Rituximab is used for in vivo tumor cell purging for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) patients prior to autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT). However, its effects on PBSC mobilization and function are poorly understood. We compared the mobilization characteristics and engraftment kinetics of 13 NHL patients receiving and 34 NHL patients not receiving rituximab 6 months before PBSC mobilization. In the rituximab group, there was a significantly longer time to neutrophil engraftment (P=0.0466), a trend toward the need for BM harvest to supplement low-yield PBSC collections (31 vs 9%, P=0.08) and a significantly increased rate of bacteremia episodes (62 vs 26%, P=0.025). Median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were significantly longer in the rituximab compared to the nonrituximab patients (P=0.049 and 0.042, respectively). However, patients in the nonrituximab group were at high risk for recurrence and expected to have shorter survival. Rituximab used within 6 months prior to collection may have a detrimental effect on PBSC mobilization and engraftment. However, rituximab is a major therapeutic breakthrough for NHL treatment and this negative effect may be offset by improved survival. Further studies are warranted in larger populations to determine the impact of rituximab on engraftment, PFS and OS.

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The aim of the present study is to explore micronuclei recurrence, as a biomarker of genomic damage in buccal cells of individuals living in polluted areas located near to the cement factory in Kufa city. Twenty four apparently healthy males residing in Kufa are enrolled in the present study, their ages between 18-30 years, as control group 24 males with same age are enrolled liv-ing in the center of Najaf city a far from cement factory. A sample of the exposed and control groups of buccal mucosa cells was collected during Spring months in 2016. The mean count of cell with micronuclei in buccal cells of the exposed group and control were (22.33 ± 0.97; 11.583 ± 0.85) respectively, the mean count of the binucleated cells of the exposed and control groups were (7.208 ± 0.71, 10.041 ± 0.84) respectively, a significant difference was detected in the ob-served frequencies of micronuclei and binnucleated cells in the buccal mucosa cells between the exposed and control group. The results indicated that exposure to air pollutants related to cement production induce cytotoxic as well as genotoxic damage in buccal mucosa cells

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