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Published data on transplantation in Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (WM) are still limited. We present a retrospective multicentric study of 27 WM patients who underwent 19 autologous (median age, 54 years) and 10 allogeneic (median age, 46 years) transplantations. Median time between diagnosis and transplantation was 36 months; 66% of patients had received three or more treatment lines and 72 % had chemosensitive disease. High-dose therapy (HDT) and autologous transplantation induced a 95% response rate (RR), including 10 major responses. With a median follow-up of 18 months, 12 patients are alive at 10 to 81 months and eight are free of disease progression at 10 to 34 months. The toxic mortality rate (TRM) was 6%. Allogeneic transplantation was preceded by HDT in nine patients and by a nonmyeloablative regimen in one patient. The RR was 80%, including seven major responses. With a median follow-up of 20.5 months, six patients are alive and free of progression at 3 to 76 months. Four patients died, all from toxicity, resulting in a TRM of 40%. HDT followed by autologous transplantation is feasible in WM, even in heavily pretreated patients, with some prolonged responses but a high relapse rate. Conversely, allogeneic transplantation is more toxic, but likely induces a graft-versus-WM effect and may, for some patients, result in long-term disease control.

Although the number of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) cases continues to grow throughout the world, orbital NHL is still a rare tumor that is difficult to diagnose. The objective of our study was to analyze the different orbital NHLs diagnosed in our Ophthalmology Department during the last 20 years.[corrected] We conducted a retrospective study of conjunctive-orbital lymphomas diagnosed in the Amiens Ophthalmology Department between 1982 and 2002. The pathological reports of 22 cases were investigated, notably the mode of onset, the clinical and radiological description, the diagnostic mode, pathological results, and the type of treatment provided for these tumors.Every NHL was type B. They were for the most part low grade in terms of malignancy, isolated, primitive, orbital and inactive.Insidious, slow-growing lesions are often found, and biopsy can be difficult. This may explain delayed diagnosis. The first differential diagnosis is inflammatory pseudotumor. Only a good biopsy can confirm the diagnosis of NHL.New immunohistochemistry and genetic diagnostic methods make it increasingly possible to screen for NHL, even if the clinical history can be misleading. Moreover, treatments that are more and more precisely targeted to the immunohistochemical type of NHL seem to be giving very promising results. Several studies are ongoing.

To report on an uncommon association of agranulocytosis in primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS).The clinical, haematological, and immunological features of seven patients with primary SS associated with a chronic (6 months) agranulocytosis, and the outcome of the patients, were analysed.Patients were white women with an unexplained agranulocytosis. They all had non-erosive arthritis and three had a thrombocytopenia or Evan's syndrome. In three patients, transient or durable expansion of T lymphocytes was present in the peripheral blood or in the bone marrow, but evolved independently from neutrophil counts. There was no paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria clone or antibodies to neutrophil surface antigens. In vitro bone marrow culture was normal (four patients) or showed a decrease in colony forming unit-granulocyte monocyte (CFU-GM) and colony forming unit-erythroblast (CFU-E) (one patient). Serum levels of soluble Fas ligand (sFasL) were normal, and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) concentrations were either normal or raised. One patient was treated with steroids associated with intravenous immunoglobulins and achieved a lasting response. Two other patients were treated with steroids and methotrexate, with poor efficacy. Short courses of subcutaneous G-CSF produced a transient and mild response in all three patients. Complete recovery of the neutrophils occurred temporarily during pregnancy in two patients. After a mean follow up of 34.8 months (range 6-139) all patients were alive and none developed serious infections.A subset of patients with primary SS and non-destructive arthritis may develop a chronic but well tolerated agranulocytosis that is usually poorly responsive to steroids and oral methotrexate.

Portal hypertension in chronic lymphocytic leukemia is rare. A 66 year-old man was admitted for splenomegaly, thrombopenia and cholestasis. Endoscopy showed esophageal varices. The hepatic venous pressure gradient was 15 mmHg. The liver biopsy showed dense leukemia cells in sinusoidal and portal sites. After splenectomy, the hepatic venous pressure gradient normalized, but esophageal varices and cholestasis persisted. The authors discuss the mechanisms of portal hypertension in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Previously reported cases are summarized.

