BACKGROUND: Several studies from western countries have reported variable prognoses for patients with systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) depending strongly on the expression of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK). However, no prognostic significance of ALK expression in Koreans was reported in a single report regarding these patients, although the number of cases was limited in that study. METHODS: We analyzed the clinicopathological features of ALK+ ALCL and ALK- ALCL in 30 Korean patients diagnosed with primary systemic ALCL. RESULTS: ALK expression was detected in 60% of all ALCL patients (18/30), and there was no statistical significance to ALK expression in overall survival. Patients with ALK+ ALCL were younger in age and had negative bcl-2 expression; these differences were statistically significant. Tumors positive for ALK protein and granzyme B expression, and negative for bcl-2 expression with a null-cell phenotype tended to have better survival outcomes, althought this trend failed to reach statistical significance (p<0.2), probably due to the limited number of cases in this study. CONCLUSION: ALK protein expression and the absence of bcl-2 in tumor cells tend to result in better survival despite the failure of this trend to achieve statistical significance. Further studies that examine potential pathologic prognostic factors combined with the expression of ALK and apoptotic factors such as bcl-2 are needed. Additional larger-scale studies are also needed to conclude that ALK expression has no prognostic significance among Koreans.
Granzymes ; Humans ; Lymphoma ; Lymphoma, Large-Cell, Anaplastic* ; Phenotype ; Phosphotransferases ; Prognosis

Imatinib, the first-line treatment in patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), is generally well tolerated, although some patients have difficulty tolerating the standard dose of 400 mg/day. Adjusting imatinib dosage by plasma level monitoring may facilitate management of patients who experience intolerable toxicities due to overexposure to the drug. We present two cases of advanced GIST patients in whom we managed imatinib-related toxicities through dose modifications guided by imatinib plasma level monitoring. Imatinib blood level testing may be a promising approach for fine-tuning imatinib dosage for better tolerability and optimal clinical outcomes in patients with advanced GIST.
Aged ; Antineoplastic Agents/blood/*therapeutic use ; Benzamides/blood/*therapeutic use ; Drug Monitoring ; Exons ; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms/*drug therapy/pathology/radiography ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors/*drug therapy/pathology/radiography ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms/secondary ; Male ; Mutation ; Piperazines/blood/*therapeutic use ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit/genetics ; Pyrimidines/blood/*therapeutic use ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the incidence of imatinib-associated skin rash, the interventional outcomes of severe rash, and impact of severe rash on the outcomes of imatinib treatment in gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 620 patients were administered adjuvant or palliative imatinib for GIST at Asan Medical Center between January 2000 and July 2012. This analysis focused on a group of 42 patients who developed a severe rash requiring major interventions, defined as dose interruption or reduction of imatinib or systemic steroid use. RESULTS: Of the 620 patients treated with imatinib, 148 patients (23.9%) developed an imatinib-associated skin rash; 42 patients (6.8%) developed a severe rash requiring major intervention. Of these, 28 patients (66.8%) successfully continued imatinib with interventions. Serial blood eosinophil levels during imatinib treatment were associated with skin rash and severity. A significant association was observed between successful intervention and blood eosinophil level at the time of intervention initiation. In metastatic settings, patients with severe rash requiring major interventions tended to show poorer progression-free survival than patients who did not require major intervention and patients with no rash, although this finding was not statistically significant (p=0.326). CONCLUSION: By aggressive treatment of severe rash through modification of imatinib dose or use of systemic steroid, the majority of patients can continue on imatinib. In particular, imatinib dose intensity can be maintained with use of systemic steroid. Measuring the blood eosinophil levels may be helpful in guiding the management plan for skin rash regarding the intensity and duration of interventions.
Chungcheongnam-do ; Disease-Free Survival ; Eosinophils ; Exanthema* ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Skin* ; Treatment Outcome

To study the differentiating cytomorphological features of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) using fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC), cytomorphological features of 16 patients with HL (n=8) or ALCL (n=8) were analyzed. In the initial cytological diagnosis prior to biopsy, HLs were properly diagnosed in 4 out of 8 cases (4 HL, 2 atypical, 2 benign), whereas all ALCL were diagnosed as malignancies. However, correct diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) was made in only two ALCL patients (2 NHL, 1 HL, 1 sarcoma, 4 malignancy without specific type). Overall, the percentage of large abnormal cells ranged from 30% to 90% in ALCL except for one case, whereas it was less than 5% in all 8 HL. A spectrum of atypical cells was more characteristic of ALCL. In contrast, HL showed an sharp difference between reactive lymphoid cells and neoplastic ones (bimorphic pattern). Moreover, the emergence of kidney-shaped abnormal cells or wreath-like multinucleated cells was helpful in diagnosing ALCL. The combination of thesefeatures would be useful in differentiating HL and ALCL. Nevertheless, these two types of lymphomas cannot be definitely distinguished based on cytomorphological features alone. Therefore, the aim of FNAC would be to suggest a specific diagnosis and indicate the need for a biopsy.
Biopsy ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle* ; Diagnosis ; Hodgkin Disease* ; Humans ; Lymphocytes ; Lymphoma ; Lymphoma, Large-Cell, Anaplastic* ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; Sarcoma