Klinik für Hämatologie, Universitätsklinikum Essen, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstraße 55, 45147, Essen, Germany.
Published: October 2023
AI Article Synopsis
Article Abstract
Background: Blood cancer survivors are at increased risk for second primary malignancies, cardiovascular diseases, and infections. Little is known about preventive care in blood cancer survivors.
Methods: Our questionnaire-based study included blood cancer patients diagnosed at the University Hospital of Essen before 2010, with a ≥ 3-year interval from the last intense treatment. One section of the retrospective study covered preventive care (cancer screening, cardiovascular screening, vaccination).
Results: Preventive care was delivered by a general practitioner for 1100 of 1504 responding survivors (73.1%), by an oncologist for 125 (8.3%), by a general practitioner together with an oncologist for 156 (10.4%), and by other disciplines for 123 (8.2%). Cancer screening was more consistently performed by general practitioners than by oncologists. The converse was true for vaccination, with particularly high vaccination rates in allogeneic transplant recipients. Cardiovascular screening did not differ between care providers. Cancer and cardiovascular screening rates in survivors eligible for statutory prevention programs were higher than in the general population (skin cancer screening 71.1%; fecal occult blood testing 70.4%; colonoscopy 64.6%; clinical breast examination 92.1%; mammography 86.8%; cervical smear 86.0%; digital rectal examination 61.9%; blood pressure test 69.4%; urine glucose test 54.4%; blood lipid test 76.7%; information about overweight 71.0%). The Streptococcus pneumoniae vaccination rate was higher (37.0%) and the influenza vaccination rate was lower (57.0%) than in the general population.
Conclusions: Utilization of preventive care is high among German blood cancer survivors. To ensure widespread delivery and avoid redundancy, communication between oncologists and preventive care providers is essential.
Allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HCT) is one of the principal curative approaches in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML); however, relapse post-transplantation remains a catastrophic event with poor prognosis. The incidence of relapse has remained unchanged over the last three decades despite an evolving understanding of the immunobiology of the graft-versus leukemia effect and the immune escape mechanisms that lead to post-HCT relapse. The approach to post-transplant relapse is highly individualized and is dictated both by disease biology and genomics as well as the patient's clinical status at the time of relapse and the interval between relapse and transplantation.
We found 18 patients with immunophenotype consistent with classic hairy cell leukemia (HCL) and BRAF mutations other than just V600E. Twelve had 1 non-V600E BRAF mutation and 6 had V600E with 1 (n=5) or 2 (n=1) non-V600E BRAF co-mutations.
SP140, a lymphocytic-restricted protein, is an epigenetic reader working as a corepressor of genes implicated in inflammation and orchestrating macrophage transcriptional programs to maintain cellular identity. Reduced SP140 expression is associated both to autoimmune diseases and blood cancers. However, the molecular mechanisms that link SP140 altered protein levels to detrimental effects on the immune response and cellular growth, as well as the interactors through which SP140 promotes gene silencing, remain elusive.
Purpose: This study investigated the occurrence of subsequent malignancies (SM) in adult patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) to address the lack of large-scale, long-term data on this complication.
Methods: A retrospective cohort analysis of 376 adult patients with SAA who underwent allo-HSCT between 2002 and 2021 at a single center was conducted. The incidence, risk factors, and survival impact of SM were also examined.
