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Competing Interests: Thomas Chatzikonstantinou received honoraria from AbbVie. Lydia Scarfò received honoraria from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, BeiGene, Lilly, Janssen, Octapharma. Gloria Iacoboni received honoraria and travel support from Novartis, Kite/Gilead, Bristol‐Myers Squibb, Abbvie, Autolus, Miltenyi, and AstraZeneca. Rosa Collado received support for attending meetings from Janssen‐Cilag and S.A. Sara Galimberti received honoraria support for attending meetings from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Jazz, Novartis, and Incyte, honoraria from Roche, Celgene, Pfizer, and Janssen, and support for attending meetings from Jazz, AstraZeneca, and Roche. Romain Guieze received honoraria, consulting fees, and support for attending meetings from AbbVie, Beigene, Roche, Janssen, and AstraZeneca. Eleftheria Hatzimichael received honoraria from AbbVie, Janssen‐Cilag, AstraZeneca, and Roche. Yair Herishanu received honoraria from Janssen, AbbVie, Roche, AstraZeneca, Medion, and Lilly. José‐Ángel Hernández‐Rivas received honoraria as a consultant from Janssen, AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Lilly, and BeiGene and support for attending meetings from Janssen, AbbVie, AstraZeneca, and BeiGene. Ozren Jaksic received honoraria from Johnson and Johnson, AstraZeneca, and Lilly, honoraria from Johnson and Johnson, AbbVie, AstraZeneca, and Lilly, and support for attending meetings from Johnson and Johnson, and AbbVie. Kamel Laribi received consulting fees from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Janssen, Beigene, Takeda, and Novartis. Maya Koren‐Michowitz received honoraria from Novartis, Pfizer, and Gad Medical LTD. and support for attending meetings from Novartis. Arnon P. Kater received advisory board fees and research money from Janssen, AbbVie, BMS, AstraZeneca, and Roche/Genentech, and support for attending meetings from Janssen and AbbVie. Ioannis Kotsianidis received honoraria and consulting fees from AbbVie and Janssen. Ivana Milosevic received honoraria from AbbVie, Roche, Sandoz, AstraZeneca, and Janssen, and support for attending meetings from AbbVie, Roche, and Takeda. Almudena Navarro‐Bailón received honoraria, advisory board fees, and support for attending meetings from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Takeda, Janssen, and Beigene. Jacopo Olivieri received honoraria from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, and Janssen. Gianluigi Reda received consulting fees from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Janssen, and Beigene, and is currently employed by AstraZeneca. Gian M. Rigolin received honoraria for participation in speaker's bureau from AbbVie, Astra Zeneca, Beigene, and Janssen, and support for attending meetings from Janssen. Mattia Schipani received honoraria and support for attending meetings from AstraZeneca, AbbVie, and Janssen‐Cilag and owns shares of stock in AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Merck, Eli Lilly, Sanofi, Johnson and Johnson, Pfizer, Gilead, and GSK. Tereza Shokralla and Stephan Stilgenbauer reports research funding from, consultancy or advisory role for, honoraria from, speakers' bureau participation for, and travel support from AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, BeiGene, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celgene, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, Hoffmann‐La Roche, Incyte, Infinity, Janssen, Novartis, and Sunesis. Eric Tse received support for attending meetings from Takeda. Theodoros Vassilakopoulos received honoraria from Takeda, Roche, Genesis Pharma, Merck, Novartis, Gilead, Sandoz, AstraZeneca, Integris, and Servier, and support for attending meetings from Takeda, Roche, Genesis Pharma, Merck, Pfizer, and Winmedica. Candida Vitale received honoraria from AbbVie, consulting fees from AstraZeneca, and support for attending meetings from AstraZeneca, Takeda, and Janssen. Renata Walewska received honoraria from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, and Beigene, support for attending meetings from Janssen, AbbVie, and AstraZeneca, and advisory board fees from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Janssen, Beigene, and SecuraBio. Lucrecia Yañez received honoraria