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We previously examined the utility of rituximab-bendamustine (RB) in patients with follicular lymphoma (FL) exhibiting less than optimal responses to two-cycles of R-CHOP. The aim of this study was to identify molecular biomarkers that can predict prognosis in the RB-treated patients in the context of the prospective cohort. We first analyzed mutational status of 410 genes in diagnostic tumor specimens by target capture and sanger sequencing. CREBBP, KMT2D, MEF2B, BCL2, EZH2, and CARD11 were recurrently mutated as reported before, however, none of which was predictive for progression-free survival (PFS) in the RB-treated patients (n=34). A gene expression analysis by nCounter including 800 genes associated with carcinogenesis and/or immune response showed that expressions of CD8+ T-cell markers and half of the genes regulating Th1 and Th2 responses were significantly lower in progression of disease within 24 months (POD24)-group (n=8) than in noPOD24-group (n=31). Collectively, we selected 10 genes (TBX21, CXCR3, CCR4, CD8A, CD8B, GZMM, FLT3LG, CD3E, EOMES, GZMK), and generated an immune infiltration score (IIS) for predicting PFS by using principal component analysis, which dichotomized the RB-treated patients into immune IIShigh (n=19) and IISlow (n=20) groups. The 3-year PFS rate was significantly lower in the IISlow group than in the IIShigh group (50.0% [95% CI: 27.1-69.2%] vs. 84.2% [95% CI: 58.7-94.6%], p=0.0237). Furthermore, the IIS was correlates with absolute lymphocyte counts at diagnosis (r=0.460, p=0.00355). These results suggest that the T-cell-associated immune markers could be useful to predict prognosis in RB-treated FL patients. (UMIN:000013795, jRCT:051180181).

Background: Several clinical risk stratification models have been proposed to predict the clinical outcomes of follicular lymphoma (FL) cases, however, few reports are available to predict prognosis of FL cases receiving bendamustine-based regimens. We previously examined the utility of rituximab-bendamustine (RB) treatment for newly diagnosed advanced FL, who showed non-optimal responses to two cycles of R-CHOP therapy. Methods: In this study, we explored the biomarkers that could influence outcomes for the RB-treated FL cases in the context of the prospective cohort by target capture and sanger sequencing, and gene-expression profiling analyses using 50 diagnostic biopsies.Results: We first examined the mutational status of 410 genes in tumor specimens derived from RB-treated cases. As reported before, CREBBP, KMT2D, MEF2B, BCL2, EZH2, CARD11, TNFRSF14, EP300, and APC were recurrently mutated, however, none of which was predictive for progression-free survival (PFS) in RB-treated cases. Similarly, the m7-FLIPI did not correlate with PFS or progression of disease within 24 months (POD24). A gene expression analysis using a panel of 770 genes associated with carcinogenesis and/or immune response showed that the expression of CD8+ T-cell markers (GZMM, FLT3LG, CD8A, CD8B, GZMK) and half of the genes regulating Th1 and Th2 responses were significantly lower in the POD24 group than in the noPOD24 group. Finally, we selected 10 genes (TBX21, CXCR3, CCR4, CD8A, CD8B, GZMM, FLT3LG, CD3E, EOMES, GZMK), and dichotomized RB-treated cases into immune infiltrationhigh (infilhigh) and infiltrationlow (infillow) clusters. The 3-years PFS rate was lower in the infillow cluster than in the infilhigh cluster (50.0% [95% CI: 27.1–69.2%] vs. 84.2% [95% CI: 58.7–94.6%], p=0.0237). Of note, the proportion of cases with peripheral lymphopenia (low cluster than in the infilhigh cluster (38.5% vs. 9.09%, OR: 6.25 [95%CI, 1.20-32.7], p=0.0235). Conclusion: These results suggest that the T-cell-associated immune markers could be useful to predict prognosis in RB-treated FL cases.Trial registration: This trial was retrospectively registered in UMIN on April. 24, 2014 (UMIN000013795; http://www.umin.ac.jp/icdr/index-j.html).

Despite duodenal-type follicular lymphoma (DTFL) being morphologically, immunophenotypically and genetically indistinguishable from nodal FL (nFL), this entity typically shows a significantly better prognosis. Here, we analysed the tumour immune microenvironments of diagnostic specimens from patients with DTFL (n = 30), limited-stage FL (LSFL; n = 19) and advanced-stage FL (ASFL; n = 31). The mean number of CD8+ tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in the neoplastic follicles was higher in DTFL (1,827/mm2 ) than in LSFL (1,150/mm2 ) and ASFL (1,188/mm2 ) (P = 0·002, P = 0·002, respectively). In addition, CD8+ PD1- T cells with non-exhausting phenotype were more abundant in the peripheral blood (PB) of DTFL than in LSFL and ASFL, indicating that DTFL may exhibit a better and longer-lasting T cell-mediated immune response. Moreover, whereas FOXP3+ CTLA-4+ effector regulatory T cells (eTregs) were rarely observed in the neoplastic follicles of DTFL (mean: 12/mm2 ), they were more abundant in LSFL (78/mm2 ) and ASFL (109/mm2 ) (P = 2·80 × 10-5 , P = 4·74 × 10-8 , respectively), and the numbers of eTregs correlated inversely with those of CD8+ TILs (r = -0267; P = 0·018). Furthermore, DTFL showed significantly fewer circulating FOXP3hi CD45RA- CD25hi eTregs (0·146%) than ASFL (0·497%) and healthy controls (0·639%) (P = 0·0003, P = 6·79 × 10-7 , respectively). These results suggest that the augmented anti-tumour immune reactions may contribute to a better prognosis on DTFL.

Patients with mycosis fungoides (MF), the most common subtype of primary cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, have an increased risk of developing secondary malignancies. We herein report two rare cases of MF concurring with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (B lymphoid lineage) and acute myeloid leukemia (myeloid lineage) in two otherwise healthy elderly patients. Potential etiologic factors, including the impact of the therapy-associated inflammatory response on the development of secondary tumors in patients with MF, are discussed. Further clinical, experimental and genetic studies are needed to elucidate possible physiopathogenic associations among the three concurrent malignancies occurring in the cases presented here.

This phase I/II multicenter study evaluated romidepsin treatment in Japanese patients with relapsed/refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) or cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). Patients aged ≥20 years received romidepsin via a 4-h intravenous infusion on days 1, 8, and 15 of each 28-day cycle. Phase I used a 3 + 3 design to identify any dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) for regimens of romidepsin 9 and 14 mg/m2. The primary endpoints for phase I and II were DLT and overall response rate (ORR), respectively. Intent-to-treat patients were those who received ≥1 romidepsin dose (PTCL, n = 48; CTCL, n = 2). In phase I, none of the patients (n = 3, 9 mg/m2; n = 6, 14 mg/m2) exhibited DLT. In phase II, 40 patients with PTCL were treated with 14 mg/m2 romidepsin. The most common treatment-emergent grade ≥3 adverse events were lymphopenia (74%), neutropenia (54%), leukopenia (46%), and thrombocytopenia (38%). Patients in phase II showed a 43% ORR, including 25% complete responses. Median progression-free survival was 5.6 months and median duration of response was 11.1 months. This phase I/II study identified a well-tolerated dose of romidepsin, with an acceptable toxicity profile and clinically meaningful efficacy in Japanese patients with relapsed/refractory PTCL. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01456039.

