Publications by authors named "Munci Yagci"
Introduction: In the OPTIMISMM trial, pomalidomide/bortezomib/dexamethasone (PVd) significantly prolonged median progression-free survival (PFS) versus bortezomib/dexamethasone (Vd) in lenalidomide-exposed relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). We report final overall survival (OS) and updated efficacy analyses.
Methods: Adults with RRMM who had 1-3 prior regimens, including lenalidomide (≥ 2 cycles), were assigned (1:1) to PVd or Vd.
Introduction: A proportion of patients with multiple myeloma (MM) are older and/or have comorbidities, requiring dose adjustments. Data from OPTIMISMM (NCT01734928) supported the use of pomalidomide, bortezomib, and dexamethasone (PVd) for treating relapsed/refractory MM. This subanalysis of OPTIMISMM assessed outcome by frailty and/or bortezomib dose adjustment.
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- Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) have a significantly heightened risk of developing other malignancies (OMs), with a study tracking nearly 20,000 CLL patients revealing 3,513 OMs diagnosed over 129,254 years of follow-up.
- The study found that treatment with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide increased the likelihood of developing myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), while non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) and prostate cancer were common solid tumors in treated patients.
- Importantly, patients with CLL who developed OMs had lower overall survival rates, especially those diagnosed with AML and MDS, highlighting that C
Background: In the GLOW study, fixed-duration ibrutinib-venetoclax showed superior progression-free survival versus chlorambucil-obinutuzumab in patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukaemia who were older or had comorbidities, or both, at a median follow up of 27·7 months. In this Article, we report updated outcomes from GLOW after a 46-month median follow-up.
Methods: GLOW was a randomised, multicentre, phase 3 study done at 67 hospital centres across 14 countries.
Autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) remains the mainstay of the treatment in newly diagnosed transplant-eligible multiple myeloma (MM) patients. This retrospective study was performed to investigate the potential prognostic markers which may modify transplant course in a total of 256 ASCT recipients [median age: 58 (30-74) years; male/female: 138/118], including pretransplant (PET) and day + 60 (PET) PET/CT assessments and comparative analysis of melphalan (Mel) dose. Better responses with significantly higher complete response/very good partial response rates were achieved in patients who proceeded to transplant within 301 days from diagnosis (p < 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The discovery of imatinib was a milestone for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). As the life expectancy of CML patients has approached that of the general population, research has shifted towards improving quality of life and economic considerations. After 2010, it was shown that some patients could maintain molecular response even after discontinuing imatinib.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAllogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHCT) is associated with severe complications, most of which share a common physiopathological background characterized by endothelial dysfunction. A novel risk assessment model, endothelial activation and stress index (EASIX), has been introduced as a predictor of endothelial activation. This retrospective study was performed to evaluate the predictive impact of EASIX/modified-EASIX (mEASIX) on transplant outcome.
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- * In a study of 90 patients, flow cytometry (FCM) showed higher sensitivity (94.2%) compared to cytology (68.5%) for diagnosing CNS involvement, although cytology remains the gold standard.
- * The findings suggest that FCM could be a valuable routine diagnostic tool alongside cytology, as it can detect smaller numbers of malignant cells more effectively and offers quicker results.
Article Synopsis
- Ibrutinib + venetoclax treatment shows improved progression-free survival (PFS) compared to chlorambucil + obinutuzumab for older patients with untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
- The analysis highlights the importance of undetectable minimal residual disease (uMRD) post-treatment, showing significant rates of uMRD in patients receiving ibrutinib + venetoclax (40.6% in bone marrow and 43.4% in blood) compared to lower rates in the other treatment group.
- High PFS rates were observed in patients treated with ibrutinib + venetoclax after one year, regardless of their MRD status or immunoglobulin heavy
Article Synopsis
- Opportunistic fungal infections like invasive aspergillosis (IA) are a significant health threat for immunocompromised patients, with around 250,000 cases yearly, and early diagnosis and treatment can help lower mortality rates.
- This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of two diagnostic tests—galactomannan and beta-glucan—for diagnosing invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) in 60 patients at Gazi University Hospital.
- Results showed that the galactomannan test had a sensitivity of 77.8% and specificity of 96.7%, while the beta-glucan test had a lower sensitivity of 61.1%, highlighting the relevance of risk factors like steroid use in IPA development.
Introduction: This is the first study of simultaneous occurrences of Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) in patients with haemophilia.
Aim: The aim was to investigate the frequency and clinical characteristics of FMF in patients with severe haemophilia.
Methods: Our study included 30 patients with severe haemophilia (26 haemophilia A and four haemophilia B).
Article Synopsis
- Multiple myeloma (MM) is a cancer primarily affecting older adults, and this study focused on assessing the health and functionality of newly diagnosed patients before and after treatment.