from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Gilead, Janssen, Jazz, MSD, and Pfizer, support for attending meetings from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Gilead, Janssen, and Pfizer, and advisory board fees from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Jazz, Janssen, Beigene, and Celgene. Francesc Bosch received consulting fees, honoraria, and payment for expert testimony from AbbVie, Genentech, Novartis, Takeda, Janssen, Roche, Mundipharma, Celgene/BMS, AstraZeneca, Lilly, Beigene, Gilead and TG Therapeutics, Advantage Allogene, Lava Therapeutics, and Enterome. Stephen Mulligan received advisory board fees from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Janssen, Roche, and BeiGene. Maria Angelopoulou received consulting fees from AbbVie, Takeda, Janssen, Roche, Genesis, Gilead, and Amgen and honoraria from AbbVie, Takeda, Roche, Genesis, Gilead, and Novartis. Fatih Demirkan received support for attending meetings from Janssen and AbbVie. Tomas Papajík received honoraria and advisory board fees from AbbVie, Janssen‐Cilag, and AstraZeneca, and support for attending meetings from AstraZeneca. Marta Coscia received honoraria, advisory board fees, and support for attending meetings from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, and Janssen. Constantine Tam received honoraria from AbbVie, Beigene, Janssen, and LOXO. Antonio Cuneo received honoraria, advisory board fees, and support for attending meetings from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Beigene, Janssen, and Lilly. Gianluca Gaidano received honoraria from Abbvie, AstraZeneca, BeiGene, Hikma, Incyte, Janssen, and Lilly. Niki Stavroyianni received honoraria from Janssen, AbbVie, AstraZeneca, and Lilly, and support for attending meetings from Janssen and AstraZeneca. Lukas Smolej received consulting fees, honoraria, and support for attending meetings from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, and Janssen and advisory board fees from AbbVie and AstraZeneca. Martin Spacek received honoraria and consulting and advisory board fees, and support for attending meetings from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, and Janssen. Michael Doubek received research support and honoraria from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, and Janssen. Eugene Nikitin received honoraria from AbbVie. Kostas Stamatopoulos received research support from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Janssen, Novartis, and Roche; honoraria from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Lilly, and Janssen. Paolo Ghia received research support from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, BMS, Janssen and honoraria from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, BeiGene, BMS, Galapagos, Genmab, Janssen, Loxo Oncology @Lilly, MSD, Roche, and is an Editor of HemaSphere. Georgios Karakatsoulis, Eva Minga, Dimitra Chamou, Jana Kotaskova, Christos Demosthenous, Elisa Albi, Miguel Alcoceba, Salem Al‐Shemari, Thérèse Aurran‐Schleinitz, Francesca Bacchiarri, Sofia Chatzileontiadou, Zadie Davis, Marcos Daniel de Deus Santos, Maria Dimou, Elena Dmitrieva, David Donaldson, Gimena Dos Santos, Barbara Dreta, Maria Efstathopoulou, Shaimaa El‐Ashwah, Alicia Enrico, Andrzej Frygier, Andrea Galitzia, Eva Gimeno, Valerio Guarente, Sean Harrop, Elżbieta Kalicińska, Volkan Karakus, Bonnie Kho, Maria Kislova, Εliana Konstantinou, Zuzana Kubova, Jorge Labrador, Deepesh Lad, Luca Laurenti, Thomas Longval, Alberto Lopez‐Garcia, Juan Marquet, Stanislava Maslejova, Carlota Mayor‐Bastida, Biljana Mihaljevic, Fatima Miras, Riccardo Moia, Marta Morawska, Uttam K. Nath, Irina Panovska‐Stavridis, Maria Papaioannou, Cheyenne Pierie, Anna Puiggros, Rosa Ruchlemer, Annett Schiwitza, Yandong Shen, Tereza Shokralla, Martin Simkovic, Svetlana Smirnova, Dina S. A. Soliman, Tamar Tadmor, Kristina Tomic, Andrea Visentin, George Vrachiolias, Vojin Vukovic, Zhenshu Xu, Munci Yagci, Mohamed Yassin, Jana Zuchnicka, David Oscier, Alessandro Gozzetti, Panagiotis Panagiotidis, Blanca Espinet, Paolo Sportoletti, Gerassimos A. Pangalis, Viola M. Popov, Bella Biderman, Roberta Murru, Rainer Claus, Livio Trentin, Darko Antic, Olga B. Kalashnikova, Mark Catherwood, Sarka Pospisilova, and Anastasia Chatzidimitriou have no conflict of interest to disclose.

