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Recent advances in genetic analysis of hematopoietic tumors have led to the discovery of enzyme abnormalities that control epigenetic changes. Notably, genetic mutations associated with DNA methylation and histone modifications have been identified in B-cell malignant lymphomas, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and follicular lymphoma. Gene expression involved in B lymphocyte differentiation and maturation within the germinal center (GC) is regulated epigenetically in these lymphomas, and epigenetic alterations play critical roles in the pathogenesis of GC-driven lymphomas. Recent studies also indicate the importance of epigenetic alterations as biomarkers and therapeutic targets, suggesting that they will have a central role in developing precision medicine for patients with GC-driven lymphomas.

The selective phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase δ inhibitor zandelisib demonstrated favorable safety and efficacy [objective response rate (ORR) 79%] in patients with B-cell malignancies in a phase 1b study in the US and Switzerland. In this phase 1 dose-escalation study (NCT03985189), 9 Japanese patients with relapsed/refractory indolent non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (R/R iNHL) received zandelisib on a continuous daily schedule (45 or 60 mg) until progressive disease/unacceptable toxicity. No dose-limiting toxicities were observed. The maximum tolerated dose was not reached. At a median follow-up of 17.5 months, Grade ≥ 3 treatment-emergent adverse events that occurred in 2 or more patients were neutrophil count decreased (55.6%; 5/9) and diarrhea (33.3%; 3/9). Immune-related toxicities, including hepatobiliary disorder, aspartate/alanine aminotransferase increased, diarrhea/colitis, organizing pneumonia, stomatitis, and rash, led to zandelisib discontinuation in 4 patients. The investigator-assessed ORR, based on modified Lugano criteria, was 100%, including 2 complete responses (22.2%; in follicular lymphoma patients receiving 60 mg/day). Median duration of response, progression-free survival, and time to response were 7.9, 11.1, and 1.9 months, respectively. Zandelisib demonstrated a manageable safety profile at 60 mg, the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) in Japanese patients. The RP2D resulted in favorable pharmacokinetics and anti-tumor efficacy in Japanese patients with R/R iNHL.Trial registration. NCT03985189 (ClinicalTrials.gov).

Comprehensive genomic profiling is increasingly used to facilitate precision oncology based on molecular stratification. In addition to conventional tissue comprehensive genomic profiling, comprehensive genomic profiling of circulating tumor DNA has become widely utilized in cancer care owing on its advantages, including less invasiveness, rapid turnaround time, and capturing heterogeneity. However, circulating tumor DNA comprehensive genomic profiling has some limitations, mainly false negatives due to low levels of plasma circulating tumor deoxyribonucleic acid and false positives caused by clonal hematopoiesis. Nevertheless, no guidelines and recommendations fully address these issues. Here, an expert panel committee involving representatives from 12 Designated Core Hospitals for Cancer Genomic Medicine in Japan was organized to develop expert consensus recommendations for the use of circulating tumor deoxyribonucleic acid-based comprehensive genomic profiling. The aim was to generate guidelines for clinicians and allied healthcare professionals on the optimal use of the circulating tumor DNA assays in advanced solid tumors and to aid the design of future clinical trials that utilize and develop circulating tumor DNA assays to refine precision oncology. Fourteen clinical questions regarding circulating tumor deoxyribonucleic acid comprehensive genomic profiling including the timing of testing and considerations for interpreting results were established by searching and curating associated literatures, and corresponding recommendations were prepared based on the literature for each clinical question. Final consensus recommendations were developed by voting to determine the level of each recommendation by the Committee members.

