Thrombolytic therapy is effective in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria: a series of nine patients and a review of the literature.

Background: Thrombosis is the major risk factor for death in patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria. Previous case reports indicate that venous thrombosis in patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria is amenable to thrombolysis.

Design And Methods: We reviewed the outcome of thrombolytic therapy for patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria who had thromboses refractory to anticoagulation at our institutions.

Phase 2 trial of Linifanib (ABT-869) in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Introduction: This study assessed activity and safety of linifanib (ABT-869), a selective inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor and platelet-derived growth factor receptors, in patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

Methods: In this open-label trial (NCT00517790), patients who received one to two prior lines of systemic therapy were randomized to oral linifanib 0.10 mg/kg (low dose) or 0.

The association between renal cell carcinoma and multiple myeloma: insights from population-based data.

Objective: • To evaluate the hypothesis of an association between renal cell carcinoma and multiple myeloma.

Patients And Methods: • Data from nine population-based registries in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results programme were used to evaluate two separate cohorts of patients diagnosed between 1973 and 2006: patients diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma as a primary malignancy (n= 57,190) and patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma as a primary malignancy (n= 34,156). • We estimated standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) by dividing the number of observed cases of multiple myeloma within the renal cell carcinoma cohort and the number of renal cell carcinoma cases within the multiple myeloma cohort by the number of expected cases for each malignancy in the US general population.

Acute myeloid leukemia incidence following radiation therapy for localized or locally advanced prostate adenocarcinoma.

Introduction: The effect of radiation therapy on acute myeloid leukemia incidence among prostate cancer patients has not been sufficiently elucidated despite evidence that acute myeloid leukemia is a consequence of therapeutic radiation in other primary malignancies. Therefore, we investigated the effect of definitive therapy with radiation therapy (external beam radiation therapy [EBRT] or brachytherapy) on acute myeloid leukemia incidence in a population-based cohort of patients with localized or locally advanced prostate cancer.

Methods: We utilized the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database to identify a cohort of men (n=168,612) with newly diagnosed prostate adenocarcinoma between January 1988 and December 2003.

Cytogenetically defined myelodysplasia after melphalan-based autotransplantation for multiple myeloma linked to poor hematopoietic stem-cell mobilization: the Arkansas experience in more than 3,000 patients treated since 1989.

Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a well-recognized complication of chemotherapy for multiple myeloma (MM). Serial bone marrow metaphase examinations were performed for MM restaging in 3,077 patients undergoing high-dose therapy (HDT). MDS-associated cytogenetic abnormalities (MDS-CAs) were observed in 105 of 2,418 patients in whom cytogenetic data were available after HDT.

Thalidomide and hematopoietic-cell transplantation for multiple myeloma.

Background: High-dose therapy with melphalan can prolong survival among patients with multiple myeloma. We assessed whether the addition of thalidomide, which has activity against advanced and refractory myeloma, would further improve survival.

Methods: Between October 1998 and February 2004, 668 patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma received two cycles of intensive melphalan-based chemotherapy, each supported by autologous hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation.

Health care policy issues as a result of the genetic revolution: implications for public health.

The genetic revolution has spawned 4 distinct issues of universal importance to health care policy and society: genetic privacy, regulation and standardization of genetic tests, gene patenting, and education. Adequate policy advancements for these 4 areas are lacking. Stringent controls must be placed on individual health records to prevent their misuse.

Deep vein thrombosis in patients with multiple myeloma treated with thalidomide and chemotherapy: effects of prophylactic and therapeutic anticoagulation.

A group of 256 newly diagnosed myeloma patients were enrolled in a phase III study that included 4 monthly cycles of induction chemotherapy and tandem transplant. All patients were randomized to either receive or not receive thalidomide. A total of 221 patients (86%) received no prophylactic anticoagulation (cohort I); 35 patients received low dose coumadin (cohort II).

Survival after relapse following tandem autotransplants in multiple myeloma patients: the University of Arkansas total therapy I experience.

Despite the superiority of high-dose (compared with standard) treatment in multiple myeloma, relapses still occur. We evaluated relapse patterns, salvage treatments employed and outcome in patients given tandem transplants on our total therapy I protocol. We focused on 146 patients (of 231 enrolled) who received tandem autotransplants < or =12 months apart and survived > or =2 months after the second transplant.

Thalidomide and deep vein thrombosis in multiple myeloma: risk factors and effect on survival.

Thalidomide has antiangiogenic properties and was found to be effective in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) when used in the setting of posttransplantation relapse. We have now analyzed risk factors associated with development of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in a cohort of 535 patients treated with thalidomide with cytotoxic chemotherapy (VAD [vincristine/doxorubicin/dexamethasone], CAD [cyclophosphamide/doxorubicin/dexamethasone], DCEP [dexamethasone/cyclophosphamide/etoposide/cisplatin], or DT-PACE [dexamethasone/thalidomide/cisplatin/doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide/etoposide] or without cytotoxic chemotherapy (thalidomide and dexamethasone only). A total of 82 patients developed DVT, and the frequency was affected by a number of baseline characteristics.

Prognostic factors in allogeneic transplantation for patients with high-risk multiple myeloma after reduced intensity conditioning.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify prognostic factors for outcome of high-risk patients with multiple myeloma after allogeneic transplantation prepared by reduced intensity conditioning (RIC).

Materials And Methods: Data from 45 consecutive patients (median age 52 years, range 38-68), who received grafts from a sibling (n = 34) or unrelated donor (n = 11) were analyzed. Fourteen patients received an RIC allotransplant while chemosensitive (>/=partial remission [PR]), whereas 31 chemoresistant patients ( View Article and Find Full Text PDF