Treatment of patients with primary cutaneous lymphomas – real-life data

Background. Primary cutaneous lymphomas (PCL) comprise a heterogeneous group of neoplasms of mature lymphocytes with skin tropism. Although, by definition, these lymphomas are restricted to the skin at the time of diagnosis, during the course of the disease it may involve also lymph nodes and visceral organs. A close cooperation between a dermatologist and oncologist is required to ensure proper treatment. We present in a real-life data on treatment of patients with PCL between dermatology and oncology department. Material and methods. 104 patients were registered in a joined database of Oncology Department of Oncology Centre in Bydgoszcz and Dermatology Department of Medical University in Toruń between 2007 and 2017. Due to different clinical and prognostic features data from MF/SS (44 patients), non-MF/SS CTCLs and CBCLs were presented separately. Results. Median overall survival for patients with MF/SS was 76.7 months. Median follow-up time was 5 years.Background. Primary cutaneous lymphomas (PCL) comprise a heterogeneous group of neoplasms of mature lymphocytes with skin tropism. Although, by definition, these lymphomas are restricted to the skin at the time of diagnosis, during the course of the disease it may involve also lymph nodes and visceral organs. A close cooperation between a dermatologist and oncologist is required to ensure proper treatment. We present in a real-life data on treatment of patients with PCL between dermatology and oncology department. Material and methods. 104 patients were registered in a joined database of Oncology Department of Oncology Centre in Bydgoszcz and Dermatology Department of Medical University in Toruń between 2007 and 2017. Due to different clinical and prognostic features data from MF/SS (44 patients), non-MF/SS CTCLs and CBCLs were presented separately. Results. Median overall survival for patients with MF/SS was 76.7 months. Median follow-up time was 5 years

Efficacy and safety of obinutuzumab-chlorambucil combination in the frontline treatment of elderly patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and comorbidities : real‑life data from Polish Adult Leukemia Group (PALG) analysis

Fludarabine- or bendamustine‑based upfront immunochemotherapy is the current standard of care in fit patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). These regimens are poorly tolerated by patients with comorbidities, for whom the obinutuzumab-chlorambucil combination became the recommended first‑line treatment. We aimed to analyze real‑life experience with the obinutuzumab-chlorambucil combination as the frontline treatment in elderly and unfit patients. The retrospective analysis included 86 elderly patients (median age, 74 years) with CLL and a significant burden of comorbidities, treated with obinutuzumab-chlorambucil as the frontline regimen. All patients had a Cumulative Illness Rating Scale score greater than 6 and/or creatinine clearance of 30 to 69 ml/min. Overall response rate at 2 months after treatment completion was 95.3%, with complete remission (CR) rate of 43% and partial remission (PR) rate of 52.3%. Stable disease rate was 4.7%. Progressive disease was not observed after treatment completion. The median progression‑free survival (PFS) was not reached after a median follow‑up of 18 months; estimated PFS at 30 months was 62%. We observed 6 relapses (7%), 3 (3.5%) in patients obtaining CR, and 3 (3.5%) in those with PR after immunochemotherapy. The most frequent adverse events were neutropenia and infusion‑related reactions (IRRs). Grade-3 neutropenia occurred in 11.6% of patients, and grade-3 IRRs, in 2.3%. There were no adverse events of grade 4 or 5. Our data confirm that the obinutuzumab-chlorambucil combination is an effective and well‑tolerated regimen in untreated CLL patients with comorbidities

Safety and efficacy of interferon-alfa2b (IFN) in the treatment of patients with mycosis fungoides

W niniejszej pracy przedstawiono własne, jednoośrodkowe doświadczenia dotyczące stosowania interferonu w pierwszej linii leczenia systemowego ziarniniaka grzybiastego. Badaniem objęto grupę chorych leczonych w Centrum Onkologii w Bydgoszczy, u których po wyczerpaniu możliwości leczenia miejscowego oraz w stopniu zaawansowania Ib–III podjęto terapię systemową. Maksymalny czas prowadzenia terapii sięgał 3 lat. Interferon alfa jest leczeniem dobrze tolerowanym, skutkującym poprawąjakości życia u 80% chorych. Lek ten powoduje znaczną bądź całkowitą remisję trwającą do kilkunastu miesięcy. Terapia ziarniniaka grzybiastego jest leczeniem choroby przewlekłej, co wpływa na zasady prowadzenia terapii.This paper reports our own experience on interferon-alpha as the first-line systemic treatment of mycosis fungoides in the group of patients with advanced stages of disease after failure of skin-directedtherapies. Therapy resulted in improved quality of life and long-lasting, high response rate up to 80%. Given chronic character of MF special account must be taken not only to efficacy of the therapy, but also the safety

Treatment of patients with primary cutaneous lymphomas – real-life data

Background. Primary cutaneous lymphomas (PCL) comprise a heterogeneous group of neoplasms of mature lymphocytes with skin tropism. Although, by definition, these lymphomas are restricted to the skin at the time of diagnosis, during the course of the disease it may involve also lymph nodes and visceral organs. A close cooperation between a dermatologist and oncologist is required to ensure proper treatment. We present in a real-life data on treatment of patients with PCL between dermatology and oncology department.  Material and methods. 104 patients were registered in a joined database of Oncology Department of Oncology Centre in Bydgoszcz and Dermatology Department of Medical University in Toruń between 2007 and 2017. Due to different clinical and prognostic features data from MF/SS (44 patients), non-MF/SS CTCLs and CBCLs were presented separately.  Results. Median overall survival for patients with MF/SS was 76.7 months. Median follow-up time was 5 years

