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Purpose: Previous published data showed an impact of single‐nucleotide polymorphisms in the VEGF A and VEGFR2 genes on the survival of patients with various malignancies, among others diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Patients and Methods: We investigated the role of four VEGF‐A and two VEGFR‐2 gene polymorphisms on the outcome of 273 patients with diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma who were treated with R‐CHOP within a prospective, randomized trial of the German High‐Grade Non‐Hodgkin Lymphoma Study Group (DSHNHL). The genomic DNA samples were analyzed using commercial DNA Probes (Applied Biosystems, USA) to detect single‐nucleotide polymorphisms in the VEGF A rs699947, rs1570360, rs2010963, rs3025039 and rs1870377, and rs2305948 in the VEGFR2 receptor. Hundred healthy blood donors served as a control. Results: There was no difference between the SNP allele frequencies in lymphoma patients compared to the control group for all investigated SNPs. None of the investigated SNPs was significantly associated with EFS or OS. After adjusting for the International Prognostic Index risk factors in a multivariate analysis, these results could be confirmed. Conclusion: Single‐nucleotide polymorphisms of the VEGF and VEGFR2 were not associated with a worse outcome in Caucasian patients with DLBCL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe a case of a I MYC i rearranged PBL in an immunocompromised patient due to methotrexate therapy and active EBV infection, which completely regressed without anti-neoplastic treatment after stopping methotrexate treatment. These include HIV-positive patients under highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) (Armstrong I et al i , [2]), HIV-negative patients with no known immune deficiency and patients after reduction of immunosuppressive therapy (Garcia-Noblejas I et al i , [5]). The detected I IGH i - I MYC i translocation is associated with aggressive behaviour in PBL and has been shown to be a negative prognostic factor in patients with PBL (Morscio I et al i , [9]). [Extracted from the article]

Background: Antibodies against citrullinated proteins (ACPA) have been recognised as the most specific serum marker for rheumatoid arthritis. However, serum autoantibodies such as anti-nuclear antibodies have also been detected in the sera of different lymphatic malignancies without accompanying rheumatologic disease. Therefore, we conducted a study to evaluate the prevalence of ACPA in diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (DLBCL). Methods: Sera of 395 DLBCL patients and 258 age-matched healthy controls were investigated to evaluate the prevalence of ACPA and RF. ACPA-positive data were stratified into subgroups of RF positivity and established prognostic parameters for DLBCL, including overall survival. In addition, the ACPA serum concentrations levels were compared to an ACPA-positive RA cohort (n = 175). The statistics were performed with χ2 test and Mann- Whitney-U test; Kaplan-Meyer curves (log rank test) were used to analyse the overall survival. P-value <0.05 was statistically significant. Results: ACPA, but not RF, occurred significantly more frequently in the sera of DLBCL patients than in healthy controls (3.5% versus 0.8%, p = 0.030). However, the ACPA serum concentration levels were significantly lower than in RA patients (median 10.4 versus 124.1 U/ml, p = 0.0001). After subgroup stratification, ACPA positivity in DLBCL was significantly associated with male gender (4.4% versus 0%, p = 0.022; odds ratio 1.046, CI 1.014–1.079) and with RF-IgM seropositivity (1.77% versus 0%, p = 0.043), but not with prognostic parameters for DLBCL. Conclusions: DLBCL is associated with a significantly higher prevalence of ACPA, with an increased prevalence in male patients, and simultaneous RF-IgM positivity. However, ACPA is not prognostic for DLBCL. The prevalence of RF-IgM, -IgA, or -IgG did not differ from healthy controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]