The authors report on the cases of two adult male patients presenting with autoimmune cytopenias associated with malignancies: a case of autoimmune haemolytic anemia occurring after remission of Hodgkin's disease and a case of autoimmune neutropenia in the setting of renal carcinoma. High-dose intravenous immune globulins (IIG) administered after failure of corticosteroid therapy produced a rapid and long-lasting response. These cases illustrate that intravenous immunoglobulins may be helpful in refractory cases of autoimmune cytopenias. The association of IIG and corticosteroid could be synergistic and effective independently of the outcome of the underlying disease. The pathophysiogenic mechanisms and literature are discussed briefly.

We designed a randomized trial of IC with or without quinine, an agent capable of reverting the multidrug resistance (mdr) phenotype, in patients agedor = 65 years with high risk MDS. Patients were randomized to receive Mitoxantrone 12 mg/m2/d d2-5 + AraC 1 g/m2/12 h d1-5, with (Q+) or without (Q-) quinine (30 mg/kg/day). 131 patients were included. PGP expression analysis was successfully made in 91 patients and 42 patients (46%) had positive PGP expression. In PGP positive cases, 13 of the 25 (52%) patients who received quinine achieved CR, as compared to 3 of the 17 (18%) patients treated with chemotherapy alone (p = 0.02). In PGP negative cases, the CR rate was 35% and 49%, respectively in patients who received quinine or chemotherapy alone (difference not significant). In the 42 PGP positive patients, median Kaplan-Meier (KM) survival was 13 months in patients allocated to the quinine group, and 8 months in patients treated with chemotherapy alone (p = 0.01). In PGP negative patients, median KM survival was 14 months in patients allocated to the quinine group, and 14 months in patients treated with chemotherapy alone. Side effects of quinine mainly included vertigo and tinnitus that generally disappeared with dose reduction. Mucositis was significantly more frequently observed in the quinine group. No life threatening cardiac toxicity was observed. In conclusion, results of this randomized study show that quinine increases the CR rate and survival in PGP positive MDS cases treated with IC. The fact that quinine had no effect on the response rate and survival of PGP negative MDS suggests a specific effect on PGP mediated drug resistance rather than, for instance, a simple effect on the metabolism of Mitoxantrone and/or AraC.

All transretinoic acid (ATRA) followed by daunorubicin (DNR)-AraC chemotherapy (CT) has improved the outcome of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) by comparison to CT alone. In a randomized trial, (1) we compared 2 induction schedules (ATRA followed by CT [ATRA--CT] and ATRA plus CT [ATRA+CT, with CT added on day 3 of ATRA treatment]) and (2) we assessed the role of maintenance treatment. Four hundred thirteen patients/=75 years of age and with newly diagnosed APL were included. Induction treatment was stratified on white blood cell (WBC) count and age: patients/=65 years of age and with an initial WBC count of/=5,000/microL (n = 208) were randomized between ATRA--CT and ATRA+CT (initially randomized patients); patients with a WBC count greater than (high WBC count group, n = 163) and patients 66 to 75 years of age with a WBC count greater than 5,000/microL (elderly group, n = 42) were not initially randomized and received ATRA+CT from day 1 and ATRA --CT, respectively. All patients achieving CR received 2 additional DNR-AraC courses (only 1 in patients 66 to 75 years of age) and were then randomized for maintenance between no treatment, intermittent ATRA (15 days every 3 months) for 2 years, continuous low-dose CT (6 mercaptopurine + methotrexate) for 2 years, or both, using a 2-by-2 factorial design. Overall, 381 (92%) of the patients achieved complete remission (CR), 31 (7%) suffered an early death, and only 1 patient had leukemic resistance. ATRA syndrome occurred in 64 patients (15%) and was fatal in 5 cases. The CR rate was similar in all induction treatment groups. Event-free survival (EFS) was significantly lower in the high WBC group (P =.0002) and close to significance in the elderly group (P =.086) as compared with initially randomized patients. Relapse at 2 years was estimated at 6% in the ATRA+CT group, versus 16% in the ATRA--CT group (P =.04, relative risk [RR] =.41). EFS at 2 years was estimated at 84% in the ATRA+CT group, versus 77% in the ATRA--CT group (P =.1, RR =.62). Two hundred eighty-nine patients were randomized for maintenance. The 2-year relapse rate was 11% in patients randomized to continuous maintenance CT and 27% in patients randomized to no CT (P =.0002) and 13% in patients randomized to intermittent ATRA and 25% in patients randomized to no ATRA (P =.02). An additive effect of continuous maintenance CT and intermittent ATRA was seen, and only 6 of the 74 patients who received both maintenance treatments had relapsed. Overall survival was improved in patients who received maintenance CT (P =.01), and there was a trend for better survival in patients who received maintenance ATRA (P =.22). Our findings strongly suggest that early addition of chemotherapy to ATRA and maintenance therapy combining continuous CT and intermittent ATRA can reduce the incidence of relapse in APL. This effect already translates into significantly better survival for maintenance treatment with continuous CT.

