With broadening indications, more options for hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) and improvement in survival, the number of long-term HCT survivors is expected to increase steadily. Infertility ...is a frequent problem that long-term HCT survivors and their partners face and it can negatively impact on the quality of life. The most optimal time to address fertility issues is before the onset of therapy for the underlying disease; however, fertility preservation should also be addressed before HCT in all children and patients of reproductive age, with referral to a reproductive specialist for patients interested in fertility preservation. In vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo cryopreservation, oocyte cryopreservation and ovarian tissue banking are acceptable methods for fertility preservation in adult women/pubertal females. Sperm banking is the preferred method for adult men/pubertal males. Frequent barriers to fertility preservation in HCT recipients may include the perception of lack of time to preserve fertility given an urgency to move ahead with transplant, lack of patient-physician discussion because of several factors (for example, time constraints, lack of knowledge), inadequate access to reproductive specialists, and costs and lack of insurance coverage for fertility preservation. There is a need to raise awareness in the medical community about fertility preservation in HCT recipients.
Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is one of the major complications of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Many variables including stem cell source, age of donor and recipient, preparative ...regimen and prophylaxis can impact the likelihood and severity of GVHD. The major portion of this review concentrates on risk factors, treatment and outcome, since here we may see differences between children and adults. Pathophysiology and manifestations/grading of acute GVHD are also briefly presented. An effort has been made to concentrate either on pediatric trials or look specifically at the pediatric subset of larger studies.
Bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) is a devastating pulmonary complication affecting long-term survivors of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Treatment of BOS with prolonged courses ...of high dose corticosteroids is often associated with significant morbidity. Reducing the exposure to corticosteroids may reduce treatment-related morbidity. Our institution has recently begun to treat patients with emerging therapies in an effort to diminish corticosteroid exposure. We retrospectively reviewed the 6-month corticosteroid exposure, lung function and failure rates in eight patients with newly diagnosed BOS who were treated with a combination of fluticasone, azithromycin and montelukast (FAM) and a rapid corticosteroid taper. These patients were compared with 14 matched historical patients who received high-dose corticosteroids, followed by a standard taper. The median 6-month prednisone exposure in FAM-treated patients was 1819 mg (0-4036 mg) compared with 7163 mg (6551-7829 mg) in the control group (P=0.002). The median forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV(1)) change in FAM-treated patients was 2% (-3 to 4% compared with 1% (-4 to 5%) in the control group (P=1.0). Prednisone exposure in FAM patients was one quarter that of a retrospective-matched group of patients, with minimal change in median FEV(1), suggesting that BOS may be spared of the morbidities associated with long-term corticosteroid use by using alternative agents with less side effects.
Alpha-mannosidosis is a rare lysosomal storage disease. Hematopoietic SCT (HSCT) is usually recommended as a therapeutic option though reports are anecdotal to date. This retrospective multi ...institutional analysis describes 17 patients that were diagnosed at a median of 2.5 (1.1-23) years and underwent HSCT at a median of 3.6 (1.3-23.1) years. In all, 15 patients are alive (88%) after a median follow-up of 5.5 (2.1-12.6) years. Two patients died within the first 5 months after HSCT. Of the survivors, two developed severe acute GvHD (>=grade II) and six developed chronic GvHD. Three patients required re-transplantation because of graft failure. All 15 showed stable engraftment. The extent of the patients' developmental delay before HSCT varied over a wide range. After HSCT, patients made developmental progress, although normal development was not achieved. Hearing ability improved in some, but not in all patients. We conclude that HSCT is a feasible therapeutic option that may promote mental development in alpha-mannosidosis.
