Accumulated evidence demonstrates the existence of bone marrow-derived cells origin in the endometria of women undergoing bone marrow transplantation (BMT). In these reports, cells of a bone marrow ...(BM) origin are able to differentiate into endometrial cells, although their contribution to endometrial regeneration is not yet clear. We have previously demonstrated the functional relevance of side population (SP) cells as the endogenous source of somatic stem cells (SSC) in the human endometrium. The present work aims to understand the presence and contribution of bone marrow-derived cells to the endometrium and the endometrial SP population of women who received BMT from male donors. Five female recipients with spontaneous or induced menstruations were selected and their endometrium was examined for the contribution of XY donor-derived cells using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), telomapping and SP method investigation. We confirm the presence of XY donor-derived cells in the recipient endometrium ranging from 1.7% to 2.62%. We also identify 0.45-0.85% of the donor-derived cells in the epithelial compartment displaying CD9 marker, and 1.0-1.83% of the Vimentin-positive XY donor-derived cells in the stromal compartment. Although the percentage of endometrial SP cells decreased, possibly being due to chemotherapy applied to these patients, they were not formed by XY donor-derived cells, donor BM cells were not associated with the stem cell (SC) niches assessed by telomapping technique, and engraftment percentages were very low with no correlation between time from transplant and engraftment efficiency, suggesting random terminal differentiation. In conclusion, XY donor-derived cells of a BM origin may be considered a limited exogenous source of transdifferentiated endometrial cells rather than a cyclic source of BM donor-derived stem cells.
About one half of adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia are not cured of the disease and ultimately die. The objective of this study was to explore the factors influencing the outcome of adult ...patients with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
We analyzed the characteristics, the outcome and the prognostic factors for survival after first relapse in a series of 263 adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (excluding those with mature B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia) prospectively enrolled in four consecutive risk-adapted PETHEMA trials.
The median overall survival after relapse was 4.5 months (95% CI, 4-5 months) with a 5-year overall survival of 10% (95% CI, 8%-12%); 45% of patients receiving intensive second-line treatment achieved a second complete remission and 22% (95% CI, 14%-30%) of them remained disease free at 5 years. Factors predicting a good outcome after rescue therapy were age less than 30 years (2-year overall survival of 21% versus 10% for those over 30 years old; P<0.022) and a first remission lasting more than 2 years (2-year overall survival of 36% versus 17% among those with a shorter first remission; P<0.001). Patients under 30 years old whose first complete remission lasted longer than 2 years had a 5-year overall survival of 38% (95% CI, 23%-53%) and a 5-year disease-free survival of 53% (95% CI, 34%-72%).
The prognosis of adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who relapse is poor. Those aged less than 30 years with a first complete remission lasting longer than 2 years have reasonable possibilities of becoming long-term survivors while patients over this age or those who relapse early cannot be successfully rescued using the therapies currently available.
Cytarabine is considered the most effective chemotherapeutic option in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The impact of 10 polymorphisms in cytarabine metabolic pathway genes were evaluated in 225 adult ...de novo AML patients. Variant alleles of DCK rs2306744 and CDA rs602950 showed higher complete remission (p = .024, p = .045), with lower survival rates for variant alleles of CDA rs2072671 (p = .015, p = .045, p = .032), rs3215400 (p = .033) and wild-type genotype of rs602950 (p = .039, .014). Induction death (p = .033) and lower survival rates (p = .021, p = .047) were correlated to RRM1 rs9937 variant allele. In addition, variant alleles of CDA rs532545 and rs602950 were related to skin toxicity (p = .031, p = .049) and mucositis to DCK rs2306744 minor allele (p = .046). Other toxicities associated to variant alleles were hepatotoxicity to NT5C2 rs11598702 (p = .032), lung toxicity (p = .031) and thrombocytopenia to DCK rs4694362 (p = .046). This study supports the interest of cytarabine pathway polymorphisms regarding efficacy and toxicity of AML therapy in a coherent integrated manner.
Despite the prophylactic use of allopurinol, tumor lysis syndrome (TLS)-related morbidity and mortality still occur in a number of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The aim of this study ...was: (i) to analyze the incidence and outcome of TLS in a large series of patients with AML receiving hyperhydration and allopurinol, (ii) to identify risk factors for TLS, and (iii) to develop a prognostic scoring system for estimating individual risk of TLS.
