Acquisition of genomic events leading to lymphoblastic transformation in a rare case of myeloproliferative neoplasm with BCR-JAK2 fusion transcript.

We report a case of myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) with an atypical t(9;22;15)(p24;q11;q21) translocation, leading to a BCR-JAK2 fusion, associated with a trisomy of chromosome 8 in clonal evolution at karyotype. Patient's evolution was marked by an aggressive clinical course with rapid progression to blast phase within the first year after diagnosis. Examination of matched chronic phase and blast crisis samples by SNP-array karyotyping identified secondary acquired cryptic genetic events at the time of lymphoblastic transformation, including biallelic IKZF1 alteration and EBF1 and CDKN2A/B codeletions.

Serum immunoglobulin free light chain correlates with tumor burden markers in Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia.

The serum IgM level has been utilised as a marker of tumor progression and to assess response to therapy in patients with Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM). However, there are many limitations to the IgM protein level. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of known tumor burden markers and prognostic factors with serum free light chain (sFLC) in 98 patients with WM.

Frontline treatment in multiple myeloma patients not eligible for stem-cell transplantation.

Melphalan-prednisone-thalidomide (MPT) currently appears to be the treatment of choice for a large proportion of elderly patients ineligible for autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT). It seems certain that in the near future melphalan-prednisone-Velcade (MPV) and melphalan-prednisone-lenalidomide (MPR) will also be proved superior to melphalan-prednisone (MP), thus providing three therapeutic options (MPT, MPV and MPR) in this patient group with multiple myeloma (MM). These therapeutic options could lead to more personalized treatment approaches, based on patient comorbidities, as the three novel therapies have somewhat different toxicity profiles.

Enteral feeding and early outcomes of patients undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation following myeloablative conditioning.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of enteral nutrition on early outcome of patients after myeloablative allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT). From January 2001 to January 2003, 22 patients agreed to receive enteral nutrition via a nasogastric feeding tube; the remaining 23 patients received parenteral nutrition (n=22) or standard oral feeding (n=1). Early complications and factors influencing 100-day overall survival (OS) were investigated.

An 18-case outbreak of drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteriemia in hematology patients.

We retrospectively identified an outbreak of 18 episodes of P. aeruginosa bacteriemia in 17 patients with hematologic malignancies in 2004. All strains were ticarcillin I/R, 77% ciprofloxacin I/R, 72% ceftazidime I/R, 72% amikacin I/R and 50% imipenem I/R.

Factors predicting molecular and cytogenetic response in chronic myeloid leukemia patients treated with imatinib.

We studied 94 clinically heterogeneous chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients and found that the duration of treatment with interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) prior to imatinib therapy may not improve response to imatinib for patients in chronic phase but a shorter period between CML diagnosis and the initiation of imatinib is predictive for a better molecular response to therapy (p<0.05).