BACKGROUND: Classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) is a clinicopathologically unique, aggressive lymphoma arising from germinal center B-cells and is one of the most curable hematological malignancies. This study aimed to determine the clinical course, treatment regimens, response rates, and survival data of patients diagnosed with cHL in a tertiary center. METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted to include patients with a diagnosis of cHL from 2013 to 2017. Data of demographic and clinical characteristics, treatment regimens, and outcomes were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: We recruited 94 patients with a median age of 27.0 [interquartile range (IQR), 12] years. Most of the patients were male (61.7%) and 73.4% were ethnic Malay. Nodular sclerosis was the most common histology (77.6%), followed by mixed cellularity (6.4%) and others (16%). The median follow-up time was 28.0 (IQR, 32) months. All patients received chemotherapy but only 13.8% received radiotherapy as consolidation. The doxorubicin-bleomycin-vinblastine-dacarbazine regimen was the most common (85.1%), followed by the escalated bleomycin-etoposide-doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide-vincristineprednisolone-procarbazine regimen (14.9%). Following treatment, 76.1% of patients achieved complete response. The 2-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of the entire cohort were 96.5% and 71.1%, respectively. The 2-year OS and PFS for advanced-stage disease were 93.9% and 62.8%, compared to 100% and 82.7% for early-stage disease, respectively (P=0.252 and P=0.052, respectively). CONCLUSION: This study provides insight into the clinical presentation and treatment outcomes among patients with cHL in Malaysia. A longer study duration is required to identify OS and PFS benefits and treatment-related complications for different chemotherapeutic regimens.
B-Lymphocytes ; Cohort Studies ; Diagnosis ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Germinal Center ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; Hodgkin Disease ; Humans ; Lymphoma ; Malaysia ; Male ; Radiotherapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Sclerosis ; Tertiary Care Centers

Due to advances in the treatment and diagnosis of cancer, many women survive long after treatment, and therefore express concerns about the impact of estrogen deficiency on their quality of life. Cancer treatment can induce menopause through surgical removal of the ovaries, chemotherapy, or radiation. Women who undergo induced menopause usually experience more sudden and severe menopausal symptoms, including vasomotor symptoms, psychological symptoms, genitourinary symptoms, cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis. Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) is especially important in women younger than 40. In this review, we consider the role of MHT after the diagnosis of breast, gynecologic, colorectal, stomach, liver, lung, and hematologic cancers. MHT is advantageous in endometrial cancer type I, cervical squamous cell carcinoma, colorectal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, and hematologic malignancies. However, MHT is not recommended for use in breast cancer, endometrial stromal sarcoma, hormone receptor–positive gastric cancer, and lung cancer survivors because it is linked to an increased risk of cancer recurrence. Depending on the type of cancer, clinicians should recommend that cancer survivors receive appropriate MHT in order to reduce vasomotor symptoms and to benefit from its positive effects on the cardiovascular and skeletal systems.
Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Endometrial Neoplasms ; Estrogens ; Female ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; Humans ; Liver ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Menopause ; Osteoporosis ; Ovary ; Quality of Life ; Recurrence ; Sarcoma, Endometrial Stromal ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Survivors

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare hematologic malignancy that typically presents in the form of skin manifestations with or without lymph node and bone marrow involvement. Given its rarity and recent recognition as a distinct pathological entity, no standard of treatment exists for this aggressive disease and its prognosis is particularly dismal. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed clinical features and treatment outcomes of patients who were diagnosed with BPDCN between 2000 and 2014. RESULTS: Ten patients had a median age at diagnosis of 41 years (range, 18 to 79), and seven patients were male. Sites of disease involvement were the skin (n = 7), lymph node (n = 5), bone marrow (n = 2), liver (n = 2), spleen (n = 2), and soft tissue (n = 1). Intensified chemotherapy regimens such as hyperCVAD regimen (cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, dexamethasone, methotrexate, cytarabine), and VPDL (vincristine, methylprednisolone, daunorubicin, L-asparaginase) were used as a first-line treatment. Although all patients treated with intensified chemotherapy showed an objective response (five patients with complete response) with median progression-free survival of 11.2 months (range 6.2 to 19.4), complete remission was not sustained for more than 2 years in any case. The response was relatively long-lived compared with previously reported CHOP (doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, prednisone)-like regimens, but the above regimens do not result in long-term remission. CONCLUSIONS: All patients treated with hyperCVAD or VPDL showed an objective response, but the duration of response was relatively short. Thus, the development of more effective induction as well as consolidation treatment strategy should be warranted to improve this rare disease entity.
Bone Marrow ; Cyclophosphamide ; Daunorubicin ; Dendritic Cells* ; Dexamethasone ; Diagnosis ; Disease-Free Survival ; Doxorubicin ; Drug Therapy ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; Humans ; Korea* ; Liver ; Lymph Nodes ; Male ; Methotrexate ; Methylprednisolone ; Prognosis ; Rare Diseases ; Retrospective Studies ; Skin ; Skin Manifestations ; Spleen ; Vincristine

