[Acquired hemophilia A requiring plasma exchange and mechanical ventilation].

A 56-year-old man who sustained a right waist injury 1 month ago, reported to our department complaining of pain in the right waist and femur for 1 day. In a computed tomography examination, hematoma of the right iliopsoas muscle was revealed, and arterial embolization was immediately performed but was not effective. Laboratory findings showed hemoglobin levels as 5.

[Detection of BCR-ABL1 chimeric gene-positive neutrophils in a patient with mixed phenotype acute leukemia].

We experienced two patients with mixed phenotype acute leukemia with t(9;22)(q34;q11.2); BCR-ABL1 according to the WHO classification 2008. The type of BCR/ABL1 was major in both patients, and the chimeric gene was also detected in neutrophils from peripheral blood by the fluorescence in situ hybridization technique.

Prednisone versus high-dose dexamethasone for untreated primary immune thrombocytopenia. A retrospective study of the Japan Hematology & Oncology Clinical Study Group.

High-dose dexamethasone (HDD) has been shown to be an effective initial treatment for immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), but it is not clear whether HDD offers any advantages over conventional-dose prednisone (PSL). We retrospectively compared the efficacy and toxicity of HDD and PSL for newly diagnosed ITP. The response was evaluated according to the International Working Group (IWG) criteria.

[CD20-positive peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified].

We report a 69-year-old male with CD3-positive peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (PTCL-nos). Interestingly, tumor cells slightly expressed CD20 as well. Southern analyses of the tumor cells showed rearrangement for only the T cell receptor gene but not the immunoglobulin genes.

[CAG-GO therapy for patients with relapsed or primary refractory CD33-positive acute myelogenous leukemia].

We previously tested a less toxic CAG regimen consisting of low-dose cytarabine, aclarubicin and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory myeloid malignancies or elderly patients with untreated ones, obtaining a satisfactory complete remission rate of 62%. Gemtuzumab ozogamicin, an anti-CD33 monoclonal antibody conjugated to calicheamicin, has recently been approved as a single agent in Japan for the treatment of relapsed/refractory CD33-positive acute myelogenous leukemia (9 mg/m(2) on days1 and 15). Complete remission rate was reported as 30% in a phase 2 trial in Japan.

[Small lymphocytic lymphoma during the course of pure red cell aplasia].

A 29-year-old woman was diagnosed as having pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) in 1983. Her serum and IgG inhibited erythroid colony formation of bone marrow cells from a normal individual, suggesting antibody-mediated suppression of erythropoiesis. She was first successfully treated with corticosteroids, azathiopurine and cyclophosphamide.

N-ras and p53 gene mutations in Japanese patients with myeloproliferative disorders.

Alterations of the N-ras oncogene and p53 tumor suppressor gene have been demonstrated to play an important role in pathogenesis of hematological malignancies. We simultaneously investigated genetic lesions of both genes in bone marrow cells from 64 Japanese patients with myeloproliferative disorders (MPD), including polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET), and idiopathic myelofibrosis (MF), by direct sequencing analysis. No mutations of the N-ras gene were detected in any cases.