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In this article, the authors focus on the development of MLL/AF4 transgenic mice in order to reflect acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with MLL/AF4 gene fusion of human beings. They inform that the transgenic mice will be helpful in studying leukemogenesis for developing therapies for ALL. They mention that the transgenic mice showed hepatosplenomegaly.

Background: Because peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) collection places a burden on the patient and should ideally be completed in a single procedure, a convenient clinical predictive factor is needed. Methods: This retrospective study included 72 patients who underwent autologous PBSC collection. A median volume of 3.9 × 106 CD34-positive cells/kg (range: 0.3-47.4 × 106 cells/kg) was collected on the first day. We defined failure as inability to collect 2.0 × 106 cells/kg on the first day. PBSC collection was classified as failed (n = 25, 34.7%) and successful (n = 47, 65.3%), and patient clinical characteristics were analyzed. Results: The success group had significantly more cases in which a differential white blood cell count in peripheral blood on the day of PBSC collection detected promyelocytes (n = 34 [72.3%] vs. n = 11 [44.0%] in the failure group; P = 0.008). Sixty-two patients underwent autologous PBSC transplantation (median number of transplanted cells, 5.6 × 106/µL; range: 1.60-47.4 × 106 cells/µL). Among transplanted patients, the success and failure groups did not significantly differ in relation to the interval until neutrophil, platelet, or red blood cell engraftment. Conclusion: The presence of promyelocytes in peripheral blood may be a useful indicator of the optimal timing for single-step PBSC collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Because peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) collection places a burden on the patient and should ideally be completed in a single procedure, a convenient clinical predictive factor is needed. Methods: This retrospective study included 72 patients who underwent autologous PBSC collection. A median volume of 3.9 × 106 CD34-positive cells/kg (range: 0.3-47.4 × 106 cells/kg) was collected on the first day. We defined failure as inability to collect 2.0 × 106 cells/kg on the first day. PBSC collection was classified as failed (n = 25, 34.7%) and successful (n = 47, 65.3%), and patient clinical characteristics were analyzed. Results: The success group had significantly more cases in which a differential white blood cell count in peripheral blood on the day of PBSC collection detected promyelocytes (n = 34 [72.3%] vs. n = 11 [44.0%] in the failure group; P = 0.008). Sixty-two patients underwent autologous PBSC transplantation (median number of transplanted cells, 5.6 × 106/µL; range: 1.60-47.4 × 106 cells/µL). Among transplanted patients, the success and failure groups did not significantly differ in relation to the interval until neutrophil, platelet, or red blood cell engraftment. Conclusion: The presence of promyelocytes in peripheral blood may be a useful indicator of the optimal timing for single-step PBSC collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Because the cause of liver dysfunction after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is difficult to identify in the early stages, treatment may be delayed. Therefore, early factors associated with unfavorable outcomes of liver dysfunction must be identified. The objective of this study was to identify unfavorable prognostic factors for liver dysfunction during the early period after transplantation.///Methods: We defined liver dysfunction as elevated liver or biliary enzyme levels (corresponding to Grade 2 in the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4.0) within 30 days of transplantation and retrospectively investigated data from 82 patients who had undergone allogeneic HSCT at our center.///Results: Elevated liver or biliary enzyme levels were observed in almost half of the patients studied (n= 40, 48.7%). Elevated total bilirubin (T-Bil) level was the most frequently observed unfavorable prognostic factor and had the greatest effect on overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and nonrelapse mortality (NRM) (probability of unfavorable outcome in patients without and with elevated TBil level: OS, 58.9% vs. 15.4%, p < 0.001; PFS, 46.4% vs. 15.4%, p < 0.001; NRM, 10.7% vs. 53.8%, p < 0.001). Moreover, the probability of an unfavorable outcome increased in relation to the degree of T-Bil elevation and absence of improvement over time in T-Bil level.///Conclusion: Elevated T-Bil level was an important marker of outcomes for liver dysfunction after allogeneic HSCT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In patients with hematologic malignancies, acute kidney injury (AKI) is the most common kidney complication requiring nephrologist consultation. Although the causes of AKI are multifactorial, primary tumor infiltration is rare in patients with acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML). This makes it challenging to determine the cause of AKI and the optimal chemotherapy regimen for AML. We describe two cases of AML (French-American-British classification: M2, M4) in patients with AKI requiring hemodialysis. We successfully identified the cause of AKI as primary leukemic infiltration and started induction chemotherapy in the setting of hemodialysis. This treatment significantly improved renal function and resulted in AML remission. In this report, we describe several clinical characteristics of AKI due to primary tumor infiltration. In addition, we emphasize the importance of onconephrology, a new subspecialty concerned with the complex relationship between the kidneys and cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 73-year-old man presented with right lower back pain and dysuria. Right hydronephrosis and a large pelvic large mass were seen on computed tomography (CT). Although his prostate-specific antigen (PSA) was 0.5 ng/mL, an irregularly enlarged, stony, hard prostate was palpable on digital rectal examination. A prostate tumor was suspected, and a transrectal prostate biopsy and right transurethral ureteral stent placement were performed. Histological and immunohistochemical studies revealed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Positron emission tomography-computed tomography showed abnormal uptake in the stomach, cecum, right obturator lymph nodes, para-aortic lymph nodes, and dorsal left kidney. No abnormal findings were seen on bone marrow histology. Clinical stage IVA was confirmed according to Ann Arbor criteria. The patient achieved a complete response after 8 cycles of combination chemotherapy with rituximab, pirarubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisolone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a case of the extremely rare condition Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive T-cell lymphoproliferative disease (LPD) which occurred after umbilical cord blood transplantation. A 25-year-old Japanese man underwent cord blood transplantation from a male human leukocyte antigen 4/6-matched donor due to acute myeloid leukemia with trisomy 8. Bone marrow examination on day 30 showed chimerism with at least 90% donor cells and complete hematological response. Chronic symptoms of graft-versushost disease appeared only on the skin and were successfully treated with cyclosporine alone. Three years later, however, the patient experienced repeated cold-like symptoms and was hospitalized with liver dysfunction. A high fever developed and was followed by significant edema of the right side of the face. The EBV DNA copy number in whole peripheral blood was 2×104/mL. Liver biopsy showed invasion of EBV-infected CD8-positive T cells. Southern blotting analysis of the whole peripheral blood showed that the T-cell receptor Câ1 rearrangement was positive. On the basis of these results, EBV-positive T-cell LPD was diagnosed and treated with prednisolone, cyclosporine, and etoposide, followed by cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone. However, the patient died of cardiac function failure, pneumonia, and pulmonary hemorrhage, all of unidentified cause. Most cases of EBVrelated LPD after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation consist of EBV-positive B-cell LPD, and, to our knowledge, de novo EBV-positive T-cell LPD subsequent to transplantation has not been previously reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]