A rare case of interstitial pneumonitis after tandem high-dose melphalan conditioning and autologous stem cell transplantation in multiple myeloma.

A 57-yr-old woman with multiple myeloma received an autologous tandem transplant at a 4-month interval. She was conditioned twice with 225 mg/m2 melphalan. After the second transplant, interstitial pneumonitis (IP) ensued.

[Significance of minimal residual disease for the estimation of the prognosis and for therapeutic decisions in solid tumors].

The detection of disseminated tumor cells in bone marrow and blood is increasingly used for staging and therapeutic decisions in breast cancer and other solid tumors. Molecular biological methods improve the diagnostic accuracy. Limitations of the approach relate to the lack of disease-specific marker genes.

Successful treatment of invasive mould infection affecting lung and brain in an adult suffering from acute leukaemia.

We describe in detail a 67-yr-old woman who was treated with a cytostatic combination chemotherapy for newly diagnosed common-acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. At the end of induction therapy, the patient acquired invasive mould infection affecting lung and brain. The patient entered complete remission of her leukaemia.

[High dosage chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplantation in multiple myeloma].

Between 1992 and 1999 15 patients (pts.) suffering from multiple myeloma (MM) were treated with high-dose chemotherapy and consecutive autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASTx). 10/15 pts underwent two courses of ASTx (tandem- or double ASTx).