Prospects of Using Hydrocarbon Deposits from the Autochthonous Miocene Formation (Eastern Carpathian Foredeep, Poland) for Geothermal Purposes

There are many oil and gas fields around the world where the vast number of wells have been abandoned or suspended, mainly due to the depletion of reserves. Those abandoned oil and gas wells (AOGWs) are often located in areas with a prospective geothermal potential and might be retrofitted to a geothermal system without high-cost drilling. In Poland, there are thousands of wells, either operating, abandoned or negative, that might be used for different geothermal applications. Thus, the aim of this paper is not only to review geothermal and petroleum facts about the Eastern Carpathian Foredeep, but also to find out the areas, geological structures or just AOGWs, which are the most prospective in case of geothermal utilization. Due to the inseparability of geological settings with both oil and gas, as well as geothermal conditionings, firstly, the geological background of the analyzed region was performed, considering mainly the autochthonous Miocene formation. Then, geothermal and petroleum detailed characteristics were made. In the case of geothermal parameters, such as formation’s thickness, temperatures, water-bearing horizons, wells’ capacities, mineralization and others were extensively examined. Considering oil and gas settings, insights into reservoir rocks, hydrocarbon traps and migration paths issues were created. Then, for evaluating geothermal parameters for specific hydrocarbon reservoirs, their depths were established based on publicly available wells data. Thereafter, the average temperatures for selected reservoirs were set. As the effect, it turned out that most of the deposits have average temperatures of 40/50 °C, nonetheless, there are a few characterized by higher (even around 80 °C) temperatures at reasonable depths

The Utilization of Abandoned Petroleum Wells in Geothermal Energy Sector. Worldwide Trends and Experience

Since the oil crises in the 1970s, geothermal resources have received much attention and researches aimed at its recognition have been conducted all around the globe. Nevertheless, the investment cost associated mainly with drilling works is a crucial limitation for the successful implementation of new geothermal projects. The radical solution affecting the cost effectiveness of any geothermal investments might be an adaptation of existing un-exploited boreholes of the oil and gas sector for geothermal purposes. Moreover, a few studies on heat and/or energy recovery from oil and gas provinces have indicated that a tremendous amount of geothermal energy co-exists with petroleum fields. Thereby, the article centres on global concepts related to the adaptation of boreholes after the exploitation of hydrocarbon deposits or negative exploratory wells in order to exploit geothermal energy resources. Selected concepts focused on possible electricity production and the space heating sector are discussed. Other potential technologies based on utilization of geothermal energy attained by borehole heat exchangers are also indicated

Development of the Polish geothermal sector in the light of current possibilities of financial support for a geothermal investment

Geothermal energy is an internal heat of the Earth, that is a prospective and sustainable source of renewable energy. In Poland, despite having significant amount of low-temperature geothermal resources, its share in the national energy mix remains marginal but growing. Currently, the utilisation of geothermal resources is related to hydrogeothermal resources, that are used mainly in space heating, recreation and balneotherapy. Nevertheless, the indication of potential electricity production is under research. The utilisation of geothermal resources entails a plenty of environmental benefits that are particularly important in the context of the present pollution problem. Therefore, the development of the geothermal energy sector is of relevant importance and with appropriate legal and financial conditions it may have a bearing on improvement of the environment’s quality and, ipso facto, living in Poland. Thus, this paper presents numerous possibilities of obtaining a financial support for investments in geothermal energy sector. Selected funding and financial backing systems currently available in Poland are discussed. The importance of opportunity of obtaining a financial support for an investment as one of the crucial factors for the geothermal sector development is emphasised. Moreover, the examples of installations implemented in the country in the context of obtained funding are presented

Initial recognition of the possibilities of use abandoned oil and gas wells to desalinate produced water

Diminishing water resources, population growth and utilization energy intense processes for drinking water production lead to seek new methods of water acquisition. Desalination of seawater or/and geothermal water and also water acquisition with the utilization of abandoned oil and gas wells potentially represents promising new production method of freshwater streams. Abandoned oil and gas wells potentially can be a source of geothermal heat which can be used as a heat source for water desalination. In many countries, among others in Poland area, there are hundreds, and even thousands of abandoned exploration, research or oil/gas wells which can be adapted for other purposes, including water desalination. The aim of this paper is to conduct preliminary recognition of current world knowledge on the possibility of using abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal purposes, including desalination of produced waters (also for drinking purposes) based on selected examples (Iran and USA). This technique is environmental-friendly and provides enough amount of energy for high-energy desalination processes (e.g. reverse osmosis), along with reducing gas emissions and consumption of conventional fuels. Based on world experience, a comprehensive assessment of the possibility of using abandoned wells for geothermal purposes in Poland should be carried out