- The study involved 37 patients aged 50 and older, measuring their performance status and conducting a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) at diagnosis and after 4 cycles of induction chemotherapy.
- Findings indicated that 40.7% of patients showed improvement in performance status post-treatment, with frail patients and those with more health issues experiencing less improvement, suggesting CGA can help predict potential recovery and suitability for future treatments like transplants.
Introduction: The presence of high-risk chromosomal abnormalities [t(4;14), del(17p), and t(14;16)] has been linked with inferior outcomes in patients with multiple myeloma (MM). A prespecified interim analysis of the Phase 3 IKEMA study (NCT03275285) demonstrated that isatuximab (Isa) + carfilzomib (K) and dexamethasone (d; Isa-Kd) significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) versus Kd in patients with relapsed MM. This prespecified subgroup analysis of IKEMA examined efficacy and safety in patients with high-risk cytogenetics.
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- - The study analyzed the effectiveness and safety of isatuximab (Isa) combined with carfilzomib-dexamethasone (Kd) in older (≥70 years) versus younger (<70 years) patients with relapsed multiple myeloma (MM), highlighting its potential benefits across age groups.
- - Results showed that the Isa-Kd combination significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) and response rates (including very good partial response and complete response) in both age groups, particularly in elderly patients.
- - Although Isa-Kd had a higher rate of grade ≥3 treatment-emergent adverse events, fewer elderly patients discontinued treatment due to these side effects, indicating that Isa-Kd has a manageable
Article Synopsis
- * A study compared daily versus every other day oral iron supplementation in premenopausal women with IDA, finding significant improvements in hemoglobin and other iron-related measurements in both groups after 2 months.
- * Although hepcidin levels were slightly higher in the every other day group, there was no significant difference, suggesting that less frequent dosing can improve patient compliance while maintaining similar effectiveness.
Introduction: Dihydroartemisinin (DHA), a semi-synthetic derivative of artemisinin, has recently shown to induce apoptosis in many types of cancer cells. In this study, we aimed to determine the effects of DHA on apoptosis in human chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cell lines.
Methods: The cells were treated separately and combined by DHA and Fludurabine (FLU) during 24, 48 and 72 hours.
Objective: Patients with solid malignancies are more vulnerable to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection than the healthy population. The outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infection in highly immunosuppressed populations, such as in patients with hematological malignancies, is a point of interest. We aimed to analyze the symptoms, complications, intensive care unit admissions, and mortality rates of patients with hematological malignancies infected with SARS-CoV-2 in Turkey.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: We evaluated the efficacy and safety of pomalidomide, bortezomib, and dexamethasone (PVd) vs bortezomib and dexamethasone (Vd) by age, renal function, and high-risk cytogenetic abnormalities in lenalidomide-pretreated patients with multiple myeloma at first relapse.
Methods: OPTIMISMM was a phase 3, multicenter, open-label, randomized study (NCT01734928; N = 559). The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS).
Article Synopsis
- Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a complex genetic disorder that can lead to serious complications like blood clots, and recent studies show positive results from a treatment called eculizumab.
- In a study of 138 PNH patients treated with eculizumab in Turkey from 2008 to 2018, common symptoms included fatigue and hemoglobinuria, with significant improvements in hemoglobin and lactate dehydrogenase levels noted after seven months of therapy.
- The findings suggest that eculizumab is effective and well-tolerated, with minimal serious adverse events reported among the patients.
Background: Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HCT) is a curable treatment modality for hematologic disorders. Transplant-related mortality remains high despite prominent scientific and technologic improvements. In consideration with the potential impact of patient- and disease-related factors on transplant outcome, this retrospective study was performed to investigate the predictive role of pretransplant HCT-composite risk (HCT-CR) score in allo-HCT recipients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this study is to determine the power of he international prognostic scoring systems (IPS-7 and IPS-3) and to obtain indices by integrating leukocyte lymphocyte ratio (LLR) and prognostic nutritional index (PNI) factors as prognostic indicators in cases with classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). 1012 patients with cHL were evaluated with 2 different IPS-4 scores with four parameters: stage, age, hemoglobin level, and either LLR or PNI. Statistical package SPSS v 22.
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- The study aimed to analyze the characteristics and outcomes of hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) patients admitted to the Hematology ICU due to infections from 2014 to 2017.
- Out of 62 patients, the major reasons for ICU admission included sepsis and acute respiratory failure, with a high overall mortality rate of 45.2%, primarily influenced by APACHE II scores.
- The research found that both pre-existing and new infections played a significant role in ICU morbidity and mortality, with pneumonia being the most common new infection and no significant differences in outcomes between autologous and allogeneic HSCT patients.