Characteristics and Outcomes of Alberta Lymphoma Patients with a History of Immunosuppressive therapy for Autoimmune Conditions.

Background: Other iatrogenic immunosuppression associated lymphoproliferative disorders (Oii-LPD) is rare subset of lymphoma. There are limited published data on the clinical characteristics and outcomes of this patient population. The primary objective of this study was to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of Alberta patients diagnosed with lymphoma following immunosuppressive therapy for autoimmune conditions.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Diagnosis and Management of Multiple Myeloma: Experience from a Canadian Center.

Background: The impact of coronavirus disease-19 on the management of multiple myeloma (MM) has been recognized. However, the real effect on clinical outcomes remains poorly understood.

Objective: We describe a local experience of the management of MM patients and report their outcomes during the current pandemic.

Clinical Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Considerations in Treating Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) includes a variety of closely related malignancies that originate from lymphoid precursors. The majority of NHLs are of B-cell lineage, for which traditional therapy involves chemotherapy in combination with the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab. Ongoing research into the pathogenesis of NHL subtypes has given rise to the use of novel agents that target specific molecular pathways.

Slow lenalidomide desensitization protocol for patients with multiple myeloma: case series from a single center.

Lenalidomide is an immunomodulatory agent that belongs to a family of IMiDs used to treat multiple myeloma. Hypersensitivity and skin reactions are adverse effects of lenalidomide that may lead to discontinuation of its use for multiple myeloma making them contraindicated to other IMiD therapies. Desensitization protocols have been developed to desensitize patients to lenalidomide skin reaction and rash.

Medication adherence among adults prescribed imatinib, dasatinib, or nilotinib for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia.

Background: Oral tyrosine kinase inhibitors are the standard of care for chronic myeloid leukemia. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors are administered in an outpatient setting for an indefinite period which may negatively impact adherence. Non-adherence to tyrosine kinase inhibitors is associated with disease progression.

Profiling microRNA expression with the Illumina BeadChip platform.

The complex mechanisms involved in the regulation of both gene and protein expressions are still being understood. When microarray technology was first introduced during the early to mid 1990s, they heralded a tremendous opportunity to study transcription on a global scale. Despite this promise, however, one thing that has become clear is that the expression of protein coding genes is not the only aspect of the transcriptome that researchers need pay attention to.

Microarray-based DNA methylation profiling: technology and applications.

This work is dedicated to the development of a technology for unbiased, high-throughput DNA methylation profiling of large genomic regions. In this method, unmethylated and methylated DNA fractions are enriched using a series of treatments with methylation sensitive restriction enzymes, and interrogated on microarrays. We have investigated various aspects of the technology including its replicability, informativeness, sensitivity and optimal PCR conditions using microarrays containing oligonucleotides representing 100 kb of genomic DNA derived from the chromosome 22 COMT region in addition to 12 192 element CpG island microarrays.

CpG Island microarray probe sequences derived from a physical library are representative of CpG Islands annotated on the human genome.

An effective tool for the global analysis of both DNA methylation status and protein-chromatin interactions is a microarray constructed with sequences containing regulatory elements. One type of array suited for this purpose takes advantage of the strong association between CpG Islands (CGIs) and gene regulatory regions. We have obtained 20,736 clones from a CGI Library and used these to construct CGI arrays.

Effect of laparoscopic failure on outcome of laparoscopic nissen fundoplication: independent review.

Purpose: This study was undertaken to determine whether conversion or early reoperation contributed significantly to the eventual outcome of laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication.

Patients And Methods: An independent surgeon, blinded to the operative events, administered two general and one system-specific quality of life tools to the first 100 consecutive patients booked for laparoscopic fundoplication in a community hospital, where the open conversion rate was 4 patients/surgeon and the early reoperation rate 1.5 patients/surgeon for the first 20 operations.

Laparoscopic vertical banded gastroplasty: early results with the JOVO procedure.

Background: Vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG) is an established treatment for morbid obesity for selected patients. This study seeks to assess the effectiveness of a laparoscopic version, the JOVO procedure, of the VBG.

Methods: An Independent surgeon interviewed all patients, who had had the JOVO procedure at one institution, evaluating weight loss, comorbid conditions, satisfaction and quality of life using the 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36).