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Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most frequent B cell malignancy in Caucasian adults. The therapeutic armamentarium against this incurable disease has recently seen a tremendous expansion with the introduction of specific pathway inhibitors and innovative immunotherapy. However, none of these approaches is curative and devoid of side effects. We have used B-cell-specific antibodies conjugated with antigens (AgAbs) of the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) to efficiently expand memory CD4+cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) that recognized viral epitopes in 12 treatment-naive patients with CLL. The AgAbs carried fragments from the EBNA3C EBV protein that is recognized by the large majority of the population. All CLL cells pulsed with EBNA3C–AgAbs elicited EBV-specific T cell responses, although the intensity varied across the patient collective. Interestingly, a large proportion of the EBV-specific CD4+T cells expressed granzyme B (GrB), perforin, and CD107a, and killed CLL cells loaded with EBV antigens with high efficiency in the large majority of patients. The encouraging results from this preclinical ex vivo study suggest that AgAbs have the potential to redirect immune responses toward CLL cells in a high percentage of patients in vivo and warrant the inception of clinical trials.

Patients with cancer who require a kidney transplant often face a prolonged time on the waiting list to ensure a sufficient relapse-free time. Patients and relatives were invited to the patient assessment service where they get an individualized risk assessment and a recommendation for transplantation and waiting period directly from an expert panel. We investigated in 31 patients who filled out questionnaires concerning depression, anxiety, distress, and quality of life and were interviewed for their satisfaction, experiences, and circumstances of the counseling. In 12 (39%) of the 31 patients, a recommendation for transplantation could be made, although the regular waiting period was not yet achieved. The assessment service was received as very good or good by 22 (79%) of 28 patients. We found no relevant differences in patients with regular and shortened waiting time. An interdisciplinary assessment service is a valuable instrument to help with a decision-making between 2 life-threatening conditions.

Plasmablastic posttransplant lymphoma is a rare subtype of monomorphic B-cell posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD). There is little published clinical data to guide treatment.

Unternehmensbewertungen erscheinen geeignet, um sie bei Genossenschaftsverschmelzungen sowohl zur exante Beurteilung einer Verschmelzungsstrategie als auch insbesondere zur Ableitung eines im Sinne des Umwandlungsgesetzes als angemessen einzustufenden Umtauschverhältnisses einzusetzen. Denn über die Bildung wertbasierter Umtauschverhältnisse können vermögensmäßige Konsequenzen eines Zusammenschlusses für die Mitglieder offen gelegt und damit eine unwissentliche, vermögensmäßige Schlechterstellung vermieden werden.

Primary CNS Lymphoma (PCNSL) with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) histology occurring after organ transplantation (EBV+ PCNSL-PTLD) is characterized by extremely poor outcome, almost universal EBV-positivity and late presentation relative to systemic PTLD (Fink, AJT 2012; Evens, AJT 2013). However, as the incidence is low and biopsy material limited, characterization of its immunobiology is minimal. Furthermore, there is no comparative data with EBV+ DLBCL occurring as systemic PTLD (EBV+ syDLBCL-PTLD), or with EBV-ve DLBCL in the non-PTLD setting occurring either as PCNSL (EBV-ve PCSNL) or systemically (EBV-ve syDLBCL).