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Hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome/veno-occlusive disease (SOS/VOD) is a rare but severe complication of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) showing high mortality. Multiple risk factors for SOS/VOD were identified, but it is often confused with other hepatic complications due to nonspecific clinical features. Therefore, diagnostic and severity criteria have been revised several times. The European Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation suggested a new guideline that excludes the standard duration of development within 21 days, emphasizes late-onset SOS/VOD, and suggests the importance of Doppler ultrasonography. The severity criteria were further subdivided for guidance to begin active treatment using defibrotide which was approved in Korea since 2016. In a phase 3 trial, defibrotide had superior 100-day survival, compared to best available treatments (38.2% vs. 25.0%). Although several studies of SOS/VOD in Korean patients have been performed after the implementation of HCT, most involved small number of pediatric patients. Recently, the Korean Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation investigated the incidence of SOS/VOD in the Korean population, and several influential studies of adult patients were published. Here, we summarize recent issues regarding the mechanism, diagnosis, severity criteria, prevention, and treatments of SOS/VOD in Korean patients, as well as recent analyses of nationwide incidence.

Several high-dose therapy (HDT) conditioning regimens have been used to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), such as bis-chloroethylnitrosourea (BCNU)/etoposide/cytosine arabinoside/melphalan (BEAM), BCNU/etoposide/cytosine arabinoside/cyclophosphamide (BEAC), and cyclophosphamide/BCNU/etoposide (CBV). BCNU is an active drug in HDT of NHL, but the supply is limited in some countries, including Korea. Busulfan has been used in allogeneic and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). This phase II study evaluated the efficacy of busulfan/melphalan/etoposide (BuME) as a conditioning regimen for HDT in relapsed or high-risk NHL. The regimen consisted of intravenous busulfan (3.2 mg/kg/day) on days -8, -7, and -6, etoposide (400 mg/m2 /day) on days -5 and -4, and melphalan (50 mg/m2 /day) on days -3 and -2. A total of 46 patients were included in the study, with 36 (78.3%) achieving a complete response after ASCT. The 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates for all patients were 46.7% (95% CI, 31.8-60.4%) and 63.7% (95% CI, 47.7-76.0%), respectively. There was no development of veno-occlusive disease and no treatment-related deaths within 100 days after ASCT. These results indicate that a BuME regimen is well-tolerated and effective for patients with relapsed or high-risk NHL, and may be comparable to some previously used regimens. This regimen may be useful as a substitute for BCNU-containing regimens.

Background/aims Immune reconstitution following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is affected by multiple variables during the transplantation. Methods We assessed the clinical factors contributing to immune function reconstitution at 100 days post-allogeneic HSCT in 114 patients receiving fludarabine-based conditioning. Immunophenotypic analysis using flow cytometry was performed to evaluate the percentage and the absolute numbers of T-cell subsets, natural killer cells, and B-cells as clinical outcomes. Results Tacrolimus-based graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis, T-cell depletion, and acute GVHD were significantly associated with delayed immune reconstitution of T-cell subsets. The incidence of chronic GVHD was significantly increased in the normal recovery group compared to the abnormal group (p = 0.01). Epstein-Barr virus reactivation was more frequently observed in the abnormal group of T-cell subsets (p = 0.045). All viral reactivation events including cytomegalovirus reactivation appeared to be more frequent in the abnormal group of T-cell subsets. Conclusion The immune recovery status post-allogeneic HSCT was affected by GVHD prophylactic regimens, especially in cases receiving tacrolimus-based GVHD prophylaxis, T-cell depletion, and possibly those manifesting acute GVHD. Delayed immune reconstitution might increase the morbidity due to viral reactivation. Treatment strategies are needed to prevent infectious complications and enhance immune reconstitution based on the immune recovery status following allogeneic HSCT with fludarabine-based conditioning.

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are classified as chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and Philadelphia chromosome-negative MPN. In MPN cases, the presence of a BCR-ABL1 translocation with a coexisting mutation is exceptionally rare. Herein, we report the first documented patient with CML harboring CALR mutation in Korea. A 33-year-old woman was referred to our hospital in February 2015 with splenomegaly, leukocytosis, and thrombocytosis. She was diagnosed with CML and started receiving nilotinib. In October 2015, a major molecular response was observed, but thrombocytosis persisted. A repeat bone marrow (BM) examination revealed no specific findings. However, as thrombocytosis worsened, we changed nilotinib to dasatinib. In May 2019, owing to persistent thrombocytosis, we repeated the BM examination and found CALR mutation (15.97%) on the MPN–next generation sequencing (NGS) test. We then retrospectively performed repeat MPN-NGS testing using the BM aspirate sample obtained in 2015 and found CALR mutation (10.64%).

Peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCL) are a heterogeneous group of non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas with poor clinical outcomes. Pralatrexate showed efficacy and safety in recurrent or refractory PTCLs. The purpose or this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of pralatrexate in relapsed or refractory PTCLs in real-world practice. This was an observational, multicenter, retrospective analysis. Between December 2012 and December 2016, a total of 38 patients with relapsed or refractory PTCLs were treated with pralatrexate at 10 tertiary hospitals in Korea. Patients received an intravenous infusion of pralatrexate at a dose of 30 mg/m2/week for 6 weeks on a 7-week schedule. Modified dosing and/or scheduling was allowed according to institutional protocols. Median patient age was 58 years (range, 29–80 years) and the most common subtype was peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (n = 23, 60.5%). The median dosage of pralatrexate per administration was 25.6 mg/m2/wk (range, 15.0–33.0 mg/m2/wk). In intention-to-treat analysis, 3 patients (7.9%) showed a complete response and 5 patients (13.2%) showed a partial response, resulting in an overall response rate (ORR) of 21.1%. The median duration of response was 7.6 months (range, 1.6–24.3 months). The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 1.8 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.7–1.8 months) and the median overall survival was 7.7 months (95% CI, 4.4–9.0 months). The most common grade 3/4 adverse events were thrombocytopenia (n = 13, 34.2%), neutropenia (n = 7, 23.7%), and anemia (n = 7, 18.4%). Our study showed relatively lower ORR and shorter PFS in patients with recurrent or refractory PTCLs treated with pralatrexate in real-world practice. The toxicity profile was acceptable and manageable. We also observed significantly lower dose intensity of pralatrexate in real-world practice.

Cord blood transplantation (CBT) is a valuable alternative to bone marrow transplantation in adults without readily available donors. We conducted this study to investigate the feasibility of CBT for adult patients with acute leukemia with regards to impact of different conditioning and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis regimens on clinical outcomes. From 16 centers in Korea, 41 acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and 29 ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia) patients undergoing CBT were enrolled. For AML patients, the neutrophil engraftment was observed in 87.5% of reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) and 72.0% of myeloablative conditioning (MAC) (p = 0.242). The median RFS was 5 months and OS 7 months. Conditioning regimen did not affect relapse free survival (RFS) or overall survival (OS). GVHD prophylaxis using calcineurin inhibitors (CNI) plus methotrexate was associated with better RFS compared to CNI plus ATG (p = 0.032). For ALL patients, neutrophil engraftment was observed in 55.6% of RIC and 90.0% of MAC (p = 0.034). The median RFS was 5 months and OS 19 months. MAC regimens, especially total body irradiation (TBI)-based regimen, were associated with both longer RFS and OS compared to other conditioning regimens. In conclusion, individualized conditioning regimens will add value in terms of enhancing safety and efficacy of CBT.