Anxiety can increase the risk of chemotherapy related emesis. We have studied the role of a benzodiazepine (alprazolam: A) in addition to granisetron for controlling emesis in patients treated with moderately emetogenic chemotherapy for malignant lymphomas according to an anxiety scale (Covi score). Two hundred twenty-five patients receiving at least 3 cycles of chemotherapy including adriamycin and/or cyclophosphamide and/or epirubicin and/or dacarbazine were randomized. Patients in arm G (n = 111) received 3 mg i.v. granisetron 10 min before chemotherapy at cycles (C) 1, 2 and 3 while in arm G+A (n = 114), alprazolam (A) was added per os 1 mg 1 hour before chemotherapy (H-1) and 0.5 mg at H+6 for C1. At C2 and C3, A was given 0.75 or 1.5 mg at H-48, H-24, H-1 and 0.5 mg at H+6. Patients characteristics were comparable between the 2 arms. Complete response rates (i.e. no emesis or at least slight nausea) were similar in both arms: G: 83, 94 and 93% versus G+A: 89, 93 and 97% in C1, C2 and C3 respectively. Nevertheless, the Covi score of the population was low rendering difficult the study of the factor "anxiety". Somnolence was significantly more frequent in the G+A arm (p0.0001).

We reviewed 72 primary central nervous system lymphomas occurring in immunocompetent patients. The cases were reviewed for clinical data, histology, immunophenotype, bcl-2 and p53 expression, and Epstein-Barr virus association. Follow-up was available for 40 patients included in the Groupe Ouest Est d'étude des Leucénies et Autres Maladies du Sang (GOELAMS) lymphomes cérébraux primitifs (LCP 88) trial. Each diagnosis, requiring a consensus among at least 3 pathologists, was performed according to the recent Revised European-American Lymphoma classification and equivalents in the updated Kiel classification. Tumors were predominantly classified as diffuse large B-cell lymphomas. There were 3 T-cell lymphomas and 1 Hodgkin lymphoma. The proteins bcl-2 and p53 were expressed in 35% and 16% of the tested cases, respectively. Epstein-Barr virus was not found by in situ hybridization except in the case classfied as a cerebral localization of Hodgkin disease. No significant association was found between subtypes, bcl-2 or p53 expression, and patient survival. From the standpoint of their biologic characteristics, primary central nervous system lymphomas are very similar to systemic diffuse large B-cell lymphomas. In contrast to AIDS-related primary central nervous system lymphomas, primary central nervous system lymphomas are rarely associated with Epstein-Barr virus and in immunocompetent patients they express bcl-2 at a relatively low rate.

To determine whether chlorambucil treatment benefits patients with indolent chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), we conducted two randomized trials in 1535 patients with previously untreated stage A CLL.In the first trial, 609 patients were randomly assigned to receive either daily chlorambucil or no treatment; in the second trial, 926 patients were randomly assigned to receive either intermittent chlorambucil plus prednisone or no treatment. Median follow-up for the first and second trials exceeded 11 and 6 years, respectively. The end points were overall survival, response to treatment, and disease progression.Treatment of indolent CLL did not increase survival in either trial. In the treated group, as compared with the untreated group, the relative risk of death was 1.14 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.92 to 1.41; P=0.23) in the first trial and 0.96 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.75 to 1.23; P=0.74) in the second trial, with 76 percent and 69 percent of patients, respectively, having a response to therapy. Although chlorambucil slowed disease progression, there was no effect on overall survival. In the untreated group in the first trial, 49 percent of patients did not have progression to more advanced disease and did not need therapy after follow-up of more than 11 years; however, 27 percent of patients with stage A CLL died of causes related to the disease.Chlorambucil does not prolong survival in patients with stage A CLL. Since deferring therapy until the disease progresses to stage B or C does not compromise survival, treatment of indolent CLL is unnecessary.

