This study was designed to determine the value of 2-[fluorine-18]-fluoro-2-deoxy- d-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in the early assessment of therapy response in lymphoma patients. We studied 20 patients with pathologically proven lymphoma, including 17 patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and three patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma. All patients underwent whole-body FDG-PET imaging at baseline and after 1-2 cycles of chemotherapy. PET images were analysed visually and quantitatively by calculating the standardised uptake value (SUV). In each patient, we measured the SUV of the tumour demonstrating the highest FDG uptake at baseline study and the SUV of the same tumour after 1-2 cycles of therapy. The achievement of complete response was assessed on the basis of a combination of clinical findings and the results of conventional imaging modalities. Follow-up of progression-free survival (PFS) was obtained for the validation of PET data. Of the 20 patients, ten achieved complete remission at the completion of chemotherapy and the other ten did not respond to chemotherapy. Of the ten responders, four are still in remission (PFS 24-34 months) while the other six have relapsed (PFS 8-16 months). For the prediction of 24-month clinical outcome, visual analysis of PET after 1-2 cycles showed high sensitivity (87.5%) and accuracy (80%) but low specificity (50%). Comparison with the baseline SUVs revealed that the responders showed a significantly greater percent reduction in SUV after 1-2 cycles of therapy as compared with the non-responders (81.2%+/-9.5% vs 35.0%+/-20.2%, P<0.001). In addition, using 60% reduction as a cut-off value, the responders were clearly separated from the non-responders, with the exception of one non-responder. In conclusion, when performed early during chemotherapy, FDG-PET may be predictive of clinical outcome and allows differentiation of responders from non-responders in cases of aggressive lymphoma.

An Ac-Ala-Ala-Ala-NH2 tripeptide was folded into a beta-turn structure even in water through hydrophobic binding by a self-assembled porphyrin cage. The turn conformation of the bound peptide was fully assigned from NOESY measurements and was strongly supported by molecular dynamics simulation. Single mutation experiments and molecular modeling also suggested that CH-pi interactions between methyl groups of Ala residues and porphyrin ligands were important for the stabilization of the turn conformation. Furthermore, we observed the induction of a beta-hairpin structure by encapsulation of a heptapeptide, Ac-Gly-Gly-Ala-Ala-Ala-Gly-Gly-NH2, possessing Ala-Ala-Ala sequence at the middle.

Prognostic assessment is crucial for the management of AML. Although the use of karyotype analysis for risk-stratification is widely accepted, prognosis of AML remains ambiguous, particularly for patients categorized into the intermediate cytogenetic risk group and additional markers are required for an accurate prediction of outcome. For this study, we used multiplex real-time RT-PCR, which can simultaneously quantify WT1 and 10 distinct fusion gene transcripts, to prospectively evaluate the pre-treatment bone marrow findings of 53 de novo AML patients. Five patients with normal karyotype or insufficient metaphases detected by conventional karyotype analysis proved to have AML1-MTG8, CBFbeta-MYH11 or PML-RARalpha fusion transcripts. WT1 overexpression was observed in 92% of the patients, and the levels were significantly higher in the cytogenetic favorable risk group, especially patients with PML-RARalpha. WT1 levels also correlated with the percentage of blasts in bone marrow, especially in cases of core-binding factor leukemia. There was no association between initial WT1 levels and outcome in terms of event-free survival or overall survival. These results suggest that multiplex real-time RT-PCR is rapid and useful for the precise cytogenetic stratification of AML, and that WT1 levels at presentation correlate with several biologic features of leukemia, but have no prognostic significance.

Tributyltin hydride-mediated radical reactions of organic halides were successfully carried out in a continuous flow system using a microreactor. The reactions proceeded within a very short period of time, coupled with quickly decomposing radical initiators such as V-65 and V-70. The continuous flow reaction system was applied to gram scale synthesis of a key intermediate for furofuran lignans.

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We report a rare case of adult Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with an e1a3 fusion transcript. A 25-year-old female consulted our hospital for leukocytosis and thrombocytopenia. She was diagnosed with Ph-positive precursor B cell ALL. The patient's BCR-ABL fusion gene showed the e1a3 transcript. She received bone marrow transplantation (BMT) in the first complete remission (CR). However, the disease relapsed 4 months later, and she received a second BMT in the second CR, which caused lethal venoocculusive disease. The duration of the total clinical course was 18 months. We established a new cell line from the patient's leukemic cells at the time of relapse, which is very rare and useful for study as an atypical Ph-positive ALL model. The literature on Ph-positive leukemia lacking ABL exon 2 was also reviewed.