PURPOSE: To report a case of an 82-year-old male with acute myeloid leukemia presenting with bilateral isolated conjunctival and eyelid masses. CASE SUMMARY: An 82-year-old male presented with a bilateral conjunctival mass and right eyelid mass occurring 10 days prior. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer 8 years ago and complete recovery was achieved using selective mass chemotherapy. He experienced a stroke 4 years ago and was treated using a carotid artery stent insertion and medication. In the initial laboratory test, hemoglobin was 13.7 g/dL and leukocyte count 5,530/mm3(neutrophil 74.4%, lymphocyte 10%, monocyte 11.8%). Light reflex, movement of extraocular muscle and fundus examination were all normal. Biopsy was performed 1 week after the first visit. Seven days after biopsy, he complained of sudden dyspnea and febrile sense and was admitted to the intensive care unit via the emergency room (ER). The laboratory tests performed in the ER showed hemoglobin was 9.6 g/dL and leukocyte count was 78,020/mm3(neutrophil 0%, lymphocyte 7%, monocyte 5%, promyelocyte 1%, metamyelocyte 4%, myelocyte 6%, blast 67%). The biopsy revealed diffuse proliferation of atypical plasmacytoid cells, consistent with leukemic infiltration. Under the diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia, chemotherapy was administered. However, the patient died due to aggravated pneumonia. CONCLUSIONS: Even if non-specific findings appear on the peripheral blood tests, eyelid and conjunctival masses should be considered as possible tumors in acute myeloid leukemia.
Aged, 80 and over ; Biopsy ; Carotid Arteries ; Conjunctiva* ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Dyspnea ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Eyelids* ; Granulocyte Precursor Cells ; Hematologic Tests ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute* ; Leukemic Infiltration ; Leukocyte Count ; Lymphocytes ; Male ; Monocytes ; Pneumonia ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Reflex ; Sarcoma, Myeloid ; Stents ; Stroke

Dendritic Cells ; pathology ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Humans

BACKGROUND: Neutropenic fever is one of the most common and potentially severe complications of chemotherapy in pediatric oncology patients, while urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most prevalent bacterial infections in these patients. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate features of UTI with neutropenic fever in pediatric oncology patients. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed and analyzed the medical records, laboratory results and image findings of cases of neutropenic fever in the Department of Pediatrics of Yeungnam University Medical Center, South Korea between November 2013 and May 2015. Episodes were divided into two groups, UTI vs. non-UTI group according to the results of urine culture. The results were then compared between groups. The analysis was performed using IBM SPSS 23.0. A p-value <0.05 was considered to indicate a significant difference between groups. RESULTS: Overall, 112 episodes of neutropenic fever were analyzed, among which 22 episodes (19.6%) showed organisms on urine culture and were classified as UTI. The remaining 90 episodes were classified as non-UTI. Only four episodes (18.2%) of the UTI group showed pyuria on urine analysis. In the UTI group, 76.5% were sensitive to the first line antibiotics and showed higher clinical response than the non-UTI group. Among hematologic malignancy patients, the UTI group revealed higher serum β 2-microglobulin levels than the non-UTI group (1.56±0.43 mg/L vs. 1.2±0.43 mg/L, p<0.028). CONCLUSION: UTI in pediatric neutropenic fever responds well to antibiotics. Hematologic malignancy cases with UTI reveal increased serum β2-microglobulin level. These results will be helpful to early phase diagnosis of UTI.
Academic Medical Centers ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bacterial Infections ; Child ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Febrile Neutropenia* ; Fever ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; Humans ; Korea ; Medical Records ; Pediatrics ; Pyuria ; Retrospective Studies ; Urinary Tract Infections* ; Urinary Tract*

OBJECTIVETo summarize the clinical experience and evaluate the efficacy of haploidentical HSCT.

METHODSThe survival rates of 156 patients receiving either haploidentical (83 cases) or HLA-identical (73 cases) transplantation for hematologic diseases were compared and risk factors related to overall survival (OS) were analyzed.

RESULTSHLA-identical and haploidentical cohorts were not statistically different in the hematopoietic reconstitution, incidence of acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), OS, disease-free survival (DFS), relapse and treatment-related mortality (TRM) after transplantation. Multivariate analysis showed that advanced disease status, relapse and grade III-IV acute GVHD were independent prognostic indictors for OS with relative risk (RR) of 4.8 (95% CI 2.2-10.1), 4.3 (95% CI 2.6-8.0) and 3.3 (95% CI 1.6-7.0), respectively (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONHaploidentical transplantation with the present conditioning can achieve the therapeutic effects comparable to HLA-identical sibling transplantation. Disease status before transplantation and the presence or not of severe GVHD after transplantation have important significance for the long-term survival after transplantation.

