Clinical Hematology International
81 articles
Review Article
History of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia
Miguel A. Sanz, Eva Barragán
In this article, we discuss the history of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) from the pre-therapeutic era, which began after its recognition by Hillestad in 1947 as a nosological entity, to the present day. It is a paradigmatic history that has transformed the “most malignant leukemia form” into the...
Review Article
Conditioning Regimens for Frail Patients with Acute Leukemia Undergoing Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant: How to Strike Gently
Francesco Saraceni, Ilaria Scortechini, Alessandro Fiorentini, Maria Vittoria Dubbini, Giorgia Mancini, Irene Federici, Francesca Romana Colaneri, Antonio Federico Lotito, Selene Guerzoni, Bruna Puglisi, Attilio Olivieri
Despite the recent dramatic progress in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) therapy, allogeneic transplant remains a mainstay of treatment for patients with acute leukemia. The availability of novel compounds and low intensity chemotherapy regimens made it possible for...
Research Article
The Management of a Comprehensive Cancer Center during the First Six Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the South of France: Lessons from the Paoli-Calmettes Institute’s Experience
Didier Blaise, Pierre Berger, Djamel Mokart, Jacques Camerlo, Emmanuelle Fougereau, Marc Giovannini, Gilles Houvenaeghel, Olivier Turrini, Christian Chabannon, Gilles Piana, Isabelle Brenot-Rossi, Agnès Tallet, Anthony Gonçalves, Aude Charbonnier, Norbert Vey, Sabrina Grossi, Patrice Viens
During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was rapidly established that cancer patients have an increased risk of developing severe forms of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) due to a backlog of cancer diagnostics and immunosuppressive treatments. Cancer centers had to quickly adapt to continue cancer therapies...
Research Article
Gastrointestinal Complications after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant: A Multidisciplinary Approach with Early Endoscopic Evaluation
Giuseppe Tarantino, Francesco Saraceni, Giorgia Mancini, Monica Poiani, Luca Maroni, Gaia Goteri, Ilaria Scortechini, Alessandro Fiorentini, Maria Vittoria Dubbini, Francesco Marini, Luigi Daretti, Marco Marzioni, Emanuele Bendia, Antonio Benedetti, Attilio Olivieri
Gastrointestinal complications (GICs) represent the major cause of morbidity and mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Differential diagnosis of GICs is of paramount importance since early and reliable identification of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is essential...
Review Article
How I Use Measurable Residual Disease in the Clinical Management of Adult Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Fiona Fernando, Harry Frederick Robertson, Sarah El-Zahab, Jiří Pavlů
Over the last decade the use of measurable residual disease (MRD) diagnostics in adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has expanded from a limited number of study groups in Europe and the United States to a world-wide application. In this review, we summarize the advantages and drawbacks of the current...
Editorial
Clinical Hematology International: Why a New Journal in Hematology?
Mohamad Mohty, Arnon Nagler, Bipin Savani
Pages: 1 - 1
Editorial
Looking Ahead: Clinical Hematology International Turns One
Mohamad Mohty, Arnon Nagler, Bipin Savani
Pages: 1 - 1
Review Article
Therapeutic Approaches for Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm: Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation and Novel Therapies
Mohamed A. Kharfan-Dabaja, Naveen Pemmaraju, Mohamad Mohty
Pages: 2 - 9
Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is a clinically aggressive hematologic malignancy derived from precursors of plasmacytoid dendritic cells. There is no established standard therapy for BPDCN and the efficacy of conventional chemotherapy is limited, with an anticipated median overall...
Perspective
Summary of Scientific and Statistical Methods, Study Endpoints and Definitions for Observational and Registry-Based Studies in Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation
Abraham S. Kanate, Arnon Nagler, Bipin Savani
Pages: 2 - 4
Due to the increasingly strict word/character restrictions enforced by most scientific publications, we identified a need for a master document illustrating the “Scientific Methods” that may be applicable to the majority of observational and registry-based studies in hematopoietic cell transplantation...
Review Article
The Many Faces of Cytokine Release Syndrome-Related Coagulopathy
Jiasheng Wang, John Doran
Pages: 3 - 12
Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) has been increasingly recognized in various conditions including the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). It is not only associated with systemic inflammatory symptoms, but also hematological complications such as coagulopathy. CRS can affect various components of the...
Review Article
Current Status and Future Directions in Graft-Versus-Host Disease Prevention Following Allogeneic Blood and Marrow Transplantation in Adults
Cosmin Tegla, Jun Choi, Maher Abdul-Hay, Frank Cirrone, Kelli Cole, A Samer Al-Homsi
Pages: 5 - 12
Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) in its acute and chronic forms continues to represent a significant barrier to the success and wide-applicability of blood and marrow transplantation as a potentially curative treatment modality for a number of benign and malignant blood conditions. Presently, calcineurin...
