Outcomes of Consecutively Diagnosed Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma Patients Using the Alberta Lymphoma Clinical Practice Guideline Incorporating Thiotepa-Busulfan Conditioning for Transplantation-Eligible Patients.

While no widely accepted standard treatment regimen exists for primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL), growing evidence supports an approach that incorporates autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) as consolidative therapy when feasible. In November 2011, the Alberta Hematology Tumor Team established a new clinical practice guideline (CPG) for PCNSL involving high-dose methotrexate (HDMTX)/cytarabine-based induction followed by ASCT for eligible patients using a thiotepa and busulfan (TBu) conditioning regimen that omitted cyclophosphamide from the regimen that was used before 2011. This retrospective study analyzed all 64 patients with PCNSL diagnosed consecutively in 3 Canadian centers between November 2011 and December 2017 to evaluate adherence to the 2011 CPG and associated outcomes.

Targeting non-Hodgkin lymphoma with blinatumomab.

Management of patients with relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) remains challenging, and novel effective agents are eagerly awaited. Blinatumomab is a bispecific T-cell engager, targeting CD19. While blinatumomab's primary clinical use has been in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), there are increasing data for its use in B-lineage lymphomas.

Autologous stem cell transplantation for stiff person syndrome: two cases from the Ottawa blood and marrow transplant program.

Importance: Stiff person syndrome (SPS) is a rare neurological disease causing significant functional disability for patients and presenting a therapeutic challenge for clinicians. Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-HSCT) has been used successfully to remit autoimmune-mediated neurological diseases. We report 2 cases of severe SPS treated with auto-HSCT, a novel therapy for this disease.