3 research outputs found
Assessment of two main therapeutic regimens of chronic lymphocytic leukemia in a major referral center in Syria
Introduction: Due to the high cost of targeted therapy, chemoimmunotherapy regimens remain the standard therapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia in many developing countries. In this study, we compare the treatment outcomes of the two main chemoimmunotherapeutic regimens.
Material and methods: Data was obtained from the oncology department archives at Tishreen University Hospital between 2016 and 2020. We enrolled previously untreated, fit patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who were treated with one of two regimens: either a fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab regimen, or a bendamustine and rituximab regimen.
Results: 78 patients were enrolled in the study. 56.8% of the fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab group achieved complete response versus 73.5% of the bendamustine and rituximab group. Progression-free survival was slightly shorter for fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab than for bendamustine and rituximab [median 15.1 months [95% confidence interval {CI} 12.4–17.8] vs. 17.7 months (95% CI 15.4–20.1)] without statistical significance. In elderly patients (>65 years) median progression-free survival (PFS) was significantly (p = 0.046) longer with the bendamustine and rituximab treatment [median 19.9 months (95% CI 17.2–22.5)] than with the fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab [median 11.6 months (6–17.2)]. Regarding overall survival, no significant difference between the two groups was documented. Delay and deletion of cycles, neutropenia and anemia were more frequent with the fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab group. Furthermore, we found that elevated lactate dehydrogenase, positive expression of ZAP-70, stage C, and splenomegaly are all indicators of poor prognosis in correlation with PFS.
Conclusions: Our study found that the bendamustine and rituximab regimen is safer than, and has comparable efficacy to, the standard therapy of fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab for previously untreated, fit patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Antigen Unmasking Is Required to Clinically Assess Levels and Localisation Patterns of Phospholipase C Zeta in Human Sperm
Mammalian oocyte activation is initiated by intracellular calcium (Ca2+) oscillations, driven by the testis-specific phospholipase C zeta (PLCζ). Sperm PLCζ analysis represents a diagnostic measure of sperm fertilisation capacity. The application of antigen unmasking/retrieval (AUM) generally enhanced the visualisation efficacy of PLCζ in mammalian sperm, but differentially affected the PLCζ profiles in sperm from different human males. It is unclear whether AUM affects the diagnosis of PLCζ in human sperm. Herein, we examined whether the application of AUM affected the correlation of PLCζ profiles with sperm parameters and fertilisation capacity. PLCζ fluorescence levels and localisation patterns were examined within the sperm of males undergoing fertility treatment (55 patients aged 29–53) using immunofluorescence in the absence/presence of AUM. The changes in PLCζ profiles following AUM were examined in relation to sperm health and fertilisation outcome. AUM enhanced the observable levels and specific localisation patterns of PLCζ in relation to both optimal sperm parameters and fertilisation outcome, without which significant differences were not observed. The extent of the change in levels and localisation ratios of PLCζ was also affected to a larger degree in terms of the optimal parameters of sperm fertility and fertilisation capacity by AUM. Collectively, AUM was essential to accurately assesses PLCζ in human sperm in both scientific and clinical contexts
Antigen Unmasking Is Required to Clinically Assess Levels and Localisation Patterns of Phospholipase C Zeta in Human Sperm
Mammalian oocyte activation is initiated by intracellular calcium (Ca2+) oscillations, driven by the testis-specific phospholipase C zeta (PLCζ). Sperm PLCζ analysis represents a diagnostic measure of sperm fertilisation capacity. The application of antigen unmasking/retrieval (AUM) generally enhanced the visualisation efficacy of PLCζ in mammalian sperm, but differentially affected the PLCζ profiles in sperm from different human males. It is unclear whether AUM affects the diagnosis of PLCζ in human sperm. Herein, we examined whether the application of AUM affected the correlation of PLCζ profiles with sperm parameters and fertilisation capacity. PLCζ fluorescence levels and localisation patterns were examined within the sperm of males undergoing fertility treatment (55 patients aged 29–53) using immunofluorescence in the absence/presence of AUM. The changes in PLCζ profiles following AUM were examined in relation to sperm health and fertilisation outcome. AUM enhanced the observable levels and specific localisation patterns of PLCζ in relation to both optimal sperm parameters and fertilisation outcome, without which significant differences were not observed. The extent of the change in levels and localisation ratios of PLCζ was also affected to a larger degree in terms of the optimal parameters of sperm fertility and fertilisation capacity by AUM. Collectively, AUM was essential to accurately assesses PLCζ in human sperm in both scientific and clinical contexts.This study was supported by a Healthcare Research Fellowship Award (HF-14-16) made by Health and Care Research Wales (HCRW) to J.K., alongside a National Science, Technology, and Innovation plan (NSTIP) project grant (15-MED4186-20) awarded by the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) made to J.K. and A.M.A