Review Article
Management of AML Beyond “3 + 7” in 2019
Jonathan Canaani
Pages: 10 - 18
The therapeutic paradigm for treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is rapidly changing with the advent of a new generation of drugs targeting diverse aspects of leukemogenesis. Whereas standard treatment for AML until recently consisted of a classic chemotherapy backbone, the incorporation of novel...
Review Article
Emerging Therapies for the Myelodysplastic Syndromes
Jonathan Canaani
Pages: 13 - 17
Despite considerable advances in our understanding of the molecular and epigenetic underpinnings of the myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), this diverse group of myeloid neoplasms remains a significant clinical challenge. Considerable barriers to timely development of effective therapy include the diverse...
Review Article
Machine Learning Applications in the Diagnosis of Benign and Malignant Hematological Diseases
Ibrahim N. Muhsen, David Shyr, Anthony D. Sung, Shahrukh K. Hashmi
Pages: 13 - 20
The use of machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) methods in hematology includes diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic applications. This increase is due to the improved access to ML and DL tools and the expansion of medical data. The utilization of ML remains limited in clinical practice, with...
Review Article
Clinical Advancement and Challenges of ex vivo Expansion of Human Cord Blood Cells
Oluwadunni E. Emiloju, Rashmika Potdar, Vinicius Jorge, Sorab Gupta, Gabor Varadi
Pages: 18 - 26
Apart from peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC), umbilical cord blood (UCB) is now a recognized source of stem cells for transplantation. UCB is an especially important source of stem cells for minority populations, which would otherwise be unable to find appropriately matched adult donors. UCB has fewer...
Review Article
Current Status and Perspectives of Irradiation-Based Conditioning Regimens for Patients with Acute Leukemia Undergoing Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
Rashmika R. Potdar, Sorab Gupta, Sebastian Giebel, Bipin N Savani, Gabor Varadi, Arnon Nagler, Slawomir Blamek
Pages: 19 - 27
Acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia are the most common indications for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Total body irradiation (TBI) is an important part of conditioning regimens. TBI-based regimens offer advantages in sanctuary sites but are associated with significant...
Review Article
Polatuzumab Vedotin: Current Role and Future Applications in the Treatment of Patients with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma
Rita Assi, Nohad Masri, Iman Abou Dalle, Jean El-Cheikh, Hady Ghanem, Ali Bazarbachi
Pages: 21 - 26
Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a biologically and clinically heterogeneous disease. Despite good responses to standard of care frontline chemoimmunotherapy, the prognosis of relapsed/refractory (R/R) patients remains obscured by the possible inadequate responses to salvage therapy, eligibility...
Research Article
Timed Sequential Salvage Chemotherapy for Relapsed or Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Bogdan Popescu, Sheenu Sheela, Julie Thompson, Sophia Grasmeder, Therese Intrater, Christin B. DeStefano, Christopher S. Hourigan, Catherine Lai
Pages: 27 - 31
Therapy for those with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia is suboptimal. Studies have suggested that timed sequential salvage combination cytotoxic chemotherapy may be particularly useful for that indication. We report here a series of ten such adult patients treated sequentially at a single...
Research Article
How to Simplify the Evaluation of Newly Introduced Chemotherapeutic Interventions in Myeloma
Treen Carson Michael Morris, Mary B. Drake, Paul J. Kettle, Tracey McGuigan, Maeve Leahy, Michael O’Dwyer, Helen Enright, Tanya O’Shea, Rakesh Popat, Heather E. Oakervee, Kwee Yong, Jamie D. Cavenagh, David A. Cairns, Alberto Alvarez-Iglesias, Gordon Cook
Pages: 27 - 33
When the bortezomib [PS341], adriamycin and dexamethasone (PAD) regimen was first evaluated, the response rate in untreated patients was much superior to that elicited by conventional chemotherapeutic agents. We demonstrated the efficacy of PAD in relapsed or refractory patients by comparing the response...
Review Article
Fecal Microbiota Transplantation for Treatment of Acute Graft-versus-Host Disease
Roni Shouval, Mika Geva, Arnon Nagler, Ilan Youngster
Pages: 28 - 35
The growing understanding of the bidirectional relationship between the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiome and the immune system has opened up new avenues for treatment of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is the transfer of stool from a donor to a recipient who harbors...
Case Report
Human Herpes Virus-6 Encephalitis Following Autologous Blood and Marrow Transplant
Jacques Mario Azzi, Doyun Park, Maher Abdul-Hay, Kelli Cole, Frank Cirrone, Maxim Kreditor, A. Samer Al-Homsi
Pages: 32 - 34
Human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) is a highly prevalent virus that establishes lifelong latency in human hosts. Symptomatic HHV-6 reactivation rarely occurs in immunocompetent individuals and is best described in immunosuppressed patients such as recipients of bone marrow transplants (BMT). In that setting,...
