Here, we report, to our knowledge, the largest case study of human pythiosis. The disease has high rates of morbidity and mortality. Early diagnosis and effective treatment are urgently needed to improve clinical outcomes. Because P. insidiosum is distributed worldwide and can infect healthy individuals, an awareness of human pythiosis should be promoted in Thailand and in other countries.

SummaryBelinostat is a pan-histone deacetylase inhibitor with antitumour and anti-angiogenic properties. An open label, multicentre study was conducted in patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) or cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) who failed ≥1 prior systemic therapy and were treated with belinostat (1000 mg/m 2 intravenously 95 d of a 21-d cycle). The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR). Patients with PTCL (n = 24) had received a median of three prior systemic therapies (range 1-9) and 40% had stage IV disease. Patients with CTCL (n = 29) had received a median of one prior skin-directed therapy (range 0-4) and four prior systemic therapies (range 1-9); 55% had stage IV disease. The ORRs were 25% (PTCL) and 14% (CTCL). Treatment-related adverse events occurred in 77% of patients; nausea (43%), vomiting (21%), infusion site pain (13%) and dizziness (11%) had the highest incidence. Treatmentrelated serious adverse events were Grade 5 ventricular fibrillation; Grade 4 thrombocytopenia; Grade 3 peripheral oedema, apraxia, paralytic ileus and pneumonitis; and Grade 2 jugular vein thrombosis. Belinostat monotherapy was well tolerated and efficacious in patients with recurrent/refractory PTCL and CTCL. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00274651.

The histopathologic pattern of NHL in Thailand was characterized by the features noted for Asia, i.e., a low rate of the follicular entity and a preponderance of the diffuse aggressive subtypes. In addition, the frequency of the small lymphocytic and diffuse small cleaved subtypes were increased compared with the Western population and the rate of T-cell lymphoma appeared to be less than in Far East Asia.

Systemic reports on the descriptive epidemiology of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) from Southeast Asia are scarce. A nationwide multi-institutional registry was conducted to compare the histopathology, clinical features, and survival of Thai adult patients with NHL using large registries, especially those from Far East Asia (FEA). Using a web-based registry system, 13 major medical centers from the 4 geographic regions of Thailand prospectively collected, from 2007 to 2014, the diagnostic pathology, according to the World Health Organization classification, 2008, clinical features and survival of 4056 patients who were newly diagnosed with NHL. The median age of the patients was 56 years (range, 16-99 years). The male-to-female ratio was 1.3:1. From the total of 4056 patients, T/NK-cell lymphoma (TNKCL) accounted for 12.6% of cases, and 5.1% had human immunodeficiency virus-associated lymphoma. The four leading histological subtypes were diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (58.1%); follicular lymphoma (5.6%); extranodal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma (5.2%); and peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (4.0%). With a median follow-up duration of 46.1 months, the median overall survival of B-cell NHL was significantly longer than that of patients with TNKCL (76.5 vs 28.8 months, P = .0001). Compared to FEA, the Thai registry had an approximately one-half lower relative frequency of TNKCL; the prevalence of extranodal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma was much lower than in Korea, and the frequency of extranodal TNKCL, nasal type, was strikingly low compared to China. It is concluded that while the median age of Thai patients with NHL was approximately a decade younger than for Caucasians, the long-term survival rates for most histological subtypes were comparable. While the histological distribution generally complied with the characteristic Asian features, some differences from FEA were observed.

920 Background: Belinostat is a pan-HDAC inhibitor of the hydroxamate chemical class that is well-tolerated and has shown clinical activity. Methods: Open label, multicenter trial enrolling patients (pts) with peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) or cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) who failed ≥ 1 prior systemic therapy. Pts received 1000 mg/m2 IV belinostat over 30 min on days 1 to 5 of a 3-wk cycle. Primary endpoint was objective response (OR) assessed by IWG criteria for PTCL and by SWAT (cutaneous lesions) and IWG criteria (non-cutaneous lesions) for CTCL. Pruritus in pts with CTCL was assessed using a 10-point scale; relief defined as reduction of pruritus score of ≥ 3 points in pts with baseline score ≥ 3. ECGs were monitored and reviewed centrally (pre-/ post-infusion ECGs on all treatment days in cycle 1, and pre-/ post-infusion ECGs on day 1 of subsequent cycles) to evaluate potential cardiac toxicity. Results: The study enrolled a total of 53 treated pts, including 20 and 29 evaluable pts with a diagnosis of PTCL and CTCL, respectively. The 20 pts with PTCL [10 PTCL-unspecified (PTCL-U), 3 anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), 3 angioimmunoblastic TCL (AITL), 3 NK/T-cell lymphoma, and 1 subcutaneous panniculitis-like TCL (SPTCL)] had received a median of 3 prior systemic therapies (range 1 – 10), and 40 % of them had stage IV disease. 5/20 (25%) PTCL pts responded with 2 CR (both in patients with PTCL-U) and 3 PR (PTCL-U, AITL, ALCL). The 5 responding pts had a median duration of response of 159+ days (range 1 – 504+). Additionally, SD was observed in 5 pts (2 PTCL-U, 2 NK/T-cell, and 1 ALCL) with median duration of SD of 109+ days (range 80 -185+). The 29 pts with CTCL [15 mycosis fungoides (MF), 7 Sezary syndrome (SS), 5 non MF/SS, 2 unclassified] had received a median of 1 prior skin directed therapies (range 0 – 4) and 3 prior systemic therapies (range 1 – 9), and 55 % of them had stage IV disease. 4/29 (14%) CTCL pts responded with 2 CR (ALCL, MF) and 2 PR (MF, SS). The 4 responding pts had a median duration of response of 273 days (range 48 - 469+). Importantly, time to response was short with a median of 16 days (range 14-35). In addition, SD was observed in 17 pts (10 MF, 3 SS, 2 non MF/SS, 2 unclassified) with current duration of up to 127 days. Pruritus relief (score reduction ≥ 3) was seen in 7 of 14 pts with significant baseline pruritis. Median time to pruritus relief was also short, 16 days (range 7-45). Hematological toxicity was minimal without any grade 4 events (shift from baseline) and only one pt each experiencing grade 3 neutropenia and grade 3 thrombocytopenia, respectively. No grade 3 QTcF prolongation was detected in more than 700 ECGs. Four grade 3/4 drug-related AEs were reported: pruritis, rash/erythema, edema, and adynamic ileus. Conclusions: Belinostat monotherapy is safe, well tolerated, and efficacious in pts with recurrent/refractory T-cell lymphoma with durable remissions in both CTCL and PTCL. These results are the basis for a pivotal study with belinostat monotherapy in pts with PTCL. Disclosures: Advani: Seattle Genetics, Inc.: Research Funding. Duvic:Topotarget: research support for conduct of clinical trial. Fagerberg:TopoTarget A/S: Employment, Equity Ownership. Foss:Eisai : Speakers Bureau.

Antimicrobial agents are the most common cause and the rare granulocyte precursors in bone marrow are associated with higher mortality rates.

The aim of this study was to determine the clinical significances of p53 and p-glycoprotein (P-gp) expression on outcome predictors for patients with DLBC. We assessed the immunohistochemical expression of p53 and P-gp using formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens in 108 patients diagnosed with de novo DLBC. A high expression of p53 was found in 53.7% of the patients. No expression of P-gp was demonstrated in any of the specimens. There were no significant differences in the complete remission (CR) rate (P = 0.79), overall survival (OS) (P = 0.73), or disease-free survival (DFS) (P = 31) between the p53-positive and p53-negative groups. The final model from multivariate analysis that revealed poor performance status was significantly associated with CR (P < 0.001) and OS (P < 0.001). Moreover, the advanced stage was a significant predictor of DFS (P = 0.03). This study demonstrated no impact of the expression of p53 on either response or survival rates.

The impact of health insurance with inequitable rituximab coverage on the survival of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) has never been reported. We conducted a nationwide multicenter analysis on the outcome of 553 adult patients consecutively diagnosed with DLBCL between July 2003 and June 2006, in whom treatment cost was reimbursed under the Civil Servant Medical Benefit Scheme (CSMBS) (n =201) or the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) (n =352). The international prognostic index was comparable between the two payment groups. Rituximab-based therapy was administered in 45.3% and 3.1% of CSMBS and UCS patients, respectively (p <0.001). With a median follow-up of 24.6 months, the 6-year progression-free survival (PFS) was superior for CSMBS patients (34.2 vs. 23.2%, p =0.005). "Not treated with rituximab-based therapy" was the strongest adverse prognostic feature indicating a short PFS (hazard ratio 2.1, p <0.001). It is concluded that lack of access to rituximab is the principal factor accounting for the inferior PFS observed in Thai patients with DLBCL who are treated under the UCS.