Assessment of late cardiomyopathy by magnetic resonance imaging in patients with acute promyelocytic leukaemia treated with all-trans retinoic acid and idarubicin.

Late cardiomyopathy CMP is regarded as a potential severe long-term complication after anthracycline-based regimens for acute promyelocitic leukaemia (APL). We assess by MRI the incidence and severity of clinical and subclinical long-term CMP in a cohort of adult APL patients in first complete remission with PETHEMA trials. Adult patients diagnosed with APL in first complete remission lasting ≥2 years underwent anamnesis and physical examination and were asked to perform a cardiac MRI.

Impact of azacitidine on red blood cell alloimmunisation in myelodysplastic syndrome.

Background: The incidence of alloimmunisation in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) during the era of supportive treatment ranges from 9 to 56%. However, it is unknown if the widespread use of hypomethylating agents has changed the risk of immunisation. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of azacitidine (AZA) therapy on red blood cell (RBC) alloimmunisation in transfused patients with MDS, myelodysplastic syndromes/myeloproliferative syndromes (MDS/MPS) and secondary acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).

Analysis of the immune system of multiple myeloma patients achieving long-term disease control by multidimensional flow cytometry.

Multiple myeloma remains largely incurable. However, a few patients experience more than 10 years of relapse-free survival and can be considered as operationally cured. Interestingly, long-term disease control in multiple myeloma is not restricted to patients with a complete response, since some patients revert to having a profile of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance.

Prognostic value of cytogenetics in adult patients with Philadelphia-negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

The prognostic value of cytogenetics in adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is not as established as in childhood ALL. We have analyzed the outcome and prognostic value of karyotype in 84 adults diagnosed with Philadelphia-negative ALL from a single institution that received induction chemotherapy and had successful karyotype performed. The most frequent finding was normal karyotype in 35 (42%) cases, followed by aneuploidies in 20 cases (24%) and t(4;11)(q21;q23)/MLL/AF4 in 5 (6%), and the remaining 24(27%) cases carried miscellaneous clonal abnormalities.

Bortezomib for previously untreated multiple myeloma.

The treatment of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) has evolved rapidly over recent years. The availability of new effective drugs with novel mechanisms of action, such as bortezomib, in the last decade have resulted in a new scenario expected to impact favorably on the outcome of MM patients. In the transplant and nontransplant setting, several randomized trials have shown that front-line treatment with bortezomib-based combinations are superior to conventional treatment and have allowed for a significant increase of complete response rate, with a positive impact on progression-free survival.

CYP2C8 gene polymorphism and bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw in patients with multiple myeloma.

Osteonecrosis of the jaw is an uncommon but potentially serious complication of bisphosphonate therapy in multiple myeloma. Previous studies showed that the presence of one or two minor alleles of the cytochrome P450, subfamily 2C polypeptide 8 gene (CYP2C8) polymorphism rs1934951 was an independent prognostic marker associated with development of osteonecrosis of the jaw in multiple myeloma patients treated with bisphosphonates. The aim of this study was to validate the frequency of SNP rs193451 in 79 patients with multiple myeloma.