therapy related late adverse events in hodgkin s lymphoma

Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) is one of the most curable hematologic diseases with an overall response rate over 80%. However, despite this therapeutic efficacy, HL survivors show a higher morbidity and mortality than other people of the same age because of long-term therapy-related events. In the last decades, many efforts have been made to reduce these effects through the reduction of chemotherapy dose, the use of less toxic chemotherapeutic agents, and the introduction of new radiation techniques. In this paper, we will describe the main long-term effects related to chemotherapy and radiotherapy for HL, the efforts to reduce toxicity made in the last years, and the clinical aspects which have to be taken into consideration in the followup of these patients

The Economic Burden of Multiple Myeloma. Definition of a Model for Forecasting Patients’ Costs

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate healthcare costs in a single-centre population of patients with multiple myeloma (MM), in an attempt to develop a model for forecasting costs. Methods: A cohort of 387 MM patients, diagnosed at Policlinico San Matteo (Pavia, Italy), between 2002 and 2014, was analysed grouping patients into those eligible (n=223) or not eligible (n=164) for transplantation. After descriptive statistics, the benchmark model - Ordinary Least Squares - and different variations of the Generalized Linear Model were adopted. Results: The average total cost per patient was around €28,500 for patients not eligible for transplantation and around €87,000 for the eligible ones. The difference in marginal costs for transplant-eligible patients was probably due to higher costs for hospitalisation and the costs of the transplant procedure itself. The analysis highlighted four determinants useful for building a model to forecast expenditure: age, bortezomib use, lenalidomide use, and number of lines of therapies. The two most important determinants of expenditure were use of the novel agents and the total number of lines of therapy, which reflects a higher number of doses and a greater need for accesses to hospital. Conclusion: In conclusion, using a Generalized Linear Model, we identified four determinants in our cohort which were useful for building a model to predict expenditure for MM patients. Although the analysis was performed in a particular setting in a single hospital, the model could be applied to any scenario of patients

Long-term Events in Adult Patients with Clinical Stage IA-IIA Nonbulky Hodgkin's Lymphoma Treated with Four Cycles of Doxorubicin, Bleomycin, Vinblastine, and Dacarbazine and Adjuvant Radiotherapy: A Single-Institution 15-Year Follow-up

Abstract Purpose: To report on long-term events after short doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD) chemotherapy and adjuvant radiotherapy in favorable early-stage Hodgkin's lymphoma. Experimental Design: We monitored late events and causes of death over 15 years (median follow-up, 120 months) in 120 patients with nonbulky stage IA-IIA Hodgkin's lymphoma, treated with four cycles of ABVD and limited radiotherapy. Pulmonary and cardiac function tests were done throughout the follow-up. Outcome measures included cause-specific mortality, standardized mortality ratio, and standardized incidence ratio for secondary neoplasia. Results: Projected 15-year event-free and overall survival were 78% and 86%, and tumor mortality was 3%. Standardized mortality ratio was significantly higher than 1 for both males (2.8; P = 0.029) and females (9.4; P = 0.003). The risk of cardiovascular events at 5 and 12 years was 5.5% and 14%, with a median latent time of 67 months (range: 23-179 months) from the end of radiotherapy. Pulmonary toxicity developed in 8% of patients; all had received mediastinal irradiation and the median time from radiotherapy to pulmonary sequelae was 76 weeks (range: 50-123 weeks). The risk of secondary neoplasia at 5 and 12 years was 4% and 8%, respectively, with no cases of leukemia. Fertility was preserved. Conclusions: Long-term events were mostly related to radiotherapy; the role of short ABVD chemotherapy was very limited, as documented by fertility preservation and lack of secondary myelodysplasia/leukemia. A proportion of patients died from causes unrelated to disease progression and the excess mortality risk was mostly due to the occurrence of secondary neoplasms and cardiovascular diseases. A moderate dose reduction of radiotherapy from 40-44 Gy to 30-36 Gy did not decrease the risk of late complications; abolishing radiotherapy in nonbulky early-stage Hodgkin's lymphoma is being evaluated

Validation of cytogenetic-based risk stratification in primary myelofibrosis

n/

Increased risk of pregnancy complications in patients with essential thrombocythemia carrying the JAK2 (617V>F) mutation