In this retrospective international multicenter study, we describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and related disorders (small lymphocytic lymphoma and high-count monoclonal B lymphocytosis) infected by SARS-CoV-2, including the development of post-COVID condition. Data from 1540 patients with CLL infected by SARS-CoV-2 from January 2020 to May 2022 were included in the analysis and assigned to four phases based on cases disposition and SARS-CoV-2 variants emergence. Post-COVID condition was defined according to the WHO criteria. Patients infected during the most recent phases of the pandemic, though carrying a higher comorbidity burden, were less often hospitalized, rarely needed intensive care unit admission, or died compared to patients infected during the initial phases. The 4-month overall survival (OS) improved through the phases, from 68% to 83%, p = .0015. Age, comorbidity, CLL-directed treatment, but not vaccination status, emerged as risk factors for mortality. Among survivors, 6.65% patients had a reinfection, usually milder than the initial one, and 16.5% developed post-COVID condition. The latter was characterized by fatigue, dyspnea, lasting cough, and impaired concentration. Infection severity was the only risk factor for developing post-COVID. The median time to resolution of the post-COVID condition was 4.7 months. OS in patients with CLL improved during the different phases of the pandemic, likely due to the improvement of prophylactic and therapeutic measures against SARS-CoV-2 as well as the emergence of milder variants. However, mortality remained relevant and a significant number of patients developed post-COVID conditions, warranting further investigations., (© 2023 The Authors. American Journal of Hematology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background: Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) have a higher risk of developing other malignancies (OMs) compared to the general population. However, the impact of CLL-related risk factors and CLL-directed treatment is still unclear and represents the focus of this work., Methods: We conducted a retrospective international multicenter study to assess the incidence of OMs and detect potential risk factors in 19,705 patients with CLL, small lymphocytic lymphoma, or high-count CLL-like monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis, diagnosed between 2000 and 2016. Data collection took place between October 2020 and March 2022., Findings: In 129,254 years of follow-up after CLL diagnosis, 3513 OMs were diagnosed (27.2 OMs/1000 person-years). The most common hematological OMs were Richter transformation, myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Non-melanoma skin (NMSC) and prostate cancers were the most common solid tumors (STs).The only predictor for MDS and AML development was treatment with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide with/without rituximab (FC ± R) (OR = 3.7; 95% CI = 2.79-4.91; p < 0.001). STs were more frequent in males and patients with unmutated immunoglobulin heavy variable genes (OR = 1.77; 95% CI = 1.49-2.11; p < 0.001/OR = 1.89; 95% CI = 1.6-2.24; p < 0.001).CLL-directed treatment was associated with non-melanoma skin and prostate cancers (OR = 1.8; 95% CI = 1.36-2.41; p < 0.001/OR = 2.11; 95% CI = 1.12-3.97; p = 0.021). In contrast, breast cancers were more frequent in untreated patients (OR = 0.17; 95% CI = 0.08-0.33; p < 0.001).Patients with CLL and an OM had inferior overall survival (OS) than those without. AML and MDS conferred the worst OS (p < 0.001)., Interpretation: OMs in CLL impact on OS. Treatment for CLL increased the risk for AML/MDS, prostate cancer, and NMSC. FCR was associated with increased risk for AML/MDS., Funding: AbbVie, and EU/EFPIAInnovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking HARMONY grant n° 116026., Competing Interests: TC received honoraria from AbbVie. LS received consulting fees from AbbVie, BeiGene, AstraZeneca, Lilly, and Janssen, honoraria from Janssen and Octapharma, support for attending meetings from BeiGene and Janssen and advisory board fees from Merck. SMu received advisory board fees from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Janssen, Roche and BeiGene. JAHR received honoraria as a consultant from