New di-spirocyclic labdane diterpenoids from the aerial parts of Leonurus japonicus / 中国天然药物

Phytochemical investigation on the ethanol extract of a well-known medicinal herb Leonurus japonicus, led to the separation of 18 labdane type diterpenoids (1-18). Through comprehensive spectroscopic analyses and quantum chemical calculations, these compounds were structurally characterized as six new interesting 5,5,5-di-spirocyclic ones (1-6), two new (7 and 8) and six known (13-18) interesting 6,5,5-di-spirocyclic ones, a new rare 14,15-dinor derivative (9), and three new ones incorporating a γ-lactone unit (10-12). An in vitro neuroprotective assay in RSC96 cells revealed that compounds 7 and 12 exhibited neuroprotective activity in a concentration-dependent way, comparable to the reference drug N-acetylcysteine.

Clinical characteristics of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) complicated with ischemic bowel disease / 中华内科杂志

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a rare acquired hematopoietic stem cell disease. Gastrointestinal involvement is rarely seen in PNH. This study aims to analyze the clinical features in PNH patients complicated with ischemic bowel disease. Clinical date of 6 patients were collected at Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 2010 to December 2020. The clinical manifestations, laboratory tests,imaging, endoscopic,and histopathological features and treatment were analyzed.Five in 6 patients were men, with a median age of 31 years old at onset. Most of disease course were recurrent episodes of chronic disease, with abdominal pain (5/6) and gastrointestinal bleeding (5/6). Laboratory examinations showed pancytopenia, reticulocytosis, elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase, high D-dimer and C-reactive protein levels in all patients. Multiple segments of small intestine were the most commonly involved and colon was also affected. Abdominal CT scan showed thickening and roughness or exudation of the intestinal wall (6/6), increased mesenteric density or “comb sign”(4/6), and cholestasis or gallbladder stones (5/6). Endoscopic manifestations included irregular shallow ulcers in the annular cavity (5/6), swelling mucosa with well-defined margins (6/6). Pathological biopsy revealed chronic inflammation of mucosa. The efficacy of steroids combined with anticoagulant therapy was better than that of steroids alone. Ischemic bowel disease in PNH patients is different from typical ischemic enteritis. Young patients, involvement of intestine with multiple segments are common characteristics. The anticoagulant is an essential agent for these patients.

Erdheim-Chester Disease: Case Report / 罕见病研究

Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) is a rare non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis characterized by the infiltration of bone and multiple organs by foamy lipid-laden histiocytes. ECD is easy to be misdiagnosed due to its complicated clinical manifestations. We report a patient who visited the hospital due to hypothalamic dysfunction, with central nervous system, pancreas, and lower limb bones involvements. Together with the evidence of clinical manifestations, imaging and pathology, this patient was diagnosed with ECD. After treatment with interferon-α, both the clinical symptoms and imaging manifestations of this patient were significantly improved.

The 487th case: prominent eyes, headache, blurred vision / 中华内科杂志

One 51 years old man was admitted to the rheumatology department with a history of prominent eyes, headache and blurred vision for half year. The main manifestations included retrobulbar inflammatory pseudotumor and retroperitoneal fibrosis. He was initially diagnosed as granulomatosis with polyangiitis. Prednisone and cyclophosphamide were administrated and effective. New mass of dura mater and osteosclerosis presented during follow up. Finally Erdheim Chester disease(ECD) was diagnosed by biopsy and pathological examination. Vemurafenib, a v-raf murine sarcoma viral oncogenes homolog B1 (BRAF) inhibitor, 480 mg was given twice a day. The patient′s condition is stable and still in follow-up. Although ECD is a rare histiocytosis, clinicians should pay attention to its manifestations and differential diagnoses.