Research Article
Association of Patient-Reported Physical Activity on Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Outcomes
Reena V. Jayani, Joseph Pidala, Heather Jim, Junmin Whiting, Qianxing Mo, Asmita Mishra
Pages: 34 - 39
Background: Physical function prior to allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) is associated with survival and may be associated with patient physical activity (PA). Tools to evaluate PA prior to HCT are scarce. We aimed to evaluate the impact of easily obtained patient-report of PA prior to HCT...
Correspondence
Safety and Efficacy of Doxorubicin, Cyclophosphamide, Bortezomib, Dexamethasone and Lenalidomide Followed by Bortezomib Consolidation as First-Line Therapy in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma
Kristian T. Andersen, Maja Hinge, Agoston Gyula Szabo, Erik Segel, Tina Ormstrup, Paw C. Holdgaard, Niels Pallisgaard, Gitte Kerndrup, Torben Plesner
Pages: 35 - 39
Review Article
Challenges in Conducting Studies in Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease
Iskra Pusic, Steven Z. Pavletic
Pages: 36 - 44
The lack of standardized criteria for measuring therapeutic response has been a major obstacle to the development of therapeutic trials in chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGvHD). Nevertheless, recent advances have been made in understanding of the biology and pathophysiology of cGvHD, as well as establishing...
Editorial
Practicing Clinical Hematology During the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Challenge Like No Other
Mohamad Mohty, Arnon Nagler, Bipin Savani
Pages: 41 - 42
Mini Review
How to Make the Right Diagnosis in Neutropenia
Elena E. Solomou, Christina Salamaliki, Maria Lagadinou
Pages: 41 - 46
Isolated neutropenia without anemia or thrombocytopenia is a common clinical problem. The etiology of neutropenia may vary from transient bone marrow suppression, caused by self-limited viral illnesses, to previously undiagnosed congenital syndromes or serious systemic diseases. Consequently, determining...
Review Article
The Evolving Landscape of Myelodysplastic Syndrome Prognostication
Jacob Shreve, Aziz Nazha
Pages: 43 - 48
Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDSs) are potentially devastating monoclonal deviations of hematopoiesis that lead to bone marrow dysplasia and variable cytopenias. Predicting severity of disease progression and likelihood to undergo acute myeloid leukemia transformation is the basis of treatment strategy....
Review Article
Endothelial Dysfunction in Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation
Marta Palomo, Maribel Diaz-Ricart, Enric Carreras
Pages: 45 - 51
The goal of this review is to look at the role of endothelial damage and dysfunction in the initiation and development of early complications that appear after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). These early complications share overlapping clinical manifestations and the suspicion of underlying...
Review Article
Passive Immunity Should and Will Work for COVID-19 for Some Patients
Nevio Cimolai
Pages: 47 - 68
In the absence of effective antiviral chemotherapy and still in the context of emerging vaccines for severe acute respiratory syndrome-CoV-2 infections, passive immunotherapy remains a key treatment and possible prevention strategy. What might initially be conceived as a simplified donor–recipient process,...
Review Article
Haploidentical Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Followed by ‘Post-Cyclophosphamide’: The Future of Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant
Samuel Cytryn, Maher Abdul-Hay
Pages: 49 - 58
Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (Allo-HCT) is a potentially curative therapy for many malignant and nonmalignant hematological diseases. However, a suitable human leukocyte antigens (HLAs)-matched donor may not be available when the patient is in urgent need of a stem cell transplant. This challenge...
Mini Review
Idiopathic Aplastic Anemia: An Update
Elena E. Solomou
Pages: 52 - 57
“Bone marrow failure” encompass all the conditions and syndromes in which there are qualitative or quantitative disorders of one or more lineages (erythroid, myelomonocytic, and/or megakaryocytic). A few years ago, the pathophysiology of these syndromes was completely unknown. Today we have better knowledge...
Research Article
Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation for FLT3-Mutated Acute Myeloid Leukemia: In vivo T-Cell Depletion and Posttransplant Sorafenib Maintenance Improve Survival. A Retrospective Acute Leukemia Working Party-European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplant Study
Ali Bazarbachi, Myriam Labopin, Giorgia Battipaglia, Azedine Djabali, Edouard Forcade, William Arcese, Gerard Socié, Didier Blaise, Joerg Halter, Sabine Gerull, Jan J. Cornelissen, Patrice Chevallier, Johan Maertens, Nicolaas Schaap, Jean El-Cheikh, Jordi Esteve, Arnon Nagler, Mohamad Mohty
Pages: 58 - 74
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with FLT3-mutation carries a poor prognosis, and allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) is recommended at first complete remission (CR1). We assessed 462 adults (median age 50 years) with FLT3-mutated AML allografted between 2010 and 2015 from a matched related (40%),...