Janssen, AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Lilly, and BeiGene and support for attending meetings from Janssen, AbbVie, AstraZeneca, and BeiGene. LI received honoraria from AbbVie, Roche, and Janssen-Cilag. APK received advisory board fees and research money from Janssen, AbbVie, BMS, AstraZeneca, Roche/Genentech, support for attending meetings from Janssen and AbbVie. M-DL received travel expenses from Janssen and AbbVie. GMR received honoraria for participation to speaker's bureau from AbbVie, Astra Zeneca, Beigene, and Janssen, and support for attending meetings from Janssen. JVT received consulting fees from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, BeiGene, and Janssen, honoraria for scientific talks from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, BeiGene, Janssen, Lilly, and Roche, travel support from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, BeiGene, Janssen, Roche, and Lilly, and advisory boards fees for AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, BeiGene. GI received honoraria from Novartis, BMS, Sandoz, AstraZeneca, Janssen, Kite/Gilead, and Miltenyi, support for attending meetings from Kite/Gilead, AstraZeneca, and AbbVie and advisory board fees from Kite/Gilead, Novartis, BMS, and Autolus. FBi received support for attending meetings from AbbVie. RCo received support for attending meetings from Janssen-Cilag and S.A. SG received honoraria support for attending meetings from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Jazz, Novartis, and Incyte, honoraria from Roche, Celgene, Pfizer, and Janssen, and support for attending meetings from Jazz, AstraZeneca, and Roche. RGS received support for attending meetings from AbbVie and S.L.U. RG received honoraria, consulting fees, and support for attending meetings from AbbVie, Beigene, Roche, Janssen, AstraZeneca. YH received honoraria from Janssen, AbbVie, Roche, AstraZeneca, Medion, and Lilly. OJ received honoraria from Johnson and Johnson, AstraZeneca, and Lilly, honoraria from Johnson and Johnson, AbbVie, AstraZeneca, and Lilly, and support for attending meetings from Johnson and Johnson, and AbbVie. LK received consulting fees from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Janssen, Beigene, Takeda, and Novartis. MKM received honoraria from Novartis, Pfizer, and Gad Medical LTD and support for attending meetings from Novartis. IKo received honoraria and consulting fees from AbbVie and Janssen. IM received honoraria from AbbVie, Roche, Sandoz, AstraZeneca, and Janssen, and support for attending meetings from AbbVie, Roche, and Takeda. ANB received honoraria, advisory board fees and support for attending meetings from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Takeda, Janssen, and Beigene. JO received honoraria from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, and Janssen. GR received consulting fees from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Janssen, and Beigene, and is currently employed by AstraZeneca. TP received honoraria and advisory board fees from AbbVie, Janssen-Cilag, and AstraZeneca and support for attending meeting from AstraZeneca. MS received honoraria and support for attending meeting from AstraZeneca, AbbVie, and Janssen-Cilag and owns shares of stock in AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Merck, Eli Lilly, Sanofi, Johnson and Johnson, Pfizer, Gilead, and GSK. MSp received honoraria and consulting and advisory board fees, and support for attending meeting from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, and Janssen. ET received support for attending meetings from Takeda. TV received honoraria from Takeda, Roche, Genesis Pharma, Merck, Novartis, Gilead, Sandoz, AstraZeneca, Integris, and Servier and support for attending meetings from Takeda, Roche, Genesis Pharma, Merck, Pfizer, and Winmedica. CV received honoraria from AbbVie, consulting fees from AstraZeneca and support for attending meeting from AstraZeneca, Takeda, and Janssen. RW received honoraria from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, and Beigene, support for attending meetings from Janssen, AbbVie, and AstraZeneca and advisory board fees from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Janssen, Beigene, and SecuraBio. EWS received honoraria from AbbVie, Roche, and Janssen-Cilag and support for attending meetings from