Blood
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Review
How I treat with anticoagulants in 2012: new and old anticoagulants, and when and how to switch.
Two novel oral anticoagulants, dabigatran and rivaroxaban, have recently been approved. They differ in many ways from warfarin, including rapid onset of action, shorter half-life, fewer drug-drug interactions, lack of need for monitoring, and no need for titration or dose adjustments. ⋯ Unfortunately, there is a limited evidence base to inform decisions around management of these agents. We present our practice in these settings supported, where available, with literature evidence.
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Multicenter Study
Safety and prolonged activity of recombinant factor VIII Fc fusion protein in hemophilia A patients.
Current factor VIII (FVIII) products display a half-life (t(1/2)) of ∼ 8-12 hours, requiring frequent intravenous injections for prophylaxis and treatment of patients with hemophilia A. rFVIIIFc is a recombinant fusion protein composed of a single molecule of FVIII covalently linked to the Fc domain of human IgG(1) to extend circulating rFVIII t(1/2). This first-in-human study in previously treated subjects with severe hemophilia A investigated safety and pharmacokinetics of rFVIIIFc. Sixteen subjects received a single dose of rFVIII at 25 or 65 IU/kg followed by an equal dose of rFVIIIFc. ⋯ Each subject showed prolonged exposure to rFVIIIFc relative to rFVIII. Thus, rFVIIIFc may offer a viable therapeutic approach to achieve prolonged hemostatic protection and less frequent dosing in patients with hemophilia A. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01027377.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Early matched sibling hematopoietic cell transplantation for adult AML in first remission using an age-adapted strategy: long-term results of a prospective GOELAMS study.
The LAM2001 phase 3 trial, involving 832 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML; median: 46 years) proposed HLA-identical sibling allograft HSCT for all patients with an identified donor. The trial compared reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) for patients older than 50 years of age (N = 47) and myeloablative conditioning for younger patients (N = 117). BM HSCT was performed in the younger patients, while the older ones received a consolidation course, followed by peripheral blood allo-HSCT using RIC. ⋯ CI of relapse at 108 months was 21.7% (95% CI: 13.9-28.6) and 28.6% (16.5-43.4; NS). Overall survival at 108 months was 63.4% (95% CI: 54.6-72.2) and 65.8% (52.2-72.2), respectively, after myeloablative or RIC (NS). RIC peripheral blood stem cell allo-HSCT is prospectively feasible for patients between the ages of 51 and 60 years without excess of relapse or nonrelapse mortality, and compares favorably with myeloablative marrow allo-HSCT proposed to younger patients.
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In a retrospective pooled analysis of 11 clinical trials of lenalidomide-based therapy for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (MM; N = 3846), the overall incidence rate (IR, events per 100 patient-years) of second primary malignancies (SPMs) was 3.62. IR of invasive (hematologic and solid tumor) SPMs was 2.08, consistent with the background incidence of developing cancer. ⋯ The risk of SPMs must be taken into account before initiating lenalidomide treatment. In the context of the observed survival benefit in relapsed or refractory MM patients, the benefit/risk profile of lenalidomide/dexamethasone remains positive.
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We conducted a clinical trial to assess adoptive transfer of T cells genetically modified to express an anti-CD19 chimeric Ag receptor (CAR). Our clinical protocol consisted of chemotherapy followed by an infusion of anti-CD19-CAR-transduced T cells and a course of IL-2. Six of the 8 patients treated on our protocol obtained remissions of their advanced, progressive B-cell malignancies. ⋯ The severity of acute toxicities experienced by the patients correlated with serum IFNγ and TNF levels. The infused anti-CD19-CAR-transduced T cells were a possible source of these inflammatory cytokines because we demonstrated peripheral blood T cells that produced TNF and IFNγ ex vivo in a CD19-specific manner after anti-CD19-CAR-transduced T-cell infusions. Anti-CD19-CAR-transduced T cells have great promise to improve the treatment of B-cell malignancies because of a potent ability to eradicate CD19(+) cells in vivo; however, reversible cytokine-associated toxicities occurred after CAR-transduced T-cell infusions.