Anti-myelin-associated glycoprotein antibody positive IgM monoclonal gammopathy related peripheral neuropathy: 11 cases and literature review / 中华血液学杂志

Objective@#To improve the understanding of rare anti-myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) positive IgM monoclonal gammopathy related peripheral neuropathy (IgM-PN) .@*Methods@#Eleven cases of IgM paraproteinemia and anti-MAG antibody positive neuropathy diagnosed since 2014 in Peking Medical Union College Hospital were summarized. The medical records including clinical manifestation, lab results, treatment and prognosis were analyzed.@*Results@#Among the 11 patients (8 male and 3 female) , the median onset age is 63 years old (range from 52 to 77 years old) . The peripheral neuropathy of 9 patients were characterized by distal onset of numbness, 6 patients suffered from muscle weakness. The nerve conduction velocity study indicated that all 11 patients had demyelinating peripheral nerve damage, which was sensory predominant and more severe in lower limbs, 6 of them had secondary axonal damage. Monoclonal IgM gammopathy was identified in all 11 patients, among which 6 were IgM κ, 2 IgG κ and IgM κ bi-clonal, 3 IgM λ. Three patients were diagnosed with Waldenström’s macroglobulinaemia. The anti-MAG-IgM antibody was positive in all 11 cases. After diagnosis, 9 patients received combination chemotherapy including rituximab or rituximab treatment alone. The monoclonal IgM level declined significantly in 7 patients. The neuropathy was stable or improved.@*Conclusions@#Anti-MAG antibody positive IgM-PN is a rare M protein related disease. In peripheral neuropathy with undetermined etiology, we suggest to screen M protein and anti-MAG antibody. Chemotherapy including rituximab or rituximab alone is recommended as first-line therapy.

Efficacy observation of lenalidomide and rituximab in treatment of relapsed/refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma / 白血病·淋巴瘤

Objective To evaluate the safety and efficacy of lenalidomide plus rituximab in treatment of the patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL). Methods The clinical data of the patients with relapsed/refractory B-NHL after the varieties of treatment methods in Peking Union Medical College Hospital between January 2015 and December 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. All the patients were treated with R2 regimen: oral lenalidomide (25 mg/d for day 1-day 21) and rituximab (375 mg/m2 of intravenous infusion on day 1, 28-day of each cycle); the efficacy was evaluated after three cycles. After this induction phase, the patients achieving complete response (CR), partial response (PR), or stable disease (SD) were given R2 regimen until the end of 8 cycles. The major end point was overall response rate (ORR) defined as CR + PR. Secondary end point included 1-year progression free survival (PFS), 1-year overall survival (OS) and grade 3-4 adverse events. T cell and B cell subsets of 7 patients at baseline were measured, and T cell and B cell subsets of 13 patients with good efficacy were dynamically observed. Results A total of 49 patients who received 1-4 chemotherapy regimens were included. The ORR after the R2 treatment for 3 courses was 65% (32/49). Thirty-six patients (9 cases of CR, 22 cases of PR, 5 cases of SD) were enrolled in R2 maintenance treatment. The median follow-up time was 13 months, 1-year PFS rate was 61% and 1-year OS rate was 84% . The most common adverse event was bone marrow suppression, including grade 3-4 neutropenia (27% ), grade 3-4 thrombocytopenia (6% ) and grade 4 anemia (4% ), most of which could be controlled by prolonging interval cycles or reduced lenalidomide dosage. The decreased number of CD19+B cell after treatment could be seen in 13 patients who obtained good efficacy under the dynamic observation. Conclusion Lenalidomide plus rituximab is well tolerated and highly active in the treatment of relapsed/refractory B-NHL.

Immunoglobulin G4-related diseases mimics Rosai-Dorfman diseases: a series of 6 cases in China / 中华风湿病学杂志