Aim Cytotoxic chemotherapy-based treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) is not curative, and the disease eventually recurs. This is partially because although currently available anti-MM strategies are effective in targeting the bulk of tumor cells, they do not target the tumor-initiating subpopulation of cancer stem cells. This study investigated the prevalence and biological functions of side population (SP) cells in MM cell lines including RPMI8226, ARH77, MM.1R and IM 9. Materials and methods Flow cytometry-based Hoechst 33342 staining was used to evaluate the existence of SP cells. In addition, the ability of SP cells to regenerate the original population was determined. Results The frequency of SP cells was heterogeneous. Most cell lines (ARH77, IM9, and MM.1R) contained fewer than 1% SP cells; however, RPMI8226 contained approximately 10% SP cells. Sorted SP cells showed a higher proliferative ability and clonogenicity than the MP in the RPMI8226 myeloma cell line. The activity of ATP-binding cassette subfamily G member 2 (ABCG2), which is associated with high rates of proliferation, was higher in SP cells. However, the expression of specific surface markers such as cluster of differentiation (CD)138, CD34, CD38, CD19, CD20, and CD27 did not differ between SP and MP cells. Bortezomib was the only agent that significantly affected proliferation of both SP and MP cells. Conclusion Our studies demonstrated that the SP fraction of myeloma cells possessed clonogenic tumor-initiating potential and revealed new mechanisms of action for bortezomib on SP cells.

This trial was designed to investigate the efficacy and toxicity of bendamustine, carboplatin, and dexamethasone (BCD) for relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs), which would be expected to exhibit more promising clinical outcomes compared with bendamustine therapy alone. After treatments with BCD, eight patients exhibited a complete response (CR; 29%) and seven exhibited a partial response (PR; 25%). The overall response rate (ORR) was 54%. Five patients proceeded to ASCT and three patients finally achieved CR. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 4.4 months (2.8-6.0, 95% CI). For a total of 85 cycles of BCD, grade 3 or 4 neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, and anemia occurred in 17.6, 38.8, and 16.5% of cycles, respectively. Only one patient experienced febrile neutropenia. BCD was a considerable salvage regimen for relapsed or refractory PTCLs with acceptable toxicity; AITL or ASCT eligible patients were more effective to BCD.ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:NCT02424045.

Background The response rate and survival improvement for rituximab, a CD20-targeting monoclonal antibody, have been demonstrated in marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) as monotherapy and in combination with chemotherapeutic regimens, yet relapses still occur despite treatment completion. Thus, extending the period of remission in MZL patients remains an essential goal. This multicenter, single-arm, open-label phase II study evaluated the survival efficacy of 2 years of rituximab-maintenance therapy in patients with stage III–IV CD20-positive MZL who had responded to first-line R–CVP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisolone). The objective of this study was to determine whether rituximab maintenance following R–CVP warrants further investigation. Methods Prior to rituximab-maintenance therapy, patients received 6–8 cycles of first-line R–CVP therapy for stage III–IV MZL. Rituximab (375 mg/m2), cyclophosphamide (750 mg/m2), and vincristine (1.4 mg/m2; maximum 2 mg) were administered via an intravenous infusion on day 1 of each 3-week cycle, while oral prednisolone (100 mg) was given on days 1–5 of each 3-week cycle. The patients who achieved complete response (CR), partial response (PR), or stable disease (SD) to R–CVP treatment, were prescribed rituximab-maintenance therapy which was administered intravenously at a dose of 375 mg/m2 every 8 weeks for up to 12 cycles. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and treatment safety. Results 47 patients were enrolled, of whom, 45 (96%) received rituximab-maintenance treatment. Fifteen (33%) patients had nodal MZL. Following R–CVP first-line therapy, 20 (44%), 22 (49%), and 3 (7%) patients achieved CR, PR, and SD, respectively. After a median follow-up of 38.2 months, their observed 3-year PFS rate was 81%. During the rituximab-maintenance, 6 PR and 1 SD patients achieved CR following the administration of R–CVP. Elevated LDH and the presence of B symptoms were found to be significant prognostic factors for PFS (P = 0.003) and demonstrated a 3-year OS rate of 90%. Rituximab-maintenance therapy was well tolerated, and the common treatment-emergent adverse events were sensory neuropathy (18%), myalgia (13%), fatigue (9%), and neutropenia (9%). Conclusion Rituximab-maintenance therapy following first-line R–CVP demonstrated good PFS in patients with stage III–IV MZL, in addition to a favorable toxicity profile. Trial registration clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01213095

Background & Aim Background: The Src family kinases (SFK) are non-receptor tyrosine kinases that have been implicated in a variety of process, including proliferation, survival, differentiation and migration. Recent studies showed that inhibition of SFKs resulted in enhancement of retinoic acid-induced myeloid differentiation. In this study, we investigated whether SFK inhibitor PP2 and FDA approved dual Src/ABL inhibitor (bosutinib or dasatinib) could enhance the differentiation of NB4 leukemia cells when combined with all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) or arsenic trioxide (ATO). Methods, Results & Conclusion Methods: We demonstrated the SFK inhibitor PP2 enhanced the differentiation of NB4 cells when combined with ATRA or ATO. Subsequently, we investigated whether bosutinib and dasatinib could enhance the differentiation of NB4 cells when combined with ATRA or ATO. The cells were analyzed for myeloid differentiation marker CD11b expression using flow cytometry. These results were confirmed in morphologic analysis by Wright stain and NBT reduction assay. In addition, we attempted to determine the difference in retinoic acid-induced gene expression. Results Our data showed that SFK inhibitor PP2 enhanced myeloid differentiation when combined with ATRA or ATO. The synergistic effect was significantly stronger when PP2 was combined with ATRA and ATO (triple treatment) than when PP2 was combined with ATRA or ATO (dual treatment). The similar results were obtained when bosutinib and dasatinib were applied instead of PP2. Co-treatment with bosutinib plus ATRA or ATO, and dasatinib plus ATRA or ATO resulted in significant enhancement of CD11b-positive cells when compared to the each treatment group in bosutinib, dasatinib, ATRA, or ATO. Also, the synergistic effects of bosutinib and dasatinib in combination with ATRA were greater than in combination with ATO. Conclusions SFK inhibitor PP2 and dual Src/ABL inhibitor (bosutinib or dasatinib) can enhances the differentiation of NB4 leukemia cells when combined ATRA and/or ATO. These findings suggest that ATRA or ATO combinated with dual Src/ABL inhibitors may have therapeutic beneficial for the treatment of APL patients.

We assessed the efficacy and toxicity of etoposide, methylprednisolone, high-dose cytarabine, and oxaliplatin (ESHAOx) combination chemotherapy in patients with refractory or relapsed Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL). This was an open-label, non-randomized, multi-center phase II study. The ESHAOx regimen consisted of intravenous (i.v.) etoposide 40 mg/m2 on days 1 to 4, i.v. methylprednisolone 500 mg on days 1 to 5, i.v. cytarabine 2 g/m2 on day 5, and i.v. oxaliplatin 130 mg/m2 on day 1. Cycles (up to six) were repeated every 3 weeks. In an effort to identify prognostic markers, the serum levels of cytokines including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), C-reactive protein (CRP), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were measured at the time of study entry. A total of 37 patients were enrolled, and 36 were available for evaluation of tumor response. The overall response rate was 72.2% (26/36) (complete response, 33.3% [12/36]; partial response, 38.9% [14/36]). The median time to progression was 34.9 months (95% confidence interval, 23.1–46.7 months). The most common grade 3 or 4 hematological adverse events were neutropenia (16/37, 43.2%), followed by thrombocytopenia (10/37, 27.0%). Grade 3 or 4 non-hematological adverse events were nausea (3/37, 8.1%), anorexia (2/37, 5.4%), mucositis (1/37, 2.7%), and skin rash (1/37, 2.7%). There were no treatment-related deaths. High levels of TNF-α and CRP were significantly associated with poorer overall survival (p = 0.00005 for TNF-α, p = 0.0004 for CRP, respectively). The ESHAOx regimen exhibited antitumor activity and an acceptable safety profile in patients with refractory or relapsed HL. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov. Registered February 21, 2011, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01300156

