International Journal of Hematology-Oncology and Stem Cell Research最新文献

Background: The most prominent part of the cellular response of the immune system is driven by neutrophils. These cells tend to decline following chemotherapy in patients with leukemia. Neutropenia is an influential factor in the prognosis of cancer patients. Stress reduces white blood cells (WBCs) and neutrophils are linked to an increased risk of infectious diseases after chemotherapy. We investigated the association between neutropenia and perceived stress following chemotherapy. Materials and Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study on 60 patients with leukemia in a university hospital. Participants completed self-report measures, including the demographic data and perceived stress scale (PSS) questionnaire. We compared rates of neutropenia, as a measure of chemotherapy prognosis, 10 days after chemotherapy in different stress levels. Moreover, the number of patients with polymorphonuclear (PMN) under 1000/microliter was compared at different stress levels.    Results: We found that neutropenia is directly correlated with negative stress perception and inversely correlated with positive stress perception. These effects appear more prominent in patients with PMN under 1000/microliter as the number of these patients was significantly more in groups with higher negative stress and less in groups with higher positive stress scores. Conclusion: It can be concluded that stress is correlated with neutropenia, and stress management in patients with leukemia will be accompanied by better recovery outcomes and reduced risk of infectious disease.

COVID-19 and malignancy can affect the susceptibility of one another. Clinically recovered COVID-19 individuals display immune abnormalities that persist several months after discharge. The lymphopenia-related immunosuppression, functional exhaustion of cytotoxic lymphocytes (such as CD8⁺ cytotoxic T-cells and natural killer cells), hyperinflammatory responses, oxidative stress, downregulation of interferon response, development of the myeloid-derived suppressor cells, downregulation of tumor suppressor proteins and perhaps reactivation of the latent oncogenic viruses may directly and/or indirectly play a role in the cancer development and recurrence in severe COVID-19 patients. SARS-CoV-2-infected malignant patients may be at higher risk of death of their cancer than SARS-CoV-2-uninfected patients with the same cancers. On the other side, the patients with some types of cancers may be more vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection compared with the non-cancerous individuals, due to their immunocompromised state resulted from malignancy, chemotherapy, and other concomitant abnormalities as well as perhaps greater expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2. SARS-CoV-2-infected cancerous patients are unable to produce an effective anti-virus immune response and may exhibit more severe forms of COVID-19. This review described the possible impacts of SARS-CoV-2 infection on cancer development and recurrence, and the potential cancer impacts on COVID-19 development, while the possible interventions are highlighted.

Background: Wilms' tumor suppressor gene 1 (WT1) gene mutation has been reported to be a prognostic factor in normal-cytogenetic acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. Higher rates of mutation in the WT1 gene have been reported in several tumors including normal-cytogenetic AML patients. Data regarding WT1 mutations in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is very scarce. In this study, we evaluated the incidence and impact of WT1 mutation on the outcome of APL patients. Materials and Methods: A total of 92 patients diagnosed with APL were studied in three distinct groups: early mortality, relapsed, and persistent complete remission. Genomic DNA of bone marrow samples of patients was analyzed. For quantification of expression levels of the WT1 gene, real-time quantitative PCR (rqPCR) was performed by a real-time PCR system. WT1 mutation and its impact on prognosis were considered the primary endpoint of the study. Statistical analysis was performed with STATA. Results: WT1 mutation frequency was 6.25% in the early mortality group (1/16 patients), 13.16% in the relapse group (5/38 patients), and 7.89% in the persistent complete remission group (3/38 patients). 8 mutations were in exon 7 and one mutation in exon 9. WT1 mutation in the relapse group was associated with a trend toward worse disease-free survival (DFS) while overall survival (OS) was not affected by WT1 mutation in univariate analysis. Patients with no mutations in WT1 and FLT3/ITD had better overall survival and disease-free survival compared to patients with mutations in the WT1 gene or FLT3/ITD in the relapse group. Conclusion: The frequency of WT1 gene mutations does not differ significantly between patients with early mortality, relapse, and persistent complete remission. The presence of WT1 mutation is associated with higher relapse and lower survival rates in relapse group patients.

Background: High-grade B-cell lymphoma (HGBL) with rearrangements of MYC and BCL2 and/or BCL6, called double and triple-hit lymphomas (DTH-HGBL), are lymphoid malignancies with inferior outcomes when treated with standard chemotherapy. The identification of DTH-HGBL cases is challenging, considering their variable clinical, morphologic, and immunohistochemical features. Materials and Methods: Retrospective revision of medical data of patients diagnosed with DTH-HGBL confirmed by FISH, between January 2010 and January 2020, in three Tertiary Portuguese Hospitals (Coimbra Hospital and University Center, Portuguese Oncology Institute - Coimbra and Portuguese Oncology Institute - Porto). Pathological features, morphology, and immunohistochemical profile were evaluated by at least two experienced pathologists in hematopoietic and lymphoid neoplasms. Results: The cohort included 24 patients: 33.3% triple-hit, 58.3%, MYC/BCL2 double-hit and 8.3% MYC/BCL6 double-hit. There was no gender predominance, with a median age of 62.5±14.3y, 33.3% were diagnosed as nodal disease, and 66.7% as extranodal. Morphologic features of DLBCL were present in 50% of cases, morphological features of both DLBCL and Burkitt lymphoma (DLBCL/BL) in 45.8% and 4.2% of blastoid morphology. Immunohistochemical evaluation, regarding the Hans algorithm, revealed a Germinal center (GC)/GC-like subtype in 83.3% of cases and a non-GC/non-GC-like subtype in 16.7%.  MYC was positive in 42.9% and the median proliferative index was 80±12.4%. Conclusion: DTH-HGBL has a very broad range of features. We consider that a cost-effective approach would be to perform cytogenetic analysis in DLBCL and DLBCL/BL cases with GC/GC-like subtype. MYC and BCL2 immunohistochemistry can be useful to identify patients who may benefit from more aggressive therapies, but not as tools for case selection for FISH.

Spur cell anemia is acquired hemolytic anemia seen in patients with advanced liver disease, particularly in the setting of alcoholism, and warrants urgent liver transplant evaluation. We describe the case of a 58-year-old female with alcoholic cirrhosis who presented with worsening liver disease, profound anemia poorly responsive to blood transfusions, and multiple spur cells on the peripheral smear. She underwent a liver transplant, which led to the resolution of hematologic abnormalities and the need for transfusions. Our case highlights the significance of spur cell anemia as a harbinger of poor prognosis in patients with advanced liver disease and its reversibility with liver transplantation.