Role of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for relapsed acute promyelocytic leukemia: a retrospective analysis of JALSG-APL97.

For patients with relapsed acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), all-trans retinoic acid-based salvage regimens can achieve second complete remission (CR2), but the optimal post-remission strategy for APL patients after CR2 remains unclear. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) during CR2 might be effective, but data on the role of HSCT for APL patients after CR2 are limited in Japan. We retrospectively analyzed outcomes for 57 relapsed APL patients who achieved CR2 in the JALSG APL97 study.

Isolation of human mAbs that directly modulate FMS-related tyrosine kinase 3 signaling.

FMS-related tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) is a class III receptor tyrosine kinase that plays important roles in hematopoiesis, including early progenitors and dendritic cell development. FLT3 is expressed at high levels in 70-100% of cases of AML and in virtually all cases of B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia. FLT3 is regarded as a molecular target in the development of novel therapies for acute leukemia patients.

Successful pregnancy in a patient with chronic myeloid leukemia under treatment with imatinib.

Contraception is recommended during imatinib therapy based on the teratogenicity data in rats. However, patients may become pregnant and here we describe a successful pregnancy and labor without any congenital anomaly in a patient with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) under treatment with imatinib. The patient had received imatinib for 53 months before she became pregnant, with a complete cytogenetic response achieved after 6 months of therapy and a major molecular response (MMR) after 28 months.