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Backgound: In the workup of follicular lymphoma (FL), bone marrow biopsy (BMB) assessment is a key component of FLIPI and FLIPI2, the most widely used outcome scores. During the previous decade, several studies explored the role of FDG-PET/CT for detecting nodal and extranodal disease, with only one large study comparing both techniques., Methods: The aim of our study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and the prognostic impact of both procedures in a retrospective cohort of 299 FL patients with both tests performed at diagnosis. In order to avoid a collinearity bias, FLIPI2 was deconstructed in its founding parameters, and the bone marrow involvement (BMI) parameter separately included as: a positive BMB, a positive PET/CT, the combined "PET/CT and BMB positive" or "PET/CT or BMB positive". These variables were also confronted independently with the POD24 in 233 patients treated with intensive regimens., Results: In the total cohort, bone marrow was involved in 124 and 60 patients by BMB and PET/CT, respectively. In terms of overall survival, age > 60 y.o. and the combined "PET/CT or BMB positive" achieved statistical independence as a prognostic factor. In patients treated with an intensive regimen, only the combined "PET/CT or BMB positive" added prognostic value for a shorter overall survival, when confronted with the POD24., Conclusion: Our results show that in FL both BMB and PET/CT should be considered at diagnosis, as their combined assessment provides independent prognostic value in the context of the most widely use clinical scores., (© 2022 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Intravenous Anti-Rhesus-D immunoglobulin (Anti-D) is a first-line treatment option for immune thrombocytopenia in non-splenectomised and RhD-positive patients. In this report, we retrospectively review our experience with intramuscular (IM) Anti-D treatment in 74 adult patients between 1990 and 2018. We found that 73% of patients showed a response; almost all of them had complete responses (68.9%), and 26% achieved complete responses sustained at least 6 months after treatment discontinuation. [Correction added on 02 December 2022, after first online publication: In the preceding sentence, '(68.89%)' has been corrected to '(68.9%)' in this version.] No significant side effects were observed with no cases of acute haemolysis or anaemia reported. We conclude from this study that IM Anti-D is an effective and safe treatment for immune thrombocytopenia., (© 2022 The Authors. British Journal of Haematology published by British Society for Haematology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

We report a novel hemoglobin (Hb) variant found in a Spanish individual from Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the Canary Islands in Spain. The proband was a 39-year-old male. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) displayed an unknown peak (19.3%) at a retention time of 1.3 min. eluting before Hb A 0 . Capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) showed an abnormal peak (20.0%) in zone 12. Direct DNA sequencing of the α-globin genes revealed heterozygosity for a nonsense mutation at codon 139 ( A AA> T AA), causing a lysine to stop codon substitution [α139(HC1)Lys→Stop; HBA1 : c.418A>T]. We decided to name the variant Hb Nivaria (Tenerife) for the place of birth and residence of the proband.

Several studies have reported uneven results when evaluating the prognostic value of bone marrow biopsy (BMB) and PET/CT as part of the staging of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The heterogeneity of the inclusion criteria and not taking into account selection and collinearity biases in the analysis models might explain part of these discrepancies. To address this issue we have carried a retrospective multicenter study including 268 DLBCL patients with a BMB and a PET/CT available at diagnosis where we estimated both the prognosis impact and the diagnostic accuracy of each technique. Only patients treated with R-CHOP/21 as first line (n = 203) were included in the survival analysis. With a median follow-up of 25 months the estimated 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 76.3% and 82.7% respectively. In a multivariate analysis designed to avoid a collinearity bias with IPI categories, BMB-BMI [bone marrow involvement](+) (HR: 3.6) and ECOG PS > 1 (HR: 2.9) were independently associated with a shorter PFS and three factors, age >60 years old (HR: 2.4), ECOG PS >1 (HR: 2.4), and abnormally elevated B2-microglobulin levels (HR: 2.2) were independently associated with a shorter OS. In our DLBCL cohort, treated with a uniform first-line chemotherapy regimen, BMI by BMB complemented performance status in predicting those patients with a higher risk for relapse or progression. In this cohort BMI by PET/CT could not independently predict a shorter PFS and/or OS., (© 2017 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objectives: To compare, from a biological and clinical perspective, a significant group of patients with AML with inv(3)(q21q26.2) or t(3;3)(q21;q26.2) with another group of AML carrying different abnormalities of 3q at q21 or q26, the latter named as the AML abn(3q) group., Methods: We developed a national survey with the participation of 13 Spanish hospitals, and retrospectively reviewed (from 1990 to 2010) these subtypes of AML. Fifty-five patients were collected: 35 with AML inv(3)/t(3;3) and 20 with AML abn(3q). A data collecting page that included main features at diagnosis, therapeutic approach and response, and survival variables, was distributed and completed., Results: We did not find significant differences in sex, age, history of myelodysplastic syndrome or chemo-/radiotherapy, clinical presentation, WBC and platelet counts, hemoglobin level, blasts immunophenotype, serum lactatedehydrogenase, peripheral blood and bone marrow cellular dysplasia, and bone marrow biopsy findings. Although the association with monosomy 7 was significantly more frequent in AML inv(3)/t(3;3), this did not seem to influence outcome. The lack of response to the different modalities of treatment and the aggressive course of the disease were the standard in both cohorts of patients., Discussion: Although not yet recognized by the World Health Organization classification, our results are in agreement with the findings of other authors, who include both subsets of AML together in the same group of adverse prognosis., Conclusion: In an attempt to simplify and bound entities with similar genetic background and clinical behavior, it would be desirable to bring together both subgroups of AML in a single section.

We report the case of a 68-year-old male with a diagnosis of unclassifiable myelodysplatic/myeloproliferative disease (WHO classification), under prolonged steroid treatment and unsuccesful chemotherapy response, who developed progressive asthenia, thoracic pain, minimal efforts dyspnea, and abdominal distension, that initially was suspicious of splenic rupture. Exploratory laparotomy showed multiple peritoneal implants, and a diagnosis of peritoneal tuberculosis was obtained from local biopsy. Definitive diagnosis included a positive result to culture and PCR urine test, together with a possible pleural and splenic tuberculous affectation. Response to tuberculostatic treatment was successful. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case with such characteristics.