Eltrombopag as frontline treatment of aplastic anaemia in routine practice: implications on cost and efficacy.

The thrombopoietin mimetic eltrombopag (EPAG) is efficacious in clinical trials of newly diagnosed moderate (M), severe (S) and very severe (vS) aplastic anaemia (AA). Its use in routine practice and resource-constrained settings is not well described. Twenty-five men and 38 women at a median age of 54 (18-86) years with newly diagnosed AA treated consecutively in a 7-year period with EPAG (N = 6), EPAG/cyclosporine (CsA) (N = 33) and EPAG/CsA/anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) (N = 24) were analyzed.

Childhood bronchiolitis obliterans in Hong Kong-case series over a 20-year period.

Background And Objective: Bronchiolitis obliterans (BO) is a rare but serious condition. The natural history and outcomes remain poorly understood. In this clinical review, we aimed to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of children diagnosed with BO in Hong Kong (HK).

Liver complications of haemoglobin H disease in adults.

Haemoglobin H (HbH) disease is a type of non-transfusion-dependent thalassaemia. This cross-sectional study aimed at determining the prevalence and severity of liver iron overload and liver fibrosis in patients with HbH disease. Risk factors for advanced liver fibrosis were also identified.

Clofarabine, cytarabine, and mitoxantrone in refractory/relapsed acute myeloid leukemia: High response rates and effective bridge to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Clofarabine is active in refractory/relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In this phase 2 study, we treated 18- to 65-year-old AML patients refractory to first-line 3 + 7 daunorubicin/cytarabine induction or relapsing after 3 + 7 induction and high-dose cytarabine consolidation, with clofarabine (30 mg/m /d, Days 1-5), cytarabine (750 mg/m /d, Days 1-5), and mitoxantrone (12 mg/m /d, Days 3-5) (CLAM). Patients achieving remission received up to two consolidation cycles of 50% CLAM, with eligible cases bridged to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT).

Oral arsenic trioxide incorporation into frontline treatment with all-trans retinoic acid and chemotherapy in newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia: A 5-year prospective study.

Background: Strategies using oral arsenic trioxide (As O ) are efficacious in relapsed acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), but they have not been examined in newly diagnosed cases.

Methods: Sixty-two consecutive patients (24 men and 38 women) with a median age of 52 years (range, 22-85 years), 36% of whom had high-risk features, underwent induction with all-trans retinoic acid at 45 mg/m /d, oral As O at 10 mg/d, and ascorbic acid at 1 g/d (the all-trans retinoic acid-arsenic trioxide-ascorbic acid [AAA] regimen) for 6 weeks (with patients younger than 70 years additionally receiving daunorubicin at 50 mg/m /d × 3); they then underwent consolidation with 2 monthly cycles of daunorubicin (50 mg/m /d × 2) and cytarabine (100 mg/m /d × 5) and received AAA maintenance (2 weeks every 8 weeks) for 2 years. A contemporaneous cohort of 37 newly diagnosed patients (15 men and 22 women) with a median age of 51 years (range, 23-78 years), not consenting to oral As O induction but receiving similar induction, consolidation, and AAA maintenance, served as a comparator group; 46% of these patients had high-risk features.

Long-term outcome of relapsed acute promyelocytic leukemia treated with oral arsenic trioxide-based reinduction and maintenance regimens: A 15-year prospective study.

Background: For patients who have acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) in second complete remission (CR2), optimal postremission strategies remain undefined.

Methods: The role of an oral arsenic trioxide (As O )-based regimen in the management of patients who had APL in CR2 was examined.

Results: Seventy-three patients with APL in first relapse (R1) were studied.

Clinicopathologic features and prognostic indicators in Chinese patients with myelofibrosis.

Objective: To define the clinicopathologic features, outcome, and prognostic indicators of myelofibrosis (MF) in Asian patients.

Methods: Two hundred and seventy consecutive Chinese patients (primary MF, n = 207; post-polycythemia vera MF, n = 27; and post-essential thrombocythemia MF, n = 36) from seven regional referral hospitals were analyzed.

Results: The median overall survival (OS) for primary MF was 66 months.

Preservation of lower incidence of chronic lymphocytic leukemia in Chinese residents in British Columbia: a 26-year survey from 1983 to 2008.

The incidence of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in the Asian population is up to 10 times lower than that in Caucasians. Studies on CLL in Asian residents in North America may help to determine the relative genetic and environmental causes of such a difference. Computerized records of CLL incidence from the combined British Columbia (BC) databases (n = 2736) and the Hong Kong Cancer Registry (HKCR, n = 572) were traced.

Survival of patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma after first relapse or progression: spectrum of disease and rare long-term survivors.

Introduction: A number of novel therapies are under investigation in relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL); however, their relative impact on outcome is unknown. We examined the survival of patients with PTCL after relapse or progression in the absence of hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation and explored factors influencing survival. The three most common subtypes encountered in North America were evaluated: PTCL not otherwise specified (PTCL-NOS), angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL), and anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL; anaplastic lymphoma kinase [ALK] positive and ALK negative.

A synopsis of current haemophilia care in Hong Kong.

Objective: To provide a synopsis of current haemophilia care in Hong Kong.

Design: Retrospective survey.

Setting: All haematology units of the Hospital Authority in Hong Kong.