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Background: Granulomatous mycosis fungoides (GMF) is a rare form of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma characterized by a granulomatous inflammatory infiltrate. Objective: The impact of granulomatous inflammation on the prognosis of the disease remains controversial as there have been both favorable and unfavorable outcomes documented. Methods: We performed a systematic review of 116 GMF cases previously described in the literature. Results: In contrast to the classic Alibert-Bazin type of mycosis fungoides (MF), cutaneous lesions in GMF tend to involve distal extremities (lower legs, feet, hands) early in the disease course. In the literature, 30% of GMF patients developed organ metastasis, most frequently to the lung. The median time to stage progression was 25 months. Conclusion: GMF is an aggressive form of MF. Therefore, screening for distant metastases should be considered at presentation and repeated during follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our study, approximately 14% of patients with MCL developed a US FDA-approved treatment indication for second-line CAR-T cell therapy within 6 months of first-line bendamustine. To the editor: Bendamustine-rituximab (BR) is the most frequently administered first-line therapy for mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) in the United States (US) [[1]]. Recent bendamustine treatment before apheresis has a negative impact on outcomes in patients with large B-cell lymphoma receiving chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy. [Extracted from the article]

Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is a clinically aggressive disease with marked genetic heterogeneity. Cytogenetic abnormalities provide the basis for risk stratification into clinically favourable, intermediate, and unfavourable groups. There are additional genetic mutations, which further influence the prognosis of patients with AML. Most of these result in molecular aberrations whose downstream target is MYC. It is therefore logical to study the relationship between MYC protein expression and cytogenetic risk groups. We studied MYC expression by immunohistochemistry in a large cohort (n = 199) of AML patients and correlated these results with cytogenetic risk profile and overall survival (OS). We illustrated differential expression of MYC protein across various cytogenetic risk groups (p = 0.03). Highest expression of MYC was noted in AML patients with favourable cytogenetic risk group. In univariate analysis, MYC expression showed significant negative influence of OS in favourable and intermediate cytogenetic risk group (p = 0.001). Interestingly, MYC expression had a protective effect in the unfavourable cytogenetic risk group. In multivariate analysis, while age and cytogenetic risk group were significant factors influencing survival, MYC expression by immunohistochemistry methods also showed some marginal impact (p = 0.069). In conclusion, we have identified differential expression of MYC protein in relation to cytogenetic risk groups in AML patients and documented its possible impact on OS in favourable and intermediate cytogenetic risk groups. These preliminary observations mandate additional studies to further investigate the routine clinical use of MYC protein expression in AML risk stratification. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is an aggressive disease with frequent relapse. Targeted therapies against B-cell receptor (BCR) molecules have demonstrated improved outcomes in relapsed cases. However, clinical responses are slow and selective, with failure to attain complete remission in a significant subset of patients. Complex interaction of BCR signal transduction with toll-like receptor (TLR) and other pathways in MCL remains unknown, thus averting progress in development of targeted therapies. We have performed detailed digital quantification of BCR/TLR signalling molecules and their effector pathways in a cohort (n = 81) of MCL patients and correlated these data with overall survival. Hierarchical clustering model based on BCR/TLR genes revealed two distinct (BCRhigh and BCRlow ) subsets of patients (n = 32; 40%) with significant differences in expression (>1.5-fold change; p < 0.05). Higher levels of BTK/SYK/BLNK/CARD11/PLCG signalosome and lower expression of MALT1/BCL10 genes suggested tonic pattern of BCR activation. Amplified expression of TLR6/TLR7/TLR9 was noted in concert with hyper-responsiveness of BCR machinery. MYD88, a key TLR adaptor molecule, was not upregulated in any of these clusters, which may suggest a 'cross-talk' between BCR and TLR pathways. In sync with BCR/TLR signalling, we recorded significantly enhanced expression of genes associated with NF-kB pathway in BCRhigh subset of MCL patients. On univariate analysis, the BCRhigh patients showed a trend towards inferior clinical response to a standardized treatment protocol, compared with the BCRlow group (log rank, p = 0.043). In conclusion, we have identified hyperactive BCR/TLR signalling pathways and their effector downstream targets in a subset of MCL patients and associated it with poor clinical outcomes. Our study provides quantitative evidence at RNA expression level of possible concomitant collaboration between TLR and BCR signalling molecules in MCL. These data will provide further insights for future functional studies and, hence, development of targeted therapies for MCL patients. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the survival rates are extremely low for patients with secondary central nervous system lymphoma (SCNSL) treated with conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy, more encouraging outcomes have recently been reported in small series with high-dose (HD) therapy and autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT). The optimal HD regimen for SCNSL is unknown. Despite reports of thiotepa/busulfan-based conditioning for primary CNS lymphoma, very little data exist regarding the use of this regimen for SCNSL. We analyzed 23 patients with SCNSL (median age 62 years) who underwent ASCT at two Alberta centers using thiotepa, busulfan, cyclophosphamide (TBC) in six patients prior to 2011 and rituximab-busulfan, melphalan, thiotepa (R-BuMelTt) in 17 patients after 2011. At a median follow-up of 27.8 months (4.2-113.6), the 2-year actuarial rate of progression-free survival was 76.1%. In conclusion, our results demonstrate encouraging survival outcomes for patients with SCNSL treated with R-BuMelTt and ASCT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I am all for improving patient care and removing barriers to effective nursing, but health minister John Hutton needs to gain a better understanding of what nursing involves (news October [...]

B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) encompasses multiple clinically and phenotypically distinct subtypes of malignancy with unique molecular etiologies. Common subtypes of B-NHL, such as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, have been comprehensively interrogated at the genomic level, but rarer subtypes, such as mantle cell lymphoma, remain less extensively characterized. Furthermore, multiple B-NHL subtypes have thus far not been comprehensively compared using the same methodology to identify conserved or subtype-specific patterns of genomic alterations. Here, we employed a large targeted hybrid-capture sequencing approach encompassing 380 genes to interrogate the genomic landscapes of 685 B-NHL tumors at high depth, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, and Burkitt lymphoma. We identified conserved hallmarks of B-NHL that were deregulated in the majority of tumors from each subtype, including frequent genetic deregulation of the ubiquitin proteasome system. In addition, we identified subtype-specific patterns of genetic alterations, including clusters of co-occurring mutations and DNA copy number alterations. The cumulative burden of mutations within a single cluster were more discriminatory of B-NHL subtypes than individual mutations, implicating likely patterns of genetic cooperation that contribute to disease etiology. We therefore provide the first cross-sectional analysis of mutations and DNA copy number alterations across major B-NHL subtypes and a framework of co-occurring genetic alterations that deregulate genetic hallmarks and likely cooperate in lymphomagenesis.