Review Article
Maintenance Strategies Post-Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation for Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma
Sarah A. Bird, Graham H. Jackson, Charlotte Pawlyn
Pages: 59 - 68
Multiple myeloma, the second most common hematological malignancy worldwide, has demonstrated dramatic improvements in outcome in the last decade. In newly diagnosed patients, induction chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) is the standard of care. After ASCT, the majority...
Research Article
Repeat Endoscopy Affects Patient Management in Gastrointestinal Graft-Versus-Host Disease
Ehsan Shabbir, Umar Farooq, Burhan Yanes, Margarida Magalhaes-Silverman
Pages: 69 - 73
Graft versus host disease (GVHD) of the gut is associated with significant morbidity and mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (allo-HCT). No guidelines exist regarding repeat endoscopy after failure of first-line treatment with steroids. We aimed to study if repeat endoscopic biopsy...
Perspective
Red Blood Cell Distribution Width: Another Prognostic Factor for COVID-19?
Maria Lagadinou, Despoina Gkentzi, Markos N. Marangos, Fotini Paliogianni, Elena E. Solomou
Pages: 69 - 71
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a pandemic with a high rate of hospitalization, admission to intensive care units, and mortality. Identifying patients at the highest risk for severe disease is important to facilitate early, aggressive intervention. High red blood cell distribution width (RDW)...
Research Article
Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation with a Novel Reduced Intensity Conditioning Regimen for the Treatment of Patients with Primary Cutaneous T-cell Lymphomas
Maria Stamouli, Konstantinos Gkirkas, Aggeliki Karagiannidi, Theodoros Iliakis, Spiros Chondropoulos, Thomas Thomopoulos, Vassiliki Nikolaou, Vassiliki Pappa, Evangelia Papadavid, Panagiotis Tsirigotis
Pages: 72 - 76
The prognosis of patients with mycosis fungoides (MF) and Sezary Syndrome (SS) varies greatly, from near normal life expectancy in patients with early stage, to a median survival of less than 2 years for those diagnosed with advanced stage disease. Initial response to treatment is almost always followed...
Research Article
The CD34+ Cell Dose Matters in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation with Peripheral Blood Stem Cells from Sibling Donors
M. Remberger, B. Grønvold, M. Ali, J. Mattsson, T. Egeland, K. U. Lundin, A. Myhre, I. Abrahamsen, D. Heldal, I. Dybedal, G. E. Tjønnfjord, T. Gedde-Dahl, Y. Fløisand
Pages: 74 - 81
The effect of CD34+ cell dose in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) on overall survival (OS) and incidence of acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) has not been established and few studies have been performed. Our single center analysis included 189 patients with hematological...
Correspondence
The Recurring Problem of Drug Shortages—How Do We Overcome It?
Rishabh Gupta, Ujjawal Savani, Katie Gatwood, Katie Culos
Pages: 75 - 77
Review Article
Therapeutic Use of Convalescent Plasma in COVID-19 Infected Patients with Concomitant Hematological Disorders
Francesco Lanza, Vanessa Agostini, Federica Monaco, Francesco Passamonti, Jerard Seghatchian
Pages: 77 - 82
The use of convalescent plasma (CP) from individuals recovered from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a promising therapeutic modality for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). CP has been in use for at least a century to provide passive immunity against a number of diseases,...
Review Article
Relapse and Resistance to CAR-T Cells and Blinatumomab in Hematologic Malignancies
Elad Jacoby
Pages: 79 - 84
Application of immunotherapeutic modalities changed paradigms in the treatment of hematologic malignancies, with regards to drug manufacturing, treatment protocols, short- and long-term toxicities. FDA-approved therapies, including blinatumomab, tisagenlecleucel, and axicabtagene ciloleucel, target T...
Research Article
Comparison of Conventional Cyclophosphamide versus Fludarabine-Based Conditioning in High-Risk Aplastic Anemia Patients Undergoing Matched-Related Donor Transplantation
Raheel Iftikhar, Qamar un Nisa Chaudhry, Tariq Mehmood Satti, Syed Kamran Mahmood, Tariq Ghafoor, Ghassan Umair Shamshad, Nighat Shahbaz, Mehreen Ali Khan, Tariq Azam Khattak, Jahanzeb Rehman, Muhammad Farhan, Saima Humayun, Humera Haq, Syeda Ammaara Anwaar Naqvi, Faiz Anwer, Humayoon Shafique Satti, Parvez Ahmed
Pages: 82 - 91
Allogeneic stem cell transplant for high-risk aplastic anemia (AA) yields inferior results using conventional cyclophosphamide (CY)-based conditioning. The use of fludarabine (Flu)-based regimens has resulted in improved outcomes in high-risk patients. Limited data are available comparing these two conditioning...
Review Article
History and Development of Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation for Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Norbert Claude Gorin
Pages: 83 - 95
This review describes the development of cryopreservation, the birth of autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) and its past and present use to consolidate adult patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). It summarizes the first autografts in patients in relapse, the experience of autografting...
