Annals of hematology
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Annals of hematology · Oct 2014
Prevalence of anemia among elderly inpatients and its association with multidimensional loss of function.
The purpose of this cross-sectional prospective study was to determine the prevalence of anemia among elderly hospitalized patients in Germany and to investigate its association with multidimensional loss of function (MLF). One hundred participants aged 70 years or older from two distinct wards (50 each from an emergency department and a medical ward, respectively) underwent a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) consisting of the following six tools: Barthel Index, mini-mental state examination, clock-drawing test, timed up and go test, Esslinger transfer scale, and Daniels test. MLF as an aggregated outcome was diagnosed when three or more tests of the CGA showed an abnormal result. ⋯ This significant relationship persisted after adjustment for various major comorbidities. Both anemia and geriatric conditions are common in the hospitalized elderly. Given the association of anemia with MLF, Hb level might serve as a useful geriatric screening marker to identify frail older people at risk for adverse outcomes.
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Annals of hematology · Aug 2014
Review Meta AnalysisPrognostic significance of FLT3 internal tandem duplication, nucleophosmin 1, and CEBPA gene mutations for acute myeloid leukemia patients with normal karyotype and younger than 60 years: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Diagnosis and classification of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are based on morphology and genetics. An increasing number of gene mutations have been found, and some are used for risk classification in AML patients with normal karyotype (cytogenetically normal (CN)-AML). In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we examined three frequent mutations in CN-AML: mutations of fms-related tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3-ITD), mutated nucleophosmin (NPM1), and mutations of the CCAAT enhancer-binding protein alpha (CEBPA) gene. ⋯ In contrast, meta-analysis of the impact of NPM1 and CEBPA mutations on OS yielded an HR of 0.56 for each mutation, while analysis of impact on RFS produced HRs of 0.37 and 0.42, respectively. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of mutations in the NPM1, CEBPA, and FLT3 genes. FLT3-ITD was associated with worse prognosis, whereas mutations in NPM1 and CEBPA genes were associated with a favorable prognosis.
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Annals of hematology · Aug 2014
The impact of R-VACOP-B and interim FDG-PET/CT on outcome in primary mediastinal large B cell lymphoma.
The choice of a rituximab-based regimen and the prognostic significance of interim 2-[fluorine-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) in primary mediastinal large B cell lymphoma (PMBCL) are debatable. We evaluated the clinical features and outcomes of 95 consecutive patients with PMBCL who were treated between 1985 and 2009. Forty-three patients received rituximab-based chemotherapy, R-VACOP-B (N = 30) or R-CHOP21 (N = 13), whereas 52 patients were treated with VACOP-B (N = 47) or CHOP21 (N = 5). ⋯ Despite the low PPV, the 5-year PFS for mid-PET-negative patients (N = 16) was significantly higher (94 %) than that for mid-PET-positive (N = 14) patients (57 %, p = 0.015). This retrospective analysis demonstrates that the superiority of VACOP-B over CHOP21 for treatment of PMBCL disappeared once rituximab was added. The potential benefit of using interim PET activity as a guide for continuing therapy in patients with PMBCL remains unclear due to the relatively low PPV.