The study included 772 adult patients with AML receiving induction chemotherapy between 1980 and 2002. TLS was divided into laboratory TLS (LTLS) or clinical TLS (CTLS). The population study was randomly divided into training and test subsets, so that a prognostic model for CTLS was developed in one set and validated in the other.
Overall, 130 patients (17%) developed TLS (5% CTLS and 12% LTLS). Unlike LTLS, CTLS was associated with a higher rate of death from induction therapy. Multivariate analysis showed that pretreatment serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels above laboratory normal values, creatinine >1.4 mg/dL, uric acid >7.5 mg/dL and white blood cell (WBC) counts >25 x 10(9)/L were independent risk factors for CTLS and LTLS. The scoring system, based on pretreatment WBC counts, and uric acid and LDH serum levels, had excellent discrimination and was accurate for predicting CTLS and LTLS.
TLS is frequently observed in AML patients during induction therapy. Only the development of CTLS had an impact on higher mortality rate from induction therapy. The scoring system derived from this study can be used to obtain an accurate estimate of the individual risk of TLS, allowing for risk-adapted prophylaxis against this complication.
Clinical outcomes of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) showing the first primary refractory or early-relapsed disease remain very poor. The Programa Español de Tratamientos en Hematología ...(PETHEMA) group designed a phase I–II trial using FLAG-Ida (fludarabine, idarubicin, cytarabine, and G-CSF) plus high-dose intravenous plerixafor, a molecule inducing mobilization of blasts through the SDF-1α-CXCR4 axis blockade and potentially leading to chemosensitization of the leukemic cells. We aimed to establish a recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) of plerixafor plus FLAG-Ida, as well as the efficacy and safety of this combination for early-relapsed (first complete remission (CR/CRi) < 12 months) or primary refractory AML. Between 2012 and 2015, 57 patients were enrolled, and 41 received the RP2D (median age 52 years range, 18–64). Among these patients, 20 (49%) achieved CR/CRi, and 3 (7%) died during induction. CR/CRi rate was 50% (13/26) among primary refractory and 47% (7/15) among early relapse. Overall, 25 patients (61%) were allografted. Median overall and disease-free survivals were 9.9 and 13 months, respectively. In summary, the combination of plerixafor plus FLAG-Ida resulted in a relatively high CR/CRi rate in adult patients with primary refractory or early relapsed AML, with an acceptable toxicity profile and induction mortality rate, bridging the majority of patients to allogeneic stem cell transplantation. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01435343
Anthracycline uptake could be affected by efflux pumps of the ABC family. The influence of 7 SNPs of ABC genes was evaluated in 225 adult de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. After ...multivariate logistic regression there were no significant differences in complete remission, though induction death was associated to ABCB1 triple variant haplotype (p = .020). The ABCB1 triple variant haplotype was related to higher nephrotoxicity (p = .016), as well as this haplotype and the variant allele of ABCB1 rs1128503, rs2032582 to hepatotoxicity (p = .001; p = .049; p < .001). Furthermore, the variant allele of ABCC1 rs4148350 was related to severe hepatotoxicity (p = .044), and the variant allele of ABCG2 rs2231142 was associated to greater cardiac (p = .004) and lung toxicities (p = .038). Delayed time to neutropenia recovery was observed with ABCB1 rs2032582 variant (p = .047). This study shows the impact of ABC polymorphisms in AML chemotherapy safety. Further prospective studies with larger population are needed to validate these associations.
•Ex vivo test predicts the response to first line CYT and IDA induction chemotherapy.•The use of whole bone marrow samples could lead to more reliable results.•Automated flow cytometry reduces ...experimental errors and provides accurate data.•The statistical model used has predictive ability for IDA/CYT patient response.•Cytogenetic risk is less predictive than the pharmacologic parameters.
Complete remission (CR) after induction therapy is the first treatment goal in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients and has prognostic impact. Our purpose is to determine the correlation between the observed CR/CRi rate after idarubicin (IDA) and cytarabine (CYT) 3 + 7 induction and the leukemic chemosensitivity measured by an ex vivo test of drug activity. Bone marrow samples from adult patients with newly diagnosed AML were included in this study. Whole bone marrow samples were incubated for 48 h in well plates containing IDA, CYT, or their combination. Pharmacological response parameters were estimated using population pharmacodynamic models. Patients attaining a CR/CRi with up to two induction cycles of 3 + 7 were classified as responders and the remaining as resistant. A total of 123 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were evaluable for correlation analyses. The strongest clinical predictors were the area under the curve of the concentration response curves of CYT and IDA. The overall accuracy achieved using MaxSpSe criteria to define positivity was 81%, predicting better responder (93%) than non-responder patients (60%). The ex vivo test provides better yet similar information than cytogenetics, but can be provided before treatment representing a valuable in-time addition. After validation in an external cohort, this novel ex vivo test could be useful to select AML patients for 3 + 7 regimen vs. alternative schedules.
