Objective:To investigate the efficacy and related influencing factors of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation(auto-HSCT)as first-line consolidation therapy for newly diagnosed elderly patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma(DLBCL).Methods:Retrospective study of clinical characteristics, therapeutic effect, and prognostic factors of newly diagnosed DLBCL elderly patients with an International Prognostic Index(IPI)score≥3 who underwent auto-HSCT in the Affiliated People's Hospital of Ningbo University from January 2015 to August 2020.Results:Among the 31 patients, 18 were males and 13 were females, with a median age of 65(60-75)years.The 13 cases(41.9%)were involved in 2 sites outside lymph nodes, and 13 cases(41.9%)were involved in bone marrow.IPI medium and high risk(IPI=3 points)was found in 21 cases(67.7%), high risk(≥4 points)in 10 cases(32.2%). Before transplantation, 21(67.7%)patients achieved complete remission(CR), and the other 10(32.3%)patients were in the partial remission(PR). All patients after transplantation achieved hematopoietic reconstitution.The median time for neutrophil and platelet engraftment were 10(9-16)days and 12(8-58)days respectively.During a median follow-up of 20.9(3.1 to 73.0)months after transplantation, transplant-related mortality within 100 days was 3.2%(1/31). The 2-year overall survival(OS)and progression-free survival(PFS)were(77.2±8.4)% and(72.7±8.3)%, respectively.Multivariate Cox analysis showed that the achieved partial remission status before auto-hematopoietic stem cell transplantation[OS( HR=30.064, 95% CI: 2.231-405.209, P=0.010), PFS( HR=9.165, 95% CI: 1.926-43.606, P=0.005)], and CD34 + cell count in graft <3×10 6/kg[OS( HR=12.004, 95% CI: 1.234-116.807, P=0.032), PFS( HR=6.115, 95% CI: 1.325-28.221, P=0.020)]were the independent poor prognostic factor affecting both OS and PFS in elderly lymphoma patients. Conclusions:Auto-HSCT may improve the survival rate of carefully selected elderly patients with DLBCL.Pretransplant disease status and the number of CD34 + cells in the graft are important factors to predict the efficiency of auto-HSCT of the patients.

AIM: To investigate the therapeutic method of fludarabine combined with subsequent cyclophosphamide in the prevention of GVHD in haploid hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. METHODS: A total of 52 patients receiving PTCY (50 mg/kg, on days 3 and 4) were matched with 29 patients receiving ATG. RESULTS: The median follow-up time was 359 days. Complete donor chimerism was achieved in all patients by STR DNA detection on days +30, +60. The median time to neutrophils ≥0.5×10

Objective: To investigate the breakthrough incidence of invasive fungal disease(IFD) and side effects of posaconazole as primary prophylaxis during induction chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia(AML). Methods: A total of 206 newly diagnosed AML patients admitted to our department during January 2016 and December 2018 were enrolled in the study. Exclusive criteria were as followings including patients diagnosed as acute promyelocytic leukemia; those who received intravenous antifungal therapy after admission or had history of IFD one month before induction chemotherapy, or those with functional insufficiency of vital organs and those older than 65. Forty-seven patients received posaconazole (posaconazole group), 61 cases received voriconazole (voriconazole group) and 98 cases did not receive any prophylaxis (control group) during induction chemotherapy. Prophylactic efficacy and safety between posaconazole and voriconazole were compared. Results: During induction chemotherapy, five possible cases of IFD occurred in posaconazole group (10.6%); while 11 cases (18.0%) were in voriconazole group including 7 possible, 3 probable and 1 proven. Thirty-five cases (35.7%) in control group were diagnosed as IFD including 19 possible, 11 probable and 5 proven ones. The incidences of IFD in posaconazole and voriconazole group were significantly lower than that in control group (P<0.05). The difference of posaconazole group and voriconazole group was not significant (P>0.05). The reported adverse events in posaconazole group were significantly lower than those in voriconazole group [12.8%(6/47) vs. 32.8%(20/61), P<0.05]. Conclusions Posaconazole and voriconazole decrease IFD as primary prophylaxis during induction chemotherapy in patients with AML. The prophylactic effect of IFD with posaconazole is similar as voriconazole, but posaconazole shows better safety.