Physician practice variation may be a barrier to informing hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) recipients about fertility preservation (FP) options. We surveyed HCT physicians in the United States to ...evaluate FP knowledge, practices, perceptions and barriers. Of the 1035 physicians invited, 185 completed a 29-item web-survey. Most respondents demonstrated knowledge of FP issues and discussed and felt comfortable discussing FP. However, only 55% referred patients to an infertility specialist. Most did not provide educational materials to patients and only 35% felt that available materials were relevant for HCT. Notable barriers to discussing FP included perception that patients were too ill to delay transplant (63%), patients were already infertile from prior therapy (92%) and time constraints (41%). Pediatric HCT physicians and physicians with access to an infertility specialist were more likely to discuss FP and to discuss FP even when prognosis was poor. On analyses that considered physician demographics, knowledge and perceptions as predictors of referral for FP, access to an infertility specialist and belief that patients were interested in FP were observed to be significant. We highlight variation in HCT physician perceptions and practices regarding FP. Physicians are generally interested in discussing fertility issues with their patients but lack educational materials.
Acute graft versus host disease Jacobsohn, David A; Vogelsang, Georgia B
Orphanet journal of rare diseases,
09/2007, Letnik:
2, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) occurs after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant and is a reaction of donor immune cells against host tissues. Activated donor T cells damage host ...epithelial cells after an inflammatory cascade that begins with the preparative regimen. About 35%-50% of hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients will develop acute GVHD. The exact risk is dependent on the stem cell source, age of the patient, conditioning, and GVHD prophylaxis used. Given the number of transplants performed, we can expect about 5500 patients/year to develop acute GVHD. Patients can have involvement of three organs: skin (rash/dermatitis), liver (hepatitis/jaundice), and gastrointestinal tract (abdominal pain/diarrhea). One or more organs may be involved. GVHD is a clinical diagnosis that may be supported with appropriate biopsies. The reason to pursue a tissue biopsy is to help differentiate from other diagnoses which may mimic GVHD, such as viral infection (hepatitis, colitis) or drug reaction (causing skin rash). Acute GVHD is staged and graded (grade 0-IV) by the number and extent of organ involvement. Patients with grade III/IV acute GVHD tend to have a poor outcome. Generally the patient is treated by optimizing their immunosuppression and adding methylprednisolone. About 50% of patients will have a solid response to methylprednisolone. If patients progress after 3 days or are not improved after 7 days, they will get salvage (second-line) immunosuppressive therapy for which there is currently no standard-of-care. Well-organized clinical trials are imperative to better define second-line therapies for this disease. Additional management issues are attention to wound infections in skin GVHD and fluid/nutrition management in gastrointestinal GVHD. About 50% of patients with acute GVHD will eventually have manifestations of chronic GVHD.
Hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) recipients have a substantial risk of developing secondary solid cancers, particularly beyond 5 years after HCT and without reaching a plateau overtime. A ...working group was established through the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research and the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation with the goal to facilitate implementation of cancer screening appropriate to HCT recipients. The working group reviewed guidelines and methods for cancer screening applicable to the general population and reviewed the incidence and risk factors for secondary cancers after HCT. A consensus approach was used to establish recommendations for individual secondary cancers. The most common sites include oral cavity, skin, breast and thyroid. Risks of cancers are increased after HCT compared with the general population in skin, thyroid, oral cavity, esophagus, liver, nervous system, bone and connective tissues. Myeloablative TBI, young age at HCT, chronic GVHD and prolonged immunosuppressive treatment beyond 24 months were well-documented risk factors for many types of secondary cancers. All HCT recipients should be advised of the risks of secondary cancers annually and encouraged to undergo recommended screening based on their predisposition. Here we propose guidelines to help clinicians in providing screening and preventive care for secondary cancers among HCT recipients.
The interpretation of the surface chemical states of amorphous boron carbide films as revealed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is investigated in this work. Films were deposited by ...dc-magnetron sputtering and characterized by XPS employing sputter-cleaning and angle-resolved detection. Our results indicate that the intrinsic chemical states of boron carbide occur at ∼282.8 and ∼188.6.
eV in the C
1s and B
1s lines, respectively, and that all other observed states are related to contamination due to exposure to ambient conditions. Structural modifications known to occur due to post-deposition annealing could not be observed by XPS, pointing to limitations of this technique.
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