Review Article
Treatment of Adult Patients with Relapsed/Refractory B-Cell Philadelphia-Negative Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Enrico Maffini, Francesco Saraceni, Francesco Lanza
Pages: 85 - 93
The majority of adult patients affected by B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) will relapse after an initial response, while approximately 20% will display primary resistant disease. Patients suffering from relapsed/refractory B-ALL have a very poor outcome. Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation...
Correspondence
Bortezomib, Lenalidomide and Dexamethasone as Induction Therapy Prior to Autologous Transplantation in Multiple Myeloma: The More Is Likely the Better
Mohamad Mohty, Florent Malard, Ali Bazarbachi
Pages: 92 - 93
Review Article
Salvage Therapy after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: Targeted and Low-Intensity Treatment Options in Myelodysplastic Syndrome and Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Katie Culos, Michael Byrne
Pages: 94 - 100
Patients with high-risk myeloid neoplasms, including myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), are offered allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) to improve the likelihood of long-term disease control. More than 50% of patients with high-risk disease will relapse...
Review Article
Cold Agglutinin Disease
Amy P. Gabbard, Garrett S. Booth
Pages: 95 - 100
Cold agglutinin disease (CAD) is an uncommon form of cold autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA). It should be considered in the differential diagnosis of elderly patients with unexplained chronic anemia presenting with or without cold-induced symptoms in the extremities, such as the fingers, ears, and nose....
Research Article
High Sensitivity Troponin T and NT-proBNP in Patients Receiving Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-Cell Therapy
Jiun-Ruey Hu, Ameet Patel, Shi Huang, Yan Ru Su, Kimberly B. Dahlman, Kelsey Tomasek, Yueli Zhang, Richard T. O’Neil, Jamye F. O’Neal, Isik Turker, Douglas B. Johnson, Joe-Elie Salem, Javid J. Moslehi, Olalekan Oluwole
Pages: 96 - 102
Retrospective studies suggest that chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapy may lead to cardiac injury, but this has not been assessed systematically or prospectively. In this prospective study of 40 patients who received CAR T, we systematically measured high-sensitivity troponin T (hsTropT)...
Research Article
Low-Dose Acyclovir Prophylaxis for Varicella zoster Reactivation in Autologous Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Recipients
Naomi Fei, Nilay Shah, Aaron Cumpston, Sijin Wen, Kelly G. Ross, Michael Craig, Abraham S. Kanate
Pages: 101 - 104
Varicella zoster virus (VZV) reactivation after autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (auto-HCT) may be observed in a quarter of patients. Currently, prophylactic use of acyclovir 800 mg twice daily or valacyclovir 500 mg twice daily is recommended for prophylaxis against VZV reactivation for...
Review Article
Predicting Immuno-Metabolic Complications After Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplant with the Cytokine Interleukin-33 (IL-33) and its Receptor Serum-Stimulation 2 (ST2)
Uttam K. Rao, Brian G. Engelhardt
Pages: 101 - 108
Patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) are at risk for numerous acute and long-term complications from this procedure. Post-transplant diabetes mellitus (PTDM) is a common but under-recognized problem. Similar to graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), new-onset diabetes is...
Research Article
CD3/CD19 Depletion for T-cell Reduction of Allogeneic Transplants: Mostly Efficient, but not Robust
Eliza Wiercinska, Erhard Seifried, Halvard Bonig
Pages: 103 - 107
Aggressive T-cell depletion, in vitro or in vivo, is a prerequisite for survival of haplo-identical stem cell transplantation. The classical T-cell-depleted transplant, immunomagnetically enriched CD34+ cells, is very safe with respect to graft-versus-host reactivity, but associated with very high transplant-related...
Research Article
Safety and Efficacy of Haploidentical Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation for Myeloid Malignancies Using Post-transplantation Cyclophosphamide and Anti-thymocyte Globulin as Graft-versus-Host Disease Prophylaxis
Maria Queralt Salas, Arjun Datt Law, Wilson Lam, Zeyad Al-Shaibani, David Loach, Dennis (Dong Hwan) Kim, Fotios V. Michelis, Santhosh Thyagu, Rajat Kumar, Jeffrey Howard Lipton, Jonas Mattsson, Auro Viswabandya
Pages: 105 - 113
Haploidentical stem cell transplantation (haploSCT) has greatly improved access to curative treatment for myeloid malignancies in patients without suitable matched sibling/unrelated donors. We investigated the safety and efficacy of haploSCT after reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) with anti-thymocyte...
Research Article
Baseline Photos and Confident Annotation Improve Automated Detection of Cutaneous Graft-Versus-Host Disease
Xiaoqi Liu, Kelsey Parks, Inga Saknite, Tahsin Reasat, Austin D. Cronin, Lee E. Wheless, Benoit M. Dawant, Eric R. Tkaczyk
Pages: 108 - 115
Cutaneous erythema is used in diagnosis and response assessment of cutaneous chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). The development of objective erythema evaluation methods remains a challenge. We used a pre-trained neural network to segment cGVHD erythema by detecting changes relative to a patient’s...