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a disease that frequently relapses and primarily affects elderly people. We performed an open-label, multi-center, phase II study to investigate the effect and quality of life (QoL) of treatment with vorinostat in combination with fludarabine, mitoxantrone and dexamethasone (V-FND) for relapsed or refractory MCL. The treatment schedule was composed of four cycles of induction treatment with V-FND and subsequent consolidation therapy involving autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation or six cycles of vorinostat maintenance. QoL was assessed using EORTC Core Quality of Life questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) every 2 cycles. Data from a total of 20 patients were collected for an interim analysis. The median age was 67 years (range 49–75), and 14 or the patients (70 %) were male. The full course of V-FND induction treatment was completed in 11 patients, but only three completed all six cycles of maintenance therapy. Response to V-FND was not available in two patients. Among the other 18 patients, the objective response rate was 77.8 % (complete response in five patients + partial response in nine patients). Median progression-free survival was 9.3 months [95 % confidence interval (CI) 4.0–12.3]. Fifteen patients (75 %) experienced grade 3/4 toxicities. Analysis of QoL demonstrated significant deterioration of social functioning (p = 0.01), and significant aggravation of fatigue and nausea/vomiting (p = 0.04 and 0.01, respectively) after two cycles of V-FND induction. V-FND is effective in patients with relapsed or refractory MCL. However, significant toxicities were hurdles to sustained V-FND therapy.

Overall, more than 50% of marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) patients experience a relapse within 10 years. This phase II trial was conducted to assess the efficacy and safety of oxaliplatin-prednisone (Ox-P) chemotherapy for patients with relapsed or refractory MZL. Patients received oxaliplatin 130 mg/m(2) on day 1 and prednisone 100 mg/day on days 1-5 of each cycle. A total of 38 patients were enrolled. The median age of the 34 (16 males, 18 females) evaluated patients was 53 (range = 27-74) years. There were seven complete responses (20.6%) and 15 partial responses (44.1%) (Overall response rate = 64.7%). No treatment-related deaths occurred. The median progression-free survival was 14.2 months (95% CI = 2.1-26.3 months); 3-year overall survival rate was 77.7%. Thus, salvage Ox-P chemotherapy for patients with relapsed or refractory MZL at the stated dosage and schedule showed moderate clinical activity and was considerable in very few selected patients (NCT01068392).

The effects of imatinib plus chemotherapy were assessed in 87 patients with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Imatinib was administered continuously, starting from the eighth day of remission induction chemotherapy, then through five courses of consolidation or until allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Patients who were not transplanted were maintained on imatinib for 2 years. Eighty-two patients (94.3%) achieved complete remission (CR). Among these 82 CR patients, 40 experienced recurrence of leukemia. The 5-year relapse free survival (RFS) rate and overall survival (OS) rates were 39.0% and 33.4%, respectively. In total, 56 patients underwent allogeneic HCT in first CR. The 5-year cumulative incidence of relapse and OS rate of them were 59.1% and 52.6%, respectively. Six of seven patients who were maintained on imatinib after completion of consolidation relapsed and the median time of RFS was 40.7 months. In total patient, cumulative molecular CR rate was 88.5% and median time of molecular CR duration was 13 months. Initial imatinib dose intensity was significantly associated with median CR duration (P

We investigated the effects of nilotinib plus multiagent chemotherapy, followed by consolidation/maintenance or allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) for adult patients with newly diagnosed Philadelphia-positive (Ph-pos) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Study subjects received induction treatment that comprised concurrent vincristine, daunorubicin, prednisolone, and nilotinib. After achieving complete hematologic remission (HCR), subjects received either 5 courses of consolidation, followed by 2-year maintenance with nilotinib, or allo-HCT. Minimal residual disease (MRD) was assessed at HCR, and every 3 months thereafter. The molecular responses (MRs) were defined as MR3 for BCR-ABL1/G6PDH ratios ≤10(-3) and MR5 for ratios

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection has been associated with a number of lymphoid malignancies, including endemic Burkitt’s lymphoma, some classical Hodgkin’s lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma, and angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma. A 59-year-old woman underwent an excisional biopsy for a left axillary mass under suspicion of malignant lymphoma. A preoperative radiological study revealed multiple enlarged lymph nodes at the left axilla, mesentery, and the left external iliac chain with hypermetabolism on a positron emission tomography-computed tomography scan. She was histologically diagnosed with EBV-positive follicular lymphoma (FL, grade 3a) and received the R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, hydroxydaunorubicin, vincristine, prednisone) chemotherapy regimen. Herein, we report a rare case of EBV associated FL of lymph node with its review of literature.

The hyperfractionated cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, and dexamethasone (hyper-CVAD) regimen has been widely used for lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL) as a primary treatment. However, there is few data about its treatment outcome in Asian patients. Thus, we conducted this study to evaluate the efficacy of hyper-CVAD induction and stem cell transplantation (SCT) consolidation in LBL patients. The treatment responses of 49 patients treated with the hyper-CVAD regimen were retrospectively analyzed in 13 institutions. Given 24 patients who responded to hyper-CVAD underwent consolidation treatment with SCT, overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of patients who received SCT were compared with patients who did not. The overall response rate was 79 %: 73 % (36/49) complete responses, 6 % (3/49) partial responses, and 4 % (2/49) induction deaths. The major limitation for the delivery of the planned hyper-CVAD cycles was hematological toxicity. Among 39 responders, 24 patients underwent autologous (n = 16) and allogeneic SCT (n = 8) consolidation. Their 3-year OS and PFS rates were 76 and 78 %, respectively, and there was no difference in survival outcomes between autologous and allogeneic SCT. However, 15 patients without SCT consolidation showed poorer PFS even though they all achieved complete response. Thus, only seven patients maintained their response at the time of analysis. In conclusion, the hyper-CVAD regimen is effective for remission induction in LBL, and SCT consolidation after hyper-CVAD induction produced better clinical outcomes than did continuation of hyper-CVAD.

We conducted a phase II trial of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) followed by 2 cycles of L-asparaginase-containing chemotherapy for patients who were newly diagnosed with stages IE and IIE nasal extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma (ENKTL). CCRT consisted of 40-44 Gy of radiotherapy with weekly administration of 30 mg/m(2) of cisplatin for 4 weeks. Two cycles of VIDL (etoposide (100 mg/m(2)), ifosfamide (1,200 mg/m(2)), and dexamethasone (40 mg) from days 1 to 3, and L-asparaginase (4,000 IU/m(2)) every other day from days 8 to 20) were administered sequentially. CCRT yielded a 90 % overall response rate without significant side effects in 30 patients, including 20 patients with complete response (CR); however, two patients showed distant disease progression. After CCRT, VIDL chemotherapy showed an 87 % final CR rate (26/30). Although grade III or IV hematologic toxicity was frequent during VIDL chemotherapy, no treatment-related mortality was observed, and L-asparaginase-associated toxicity was manageable. With a median follow-up of 44 months, 11 patients showed local (n = 4) and distant (n = 7) relapse or progression. The estimated 5-year progression-free and overall survival rates were 73 and 60 %, respectively. In conclusion, CCRT followed by L-asparaginase-containing chemotherapy is a feasible treatment for newly diagnosed stages IE/IIE nasal ENKTL.

Background We investigated the clinical features and treatment outcomes of patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) in Korea. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical characteristics and prognosis of 131 patients diagnosed with MCL between January 2004 and December 2009 at 15 medical centers in Korea; all patients received at least 1 chemotherapeutic regimen for MCL. Results The median age for the patients was 63 years (range, 26-78 years), and 77.9% were men. A total of 105 patients (80.1%) had stage III or IV MCL at diagnosis. Fifty-two patients (39.7%) were categorized with high- or high-intermediate risk MCL according to the International Prognostic Index (IPI). Eighteen patients (13.7%) were in the high-risk group according to the simplified MCL-IPI (MIPI). The overall incidence of extranodal involvement was 69.5%. The overall incidence of bone marrow and gastrointestinal involvements at diagnosis was 41.2% and 35.1%, respectively. Cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisolone, and rituximab were used frequently as the first-line treatment (41.2%). With a median follow-up duration of 20.0 months (range, 0.2-77.0 months), the overall survival (OS) at 2 years was 64.7%, while the event-free survival (EFS) was 39.7%. Multivariate analysis showed that the simplified MIPI was significantly associated with OS. However, the use of a rituximab-containing regimen was not associated with OS and EFS. Conclusion Similar to results from Western countries, the current study found that simplified MIPI was an important prognostic factor in Korean patients with MCL.

