Severe Pulmonary Adverse Effects in Lymphoma Patients Treated with Cyclophosphamide, Doxorubicin, Vincristine, and Prednisone (CHOP) Regimen Plus Rituximab

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aim of our study was to determine the incidence and clinical features of severe pulmonary complications in patients receiving cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CHOP) or rituximab plus CHOP (R-CHOP) as the initial treatment for lymphoma. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of pulmonary infection and drug-induced interstitial pneumonitis (DIIP) was performed using lymphoma registry data. R-CHOP was administered in 71 patients and CHOP in 29 patients. RESULTS: The severe pulmonary adverse events tended to occur more frequently with R-CHOP (18.3%) than CHOP alone (13.8%), although the difference was not significant (p = 0.771). DIIP occurred in five patients in the R-CHOP arm (7%) and in one in the CHOP arm (3%). The continuous use of steroids for conditions other than lymphoma significantly increased the risk of pulmonary infection including Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (p = 0.036) in the multivariate analysis. International prognostic index, tumor stage, smoking, previous tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lymphoma involvement of lung parenchyma were not related to pulmonary adverse events. Patients who experienced severe pulmonary events showed shorter survival when compared to those without complications (p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Our experiences with serial cases with DIIP during chemotherapy and the correlation of continuous steroid use with pulmonary infection suggest that the incidence of pulmonary complications might be high during lymphoma treatment, and careful monitoring should be performed.ope

Post-mortem assessment in vascular dementia: advances and aspirations.

BACKGROUND: Cerebrovascular lesions are a frequent finding in the elderly population. However, the impact of these lesions on cognitive performance, the prevalence of vascular dementia, and the pathophysiology behind characteristic in vivo imaging findings are subject to controversy. Moreover, there are no standardised criteria for the neuropathological assessment of cerebrovascular disease or its related lesions in human post-mortem brains, and conventional histological techniques may indeed be insufficient to fully reflect the consequences of cerebrovascular disease. DISCUSSION: Here, we review and discuss both the neuropathological and in vivo imaging characteristics of cerebrovascular disease, prevalence rates of vascular dementia, and clinico-pathological correlations. We also discuss the frequent comorbidity of cerebrovascular pathology and Alzheimer's disease pathology, as well as the difficult and controversial issue of clinically differentiating between Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia and mixed Alzheimer's disease/vascular dementia. Finally, we consider additional novel approaches to complement and enhance current post-mortem assessment of cerebral human tissue. CONCLUSION: Elucidation of the pathophysiology of cerebrovascular disease, clarification of characteristic findings of in vivo imaging and knowledge about the impact of combined pathologies are needed to improve the diagnostic accuracy of clinical diagnoses

Targeted antiangiogenic agents in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy in preclinical and clinical studies in sarcoma

Sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of mesenchymal malignancies. In recent years, studies have demonstrated that inhibition of angiogenic pathways or disruption of established vasculature can attenuate the growth of sarcomas. However, when used as monotherapy in the clinical setting, these targeted antiangiogenic agents have only provided modest survival benefits in some sarcoma subtypes, and have not been efficacious in others. Preclinical and early clinical data suggest that the addition of conventional chemotherapy to antiangiogenic agents may lead to more effective therapies for patients with these tumors. In the current review, the authors summarize the available evidence and possible mechanisms supporting this approach