Haematologica
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The JAK2V617F mutation has been associated with constitutive and enhanced activation of neutrophils, while no information is available concerning other leukocyte subtypes. ⋯ These data indicate that the number of constitutively activated and hypersensitive circulating basophils is increased in polycythemia vera, underscoring a role of JAK2V617F in these cells' abnormal function and, putatively, in the pathogenesis of pruritus.
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The mechanisms responsible for the increased thrombotic risk associated with thalassemia are still unclear. They might be related to the effects of red blood cell or endothelial cell derangements, increased numbers of platelets as well as abnormal plasma coagulation. ⋯ These findings point to blood cells and/or platelets rather than to plasma abnormalities as the most important determinants of the thrombotic risk observed in thalassemic patients who had been splenectomized. These results might have important diagnostic and therapeutic implications.
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Approximately 40% of adults with Philadelphia chromosome-negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia achieve long-term survival following unrelated donor hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in first complete remission but severe graft-versus-host disease remains a problem affecting survival. Although T-cell depletion abrogates graft-versus-host disease, the impact on disease-free survival in acute lymphoblastic leukemia is not known. ⋯ T-cell depleted hematopoietic stem cell transplantation from unrelated donors can result in good overall survival and low non-relapse mortality for adults with high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia in first complete remission and merits prospective evaluation.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Is mobilized peripheral blood comparable with bone marrow as a source of hematopoietic stem cells for allogeneic transplantation from HLA-identical sibling donors? A case-control study.
Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor mobilized peripheral blood stem cells are increasingly used instead of bone marrow as a stem cell source for transplantation. Whereas this change is almost complete for autologous transplantation, there are some concerns when considering allogeneic transplants. ⋯ Although overall survival was not affected by the stem cell source, peripheral blood stem cell transplants were associated with a higher risk of both acute and chronic GvHD. Global quality of life was similar in both groups, but patients transplanted with peripheral blood stem cells showed worse role and social functioning scores, probably related to the increased incidence of chronic graft-versus-host disease.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Dose-dense and high-dose chemotherapy plus rituximab with autologous stem cell transplantation for primary treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with a poor prognosis: a phase II multicenter study.
We investigated the addition of rituximab to dose-dense and high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplantation in patients with untreated poor-prognosis diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. ⋯ These results suggest that the addition of rituximab to high-dose chemotherapy is effective and safe in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with a poor-prognosis and such regimens need to be compared to dose-dense chemoimmunotherapy without autologous stem cell transplantation in randomized trials.