In Japan, comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) tests for refractory cancer patients have been approved since June 2019, under the requirement that all cases undergoing CGP tests are annotated by the molecular tumor board (MTB) at each government-designated hospital. To investigate improvement in precision oncology, we evaluated and compared the proportion of cases receiving matched treatments according to CGP results and those recommended to receive genetic counseling at all core hospitals between the first period (11 hospitals, June 2019 to January 2020) and second period (12 hospitals, February 2020 to January 2021). A total of 754 and 2294 cases underwent CGP tests at core hospitals in the first and second periods, respectively; 28 (3.7%) and 176 (7.7%) patients received matched treatments (p 0.001). Additionally, 25 (3.3%) and 237 (10.3%) cases were recommended to receive genetic counseling in the first and second periods, respectively (p 0.001). The proportion was associated with the type of CGP test: tumor-only (N = 2391) vs. tumor-normal paired (N = 657) analysis (10.0% vs. 3.5%). These results suggest that recommendations regarding available clinical trials in networked MTBs might contribute to increasing the numbers of matched treatments, and that tumor-normal paired rather than tumor-only tests can increase the efficiency of patient referrals for genetic counseling.

Posttransplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) is associated with a low incidence of chronic graft -versus-host disease (cGVHD) following hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation. Previous studies have shown the important roles of B cell immunity in cGVHD development. Here, we investigated the long-term reconstitution of B lymphopoiesis after PTCy using murine models. We first demonstrated that the immune homeostatic abnormality leading to cGVHD is characterized by an initial increase in effector T cells in the bone marrow and subsequent B and Treg cytopenia. PTCy, but not cyclosporine A or rapamycin, inhibits the initial alloreactive T cell response, which restores intra-bone marrow B lymphogenesis with a concomitant vigorous increase in Tregs. This leads to profound changes in posttransplant B cell homeostasis, including decreased B cell activating factors, increased transitional and regulatory B cells, and decreased germinal center B cells. To identify the cells responsible for PTCy-induced B cell tolerance, we selectively depleted Treg populations that were graft or HSC derived using DEREG mice. Deletion of either Treg population without PTCy resulted in critical B cytopenia. PTCy rescued B lymphopoiesis from graft-derived Treg deletion. In contrast, the negative effect of HSC-derived Treg deletion could not be overcome by PTCy, indicating that HSC-derived Tregs are essential for maintaining favorable B lymphopoiesis following PTCy. These findings define the mechanisms by which PTCy restores homeostasis of the B cell lineage and reestablishes immune tolerance.

Patients with primary intestinal follicular lymphoma are often followed-up without a specific treatment, and this approach is called the “watch-and-wait approach.” However, the long-term outcomes of this patient group have not been sufficiently investigated. We enrolled patients with primary intestinal follicular lymphoma who were diagnosed before 2016 and managed with the watch-and-wait approach in 20 institutions. We retrospectively investigated the overall, disease-specific, and event-free survival rates as well as the rate of spontaneous regression. Among the 248 patients with follicular lymphoma with gastrointestinal involvement, 124 had localized disease (stage I or II1). We analyzed the data of 73 patients who were managed using the watch-and-wait approach. During the mean follow-up period of 8.3 years, the follicular lymphoma had spontaneously resolved in 16.4% of the patients. The 5-year and 10-year overall survival rates were 92.9% and 87.1%, respectively. With disease progression (n = 7), initiation of therapy (n = 7), and histologic transformation to aggressive lymphoma (n = 0) defined as events, the 5-year and 10-year event-free survival rates were 91.1% and 86.9%, respectively. No patient died of progressive lymphoma. Thus, both 5-year and 10-year disease-specific survival rates were 100%. In conclusion, an indolent long-term clinical course was confirmed in the patients with primary intestinal follicular lymphoma. The watch-and-wait strategy is a reasonable approach for the initial management of these patients.