Disease-Free Survival ; Graft vs Host Disease ; epidemiology ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Incidence ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Risk Factors ; Siblings ; Survival Analysis ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUND/AIMS: In this study, the sensitivity-specificity of galactomannan-enzyme immunoassay (GM-EIA) with a cut-off value of 0.5 for a single, two, or three consecutive positivity in the diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) in neutropenic patients with hematological malignancy was investigated. METHODS: IPA was classified as "proven," "probable," or "possible" as described in the guidelines prepared by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer and Mycoses Study Group." Serum samples were collected from the patients twice a week throughout their hospitalization. A total of 1,385 serum samples, with an average of 8.3 samples per episode, were examined. RESULTS: Based on the 165 febrile episodes in 106 patients, 80 (48.5%) were classified as IPA (4 proven, 11 probable, 65 possible) and 85 (51.5%) as non-IPA. The sensitivity/ specificity was 100%/27.1% for a single proven/probable IPA with the cut of value of GM-EIA > or = 0.5, 86.7%/71.8% for two consecutive positive results, and 73.3%/85.9% for three consecutive positive results. CONCLUSIONS: With the galactomannan levels measured twice a week, consecutive sensitivity decreased and specificity increased. Therefore, an increase may be obtained in sensitivity-specificity by more frequent monitoring of GM-EIA starting from the first day of positivity is detected.
Adult ; Aged ; Antineoplastic Agents/*adverse effects ; Biomarkers/blood ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Hematologic Neoplasms/diagnosis/*therapy ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation/*adverse effects ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host ; Immunosuppressive Agents/*adverse effects ; Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis/*blood/diagnosis/immunology/microbiology ; Male ; Mannans/*blood ; Middle Aged ; Opportunistic Infections/*blood/diagnosis/immunology/microbiology ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Reproducibility of Results ; Time Factors

Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) is the most frequent form of invasive fungal diseases in immunocompromised patients. However, there are only a few studies on IPA in immunocompromised children in Korea. This study was designed to characterize IPA in Korean children with hematologic/oncologic diseases. Medical records of children with hematologic/oncologic diseases receiving antifungal therapy were reviewed. The enrolled children were divided into the IPA group (proven and probable IPA) and non-IPA group, and the clinical characteristics and prognosis were compared between the two groups. During the study period, 265 courses of antifungal therapy were administered to 166 children. Among them, two (0.8%) episodes of proven IPA, 35 (13.2%) of probable IPA, and 52 (19.6%) of possible IPA were diagnosed. More children in the IPA group suffered from neutropenia lasting for more than two weeks (51.4% vs. 21.9%, P<0.001) and showed halo signs on the chest computed tomography (78.4% vs. 40.7%, P<0.001) than in the non-IPA group. No other clinical factors showed significant differences between the two groups. Amphotericin B deoxycholate was administered as a first line antifungal agent in 33 (89.2%) IPA group episodes, and eventually voriconazole was administered in 27 (73.0%) episodes. Ten (27.0%) children in the IPA group died within 12 weeks of antifungal therapy. In conclusion, early use of chest computed tomography to identify halo signs in immunocompromised children who are expected to have prolonged neutropenia can be helpful for early diagnosis of IPA and improving prognosis of children with IPA.
Antifungal Agents/*therapeutic use ; Child ; Child Health/statistics & numerical data ; Comorbidity ; Female ; Hematologic Diseases/*mortality ; Humans ; Incidence ; Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis/*diagnosis/drug therapy/*mortality ; Male ; Neoplasms/*mortality ; Prognosis ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Risk Factors ; Survival Rate ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed/statistics & numerical data ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Allopurinol is a urate-lowering agent that is commonly used to prevent chemotherapy-related hyperuricemia. Allopurinol hypersensitivity syndrome (AHS) is a disorder involving multiple organs, which may be accompanied by cutaneous adverse reactions. We identified the characteristics and clinical outcomes of chemotherapy-associated AHS in patients with hematological malignancies. METHODS: This retrospective single-center study included 26 AHS patients (11 with and 15 without hematological malignancies) admitted to Seoul St. Mary's Hospital. AHS was defined using the criteria of Singer and Wallace. Comparisons were made using the Mann-Whitney U test and Fisher exact test as appropriate. RESULTS: In patients with a hematological malignancy and AHS, statistically significant differences were observed in terms of younger age at onset; shorter duration of exposure; higher starting and maintenance doses of allopurinol; lower incidence of eosinophilia, leukocytosis, and underlying renal insufficiency; and more frequent occurrence of fever compared to AHS patients without a hematological malignancy. Two AHS patients with a hematological malignancy were examined for human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B typing, but neither patient harbored the HLA-B*5801 allele. All of the patients ceased allopurinol treatment, with most patients making a full recovery. Two patients in the study died; however, these deaths were unrelated to AHS. One patient developed serious sequelae of AHS that required hemodialysis. CONCLUSIONS: Physicians who prescribe allopurinol for the prevention of chemotherapy-related hyperuricemia should be aware of the unique risk of AHS, even in patients with hematological malignancies who do not have known risk factors for AHS. Novel urate-lowering agents should be considered alternative treatments.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Allopurinol/*adverse effects ; Antineoplastic Agents/*adverse effects ; Comorbidity ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Drug Hypersensitivity Syndrome/diagnosis/drug therapy/*etiology ; Female ; Glucocorticoids/therapeutic use ; Gout Suppressants/*adverse effects ; Hematologic Neoplasms/*drug therapy ; Humans ; Hyperuricemia/chemically induced/diagnosis/*prevention & control ; Male ; Medical Records ; Middle Aged ; Republic of Korea ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult