It is known that cigarette smoking is correlated with medical associated inquires. New electronic cigarettes are intensively advertised as an alternative to conventional smoking, but only a few studies demonstrate their harmful potential. A cross-sectional study was designed using 150 subjects from Brasov (Romania), divided into three groups: non-smokers (NS = 58), conventional cigarettes smokers (CS = 58) and electronic cigarettes users (ECS = 34). The aim of this study was to determine levels of some plasma lipophilic and hematological components, and the total antioxidant status that could be associated with the smoking status of the subjects. Serum low density lipoproteins (LDL) cholesterol increased significantly for ECS participants versus NS group (18.9% difference) (p < 0.05). Also, the CS group is characterized by an increase of serum LDL cholesterol (7.9% difference vs. NS), but with no significant statistical difference. The variation of median values of serum very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) was in order NS < ECS < CS, with statistical difference between NS and CS groups (34.6% difference; p = 0.023). When comparing the antioxidant status of the three groups, significant differences (p < 0.05) were obtained between NS vs. CS and NS vs. ECS. Similar behavior was identified for CS and ECS. Statistically significant changes (p < 0.0001) for both vitamin A and vitamin E were identified in the blood of NS vs. CS and NS vs. ECS, and also when comparing vitamin A in the blood of the CS group versus the ECS group (p < 0.05). When all groups were compared, the difference in the white blood cell (WBC) was (p = 0.008). A slight increase in the red blood cell (RBC) count was observed, but with no statistical difference between groups. These results indicated that conventional cigarette and e-cigarette usage promotes the production of excess reactive oxygen species, involving different pathways, different antioxidants and bioactive molecules.

No abstract

Standardized monitoring of BCR::ABL1 mRNA levels is essential for the management of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients. From 2016 to 2021 the European Treatment and Outcome Study for CML (EUTOS) explored the use of secondary, lyophilized cell-based BCR::ABL1 reference panels traceable to the World Health Organization primary reference material to standardize and validate local laboratory tests. Panels were used to assign and validate conversion factors (CFs) to the International Scale and assess the ability of laboratories to assess deep molecular response (DMR). The study also explored aspects of internal quality control. The percentage of EUTOS reference laboratories (n = 50) with CFs validated as optimal or satisfactory increased from 67.5% to 97.6% and 36.4% to 91.7% for ABL1 and GUSB, respectively, during the study period and 98% of laboratories were able to detect MR4.5 in most samples. Laboratories with unvalidated CFs had a higher coefficient of variation for BCR::ABL1IS and some laboratories had a limit of blank greater than zero which could affect the accurate reporting of DMR. Our study indicates that secondary reference panels can be used effectively to obtain and validate CFs in a manner equivalent to sample exchange and can also be used to monitor additional aspects of quality assurance.

RabdomiosaRcomul alveolaR mimând leucemia acută la o adolescentă cu tromboză venoasă profundă-caz clinic Şef. lucr. dr. daniela vodă 1,2 , dr. anca corina leonte 1 , dr. carmen oţelea 1 , Şef. lucr. dr. anca maria ilea 1,2

Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common type of soft-tissue sarcoma, who invade and destroy nearby tissues. Rhabdomyosarcoma has defective myogenic differentiation and the alveolar subtype is the most aggressive, with hithgrade malignancy. We present the case of a 13-years-old girl, with a history of pain, functional impairment, red skin colour and swollen of the left thigh. The investigations have shown thrombosis on the left femoral and iliac vein, thrombosis that resulted from genetic predisposition together with the mechanisme of paraneoplastic thrombosis. The imagistic investigation documented retroperitoneal adenopathic masses encompassing the large vesels, gluteal and perianal mases, solid mass in the pancreatic head and multiple bone nodular lesions. The nonhematopoietic malignancies has masquerading acute leukemia on the bone marrow aspirate with atypical blasts (80% from cells population). The histological examination of the biopsy sample following excision of the left inguinal lymphadenopaty have revealed the final diagnosis: Stage IV alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, with bone marrow infiltration and multiple metastases (inguinal, pelvic, periaortic, perihepatic), pancreatic and orbital metastases.