The translocation t(4;14) can be present only in minor subclones in multiple myeloma.

Purpose: Although the translocation t(4;14) is supposed to be a primary event in multiple myeloma, we have been surprised to observe that in large relapse series of patients, the t(4;14) can be observed only in subpopulations of plasma cells, in contrast to what is seen at diagnosis. This observation raised the question of possible subclones harboring the translocation that would be observable only at the time of relapse.

Experimental Design: To address this issue, we analyzed by FISH a cohort of 306 patients for whom we had at least two samples obtained at different disease phases.

[Bosentan for treatment of active digital ulcers in patients with systemic sclerosis].

Objectives: To describe the effect of bosentan and its dual inhibition of endothelin-1 ETA and ETB receptors on digital ulcers in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Methods: Patients receiving bosentan for SSc-related digital ulcers were identified in eight centers, and their characteristics and follow-up were recorded.

Results: Nine (six with diffuse and three with limited cutaneous forms of SSc) patients (median age: 54 years) had received bosentan for digital ulcers.

[Palpable mantel cell lymphoma in the breast].

Background: Extranodal involvement is not unusual in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) which accounts for 6% of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. Simultaneous localization in the eyelid and in the breast, as observed in our case, is however exceptional.

Case Report: Chronic lymphoid leukemia (CLL) was suspected in a 71-year-old woman with asthenia, a cervical and axillary nodal enlargement and elevated lymphocyte count.

Coagulation activation in patients with an inflammatory syndrome: is there a link with acquired protein S deficiency?

The pathogenic mechanisms of thrombosis during inflammatory syndromes are unknown. The aim of our study was to evaluate coagulation activation and fibrinolysis and to study an acquired protein S deficiency in 58 patients with an inflammatory syndrome of neoplastic (16), infectious (24) or systemic (18) origin and in 54 control subjects. The results indicated that coagulation activation, demonstrated by an increase in the prothrombin fragment 1+2, was present in patients with an inflammatory syndrome regardless of its origin.

Atrial myxoma mimicking systemic disease. Profile modified by flurbiprofen administration.

A patient had a left atrial myxoma which was modified by flurbiprofen administration. The diagnosis was made 42 months after the first symptoms appeared. Flurbiprofen may have reduced interleukin-6 secretion by the tumor, leading to a delayed diagnosis.