Objective To analyze the prognostic impact of Ikaros family zinc finger 1(IKZF1)mutation on adult Philadelphia chromosome (Ph1) positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients.Methods IKZF1 mutation was detected in 63 adult Phi positive ALL patients at diagnosis using capillary electrophoresis.Recruited patients were treated in our center and other three hospitals in Ningbo from January 2014 to January 2017.Clinical data were collected and retrospectively analyzed.Results Thirty-nine (61.9％) patients were positive IKZF1 mutation in this cohort.The white blood cell (WBC) count in IKZF1 mutation group was significantly higher than that of mutation negative group [(64.6±11.3)× 109/L vs.(33.7±5.6)×109/L,P＜0.05].Patients with WBC count over 30×109/L accounted for 56.4％ in IKZF1 mutation group.Complete remission (CR) rate in the IKZF1 mutation group was also lower than that of negative group after induction chemotherapy (64.1％ vs.75.0％,P＞0.05).IKZF1 was a negative prognostic factor but not independent factor for survival by univariate and multivariate analyses.Patients were divided into chemotherapy and allogeneic transplantation groups.The 3-year overall survival (OS) rate and 3-year leukemia-free survival (LFS) rate in IKZF1 mutation group were significantly lower than those of negative group in both transplantation group (42.3％ vs.59.3％;31.2％ vs.50.0％;respectively,both P＜0.05) and chemotherapy group (24.8％ vs.40.0％;19.0％ vs.34.3％;respectively,both P＜0.05).Conclusion IKZF1 mutation is a poor prognostic factor for adult Ph1 positive ALL patients.

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a special subtype of acute myeloid leukemia characterized by an increase of abnormal promyelocytic cells, failure of bone marrow hematopoietic function accompanied by the chromosome translocation t (15;17). APL has become one of the best paradigms of successful molecule targeted therapy with the development of treatments; however, the overall survival (OS) of elderly APL patients was not optimistic. The discovery of all-trans retinoic acid, arsenic and new drugs has provided new therapeutic choices for elderly patients with APL. This article reviews the treatment progress of elderly patients with APL.

Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is a highly aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) derived from germinal center B cells, which can be divided into endemic, sporadic and immunodeficiency-associated types. BL is characterized by c-myc deregulation due to translocation of c-myc gene to an immunoglobulin enhancer region, resulting in excessive cell proliferation and rapid tumor progression, however the dysregulation of myc alone can't explain the pathogenesis and progression of BL. With the development of molecular biology technology in recent years, the further research on molecular mechanisms of BL pathogenesis may provide a theoretical basis of for clinical diagnosis and targeted drug therapy. This review discusses the progress of pathogenesis in BL.

Objective: To investigate the impact of FLT3-ITD and DNMT3A R882 double mutations to the prognosis of acute myeloid leukemia after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Methods: FLT3-ITD, DNMT3A, C-kit, CEBPA, FLT3-TKD and NPM1 mutations were detected in 206 newly diagnosed AML patients by Sanger sequencing (M₃ and those received FLT3 inhibitor were excluded). Clinical data of AML patients were retrospectively analyzed to compare the prognosis of each gene mutation group. Results: ①Of 206 patients, 104 were male and 102 female with a median age of 38 (3-63) years, including 6 cases of M₀, 24 cases of M₁, 56 cases of M₂, 39 cases of M₄, 63 cases of M₅, 6 cases of M₆ and 12 unclassified cases. ②All 206 patients were divided into four groups according to the mutation gene at the time of diagnosis: FLT3-ITD⁺ DNMT3A R882⁺ group (group A), FLT3-ITD⁺ DNMT3A R882^- group (group B), FLT3-ITD^- DNMT3A R882⁺ group (group C) and FLT3-ITD^- DNMT3A R882^- groups (group D). Gender, leukocyte count at diagnosis, chromosome karyotype, the median age, FAB classification, disease status prior to transplantation, type of donor, conditioning regimen and GVHD were not significantly different between four groups (P>0.05). ③The 2-year cumulative recurrence rate (CIR) of group A was significantly higher than that of other groups [group A (72.2±2.6)%, group B (38.6±0.6)%, group C (36.8±1.6)%, group D (27.8±0.1)%, respectively, P<0.05], while the 2-year overall survival (OS) rate and 2-year leukocyte-free survival (LFS) rate were lower than those of other groups [group A (30.9±13.3)%, (11.3±10.2)%; group B (67.5±7.8)%, (47.9±8.4)%; group C (61.4±12.4)%, (56.8±12.5)%; group D (80.1±3.7)%, (79.7±3.6)%, respectively, P<0.05]. Conclusion AML patients with FLT3-ITD and DNMT3A R882 double mutations had a very high CIR and low OS, LFS after transplantation.

