Lenalidomide is clinically active in patients with relapsed or refractory B-CLL. These findings are encouraging and warrant further investigation of this agent in the treatment of this disorder.

Type 1 von Willebrand disease (vWD) is generally regarded clinically as 'mild' and the obstetrical-gynaecological features have not been fully described. We administered a patient questionnaire and provider survey of the medical and quality of life aspects of childbirth and menstruation to 99 type 1 vWD patients and compared the patients presently menstruating (n=81) to a cohort of 150 menstruating females in the general population. The following measurements had a statistically higher proportion in the vWD group: number of tampons/towels used for a typical menstrual cycle (P=0. 002); percentage reporting that clothes are stained by menses (P = 0. 001); past or present history of anaemia (P = 0.001); childbirth-related bleeding (P=0.001); and childbirth-related bleeding necessitating RBC transfusion (P=0.002). Quality of life assessment of the impact of menses in both of the above cohorts was measured by a Likert scale using seven quality of life parameters. Compared to the control group, the vWD patients had a significantly higher score, with P-values of < 0.0001 for each parameter. Hormonal interventions for menorrhagia in the vWD patients were < or = 50% effective. Menorrhagia resulted in red blood cell transfusions in 6% of patients, dilatation and curettage in 17% and hysterectomy in 13%. Despite the common connotation of type 1 vWD as clinically 'mild', childbirth and the monthly challenge to haemostasis presented by menstruation result in a substantial degree of morbidity in females with type 1 vWD. These results support the rationale for ongoing international efforts to increase awareness of vWD as a cause for menorrhagia and to improve the quality of life in females with known vWD.

Rituximab plus fludarabine was well tolerated and associated with an excellent complete response rate, including molecular remissions, in patients with low-grade or follicular lymphoma.

Summary:We examined the incidence, risk factors and associated mortality of acute renal failure requiring dialysis (Renal Bearman Grade [BG] 3) in a 3-year cohort of 97 consecutive allogeneic blood and marrow transplantation (alloBMT) patients. In all, 20 (21%) developed Renal BG3 (all died by day +132) and 77 (79%) developed renal insufficiency (Renal BG1-2). Renal BG3 was a contributing or primary cause of death in 18 (90%) patients who continued to require dialysis at time of death. The two Renal BG3 patients whose deaths were not related to renal failure died on day +103 of hemorrhage and day +132 of underlying disease. By univariate analysis, age, unrelated donor, veno-occlusive disease (VOD) and grade III-IV acute graft-versus-host disease with hepatic involvement were significantly associated with Renal BG3. The multivariate model of time to Renal BG3 determined only a prior diagnosis of severe acute GVHD (RR ¼ 4.1, 95% CI 1.6-10.3, P ¼ 0.003) and VOD (RR ¼ 9.1, 95% CI 3.5-23.7, Po0.001) as significant independent predictors. Renal BG3 is generally considered a conditioning regimen-related toxicity. This study demonstrates that Renal BG3 is most commonly a complication of hepatic co-morbidities after allogeneic blood and marrow transplantation and identifies patients with a very poor prognosis.

No abstract

In the case of large B-cell lymphoma, generally thought to arise from the chronic lymphocytic leukemia clone, approximately one half of the patients had genetically unrelated cancers. In prolymphocytic transformation, all cases studied appeared to evolve from the chronic lymphocytic leukemia clone. The few studies of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and multiple myeloma showed genetic relatedness in some cases and unrelatedness in others. These data indicate that progression to more aggressive B-cell cancers in persons with chronic lymphocytic leukemia can result from either clonal evolution or from an independent transforming event.

No abstract

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.