Search

We recently published a study aiming to verify the frequency of amyloid deposits in the bone marrow of patients with multiple myeloma (MM) who did not present any signs or symptoms of systemic amyloidosis, applying the Congo red technique on bone marrow smears obtained by aspiration from the posterior iliac spine. The results suggested that nearly 40% of patients affected by MM may have amyloid deposits in their bone marrow. Subsequently, this finding has not been confirmed by another study performed with histological specimens of bone marrow in a similar clinical setting. To explain this discrepancy, we performed a comparative study on the bone marrows of 36 patients affected by MM, evaluated by both cytological and histological techniques. The results of this study confirm the high frequency of amyloid deposits in the bone marrow of patients affected by MM when the analysis is made on cytological smears, and indicate that the presence of amyloid on marrow smears is confirmed by core biopsies simultaneously performed in only 25% of cases. Should further studies confirm our findings, cytological assessment could be considered a sensitive technique to detect bone marrow amyloid deposits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because the lymphatic tissue of progressive transformation of germinal centers (PTGC) expresses CD20, rituximab treatment may prevent transformation to lymphoma of this rather atypical entity. We prospectively evaluated the efficacy of immunotherapy with rituximab (375 mg/m2 i.v. weekly for 4 consecutive weeks, followed by a single i.v. infusion of 375 mg/m2 every 3 months for 2 consecutive years) in 48 patients with biopsy-proven PTGC after Hodgkin lymphoma in complete remission post-induction therapy (4-6 courses of anthracycline-containing chemotherapy with radiotherapy). The event-free survival (EFS) of this series was compared with that of a historical cohort of 48 patients with PTGC developing after Hodgkin lymphoma in complete remission post-induction therapy, who underwent observation. At a median follow-up of 40 months, histology showed a malignancy in 27% of patients in the observation group (Hodgkin lymphoma, 13 patients) and in 2% of patients in the rituximab-protected group (non-Hodgkin lymphoma, one patient) ( p ∼ 0.001). Rituximab was well tolerated in all treated patients. All relapses in the group not protected by immunotherapy involved the PTGC regions and non-contiguous nodal sites, which suggests that PTGC is a reservoir for malignant transformation and dissemination. The number needed to treat with rituximab to avoid one Hodgkin lymphoma relapse was four. Our study shows that prophylaxis with rituximab helps improve EFS in patients with PTGC and a history of Hodgkin lymphoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the efficacy of etoposide and idarubicin in a modified CHOP-like regimen for aggressive non-hodgkin's lymphomas. Use of five drug regimen to potentiate the CHOP protocol; Absence of organ toxicity; Patient tolerance and antitumor potency of the regimen.