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However, discrepancies in the application of PMF prognostic scoring systems, such as the International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) and dynamic IPSS (DIPSS) for patients with PET/PPV-MF have been reported [[4]-[8]], and the prognostic scoring systems for PET/PPV-MF has been developed [[9]]. Dear editor, Myelofibrosis (MF) is divided into two categories, namely primary MF (PMF) and secondary MF arising from essential thrombocythemia (ET) or polycythemia vera (PV), so-called PET-MF or PPV-MF, respectively [[1]]. 1Application of current prognostic models in patients with PET/PPV-MF.A IPSS, DIPSS, DIPSS-plus, and MYSEC-PM were applied to the maximum number of cases for each model. We evaluated the existing prognostic models developed for PMF and PET/PPV-MF in a nationwide prospective observational study for patients with PET/PPV-MF conducted by the Japanese National Research Group on Idiopathic Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes. [Extracted from the article]

Successful treatment of many patients with advanced cancer using antibodies against programmed cell death 1 (PD-1; also known as PDCD1) and its ligand (PD-L1; also known as CD274) has highlighted the critical importance of PD-1/PD-L1-mediated immune escape in cancer development (1-6). However, the genetic basis for the immune escape has not been fully elucidated, with the exception of elevated PD-L1 expression by gene amplification and utilization of an ectopic promoter by translocation, as reported in Hodgkin and other B-cell lymphomas, as well as stomach adenocarcinoma (6-10). Here we show a unique genetic mechanism of immune escape caused by structural variations (SVs) commonly disrupting the 3' region of the PD-L1 gene. Widely affecting multiple common human cancer types, including adult T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma (27%), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (8%), and stomach adenocarcinoma (2%), these SVs invariably lead to a marked elevation of aberrant PD-L1 transcripts that are stabilized by truncation of the 3'-untranslated region (UTR). Disruption of the Pd-l1 3'-UTR in mice enables immune evasion of EG7-OVA tumour cells with elevated Pd-l1 expression in vivo, which is effectively inhibited by Pd-1/Pd-l1 blockade, supporting the role of relevant SVs in clonal selection through immune evasion. Our findings not only unmask a novel regulatory mechanism of PD-L1 expression, but also suggest that PD-L1 3'-UTR disruption could serve as a genetic marker to identify cancers that actively evade anti-tumour immunity through PD-L1 overexpression., Structural variations, including translocations, inversions, tandem duplications, and deletions, are widely observed across cancer genomes (11,12). Of particular interest are those involving non-coding sequences recently reported for activation of several [...]

A retrospective chart survey of the clinical features of indolent adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) was conducted in the Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. This study enrolled 24 smoldering-type ATLs, 10 favorable chronic-type ATLs, and 20 unfavorable chronic-type ATLs diagnosed between 2010 and 2018. Among them, 4, 3, and 10 progressed to acute-type ATLs during their clinical course. The median survival time (MST) in smoldering-type ATL and favorable chronic-type ATL was not reached, and their 4-year overall survival (OS) was 73% and 79%, respectively. Compared with this, the prognosis of unfavorable chronic-type ATL was poor. Its MST was 3.32 years, and the 4-year OS was 46% (p = 0.0095). In addition to the three features that determine the unfavorable characteristics of chronic-type ATL, namely, increased lactate dehydrogenase, increased blood urea nitrogen, and decreased albumin, the high-risk category by the indolent ATL-Prognostic Index, which was defined by an increment of soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL2-R) of >6000 U/mL, could explain the poor prognosis in indolent ATL patients. The level of sIL-2R might be an indicator of the initiation of therapy for indolent ATL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective and Method: Adult T‐cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) is an aggressive peripheral T‐cell lymphoma with poor prognosis. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 312 patients with aggressive ATL and analyzed the effect of chemotherapy dose intensity on prognosis in clinical practice. Result: As first‐line therapy, 62 patients underwent best supportive care (BSC) or single‐agent chemotherapy, and 235 underwent intensive chemotherapy. The median survival time (MST) was 0.58 years in the 312 total patients, and 0.13 years and 0.75 years in the BSC/single‐agent chemotherapy group and intensive chemotherapy group, respectively. The median average relative dose intensity (ARDI) of patients who received intensive chemotherapy was 60%. We divided patients into 3 groups according to ARDI. Those in the top tertile of ARDI (ARDI ≥ 75%, n = 82) had better overall survival compared with those in the intermediate tertile (45% ≤ ARDI < 75%, n = 79) (P <.0001), with MSTs of 4.69 and 0.75 years, respectively. The occurrence of organ dysfunction and infectious complications was comparable between the two ARDI groups. Conclusion: Higher ARDI improves prognosis in patients with aggressive ATL in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) is an aggressive peripheral T-cell neoplasm, and the outcome of patients with ATL after chemotherapy is poor. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is a curative treatment modality for ATL, and four factors, namely, age > 50 years, male recipient, lack of complete remission at transplantation, and transplantation of cord blood, were previously shown to be associated with poor survival. We retrospectively analyzed the outcome of 21 patients with ATL who had undergone allo-HSCT at our hospital during a 3-year period. Of 21 patients, all had at least one of the above risk factors, and 18 had two or more. With a median follow-up of 19.7 months for living patients, the 1- and 2-year overall survival (OS) rates after transplantation were 34% and 27%, respectively. All relapse/progression events occurred within 1 year after allo-HSCT, and the cumulative incidence of relapse/progression at 1 year after allo-HSCT was 46.9%. The 100-day and 1-year nonrelapse mortality (NRM) rates were 19% and 42%, respectively. No significant difference in OS was observed between myeloablative and reduced-intensity conditioning regimens. The 3-year OS (27%) of ATL patients who received allo-HSCT and who had at least one adverse factor was somewhat poorer than the 3-year OS of 33% identified in a nationwide study of allo-HSCT in ATL patients in Japan. The high relapse/progression and NRM rates are major problems to be solved to achieve better outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective The efficacy of mogamulizumab in adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma ( ATLL) was reported in a previous phase 2 study. Compared with patients in clinical trials, however, most patients in real-life settings have demonstrated worse outcomes. Method We retrospectively analyzed 96 patients with relapsed/refractory ATLL who received mogamulizumab treatment. Results Relapsed/refractory ATLL patients with a median age of 70 years received a median of five courses of mogamulizumab. Hematologic toxicity and skin rash were the most common adverse events, and both were manageable. Of 96 patients, 87 were evaluable for efficacy. The overall response rate was 36%, and the median progression-free survival ( PFS) and overall survival ( OS) from the start of mogamulizumab therapy were 1.8 and 4.0 months, respectively. Of the original 96 patients, only 25 fulfilled the inclusion criteria of the phase 2 study. Those who met the criteria demonstrated longer median PFS and OS durations of 2.7 and 8.5 months, respectively. The median OS from diagnosis in relapsed/refractory ATLL patients receiving mogamulizumab was 12 months, longer than the 5.8 months in a historical cohort without mogamulizumab. Conclusion In clinical practice, mogamulizumab exhibited antitumor activity in patients with relapsed/refractory ATLL, with an acceptable toxicity profile. Mogamulizumab therapy improved the OS of ATLL patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prognosis of multiple myeloma (MM) has improved with the introduction of novel agents. These data are largely derived from clinical trials and might not reflect real-world patient outcomes accurately. We surveyed real-world data from 284 patients newly diagnosed with MM between 2010 and 2018 in Miyazaki Prefecture. The median follow-up period was 32.8 months. The median age at diagnosis was 71 years, with 68% of patients aged >65 years. The International Staging System (ISS) stage at diagnosis was I in 18.4% of patients, II in 34.1%, and III in 47.5%. Bortezomib-containing regimens were preferred as initial treatment; they were used in 147 patients (51.8%). In total, 80% of patients were treated with one or more novel agents (thalidomide, lenalidomide, or bortezomib). Among 228 patients who were treated with novel agents as an initial treatment, the overall response rate (partial response (PR) or better) to initial treatment was 78.4%, and the median time to next treatment (TTNT) was 11.6 months. In the multivariate analysis, PR or better responses to initial treatment were independently favorable prognostic factors for TTNT. The median survival time after initial therapy for patients with novel agents was 56.4 months and 3-year overall survival (OS) was 70.4%. In multivariate analysis, ISS stage I/II disease and PR or better response to initial treatment, and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) were identified as independent prognostic factors for overall survival (OS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Siva-1 is a molecule that has the potential to induce both extrinsic (receptor-mediated) and intrinsic (non-receptor-mediated) apoptosis. Siva-1 binds to CD27, a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) family, Abl-related gene (ARG), and BCL-XL, and these partner molecules reportedly enhance the apoptotic properties of Siva-1. In this study, we show that Siva-1 also interacts with a member of the Jak family protein kinases, tyrosine kinase 2 (Tyk2). Siva-1 bound to Tyk2 via its N-terminal region, and Tyk2 phosphorylated Siva-1 at tyrosines 53 and 162. In murine pro-B cells, Ba/F3 cells, expression of Tyk2 augmented Siva-1-induced apoptosis. This augmentation of Siva-1-induced apoptosis was retained regardless of the phosphorylation of Siva-1, but was almost completely prevented by the abrogation of the Tyk2-Siva-1 association. These findings indicate that the interaction between Siva-1 and Tyk2 directly augments the apoptotic activity of Siva-1. Our novel observations suggest that Siva-1 forms a functional complex with Tyk2 and participates in the transduction of signals that inhibit B lymphocyte growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron is an essential nutrient for normal cell growth, and reprogramming of iron metabolism is essential to tumor cell survival and progression. HTLV-1-associated adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) has no effective therapy and high levels of cell surface transferrin receptor 1 (TFR1) expression have been reported in ATLL by us and other groups. In this study, to develop a novel molecular-targeted therapy against TFR1 to modulate iron metabolism, we initially determined the expression pattern of several iron-related genes along with TFR1 and found that ATLL cells presented characteristic of an iron-deficiency state such as high expression of iron-regulatory protein 2 (IRP2) and low expression of its E3 ubiquitin-ligase, FBXL5. Therefore, we developed human IgG monoclonal antibodies to human TFR1 using a phage display method (ICOS method) to block the incorporation of the transferrin (TF)-iron complex into ATLL cells for inhibiting cell growth. One of the mAbs, JST-TFR09, presented its greater affinity to TFR1 on ATLL cells in flow cytometry (FCM) analysis than those of commercially available anti-TFR1 antibodies and identified high expression of TFR1 in most of the acute-type ATLL cells. Moreover, JST-TFR09 could interfere with binding between TFR1 and TF, which resulted in effective blockade of TFR1 internalization and induction of cell apoptosis by the treatment of ATLL cells with JST-TFR09. JST-TFR09 showed dual activities through direct cell cytotoxicity and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), and the treatment of JST-TFR09 significantly suppressed cell growth of ATLL cells with induction of apoptosis in in vitro and in vivo experiments. Thus, JST-TFR09 described here may become a promising therapeutic antibody for the treatment of ATLL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]