The dose intensity of daunorubicin (DNR) delivered during the induction period represented the major prognostic factor for the outcome of adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The aim of this study was to determine the survival or toxicity of escalated doses of DNR in induction treatment of adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who are at least 15 years of age. For induction chemotherapy, all patients were given 90 mg/m(2)/day of DNR by continuous intravenous (IV) infusion over 24 h daily on days 1-3, 2 mg of vincristine IV push on days 1 and 8, and 60 mg/m(2)/day of prednisolone per oral (PO) on days 1-14 in conjunction with 4,000 units/m(2)/day of L-asparaginase intramuscular or subcutaneous on days 17-28. The median patient age was 32 years (range, 15-69). Complete remission (CR) was achieved in 169 (88.5 %) patients, while 4 died before CR was reached. Additionally, 11 patients died from leukemia progression, 4 had refractory disease, and 3 had follow-up loss. The median follow-up time was 697 days (range, 12-2,270). The 3-year cumulative incidence of relapse was 49.3 %. The probabilities of disease-free survival and overall survival at 3 years were 46.1 and 43.1 %, respectively. The dose of DNR was 100 % of the target dose, and there were no additional specific toxicities. The results show that escalated doses of DNR in induction chemotherapy are similar with the standard dose in response and toxicities. Our study indicates that a more effective regimen or better chemotherapy agents are needed to improve the CR rate and prolong survival in Philadelphia-negative adult ALL.

Background This study explored the impact of genetic polymorphisms in cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes and transporters on the plasma trough concentration of imatinib mesylate (IM) and clinical response in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Patients and methods In total, 82 patients with CML who had been administered 400 mg IM daily for over 6 months were genotyped for 11 single-nucleotide polymorphisms in nine genes (CYP3A4, CYP3A5, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, ABCB1, SLC22A1, SLC22A2 and ABCG2) using blood samples. The trough imatinib concentration and clinical responses were assessed 6 months after the initiation of IM therapy. Results The CC, CA and AA genotypes in ABCG2 421C>A gave significantly different frequencies for the major molecular response (MMR) (P = 0.02). However, no significant differences were found between the genotypes of the CYP enzymes and transporters identified in this study and the imatinib plasma trough concentrations and clinical response frequencies, except for the correlation of ABCG2 with MMR. Conclusions The results of the present study may indicate that the ABCG 421C>A genetic polymorphism influences the MMR of imatinib in patients with CML.

Central nervous system involvement remains a challenging issue in the treatment of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. We conducted a prospective cohort study with newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients receiving rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone to identify incidence and risk factors for central nervous system involvement. Among 595 patients, 279 patients received pre-treatment central nervous system evaluation, and 14 patients had central nervous system involvement at diagnosis (2.3% out of entire patients and 5.0% out of the 279 patients). For those patients, median follow-up duration was 38.2 months and some of them achieved long-term survival. Out of 581 patients who did not have central nervous system involvement at diagnosis, 26 patients underwent secondary central nervous system relapse with a median follow-up of 35 months, and the median time to central nervous system involvement was 10.4 months (range: 3.4-29.2). Serum lactate dehydrogenase > ×3 upper limit of normal range, the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status ≥ 2, and involvement of sinonasal tract or testis, were independent risk factors for central nervous system relapse in multivariate analysis. Our study suggests that enhanced stratification of serum lactate dehydrogenase according to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network-International Prognostic Index may contribute to better prediction for central nervous system relapse in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov identifier: 01202448.

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a serious complication that develops frequently in survivors of allogeneic stem cell transplant. Since elucidation of the role of B cells in the pathogenesis of chronic GVHD, B cell-depleting therapy with rituximab has been associated with beneficial effects in clinical and laboratory studies in patients with chronic GVHD. Although the mechanism underlying the contribution of B cells to the development of chronic GVHD is poorly understood, recent studies have proposed that B cell reconstitution after allogeneic stem cell transplant is involved in the development of chronic GVHD. Inadequate reconstitution of naive B cells and the persistence of high levels of B cell-activating factor have been found in patients with chronic GVHD, and these changes might be associated with the expansion of activated CD27-positive B cells that produce autoantibody in chronic GVHD. In the light of this altered B cell homeostasis in chronic GVHD, the role of rituximab in controlling the clinical manifestations of chronic GVHD has been studied. In this review, we address the role of B cells in the pathogenesis of chronic GVHD and the response to B cell-depleting therapy based on B cell homeostasis.

Ethnic and regional differences in the epidemiology and pathological aspects of Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) between Western and Asian patients may be associated with differences in clinical features and prognosis. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical and histopathological characteristics, therapeutic outcomes, and prognostic factors of 539 HL patients treated at 16 centers in Korea. We found that the incidence of histological subtypes of HL in Korea was similar to that in Western and other Asian countries. However, the incidence peaked between 16 and 30 years of age, unlike the bimodal age distribution seen in Western countries. In patients with stage I–IIA non-bulky disease, the complete response (CR) rate was similar between combined modality therapy and chemotherapy alone (93% vs. 84%, P = 0.44), and there was no difference in relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS). Patients with stage I–II disease plus unfavorable factors and those with advanced-stage disease treated with combination chemotherapy regimens had an overall CR rate of 77%, with no difference between doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD) and non-ABVD regimens (77.2% vs. 76.8%, P = 0.95). Among those patients who achieved final CR, there was no significant difference in RFS or OS between those who achieved interim CR and PR. Only the presence of B symptoms was independently predictive of a shorter RFS. Age > 45 years, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group 2–4, and B symptoms were independent risk factors for death. Although the incidence of HL was lower in Korea than in Western countries, the distribution of morphological subtypes, treatment outcomes, and patient prognosis were similar.

The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to analyze the impact of surgery on the outcomes and qualities of life (QOL) in patients with intestinal diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). We assessed 345 patients with either localized or disseminated intestinal DLBCL and compared them according to treatment: surgical resection followed by chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone. In patients with localized disease (Lugano stage I/II), surgery plus chemotherapy yielded a lower relapse rate (15.3%) than did chemotherapy alone (36.8%, P < .001). The 3-year overall survival rate was 91% in the surgery plus chemotherapy group and 62% in the chemotherapy-alone group (P < .001). The predominant pattern in the chemotherapy group was local relapse (27.6%). When rituximab was used with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone (CHOP), there was no improvement of the outcomes in patients treated with primary surgical resection. The QOL of patients who underwent surgery and chemotherapy was lower than chemotherapy alone, but its difference was acceptable. Multivariate analysis showed that surgical resection plus chemotherapy was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival. Surgical resection followed by chemotherapy might be an effective treatment strategy with acceptable QOL deterioration for localized intestinal DLBCL. This study was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01043302.

