Search

Background: Haematological malignancies diagnosed during pregnancy are rare, with increasing incidence, presenting unique therapeutic, social and ethical challenges for treating teams, patients and their family. There are no national guidelines regarding appropriate referral pathways, resources and services for the management of these patients., Aims: To conduct a systematic review of the literature to identify the multidisciplinary team members required for optimal care of pregnant patients with haematological malignancies. These data will be used to evaluate the capabilities of Australian health networks to provide coordinated care., Methods: A systematic review of the literature in MEDLINE and SCOPUS databases was conducted. Eligible studies focused on pregnant Australian patients with haematological malignancies, exploring care models, specialist teams and services utilised. This was then used to generate a map of Australian hospitals that can service this patient demographic., Results: Essential team members include haematologists, maternal-fetal medicine specialists, anaesthetists, midwives, intensive care specialists, psychologists and social workers. Services utilised include haematology, maternity, intensive care, tertiary imaging, operating theatre, pharmacy and perinatal mental health services. Utilising these data, 25 hospitals can manage these patients., Conclusions: This study identified the necessary healthcare practitioners, services and hospitals available that can manage this patient cohort. Future research should focus on determining ideal treatment regimens, timing of therapy throughout gestation, establishing a national patient registry and implementing a cancer care plan and frameworks for best practice care. A centralised referral pathway leveraging telehealth will allow expedient, multidisciplinary action and equity in access to all women across Australia., (© 2025 The Author(s). Internal Medicine Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Royal Australasian College of Physicians.) more...

Background: Double-hit lymphoma (DHL) is an aggressive subtype of high-grade B-cell lymphoma with inferior prognosis using standard dose chemotherapy. Controversy remains whether more intensive chemotherapy regimens such as dose-adjusted etoposide, prednisolone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and rituximab (DA-EPOCH-R) provide better outcomes in this cohort., Aims: To review consecutive cases of DHL treated with DA-EPOCH-R at our institution in comparison to available literature., Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of 13 consecutive patients with DHL treated with DA-EPOCH-R at our institution. Primary endpoints included complete response (CR), event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS)., Results: CR rate with DA-EPOCH-R in DHL was 69% in our cohort. Median EFS and OS duration was 61 months (95% CI: 41-86 months) and 64 months (95% CI: 42-86 months) respectively. One patient discontinued DA-EPOCH-R due to recurrent febrile neutropenia and there were no treatment or infection-related deaths during the study., Conclusions: This study suggests that DA-EPOCH-R is a well tolerated outpatient regimen for DHL and should be considered for initial treatment in medically fit patients. Further prospective studies are warranted to confirm these findings., (© 2022 The Authors. Internal Medicine Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Royal Australasian College of Physicians.) more...

Background: The role of brentuximab peri-allogeneic transplantation in patients with relapsed and/or refractory CD30 positive lymphomas remains poorly defined., Aim: To assess the outcome of use of brentuximab as a bridge to allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) in patient with relapsed/refractory CD30+ classic Hodgkin lymphoma cHL and anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL)., Methods: Outcomes of consecutive patients with relapsed/refractory cHL/ALCL treated with brentuximab as a bridge to SCT were determined by retrospective review of individual medical records. Survival analysis was measured from start of brentuximab treatment., Results: A total of 12 patients (10 cHL, 2 ALCL) had received brentuximab as a planned bridge to allogeneic SCT. Median age was 27 years (range 20-54 years); median prior lines of therapy was 4 (range 3-6) and all except one patient had undergone prior autologous SCT (92%). Patients received at median of 3 brentuximab doses pre-allogeneic SCT (range 1-4), with an overall response rate of 66.7%. At a median follow up of 30 months (range 6-52 months), 2 years progression free survival and overall survival post-allogeneic SCT is 58 and 92% respectively. Incidence of non-relapse mortality, grade 3-4 acute graft versus host disease and extensive stage chronic graft versus host disease is 8, 17 and 18% respectively. Of five patients who subsequently relapsed post-SCT, four remain alive with disease control post manipulation of immune-suppression., Conclusion: Our experience suggests that brentuximab use pre-allogeneic SCT is not associated with any significant post-transplant toxicity, and is associated with a rapid response in a majority of patients with relapsed/refractory CD30 positive lymphomas. Brentuximab may thus provide a non-toxic bridge to allogeneic SCT for patients with relapsed/refractory CD30 positive cHL or ALCL., (© 2017 Royal Australasian College of Physicians.) more...