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Key Clinical MessageThe diagnosis and appropriate treatment of cardiac lymphoma are often delayed by the difficulty in obtaining heart tissue biopsies. Intracardiac echocardiography‐guided biopsy can improve the prognosis of cardiac lymphoma by decreasing postbiopsy complications and increasing biopsy quality, allowing collection of sufficient material for multilateral analysis.

Accurate staging and evaluation of therapeutic effects are important in managing plasma-cell neoplasms. Diffusion-weighted imaging with body signal suppression magnetic resonance imaging (DWIBS-MRI) allows for acquisition of whole-body volumetric data without radiation exposure. This study aimed to investigate the usefulness of DWIBS-MRI in plasma-cell neoplasms. We retrospectively analyzed 29 and 8 Japanese patients with multiple myeloma and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, respectively, who underwent DWIBS-MRI. We conducted a histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient values. The correlations between each histogram parameter and staging, cell maturation, prognosis, and treatment response were evaluated. We found that the apparent diffusion coefficient values in patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance were lower than those in patients with multiple myeloma. Pretreatment apparent diffusion coefficient values of immature myeloma were lower than those of mature myeloma. Moreover, these values decreased in proportion to stage progression in Durie-Salmon classification system but showed no significant correlation with other staging systems or prognosis. Patients were stratified as responder, stable, and non-responder based on the International Myeloma Working Group criteria. The magnitude of changes in apparent diffusion coefficients differed significantly between responders and non-responders (0.154 ± 0.386 ×10–3 mm2/s vs. -0.307 ± 0.424 ×10–3 mm2/s, p = 0.003). Although its usefulness has yet to be established, DWIBS-MRI combined with apparent diffusion coefficient measurement allowed for excellent response evaluation in patients with multiple myeloma. Furthermore, apparent diffusion coefficient analysis using DWIBS-MRI may be useful in predicting cell maturation and total tumor volume.

Non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) disease is a rare cause of neutropenic fever in patients with hematological malignancies. There are few studies on the optimal management for such patients with NTM. We report a case of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) treated by umbilical cord blood transplantation (CBT) after Mycobacterium kansasii (M kansasii) pneumonia. A 38-year-old man diagnosed with MDS developed severe pneumonia during induction chemotherapy. Repeated sputum culture uncovered mycobacterium infection. Then, by the polymerase chain reaction of the bronchial lavage fluid, M kansasii infection was proven. After 140 days of anti-NTM therapy, CBT was successfully carried out and the patient recovered without recurrence of NTM infection. This case provides valuable evidence that hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is feasible after a reliable diagnosis and continuous anti-NTM therapy. K E Y W O R D S cord blood transplantation, Mycobacterium kansasii, myelodysplastic syndrome, nontuberculous mycobacterial disease How to cite this article: Yamada A, Akahane D, Katagiri S, et al. Successful cord blood transplantation for myelodysplastic syndrome complicated by Mycobacterium kansasii pneumonia.

Human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) reactivation is an important complication in patients receiving umbilical cord blood transplantation (CBT). Chromosomally integrated human herpesvirus-6 (ciHHV-6) is a condition in which the complete HHV-6 genome is integrated into the host germline genome and is transmitted in a Mendelian manner. The influence of ciHHV-6 in recipients or donors in cases of CBT is unknown. We report the first case with ciHHV-6 that received CBT twice for acute lymphoblastic T-cell leukemia. HHV-6 DNA in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) was examined over time through two CBTs. After the first CBT, the HHV-6 viral load was significantly reduced by conversion to PBLs derived from the first donor. During the second CBT, an increase in HHV-6 DNA in PBLs and plasma were observed. However, HHV-6 mRNA was not detected in either the sample before 2nd CBT or at the time of HHV-6 DNA elevation. It is considered that the HHV-6 DNA detected in PBLs and plasma samples might be the HHV-6 genome released due to tissue damage. This case suggests that physicians should be aware of HHV-6 DNA variability during allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in ciHHV-6 patients.