AbbVie. LY received honoraria from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Gilead, Janssen, Jazz, MSD, and Pfizer, support for attending meetings from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Gilead, Janssen, and Pfizer, and advisory board fees from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Jazz, Janssen, Beigene, and Celgene. MAn received consulting fees from AbbVie, Takeda, Janssen, Roche, Genesis, Gilead, and Amgen and honoraria from AbbVie, Takeda, Roche, Genesis, Gilead, and Novartis. MC received honoraria, advisory board fees, and support for attending meetings from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, and Janssen. ACu received honoraria, advisory board fees, and support for attending meetings from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Beigene, Janssen, and Lilly. FD support for attending meetings from Janssen and AbbVie. GG received honoraria, and advisory board fees from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Beigene, Janssen and advisory board fees from Lilly. EN received honoraria from AbbVie. LSm received consulting fees, honoraria and support for attending meetings from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, and Janssen and advisory board fees from AbbVie and AstraZeneca. NS received honoraria from Janssen, AbbVie, AstraZeneca, and Lilly, and support for attending meetings from Janssen and AstraZeneca. CT received honoraria from AbbVie, Beigene, Janssen, and LOXO. FB received consulting fees, honoraria and payment for expert testimony from AbbVie, Genentech, Novartis, Takeda, Janssen, Roche, Mundipharma, Celgene/BMS, AstraZeneca, Lilly, Beigene, Gilead and TG Therapeutics, Advantage Allogene, Lava Therapeutics, and Enterome. MDo received honoraria and advisory board fees from AbbVie, AstraZeneca and Janssen, advisory board fees from Swixx, and support for attending meetings from Janssen. PG received honoraria and consulting fees from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, BMS, Janssen, Lilly/Loxo Oncology, MSD, and Roche; grant support from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, BMS, Janssen. KS received honoraria from Janssen, AbbVie, Lilly and AstraZeneca, consulting fees and support for attending meetings from Janssen and AstraZeneca. GK, EM, DC, JK, CD, MA, SA, TAS, FBa, MB, ACa, AM, AKM, RC, SC, ACh, ZD, MDi, DD, GDS, BD, ME, SEA, AE, AF, AG, EG, IGGM, AGo, AjG, RGu, SH, EH, SJ, EKa, VK, BK, MK, EK, RJK, JL, DL, IL, TL, ALG, JM, LMR, MMa, SM, CMB, BM, FM, RM, MMo, RMu, UKN, ACO, DO, IPS, MP, ZK, PP, CP, AP, LR, RR, MDDS, AS, YS, MSi, SS, DSAS, TT, KT, AV, GV, VV, ZX, MYa, MY, JZ, DA, BB, MCa, RCl, BE, OBK, LL, GP, PPa, VMP, SP, PS, LT, AC, have no conflict of interest to disclose., (© 2023 Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Cardiac amyloidosis (CA) represents a myocardial disorder developed by fibril deposition of a heterogeneous group of misfolding proteins. Despite being rare, a high clinical index of suspicion and novel advanced diagnostic methods seem to facilitate its early recognition. Currently nine types of cardiac amyloidosis have been described with AL and ATTR being the most common. Light chain amyloidosis (AL) is a life-threatening disease, resulting from clonal plasma cells that produce amyloidogenic light chain fragments causing organ damage including the heart. Morbidity and mortality of these patients is strongly associated with the severity of cardiac involvement. Thus, early and precise diagnosis is crucial for prompt treatment initiation. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed data of 36 consecutive patients who were diagnosed with AL amyloidosis and treated in our center over the past 15 years. Heart involvement was present in 33 (92%) of them while 76% had severe cardiac disease as of stage IIIa and IIIb, according to the Mayo2004/European staging system. Almost one third of these patients experienced an early death occurring the first five months of diagnosis. To capture everyday clinical practice, we provide details on clinical presentation, diagnostic challenges, and outcome of these patients., Competing Interests: GE has received honoraria from Pfizer. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Chatzileontiadou, Zegkos, Frouzaki, Apsemidou, Efthimiadis, Parcharidou and Papaioannou.)

