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The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of clinician interpretation of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) reports at mid-therapy, interim PET (I-PET) and after the end of first-line therapy (E-PET) in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Four hundred and thirty patients were enrolled in this study comprising a total of 617 PET reports. Each report was evaluated by three expert hematologists randomly selected from a panel of nine. Reports were labeled positive or negative if all three interpreters agreed. All others were considered indeterminate. Indeterminate reports accounted for 59% of I-PET and 49% of E-PET reports. Two-year overall survival (OS) for patients with a positive, indeterminate and negative I-PET was 58%, 87% and 89% (p < 0.001), respectively. Two-year OS for patients with E-PET was 41%, 89% and 97% (p < 0.001) for positive, indeterminate and negative interpretation of PET/CT reports. Progression-free survival and OS did not differ significantly in patients with a negative and an indeterminate I-PET report. The use of well-defined reporting criteria, e.g. the Deauville five-point scale, is likely to reduce the number of scans perceived as indeterminate.

Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura is an autoimmune disease which involves opsonization of platelets by autoantibodies directed against different surface glycoproteins, leading to their premature destruction by the reticuloendothelial system. Management of patients with refractory ITP is difficult. Recent studies have shown that rituximab, a chimeric anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, is useful in the treatment of these patients, with overall response rates of about 50%. Most published reports have included a small number patients including case reports. The present study reports the results of a retrospective Danish multicenter study of rituximab in the treatment of adult patients with refractory ITP. Thirty-five patients (median age 52 years, range 17-82 years, 17 males) were included. One patient had immune thrombocytopenia and neutropenia. All patients had received prednisolone (Pred). Next to Pred, 25 patients had been treated with high-dose IgG, and in 16 patients a splenectomy had been performed. Sixteen patients had been treated with azathioprine. Other treatments included, e.g., cyclosporine, danazol, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, interferon, and dexamethasone. The patients were treated with a dose regimen of 375 mg/m2 i.v. approximately once weekly for 4 consecutive weeks. Six patients received a fixed dose of 500 mg disregarding their weight supplemented by 100 mg of methylprednisone i.v. or 50-100 mg of Pred given as premedication together with an antihistamine just before infusion of rituximab. The large majority of patients also received Pred and, in some cases, other concomitant immunosuppressive treatment during part of their rituximab treatment. A complete response (CR) was defined as a rise in the platelet count > 100 x 10(9)/L, a partial response (PR) as a rise in the platelet count > 50 x 10(9)/L, and a minor response (MR) as a rise in the platelet count < 50 x 10(9)/L. No response (NR) was defined as no increase in the platelet count. Because 4 patients were treated twice, a total of 39 outcomes of rituximab treatment were evaluated. Rituximab proved to be effective in 17 of 39 treatments [overall response 44% with 7 CR (18%) (1 patient showed a CR twice), 6 PR (15%), and 4 MR (10%)]. In 9/13 cases of CR or PR, the response (platelet level > 50 x 10(9)/L) was prompt, 1-2 weeks after the first infusion. The remaining patients responded 3-8 weeks later. Patients with CR and PR have been in remission for a median of 47 weeks. In general the side effects were few. In 2 cases, the treatment was stopped because of side effects either during or after the first infusion. Two fatal outcomes were recorded. A 71-year-old female with severe lung disease died 6 days after the first infusion of respiratory failure. The other patient, a 73-year-old man also with severe chronic obstructive lung disease, died of pneumonia approximately 13 weeks following the last rituximab treatment. It is concluded that rituximab may be a useful alternative therapy in patients with severe and symptomatic ITP refractory to conventional treatment.

The cytogenetics of splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) is less well characterized than the cytogenetics of other non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphomas. The aim of this study was to address this issue by identifying characteristic copy number imbalances in SMZL, for which purpose we analyzed 20 SMZL cases by comparative genomic hybridization (CGH), adding chromosome banding and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in some cases. CGH identified copy number imbalances in 70% of the cases. Imbalances were recurrently observed for chromosomes 3 (20%), 6 (20%), 7 (25%), 12 (20%), and 14 (10%). The minimally involved regions of these chromosomes were gains of 3q25 approximately qter and 12q13 approximately q15, and loss of 6q23, 7q31, and 14q22 approximately q24. A compilation of our data with data from 3 previous SMZL CGH studies revealed a significant heterogeneity between the studies. Eleven imbalances were recurrently observed in the compiled data set, as opposed to only 5 in our data set. The most frequently observed imbalances in the 73 SMZL cases of the compiled data set were gains of 3q (27%) and 12q (15%), and loss of 7q (18%). Our data suggest that SMZL constitute a genetically heterogeneous disease where gain of 3q25 and loss of 7q31 are the most likely imbalances to be involved in the pathogenesis of the disease.