyelocytic leukemia lacking classic translocations.

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is typically defined at the molecular level by a reciprocal translocation of the promyelocytic leukemia (PML) and retinoic acid receptor α (RARA) genes. An accurate diagnosis of APL is critical for appropriate choice of therapy and prognostic assessment. Cryptic and variant rearrangements in APL are discoverable by a variety of molecular methods including fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, or gene sequencing.

"Hyper-warburgism," a cause of asymptomatic hypoglycemia with lactic acidosis in a patient with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Context: In cancer cells, the Warburg effect is defined as the avid consumption of glucose through the glycolytic pathway with concomitant lactate production, even under aerobic conditions.

Case: We report a 64-yr-old woman who was referred to our institution for pancytopenia and hypoglycemia. Physical examination demonstrated hepatosplenomegaly and petechiae.

C-MOPP: the forgotten regimen plus Rituximab for untreated and relapsed follicular lymphoma.

C-MOPP is a chemotherapy regimen for the treatment of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Because rituximab improves results in B-cell NHL, we added rituximab to C-MOPP, giving it the term C-MOPP-R. We retrospectively report the results of C-MOPP-R treatment for follicular lymphoma at Saint Louis University Cancer Center from 2000-2009.

Procarbazine-induced hepatotoxicity: case report and review of the literature.

Procarbazine hydrochloride is an oral alkylating agent primarily used as a component of chemotherapy regimens for Hodgkin's lymphoma, as well as in regimens for primary central nervous system lymphoma and high-grade gliomas. Although the prescribing information for procarbazine lists hepatic dysfunction as a potential adverse reaction, we found only one published report with a probable link between procarbazine and liver injury. We describe a 65-year-old man who developed liver injury due to procarbazine during salvage chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Spontaneous bilateral pneumothorax in metastatic renal cell carcinoma on sunitinib therapy.

Bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax is a rare occurrence in patients with both primary and metastatic lung cancer. Pneumothorax occurring as a complication of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) inhibitor therapy has not been previously described in the medical literature. Sunitinib malate is a VEGFR inhibitor approved for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma.

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis: case report and literature review.

Background: Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT)-related cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) has been described in 10 prior case reports in the English language medical literature. We report the first case of low molecular weight HIT-related CVST with detailed clinical course and novel therapeutic approach.

Methods: A 69-year-old woman presented with a focal seizure after total hip replacement.