The potential role of unrelated donor cord blood transplantation (UD-CBT) in adults remains unclear. This study reports the results of UD-CBT in 22 adults with hematologic malignancies following ...conditioning with thiotepa, busulfan, cyclophosphamide, and antithymocyte globulin in 21, with thiotepa, fludarabine, and antithymocyte globulin in 1, and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis with cyclosporine and prednisone. Median age was 29 years (range, 18-46 years), and median weight was 69.5 kg (range, 41-85 kg). HLA match was 6 of 6 in 1 case, 5 of 6 in 13 cases, and 4 of 6 in 8 cases. Median number of nucleated cells infused was 1.71 × 107/kg (range, 1.01 × 107/kg to 4.96 × 107/kg). All 20 patients surviving more than 30 days had myeloid engraftment, and only 1, who received the lowest cell dose, developed secondary graft failure. Median time to reach an absolute neutrophil count of at least 0.5 × 109/L was 22 days (range, 13-52 days). Median time to platelets numbered at least 20 × 109/L was 69 days (range, 49-153 days). Seven patients (32%) developed acute GVHD above grade II, and 9 of 10 patients at risk developed chronic GVHD, which became extensive in 4 patients. Twelve patients remained alive and disease-free 3 to 45 months after transplantation. Disease-free survival (DFS) at 1 year was 53%. Age strongly influenced DFS (P = .01). For patients aged 30 years or younger, the DFS at 1 year was 73%. These preliminary results suggest that UD-CBT should be considered a reasonable alternative in young adults with hematologic malignancy and no appropriate bone marrow donor.
Several novel single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) involved in cytarabine cytotoxicity and related to clinical outcomes have been reported recently in a series of 232 pediatric patients with acute ...myeloid leukemia (AML). We report the first adult AML cohort in which the influence of these SNPs in cytarabine efficacy and toxicity was analyzed. Six of polymorphisms with clinical significance in the previous study rs12036333, rs10758713, rs9883101, rs6550826, IRX2: rs2897047, mutated in colorectal cancers (MCC): rs7729269 were analyzed in a cohort of 225 adult patients at initial diagnosis of AML treated with an induction scheme of idarubicin plus cytarabine. The variant alleles of rs12036333 and rs10758713 confirmed the previous associations with lower survival rates. The minor alleles of rs9883101 and rs6550826 were also related to lower survival, in concordance with higher cytarabine-induced cytotoxicity observed in pediatric patients. However, discordant findings between AML adult and pediatric population were observed with IRX2 rs2897047, showing higher survival in heterozygous genotype carriers. The heterozygous genotype of MCC rs7729269 was associated with higher cytarabine-induced toxicities (renal, hepatic, lung, skin toxicities), whereas lower time to thrombocytopenia recovery was associated with the MCC rs7729269 minor allele. This study confirms the influence in survival rates of these polymorphisms in an adult AML population. Novel associations between MCC SNPs and cytarabine toxicities were reported and should be validated in prospective studies involving larger groups of patients.
Abstract The MYBL2 gene encodes a transcription factor implicated in cell proliferation and maturation whose amplification or overexpression has been associated with different human malignancies, ...suggesting that it could be implicated in tumorigenesis. We analyzed MYBL2 expression and its prognostic value in 291 patients with de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and we also evaluated its association with microRNAs 29 and 30 families. MYBL2 expression in AML patients was increased relative to CD34+ cells. Moreover, MYBL2 overexpression was associated with lower expression of miR-30a ( P = 0.024), miR-30b ( P = 0.021) and miR-30c ( P = 0.009). Multivariate analysis showed that MYBL2 expression was an independent factor for disease-free survival (HR 3.0, 95% CI 1.5–6.0, P = 0.002) and cumulative incidence of relapse (HR 2.6, 95% CI 1.2–5.6, P = 0.015) in patients with an intermediate-risk karyotype. In conclusion, our data showed that MYBL2 expression analysis could be useful to define subgroups of patients with poor prognosis.