A 62-year-old male was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and treated with a fludarabine-containing regimen which maintained the disease in a partial response. Nine years after diagnosis, a rapidly growing systemic lymphadenopathy was observed, and a biopsy specimen revealed the presence of typical Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg (HRS) cells, surrounded by T-lymphocytes and CLL cells. Sequencing analysis of the germline complementary determining region 3 (CDR3) region of the immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH) gene showed that the Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg cells were clonally unrelated to the preexisting CLL cells and the HRS cells were composed of five different clones, leading to the molecular diagnosis of de novo lymphocyte-rich classic Hodgkin lymphoproliferative diseases (LPDs) with small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). As the initial treatment was neither effective for classic Hodgkin LPDs nor for SLL, Bendamustine, Rituximab (BR) was started and complete remission was achieved, which has continued for more than one year so far. BR may be a good therapeutic option for both entities without causing hematological toxicity.

Radioimmunotherapy (RIT) is an effective therapeutic option for patients with indolent B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL), for the first-line and the second-line therapies. The target molecule of RIT is CD20, and the clinical outcomes have been demonstrated even in the lack of phase III studies to clearly define the efficacy of RIT. However, the best practice to employ RIT is still controversial. CD20 is an activated-glycosylated phosphoprotein expressed on the surface of all B cells beginning at the pro-B phase (CD45R+, CD117+) and progressively increasing in concentration until maturity. As most of the B-cell lymphomas are derived from the germinal center B-cell stage, they must be potential targets for RIT. For the determination of an appropriate treatment policy of RIT, the background information on the biology and pathology are indispensable. In this chapter, we review the biology and pathology of B-cell lymphoma.

Purpose Rituximab (R) plus CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone) chemotherapy is the standard of care in previously untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Obinutuzumab (G) is a glycoengineered, type II, anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody. GOYA was a randomized phase III study that compared G-CHOP with R-CHOP in patients with previously untreated advanced-stage DLBCL. Methods Patients (N = 1,418) were randomly assigned to receive eight 21-day cycles of G (n = 706) or R (n = 712), plus six or eight cycles of CHOP. Primary end point was investigator-assessed progression-free survival (PFS). Results After median observation of 29 months, the number of investigator-assessed PFS events was similar between G (201; 28.5%) and R (215; 30.2%), stratified hazard ratio was 0.92 (95% CI, 0.76 to 1.11; P = .39), and 3-year PFS rates were 70% and 67%, respectively. Secondary end points of independently reviewed PFS, other time-to-event end points, and tumor response rates were similar between arms. In exploratory subgroup analyses, patients with germinal-center B cell–like subtype had a better PFS than did patients with activated B cell–like subtype, irrespective of treatment. Frequencies of grade 3 to 5 adverse events (AEs; 73.7% v 64.7%, respectively) and serious AEs (42.6% v 37.6%, respectively) were higher with G-CHOP compared with R-CHOP. Fatal AE frequencies were 5.8% for G-CHOP and 4.3% for R-CHOP. The most common AEs were neutropenia (G-CHOP, 48.3%; R-CHOP, 40.7%), infusion-related reactions (G-CHOP, 36.1%; R-CHOP, 23.5%), nausea (G-CHOP, 29.4%; R-CHOP, 28.3%), and constipation (G-CHOP, 23.4%; R-CHOP, 24.5%). Conclusion G-CHOP did not improve PFS compared with R-CHOP in patients with previously untreated DLBCL. AEs reported with G were consistent with the known safety profile. Biomarker analyses may help define a future role for G in DLBCL.

Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) is a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that usually develops in immunosuppressed patients infected with human herpes virus-8 (HHV-8) in conjunction with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. However, there are several reports of HHV-8-related HIV-negative cases and HHV-8-unrelated HIV-negative cases, mainly in immunodeficient and elderly patients. Here, we report one case of HHV-8-related HIV-negative PEL with gastric cancer (case 1) and one case of HHV-8-unrelated HIV-negative effusion-based lymphoma (case 2), both in elderly men. A 73-year-old man and a 79-year-old man were admitted because of lymphomatous effusions, and no mass was detectable in both cases. They were diagnosed as having malignant effusion lymphoma on the basis of cytological findings indicating atypical lymphoid cells and the expression of CD20 and CD79a. To detect evidence of HHV-8 infection in neoplastic cells, immunocytochemical staining for ORF73/ latent nuclear antigen-1 (LNA-1) was performed. The results revealed that case 1 was ORF73-positive, and case 2 was ORF73-negative. Rituximab-based chemotherapy (R-THPCOP: rituximab, pirarubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, prednisolone) was administered to both patients and complete remission was achieved in both. Compared to most HIV-positive PEL cases, these two cases showed a good response to chemotherapy. In cases of PEL, we should focus on HHV-8 infection and HIV status for determining prognosis.

A 32-year-old woman was referred to our hospital due to systemic lymphadenopathy. The patient's peripheral blood showed expansion of CD5+CD20+ CD38+ CD23- mature lymphocytes. However, the axillary lymph nodes were infiltrated by both CD23+ large lymphocytes and CD23- small lymphocytes. Because the pattern of the rearranged immunoglobulin heavy chain gene was different between the peripheral blood and lymph node samples in a Southern blot analysis, the patient was diagnosed with Richter syndrome, in which diffuse large B-cell lymphoma develops from a clone distinct from B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia. After undergoing rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisolone (R-CHOP) therapy, the patient was successfully treated with allogeneic hematopoietic transplantation, and no relapse was observed for three years.

A 70-year-old man with diffuse large B cell lymphoma, who had been in complete remission without treatment, presented with a visual disorder in the right eye. Vitreous biopsy was performed, although the results were not typically suggestive of lymphoma. The concentration of interleukin-10 (IL-10) in the vitreous humor was markedly elevated, suggesting intraocular lymphoma (IOL). Weekly intravitreal injections of methotrexate (MTX) resulted in remission of the visual disorder. During this remission, 10 months after the last intravitreal MTX treatment, a cerebral tumor was observed in the corpus callosum and atypical lymphocytes were detected in the cerebrospinal fluid. The concentration of IL-10 in the CSF was markedly elevated and the IL-6 level was slightly elevated, suggesting central nervous system (CNS) involvement. The patient was treated with intrathecal MTX, systemic rituximab, high-dose cytarabine, and high-dose methotrexate. After this therapy, the cerebral tumor disappeared, atypical lymphocytes were undetectable in the CSF, and the CSF IL-10 level was significantly reduced. IL-10 and IL-6 concentrations in the vitreous humor and CSF are important for diagnosis of IOL with CNS involvement and for monitoring the efficacy of therapy.

