The First Switched Time of PML/RARα Fusion Gene in Patients with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia and Its Clinical Significance / 中国实验血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the first switched time of PML/RARα fusion gene in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) and its clinical significance.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>sixty cases of newly diagnosed APL were enrolled in this study. They received standard remission induction, consolidation and maintenance treatments according to the clinical pathway for APL, and were followed up. During the same time the PML/RARα fusion gene mRNA expression of all cases was detected by multi-nested PCR.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>except for 3 death cases and 1 case failed to follow-up, the PML/RARα fusion genes in the remaining 56 cases were firstly found to be negative from 24 to 381 days respectively, the mean value of the first switched time was 131 ± 90 days. There was no statistically significant difference in age, sex and risk stratification between different groups. However, the cases with L-type PML/RARα gene had shorter time compared with the patients with S-type PML/RARα gene (P = 0.032); then, for the above-mentimed 56 cases, the follow-up duration ranged from 25-1979 days (median 946 days), long-term molecular remissions had been observed in most cases, but 1 case with the first switched time of 133 days unfortunately recurred to be positive and followed by clinical relapse.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The PML/RARα fusion gene in newly diagnosed APL patients was first switched to be negative in about 4 months after treatment. The first switched time of PML/RARα fusion gene can objectively reflect the reduction of leukemia cells, and the differences among different subtypes of PML/RARα fusion gene may have some suggestions for the treatment, but without important significance for the evaluation of prognosis and recurrence for APL patients. In addition, minimal residual disease (MRD) can be dynamically monitored by detecting PML/RARα fusion gene, thus having an important clinical significance for analysis of APL recurrence.</p>

Correlation of the Desialylation of Platelets with Efficacy of the First-line Therapy for ITP / 中国实验血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To detect desialylation of platelets in primary immune thrombocytopenia(ITP) patients with FITC-labelled ECL and RCA-1, and compare the correlation of the desialylation level and the efficacy of first-line therapy for ITP.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Before treatment, 48 ITP patients were selected and their levels of ECL and RCA-1 were detected with flow cytometry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The desialylation level in the different efficacy groups by using the first-line therapy of corticosteroids and (or) intravenous immunoglobulin G (IVIG) had a statistically significant difference (P<0.05). The correlation analysis showed negative relation of the therapeutic efficacy with desialylation level, that is to say, the more high of desialylation level, the more poor therapeutic efficacy of the first-line therapy.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The desialylation level of platelets in ITP patients is related with the first-line therapeutic efficacy, the efficacy for patients with high desialylation level is poor, suggesting that the FcR-independent pathway exists in clearance of platelets in ITP patients. Therefore, the desialylation level of platelets may suggest the first-line therapeutic efficacy for ITP patients to a certain degree, and may be used as a potential target for the treatment of refractory ITP.</p>