Background: The inhibition of BCR-ABL1 kinase with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) has markedly improved the prognosis of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Recently, it has been recognized that some CML patients with a complete molecular response (CMR) are able to maintain treatment-free remission (TFR) after discontinuation of TKIs. However, no predictive prognostic factors for successful discontinuation of the treatment have yet been identified. We set out to further clarify the role of predictive biomarkers in molecular relapse and non-relapse after ABL TKI discontinuation. Materials and methods: Patients in sustained CMR (MR 4.5) undergoing TKI therapy were eligible for inclusion in the study. Molecular relapse was defined as loss of major molecular response (MMR) of at least one point. Genomic DNA was obtained from whole blood using a DNA Extractor WB Kit (Wako, Osaka, Japan), and was subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification using primers designed to detect a deletion site (2903 bp) in intron two of the BCL2L11 gene (forward: 5′-AATACCACAGAGGCCCACAG-3′; reverse: 5′-GCCTGAAGGTGCTGAGAAAG-3′) and JumpStart RedAccuTaq LA DNA polymerase (Sigma Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA). Results: 32 CML patients (17 men, 15 women, median age 58.4 years) were included in this study (Sokal category; low 24, intermediate 7, high 1). Six patients were treated with IFNα before TKI treatment, and 3 were treated with IFNα after stopping TKI. Median duration from TKI initiation to discontinuation was 79.3 months (range; 22 to 138 months); median duration of CMR before TKI discontinuation was 47.3 months (range; 5 to 97 months). Seven patients showed loss of MMR; 6 relapsed within 6 months and one showed late relapse at 25 months after discontinuation. The cumulative incidence of MMR loss was estimated as 18.8% at 12 months and at 24 months. Fluctuation of BCR-ABL transcript levels below the MMR threshold (> two consecutive positive values) was observed in 6.25% of patients at 24 months after ABL TKI discontinuation. Treatment-free remission was estimated as 81.2% at 12 months and at 24 months. The median period of restoration of second CMR was 6.0 months in re-treated patients. No patient died during the follow-up period. TKI-free remission was estimated as 78.1% at 30 months. There was only a significant difference in BCL2L11 (BIM) deletion polymorphism between the patients who maintained and those who lost MMR (p = 0.0253). No significant difference was observed in prior IFNα therapy, time to complete cytogenetic response (CCyR), time to MMR, and time to CMR between relapsing and non-relapsing patients. Conclusion: Our study shows a specific association between BCL2L11 (BIM) deletion polymorphism and clinical outcome after ABL TKI discontinuation in patients with long-lasting molecular undetectable residual disease. BCL2L11 (BIM) deletion polymorphism may predict relapse after ABL TKI discontinuation, which may have an impact on future ABL TKI discontinuation trials. These results further illustrate the importance of single nucleotide polymorphisms in successful long-term treatment of CML. Disclosures Ohyashiki: Bristol-Myers Squibb KK : Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Novartis KK: Research Funding, Speakers Bureau.

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We performed sequential molecular analyses of a 75-year-old woman with de novo FLT3 -ITD positive acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who had received gilteritinib therapy for 43 months. At the time of diagnosis, her karyotype was normal; however, FLT3 -ITD, NPM1, DNMT3A , and IDH2 mutations were detected. She received induction therapy with daunorubicin and cytarabine and achieved hematological complete remission (HCR). After attaining HCR, she underwent consolidation therapy with azacytidine or cytarabine, aclarubicin, and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor. However, AML relapsed eight months after the first HCR. FLT3 -ITD and NPM1 mutations were persistently positive, and the patient received gilteritinib therapy. Although the FLT3 -ITD clone was not detected during gilteritinib treatment, a clone harboring monosomy 7 and CBL mutations emerged. Bone marrow examinations at 15, 24, and 32 months after gilteritinib treatment revealed multi-lineage blood cell dysplasia without an increase in myeloblasts. After 33 months of treatment, gilteritinib was discontinued for two months because to ileus development, and the FLT3 -ITD clone was detected again. Gilteritinib treatment was restarted, and FLT3 -ITD became negative. Our analysis demonstrated that: (1) hematopoiesis derived from gilteritinib-resistant clones was generated by long-term gilteritinib treatment, and (2) FLT3 -ITD clones regained clonal dominance in the absence of FLT3 inhibition. These findings suggest that gilteritinib affects the selection of dominant clones during clonal hematopoiesis.