Wada N, Zaki M A A, Hori Y, Hashimoto K, Tsukaguchi M, Tatsumi Y, Ishikawa J, Tominaga N, Sakoda H, Take H, Tsudo M, Kuwayama M, Morii E & Aozasa K (2012) Histopathology 60, 313–319 Tumour-associated macrophages in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: a study of the Osaka Lymphoma Study Group Aims: To evaluate the role of tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) of the M1 and M2 types in the behaviour of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Methods and results: Double immunohistochemical staining of HLA-DR/CD68 (M1) or CD163/CD68 (M2) was performed in 101 cases of DLBCL. CD68+ cells represent the total number of TAMs. The average number of double-positive cells was counted, and the cut-off value was set at the mean number of counts, i.e. 30.7 and 27.0 for M1 TAMs and M2 TAMs, respectively. That for total TAMs was set at the 90th percentile number of total counts, i.e. 132.3. Cases were categorized into three pairs: high (34 cases) and low (67 cases) M1 TAM groups, high (39 cases) and low (62 cases) M2 TAM groups, and high (10 cases) and low (91 cases) total TAM groups. The difference in overall survival rates was statistically significant between the high and low M2 TAM groups (P

To clarify the change in the fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake by the bone marrow over time after administration of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), we evaluated the correlation between the interval from the last day of administration of G-CSF to positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) study and spinal bone marrow accumulation in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.A total of 127 patients with confirmed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma who underwent FDG PET within 60 days from the last administration of G-CSF were retrospectively reviewed. Thirty age-matched and sex-matched healthy controls were also included to evaluate physiological FDG uptake. PET/CT examinations were retrospectively reviewed, and maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) was measured by placing volumetric regions of interest over each thoracic and lumbar vertebra on PET images referring to CT images. Bone marrow SUV was defined as the mean SUVmax of the vertebra. The correlation between the interval after G-CSF and the bone marrow SUV was plotted and analyzed with polynomial approximation.In controls, physiological bone marrow SUV of the spine was determined. In patients with lymphoma, bone marrow SUV decreased over time and reached a plateau at about 14 days after G-CSF administration, and this was higher by 5% than the plateau at 10 days. SUV declined to the 'physiological range', that is, mean+1 standard deviation of patients, at about 7 days.For a PET/CT study, an interval of 10 days after G-CSF administration is recommended to minimize the influence of G-CSF on the bone marrow when evaluating treatment response in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

We report a rare case of chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) with pericardial effusion. After receving the diagnosis of CMML, she had been successfully treated with hydroxycarbamide (HU). However, she was admitted to our hospital due to pericardial effusion. The majority of the cells in the pericardial fluid were monocytes. We made the diagnosis of pericardial involvement with CMML cells and intravenously administered etoposide (100 mg/body daily for 5 days). Although CMML cells disappeared from the peripheral blood, the pericardial effusion still persisted. This case indicates that pericardial effusion is a possible and life-threatening complication in CMML patients despite stably controlled leukocytes.

Fournier’s gangrene is a life-threatening disorder caused by aerobic and anaerobic bacterial infection. We report a case of genital infection as the initial warning sign of acute myeloid leukemia. We were able to prevent progression to Fournier’s gangrene in our patient by immediate intensive therapy with incision, blood transfusions and intravenous administration of antibiotics. This case suggests that hematologists and dermatologists should keep in mind that genital infection can be a first sign of hematologic malignancy.

Change of CD20 expression was examined in cases of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). CD20 expression after treatment with anti-CD20 antibody (rituximab, Rx) for DLBCL was examined in 23 cases who received serial biopsy by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and flow cytometry (FCM). CD20– by IHC and/or FCM was defined as CD20–. Four cases were CD20– at initial biopsy but became CD20+ after chemotherapy with Rx (CH-R) (group A). Recurrent tumors in three group A cases became resistant to CH-R. Initial and recurrent tumors were CD20+ before and after CH-R in 17 cases (group B). Tumors before CH-R were CD20– in two cases (group C) and continued to be CD20– in one and turned CD20+ in the other with survival time after the relapse of 8 and 23 months, respectively. Evaluation of CD20 expression with immunohistochemical and flow cytometric methods is used for the prediction of responsiveness of relapsed DLBCL for CH-R.

We previously reported that all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) inhibited growth in HTLV-1-positive T-cell lines and fresh cells from patients with adult T-cell leukemia. Interestingly, ATRA significantly inhibited reverse transcriptase (RT) activity similar to azidothimidine (AZT) in HTLV-1-positive T-cell lines. To clarify whether ATRA has an inhibitory effect on the replication of HIV, we examined HIV proviral DNA in a HIV-1-positive cell line (8E5) using real time PCR. ATRA as well as AZT reduced the proviral DNA load of 8E5 in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that there is a common element of ATRA signaling in both HTLV-1 and HIV. Furthermore, we examined the effects of ATRA on viral replication in primary lymphocytes of three individuals infected with HIV. ATRA reduced viral replication significantly similar to AZT. These findings suggested that ATRA acts as a RT inhibitor, reducing the HIV-1 proviral DNA load. Finally, we conclude that ATRA may be a potential therapeutic agent for HIV infection.

A 68-year-old man was referred to our hospital due to a high fever and pancytopenia. Neither tumors nor infectious lesions were detected. Hemophagocytosis was observed on the bone marrow (BM) smear, although without abnormal cells. Prednisolone therapy was ineffective for the patient's high fever. Later on, we obtained the results of a BM biopsy indicating the presence of infiltration of atypical Reed-Sternberg cells, leading to a diagnosis of HIV-negative primary bone marrow Hodgkin lymphoma (PBMHL). However, the patient died of multiple organ failure before receiving chemotherapy. As the clinical course of PBMHL is rapid, physicians must keep in mind its possibility in similar cases.

Background The purpose of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the tumor accumulation and heterogeneity of 111In-ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin®) and tumor accumulation of 18F-fluoro-deoxyglucose (FDG) and compare them to the tumor response in B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients receiving 90Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin®) therapy. Methods Sixteen patients with histologically confirmed non-Hodgkin’s B-cell lymphoma who underwent 90Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan therapy along with 111In-ibritumomab tiuxetan single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT)/CT and FDG positron emission tomography (PET)/CT were enrolled in this retrospective study. On pretherapeutic FDG PET/CT images, the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) was measured. On SPECT/CT images, a percentage of the injected dose per gram (%ID/g) and SUVmax of 111In-ibritumomab tiuxetan were measured at 48 h after its administration. The skewness and kurtosis of the voxel distribution were calculated to evaluate the intratumoral heterogeneity of tumor accumulation. As another intratumoral heterogeneity index, cumulative SUV-volume histograms describing the percentage of the total tumor volume above the percentage thresholds of pretherapeutic FDG and 111In-ibritumomab tiuxetan SUVmax (area under the curve of the cumulative SUV histograms (AUC-CSH)) were calculated. All lesions (n = 42) were classified into responders and non-responders lesion-by-lesion on pre- and post-therapeutic CT images. Results A positive correlation was observed between the FDG SUVmax and accumulation of 111In-ibritumomab tiuxetan in lesions. A significant difference in pretherapeutic FDG SUVmax was observed between responders and non-responders, while no significant difference in 111In-ibritumomab tiuxetan SUVmax was observed between the two groups. In contrast, voxel distribution of FDG demonstrated no significant differences in the three heterogeneity indices between responders and non-responders, while 111In-ibritumomab tiuxetan demonstrated skewness of 0.58 ± 0.16 and 0.73 ± 0.24 (p p p Conclusions Pretherapeutic FDG accumulation was predictive of the tumor response in 90Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan therapy. The heterogeneity of the intratumoral distribution rather than the absolute level of 111In-ibritumomab tiuxetan was correlated with the tumor response.

