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Tiivistelmä Myelooman vuosittainen ilmaantuvuus on pysynyt vakaana, mutta kehittyneiden hoitojen ansiosta potilaiden elinikä pitenee. Siksi hoidossa olevien potilaiden määrä kasvaa. Kliinisen hematologian erikoislääkärien määrän huomattava vaje voi vaarantaa hoidon yhdenvertaisen toteutumisen. Hoidon kustannukset kasvavat pääasiassa lääkekustannusten nousun vuoksi. Lääkekustannuksia pyritään hallitsemaan erilaisilla riskinjakosopimuksilla. Kliiniset lääketutkimukset tarjoavat arvokasta varhaisvaiheen käyttökokemusta ja konkreettista säästöä sairaaloiden lääkebudjetteihin. Niiden toteuttaminen sujuvasti rinnakkain rutiinihoidon kanssa tulisi mahdollistaa.

Background: Tumor necrosis factor α–induced protein 3 gene (TNFAIP3, also called A20) haploinsufficiency (HA20) leads to autoinflammation and autoimmunity. We have recently shown that a p.(Lys91*) mutation in A20 disrupts nuclear factor κB signaling, impairs protein-protein interactions of A20, and leads to inflammasome activation. Methods: We now describe the clinical presentations and drug responses in a family with HA20 p.(Lys91*) mutation, consistent with our previously reported diverse immunological and functional findings. Results: We report for the first time that inflammasome-mediated autoinflammatory lung reaction caused by HA20 can be treated with interleukin 1 antagonist anakinra. We also describe severe anemia related to HA20 successfully treated with mycophenolate. In addition, HA20 p.(Lys91*) was found to associate with autoimmune thyroid disease, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, psoriasis, liver disease, and immunodeficiency presenting with specific antibody deficiency and genital papillomatosis. Conclusions: We conclude that HA20 may lead to combination of inflammation, immunodeficiency, and autoimmunity. The condition may present with variable and unpredictable symptoms with atypical treatment responses.

Autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) combined with novel agents is the standard treatment for transplant-eligible, newly diagnosed myeloma (NDMM) patients. Lenalidomide is approved for maintenance after ASCT until progression, although the optimal duration of maintenance is unknown. In this trial, 80 patients with NDMM received three cycles of lenalidomide, bortezomib, and dexamethasone followed by ASCT and lenalidomide maintenance until progression or toxicity. The primary endpoint was the proportion of flow-negative patients. Molecular response was assessed if patients were flow-negative or in stringent complete response (sCR). By intention to treat, the overall response rate was 89%. Neither median progression-free survival nor overall survival (OS) has been reached. The OS at 3 years was 83%. Flow-negativity was reached in 53% and PCR-negativity in 28% of the patients. With a median follow-up of 27 months, 29 (36%) patients are still on lenalidomide and 66% of them have sustained flow-negativity. Lenalidomide maintenance phase was reached in 8/16 high-risk patients but seven of them have progressed after a median of only 6 months. In low- or standard-risk patients, the outcome was promising, but high-risk patients need more effective treatment approach. Flow-negativity with the conventional flow was an independent predictor for longer PFS.

Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) covers up to a third of all venous thromboses (VTs) detected in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). It usually hampers patients’ lives and may also endanger efficient leukemia treatment. Although many factors have been suggested to account for an elevated risk of VTs in patients with ALL, there still is a lack of studies focusing on CVTs and especially in the setting of adult ALL patients. We studied in our retrospective population-based cohort the occurrence, characteristics, as well as risk factors for VTs in 186 consecutively diagnosed Finnish adult ALL patients treated with a national pediatric-inspired treatment protocol ALL2000. In the risk factor analyses for VTs we found a distinction of the characteristics of the patients acquiring CVT from those with other kinds of VTs or without thrombosis. In contrast to previous studies we were also able to compare the effects of asparaginase in relation to CVT occurrence. Notably, more than half of the CVTs were diagnosed prior the administration of asparaginase which accentuates the role of other risk factors on the pathophysiology of CVT compared to truncal or central venous line (CVL) VTs in adult ALL patients.