Prognostic values of MHC expression

IHC antibodies and cell line information

Supplementary Figure S1. Crebbp deficiency results in accelerated germinal center derived B-cell lymphoma development in mice. Supplementary Figure S2. Ep300 deficiency results in accelerated germinal center derived B-cell lymphoma development in mice. Supplementary Figure S3. Western blots showing the knockdown efficiency of shRNAs against human CREBBP in human DLBCL MD901 cells and H3K27ac reduction in MD901 cells transduced with shRNAs against human CREBBP, and stacked bar plot showing the genome-wide distribution of CREBBP ChIPseq peaks in OCI-Ly7 cells. Supplementary Figure S4. GSEA enrichment plots showing correlation of genes with >25% loss of H3K27ac at enhancers in VavP-Bcl2/shCrebbp tumours with ranked expression change between B220+ lymphoma cells from VavP-Bcl2/shCrebbp tumours (n=3) and VavP-Bcl2/GFP tumours (n=3). NES, normalized enrichment score. Supplementary Figure S5. Venn diagram showing the overlap of H3K4me2+H3K4me3-H3K27ac+ (active enhancer) peaks between human tonsilar IgD+ Naïve B cells (NBs) and CD77+ germinal center B cells (GCBs). Supplementary Figure S6. Pathway analysis of down-regulated genes in top 500 differentially expressed genes between murine VavP-Bcl2/shCrebbp tumours and VavP-Bcl2/GFP tumours (left panel), or between CREBBP knockdown and scramble control human DLBLC MD901 cells (right panel). Supplementary Figure S7. Pathway analysis of genes with > 25% reduction of H3K27ac reads at promoters in murine VavP-Bcl2/shCrebbp tumors. Supplementary Figure S8. UCSC read-density tracks of normalized BCL6 (purple) and SMRT (orange) ChIP-seq reads in human tonsilar GCBs, H3K27ac ChIP-seq reads in human tonsilar NBCs (red) and GCBs (blue), and H3K27ac ChIP-seq in control scramble (Scr, green) and CREBBP KD (shCREBBP, turquoise) MD901 cells at the human CIITA and CD74 loci. BCL6 and SMRT peaks determined by MACS2 are indicated by grey bars under the read density track. Supplementary Figure S9. Stacked bar plots showing the frequencies of CREBBP somatic mutations in two cohorts of FL and one cohort of DLBCL primary patient samples. Supplementary Figure S10. The proportions of the Up (up-regulated) and Down (down-regulated) genes in the top 100, 500, and 1000 most differentially expressed genes of the respective cohorts profiled in Figure 3. Supplementary Figure S11. Representative flow cytometry analysis for FAS and GL7 of whole spleens from NS-DAD wild type (wt) or mutant (mut) animals. Supplementary Figure S12. Western blots showing the knockdown efficiency of shRNAs against human HDAC3 in DLBCL cell lines OCI-Ly7 and MD901 120 hr after induction of shRNA expression. The amount of HDAC3 was quantified by using ImageJ, and the ratio of shRNA knockdown samples and the control shLuc sample was indicated below the blots. Supplementary Figure S13. BCL6 and HDAC3 ChIP-qPCR at enhancers of CD74 or HLA-DOA (primer sequences please check Supplementary Table S12) in OCI-Ly1 cells transfected with either non-target siRNA (siNT) or BCL6 siRNA (siBCL6). Supplementary Figure S14. Quantification of HLA-DR measured by flow cytometry in shCREBBP or scramble transduced lymphoma cells MD901 and OCI-Ly18 in a second biological replicate experiment.

A list of CREBBP mutations in cohorts 1 and 2.

Supplementary Methods, Figures and Legends

Genetic backgrounds of MHC deficient cases

Genetic analysis in the MHC-I/II double-positive cases

We performed a genomic, transcriptomic, and immunophenotypic study of 347 patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) to uncover the molecular basis underlying acquired deficiency of MHC expression. Low MHC-II expression defines tumors originating from the centroblast-rich dark zone of the germinal center (GC) that was associated with inferior prognosis. MHC-II–deficient tumors were characterized by somatically acquired gene mutations reducing MHC-II expression and a lower amount of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. In particular, we demonstrated a strong enrichment of EZH2 mutations in both MHC-I– and MHC-II–negative primary lymphomas, and observed reduced MHC expression and T-cell infiltrates in murine lymphoma models expressing mutant Ezh2Y641. Of clinical relevance, EZH2 inhibitors significantly restored MHC expression in EZH2-mutated human DLBCL cell lines. Hence, our findings suggest a tumor progression model of acquired immune escape in GC-derived lymphomas and pave the way for development of complementary therapeutic approaches combining immunotherapy with epigenetic reprogramming.Significance:We demonstrate how MHC-deficient lymphoid tumors evolve in a cell-of-origin–specific context. Specifically, EZH2 mutations were identified as a genetic mechanism underlying acquired MHC deficiency. The paradigmatic restoration of MHC expression by EZH2 inhibitors provides the rationale for synergistic therapies combining immunotherapies with epigenetic reprogramming to enhance tumor recognition and elimination.See related commentary by Velcheti et al., p. 472.This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 453