The complete remission (CR) rate after intensive chemotherapy for acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) remains low in elderly patients, mainly because of a higher infectious mortality rate related to neutropenia and an increased incidence of adverse prognostic factors. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) has been shown to potentially recruit leukemic blasts into cell cycle and improve cytotoxic effects when given during chemotherapy, and to shorten the duration of neutropenia when administered after chemotherapy. Two hundred forty patients aged 55 to 75 years who had newly diagnosed AML were randomly assigned to receive placebo or Escherichia coli-derived GM-CSF (5 micrograms/kg/d by 6-hour intravenous infusion) starting during induction chemotherapy on day 1 and continued through and after chemotherapy until recovery of neutrophils, or evidence of regrowth of leukemia, or up to day 28. Induction chemotherapy consisted of idarubicin (8 mg/m2/d on days 1 to 5) and cytarabine (100 mg/m2/d on days 1 to 7). The study drug was not administered subsequent to the induction course. Patients who achieved a CR received continuous maintenance therapy for 1 year with four quarterly reinduction courses; in the 55- to 64-year age subgroup, patients were randomly assigned to receive or not a consolidation course before maintenance therapy. The CR rate was similar in the GM-CSF and placebo groups (63% and 60.5%, respectively; P = .79). The mortality, rate of resistant disease, and rate of regrowth of leukemia were also similar in both groups. The time to neutrophil recovery was shorter in patients who received GM-CSF (24 v 29 days; P = .0001), but the incidence and characteristics of infectious events were not different. The 2-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate was significantly improved in the GM-CSF group (48% v 21% in the placebo group; P = .003). This effect was highly significant in the cohort of patients aged 55 to 64, but only marginal in patients/=65 years of age. There was a trend toward a longer overall survival (OS) in the GM-CSF group (P = .082). In summary, the administration of GM-CSF, concomitantly with chemotherapy and thereafter during induction course in AML, shortened the time to neutrophil recovery, but did not improve the CR rate in patients aged 55 to 75. Nonetheless, DFS and OS were significantly prolonged in patients aged 55 to 64 treated with GM-CSF. These results are promising and further evaluation of myeloid growth factors in AML is warranted.

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is currently used for an increasing number of indications where an immune-medicated disorder is suspected. It is considered as a safe and efficacious treatment but several cases of severe acute renal failure (ARF) have been described since 1987. We report four cases of IVIG-induced ARF and the literature on the subject is reviewed. The chronological and semiological characteristics of this rare adverse effect are analysed. A sudden and marked increase of serum creatinine within the 2 to 4 days following institution of IVIG therapy, especially when the patient becomes oligo-anuric, is very suggestive of IVIG renal toxicity. The recovery of renal function is often obtained in 10 to 15 days after discontinuation of the drug. Histological changes are characterized by osmotic nephrosis injuries. Patients generally presented numerous risk factors such as over 65 years, particularly in men, pre-existing renal disease, long-standing diabetes mellitus or hypertension, volume depletion, quick infusion rate, body-weight adjustment of IVIG doses in fat subjects. The mechanism of renal injury remains speculative but an oncotic overloading of kidney probably occurs. These results indicate the need for research and investigation of risk factors before starting IVIG therapy. Close monitoring of serum creatinine and diuresis should be carried out during and after treatment.

In this article clinical and neuroradiological features from a cohort of 48 immunocompetent patients who have a histologically proved primary cerebral lymphoma are considered. Our series consisted of 27 men and 21 women with an average age of 59. The clinical results gave 73% patients with a focal deficit, 46% with deterioration of vigilance, 35% intracranial hypertension, and only 8% with epilepsy, which was never revealing. We observed 4 uveitis of which 3 revealed, and preceded by several months, the neuroradiological manifestations. Histological classification using the criterias of the Working Formulation showed that 92% of our patients had a large cell lymphoma (class G or H). Precise analysis of computed tomography features of 40 patients revealed 46 lesions (most of them were isodense) before contrast medium administration. In all the cases, the lesion enhancement was intense and homogeneous. In 50% of the cases, there were multiple lesions. Sixty lesions were of the supra tentorial compartment, lobar in 32 cases, deep in 28 cases. Fifteen were infratentorial. From our experience, we can put forward the following suggestions: 1) Neuroradiological aspects suggesting primary cerebral lymphomas exist but none of them are specific. 2) Research of an uveitis is important, as this makes the histological diagnosis more simple. 3)The prescription of corticosteroids should be delayed until the histological diagnosis is certain because the primary cerebral lymphoma, which is very corticosensitive, is likely to disappear with this treatment and then change the biopsy results.