Objective To observe the clinical effect of sequential therapy with micafungin and reduced -dose voriconazole in prevention of invasive fungal infections in patients received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantion (Allo -HSCT).Methods 28 patients received the treatments for prevention of fungal infection with micafungin 50 mg per day from pretreatment to 30 days,then oral voriconazole at a dose of 1 00 mg two times per day until 90 days after Allo -HSCT.The occurrence of invasive fungal infection and the side effects of both medicine were observed during 1 80 days after Allo -HSCT.Results 8 patients(28.6%)developed above grade 2 acute graft verse host disease(GVHD),2 patients developed grade 3 GVHD among the 8 patients.Two case with GVHD were cured by voriconazole with the therapeutic dose who occurred probably pulmonary invasive fungal infection at two months after Allo -HSCT.There were no other patients diagnosed fungal infection.No toxic efect were observed during the clinical observation during treatment with micafungin.5 patients appeared mild liver function abnormalities during treatment with voriconazole,and liver dysfunction were improved by symptomatic treatment.2 cases developed transient auditory hallucination and visual impairment induced by voriconazole.Conclusion Micafungin and reduced -dose voricon-azole are effective and safe prophylaxis in prevention early invasive fungal infection after HSCT.

AIM: To evaluate the expression of fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) in acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) patients and its contribution to the proliferation of circulating endothelial cells (CECs).METHODS: The mRNA expression levels of FGFR3 in 44 patients with ALL were assayed by RT-PCR.Overall survival (OS) rates of the patients in FGFR3+ group and FGFR3-group were estimated by Kaplan-Meier analysis.The CECs were sorted from peripheral blood by magnetic-activated cell sorting and then counted by 3-color flow cytometry.The cell counts, antigen expression, growth curve and colony forming rate of the CECs in the 2 groups were determined.The FGFR3 expression of CECs was identified by immunofluorescence staining.RESULTS: The positive rate of FGFR3 mRNA expression was 43.2% in 44 ALL patients with normal karyotype.T-ALL expressed higher level of FGFR3 than B-ALL (P<0.05).FGFR3 was over-expressed in ALL patients with bone marrow blast proportion ≥5% (P<0.05).The probability of OS was significantly lower in FGFR3+ group than that in FGFR3-group (P<0.05).The sorted CECs highly expressed CD31, CD144, VEGFR-2 and CD146, and rarely expressed CD45.The counts of CECs and expression level of CD133 significantly increased in FGFR3+ group compared with FGFR3-group.The same result of the amount of colony formation was observed (P<0.05).There was significant difference at 3 time points of cultured CECs count in vitro between FGFR3+ group and FGFR3-group (P<0.05).The positive rate of FGFR3 expression of CECs from 19 ALL-FGFR3+ patients was (29.00±15.71)%.CONCLUSION: The over-expression of FGFR3 gene in ALL may be helpful to evaluate the prolife-ration of CECs, and become a double target with anti-tumor and anti-angiogenesis effects to offer more choice for molecular therapy in the future.

OBJECTIVETo delineate the clinical features and prognostic significance of acquired trisomy 21 (+21) in 31 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

METHODSChromosome specimen was prepared from bone marrow samples using a direct method and (or) cultivation, and their karyotypes were analyzed with R banding. The clinical features, chemotherapeutic effect and survival status of patients with acquired +21 were evaluated.

RESULTSCytogenetic studies were successfully performed on 3 329 patients with newly diagnosed AML, among which 31 (0.93%) had acquired +21. And 16 (0.48%) of the 31 patients had +21 as the sole abnormality. The most frequent subgroup of bone marrow morphology was AML-M5b, and its total number was 12 (38.7%) of the total. Thirty patients among those with +21 received standard chemotherapy. The complete remission (CR) rate (63% vs. 80%, P< 0.05) and median overall survival (OS) (7 months vs. 15 months, P< 0.01) of AML patients with acquired +21 were both lower than those without. Age (60 years or older) was associated with a significantly lower CR rate (30% vs. 80%, P< 0.05) and shorter median OS (4 months vs. 12 months, P< 0.01). Comparing to acquired +21 with other additional abnormalities, acquired +21 solely was associated with a lower median OS (6 months vs. 12 months, P< 0.05), but did not affect the CR rate (60% vs. 67%, P> 0.05). Three patients undergoing allogenetic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) were still alive at the end of follow-up. Their survival time have reached 56, 36 and 105 months, respectively, which were remarkably longer than those only received chemotherapy (P< 0.01).

CONCLUSIONThe presence of acquired +21 in patients with AML has a adverse prognosis with or without other additional abnormalities. Older age (60 years or older) and +21 alone predicted relatively poorer outcome. Allo-HSCT was expected to prolong the survival time of AML patients with acquired +21.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Down Syndrome ; genetics ; Female ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Young Adult