Central nervous system international prognostic index impacts overall survival in diffuse large b-cell lymphoma treated with r-chop in a third level cancer center from Mexico: a survey of 642 patients

Background: Central nervous system international prognosis index (CNS-IPI) is validated in European and the USA cancer databases. However, no validation has been done in Mexican population. Objective: The objective of the study was to assess the impact of the CNS-IPI on central nervous system (CNS) relapse and survival in Mexican patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Methods: In this retrospective analysis, clinical, biochemical, and histological variables and the CNS-IPI were analyzed. Results: Six hundred and forty-two patients with DBLCL were included in the study. The mean ± SD age was 56.8 ± 14.9 years. Most had an ECOG of 0-1: 75% (n = 484) had absence of B-symptoms and advanced disease (clinical stage: III-IV, n = 433, 67.4%). According to the CNS-IPI, almost one-half were in the low-risk category. According to the CNS-IPI, CNS relapse rate was 1.36% (95% CI: 83.2-92.8), 3.1% (95% CI: 132.4-162.8), and 7.4% (95% CI 61-91) for patients in the low-, intermediate-, and high-risk categories, respectively. The median overall survival in the high-risk group (CNS-IPI) was 22 months, and it has not been achieved after 80 months of follow-up for the other groups. Conclusions: CNS-IPI was associated with survival; therefore, we propose its use as a prognostic tool for prospective validation.

Late-Onset Hematological Toxicity (LOHT) in Patients with B-Cell Lymphomas: A Survey in 758 Cases

ABSTRACT Background: The increasing survival of patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma has allowed the diagnosis of long-term complications, including late-onset hematological toxicity (LOHT), transitory cytopenias, or therapy-related myeloid neoplasm (t-MDS/t-AML). Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the frequency and clinical evolution of LOHT in patients with lymphoproliferative malignancies. Materials and Methods: Two cohorts of patients B-cell lymphomas were reviewed. Patients who achieved full hematologic recovery at the end of treatment, and thereafter developed any degree of cytopenia were included in the study. Clinical and biochemical parameters were compared between patients with and without cytopenias with X2 test. Bi- and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate factors associated with the development of late-onset cytopenias. Results: Of 758 patients enrolled, 19 developed cytopenias (2.5%). Transitory cytopenia was documented in 6 cases, 3 developed ICUS, 8 t-MDS, and 2 t-AML. In patients with FL, only hemoglobin < 12 g/dL (p = 0.032) and >6 nodal areas (p = 0.037) at diagnosis were factors statistically significant for the development of cytopenia. During cytopenias, 55% of patients died. Conclusions: LOHT constitutes a cause of morbidity and mortality in 2.5% of lymphoma patients treated with different therapy regimens.

18f-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography Versus Bone Marrow Biopsy for the Evaluation of Bone Marrow Infiltration in Newly Diagnosed Lymphoma Patients

ABSTRACT Background: Bone marrow evaluation (BME) is crucial for establishing an accurate staging and prognosis in lymphoma patients. Objective: The objective of the study was to study the diagnostic performance of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (FDG PET-CT) against bone marrow biopsy (BMB) for BME. Methods: Five hundred patient files of newly diagnosed lymphoma patients treated at an academic medical center were reviewed for BME at diagnosis by BMB and FDG PET-CT. Diagnostic performance of FDG PET-CT for detecting bone marrow infiltration (BMI) was assessed, as well as clinical predictors for positive BMB and positive FDG PET-CT. Results: BMB was positive in 16.3% of all patients, and 28.7% had a positive FDG PET-CT for BMI. Overall, the sensitivity of FDG PET-CT was 74.1% and specificity 80.1%. As for predictors for BMB and FDG PET-CT positivity, B symptoms and thrombocytopenia were independent factors for BMI. Seventy-four patients had discordant results between BMB and FDG PET-CT, non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) having the most significant discordance. This discrepancy did not affect treatment. Conclusions: FDG PET-CT shows excellent performance for the detection of BMI in Hodgkin lymphoma. For diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, we recommend performing BMB and FDG PET-CT as complementary tests. In all other NHL, a unilateral BMB is mandatory at diagnosis.

Hemangioendotelioma epitelioide y fusiforme de ganglio linfático: Caso clínico / Spindle and epithelioid hemangio-endothelioma of the lymph node: Report of one case

Background: Primary vascular tumors of lymph nodes are extremely rare with the exception of AlDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma. The diagnosis of epithelioid hemangio-endothelioma (EH) is difficult to make without ancillary studies, since it is devoid of morphological features indicating its vascular nature and it may be overlooked when it appears as a primary tumor of lymph nodes. Spindle and epithelioid hemangio-endothelioma (SEH) is considered to be a variant of EH, which has been reported to occur exclusively in lymph nodes and the spleen. We report a 70-year-old male with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and left cervical lymphadenopathy. An excisional biopsy was performed, and microscopically the lymph node showed effacement of nodal architecture by a tumor composed of spindle cells disposed in intersecting fascicles, and characterized by abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm, elongated nuclei and conspicuous nucleoli. A second population of cells had an epithelioid appearance with intracyto-plasmic vacuoles containing red blood cells. lmmunohistochemically, the tumor cells were positive for CD31 and CD34. The final diagnosis was SEH of the lymph node.

