Publications by authors named "Valk P"

Mutation of DNMT3A, encoding a de novo methyltransferase essential for cytosine methylation, is a common early event in clonal hematopoiesis (CH) and adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Spontaneous deamination of methylated cytosines damages DNA, which is repaired by the base excision repair (BER) enzymes MBD4 and TDG. Congenital MBD4-deficiency has been linked to early-onset CH and AML, and is marked by exceedingly high levels of DNA damage and mutation of DNMT3A.

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Mutations in the Nucleophosmin-1 (NPM1) gene are among the most common molecular aberrations in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Various studies have established mutant NPM1 (mNPM1) as a faithful molecular measurable residual disease (MRD) marker with prognostic significance. Assessment of prognostic mNPM1 is included in the European LeukemiaNet (ELN) recommendations on MRD detection in AML.

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KMT2A::MLLT3 acute myelomonocytic leukemia (AML) comes in two clinically and biologically different subtypes. One is characterized by inferior outcome, older age, and MECOM oncogene expression. The other is mainly observed in children and young adults, associates with better clinical outcome, but lacks MECOM.

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Apoptosis-stimulating proteins of p53 (ASPPs) are a family of proteins that modulate key tumor suppressor pathways via direct interaction with p53. Deregulation of these proteins promotes cancer development and impairs sensitivity to systemic (chemo)therapy and radiation. In this study, we describe that the inhibitor of ASPP (iASPP) is frequently highly expressed in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and that overexpression correlates with a poor clinical outcome.

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Article Synopsis
  • - BCR::ABL1 digital PCR is a highly sensitive and precise method for measuring deep molecular responses in chronic myeloid leukemia, outperforming traditional qPCR, especially in predicting successful treatment-free remission.
  • - In a study with 168 patient samples, digital PCR demonstrated better detection capabilities, quantifying BCR::ABL1 in 68% of cases that were below the detection limit of qPCR, which required a high number of transcripts.
  • - The technique also allowed for differentiation between BCR::ABL1 transcript types, making it a practical and effective option for clinical use in monitoring treatment responses.
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Introduction: Patients' adherence is essential for COPD self-management, as beneficial effects can only be expected in adherent patients. We explored associations between patients' adherence to COPD exacerbation action plans and health outcomes.

Materials And Methods: Pooled COPD self-treatment intervention group data from two RCTs were analysed, only including patients who had ≥1 COPD exacerbation or started ≥1 course of oral corticosteroids over one-year follow-up.

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The treatment of older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) considered unfit for receiving intensive chemotherapy is challenging. Based on the hypothesis that addition of the broad tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) midostaurin could improve the response to hypomethylating agents, irrespective of FLT3 gene mutational status, we conducted a randomized phase II multicenter study to assess the tolerability and efficacy of the addition of midostaurin to a 10-day schedule of decitabine in unfit (i.e.

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Background: Little information regarding the management of invasive procedures in people with hemophilia B (HB) after undergoing gene therapy is available. Here, we report the management of invasive procedures in people with severe or moderately severe HB who had previously been treated with etranacogene dezaparvovec in the phase 2b and phase 3 Health Outcomes with Padua Gene; Evaluation in Hemophilia B clinical trials (NCT03489291 and NCT03569891).

Objectives: The objective of this study was to describe the use of exogenous FIX, endogenous FIX activity prior to invasive procedures, and peri- and postoperative bleeds in participants who underwent invasive procedures after receiving etranacogene dezaparvovec gene therapy.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study focuses on older patients (over 60 years) with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and aims to create a prognostic model to identify those who would benefit from intensive chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation.
  • - Researchers analyzed data from 1,910 patients, using a random survival forest to evaluate clinical and genetic factors associated with overall survival, resulting in the identification of four distinct survival groups based on nine variables.
  • - The newly developed AML60+ classification shows improved prognostic accuracy and indicates that intermediate- and very poor-risk patients may benefit from allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation, potentially guiding treatment decisions for older adults with AML.
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  • Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) often involves deletions of chromosome 7, which are linked to poor patient outcomes, but the full impact of other genetic changes related to this is not well understood.
  • Researchers analyzed genetic alterations in 519 AML patients, using whole-exome sequencing and a specialized gene panel, finding that mutations in TP53, which occurred in 33% of cases, were among the most common.
  • The study identified specific genes, like TP53 and PTPN11, that have a significant negative effect on overall and relapse-free survival, highlighting the complex relationship between chromosome 7 abnormalities and patient prognosis in AML.
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In this study, we leveraged machine-learning tools by evaluating expression of genes of pharmacological relevance to standard-AML chemotherapy (ara-C/daunorubicin/etoposide) in a discovery-cohort of pediatric AML patients (N = 163; NCT00136084 ) and defined a 5-gene-drug resistance score (ADE-RS5) that was predictive of outcome (high MRD1 positivity p = 0.013; lower EFS p < 0.0001 and OS p < 0.

