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The article presents a case study of a 59-year-old man who had an unusual case of an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated monotypic posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder with plasmacytic features in leukemic phase.

The article discusses the Acute Leukemia French Association (ALFA)-0701 study which analyzes the positive impact of the level of blast CD33 expression to gemtuzumab ozogamicin (GO) in patients with acute myeloid leukemia. The in vitro result which shows the clear relationship between CD33 expression and GO efficacy and the evaluation of CD33 expression as a continuous covariable and highest response rates were reported for patients with CD33 expression in phase 2 study are mentioned.

Immune thrombocytopenla (ITP) Is art autoimmune disease with a complex pathogenesis. As in many B cell-related autoimmune diseases, rltuximab (RTX) has been shown to Increase platelet counts in some ITP patients. From an immunologic standpoint, the mode of action of RTX and the reasons underlying its limited efficacy have yet to be elucidated. Because spienectomy is a cornerstone treatment of 1TP, the immune effect of fIX on this major secondary iymphoid organ was investigated in 18 spleens removed from ITP patients who were treated or not with fIX. Spleens from ITP individuals had follicular hyperplasia consistent with secondary follicles. RTX therapy resulted in complete B.cell depletion In the blood and a significant reduction In splenic B cells, but these patients did not achieve remission. Moreover, whereas the percentage of circulating regulatory T cells (Tregs) was similar to that in controls, splenic Tregs were reduced in ITP patients. Interestingly, the ratio of prolnf lammatory Thi cells to suppressive Tregs was increased in the spleens of patients who failed RTX therapy. These results indicate that although B cells are involved In ITP pathogenesis, RTX-Induced total B-cell depletion is not correlated with its therapeutic effects, which suggests additional immune-mediated mechanisms of action of this drug. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]