We have carried out a retrospective analysis of 490 non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHLs), followed at our clinic, with the purpose of evaluating the clinicopathologic features of these patients. The patients were assessed with regard to their characteristics including age, gender, histologic distribution, stage, extranodal involvement, presenting symptoms, and biopsied site. Of the patients 314 (64%) were male and 176 (36%) were female. The overall median age was 43 years (range: 14-90). The patients were classified according to the Working Formulation (WF) system: 71 (14.4%) were low grade, 342 (69.8%) were intermediate grade, 43 (8.7%) were high grade, and 34 (6.7%) had other lymphomas. Intermediate-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphomas formed the largest group, of whom 320 patients' paraffin blocks were available for Revised European and American lymphoma (REAL) classification: 78% were B-cell lymphomas, whereas 16% were T/NK lymphomas. Six percent of cases were unclassified lymphomas. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) was the most commonly observed histopathologic type in 132 (41%) patients. Extranodal involvement was found in 218 (44.5%) patients. The most commonly affected extranodal sites were small bowel, stomach, and tonsil in 72 (33%), 63 (29%), and 19 (8.7%) patients, respectively. According to the Ann Arbor staging system, the vast majority of patients (89.4%) were advanced stage. In conclusion,The characteristics of NHLs in our region show some differences from the other sites of Turkey and the world.

SummaryBackgroundWe performed a prospective observational cohort study to evaluate the causative bacteria and to identify risk factors for mortality in febrile neutropenic (FN) patients with blood stream infection (BSI).Material/MethodsWe conducted a prospective data collection on all patients with bacteremia or fungemia. The patients were assigned into low-risk and high-risk groups in accordance with the Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) Risk Index.ResultsThroughout the study period, the patients developed 420 FN episodes. Out of 420 episodes, only 90 (21.4%) were found to have bloodstream infection. The mean age of the patients was 45.6±18.4 years and 55.6% of the patients were male. A total of 98 isolates were recovered from the cases of BSI. Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus spp (CoNS) were the most common isolates overall (33.7%). There was a significant increase in the rate of gram-negative bacteria throughout the study period (p=0.028). Overall mortality was 33%. Multivariate analyses showed that MASCC risk scores (p=0.0001, OR=15.1, CI%95 4.5–50.7), ICU wards (p=0.0002, OR= 8.6, Cl%95 1.101–68,157) and CoNS (p=0.004, OR=12.12, CI%95 2.3–64.7) were independent risk factors associated with mortality. BSI due to CoNS was associated with lower mortality; however, MASCC high risk score and ICU stay were associated with higher mortality.ConclusionsThe MASCC risk-index score and emergence of CoNS in positive blood cultures are valuable tools in the management of FN.

Objective:The Turkish Society of Pediatric Hematology set up a National Hemoglobinopathy Registry to demonstrate the demographic and disease characteristics of patients and assess the efficacy of a hemoglobinopathy control program (HCP) over 10 years in Turkey.Materials and Methods:A total of 2046 patients from 27 thalassemia centers were registered, of which 1988 were eligible for analysis. This cohort mainly comprised patients with β-thalassemia major (n=1658, 83.4%) and intermedia (n=215, 10.8%).Results:The majority of patients were from the coastal areas of Turkey. The high number of patients in Southeastern Anatolia was due to that area having the highest rates of consanguineous marriage and fertility. The most common 11 mutations represented 90% of all β-thalassemia alleles and 47% of those were IVS1-110(G->A) mutations. The probability of undergoing splenectomy within the first 10 years of life was 20%, a rate unchanged since the 1980s. Iron chelators were administered as monotherapy regimens in 95% of patients and deferasirox was prescribed in 81.3% of those cases. Deferasirox administration was the highest (93.6%) in patients aged <10 years. Of the thalassemia major patients, 5.8% had match-related hemopoietic stem cell transplantation with a success rate of 77%. Cardiac disease was detected as a major cause of death and did not show a decreasing trend in 5-year cohorts since 1999.Conclusion:While the HCP has been implemented since 2003, the affected births have shown a consistent decrease only after 2009, being at lowest 34 cases per year. This program failure resulted from a lack of premarital screening in the majority of cases. Additional problems were unawareness of the risk and misinformation of the at-risk couples. In addition, prenatal diagnosis was either not offered to or was not accepted by the at-risk families. This study indicated that a continuous effort is needed for optimizing the management of thalassemia and the development of strategies is essential for further achievements in the HCP in Turkey.

The MPV values were higher in diabetic groups than that in normal participants. Both GFR and proteinuria were the most powerful determinants of MPV.

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