The entity of serrated adenoma of the colorectum was first proposed in 1990, and it was characterized as epithelial neoplasia combining the architectural features of a hyperplastic polyp with the cytological features of an adenoma. Over the past few years, various clinicopathological studies on serrated adenoma have been reported, but its histogenesis remains unclear. Recently the existence of a "serrated neoplasia pathway" leading to malignancy, which is different from the so-called adenoma-carcinoma sequence, has been discussed. Yao et al. reported that hyperplastic polyps and serrated adenomas share a common cell lineage with gastric differentiation. To clarify the existence of the serrated neoplasia pathway, we performed immunohistochemical staining of cytokeratin 7 (CK7) and cytokeratin 20 (CK20), which are commonly used to determine the primary site of a metastatic lesion, and we examined the pattern of CK7/CK20 expression in various colorectal lesions including 44 serrated adenomas, 25 hyperplastic polyps, 20 traditional adenomas, and 48 carcinomas. An obvious difference existed in the pattern of CK7/CK20 expression between the serrated lesions (hyperplastic polyps and serrated adenomas) and others. The majority of serrated adenomas and hyperplastic polyps presented a CK7+/CK20+ pattern, whereas most conventional adenomas and adenocarcinomas expressed CK7-/CK20+. Adenocarcinoma developing in serrated adenoma also presented a CK7+/CK20+ pattern. There are several reports that CK7 is a possible marker of transient dedifferentiation in the gastric carcinogenesis process. Taken together with the present results, a distinct pathway of colorectal carcinogenesis must exist, which is different from the adenoma-carcinoma sequence. CK7 is a possible marker for the serrated neoplasia pathway of colorectal carcinogenesis.

Background: Argon plasma coagulation (APC) has been proven to be safe in vitro, and has been widely introduced to therapeutic endoscopy. We evaluated the thermal effects on esophageal or gastric wall in vivo, and its effectiveness as an adjunct to incomplete resection of early esophageal and gastric cancer after endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR). Methods: Thermal injuries were made using endoscopic APC irradiation in porcine esophagus and stomach under various conditions during general anesthesia, and depth of tissue damage was determined histopathologically. Patients with early gastric cancer (n = 24) and early esophageal cancer (n = 5) were treated with additional APC following microscopically incomplete EMR. APC was applied to coagulate the entire edge of EMR-induced ulcer 1 week after resection at power/gas settings of 50 W and 1.5 L/min in the stomach, and 40 W and 1.5 L/min in the esophagus for less than 5 s at each point. Results: Depth of tissue damage was related to pulse duration and power output. At power/gas settings of 60 W and 2.0 L/min, thermal damage extended across the submucosal layer with 5-s pulse duration in the stomach. Thermal damage with 5-s pulse duration at power/gas settings of 40 W and 2.0 L/min extended to the muscularis propria in the esophagus. In the clinical study of additional APC therapy, the recurrence rate was 6.9% (two of 29 cases). Conclusion: To avoid perforation, we recommend an APC power setting of 40–60 W for less than 5 s in the stomach and a lower power setting with shorter duration in the esophagus. APC seems to reduce recurrence of esophageal or gastric cancer after incomplete EMR.

Recent studies have suggested that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) reduce the risk of gastrointestinal cancer, and that cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) may be a target enzyme for the prevention or regression of cancer by the use of NSAIDs. Mucin histochemistry has made possible a clear distinction between the differentiated characteristics of gastrointestinal epithelial cells, and the possibility that phenotypic shifts from gastric- to intestinal-type in gastric carcinoma progression has been suggested. To evaluate the role of COX-2 in gastric cancer progression, we immunohistochemically investigated COX-2 expression, and examined its relationship to proliferative activity, mucin phenotype, and clinicopathological parameters in human advanced gastric carcinomas.Forty-five surgical specimens of advanced gastric carcinomas (invaded the muscularis propria or subserosa) were examined. Immunohistochemical staining was performed with monoclonal antibodies against COX-2, Ki-67, CD10 (brush border), MUC-2 (goblet-cell mucin), MUC-5AC (gastric foveolar mucin), and MUC-6 (pyloric mucin). COX-2 expression was scored by the percentage of COX-2-positive neoplastic cells, and proliferative activity was assessed by the Ki-67 labeling index at the deepest area of invasion. The mucin phenotype of the carcinomas was classified into three categories; gastric, intestinal, and unclassified.COX-2 staining was restricted to the cytoplasm, not only in cancer cells but also in intestinal metaplasia and some inflammatory cells and COX-2 expression in cancer cells varied greatly, but the staining in some samples was preferentially found at the invasive front. COX-2 positivity was found to correlate with Ki-67 labeling. The mean COX-2 scores were 2.29%, 2.71%, and 2.75%; and the Ki-67 labeling indices were 23.6%, 40.6%, and 56.5%, in gastric-, intestinal-, and unclassified- type carcinomas, respectively.A close relationship between COX-2 expression and proliferative activity was confirmed in the deepest areas of advanced gastric carcinoma, and the proliferative activity increased from gastric- to intestinal- and to unclassified- type gastric carcinoma, suggesting a role for COX-2 expression and differences in biological behavior according to mucin phenotype expression during gastric cancer progression.

Esophageal intramural pseudodiverticulosis (EIPD) is an uncommon benign abnormality, characterized by a typical radiological appearance of multiple flask-shaped outpouchings in the esophageal wall, measuring a few millimeters in length. EIPD is mainly a disease of the elderly and is more frequent in males. It presents with progressive dysphagia related to esophageal stenosis or strictures in the great majority of patients. The etiology of this rare disease is unknown. Hiatal hernias, gastroesophageal reflux, esophageal strictures, candidiasis, herpes esophagitis, diabetes mellitus, and chronic alcoholism have been found to be associated with EIPD. According to the available literature, EIPD can be missed easily because of its subtle endoscopic and radiological abnormalities, but once it is diagnosed, conservative management leads to satisfactory control of the symptoms. We encountered a young female patient with EIPD. She had a severe stricture in the upper esophagus, although she had no other complications such as candidiasis or reflux esophagitis. Here we report this rare case of a young patient with EIPD, who was treated successfully with endoscopic esophageal balloon dilation therapy, and discuss this disease on review of the relevant literature.

Patients with hematologic malignancies are immunosuppressive and may develop cutaneous or invasive infections as a primary sign of immune suppression. Acute promyelocytic leukemia (acute myeloid leukemia M3) is caused by translocation of reciprocal chromosomal rearrangement t(15;17), which produces an oncogenic protein. We herein describe a 71-year-old man having cellulitis with leukocytopenia as a first sign of acute promyelocytic leukemia. Dermatologists and hematologists should keep in mind that patients with a hematologic malignancy, such as acute promyelocytic leukemia, can develop cellulitis with leukocytopenia.

Diethyl sebacate is used in topical medicaments in United States and Japan. We described a case of allergic contact dermatitis from diethyl sebacate in a topical antimycotic medicament. Allergic reaction to diethyl sebacate is likely more common because our group has found three of eight sensitized cases. We believe that an investigation regarding the sensitized frequency to diethyl sebacate would conduct to improve the safety of products in United States and Japan.

