Study of some prognostic factors in patients with aggressive non-hodgkin's lymphoma

The aim of this work was to study the serum level of soluble CD25 [sCD25], CD44 [sCD44] and [sCD95] as prognostic factors in the assessment of response to standard treatment protocols in patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma [NHL]]. Also, to correlate them with the known adverse prognostic markers of the disease. Twenty five patients with newly-diagnosed untreated aggressive NHL [REAL/WHO] and ten healthy age and sex-matched control subjects were enrolled in the study. The age of the patients ranged between 34 and 60 years with a mean of 48.6 +/- 8.1 years and the male to female ratio was 1.3:1. At presentation and just before administration of the fifth cycle of conventional CHOP regimen, all patients were subjected to: full history taking, through clinical examination, complete blood count [CBC], bone marrow aspiration/trephine biopsy, biochemical profile, activity markers assessment [erythrocyte sedimentation rate [ESR], serum lactate dehydrogenase [LDH], and beta-2 microglobulin [beta-2M]], imaging studies and estimation of serum sCD25, sCD44, and sCD95 by ELISA technique. The mean values of the three biological factors were significantly higher in pre-treatment samples as compared to the controls. However, there was a significant reduction in the mean values in the follow-up samples compared to the pre-treatment mean values. Patients who achieved complete response [CR] [48%] showed significantly lower mean values of sCD25, sCD44, and sCD95 than non-CR patients [32% with partial response [PR], and 20% with no response [NR]], both before and after therapy. Also, there were significant positive correlations between each of sCD25, sCD44, and sCD95 and other known adverse prognostic features such as age, advanced Ann Arbor stage, higher risk groups of age-adjusted International Prognostic Index [IPI], ESR, LDH, and beta-2M. Again, sCD25, sCD44, and sCD95 correlated positively with each other, Multivariate regression analysis showed that sCD25 [p<0.001], sCD44 [p<0.001], and sCD95 [p = 0.002] turned out to have independent prognostic value. Moreover, we could demonstrate cut off levels for the three biological markers; all patients presenting with values equal to or below these levels achieved CR [2325 pg/ml for sCD25, 540 ng/ml for sCD44, and 8650 pg/ml for sCD95]. In conclusion, the serum sCD25, sCD44, and sCD95 are independent prognostic factors that could predict disease outcome and response to standard CHOP regimen in patients with aggressive NHL. Measurement of these factors at diagnosis may improve prognostic factors models and serve as targets for therapy leading to better cure rate and reducing unnecessary toxicity

Combined drug therapy of intestinal bilharziasis with and without polyposis

In endemic areas treatment of intestimal schistosomiasis, especially when complicated with polyposis, is a major medical problem. In the past few years introduction of new drugs gave hope for treatment of such cases. These drugs were mainly niridazole and oxamniquine. Niridazole has to be given repeatedly at two months intervals over a period up to one year. Oxamniquine provides the advantage of short term therapy over 3 days but the cure rate was much lower than niridazole. The two drugs are different pharmacolozically and this encourages us to give both drugs in succession, then simultaneously without accentnation of the side or toxic effects than when either drug was given alone. In this study 493 patients of intestinal bilharziasis, 39 of them with bilharzial colonic polyposis were included, using different schedules of therapy. Niridazole in a dose 4 mg/ kg. B. W. daily for 20 days and oxamniquine 60 mg/kg. B.W. as a total dose divided over 3 days. The best results were obtained when both drugs were given simaltaneously. The cure rate in non polypotic bilharzial cases was 96.5% and in patients with plyposis 64.3%, while the cure rate using oxamniquine alone or using the two drugs in succession starting by either of them gave much less cure rate, [not more than 40%]. We can conchude that the best treatment of intestinal schistosomiasis with or without polyposis is the simultaneous administration of oxamniquine and niridazole in the above mentioned dosage schedule