49 research outputs found
The right visual field advantage and the optimal viewing position effect: On the relation between foveal and parafoveal word recognition
Recent developments on the optimal viewing position (OVP) effect suggest that it may be caused
by the same factors that underlie the right visual field advantage in word recognition. This raises
the question of the relationship between foveal and parafoveal word recognition. Three
experiments are reported in which participants identified tachistoscopically presented words that
were presented randomly in foveal and parafoveal vision. The results show that both the OVP
effect and the right visual field advantage for word recognition are part of a larger extended OVP
curve that has the shape of a Gaussian distribution with the mode shifted to the left of the center of
the stimulus word. The shift of the distribution is a function of word length, but not of presentation
duration; it is also slightly moderated by the information value of word beginning and word end
Association of Serum Ferritin Levels Before Start of Conditioning With Mortality After alloSCT - A Prospective, Non-interventional Study of the EBMT Transplant Complications Working Party
Elevated serum ferritin levels occur due to iron overload or during inflammation and macrophage activation. A correlation of high serum ferritin levels with increased mortality after alloSCT has been suggested by several retrospective analyses as well as by two smaller prospective studies. This prospective multicentric study aimed to study the association of ferritin serum levels before start of conditioning with alloSCT outcome. Patients with acute leukemia, lymphoma or MDS receiving a matched sibling alloSCT for the first time were considered for inclusion, regardless of conditioning. A comparison of outcomes between patients with high and low ferritin level was performed using univariate analysis and multivariate analysis using cause-specific Cox model. Twenty centers reported data on 298 alloSCT recipients. The ferritin cut off point was determined at 1500 mu g/l (median of measured ferritin levels). In alloSCT recipients with ferritin levels above cut off measured before the start of conditioning, overall survival (HR = 2.5, CI = 1.5-4.1, p = 0.0005) and progression-free survival (HR = 2.4, CI = 1.6-3.8, p <0.0001) were inferior. Excess mortality in the high ferritin group was due to both higher relapse incidence (HR = 2.2, CI = 1.2-3.8, p = 0.007) and increased non-relapse mortality (NRM) (HR = 3.1, CI = 1.5-6.4, p = 0.002). NRM was driven by significantly higher infection-related mortality in the high ferritin group (HR = 3.9, CI = 1.6-9.7, p = 0.003). Acute and chronic GVHD incidence or severity were not associated to serum ferritin levels. We conclude that ferritin levels can serve as routine laboratory biomarker for mortality risk assessment before alloSCT.Peer reviewe
Dendritic cell vaccination as postremission treatment to prevent or delay relapse in acute myeloid leukemia
Relapse is a major problem in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and adversely impacts survival.
In this phase II study, we investigated the effect of vaccination with dendritic cells (DCs)
electroporated with Wilms’ tumor 1 (WT1) mRNA as post-remission treatment in 30 AML
patients at very high risk of relapse. There was a demonstrable anti-leukemic response in 13
patients. Nine patients achieved molecular remission as demonstrated by normalization
of WT1 transcript levels, 5 of which are sustained after a median follow-up of 109.4 months.
Disease stabilization was achieved in 4 other patients. Five-year overall survival (OS) was
higher in responders than in non-responders (53.8% vs. 25.0%; P=0.01). In patients
receiving DCs in first complete remission (CR1), there was a vaccine-induced relapse
reduction rate of 25% and the 5-year relapse-free survival was higher in responders than in
non-responders (50% vs. 7.7%; P65 years who received DCs
in CR1, 5-year OS was 69.2% and 30.8% respectively, as compared to 51.7% and 18% in
the Swedish Acute Leukemia Registry (SALR). Long-term clinical response was correlated
with increased circulating frequencies of poly-epitope WT1-specific CD8+ T-cells. Long-term
OS was correlated with interferon-γ+ and tumor necrosis factor-α+ WT1-specific responses in delayed type hypersensitivity-infiltrating CD8+ T-lymphocytes. In conclusion, vaccination of
AML patients with WT1 mRNA-electroporated DCs can be an effective strategy to prevent or
delay relapse after standard chemotherapy, translating into improved OS rates, which are
correlated with the induction of WT1-specific CD8+ T-cell response. This trial was registered
at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT00965224
BHS guidelines for the treatment of marginal zone lymphomas.
Marginal zone lymphomas are a heterogeneous subtype of indolent B-non-Hodgkin Lymphoma that includes three distinct diseases: Extranodal mucosa associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma, nodal marginal zone lymphoma and splenic marginal zone lymphoma lymphocytes +/- villous lymphocytes.
The different diagnosis, work up and treatment options are discussed in these guidelines