Haemophagocytic syndrome is a heterogenous disease characterized by disordered macrophage activation associated with viral, bacterial or parasitic infection. The few reports of haemophagocytosis occurring in the presence of mycobacterial infection show a high mortality rate and we present two further cases notable for their favourable issue. Rapidity of diagnosis and immediate treatment could explain the avoidance of a fatal outcome.

The first cases of Hodgkin's disease (HD) associated with HIV infection were reported in 1984. Since then, short series of seropositive patients suffering from HD have been published. In order to identify the characteristics, treatment response and outcome of HIV-associated Hodgkin's disease (HIV-HD), the data of HIV-HD patients recorded between 1987 and 1989 were analysed and compared with those of primary HD patient and with those of HIV-associated non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (HIV-NHL), registered during the same period.The 45 cases of HD collected by the French registry of HIV-associated tumors between January 1987 and December 1989 were included in this study. All patients were clinically staged according to the Ann Arbor system. To compare HIV-HD characteristics with those of primary HD, we used a cohort of 407 patients with clinical stages (CS) IA to IVB, who were enrolled between September 1981 and August 1988 in a multicentric clinical trial. To identify the relationship between HIV-HD and the course of HIV infection we studied, when available, the routes of infection, initial CD4 cell count at the moment of HD diagnostic as well as the CDC class of HIV infection and compared these data with the same parameters observed in 142 HIV-NHL enrolled in the registry during the same period.HIV-HD is characterized by an increase in mixed-cellularity histology (49%), with a predominance of advanced stages (75%) and B symptoms (80%). A unique observation is made regarding mediastinal involvement, present in only 13% of HIV-HD (71% in primary HD). The HIV-HD/HIV-NHL ratio was significantly higher in intravenous drug abusers than in male homosexuals. Median CD4 cell count was 306/microliters at HIV-HD diagnosis, and only 11% of the cases were preceded by an AIDS manifestation. With standard therapy, 79% of the patients achieved complete remission, but hematological and infectious complications were very frequent. The progression to AIDS rate was 94% at two years and opportunistic infections were the most frequent cause of death. Overall two-year survival was 41% with 71% for patients with initial CD 4 cell counts higher than 300/microliter and 0% for those with CD4 cell counts lower than 300/microliter (P0.01).HIV-HD has a particular clinico-pathological profile when compared to primary HD, with a predominance of mixed-cellularity type, a high frequency of advanced stages and a high proportion of patients without mediastinal involvement. Moreover, HIV-HD seems to occur preferentially in the group of subjects infected by needle sharing. Standard HD therapy seems to be efficient but excessively toxic.

The authors report the case of a 66 year old man with a Boden stage I adenocarcinoma of the rete testis treated by orchiectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy. Lung metastases developed 46 months later and were responsible for death despite further chemotherapy. Adenocarcinoma of the rete testis is an exceptional tumour, as only 23 cases satisfying the criteria defined by Feek and Hunter have been reported in the literature. The prognosis is poor even in the apparently localized forms (5 year survival less than 25%) and local recurrences and lung and/or hepatic metastases are frequent. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy appear to have little value.

We report a case history of a woman of 66 years of age who had a granulocytic sarcoma of the cervix which presented as metrorrhagia and which at first was thought to be an anaplastic cancer. The poor general state of the patient made it impossible to start any anti-leukaemic treatment and the patient died two months after the diagnosis was made. A review of the literature shows that 62 cases of granulocytic sarcoma have been reported of which 22 were in the breast, 19 in the ovary, 13 in the cervix or the uterus, 6 in the vagina and 2 in the vulva. The cells seem to invade the blood and the bone marrow in all occasions by the time of diagnosis or at the most a few weeks later and cases of granulocytic solitary sarcoma are very rare. It blood has not been attacked it is difficult to make a histological diagnosis unless immunological marking and Giemsa staining is carried out together with Leder's reaction. The treatment should be similar to those used for acute myeloid leukaemia.

A new abnormal hemoglobin, Hb J Amiens beta 17 (A 14) Lys replaced by Asn, has been discovered during the exploration of a recent polycythemia in a 65-year-old patient of Spanish extraction. Oxygen affinity of washed red blood cells was found to be normal at pH 7.13 (P 50 = 30.0 mmHg, N = 29.5 +/- 1). Cooperativity is unchanged, and no instability was detected. From this study, it is concluded that there is no relation between this functionally silent hemoglobin and the polycythemia. In fact, the recent appearance of the polycythemia, the involvement of the other blood cell lines, particularly the thrombocytosis, the high score of leukocyte alkaline phosphatases, and the results of the bone marrow biopsy led to the diagnosis of polycythemia vera.