Hialohifomicosis cutánea en un paciente con leucemia linfoblástica / Cutaneous hyalohyphomycosis in a patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Las infecciones fúngicas causadas por Aspergillus sp. y Candida sp. son causa importante de morbilidad y mortalidad en pacientes gravemente inmunodeficientes, especialmente en aquellos con neutropenia o receptores de trasplante de médula ósea o de órganos sólidos. Informamos sobre una hialohifomicosis cutánea en una mujer de 24 años de edad con leucemia linfoblástica.

Invasive fungal infections most frequently caused by Aspergillus sp. and Candida sp. are significant causes of morbidity and mortality in severely immunocompromised patients, especially those who are neutropenic or who have undergone bone marrow or solid-organ transplant. We report a case of cutaneous hyalohyphomycosis in a 24-year-old female with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Linfomas plasmoblásticos del tracto gastrointestinal en pacientes con sida / Plasmablastic lymphoma of the gastrointestinal tract in AIDS patients

Los pacientes con infección por el virus de inmunodeficiencia humana (HIV) tienen 200 veces más riesgo de desarrollar un linfoma no Hodgkin (LNH) con respecto a la población general. El linfoma plasmoblástico (LP) representa menos del 3% de todos los LNH asociados con el HIV. El objetivo de este estudio es informar las características clínico-patológicas de 5 pacientes con enfermedad HIV/sida y LP del tracto gastrointestinal. Se revisaron de forma retrospectiva los casos de LP del tracto gastrointestinal diagnosticados en el Instituto Nacional de Cancerología de la Ciudad de México en el periodo comprendido entre los años 2000 al 2009. Se analizaron las características clínico-patológicas y se realizaron cortes de bloques de tejidos embebidos en parafina para reacciones de inmunohistoquímica. La presencia del virus de Epstein Barr (VEB) se examinó por reacción en cadena de la polimerasa (PCR) in situ. De los cinco pacientes, cuatro fueron hombres y una mujer, con una mediana de edad de 29 años. Tres tumores se localizaron en la región anorrectal, uno en colon ascendente y el restante en el estómago. Histológicamente, todos los tumores se caracterizaron por una proliferación difusa de células grandes de aspecto plasmoblástico. Las células neoplásicas fueron CD 138/MUM-1 positivas y CD 20 / PAX-5 negativas. En cuatro pacientes se detectó el genoma del VEB en las células neoplásicas mediante PCR in situ. La mediana de seguimiento fue 18 meses; tres pacientes estaban vivos con enfermedad y dos sobreviven sin evidencias de la neoplasia. El diagnóstico precoz de LP como una entidad clínico-patológica es importante para establecer el tratamiento correcto y mejorar el pronóstico de estos pacientes.

The risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is 200 times higher in HIV-positive patients than otherwise healthy persons. Plasmablastic lymphoma (PL) represents < 3% of all NHL associated with HIV infection. The aim of this study was to review the clinical-pathologic features of PL of the gastrointestinal tract in 5 patients with HIV/aids disease. We performed a retrospective study of PL of the gastrointestinal tract diagnosed at the National Institute of Cancer at Mexico City, from 2000 to 2009. Clinical and pathological information was obtained and immunohistochemical studies were performed in paraffin-embedded tissue sections. The presence of Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) was examined by in situ polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Four male and 1 female were included with a median of age of 29 years. Three tumors involved the ano-rectal area, one tumor the ascendant colon and one tumor the stomach. All tumors were histologically characterized by a monotonous proliferation of large lymphoid cell with plasmablastic features. Tumor cells were CD 138 / MUM-1positive and CD 20 / PAX-5 negative in all cases. EVB genome was detected by in situ PCR in 4 cases. The median of follow-up was 18 months, and revealed that three patients are alive with neoplasm disease and two patients are still alive with no evidence of the neoplasm. Recognition of this entity by pathologists and clinicians is important in order to establish the correct diagnosis and the early treatment of these patients.

Pólipos no neoplásicos del colon / Non-neoplastic colonic polyps

Los pólipos no neoplásicos son lesiones mucosas o submucosas de carácter benigno que tienen componentes histológicos que normalmente existen en la estructura de colon, algunas de ellas se clasifican como hamartomas. En diez años se resecaron 187 pólipos en 96 pacientes (46 femeninos) con edad promedio de 49.3 años y rango de 2 a 82. La indicación clínica más frecuente fue la hemorragia (37 por ciento), excluyendo a los pólipos hiperplásicos que fueron los encontrados con mayor frecuencia (41 por ciento), seguidos por los juveniles o de retención (25 por ciento) y de inflamatorio (18 por ciento). La mayoría tuvo pólipos únicos (71 por ciento) y las hamartomas tendieron a presentar pólipos múltiples (39 por ciento). Los pólipos juveniles se presentaron en el hemicolon izquierdo (91.4 por ciento), y con la edad promedio más corta, 13.2 años y tuvieron la mayor tendencia a la hemorragia (21/25), los lipomas tenían el promedio de edad más alto (52.5 años), los hiperplásicos fueron encontrados en pacientes con trastornos funcionales digestivos (29/40). No hubo complicaciones mayores ni mortalidad en esta serie.