EZH2 mutation data

All the enriched pathways in various analyses.

A list of CREBBP mutations in cohort 3.

Gene expression analyses of clinical samples

All pathways used in pathway enrichment analysis.

Patient info for cohorts 1 and 2.

MHC expression status in the cohort

A list of primer sequences used in Figure 5.

Supplementary Data from An Imaging-Based Rapid Evaluation Method for Complement-Dependent Cytotoxicity Discriminated Clinical Response to Rituximab-Containing Chemotherapy

Purpose: Rituximab has greatly improved the efficacy of chemotherapy regimens for CD20-positive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. However, although several mechanisms of action of rituximab have been identified, the exact therapeutic functions of these mechanisms remains to be clarified. In addition, there is no established prognostic marker to predict an individual response. This study verified the validity of ex vivo complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) susceptibility as a predictor of pathologic tumor regression in patients undergoing rituximab-containing chemotherapy and examined whether CDC contributes to the mechanism of action of rituximab.Experimental Design: A rapid assay system was established to evaluate the tumoricidal activity of rituximab using a living cell–imaging technique. We analyzed lymph node biopsies obtained from 234 patients with suspected lymphomas and estimated the association between CDC susceptibility and the response to rituximab-containing chemotherapy in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and follicular lymphoma.Results: This study revealed that CDC susceptibility of lymphoma cells freshly obtained from patients was strongly associated with response to rituximab-containing chemotherapy in both diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and follicular lymphoma. This correlation was not apparent in cases that received chemotherapy without rituximab.Conclusions: The system that we have established allows a successful assessment of rituximab-induced CDC and can distinguish cases refractory to rituximab-containing chemotherapy. The association between CDC susceptibility and therapy response suggests that CDC is pivotal in the ability of chemotherapy including rituximab to induce remission.

A 72-year-old man presented with chorea while undergoing treatment for recurrence of nodal peripheral T-cell lymphoma with T follicular helper (TFH) phenotype. An examination by brain N-isopropyl-p-iodoamphetamine (I-123-IMP)-single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) revealed no abnormalities other than a decreased cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the left striatum. After four courses of salvage chemotherapy, his clinical symptoms and asymmetric cerebral perfusion improved, suggesting that the decreased CBF had caused chorea. The significance of brain SPECT has not been fully clarified in patients with chorea-associated malignant lymphoma, warranting further investigations. Brain SPECT is an alternative approach to identify abnormalities in such patients.

A bloodstream infection (BSI) is the most common serious infectious complication of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). BSI promotes an inflammatory state, which exacerbates acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). We investigated whether a Gram-negative rod bloodstream infection (GNR-BSI), which develops early after allo-HSCT, affected the onset or exacerbated acute GVHD in 465 patients who underwent allo-HSCT from 1995 through 2015 at a single institution. Eighty-eight patients (19%) developed BSI during the study period. Among the cultures, 50 (57%) were Gram-positive cocci (GPC) and 31 (35%) were GNR. Of the 465 patients, 187 (40%) developed acute GVHD of grade II or higher within the first 100 days post-allogeneic HSCT: 124 (27%) had acute GVHD grade II, 47 (10%) had grade III, and 16 (3%) had grade IV. Multivariate analysis revealed that GNR-BSI was a significant risk factor for grade II-IV acute GVHD (grade II-IV: hazard ratio [HR] 1.75, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03-2.97; grade III-IV: HR 2.37, 95% CI 1.03-5.43). These results suggest that GNR-BSI may predict the onset and exacerbation of acute GVHD.