Research Article
Framingham Risk Score Is an Ineffective Screening Strategy for Coronary Heart Disease in Long-Term Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Survivors
Natasha A. Jain, Marcus Y. Chen, Sujata Shanbhag, Prathima Anandi, Xin Tian, Sawa Ito, Priyanka A. Pophali, Kimberly Doucette, Robert Q. Le, Upneet Chawla, Eleftheria Koklanaris, Richard W. Childs, A. John Barrett, Minoo Battiwalla
Pages: 109 - 116
Long-term allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (allo-HCT) survivors suffer an elevated risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). We conducted a prospective, nonrandomized, cross-sectional study to screen asymptomatic survivors at a single allo-HCT center using cardiac computed tomography (CT) involving...
Research Article
Engraftment Syndrome: A Retrospective Analysis of the Experience at a Tertiary Care Institute
Raja Pramanik, Harish Kancharla, Sameer Bakhshi, Atul Sharma, Ajay Gogia, Prabhat Malik, Ranjit Kumar Sahoo, Atul Batra, Sanjay Thulkar, Lalit Kumar
Pages: 114 - 119
Engraftment syndrome (ES) is a clinical syndrome that occurs in the early neutrophil recovery phase following hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). Although also described for allogenic HSCT, it is basically diagnosed in the context of autologous HSCT. We retrospectively reviewed 171 consecutive...
Correspondence
The Impact of Achieving Complete Remission Prior to Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation on Progression-Free Survival in Hodgkin Lymphoma
Nadira Duraković, Zinaida Perić, Sandra Bašić Kinda, Lana Desnica, Dino Dujmović, Ivo Radman Livaja, Ranka Serventi Seiwerth, Igor Aurer, Radovan Vrhovac
Pages: 116 - 118
Research Article
Cost Analysis of R-CHOP Versus Dose-Adjusted R-EPOCH in Treatment of Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma with High-Risk Features
Bhagirathbhai Dholaria, Yenny Alejandra Moreno Vanegas, Nancy Diehl, Aaron C. Spaulding, Sue Visscher, Han W. Tun, Sikander Ailawadhi, Prakash Vishnu
Pages: 117 - 124
Dose-adjusted rituximab, etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin (DA.R-EPOCH) is used for upfront treatment of high-risk diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). In this study, we compared the outcomes in patients with high-risk DLBCL who received frontline rituximab, cycophosphamide,...
Research Article
Nanosphere's Verigene® Blood Culture Assay to Detect Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacterial Outbreak: A Prospective Study on 79 Hematological Patients in a Country with High Prevalence of Antimicrobial Resistance
Raffaella Greco, Maria Chiara Barbanti, Nicasio Mancini, Laura Infurnari, Renée Pasciuta, Alessandra Forcina, Chiara Oltolini, Gabriele Casirati, Daniele Mannina, Fabio Giglio, Carlo Messina, Mara Morelli, Francesca Lorentino, Sara Mastaglio, Tommaso Perini, Luca Vago, Paolo Scarpellini, Matteo Giovanni Carrabba, Maria Teresa Lupo Stanghellini, Sarah Marktel, Andrea Assanelli, Massimo Bernardi, Consuelo Corti, Jacopo Peccatori, Massimo Clementi, Fabio Ciceri
Pages: 120 - 123
Infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in hematological patients. We prospectively tested a new molecular assay (Verigene®) in 79 consecutive hematological patients, with sepsis by gram-negative bacteria. A total of 82 gram-negative microorganisms were isolated by blood cultures, of...
Correspondence
The Essentials of Drug Interactions in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
Katie S. Gatwood, Bipin N. Savani
Pages: 124 - 126
Correspondence
B Cell Deficiency in Patients with Relapsed and Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Meghali Goswami, Katherine E. Lindblad, Rahul Ramraj, Pradeep K. Dagur, Julie Thompson, J. Philip McCoy, Christopher S. Hourigan
Pages: 125 - 128
Perspective
Management of Sickle Cell Intrahepatic Cholestasis: An Argument in Favor of Automated Exchange Transfusion
Brian D. Adkins, Bipin N. Savani, Garrett S. Booth
Pages: 127 - 133
Sickle cell disease patients are commonly treated at transfusion medicine services, and understanding of the hepatic manifestations of the disease is key for optimal management, specifically, in individuals presenting with sickle cell intrahepatic cholestasis (SCIC). SCIC represents a rare, severe hepatic...
Correspondence
Sorafenib Induced Complete Cytogenetic and Molecular Response in a Chronic Eosinophilic Leukemia Case with t(12;13) Translocation
Federica Ricci, Serena Balducci, Francesca Guerrini, Susanna Grassi, Elena Ciabatti, Claudia Baratè, Maria Immacolata Ferreri, Cecilia Giuliani, Angelo Valetto, Mario Petrini, Sara Galimberti
Pages: 129 - 131
Review Article
Plasma Cell Leukemia – Facts and Controversies: More Questions than Answers?
