End of induction [F]FDG PET is prognostic for progression-free survival and overall survival in follicular lymphoma patients enrolled in the FOLL12 trial.

Purpose: To evaluate the reliability of the Deauville score (DS) in therapy response assessment and to define the prognostic value of the metabolic response of end of induction (EOI) [F]FDG PET (PET) in follicular lymphoma patients.

Methods: Adult patients with untreated grade 1-3a FL/ stage II-IV enrolled in the multicentre, prospective, phase III FOLL12 trial (NCT02063685) were randomized to receive standard immunochemotherapy followed by rituximab maintenance (standard arm) versus standard immunochemotherapy followed by response-adapted post-induction management (experimental arm). Baseline and EOI PET were mandatory for the study.

Impact of immunochemotherapy with R-bendamustine or R-CHOP for treatment naïve advanced-stage follicular lymphoma: A subset analysis of the FOLL12 trial by Fondazione Italiana Linfomi.

We conducted a post hoc analysis of the FOLL12 trial to determine the impact of different initial immunochemotherapy (ICT) regimens on patient outcomes. Patients were selected from the FOLL12 trial, which included adults with stage II-IV follicular lymphoma (FL) grade 1-3a and high tumor burden. Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive either standard ICT followed by rituximab maintenance (RM) or the same ICT followed by a response-adapted approach.

Ibrutinib improves survival compared with chemotherapy in mantle cell lymphoma with central nervous system relapse.

Central nervous system (CNS) relapse of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a rare phenomenon with dismal prognosis, where no standard therapy exists. Since the covalent Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor ibrutinib is effective in relapsed/refractory MCL and penetrates the blood-brain barrier (BBB), on behalf of Fondazione Italiana Linfomi and European Mantle Cell Lymphoma Network we performed a multicenter retrospective international study to investigate the outcomes of patients treated with ibrutinib or chemoimmunotherapy. In this observational study, we recruited patients with MCL with CNS involvement at relapse who received CNS-directed therapy between 2000 and 2019.

Punctual and kinetic MRD analysis from the Fondazione Italiana Linfomi MCL0208 phase 3 trial in mantle cell lymphoma.

Minimal residual disease (MRD) analysis is a known predictive tool in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). We describe MRD results from the Fondazione Italiana Linfomi phase 3 MCL0208 prospective clinical trial assessing lenalidomide (LEN) maintenance vs observation after autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in the first prospective comprehensive analysis of different techniques, molecular markers, and tissues (peripheral blood [PB] and bone marrow [BM]), taken at well-defined time points. Among the 300 patients enrolled, a molecular marker was identified in 250 (83%), allowing us to analyze 234 patients and 4351 analytical findings from 10 time points.

Treatment with Idelalisib in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Follicular Lymphoma: The Observational Italian Multicenter FolIdela Study.

Follicular lymphoma (FL) is an indolent hematological disease, often responsive to the first line of treatment, but characterized by repeated relapses. The therapeutic algorithm for relapsed/refractory FL patients comprises phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitors. Idelalisib showed anticancer activity, while inducing a significant rate of toxicities.

Brentuximab vedotin consolidation after autologous stem cell transplantation for Hodgkin lymphoma: A Fondazione Italiana Linfomi real-life experience.

The standard management for relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) is salvage therapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). This strategy allows almost 50% of patients to be cured. Post-ASCT maintenance treatment with brentuximab vedotin (BV) confers improved progression-free survival (PFS) to cHL patients at high risk of relapse.

Lenalidomide maintenance after autologous haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation in mantle cell lymphoma: results of a Fondazione Italiana Linfomi (FIL) multicentre, randomised, phase 3 trial.

Background: Fit patients with mantle cell lymphoma aged 18-65 years are usually given cytarabine and rituximab-based induction regimens followed by autologous haematopoetic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT). We investigated whether post-autologous HSCT maintenance with lenalidomide improves progression-free survival in this population.

Methods: This open-label, randomised, multicentre, phase 3 trial was done at 49 haematology and oncology units in Italy and Portugal.

Outcomes in first relapsed-refractory younger patients with mantle cell lymphoma: results from the MANTLE-FIRST study.

Patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) that fail induction treatment represent a difficult-to-treat population, where no standard therapy exists. We evaluated outcomes in patients with first relapsed-refractory (r/r) MCL after upfront high dose cytarabine including standard regimens. Overall survival (OS-2) and progression-free survival (PFS-2) were estimated from the time of salvage therapy.

Primary pancreatic lymphoma: Clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and outcome.

Unlabelled: Primary pancreatic lymphoma (PPL) is a rare disease representing 0.1% of malignant lymphomas, which lacks well-defined diagnostic and therapeutic protocols.

Objectives: To describe PPL clinical, diagnostic and histological characteristics, together with therapy and outcome, in a relatively large series of patients.

MicroRNA-21/PDCD4 Proapoptotic Signaling From Circulating CD34 Cells to Vascular Endothelial Cells: A Potential Contributor to Adverse Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients With Critical Limb Ischemia.

Objective: In patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and critical limb ischemia (CLI), migration of circulating CD34 cells predicted cardiovascular mortality at 18 months after revascularization. This study aimed to provide long-term validation and mechanistic understanding of the biomarker.

Research Design And Methods: The association between CD34 cell migration and cardiovascular mortality was reassessed at 6 years after revascularization.

A Comparison of the Conditioning Regimens BEAM and FEAM for Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Lymphoma: An Observational Study on 1038 Patients From Fondazione Italiana Linfomi.

BEAM (carmustine [bis-chloroethylnitrosourea (BCNU)]-etoposide-cytarabine-melphalan) chemotherapy is the standard conditioning regimen for autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in lymphomas. Owing to BCNU shortages, many centers switched to fotemustine-substituted BEAM (FEAM), lacking proof of equivalence. We conducted a retrospective cohort study in 18 Italian centers to compare the safety and efficacy of BEAM and FEAM regimens for ASCT in lymphomas performed from 2008 to 2015.

Proinsulin-expressing dendritic cells in type 2 neuropathic diabetic patients with and without foot lesions.

Diabetic neuropathy is the most common complication of diabetes and is frequently associated with foot ischemia and infection, but its pathogenesis is controversial. We hypothesized that proinsulin expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells is a process relevant to this condition and could represent a link among hyperglycemia, nerve susceptibility, and diabetic foot lesions. We assessed proinsulin expression by using flow cytometry in dendritic cells from control participants and patients with type 2 diabetes with or without peripheral neuropathy or accompanied by diabetic foot.

Prognostic value of PET/CT in patients with lymphoma treated with autologous stem cell transplantation for relapsed/refractory or high risk disease.

Background: Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT scan) has increasingly been used for management of lymphoma, however few and conflicting data have been provided in the setting of high dose therapy with autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) so far.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the outcome of 47 NHL patients who underwent ASCT for relapsed/refractory disease or high risk disease or partial response after first line treatment, with the aim of testing sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative prognostic value of PET/CT performed before and after ASCT.

Results: In our experience pre ASCT-PET/CT predicts outcome of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients with chemosensitive relapse, whereas post ASCT-PET showed a better prognostic value for relapsed disease.

Intensive short-term chemotherapy regimen induces high remission rate (over 90%) and event-free survival both in children and adult patients with advanced sporadic Burkitt lymphoma/leukemia.

The optimal treatment of advanced sporadic Burkitt lymphoma in adults is still a matter of debate. The salutary results of pediatric therapies did open the road for improving the adult outcome. Between May 1988 and March 2009, 71 consecutive patients-46 adults, 25 children-affected by Burkitt lymphoma/leukemia were treated with the same intensive pediatric protocol alternating vincristine, adriamycine and fractionated ciclophosphamide (phase A) with high dose methotrexate and high dose cytarabine (phase B) in four Italian institutions.

Measurement of serum monoclonal components: comparison between densitometry and capillary zone electrophoresis.

Quantitative measurement of serum monoclonal protein (M-protein) is one of the most important tools for monitoring disease activity in monoclonal gammopathies. The aims of this study were to evaluate serum M-protein quantification by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and to compare results with those obtained by densitometric scanning of high-resolution agarose gel electrophoresis (HRE-AGE). The evaluation was carried out on 82 samples from patients with various monoclonal gammopathies.

The incidence of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia in hospitalized medical patients treated with subcutaneous unfractionated heparin: a prospective cohort study.

Although heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a known complication of intravenous unfractionated heparin (UFH), its incidence in medical patients treated with subcutaneous UFH is less well defined. To determine the incidence of HIT in this category of patients, the platelet count was performed at baseline and then every 3 +/- 1 days in 598 consecutive patients admitted to 2 medical wards and treated with subcutaneous UFH for prophylactic (n = 360) or therapeutic (n = 238) indications. The diagnosis of HIT was accepted in the case of a platelet drop of 50% or more and either the demonstration of heparin-dependent antibodies or (when this search could not be performed) the combination of the following features: (1) the absence of any other obvious clinical explanation for thrombocytopenia, (2) the occurrence of thrombocytopenia at least 5 days after heparin start, and (3) either the normalization of the platelet count within 10 days after heparin discontinuation or the earlier patient's death due to an unexpected thromboembolic complication.