Secretory carcinoma of the skin is an extremely rare adnexal tumor, histopathologically identical to homologous lesions in the salivary glands and breast tissue. Although this tumor was previously reported as indolent, we report a case of secretory carcinoma of the skin with metastases and recurrence. The patient, a 31-year-old women, had a subcutaneous mass in the right axilla. The resected specimen contained a circumscribed mass, with proliferating tumor cells that exhibited prominent nucleoli. They exhibited glandular and papillary growth patterns and there were amphophilic secretions in the glands. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells were positive for mammaglobin and S100. The tumor was surrounded by sweat glands and there was no mammary glandular tissue, suggesting that it was derived from axillary sweat glands. Accordingly, we made a diagnosis of secretory carcinoma of the skin. Four years after the operation, there were metastases in both lungs. The resected specimen revealed a tumor identical to that of the original skin tumor. Next-generation sequencing-based multiplex gene assay performed on the metastatic tissue revealed an ETV6-NTRK3 fusion gene. This is a rare case report of secretory carcinoma of the skin with lymph node metastases and recurrence in both lungs.

This multicenter, open‐label, phase I study assessed the safety and antitumor activity of acalabrutinib in Japanese patients with relapsed/refractory (r/r) B‐cell malignancies. Parts 1 (dose confirmation) and 2 (dose expansion) of this three‐part study are reported. Treatment was a single dose of 100 mg acalabrutinib (day 1), followed by a washout period and then twice daily 100 mg acalabrutinib in part 1, or twice daily 100 mg acalabrutinib in part 2. Patients from parts 1 and 2 with r/r chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)/small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), and r/r mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) were assessed as r/r CLL/SLL and r/r MCL cohorts, respectively. Twenty‐five patients received treatment (part 1, n = 6). Median age was 71.0 years. Nine (one patient from part 1) and 13 (two patients from part 1) patients were included in the r/r CLL/SLL and r/r MCL cohorts, respectively. Treatment‐related adverse events (AEs) occurred in 88% of patients (grade ≥3, 36%); the most common were headache (28%) and purpura (24%), both grade 1/2. No AEs resulted in treatment discontinuation or death. Median duration of treatment was 31, 20, and 7 months for part 1, r/r CLL/SLL cohort, and r/r MCL cohort, respectively. Overall response rate (ORR) was 89% and 62% for the r/r CLL/SLL and r/r MCL cohorts, respectively. The median progression‐free survival (PFS) was not reached for the r/r CLL/SLL cohort and was 7 months for the r/r MCL cohort. Acalabrutinib (100 mg twice daily) was generally safe and well‐tolerated in adult Japanese patients with B‐cell malignancies., This phase I study assessed the safety and antitumor activity of acalabrutinib in Japanese patients with relapsed/refractory B‐cell malignancies. Twenty‐five patients received treatment, and adverse events occurred in 88% of patients; however, most were grade 1 or 2, and no adverse event resulted in treatment discontinuation. Acalabrutinib was generally safe and well‐tolerated in adult Japanese patients with B‐cell malignancies.

Non-infectious pulmonary complications (NIPCs) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) are associated with poor outcomes. It is important to maximize the effectiveness of primary treatment because secondary treatment has not been established. We analyzed data from 393 patients who underwent allogeneic HSCT during a 10-year period. Thirty-seven were diagnosed with NIPCs, which consisted of idiopathic pneumonia syndrome, bronchiolitis obliterans, and interstitial lung disease including cryptogenic organizing pneumonia. Among these, 18 died (Dead group) while 19 remained alive (Alive group) during the study period. The median time between NIPC diagnosis and first administration of ≥ 1 mg/kg/day corticosteroids (prednisolone dose equivalent) was significantly longer in the Dead group than the Alive group, at 9 days versus 4 days (p = 0.01). We further divided these cases into those who received prednisolone within seven days and after 8 days. We found that the ≤ 7 days group were more likely to survive after their NIPC diagnosis compared to the ≥ 8 days group (p = 0.06). Our analysis showed that early initiation of corticosteroid therapy is associated with long-term survival in NIPCs.