The involvement of the central nervous system (CNS) in Waldenström's Macroglobulinemia (WM) is a rare extramedullary manifestation of the disease known as Bing-Neel syndrome (BNS). To expand our understanding of this disease manifestation, we conducted a retrospective analysis of the incidence of BNS in 86 consecutive patients with WM [70% male, median age 65 years (range 33-86)] seen in our center during a 30-year period. Six patients (7%) from this group were diagnosed with BNS. The median period of time between WM diagnosis and BNS diagnosis was 6.8 years (range 2.3-15). They demonstrated a range of neurological deficits, including transient expressive aphasia, impaired vision, resting hand tremor, foot drop, and headache. Between the onset of symptoms and the diagnosis of BNS, the median time interval was 12.5 months (range 1-30). The diagnosis was made not on the basis of neurological symptoms or radiological evidence, but on the basis of the presence of WM cells in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Intrathecal chemotherapy with methotrexate, cytarabine, and dexamethasone (IT MTX, ARA-C, DEX) was used as front-line treatment, followed by intensive immunochemotherapy with rituximab, high-dose MTX, and ARA-C (R-Hi MTX/ARA-C) in three patients who were fit enough to receive this type of cytotoxic regimen, and rituximab plus bendamustine (R-Benda) in two patients who simultaneously required treatment for WM. Ibrutinib was administered to five patients (three as consolidation and two for initial treatment). All patients responded to front-line treatment, with four (67%) achieving partial response (PR) and two (33%) achieving complete response (CR). This study provides insight into the clinical presentation, diagnostic and treatment options, as well as the outcome of patients who have BNS., Competing Interests: EH has received honoraria from Janssen. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Kotsos, Chatzileontiadou, Apsemidou, Xanthopoulou, Rapi, Frouzaki and Hatjiharissi.)

Objective: Cardiomyopathy is a common manifestation of transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR), leading to heart failure, associated with high morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Tafamidis treatment by means of cardiac radiotracer uptake on myocardial scintigraphy., Subjects and Methods: Five male patients, mean age 76.2 years, with wild-type ATTR were included in the protocol. Total body scanning using technetium-99m-3,3-diphosphono-1,2-propanodicarboxylic acid ( 99m Tc-DPD) (in four patients) and technetium-99m-hydroxymethylene diphosphonate ( 99m Tc-HMDP) (in one) was performed pre- and one year post-Tafamidis therapy. A novel quantitation method for assessing radiotracer cardiac uptake was employed. The geometric mean was computed for both cardiac and thigh region of interest (ROI) and the heart-to-thigh (HtT) ratio was assessed by dividing the corresponding geometric mean counts., Results: Heart-to-thigh ratio was improved (decreased) in four of the patients receiving Tafamidis, in keeping with lower uptake to the cardiac region. These patients also demonstrated a relatively favorable clinical response to Tafamidis. The patient evaluated by 99m Tc-HMDP exhibited minimal HtT ratio reduction and stable clinical and echocardiographic characteristics., Conclusion: Sequential HtT ratio measurements could potentially identify patients with a favorable response to Tafamidis treatment at earlier stages, compared to other imaging modalities or serological biomarkers.

Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) may be more susceptible to Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to age, disease, and treatment-related immunosuppression. We aimed to assess risk factors of outcome and elucidate the impact of CLL-directed treatments on the course of COVID-19. We conducted a retrospective, international study, collectively including 941 patients with CLL and confirmed COVID-19. Data from the beginning of the pandemic until March 16, 2021, were collected from 91 centers. The risk factors of case fatality rate (CFR), disease severity, and overall survival (OS) were investigated. OS analysis was restricted to patients with severe COVID-19 (definition: hospitalization with need of oxygen or admission into an intensive care unit). CFR in patients with severe COVID-19 was 38.4%. OS was inferior for patients in all treatment categories compared to untreated (p < 0.001). Untreated patients had a lower risk of death (HR = 0.54, 95% CI:0.41-0.72). The risk of death was higher for older patients and those suffering from cardiac failure (HR = 1.03, 95% CI:1.02-1.04; HR = 1.79, 95% CI:1.04-3.07, respectively). Age, CLL-directed treatment, and cardiac failure were significant risk factors of OS. Untreated patients had a better chance of survival than those on treatment or recently treated., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Transplant-ineligible relapsed/refractory (rr) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients represent an unmet medical need. Polatuzumab vedotin (Pola), an anti-CD79b antibody-drug-conjugate (ADG), with bendamustine- rituximab(BR) has recently gained approval for these patients, both in the USA and Europe, based on the GO29365 phase IIb trial. Real-life data with Pola are extremely limited. We report the outcomes of 61 Greek patients, who received Pola-(B)R mainly within a compassionate use program. Treatment was given for up to six 21-day cycles. Bendamustine was omitted in three cases due to previous short-lived responses. Fourty-nine rrDLBCL(efficacy cohort-EC) and 58 rr aggressive B-NHL (safety cohort-SC) patients received at least 1 Pola-BR cycle. Twenty-one (43%) patients of the EC responded with 12/49 (25%) CR and 9/49 (18%) PR as best response. Median progression-free survival, overall survival and duration of response were 4.0, 8.5, and 8.5 months respectively, while 55% of patients experienced a grade ≥3 adverse event, mainly hematologic. Treatment discontinuations and death during treatment were mainly due to disease progression. Twenty-two (41%) patients received further treatment; 11/22 are still alive, including one after CAR-T cells, and two after stem cell transplantation. Our data confirm that Pola-BR is a promising treatment for rrDLBCL patients, inducing an adequate response rate with acceptable toxicity. Pola-BR could be used as bridging therapy before further consolidative treatments., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Breast cancer liver metastases (BCLM) are not uncommon (about 18% of cases): although some patients have been reported as still living after 25 months, median survival after hormonal- or chemotherapy is 6-14 months. In recent years, new chemotherapy regimens and molecular targeted therapies have given medical oncologists reason to believe that metastatic disease can be eradicated, or at least controlled for prolonged periods. In an attempt to improve survival, consideration has also been given to loco-regional treatments such as hepatic resection and radio-frequency ablation, which have been associated with better outcomes in selected patients. This review considers the role of two loco-regional approaches in a multidisciplinary perspective in the treatment of single or multiple breast cancer metastases limited to the liver. An expanded role for hepatic resection and ablation is being investigated. We assessed available data in the literature to determine their role on survival outcomes. They suggest that loco-regional treatments might be of significant benefit in a selected group of women with BCLM, but the role of these local treatments in multimodality treatment of liver metastases remains controversial. It can generally be said that loco-regional treatments can improve overall survival, with no mortality and less than 20% morbidity in patients at low surgical risk; however, they should only be considered cytoreductive treatments and, as such, always need to be integrated with systemic therapy.

Over the past several years the medical approach to cancer patients has made important steps forward both in the field of novel, selective, antiproliferative agents and more effective supportive therapies. A greater understanding of the molecular pathways regulating cell proliferation and metastasis has led to the identification of a range of targets specifically inhibited by these new drugs. The clinical development of these compounds (the so called "targeted therapies") has shown distinctive adverse effects with respect to standard chemotherapeutic agents but the potential increasing risk of venous thromboembolism remains unvaried. In fact, the incidence of this potentially life-threatening complication in patients receiving standard chemotherapy ranges from about 11% to 20% and even more depending on the type of drug administered and on the possible association with other anti-neoplastic and supportive therapies. In this paper we reviewed all the available evidences concerning the increasing risk of venous thromboembolism in cancer patients during treatment with new agents currently used in medical oncology together with data concerning the clinical value of a concomitant prophylactic anticoagulation. At present, additional information concerning safety in terms of thromboembolic risk of novel biological and molecular therapies should be collected from specifically designed original basic science studies and clinical trials in order to optimize their use in current oncology practice.