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Cohesin shapes the chromatin architecture, including enhancer-promoter interactions. Its components, especially STAG2, but not its paralog STAG1, are frequently mutated in myeloid malignancies. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms of leukemogenesis, we comprehensively characterized genetic, transcriptional, and chromatin conformational changes in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patient samples.

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  • Patients with von Willebrand disease (VWD) need von Willebrand factor (VWF) concentrates during surgery, and this study looked at how FVIII, a related clotting factor, behaves with repeated infusions of a 1:1 ratio VWF/FVIII concentrate.
  • The study involved 125 patients undergoing various surgical procedures and measured FVIII and VWF levels at different times after CFC infusions, finding consistent recovery rates without significant accumulation of FVIII levels even after multiple doses in some patients.
  • Results showed that administering the concentrate led to stable FVIII and VWF activity levels, highlighting the product's effectiveness, particularly that most major surgeries only required three CFC infusions for optimal results.
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Precise and reliable predictive parameters to accurately identify chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients who can successfully discontinue their tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment are lacking. One promising parameter is depth of molecular response measured by BCR::ABL1 digital PCR (dPCR). The aim of this study was to validate a previously described prediction cutoff of 0.

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Balanced rearrangements involving the KMT2A gene (KMT2Ar) are recurrent genetic abnormalities in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), but there is lack of consensus regarding the prognostic impact of different fusion partners. Moreover, prognostic implications of gene mutations co-occurring with KMT2Ar are not established. From the HARMONY AML database 205 KMT2Ar adult patients were selected, 185 of whom had mutational information by a panel-based next-generation sequencing analysis.

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  • The combination of all-trans retinoic acid and anthracyclines has greatly improved acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) treatment outcomes, particularly in areas without access to arsenic trioxide.
  • Despite these advances, low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) still struggle with high mortality rates during treatment due to inadequate management of complications.
  • A study involving 806 APL patients across several South American countries showed a reduction in induction mortality to 14.6% and an 81% overall survival rate over four years, demonstrating the benefits of international clinical collaboration.
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Despite advancements in utilizing genetic markers to enhance acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) outcome prediction, significant disease heterogeneity persists, hindering clinical management. To refine survival predictions, we assessed the transcriptome of non-acute promyelocytic leukaemia chemotherapy-treated AML patients from five cohorts (n = 975). This led to the identification of a 4-gene prognostic index (4-PI) comprising CYP2E1, DHCR7, IL2RA and SQLE.

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Identification of immunogenic cancer neoantigens as targets for therapy is challenging. Here, we integrate the whole-genome and long-read transcript sequencing of cancers to identify the collection of neo-open reading frame peptides (NOP) expressed in tumors. We termed this collection of NOPs the tumor framome.

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Background: Etranacogene dezaparvovec, the first gene therapy approved for haemophilia B treatment, was shown to be superior to treatment with continuous prophylactic factor IX in terms of bleeding protection 18 months after gene therapy in a phase 3 trial. We report post-hoc 24-month efficacy and safety data from this trial to evaluate the longer-term effects of etranacogene dezaparvovec in individuals with haemophilia B.

Methods: The phase 3 HOPE-B trial enrolled males aged 18 years or older with inherited haemophilia B, classified as severe (plasma factor IX activity level <1%) or moderately severe (plasma factor IX activity level ≥1% and ≤2%), with a severe bleeding phenotype and who were on stable continuous factor IX prophylaxis.

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COVID-19 patients commonly present with signs of central nervous system and/or peripheral nervous system dysfunction. Here, we show that midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons derived from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are selectively susceptible and permissive to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. SARS-CoV-2 infection of DA neurons triggers an inflammatory and cellular senescence response.

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