Lamivudine is effective to control hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation in HBV-carrying cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy, but the optimal treatment protocol remains undetermined. In this study, HBV carriers with newly diagnosed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) who underwent chemotherapy were randomized to either prophylactic (P) or therapeutic (T) lamivudine treatment groups. Group P patients started lamivudine from day 1 of the first course of chemotherapy and continued treatment until 2 months after completion of chemotherapy. Group T patients received chemotherapy alone and started lamivudine treatment only if serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels elevated to greater than 1.5-fold of the upper normal limit (ULN). The primary endpoint was incidence of HBV reactivation during the 12 months after starting chemotherapy. During chemotherapy, fewer group P patients had HBV reactivation (11.5% versus 56%, P ‫؍‬ 0.001), HBV-related hepatitis (7.7% versus 48%, P ‫؍‬ 0.001), or severe hepatitis (ALT more than 10-fold ULN) (0 versus 36%, P < 0.001). No hepatitis-related deaths occurred during protocol treatment. Prophylactic lamivudine use was the only independent predictor of HBV reactivation. After completion of chemotherapy, the incidence of HBV reactivation did not differ between the 2 groups. Two patients, both in group P, died of HBV reactivation-related hepatitis, 173 and 182 days, respectively, after completion of protocol treatment. When compared with an equivalent group of lamivudine-naïve lymphoma patients who underwent chemotherapy, therapeutic use of lamivudine neither reduced the severity of HBV-related hepatitis nor changed the patterns of HBV reactivation. Conclusion: Prophylactic lamivudine use, but not therapeutic use, reduces the incidence and severity of chemotherapy-related HBV reactivation in NHL patients. (HEPATOLOGY 2008;47:844-853.)

Reactivation of hepatitis is one of the most serious complications of chemotherapy in lymphoma patients who are carriers of the hepatitis B virus (HBV). Glucocorticoids are linked to increased risk of HBV reactivation. This study seeks to clarify whether removal of glucocorticoids from chemotherapy regimens may decrease the risk of HBV reactivation. Eligible patients were seropositive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and had histologically proven non-Hodgkin's lymphomas for which intensive chemotherapy was indicated. Patients were randomized to receive either ACE (epirubicin, cyclophosphamide, and etoposide) or PACE (prednisolone ؉ ACE). A total of 50 patients were enrolled, 25 each for the ACE and PACE arms. The cumulative incidence of HBV reactivation at 9 months after starting chemotherapy was 38% and 73% for ACE and PACE arm, respectively (P ‫؍‬ .03). The degree of clinical hepatitis was significantly more severe in the PACE arm: 11 patients (44%) in the PACE and 3 patients (13%) in the ACE arm had ALT elevation more than 10-fold of normal (P ‫؍‬ .025), and 7 patients (28%) in the PACE and 1 patient (4%) in the ACE arm had icteric hepatitis (P ‫؍‬ .049). Complete remission of tumors occurred in 11 (46%) patients in the PACE and 8 (35%) patients in the ACE arm (P ‫؍‬ .556). The estimated overall survival rate at 46 months was 68% in the PACE arm and 36% in the ACE arm, respectively (P ‫؍‬ .18). In conclusion, steroid-free chemotherapy decreases the incidence and severity of HBV reactivation in HBsAg-positive lymphoma patients. However, further research is needed to evaluate whether steroid-free chemotherapy may confer a less satisfactory control of lymphoma. (HEPATOLOGY 2003;37:1320-1328

PurposeThis study aims to study the effects of depression and demoralization on suicidal ideation and to determine the feasibility of the Distress Thermometer as a screening tool for patients with cancer who experience depression and demoralization, and thus to establish a model screening process for suicide prevention.MethodsPurposive sampling was used to invite inpatients and outpatients with lung cancer, leukemia, and lymphoma. Two hundred participants completed the questionnaire, which included the Distress Thermometer (DT), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Demoralization Scale-Mandarin Version (DS-MV), and Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation. All data obtained were analyzed using SPSS 18.0 and SAS 9.3.ResultsTobit regression analysis showed that demoralization influenced suicidal ideation more than depression did (t = 2.84, p < 0.01). When PHQ-9 ≥ 10 and DS-MV ≥42 were used as criteria for the DT, receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed that the AUC values were 0.77–0.79, with optimal cutoff points for both of DT ≥5; sensitivity 76.9 and 80.6 %, respectively; and specificity of 73.9 and 72.2 %, respectively.ConclusionsDemoralization had more influence on suicidal ideation than depression did. Therefore, attention should be paid to highly demoralized patients with cancer or high demoralization comorbid with depression for the purposes of suicide evaluation and prevention. The DT scale (with a cutoff of ≥5 points) has discriminative ability as a screening tool for demoralization or depression and can also be used in clinical settings for the preliminary screening of patients with cancer and high suicide risk.

To assess the role of leukapheresis and cranial irradiation in reducing the incidence of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) and early death in patients with hyperleukocytic acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and the impact of such treatment on survival. This study retrospectively analyzed the records of 75 patients with hyperleukocytic AML who had a white cell count over 100,000/lL. All patients had de novo AML except for two with therapy-related AML. Various factors were assessed for their impact on morbidity and mortality, particularly the role of pre-induction leukapharesis and cranial irradiation. The most significant risk factors for ICH were the presence of two or more symptoms of leukostasis (odds ratios [OR] 10.6, 95% CI: 2.67-42.02; P 5 0.001) and respiratory distress (OR 5.41, 95% CI: 1.44-20.32, P 5 0.012). The most significant risk factors for early death were age ‡ 65 (OR 4.21, 95% CI: 1.45-12.21, P 5 0.008), respiratory failure (OR 3.34, 95% CI: 1.24-9.50, P 5 0.018), and two or more symptoms (OR 3.50 95% CI: 1.16-10.52, P 5 0.026). Neither leukapheresis nor cranial irradiation were significantly associated with a decreased incidence of ICH (P 5 0.349 and 0.378, respectively). Leukapheresis had no significant influence on early death (P 5 0.367). The median survival patients receiving no pretreatment was 10.50 months (range 2.58-18.42) and for those receiving pretreatment 1.50 months (range 0.10-3.16; log-rank test, P 5 0.062). Leukapheresis and cranial irradiation do not improve survival or decrease the incidence of ICH in adults with hyperleukocytic AML. Am. J. Hematol. 82:976-980, 2007. V

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