This study deals with bone marrow biopsies (MB) performed at the initial assessment of our 98 patients included in the French LLC 80 and LLC 85 trials. The prognostic value of the type of medullary invasion was confirmed, with a 6-year survival rate of 44% for the diffuse type (D = 42 patients) as against 68.4% for the non-diffuse type (ND = 56 patients) (p = 0.01). However, comparison of these 2 groups showed a significant difference for 19 of the 25 parameters studied, the differences always being to the prognostic disadvantage of the diffuse group. Bone marrow involvement (BMI) was very closely correlated with the ABC staging system (p less than 0.001). Despite more frequent disease progression among the cases of diffuse BMI, the survival rates in stage A patients were similar: 73.9% for 48 ND patients as against 59.6% for 19 D patients (p greater than 0.50). The ABC system of classification seems more discriminating than that recently proposed by Rozman specially for identifying the favorable groups.

Between April and December, 1982, a multicentre pilot study was conducted in 45 patients aged from 16 to 73 years suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukaemia to test the feasibility of an intensive and short induction phase followed by an early consolidation phase. All patients received a 5-day course of induction chemotherapy with prednisone, vincristine, AraC and rubidazone, then a "triple A regimen" for consolidation, consisting of adriamycin, AraC and asparaginase. The complete remission rate was 73 per cent. Toxicity during induction was characterized by frequent infections, but the consolidation treatment was well tolerated. Thus, the sequence intensive induction-early consolidation proved feasible and acceptable. In terms of survival, 8 out of the 33 patients in remission are still alive and well after more than 4 1/2 years.

The coexistence of autoimmune haemolytic anaemia (direct IgG antiglobulin test) and pure bone marrow sarcoidosis is described in a 69-year-old woman. This case report seems to be the 5th in the available literature.

Distal esophageal varices are most frequently associated with portal hypertension, while varices of the upper esophagus are occasionally observed in patients with vena caval obstruction. One hundred and nineteen cases of upper esophageal varices (downhill varices) have been reported in the literature. We report 6 cases (4 men and 2 women), with vena caval obstruction. Upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage occurred in one patient. Endoscopy showed varices in the proximal third of the esophagus in 5 patients and in the proximal half of the esophagus in the other patient. Superior vena cavogram demonstrated total or partial occlusion of the vena cava in 6 cases, with opacification of the right azygos vein in 4 cases and thrombosis of this vein in one case. Superior vena caval obstruction was secondary to malignant lymphoma in 2 cases, to malignant thymoma in 2 cases, to malignant thyroid tumor in one case and to anaplastic bronchogenic carcinoma in one case. Clinical symptoms of vena caval obstruction are present in 91.4 p. 100 of the cases in the literature. Upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage are observed in 7.6 p. 100 of cases. It is generally agreed that the predominant factors involved in the determination of the downward extension of varices along the esophagus are the level of superior vena caval obstruction and its duration. Because of the risk of digestive hemorrhage and of the topographic meaning of the degree of extension, upper esophageal varices should be routinely searched in patients with vena caval hypertension.

27 patients (17 F, 10 M) with a mean age of 65 +/- 11 years and suffering from recurrent pleural effusions were treated with locally administered Doxycycline by lavage-drainage to achieve pleural symphysis (17 adeno-carcinomas, 3 large cell carcinomas; 3 epidermoid cancers; 3 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; 1 small cell carcinoma). The solution used was a dilution of 50 ml doxycycline in 250 cc of isotonic saline. 22 of the 27 patients could be evaluated long term, 5 were lost to follow up, of whom two had recurred straight away despite local treatment. An immediate response was obtained in 23 out of the 28 patients (85%). Later the absence of recurrence was seen in 90% of the patients evaluated. The incidence of antimitotic therapy did not seem to be the determining factor in the 7 patients who received this in parallel. The duration of drainage was 11 +/- 6 days, the local treatment was well tolerated in the majority of cases. The use of the technique of lavage-drainage of doxycycline could be an alternative in those patients with a malignant pleural effusion whose general condition contra-indicates a symphysis under pleuroscopy.