Abstract Essential thrombocythemia (ET) may occur in women of childbearing age. To investigate the risk of pregnancy complications, we studied 103 pregnancies that occurred in 62 women with ET. The 2-tailed Fisher exact test showed that pregnancy outcome was independent from that of a previous pregnancy. The rate of live birth was 64%, and 51% of pregnancies were uneventful. Maternal complications occurred in 9%, while fetal complications occurred in 40% of pregnancies. The Mantel-Haenszel method showed that fetal loss in women with ET was 3.4-fold higher (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3-3.9; P F) mutation, and a multivariate logistic regression model identified this mutation as an independent predictor of pregnancy complications (P = .01). Neither the platelet count nor the leukocyte count was a risk factor. JAK2 (617V>F)–positive patients had an odds ratio of 2.02 (95% CI: 1.1 - 3.8) of developing complications in comparison with JAK2 (617V>F)–negative patients. Aspirin did not prevent complication in JAK2 (617V>F)–positive patients and appeared to worsen outcome in JAK2 (617V>F)–negative patients. A relationship was found between JAK2 (617V>F) and fetal loss (P = .05). This study indicates that patients carrying the JAK2 (617V>F) mutation have higher risk of developing pregnancy complications

International therapeutic guidelines for patients with HCV-related extrahepatic disorders. A multidisciplinary expert statement

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is both hepatotrophic and lymphotropic virus that causes liver as well extrahepatic manifestations including cryoglobulinemic vasculitis, the most frequent and studied condition, lymphoma, and neurologic, cardiovascular, endocrine-metabolic or renal diseases. HCV-extrahepatic manifestations (HCV-EHMs) may severely affect the overall prognosis, while viral eradication significantly reduces non-liver related deaths. Different clinical manifestations may coexist in the same patient. Due to the variety of HCV clinical manifestations, a multidisciplinary approach along with appropriate therapeutic strategies are required. In the era of interferon-free anti-HCV treatments, international recommendations for the therapeutic management of HCV-EHMs are needed. This implies the need to define the best criteria to use antivirals and/or other therapeutic approaches. The present recommendations, based on qualified expert experience and specific literature, will focus on etiological (antiviral) therapies and/or traditional pathogenetic treatments that still maintain their therapeutic utility

Molecular remission is an independent predictor of progression-free survival in patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia treated with chemo-immunotherapy: Results from the FIL_BIOWM study

Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) is a mature B-cell neoplasm characterized by bone marrow (BM) infiltration by lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma and a monoclonal IgM protein in the serum.1 The past 2 decades have witnessed important treatment advances, with the introduction of chemo-immunotherapy (CIT) in the early 2000s and ibrutinib in more recent years. Despite these progresses, most patients eventually relapse after treatment. The depth of clinical response following rituximab-based therapy has revealed an important predictor of progression-free survival (PFS).International Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia Foundation

R-CVP versus R-CHOP versus R-FM for the initial treatment of patients with advanced-stage follicular lmphoma: results of the FOLL05 trial conducted by the Fondazione Italiana Linfomi

PURPOSE Although rituximab (R) is commonly used for patients with advanced follicular lymphoma (FL) requiring treatment, the optimal associated chemotherapy regimen has yet to be clarified. PATIENTS AND METHODS We conducted an open-label, multicenter, randomized trial among adult patients with previously untreated stages II to IV FL to compare efficacy of eight doses of R associated with eight cycles of cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone (CVP) or six cycles of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CHOP) or six cycles of fludarabine and mitoxantrone (FM). The principal end point of the study was time to treatment failure (TTF). Results There were 534 patients enrolled onto the study. Overall response rates were 88%, 93%, and 91% for R-CVP, R-CHOP, and R-FM, respectively (P=.247). After a median follow-up of 34 months, 3-year TTFs were 46%, 62%, and 59% for the respective treatment groups (R-CHOP v R-CVP, P=.003; R-FM v R-CVP, P=.006; R-FM v R-CHOP, P=.763). Three-year progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 52%, 68%, and 63% (overall P=.011), respectively, and 3-year overall survival was 95% for the whole series. R-FM resulted in higher rates of grade 3 to 4 neutropenia (64%) compared with R-CVP (28%) and R-CHOP (50%; P< .001). Overall, 23 second malignancies were registered during follow-up: four in R-CVP, five in R-CHOP, and 14 in R-FM. CONCLUSION In this study, R-CHOP and R-FM were superior to R-CVP in terms of 3-year TTF and PFS. In addition, R-CHOP had a better risk-benefit ratio compared with R-FM