Anna Suska, David H. Vesole, Jorge J. Castillo, Shaji K. Kumar, Hari Parameswaran, Maria V. Mateos, Thierry Facon, Alessandro Gozzetti, Gabor Mikala, Marta Szostek, Joseph Mikhael, Roman Hajek, Evangelos Terpos, Artur Jurczyszyn
Pages: 133 - 142
Plasma cell leukemia (PCL) is an aggressive hematological malignancy characterized by an uncontrolled clonal proliferation of plasma cells (PCs) in the bone marrow and peripheral blood. PCL has been defined by an absolute number of circulating PCs exceeding 2.0 × 109/L and/or >20% PCs in the total...
Review Article
Natural Killer Cell-Mediated Cellular Therapy of Hematological Malignancies
Ugur Sahin, Meral Beksac
Pages: 134 - 141
Our understanding on the mechanisms of graft versus tumor/leukemia (GvT/GvL) and graft versus host (GvH) effects has tremendously evolved within the past decades. During the search for a mechanism that augments GvT/GvL without increasing GvH effects, natural killer (NK) cells have clearly attracted attention....
Review Article
Lower Genital Tract Precancer and Cancer in Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Survivors and the Role of HPV: A Systematic Review and Future Perspectives
Mohammad Shahrukh Tanweer, Mahmoud Aljurf, Bipin N. Savani, Perviz K. Iqbal, Shahrukh Hashmi
Pages: 142 - 153
Female recipients of hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) may develop lower genital tract (LGT) dysplasia or new malignancies. A comprehensive systematic review to delineate the occurrence and risk factors for post-HCT LGT precancer and cancer in women was conducted via electronic search of the Cochrane...
Review Article
What’s Important and New in Hemochromatosis?
Pierre Brissot, Eolia Brissot
Pages: 143 - 148
Major advances in the understanding of genetic iron overload have led to a clarification of the nosology and terminology of the related diseases. The term hemochromatosis should be reserved to the entities where iron overload is related to hepcidin deficiency or hepcidin resistance. The diagnosis of...
Review Article
CART Cell Toxicities: New Insight into Mechanisms and Management
Anas Zahid, Elizabeth L. Siegler, Saad S. Kenderian
Pages: 149 - 155
T cells genetically engineered with chimeric antigen receptors (CART) have become a potent class of cancer immunotherapeutics. Numerous clinical trials of CART cells have revealed remarkable remission rates in patients with relapsed or refractory hematologic malignancies. Despite recent clinical success,...
Review Article
Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation with CD34+ Cell Selection
Elisa Roldan, Miguel Angel Perales, Pere Barba
Pages: 154 - 160
The success of allogeneic stem cell transplant is hampered by the development of acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) which has direct impact on treatment-related mortality and morbidity. As a result, T cell depletion through positive selection of CD34+ cells has emerged as a promising...
Research Article
Monocyte Reconstitution and Gut Microbiota Composition after Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
Sejal Morjaria, Allen W. Zhang, Sohn Kim, Jonathan U. Peled, Simone Becattini, Eric R. Littmann, Eric. G. Pamer, Michael C. Abt, Miguel-Angel Perales
Pages: 156 - 164
Background: Monocytes are an essential cellular component of the innate immune system that support the host’s effectiveness to combat a range of infectious pathogens. Hemopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) results in transient monocyte depletion, but the factors that regulate recovery of monocyte populations...
Research Article
Robust Selections of Various Hematopoietic Cell Fractions on the CliniMACS Plus Instrument
Sandhya R. Panch, Opal L. Reddy, Katherine Li, Thejaswi Bikkani, Anusha Rao, Swathi Yarlagadda, Steven Highfill, Daniel Fowler, Richard W. Childs, Minocher Battiwalla, John Barrett, Andre Larochelle, Crystal Mackall, Nirali Shah, David F. Stroncek
Pages: 161 - 167
Cell separation technologies play a vital role in the graft engineering of hematopoietic cellular fractions, particularly with the rapid expansion of the field of cellular therapeutics. The CliniMACS Plus Instrument (Miltenyi Biotec) utilizes immunomagnetic techniques to isolate hematopoietic progenitor...
Research Article
Emicizumab Associated Rhabdomyolysis in Hemophilia A
Joseph A. Wilson, Stephanie Hayden, Alexander Asamoah, Vivek R. Sharma, David C. Jennings, Ashok B. Raj
Pages: 165 - 167
Emicizumab is increasingly the front-line treatment for patients with Hemophilia A with or without inhibitors. Rhabdomyolysis is a syndrome of muscle necrosis and release of intracellular muscle constituents into the circulation. Creatine kinase (CK) levels are typically markedly elevated, and muscle...