Background Since it was suggested that B cells play a role in the pathogenesis of chronic graft-versus-host disease, rituximab, an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody targeting B cells, has been shown to be effective in steroid-refractory, chronic graft-versus-host disease. However, most of the data were from small numbers of patients or retrospective analyses. We, therefore, conducted a multicenter phase II study to confirm the efficacy of this treatment strategy that targets B cells.Design and Methods We diagnosed and evaluated chronic graft-versus-host disease according to the National Institute of Health criteria for clinical trials on this condition. The treatment consisted of weekly intravenous infusions of rituximab for 4 weeks followed by monthly rituximab for 4 months. We evaluated the patients’ responses and monitored their disease activity until their final visit, which was on day 365. We also assessed the patients’ subsequent quality of life and serum levels of B-cell-activating factor of the tumor necrosis factor family.Results Among 37 patients enrolled (median age, 29 years; range 8–57 years), 32 patients responded to rituximab with 8 complete and 24 partial responses. Twenty-one patients maintained their response for 1 year, so their steroid treatment was discontinued or its dose reduced (21/37, or 56.8%), and their scores representing quality of life were improved although these changes were not statistically significant. The responses were better for clinical manifestations of the skin, oral cavity and musculoskeletal system (response rate, 71.4–100%) than for other organs. However, infectious complications and primary disease relapse accounted for the majority of treatment failure. The pre-treatment serum level of B cell-activating factor of the tumor necrosis factor family was not associated with better treatment outcome (P=0.147).Conclusions Rituximab could improve clinical responses and quality of life of patients with steroid-refractory chronic graft-versus-host disease, although such patients may need active prophylaxis against infection.

This study analyzed the outcomes of myelodysplastic syndrome patients treated with azacitidine. Between August 2006 and June 2008, a total of 126 patients were treated with azacitidine at a dose of 75 mg/m(2)/day subcutaneously for 7 days, which was repeated every 28 days. The median age of the patients was 64 (range, 20-82) years. Forty-three patients (33.4%) were classified as intermediate-2 and high risk according to International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS), while 61 patients (47.3%) were classified as high and very high risk according to WHO Prognostic Scoring System (WPSS). Sixty patients (47.6%) exhibited a response at the median of 3 (range, 1-5) cycles. A complete response was observed in 21 patients (16.7%), a partial response in six patients (4.8%), and total hematologic improvement in 61 patients (48.4%). For the IPSS risk group, the median survival for the patients with intermediate-1 was 20.0 months, for intermediate-2 was 14.9 months, and for high risk was 6.3 months (p = 0.008). For the WPSS risk group, the median survival duration was 21.3 months for the very low and low risk patients, 16.5 months for intermediate risk patients, and 14.9 months for the high and very high risk patients (p = 0.003). The patients with higher than normal lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels at the time of diagnosis showed a poor survival (p = 0.003). The median survival duration for the patients with high LDH levels was 13.9 months, while that for the patients with normal LDH levels was 20.6 months. The multivariate analyses revealed that high LDH levels [hazard ratio (HR) 4.384, p < 0.001] and high and very high WPSS risk group (HR 3.855, p = 0.014) were significantly associated with a worse survival, whereas a response to azacitidine was identified as a good prognostic factor for survival (HR 0.224, p = 0.019). In conclusion, while the pretreatment risk group and initial LDH levels were both confirmed as important prognostic factors to predict the outcomes for patients treated with azacitidine, more effective therapies are still needed to prevent disease progression.

The frequency of thromboembolic events (TE) in Caucasian patients with multiple myeloma (MM) receiving thalidomide as the initial treatment has been reported to be 10~58% without prophylactic anticoagulation. Korean MM patients treated with thalidomide were studied to determine the frequency of TE and associated risk factors. A retrospective medical record review of the Korean MM registry from 25 centers in Korea between 2003 and 2007 was performed. We assessed the incidence of arterial and venous TE and the associated clinical parameters. Three hundred and sixty MM patients (median age 61 years, range 32-88 years) received thalidomide treatment. Fourteen patients (3.9%) developed TE: 12 had venous and two had arterial locations. The sites for the venous TE included lungs (seven), lower extremities (four), upper extremities (one), and neck (one). Arterial TE developed in cerebral and peripheral arteries each. No single clinical parameter such as prerequisite for the metabolic syndrome, disease status, and treatment regimen were predictive for the development of TE. The frequency of TE in patients who received thalidomide as initial therapy (7/155) was not different from those who received thalidomide for progressive or relapsed disease (7/205, p = 0.592). The frequency of TE during thalidomide treatment in Korean patients with MM was low. No significant clinical factor was found to be a risk factor. The subgroup requiring thromboprophylaxis among the Korean patients with MM, receiving thalidomide, needs to be clarified.

The aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy and safety of gemcitabine and oxaliplatin combination chemotherapy as first-line therapy in patients with inoperable biliary tract cancer (BTC). The treatment of this non-randomized phase II study consisted of gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m2 intravenously (i.v.) on day 1 and oxaliplatin 85 mg/m2 i.v. on day 2 every 2 weeks until disease progression, unaccep toxicity or patients’ refusal. From Sept 2006 to Oct 2007, 40 patients were enrolled. In the ITT analysis, the objective response rate was 15.0% and the disease control rate was 52.5%. The median overall survival (95% CI) was 8.5 months (6.4–10.7) and the time to progression was 4.2 months (0.5–7.9). For the 305 cycles, observed grade 3/4 toxicity was uncommon. Gemcitabine and dose adjusted oxaliplatin combination chemotherapy had moderate anti-tumor activity and was well tolerated as a first-line treatment for patients with inoperable BTC.

We performed a retrospective multicentre analysis to study the clinical features and treatment outcomes of B-lymphoblastic lymphoma (B-LBL) and T-lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL) in Asian adult patients, and identify risk factors that predict relapse and poor prognosis. Fifty-five newly diagnosed patients (45 T-LBL and 10 B-LBL) were analysed. All patients were treated with intensive chemotherapy regimens including VPDL (vincristine, prednisolone, daunorubicin, L-asparaginase), CALGB (Cancer and leukemia group B), and Stanford/Northern California Oncology Group (NCOG). There was no difference of clinical features between B- and T-LBL except the frequent site of involvement. The overall response rate including complete response (28/55, 50.9%) and partial response (18/55, 32.7%) was 83.6%. Among 46 responders, 22 patients relapsed leading to 20 deaths. Partial responders showed more frequent relapse (10/18, 55.6%) than complete responders (11/28, 39.2%). The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 17 months (95% confidence interval, 11.5-22.5), and the 2-year overall survival was 52 +/- 7% with a median follow-up of 50 months (range 8-152). Treatment outcome of T-LBL and B-LBL was not significantly different in terms of response and survival. The presence of pleural effusion was significantly prognostic for overall and PFS (p < 0.05). In conclusion, clinical features and treatment outcome of Asian adult LBL were comparable to previous results, and the prognosis is still poor despite intensive chemotherapy.

We report a case of therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia after low-dosed topoisomerase II inhibitor (etoposide) treatment for hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). A 62-yr-old female patient had previously been treated with a HLH-94 protocol containing a low-dose of etoposide (total dose of 300 mg/m2). Thirty-one months later, the patient was admitted to the hematology department with general weakness and upper respiratory infection symptoms. Peripheral blood smear and bone marrow study revealed acute monocytic leukemia. There was no evidence of myelodysplastic syndrome, and a cytogenetic study showed no chromosomal abnormalities.

Nitrate and chloride are the most common contaminants in groundwater and their concentrations increase easily due to fertilizer consumption and urbanization. The number of time series data for groundwater quality at a single site was not sufficient to analyze trends on Jeju Island. Therefore rectangle grids were drawn for the whole island and single grid was determined to be after considering similar stream density, homogeneous hydraulic coefficients, geologic features of volcanic rock and low topographic slopes. All data within each lattice were collected and arranged in time series order and analyzed using Sen`s method. 10.6 % of the total lattices for chloride and 22.4% for nitrate showed upward trends from the early 1990`s to the early 2000`s. Especially, upward trends for nitrate concentration are distinct in the low mid-mountainous areas of western and southern watersheds. Many septic tanks and much domestic waste from the urbanization of the low mid-mountainous area have produced this upward trend. Additionally, the agricultural region has dramatically increased since the 1990`s and this has led to an increase of fertilizer consumption and, as a result, nitrate concentration. Therefore, the target of any management plan for groundwater quality on Jeiu Island needs to be focused on careful land use decisions in the mid-mountainous areas which are near Halla Mountain.

Background/aims There is controversy about the prophylactic effect of anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) on graft versus host disease (GVHD) in the setting of matched related-donor hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). This study assessed the inf luences of ATG on the incidences of acute and chronic GVHD and other clinical outcomes in matched related-donor HSCT. Methods Sixty-one patients received allogeneic HSCT from human leukocyte antigen-matched, related donors. Patients received busulfan/fludarabine conditioning regimens and standard GVHD prophylaxis with or without additional ATG. Results There was no significant difference in the cumulative incidences of overall acute GVHD, grade II to IV acute GVHD at day 100, and chronic GVHD during the follow-up period between the ATG and non-ATG groups. Three-year overall survival rates were very similar, but three year disease-free survival of the non-ATG group was higher than that of the ATG group (56.2% for ATG vs. 63.1% for non-ATG, p = 0.597). Relapse rate at 3 years in the ATG group was slightly higher than that of the non-ATG group (37.5% vs. 20%, p = 0.29). Non-relapse mortality rate at 3 years was lower in the ATG group (6.25% vs. 15.6%, p = 0.668). Conclusions Although the addition of ATG doesn't guarantee a reduction in the incidences of acute and chronic GVHD, pre-transplantation ATG may result in lower non-relapse mortality in the context of matched related-donor HSCT with a busulfan/fludarabine conditioning regimen. However, caution is needed when using ATG because of a possibility to increase relapse rate.

The tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) commonly occurs in the lymphoproliferative disorder, either spontaneously or in response to therapy. TLS is uncommon in multiple myeloma. However, with the use of bortezomib in the treatment of multiple myeloma, cases of TLS have been reported. We report here threepatients who presented with TLS after the administration of bortezomib. Two of them presented mild symptoms and recovered with hydration only. However, death of the other patient was associated with TLS. We should monitor patients who had high tumor burden, especially in early phase of bortezomib therapy and appropriate prophylaxis for high risk patient is also needed.

Marrow stromal cells (MSC) produce a microenvironment supporting hematopoiesis and may contribute immune tolerance because of low immunogenicity and the suppressive effect of alloreactivity. We investigated whether cotransplantation of MSC could prevent lethal graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in major histocompatibility complex mismatched allogeneic murine hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) using female BALB/c (H-2d, recipient) and C3H/He (H-2k, donor) mice. MSC were obtained from C3H/He bone marrow cells (BMC). MSC and irradiated BALB/c splenocytes (SP) were cocultured with C3H/He SP or BMC. Nonirradiated MSC did not inhibit the proliferation of alloantigen-stimulated BMC and SP. However, irradiated MSC suppressed the proliferation of alloantigen-stimulated SP at a level comparable with that of immunosuppressive agents, and the suppression by MSC was reversed to a significant degree by interleukin 2. Lethally irradiated BALB/c mice received transplants of donor cells according to the following experimental groups (group A, BMC only; group B, BMC and SP; group C, BMC, SP, and MSC; group D, BMC and MSC). The survival rate in group D was higher than in the other groups (P = .0057), and the clinical GVHD scores and serum levels of interferon-gamma were low in group D. Our results suggest that cotransplantation of MSC in HSCT prevents lethal GVHD, possibly by immune modulation.

Polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, and primary myelofibrosis are collectively known as 'Philadelphia-negative classical myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs).' The discovery of new genetic aberrations such as Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) have enhanced our understanding of the pathophysiology of MPNs. Currently, the JAK2 mutation is not only a standard criterion for diagnosis but is also a new target for drug development. The JAK1/2 inhibitor, ruxolitinib, was the first JAK inhibitor approved for patients with intermediate- to high-risk myelofibrosis and its effects in improving symptoms and survival benefits were demonstrated by randomized controlled trials. In 2011, the Korean Society of Hematology MPN Working Party devised diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines for Korean MPN patients. Subsequently, other genetic mutations have been discovered and many kinds of new drugs are now under clinical investigation. In view of recent developments, we have revised the guidelines for the diagnosis and management of MPN based on published evidence and the experiences of the expert panel. Here we describe the epidemiology, new genetic mutations, and novel therapeutic options as well as diagnostic criteria and standard treatment strategies for MPN patients in Korea.

Azacitidine (AZA) is commonly used in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). To determine the role of AZA before allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT), we conducted a prospective study of AZA pre-treatment followed by allo-SCT in patients with higher-risk MDS. Twenty-one patients who were scheduled for their third to sixth cycle of AZA pre-treatment followed by allo-SCT were enrolled. AZA pre-treatment was interrupted early in 3 patients (14.3%) because of leukaemic transformation or death. The overall response rate to AZA pre-treatment was 57.1%. There were 2 cases of complete remission, 1 case of partial remission, and 9 cases of haematologic improvement. Fourteen patients (66.7%) received the planned allo-SCT and 5 patients were alive at the last follow-up. Three-year progression-free survival (PFS) and 3-year overall survival (OS) in the 14 patients who received allo-SCT were 30.0% (95% CI 3.3-56.7) and 42.9% (95% CI 17.1-68.7), respectively. PFS and OS were not influenced by response to AZA pre-treatment (p > 0.05). In this study, AZA had a role as a bridge therapy to prevent leukaemic transformation prior to selection of a donor for allo-SCT and showed low toxicity. It may be considered in patients with higher-risk MDS.

We report a case of malignant proliferating trichilemmal tumor showing multiple distant metastases. The patient demonstrated a round mass in the right occipital area for 12 months and the lesion grew rapidly to assume 8 x 6.5 x 4 cm in diameter, with areas of superficial erosion and crusting within the recent 3 months. The entire lesion was removed with a wide surgical excision. It recurred on the neck area 4 months after excision and the lesion was removed with surgical resection again. There was evidence of multiple metastases on CNS and mediastinal lymph nodes after 6 months. The patient was treated with cisplatin and etoposide combination chemotherapy and a partial response was achieved.

CMV infection may occur anywhere in the gastrointestinal tract. Among the small intestine, ileum is the most common site of CMV disease and infection of jejunum is a rare one in patients with CMV gastroenteritis. Although rare, the reason why the recognition of this diagnosis is important is that it cause the lethal hemorrhage and perforation of gastrointestinal tract when its diagnosis and treatment was delayed. Rapid diagnosis are able to using the immunohistochemical stain in shell vial culture of infected specimen or peripheral neutrophils preparation in viremic patients within 8 to 36 hours. The treatment of choice is antiviral agent or surgical resection. We experienced a case of CMV disease of jejunum in patient with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma who showed severe ulceration in jejunum and massive intestinal hemorrhage, and he survived after successful treatment with segmental resection of jejunum and intravenous ganciclovir.

An all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO) combination yields high-quality remission and survival in newly-diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). For subsequent similar data, NCCN guidelines indicate that ATRA plus ATO is one of the recommended regimens for the treatment of patients with APL. We demonstrated SFK (Src family kinase) inhibitor PP2-enhanced APL cell differentiation when combined with either ATRA or ATO with difference in activation of RA-induced genes. In this study, we investigated whether SFK inhibitor PP2 could enhance the differentiation of NB4 APL cells when combined with ATRA and ATO and the changes in the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) derived from the retinoic acid receptor (RAR) target gene. Treatment of NB4 cells with 1 μM of ATRA, 0.5 μM of ATO, or 10 μM of PP2 for 72 h induced expression of CD11b-positive cells by 13.01%, 11.53% or 13.28%, respectively. However, the combination of ATRA and ATO and the combination of three agents (ATRA, ATO, and PP2) led to a significantly higher expression of CD11b-positive cells (30.96% and 63.17%, respectively). The synergistic effect of the combination of three agents was more significant than the combination of ATRA and ATO. These results were confirmed with NBT staining. These effects were not related to apoptosis. Annexin-V-fluorescein staining revealed that a combination of ATRA and ATO and combination of the three agents did not induce apoptosis in NB4 cells. The expression of ICAM-1 markedly increased in cells treated with the combination of the three agents. These findings suggest that the SFK inhibitor can enhance differentiation of APL cells combined with ATRA and ATO. FDA approved SFK inhibitors, such as dasatinib and bosutinib, may be beneficial for the treatment of APL with a combination of ATRA and ATO.

