Search

Since 1984 we have autografted a total of 60 patients with AML in second complete remission (CR) utilizing the BAVC (BCNU, amsacrine, vepesid, cytosine-arabinoside) conditioning regimen and unpurged marrow. Projected disease-free survival (DFS) probability in 42% at 10 years. Autografting was performed at a median interval of 2 months (range 1-13) from second CR. The median duration of first CR was 14 months (range 1-43) and lasted < or = 12 months in 27/60 patients. Three early deaths (5%) occurred, 30 patients relapsed after a median of 6 months from transplant (range 2-28) and, of the remaining 27 patients, 26 are in continuous CR (CCR) after a median follow up of 60 months (range 6-122), while the last patient committed suicide 7 years after ABMT when she was still in CCR. A first CR duration > 12 months is correlated with a significantly better overall survival probability (61 vs 25%, P = 0.02), while no factors influence DFS. Outcome of patients who relapsed after autografting has been analyzed separately; a longer overall survival after relapse is correlated with a longer duration of the second CR (62% at 34 months for patients who relapsed after > 12 months from the autograft vs 5% for the others, P = 0.001). These results confirm that AML patients autografted in second CR with BAVC regimen and unpurged marrow have the possibility of becoming long-term DFS and can therefore be cured.

The role of ultrasonographic examination of the bladder has been retrospectively evaluated in 12 patients with hemorrhagic cystitis occurring after BMT. Three sonographic patterns of bladder abnormalities have been observed: type 1, circumscribed thickening of the wall protruding into the lumen (4 patients); type 2, diffuse thickening of the wall (3 patients); type 3, intraluminal lobulated bulky mass reducing the capacity (5 patients). Sonographic follow-up showed a progressive trend of bladder abnormalities: type 3 lesions were always preceded by type 1 or type 2 abnormalities. In 10 of 12 patients the cystoscopic findings proved the correlation between the sonographic aspects and the progressive stages of bladder wall damage. Patients were treated initially by hyperhydration and blood products transfusions in order to stop hematuria. The median duration of bleeding was significantly longer (p < 0.01) in patients showing type 3 lesions (90 days) than in the combined groups with types 1 or 2 lesions (14 days). All 5 patients with type 3 abnormalities failed treatment and required endoscopic removal of clots; hemorrhagic cystitis was the major cause of death in 3 patients in this group. Ultrasonography may therefore be considered an accurate investigation for assessing the extent of bladder damage and monitoring the effectiveness of treatment for this complication.