For pediatric recipients, red blood cells (RBCs) are added to bone marrow (BM) collections before low RBC volume BM processing using COBE Spectra (COBE) or Spectra Optia (Optia). However, the processing efficiency of this approach has not been evaluated. This study aimed to evaluate RBC depletion and nucleated cell subpopulation recovery rates in third-party RBC-manipulated BM products processed with the COBE or Optia.We retrospectively collected data on RBC depletion from low RBC volume BM with third-party RBCs (manipulated group) and on conventional large-volume, BM (unmanipulated group) processing performed between September 2010 and December 2021. All procedures were performed using COBE or Optia.The median residual RBC volume in the manipulated group was 9.5 ml in COBE and 2.5 ml in Optia (p = .01). The median total nucleated cell (TNC) and mononuclear cell (MNC) were comparable between the manipulated groups using each cell separator (TNC, 40.8 vs. 47.1%; MNC, 78.3 vs. 79.4%). The manipulation did not adversely affect TNC and MNC recoveries in either device. In addition, Optia achieved similar CD34The addition of third-party RBC to low RBC volume BM collections from or for pediatric patients does not have any negative impact on either RBC depletion or hematopoietic cell recovery during processing with the widely used cell separator.

The diagnostic criteria for IgG4-related disease were previously published and serum IgG4 measurement has been reimbursed by national health insurance in Japan since 2012. Eight patients diagnosed with IgG4-related disease based on lacrimal gland masses were retrospectively reviewed. The 8 patients were 3 men and 5 women ranging in age from 52 to 77 (median, 63) years at the initial visit and their follow-up period ranged from 0.25 to 11 (median, 7) years. Bilateral and unilateral involvement were noted in 4 patients each; 2 on the right side and 2 on the left side in those with unilateral involvement. Serum IgG4 was high in 5 of 8 patients at the initial visit. Five patients with no systemic signs were followed without treatment, whereas oral steroids were administered and tapered in the other 3 patients who exhibited systemic signs. One patient with a history of radiation for MALT lymphoma in bilateral lacrimal glands developed IgG4-related disease in the left lacrimal gland 10 years later and was followed without treatment. Nine years later, her serum IgG4 level increased to 1500 mg/dL and paracardiac lesions, found on positron emission tomography, were confirmed to be MALT lymphoma by needle biopsy, leading to systemic chemotherapy. The other 7 patients had neither local recurrence nor additional systemic signs. Serum IgG4 monitoring may be useful to detect systemic complications in IgG4-related ophthalmic disease and markedly high serum IgG4 levels may indicate new lymphoma at other sites.

Background Since June 2019, cancer genomic profiling (CGP) tests have been reimbursed by the National Health Insurance system in Japan, with restrictions for government-designated hospitals with a molecular tumor board composed of multidisciplinary specialists, known as an expert panel (EP). The standardization of EPs is a critical challenge for implementing precision oncology in the clinical setting. Methods Data on consecutive cases who underwent the CGP tests at 11 core hospitals between June 2019 and January 2020 were collected. We evaluated the proportions of cases that received genomically matched treatments, including investigational new drugs (INDs) based on CGP results, and/or for which genetic counseling was recommended. Two simulated cases were annotated by each EP. The annotated reports were then centrally assessed. Results Each EP mainly discussed the applicability to genomically matched treatments and the necessity of performing genetic counseling. A pre-review of the report by key members in each EP reportedly made the EP conference more interactive and efficient, and thereby saved time. A total of 747 cases underwent CGP tests, 28 cases (3.7%) received genomically matched treatment, and 17 cases (2.3%) were referred for genetic counseling. Annotated reports for the simulated cases varied across the EPs, particularly the number of recommended IND trials, which seemed to be associated with the actual number of participants in IND trials. Conclusions This investigation provides reference data for the application of precision oncology in a clinical setting. Further investigations on the standardization of clinical annotations are warranted.