Follicular lymphoma (FL) is defined as a neoplastic proliferation of follicle center cells with varying follicular areas. To learn the time trend of FL in the Osaka area, an adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) nonendemic area of Japan, we examined the frequency of FL among all non-Hodgkin ’s lymphomas (NHLs) during the period 1964 to 1987 (n = 1000) and 1999 to 2001 (n = 659). The frequency of FL with varying follicular areas increased from 1964-1987 to 1999-2001. There was a significant difference in frequency of total cases of FL (14.2% versus 18.8%) (P 15 CB, grade 3. Immunohistochemical staining with monoclonal antibodies for bcl-2 and CD10 was performed. There was an inverse correlation between follicular area and cytological grade (P < .0001) and bcl-2 expression and cytological grade (P < .01). That is, the larger the follicular area in cases with a lower cytological grade, the stronger was bcl-2 expression in a lower cytological grade. There was a significant correlation between follicular area and stage of disease (P < .05). That is, the follicular area was larger in cases in an advanced stage. This study showed the increase in frequency of FL in Osaka, Japan. Change of lifestyle in Japan may be one of the causative factors for the increase.Int J Hematol. 2002;76:333-337.

ejd.2011.1410 Auteur(s) : Naoki Oiso1 naoiso@med.kindai.ac.jp, Yoichi Tatsumi2, Shinya Rai2, Itaru Matsumura2, Akira Kawada1 1 Department of Dermatology, Kinki University Faculty of Medicine, 377-2 Ohno-Higashi, Osaka-Sayama 589-8511, Japan 2 Department of Hematology, Kinki University Faculty of Medicine, 377-2 Ohno-Higashi, Osaka-Sayama 589-8511, Japan Superimposed linear graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is rarely present in recipients of allogeneic bone-marrow transplantation as an early lichenoid [...]

A 53-year-old male with myelodysplastic syndrome developed Sweet's syndrome extensively over his left iliac and inguinal regions that was refractory to standard treatment with corticosteroids and chemotherapy, received a stem cell transplant from an HLA-matched unrelated donor, conditioned by reduced-intensity regimen. The patient achieved complete hematological remission, and the cutaneous lesions improved gradually and then disappeared completely despite the patient receiving granulocyte colony-stimulating factor after transplantation and developing acute graft-versus-host disease.

Introduction: Peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) is an aggressive lymphoma associated with poor prognosis. There is no consensus on standard therapy, and options are limited for patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) disease. Romidepsin, a potent histone deacetylase inhibitor, has US FDA approval for patients with >=1 prior treatment for PTCL based on 25%-38% overall response rates (ORR) and durable responses (Piekarz et al, Blood. 2011;117:5827; Coiffier et al, J Clin Oncol. 2012;30:631). Here we report results from the phase I/II, multicenter, open-label study of romidepsin in Japanese patients with R/R PTCL or cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) (TCL-001; NCT01456039). Methods: Patients aged >=20 years with R/R PTCL or CTCL received romidepsin via a 4-hour IV infusion on days 1, 8, and 15 of each 28-day cycle until progressive disease or unacceptable toxicity. The phase I portion of the study used a 3+3 design to identify any dose-limiting toxicity (DLT; phase I primary endpoint) with romidepsin 9 mg/m2 (cohort 1) and 14 mg/m2 (cohort 2). The phase II dose was based on the highest dose where =1 day. Assessments of the intent-to-treat (ITT) population included all patients receiving at least 1 dose of romidepsin. Results: The ITT population comprised 48 patients with PTCL and 2 with CTCL (1 each in the 9 and 14 mg/m2 cohorts). The common PTCL subtypes were angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL, n=21, 44%), PTCL not otherwise specified (PTCL-NOS, n=20, 42%), and anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL ALK-1 negative, n=3, 6%). Most patients had a favorable ECOG performance status (86% 0-1) and 72% were >=65 years of age. Patients had received a median of 2 prior therapies (range, 1-9). Of 9 patients assessable in phase I (n=3 at 9 mg/m2 and n=6 at 14 mg/m2), none experienced a DLT. The recommended phase II dose was 14 mg/m2 in 40 subsequently treated patients. The overall population received a median of 10 doses (range, 1-135) for a median treatment duration of 12.9 weeks (range, 0.1-184.3; 8 patients were treated for >=36 weeks). The common all-grade adverse events (AEs) were thrombocytopenia (n=49, 98%), lymphopenia (n=44, 88%), leukopenia (n=42, 84%), neutropenia (n=40, 80%), pyrexia (n=33, 66%), dysgeusia (n=31, 62%), decreased appetite (n=28, 56%), and nausea (n=27, 54%). The common grade >=3 AEs were lymphopenia (n=37, 74%), neutropenia (n=27, 54%), leukopenia (n=23, 46%), and thrombocytopenia (n=19, 38%). Of the 39 patients whose CD4+ T-cell counts were monitored, while decreased CD4+ T-cell counts ( Among the 40 patients with PTCL (phase II), the ORR was 43% (95% CI, 27%-58%), including 10 patients (25%) with complete response (CR) or CR unconfirmed (CRu) and 7 (17%) with partial responses (PR) (Table 1). The obtained ORR was significantly higher compared with the threshold ORR of 10% (P Conclusions: Results from this phase I/II study identified a tolerable dose of romidepsin and indicated that romidepsin has an acceptable toxicity profile with clinically meaningful, efficacy in Japanese patients with R/R PTCL. The efficacy and safety data were comparable with results from other romidepsin phase II studies. Disclosures Ogura: Celltrion, Inc.: Consultancy, Honoraria; SymBio Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Honoraria. Maruyama:Janssen: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria. Tobinai:Chugai Pharma: Research Funding; Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd.: Consultancy; Mundipharma KK: Honoraria, Research Funding; SERVIER: Research Funding; HUYA Bioscience: Honoraria; Celgene: Research Funding; Kyowa Hakko Kirin: Research Funding; GlaxoSmithKline: Research Funding; Janssen Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria, Research Funding; Abbvie: Research Funding; Takeda: Honoraria, Research Funding; Zenyaku Kogyo: Honoraria; Eisai: Honoraria, Research Funding; Ono Pharmaceutical: Research Funding. Uchida:SymBio Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding. Hatake:Chugai: Research Funding; Meiji-Seika: Consultancy; Otsuka: Consultancy; Kyowa Kirin: Honoraria, Research Funding. Tsukasaki:Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd.: Consultancy; Takeda: Research Funding. Ishida:Celgene KK: Research Funding; Kyowa Hakko Kirin, Co., Ltd.: Honoraria, Research Funding; Bayer Pharma AG: Research Funding. Ishizawa:SymBio Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding. Laille:Celgene: Employment, Equity Ownership. Ro:Celgene: Employment, Equity Ownership. Tamakoshi:Celgene: Employment, Equity Ownership. Sakurai:Celgene: Employment. Ohtsu:Celgene: Employment, Equity Ownership.

