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Objective: We aimed to determine the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) fear state in haematopoietic stem cell transplant patients and to examine its relationship with quality of life. Methods: In this prospective study, 64 patients who underwent HSCT during the pandemic were included. The COVID‐19 fear situation was evaluated with the Fear of COVID‐19 Scale (FCV‐19S). Quality of life was evaluated with the European Organisation for Quality of Life Research and Treatment Core Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ‐C30) (Version 3). Results: The median FCV‐19S score was 16.5 (12.0–22.0). The FCV‐19S score was significantly higher in urban residents than rural residents. The general health score was 59.64 ± 20.04. The strongest positive correlation between fear level and life quality was found in emotional function. A weak, significant, positive correlation was observed between role function, nausea–vomiting, pain, appetite loss and fear level. Conclusion: FCV‐19S is a quick, safe and valid tool that can be used to determine the COVID‐19 fear level in vulnerable patient groups such as HSCT patients and to direct them to the necessary psycho‐oncological support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) represents one of the most frequent and serious hematologic diseases among the elderly. Chromosomal abnormalities have been detected in 23%-78% patients with MDS. We analyzed the cytogenetics of elderly MDS patients in Turkey. Materials and Methods: Data on patients (>65 years old) diagnosed with primary MDS from 2011 to 2013 were retrospectively collected from Erciyes University. Chromosome analysis was performed in 54 patients using conventional karyotyping and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Results: Of the 54 patients recruited, karyotype abnormalities were found in 8 (15%) of 54 cases, among which, 5 (9%) were Trisomy 8 and 3 (6%) were del 5q. Conclusion: The incidence of chromosomal abnormalities in elderly Turkish MDS patients was lower than that reported in the literature. Although the pathogenesis of MDS is still poorly understood, environmental and biological factors could induce mechanisms that are associated with diverse karyotypes and variable frequencies of chromosomal abnormalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Our aim was to evaluate the contribution of flow cytometry (FC) analysis in patients with a histopathological diagnosis of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and to develop a reliable scoring system. Materials and Methods: We assessed the results of FC analysis in peripheral blood or bone marrow samples of 36 patients diagnosed with MCL by histopathological evaluation. Multivariate analysis identified 5 variables associated with MCL: CD23 negativity, CD5/19 common positivity, CD20/22 common bright positivity, FMC7 positivity, and clonal sIg bright positivity. A 5-point scoring system was devised using these parameters. Results: Twenty-five patients (69.4%) scored 5 points, 8 (22.2%) scored 4 points, and 3 (8.4%) scored 3 points. The diagnosis of MCL was confirmed by FC immunophenotyping in 91.6% of the patients. Conclusion: Our results suggest that a quintet diagnostic scoring system, which is considered to be reliable in the diagnosis of MCL, could make a substantial contribution to diagnosis and should be more widely introduced in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple myeloma is a malignant proliferation of plasma cells that mainly affects bone marrow. Pleural effusions secondary to pleural myelomatous involvement have rarely been reported in the literature. As it is rarely detected, we aimed to report a case in which pleural effusion of a multiple myeloma was confirmed as true myelomatous involvement by flow cytometry method. A 52-years old man presented to our clinic with chest and back pain lasting for 3 months. On the chest radiography, pleural fluid was detected in left hemithorax. Pleural fluid flow cytometry was performed. In the flow cytometry, CD56, CD38 and CD138 found to be positive, while CD19 was negative. True myelomatous pleural effusions are very uncommon, with fewer than 100 cases reported worldwide. Flow cytometry is a potentially useful and simple method for detection of pleural fluid involvement in multiple myeloma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]