Research Article
The Impact of First Complete Remission by PET-CT and Time to Next Treatment on Survival of Follicular Lymphoma Patients
Tran-Der Tan, Lun-Wei Chiou, Mau-Ching Wu, Jia-Shing Wu, Ming-Yuan Lee, Yu-Yi Huang, Shing-Su Chen
Pages: 168 - 172
We retrospectively analyzed the impact of initial positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET-CT) complete remission (CR) and time to next treatment (TTNT) on patient outcome in follicular lymphoma. Between 2002 and 2014, 150 patients could be evaluated for treatment response and long-term...
Correspondence
The Incidence and Timing of Blood Cultures in Multiple Myeloma – Results from a Retrospective, Single Center, Real-World Study
Agoston Gyula Szabo, Katrine Fladeland Iversen, Flemming Schønning Rosenvinge, Sören Möller, Torben Plesner
Pages: 168 - 172
Perspective
Immune Thrombocytopenia: Are We Stuck in the Mud or Is There Light at the End of the Tunnel?
James Bussel, Oriana Miltiadous
Pages: 173 - 179
The differences in diagnosis and management between immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) and leukemia are striking. Leukemia diagnosis and management have evolved substantially over the past 30 years and are now relatively precise. The tendency for leukemic cells to be the overwhelming majority of circulating...
Correspondence
COVID-19 in Hematologic Malignancies: Big Challenges
Yongxian Hu, Linqin Wang, Qu Cui, Elaine Tan Su Yin, Hengwei Wu, Arnon Nagler, He Huang
Pages: 173 - 175
Review Article
Managing Endocrine Disorders in Adults After Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
Juliana Matthews, Dwight Eplin, Bipin Savani, Barbara Gisella Carranza Leon, Leslee Matheny
Pages: 180 - 188
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has become a potentially curative therapy for an increasing number of malignant and non-malignant conditions. As survival rates continue to improve, the focus of patient care has shifted from managing not only immediate but also long-term complications....
Review Article
Moving Toward Continuous Therapy in Multiple Myeloma
Francesca Bonello, Giusy Cetani, Luca Bertamini, Francesca Gay, Alessandra Larocca
Pages: 189 - 200
The introduction of novel agents, characterized by favorable toxicity profiles and higher manageability compared to conventional drugs employed in the past, has considerably changed the treatment paradigm for multiple myeloma. Continuous therapy currently represents the standard approach for myeloma...
Research Article
Elevated Galectin-3 Plasma Concentrations in Recipients of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation
Zachariah DeFilipp, Nalu Navarro-Alvarez, Shuli Li, Alec R. Andrews, Ariel Johnson, Yi-Bin Chen, Vincent T. Ho, Jerome Ritz, Thomas R. Spitzer, Christene A. Huang
Pages: 201 - 204
Galectin-3 is a beta-galactoside-binding lectin with an established association to inflammatory and fibrotic conditions. We investigated galectin-3 levels in 68 recipients of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) to look for associations with chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). Plasma...
Research Article
Induction Therapy with Novel Agents and Autologous Stem Cell Transplant Overcomes the Adverse Impact of Renal Impairment in Multiple Myeloma
Lalit Kumar, Santosh Kumar Chellapuram, Ramavat Dev, Ankur Varshneya, Satyajit Pawar, Aparna Sharma, Anjali Mookerjee, Ranjit Kumar Sahoo, Prabhat Singh Malik, Atul Sharma, Ritu Gupta, Omdutta Sharma, Ahitagni Biswas, Rakesh Kumar, Sanjay Thulkar, Sauumyaranjan Mallick
Pages: 205 - 219
We investigated the impact of renal impairment (RI) on the outcome in multiple myeloma (MM) patients following induction and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). Among 349 patients who received a first ASCT for MM, 86 (24.6%) had RI at diagnosis, defined as estimation of glomerular filtration...
Research Article
The Clinical Course of Multiple Myeloma in the Era of Novel Agents: A Retrospective, Single-Center, Real-World Study
Agoston Gyula Szabo, Katrine Fladeland Iversen, Sören Möller, Torben Plesner
Pages: 220 - 228
In this retrospective study we reviewed the clinical course of every patient with multiple myeloma treated from 2006 to 2016 at Vejle Hospital: 303 patients with a median age of 69 years at diagnosis received a median of four (range 1–18) lines of therapy; 149 in a 2006–2010 cohort and 154 in a 2011–2016...
Research Article
Use of Biosimilar Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor for Mobilization in Autologous and Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
Dwight D. Eplin, Anna D. Jackson, Austin M. Smith, Brent Salvig, Wichai Chinratanalab, Bipin N. Savani
Pages: 229 - 233
The biologic medication filgrastim is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to mobilize hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) for collection by leukapheresis for autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). The FDA-approved biologic tbo-filgrastim is currently used off-label for...