Background: Rituximab (R) plus CHOP (R-CHOP) is standard-of-care treatment for previously untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Approximately 35-40% of patients (pts) will relapse following R-CHOP, and outcomes with salvage therapy remain poor. Obinutuzumab (GA101; GAZYVA/GAZYVARO; G) is a glycoengineered, type II anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody with greater direct cell death induction and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity/phagocytosis activity than R. In the Phase 2 GATHER study (NCT01414855), G plus CHOP (G-CHOP) demonstrated manageable toxicity and promising efficacy in pts with advanced untreated DLBCL. GOYA (NCT01287741) is an open-label, multicenter, randomized Phase 3 study comparing the efficacy and safety of G-CHOP with R-CHOP in pts with previously untreated DLBCL. GOYA was sponsored by Roche with scientific support from the Fondazione Italiana Linfomi. Methods: Eligible pts were aged ≥18 years and had adequate hematologic function, ≥1 bi-dimensionally measurable lesion, an ECOG performance status (PS) of ≤2 and an International Prognostic Index (IPI) score of ≥2 (high, high-intermediate or low-intermediate risk). Low-risk pts with an IPI score of 1 (but not due to age alone) or with an IPI score of 0 with bulky disease (one lesion ≥7.5cm) were also eligible. Pts were randomized 1:1 to receive 8 (21-day) cycles of G (1000mg i.v. on Days [D] 1, 8, and 15, Cycle [C] 1 and D1, C2-8) or R (375mg/m2 i.v. on D1, C1-8) in combination with 6 or 8 cycles of CHOP (number of cycles preplanned in advance for all pts at each site). Preplanned radiotherapy was allowed for bulky or extranodal disease. The primary endpoint was investigator (INV)-assessed progression-free survival (PFS); for the target hazard ratio (HR) of 0.75, the 3-year PFS was expected to improve from 60% to 68%. Secondary endpoints included: PFS assessed by Independent Review Committee (IRC); overall survival (OS); complete response (CR) and overall response rate (ORR) with or without PET (assessed by INV or IRC according to modified Cheson 2007 criteria); and safety. Results: 1418 pts were randomized to study treatment: 706 to G-CHOP and 712 to R-CHOP. Baseline characteristics were well balanced between the G-CHOP and R-CHOP arms: mean age, 62.0 years in both arms; ECOG PS ≥2, 12% vs. 14%; IPI score ≥3, 47% vs. 43%; Ann Arbor stage III-IV, 76% in both arms. Cell-of-origin distribution, as assessed by gene-expression profiling (NanoString), was similar in both treatment groups (GCB: 58% [271/471] G-CHOP, 58% [269/462] R-CHOP; ABC: 27% [125/471] G-CHOP, 26% [118/462] R-CHOP; Unclassified: 15.9% [75/471] G-CHOP, 16.2% [75/462] R-CHOP). For the primary endpoint of INV-assessed PFS, there was no significant difference between G-CHOP and R-CHOP (3-year PFS, 69% vs. 66%; stratified HR, 0.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.76, 1.12; p=0.3868; Table). Secondary endpoints, including PFS by IRC, OS, and end-of-treatment ORR/CR rate (with and without PET), were consistent with the primary endpoint, with no clinically meaningful differences observed between the treatment arms (Table). In a prespecified subgroup analysis of INV-assessed PFS, a stratified HR of 0.72 (95% CI, 0.50, 1.01) in favor of G-CHOP over R-CHOP was determined for pts with GCB DLBCL (3-year PFS, 79% vs. 70%). No new safety signals were identified. Grade ≥3 adverse events (AEs; 74% vs. 65%) and serious AEs (43% vs. 38%) were more common in the G-CHOP than in the R-CHOP arm. Grade ≥3 AEs of particular interest that were numerically more common with G-CHOP than R-CHOP included neutropenia (57% vs. 48%), infusion-related reactions (45% vs. 32%), infections (54% vs. 44%), and thrombocytopenia (8% vs. 3%). AEs resulting in withdrawal from treatment (12% [84/704] G-CHOP; 9% [60/703] R-CHOP) and AEs with fatal outcome (6% [41/704] G-CHOP; 4% [30/703] R-CHOP) were slightly more common with G-CHOP. The most common AEs leading to death were pneumonia (5 G-CHOP; 6 R-CHOP) and sepsis/septic shock (7 G-CHOP; 3 R-CHOP). Conclusions: The primary endpoint of this study was not met: G-CHOP did not significantly improve INV-assessed PFS compared with R-CHOP in previously untreated pts with DLBCL. No unexpected safety signals were identified. Further investigation of outcomes in subgroups is planned. Disclosures Vitolo: Gilead: Other: Honoraria for lectures; Roche: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Honoraria for lectures; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Honoraria for lectures; Takeda: Other: Honoraria for lectures. Trněný:Roche, Celgene, Takeda, Janssen, Gilead, Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Roche, Celgene: Research Funding. Belada:Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding. Chua:Roche: Consultancy, Research Funding; Gilead: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy; Lundbeck: Consultancy. Flinn:Janssen: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company: Research Funding; Gilead Sciences: Research Funding; ARIAD: Research Funding; RainTree Oncology Services: Equity Ownership. Kim:Celltrion, Inc.: Consultancy, Honoraria. Pinto:Millennium: Research Funding; Takeda: Honoraria; Helssin: Honoraria; Roche: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria; Servier: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria. Burke:Pfizer: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy; Incyte: Consultancy; TG Therapeutics: Other: Travel Expenses; Millenium: Consultancy. Oestergaard:Roche: Employment. Wenger:Genentech: Employment. Fingerle-Rowson:F. Hoffmann-LaRoche: Employment. Catalani:Roche: Employment. Nielsen:Hoffmann-La Roche: Employment. Sehn:roche/genentech: Consultancy, Honoraria; amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria; seattle genetics: Consultancy, Honoraria; abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria; TG therapeutics: Consultancy, Honoraria; celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria; lundbeck: Consultancy, Honoraria; janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria.

We report a case of primary cardiac lymphoma (PCL) occurring in a 76-year-old man during maintenance hemodialysis. Chest computed tomography (CT) revealed a tumor with pericardial effusion in the left ventricular posterior wall. Cytological examination of the pericardial fluid revealed monotonous lymphoid cells positive for B-cell markers, and clonal immunoglobulin heavy chain gene rearrangement was detected, indicating B-cell lymphoma. Rituximab monotherapy was administered biweekly at the therapeutic level on hemodialysis. The follow-up chest CT showed tumor disappearance with pericardial fluid after two courses of therapy. Rituximab monotherapy was effective for an elderly hemodialysis patient with PCL.

The pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of the once-daily, oral ironchelating agent, deferasirox (Exjade, ICL670), have been evaluated further in a Phase I, openlabel, multicenter, dose-escalation study in Japanese patients with myelodysplastic syndromes, aplastic anemia, and other anemias. Deferasirox was initially administered as a single dose of 5 (n = 6), 10 (n = 7), 20 (n = 6) or 30 (n = 7) mg/(kg day) and then after 7 days seven daily doses were administered. Linear PK (C (max) and AUC) were observed at all doses after a single dose and at steady state, and dose-dependent iron excretion was observed. Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic parameters were similar to those reported in a Caucasian beta-thalassemia cohort. Following the single- and multiple-dose phases, 21 of 26 patients progressed to a 3-year extension phase of the study, where dose reductions and increases [5-30 mg/(kg day)] were allowed following safety and efficacy assessments. In the interim, 1-year data show that deferasirox was well tolerated, with generally infrequent and mild adverse events. Reductions in serum ferritin levels were observed and a negative iron balance achieved at doses of 20-30 mg/(kg day). These data suggest that deferasirox has a stable and predictable PK/PD profile, irrespective of underlying disease or race, and a predictable and manageable safety profile suitable for chronic administration.

We previously reported that all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) inhibited growth in human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I)-positive T-cell lines and in fresh cells from patients with adult T cell leukemia (ATL). Here, we confirmed the clinical effects of ATRA in 20 patients with ATL. The 20 patients (n = 20) with a median age of 56 (range 35–73) years who were diagnosed with ATL received ATRA orally. The efficacy of treatment was as follows: no complete response (CR), a partial response (PR) in 40% of the patients, no change (NC) in 45% of the patients, and a progressive disease (PD) in 15% of the patients. In seven acute-type ATL patients, a PR was achieved in two (28.5%), NC was observed in two (28.5%), and a PD was observed in three (42.8%). In three lymphoma-type ATL patients, a PR (100%) was achieved. Among four chronic-type ATL patients, a PR was achieved in one (25%) and NC was observed in the remaining three (75%). In six smoldering-type ATL patients, a PR was achieved in two (33.3%) and NC was observed in four (66.6%). The major side effects were headache (n = 5), transient liver dysfunction (n = 2), hyperlipidemia (n = 2), and anorexia (n = 1). These results indicated that ATRA might be a useful agent for the safe treatment of ATL.