Background High dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) has become the standard approach for relapsed or high risk non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Several different high dose therapy (HDT) conditioning regimens have been used for NHL, such as BEAM(carustine, etoposide, cytosine arabinoside, melphalan), BEAC( carmustine, etoposide, cytosine arabinoside, cyclophosphamide), and CBV(cyclophosphamide, carmustine etoposide). Carmustine is an active drug in the HDT of NHL but the supply of carmustine is limited in some countries. Intravenous busulfan containing regimens as conditioning regimen have been used for both allogeneic and autologous stem cell transplantation in patients with hematologic and non-hematologic malignancies. We and CISL have previously studied that conditioning regimen of i.v. busulfan/melphalan/etoposide was well tolerated and effective in patients with relapsed or high risk NHL. And busulfan/cyclophosphamide/etoposide conditioning regimen has been extensively utilized in ASCT for NHL. Therefore, based on the encouraging results, we conducted a randomized phase II multicenter trial of busulfan/etoposide/cyclophosphamide (BCT) versus busulfan/etoposide/ melphalan/ (BMT) as conditioning therapy for ASCT in patients with NHL. Methods Patients with chemosensitive high risk NHL or relapsed or primary refractory NHL underwent high dose chemotherapy at 16 centers in Korea. Patients were randomly assigned to receive BCT conditioning chemotherapy or BMT conditioning chemotherapy. BCT regimen consisted of iv busulfan 3.2 mg/kg/day i.v. on days -8,-7, and -6, etoposide 400mg/m2 day i.v. on days -5 and -4 and cyclophosphamide 50mg/kg/day i.v. on days -3 and -2 and BMT regimen were iv busulfan 3.2 mg/kg/day i.v. on days -8,-7, and -6, etoposide 400mg/m2 day i.v. on days -5 and -4 and melphalan 50mg/m2/day i.v. on days -3 and -2. The primary efficacy end points were 2 year progression free survival. Results Seventy five patients were enrolled onto the study. Patients randomly assigned to the BCT group (39 patients) or the BMT group (36 patients). Main subgroups were DLBCL (n=42, 56%) and T cell lymphoma (n=27, 36%). Thirteen patients (33.3%) in the BCT group and 11 patients (30.5%) in the BMT group had disease progression or died. 2 year progression free survival rate was 62.5% in the BCT group and 63.1% in the BMT group (p=0.924) (Fig 1). There was no treatment related mortality. Conclusions No significant differences were observed in progression free survival between BCT group and BMT group. Accordingly, busulfan based conditioning regimen may be regarded as an important treatment option to substitute for BEAM regimen. Further, considering R-CHOP or CHOP regimes are standard induction regimens, BMT conditioning will be good alternative to patients who can't be used cyclophosphamide. Figure PFS after autologous stem cell transplantation. Survival rates among all patient who underwent randomiazation Figure. PFS after autologous stem cell transplantation. Survival rates among all patient who underwent randomiazation Disclosures Kim: Celltrion, Inc.: Consultancy, Honoraria.

Background There is no standard salvage chemotherapy for relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs). In BETLY trial, which is sole prospective trial for bendamustine in refractory or relapsed T-cell lymphoma, bendamustine showed an encouraging high response rate across the two major PTCL subtypes, independent of age and prior treatment, with acceptable toxicity in refractory or relapsed PTCLs. We planned this trial to investigate the efficacy and toxicity of bendamustine, carboplatin and dexamethasone (BCD) for relapsed or refractory PTCLs, which would be expected to show more promising clinical outcomes than that of bendamustine single therapy. Patients and Methods Patients with relapsed or refractory PTCLs with more than one previous regimen regardless stem cell transplantation are eligible and totally 30 patients are needed. BCD treatment, which consist of bendamustine 80mg/m2 intravenously (i.v.) on Days 1 and 2, carboplatin AUC 5.0 i.v. on Day 1, and dexamethasone 40 mg orally on Days 1-4, was planned up to six treatment cycles without progressive disease and Peg-GCSF was supported at every cycle. Autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) after 3 cycles of BCD could be proceeded for eligible patients. Results Twenty-eight eligible patients were evaluated for toxicity and response. The diagnoses of participants included 15 cases of PTCL-NOS (54%), five cases of angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (18%) and four cases of ALK-negative anaplastic large cell lymphoma (14%) among others. The median age of the patients was 59 years (range, 23-75 years). After treatments with BCD, which delivered a median of three BCD cycles, there were 8 patients with complete responses (CR; 30%) and seven with partial responses (PR; 25%). The overall response rate (RR) was 55%. Five patients preceded to ASCT and three patients finally achieved CR. The median progression free survival was 4.8 months with a median follow-up duration of 4.5 months. In a total of 85 cycles of BCD, grade 3 or 4 neutropenia, thrombocytopenia and anemia occurred in 17.6%, 38.8% and 16.5% of cycles, respectively. Only one patients experienced febrile neutropenia. Conclusions BCD is an effective salvage regimen for relapsed or refractory PTCLs and can be administered with acceptable toxicity. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Introduction: Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are clonal hematopoietic disorders characterized by dysplastic changes in one or more cellular lineages causing impaired bone marrow function. One third of patients diagnosed with MDS progress to secondary acute myeloid leukemia (sAML). These patients have significantly worse prognoses than de novo AML patients. Azacitidine (AZA), a hypomethylating agent is commonly used to treat MDS patients as a frontline therapy. Although its survival benefits over supportive care in a randomized trial has been demonstrated, the underlying genetics and clonal dynamics upon AZA response/AML progression have not been well examined. Using next generation sequencing (NGS) technology, we attempted to assess the clinical relevance of somatic mutations and their dynamics as they relate to AZA treatment in MDS patients using longitudinal samples. Patients and Methods: Ninety-five MDS patients (56 lower risk and 39 higher risk MDS based on the revised IPSS scoring system) were enrolled in this study. The median age of the 95 patients is 67 years (range of 31 Ð 84) and median follow-up duration was 747 days (range of 137-3328 days). We performed targeted deep sequencing (entire exon region of a panel of 84 myeloid genes, Agilent custom probe set) on 285 bone-marrow samples including the longitudinal samples taken at diagnosis (n=95) and post-AZA treatment, (median 4 cycles) as well as T-cell fraction (CD3+). We multiplexed and sequenced the samples using an Illumina Hiseq 2000. After read mapping and variant calling, hierarchical clustering, pathway and survival analyses were performed in R. Results: Targeted sequencing on the myeloid gene panel revealed 176 mutations in 68 patients (68/95, 71.6%) with a median of 2 mutations per patient (ranges 2-6). The average on-target coverage for 285 sequenced samples was 1205x. Twenty-five of 44 mutated genes were recurrently mutated. ASXL1 was the most frequently mutated in the cohort (21%), followed by TET2 (15%), DNMT3A (11%), and SRSF2 (11%). Mutated genes were then grouped into 8 biological pathways, defined in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) AML study. The most frequent biological pathway with mutated genes at diagnosis was DNA methylation (28.4%), followed by spliceosome (25.2%), chromatin modifiers (22.1%), myeloid transcription factors (TFs) (11.6%), activated signaling (11.6%), tumor suppressors (12.6%), and cohesin complex (6.3%). When assessing the differences in patterns of variant allele frequency (VAF), we found significant VAF reduction in responders compared to non-responders (p = 0.007, repeated measures using general linear model, Figure A). Multivariate analyses revealed that mutation burden in different genes and biological pathways have distinct impact on AZA response, AML transformation, and overall survival. Higher bone marrow blast percentage (5%) was associated with all three measures (Figure B). Most significantly, mutations in activated signaling pathway genes are associated with AML progression (p=0.002). In addition, we could not detect decreased VAFs in activated signalling pathway genes even in responders (Figure C-D). Patients with SRSF2 mutations tend to respond to AZA (OR 14.084, p=0.003). Mutations in tumor suppressors (HR 4.825, p Conclusion: These data and analyses show that reduction in mutation burden is correlated with AZA response. Mutations in different genes and biological pathways are associated with distinct clinical measures that tumor suppressors and myeloid TFs were identified as poor prognostic factors in terms of OS. Persistent mutation burden in activated signaling pathways is a strong predictor for AML transformation. In summary, longitudinal tracking of MDS patients using NGS may improve criteria for AZA response and early detection of AML progression. Figure 1. Figure 1. Disclosures Jang: Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding.