We herein report four patients with desquamative esophagitis that developed one to nine days after peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT). Three patients underwent allogeneic PBSCT for leukemia, and the other underwent autologous PBSCT for pineoblastoma. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed mucosal sloughing and fresh blood in the esophagus. Fasting and intravenous proton pump inhibitor therapy in addition to blood transfusion improved the esophageal lesions within five to seven days in three patients. These cases indicate that desquamative esophagitis can occur in patients who receive hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Although blood transfusions may be required, it can be resolved within seven days.

Breast involvement of Adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma (ATLL) is extremely rare, and the data on the characteristics are limited. We herein describe a 49-year-old woman who presented with skin involvement of ATLL. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography showed bilateral breast lesions. Although the patient once achieved a complete metabolic response, a relapse of her ATLL occurred. The patient received subsequent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). To our knowledge, only four cases of ATLL with breast involvement have previously been reported, and the prognoses have generally been poor. Breast lesions of ATLL have aggressive features, and intensive systemic chemotherapy and HSCT are required to improve survival.

IgG4-producing marginal zone B-cell lymphomas (MZLs) have been recently proposed as a subtype of MZLs. Despite the abundant literature on pathophysiological features of this type of lymphoma, only a few retrospective studies pertaining to the treatment outcomes have been reported, and its prognosis remains unclear. We retrospectively analyzed seven patients with IgG4-producing MZLs diagnosed at our institute, with specific reference to treatment and outcomes. The median age was 69.0 years (55–79), and all were males. The median follow-up period was 66.6 months (8–121). All patients had localized disease; four patients had tumors of the ocular adnexa, whereas two had retroperitoneal tumors. Five patients were treated with irradiation (30 Gy/15 fr) (n = 4) or surgery (n = 1), resulting in tumor reduction. Two patients were treated by chemotherapy or irradiation. Among them, one commenced rituximab monotherapy, which led to an inadequate reduction of the tumor. Subsequent irradiation induced complete response (CR). The other patient experienced repeated relapses during follow-up and finally achieved CR by combination chemotherapy. Treatment was well tolerated in all cases, and none of the patients showed disease progression at the last follow-up visit. Our results indicate that the standard treatments for MZLs are generally appropriate for IgG4-producing MZL.

CD34We retrospectively collected the data from 147 consecutive apheresis procedures across 106 healthy donors and 27 patients completed between July 2016 and December 2020 at the Okayama University Hospital. All procedures were performed using the Optia cMNC protocol.The median CD34These data revealed the negative impact of low hematocrit on the efficiency of CD34

Progression-free survival in patients with untreated follicular lymphoma (FL) has significantly improved with obinutuzumab plus chemotherapy followed by obinutuzumab maintenance, compared with rituximab plus chemotherapy. However, the survival outcome and adverse event profile in Japanese FL patients treated with obinutuzumab plus bendamustine (GB) therapy are not well investigated. Recently, we encountered some cases of grade 3-4 thrombocytopenia during GB therapy in patients with FL. This retrospective multicenter survey aimed to identify the characteristics of patients who received GB therapy and developed thrombocytopenia. A total of 54 patients with FL treated by GB therapy between August 2018 and December 2020 were investigated. After a median follow-up of 12.6 months, thrombocytopenia of any grade was observed in 48 (88.9%) patients, including 9 (16.7%) patients with grade 3-4 thrombocytopenia. Notably, although eight of nine patients with grade 3-4 thrombocytopenia were female, no patient characteristics (including gender) were significantly associated with grade 3-4 thrombocytopenia. Importantly, grade 3-4 thrombocytopenia frequently occurred in the first GB therapy cycle, which suggests that platelet count should be monitored carefully in patients who have just started GB therapy.