We describe a patient with Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-positive chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) who developed an extramedullary blast crisis in the central nervous system (CNS) and then a subcutaneous tumor of the neck during treatment with imatinib mesylate. Administered 400 mg of imatinib mesylate after the diagnosis of chronic-phase CML, the patient achieved a complete cytogenetic remission 4 months later. However, he developed a mixed myeloid/B-cell blast crisis with additional karyotype abnormalities only in the CNS during a complete cytogenetic remission in the bone marrow. Several doses of intrathecal chemotherapy and whole-brain irradiation were effective in treating the blast crisis in the CNS. After 7 months of complete cytogenetic remission, the patient experienced a subcutaneous tumor in the right neck. A biopsy of the tumor revealed a mixed myeloid/T-cell blast crisis. The cytogenetic analysis showed that the blast crisis clone in the neck tumor was different from that of the CNS. An increased dose of imatinib mesylate was ineffective in treating the neck tumor. Irradiation to the right neck was therefore undertaken. This case suggests that the development of a clone resistant to imatinib mesylate is not always detected in the bone marrow and that multiple Ph-positive clones have the potential to become transformed into a blast crisis.

We retrospectively investigated the status of transfusional iron overload at Kinki University Hospital. One hundred and sixty three patients received more than 10 red blood cell (RBC) units per year in 2009 and 2010. Myelodysplastic syndrome (37.4%) and aplastic anemia (11.0%) accounted for about 50% of the underlying diseases. At the time of receiving a total of 20 RBC units, 90.8% and 66.2% of the 65 patients evaluated had more than 500 and 1,000 ng/ml of serum ferritin, respectively. The frequency of organ dysfunction associated with iron overload was 56.9% of all the patients assessed, 37.8% of patients with serum ferritin levels of 500∼999 ng/ml, and 67.4% of patients with serum ferritin levels >1,000 ng/ml. Although the Japanese guidelines propose 40 units of RBC transfusion and/or a serum ferritin level of 1,000 ng/ml as a good point to start iron chelation therapy, our results suggest that iron overload and consequent organ dysfunction may occur earlier than this. Therefore, it may be necessary to start iron chelation therapy earlier than that suggested by the Japanese guidelines.

The frequency of NK-cell related neoplasms was estimated among lymphoproliferative diseases diagnosed and treated in Osaka, Japan, from 1999 to 2003. The total number of registered cases was 1,400, among which 1,092 patients were diagnosed as having malignant lymphomas. There were 987 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and 105 (9.6%) of Hodgkin's lymphoma. Immunophenotypic analysis revealed that 743 patients had B-cell lymphomas and 209 T/NK-cell lymphomas. Among the T/NK-cell lymphomas, 40 showed positive immunoreactivity for CD56, and thus they were judged to be NK/T-cell lymphomas. They included one blastic NK-cell lymphoma and 39 NK/T-cell lymphomas. NK/T-cell lymphomas were further divided into three categories based on the main site of lesions: nasal type (23 cases), non-nasal extranodal type (11 cases), and nodal type (5 cases). The positive rate of infection with the Epstein-Barr virus determined by in situ hybridization was 83%, 36%, and 25% in the nasal, non-nasal, and nodal type, respectively. A mosquito allergy was found in one patient with EBV-positive non-nasal NK/T-cell lymphoma. The present study showed that the frequency of NK-cell related neoplasms among all NHLs was 4% in an ATL-non-endemic area of Japan.

Classical Hodgkin's disease (HD) is characterized by rare neoplastic Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg (H-RS) cells within abundant reactive cellular backgrounds. In most cases, H-RS cells originate from the B-cell lineage, but their immunophenotypes are unusual. Here we newly found frequent expression of chemokine receptors CXCR6 and CCR10 and their respective ligands CXCL16 and CCL28 in HD-derived cell lines. CCR10 is known to be selectively expressed by plasma cells, whereas CCL28 attracts eosinophils via CCR3 and plasma cells via CCR10 and CCR3. Therefore, we examined their expression in HD tissues by immunohistochemistry. We found that H-RS cells in 15 of 19 cases were positive for CCL28. Among them, seven cases were also positive for CCR10, suggesting a potential autocrine effect. In situ hybridization confirmed the expression of CCL28 mRNA in H-RS cells. The CCL28 positivity in H-RS cells did not significantly correlate with that of LMP-1, CCL17, CCL22, or CCL11. However, it significantly correlated with the background accumulation of eosinophils, plasma cells, and CCR10+ cells. Thus, the production of CCL28 by H-RS cells may play a major role in tissue accumulation of eosinophils and/or plasma cells in classical HD. The frequent expression of CCR10 in H-RS cells themselves also supports their close relationship to plasma cells.

KL-6, a mucinous high—molecular weight glycoprotein expressed on type 2 pneumocytes, has been shown to be elevated in the serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of patients with interstitial pneumonitis (IP). We measured the serum levels of KL-6 in patients after they had undergone allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) to determine whether KL-6 could be a clinically useful indicator for the development of IP. The serum concentrations of KL-6 were determined by a sandwichtype enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using an anti—KL-6 monoclonal antibody. A total of 1028 samples were tested from 76 patients (78 transplantations) who received BMTs. The KL-6 values were markedly elevated in patients with pulmonary complications, but not in those with acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease, hemorrhagic cystitis, herpes encephalitis, sepsis, and veno-occlusive disease.The serum levels of KL-6 from patients with pulmonary complications were significantly higher than from those without pulmonary complications (P < .001) and those with other complications (P < .001). Of the 12 patients with pulmonary complications, 6 had idiopathic IP (IIP). The levels were not high at the onset of IIP. Four of 6 IIP patients showed marked elevations of KL-6 levels in parallel with the severity of IP and died of respiratory failure without response to treatment.Assessment of serum KL-6 levels might not be useful for the early diagnosis of IP, but may be a useful indicator for monitoring the severity of IP after BMT.