BACKGROUND: According to our prior prospective phase II trial, Rituximab in combination with chemotherapy (R-CVP) has been shown to improve response rate (RR) and progression free survival (PFS) in patients with advanced stage marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) compared with chemotherapy alone (CVP). In spite of better RR and PFS, relapses seem to continue after immunotherapeutic treatment in these patients. Thus, eventual relapse remains an important clinical issue for the majority of patients with indolent lymphoma, and defining further ways to extend the period of remission remains an essential goal. But data from clinical trials evaluating rituximab maintenance treatment in these patients are almost limited. We aimed to evaluate the effect of maintenance treatment with rituximab on the PFS of patients with MZL. METHODS: Histologically confirmed advanced stage MZL patients who did not progress at the end of 6~8 cycles of 1st line Rituximab-CVP (cyclophosphamide 750 mg/m2 and vincristine 1.4 mg/m2 (maximum 2.0 mg), given intravenously on day 1, and oral prednisolone 100 mg on days 1-5) regimen were enrolled. Patients received 2 years of rituximab maintenance therapy (375 mg/m2 every 8 weeks). Primary objection was three year progression free survival. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT012113095. RESULTS Between March 2010 and March 2013, a total of 47 patients were enrolled with informed consent at this trial from 17 institutes in Korea. Among these patients, 1 patient withdrew informed consent, 1 patient was screening failure with combined thyroid cancer. The median age of the evaluated 45 (32 males, 13 females) patients is 54 (range 33-77) years. Fifteen patients (33.3%) evidenced nodal MZL, 30 (66.7%) extranodal MZL (10 patients were lung, 6 ocular, and 5 stomach, in order of frequency). The IPI score were 1 in 13 (28.9%), 2 in 21 (46.7%), 3 in 9 (20%), and 4 in 2 (4.4%) patients. The patients received a total of 6 or 8 cycles of 1st line R-CVP chemotherapy were 10 (22.2%) and 35 (77.8%), respectively. There were 20 CR (44.4%), 22 PR (48.9%), and 3 SD (6.7%). Median treated number of rituximab maintenance followed by R-CVP was 12 (range 1-12). Thirty two patients (71.1%) patients completed planned 12 cycles of rituximab maintenance. Disease progression during rituximab maintenance was 8 patients, 2 patients stopped treatment because of side effects (1 abdominal pain, 1 recurrent pneumonia) 2 patients were follow-up loss. Four patients were expired (each 1 pneumonitis, pneumonia, sepsis, and disease progression). PFS and OS rate at 3 years were 78.9% and 90.6%, respectively. CONCLUSION: 2 years of rituximab maintenance therapy after R-CVP first-line chemotherapy for advanced stage MZL might be improve PFS with tolerable toxicities Disclosures Kim: Celltrion, Inc.: Consultancy, Honoraria. Lee:Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

e15731Background: The PRODIGE trials showed superiority of FOLFIRINOX over gemcitabine. However, some of the grade 3/4 toxicity rates that were significantly greater in the FOLFIRINOX group than in...

This retrospective study concerns non-bacterial infections in Asian patients receiving alemtuzumab. The clinical data of 182 patients treated with alemtuzumab alone or alemtuzumab-containing chemotherapy between the years 2003 and 2009 was collected from six Asian countries. Alemtuzumab was used in the setting of frontline (n =48) or salvage (n =90) treatment, and as a part of the conditioning regimen for allogeneic stem cell transplant (n =44). Reactivation of cytomegalovirus (66/182) and varicella zoster virus (25/182), and fungal infection (31/182) including invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, were the most common infectious complications in this retrospective analysis. Thus, we recommend routine prophylaxis with valganciclovir and itraconazole, especially when alemtuzumab is used in the conditioning regimen for allogeneic stem cell transplant. Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) was found in four patients (3%, 4/122) receiving alemtuzumab as conditioning for stem cell transplant or salvage treatment. Three cases of hepatitis B virus reactivation were found in antigen-negative patients, and 16 cases of tuberculosis were observed. Infection is the major complication of alemtuzumab therapy, and these infectious complications are potentially severe and life-threatening. Based on our retrospective analysis, we have constructed a guideline for antimicrobial prophylaxis in Asian patients receiving alemtuzumab therapy.

In this study, we examined the efficacy and toxicity of S-1 with cisplatin as a second-line palliative chemotherapy for gemcitabine-refractory pancreatic cancer patients. Patients who had been previously treated with gemcitabine-based chemotherapy as palliative first-line chemotherapy received S-1/cisplatin [body surface area (BSA)1.25 m(2), S-1 40 mg/day; BSA ≤1.25 to1.5 m(2), 50 mg/day; BSA ≥1.5 m(2) 60 mg/day, orally, bid, daily on days 1-14 followed by a 7-day washout and cisplatin 60 mg/m(2)/day intravenously on day 1] every three weeks. The enrollment of 32 patients was planned, but the study was terminated early, prior to the first stage, following the enrollment of 11 patients. The median age of the patients was 56 (range, 42-74) years. Nine patients had a performance status (PS) of one. In total, there were 21 chemotherapy cycles and the median treatment duration was 21 (range, 7-96) days. Of the 11 patients, five could not be evaluated due to discontinuation prior to the response evaluation. One of the six evaluable patients achieved stable disease (9.1% in intention to treat analysis and 16.7% in per-protocol analysis), while five had progressive disease. Grade 3-4 hematological toxicities were anemia in one, neutropenia in one and thrombocytopenia in one cycle. Grade 3-4 nonhematological toxicities were fatigue in three, nausea in four, anorexia in two, diarrhea in one and peripheral neuropathy in two cycles. With a median follow-up period of 8.9 (range, 3.2-11.3) months, the median time to progression was 44 days [95% confidence interval (CI) 25.4-62.6] and the median overall survival was 81 days (95% CI 9.3-152.7). Combination chemotherapy with S-1 and cisplatin as applied in this study did not result in promising antitumor activity, a high degree of toxicity and poor compliance.

We performed a phase II trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the modified fludarabine, cytarabine, and attenuated-dose idarubicin (m-FLAI) regimen in elderly acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. Elderly (≥60 years) AML patients who had not previously received chemotherapy were enrolled in the study. Patients received two consecutive cycles of m-FLAI chemotherapy as an induction. The m-FLAI regimen comprised fludarabine (25 mg/m(2) , days 1-4), cytarabine (1,000 mg/m(2) , days 1-4), and attenuated-dose idarubicin (5 mg/m(2) , days 1-3). The primary end point was complete remission (CR) rate. Secondary end points were overall survival (OS), event-free survival (EFS), and treatment-related mortality (TRM). There were 108 patients (median age 68.4 years, M:F = 64:44) enrolled in the study. CR was achieved in 56.5% of patients, and the TRM rate was 21.3%. Median OS and median EFS were 10.2 and 6.6 months, respectively. The mortality at 30 and 60 days was 15 and 21%, respectively. Performance status and comorbidity did not have prognostic value in this patient cohort. Bone marrow expression of CD117 was associated with increased EFS and OS. m-FLAI is an effective induction regimen for previously untreated AML in elderly patients. In addition, bone-marrow CD117 expression is an independent favorable prognostic factor in elderly AML patients. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01247493).