Lenalidomide plays a central role in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM). Ozaki et al. [1] very recently reported two cases that had developed inflammatory reactions to lenalidomide. We also experienced three similar cases among eight cases treated in our hospital from August 2010 to July 2011 (Table 1). Case 1 received lenalidomide (10 mg/day on days 1–21) plus dexamethasone (20 mg on days 1–4) on a 28-day cycle. On day 7 at cycle 1, the patient developed high fever without apparent infection. After tapering the dose of lenalidomide to 5 mg/day without administration of antibiotics, his fever slowly receded. Case 2 received lenalidomide monotherapy (15 mg/day on days 1–21) on a 28-day cycle. On day 14 at cycle 1, the patient developed mild fever without focus of infection. We reduced the dose to 10 mg/day. The fever subsequently receded. Case 3 received lenalidomide (15 mg/day on days 1–21) plus dexamethasone (8 mg on days 1–4) on a 28-day cycle. On day 6 at cycle 1, the patient developed high fever without focus of infection. Five days after stopping lenalidomide, the fever receded. Cases 4–8 received lenalidomide (15 mg on days 1–21) plus dexamethasone therapy (20 mg/day on days 1, 8, 15, 22) on a 28-day cycle. The patient in Case 4 developed high fever due to the oral cavity infection on day 15, while febrile events were not observed in Cases 5–8. To clarify the mechanism underlying the febrile reactions to lenalidomide, we measured serum cytokine levels in these cases by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in SRL, Inc. (Tokyo, Japan) using residual serum samples, after obtaining informed consent. As for Cases 1–3, lenalidomide alone or in combination with dexamethasone drastically reduced serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a levels in spite of the febrile reactions (12.2–1.5 pg/ml in Case 1; 2.9–1.8 pg/ml in Case 2; 71.0 to 4.5 pg/ml in Case 3) (Table 1). Lenalidomide also dramatically decreased serum interleukin (IL)-6 levels in Cases 1 and 2 (200.0–8.0 pg/ml in Case 1; 9.0–4.2 pg/ml in Case 2), but not in Case 3 (2.4–54.7 pg/ml). Levels of other cytokines, including pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1b and anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, were scarcely influenced by lenalidomide in these three cases. These results indicate that, although the cytokine(s) involved in the febrile reactions to lenalidomide remains unknown, it appears that, except for the possible involvement of IL-6 in Case 3, these reactions were caused independently of IL-6 and TNF-a. Similarly, lenalidomide reduced serum levels of TNF-a and IL-6 in Cases 4–8, whereas their degrees were considerably different among the cases. Although we cannot deny the possibility that dexamethasone influences the serum cytokine levels, it is believed that serum IL-6 and TNF-a levels are reduced by the standard combination therapy with lenalidomide and dexamethasone in most MM patients. We also examined whether anti-MM effects of lenalidomide might not be affected by the febrile reactions. However, after one cycle of lenalidomide treatment, the % M-protein Y. Morita (&) T. Shimada T. Yamaguchi S. Rai C. Hirase M. Emoto K. Serizawa Y. Taniguchi M. Ojima Y. Tatsumi T. Ashida I. Matsumura Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kinki University Faculty of Medicine, Osaka-Sayama, Osaka 589-8511, Japan e-mail: moriyasu@med.kindai.ac.jp

Abstract 1037 Background: In the IDSA guideline published in 2010 on the use of antimicrobial agents in neutropenic cancer patients, monotherapy with an anti-pseudomonal beta-lactam agent, such as cefepime (CFPM), carbapenem [meropenem (MEPM) or imipenem-cilastatin (IPM)], or piperacillin-tazobactam, is recommended as an empiric therapy for high risk febrile neutropenia (FN) patients. There have been few reports on the efficacy of cefozopran (CZOP), one of the 4thgeneration beta-lactams, in the treatment of such patients. We conducted an open-label randomized controlled study to evaluate the clinical efficacy of CZOP, MEPM, or IPM in high-risk FN adult patients with hematologic malignancies and solid tumors, using CFPM as a control. Methods: In this trial, 386 patients registered from 23 centers were randomized to receive either 4thgeneration beta-lactam (CFPM 2g, q12h IV or CZOP 2g, q12h IV) or carbapenem (MEPM 1g, q12h IV or IPM 1g, q12h IV). The primary endpoint was response to treatment defined as complete defervescence by day 7 with improvement in infection-related symptoms and laboratory findings. The clinical data were analyzed both by intention to treat and per protocol. We also evaluated the efficacy of each of the initial four drugs at days 3 to 5as a secondary endpoint. Results: 386 patients received the assigned antibiotic (CFPM: n=95, CZOP: n=98, MEPM: n=96, IPM: n=97) and 377 were evaluated for efficacy (CFPM: n=94, CZOP: n=95, MEPM: n=94, IPM: n=94). The 4 groups were comparable in terms of the baseline characteristics, including as age (median: 59 years (range: 17–87)), sex (male: n=215, female: n=171), body weight (median: 55 kg (range: 32–100)), underlying malignancy (leukemia: n=212 (54.9%), lymphoma: n=122 (31.6%), multiple myeloma: n=37 (9.6%), myelodysplastic syndrome: n=6 (1.6%), and other malignancy: n=9 (2.3%)), duration of initial antibiotic therapy (median: 7 days (range: 1–29)), median duration of severe neutropenia (neutrophil count < 100×106/L) (median: 6 days (range: 0–56)) and MASCC score (median: 21 (range:3–26)). Only neutrophil count at onset of IPM was significantly lower compared to the other treatments (CFPM: 38×106/L, CZOP: 35 x106/L, MEPM: 18×106/L, and IPM: 3×106/L, p=0.003). In intention-to-treat analysis, the response rates at day 7 were not significantly different among the four arms (CFPM: 63%, CZOP: 59%, MEPM: 61%, IPM: 69% (P=0.52)). The three antibiotics investigated in this trial were as effective as the reference agent, CFPM, in both the intention-to-treat and per-protocol populations. In both the intention-to-treat and per protocol analyses, success rates of the initial therapy at days 3 to 5 were not significantly different among four drugs [CFPM: 52 and 54%, CZOP: 46 and 47%, MEPM: 54 and 55%, IPM: 49 and 53% (P=0.70 and 0.68, respectively)]. Conclusions: CZOP, MEPM, and IPM were as effective as CFPM for adult FN patients with hematological malignancies and solid tumors as an empiric therapy. Disclosures: Tamura: Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd,: Consultancy.

Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is the clonal expansion of hematopoietic progenitor cells and is characterized clinically by myeloid hyperplasia, leukocytosis with basophilia, and giant splenomegaly. The initial chronic phase of expanded clonal myelopoiesis lasts several years, but commonly evolves slowly into the accelerated phase, finally progressing to blast crisis. Here we describe a CML case that initiated with pancytopenia and had an unusual clinical course. A previously healthy, 52-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital because of persistent fever in September 2000. Patient data are shown in Table 1. Severe pancytopenia was diagnosed and was managed mainly with red blood cell and platelet transfusion. Two weeks later, the patient was referred to our hospital. On admission, she was afebrile and had mild hepatosplenomegaly. She had no previous history of exposure to myelotoxic agents. Blood test results showed normal values for electrolytes and liver and renal function. Results of tests for hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, parvovirus B19, and human immunodeficiency virus were negative. Multiple blood cultures were sterile. Results of tests for anti-DNA and anti-nuclear antibodies were negative. Although pancytopenia was improving, the bone marrow showed hypoplasia with no blasts or fibrosis, and cytogenetic analysis showed the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph1), t(9;22) (q34;q11), in 7 (35%) of 20 metaphases and major breakpoint cluster region (M-bcr) chimeric messenger RNA. Follow-up of the patient had not included any medication or transfusion. On the 22nd hospital day, the appearance of Ph1 had increased to 18 (90%) of 20 metaphases without blasts. A Case of Hypoplastic Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Initiating With Pancytopenia

Fibrinopeptide A (FPA) and fibrinopeptide Bβ15-42 (Bβ15-42) levels were examined in various diseases, according to the methods of Nossel and Kudryk, respectively.The values elevated in chronic liver disease, chronic hematopoietic malignancy, cerebral thrombosis and chronic renal failure (CRF). Among those diseases remarkable elevation was observed in CRF. During dialysis treatment for CRF relulted in decrease in FPA levels, not in Bβ15-42 levels. The Bβ15-42 levels were well correlated with serum creatinine levels. Significant elevation of Bβ15-42 could be observed in CRP-positive group.From these findings, it could be concluded that Bβ15-42 was a marker detecting hyperfibrino (geno) lytic condition, but that in renal failure the values should be discussed in relation with serum creatinine values.