Objective To summarize the clinical and pathologic characteristics of patients with RosaiDorfman disease (RDD) mimicking immunoglobulin (Ig) G4-related disease (IgG4-RD).Methods Retrospectively analyze the clinical manifestations,laboratory tests,pathologic features,treatment and prognosis of RDD patients whose clinical presentations mimicked IgG4-RD in Peking Union Medical College Hospital during January 2015 to June 2017.Results Six RDD patients mimicking IgG4-RD were described,which accounted for 1.5％ of the 450 registered IgG4-RD patients.All patients were male,with the median age of 53 year and the median disease duration of 12 months.All patients had extra-nodal involvements,of which the locations included spinal cord (3/6),intracranial (2/6),skin (2/6) and liver (1/6).Increased serum IgG4 (＞1 350 mg/L) was found in 4 cases (1 360-6 410 mg/L).Seven specimens were obtained from these patients.The number of IgG4-positive plasma cells was found to be more than 50 per HPF in 3 cases,30 per HPF in 1 case.The IgG4/IgG ratio was 40％ in 2 specimens,between 10％ and 30％ in 2 specimens and 10％ in 2 specimens.All patients were treated by glucocorticoids and 4 of them were treated with combined cyclophosphamide.Five patients got partial remission by these treatments while 1 patient withdrew from further follow up.Conclusion RDD is one of the mimics of IgG4-RD.There are several differences in lab tests and pathologic features between RDD and IgG4-RD.Before the IgG4-RD is diagnosed,RDD should be excluded by specific pathologic manifestations at the first place.

Oral melphalan plus high-dose dexamethasone as first-line therapy for patients with primary light chain amyloidosis / 中华血液学杂志

Objective@#To evaluate the response of oral melphalan plus high-dose dexamethasone (MDex) for patients with primary light chain amyloidosis (pAL).@*Methods@#Clinical data, hematological and organ responses, and survival of 76 patients with pAL who had received MDex from January 2009 to July 2017 were retrospectively analyzed.@*Results@#Of 76 patients (47 males and 29 females with the median age of 56 [range, 20-74] years old), 19.70% patients were defined as Mayo 2004 stage 3, involvement of more than or two organs was presented in 65 (85.53%) patients. Among 60 response evaluable patients, overall hematological response was 48.33% with complete response of 20.00% and very good partial response of 20.00%, respectively. The median time to the hematological response was 5 (range, 1-15) months. 36.67% patients achieved organ response. After the median follow up of 23(range, 1-113) months for surviving patients, median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 34 and 43 months, respectively. In a three months landmark analysis, the median rates of PFS and OS were 46 and 65 months, respectively. The median OS rates of patients with Mayo 2004 stage 3 and non Mayo 2004 stage 3 were 5 and 65 months (P=0.001), respectively.@*Conclusions@#MDex was an effective treatment for patients with early stage pAL, but was not suitable for those with severe cardiac involvement.

Posaconazole as primary prevention of fungal infection in intensive immunosuppressive therapy for severe aplastic anemia / 中华血液学杂志

Objective@#To Evaluate the efficacy and safety of posaconazole as primary prevention of invasive fungal disease (IFD) in patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) treated with anti-thymus/lymphocyte immunoglobulin (ATG/ALG) combined with cyclosporine intensive immunosuppressive therapy (IST).@*Methods@#A retrospective analysis of clinical data of 58 SAA patients who received IST of anti-thymocyte immunoglobulin combining cyclosporine and antifungal prophylaxis during April 2013 to May 2017 in Peking Union Medical College Hospital was performed. The patients were divided into posaconazole prophylaxis group and the control group (itraconazole or fluconazole). The disease characteristics, IFD prevention effect and adverse drug reaction, curative effect and prognosis of the two groups were compared.@*Results@#Posaconazole was used to prevent fungal infection in 20 patients. The other 38 patients were used as the control group. Retrospective analysis showed comparable characteristics (gender, age, disease severity, etiology, interval between the onset of disease to treatment, ATG/ALG type) of both groups. The incidence of IFD were 0 and 15.8% in posaconazole prophylaxis group and the control group, respectively (P=0.084). In the control group, there were 6 cases diagnosed as IFD. Of them, 2 were confirmed, 2 suspected and 2 not identified. Five of the 6 cases were pulmonary infection, 1 bloodstream infections. Of the 6 IFD cases, 5 were very severe aplastic anemia (VSAA). There was no obvious adverse reaction in posaconazole prophylaxis group.@*Conclusion@#Posaconazole is safe and effective for primary prevention of fungal infection of SAA patients receiving IST, especially for the VSAA.

The application of modified capillary immunotyping technique for cryoglobulin identification / 中华检验医学杂志

Objective To establish and evaluate the application of modified capillary immunotyping for cryoglobulin qualification .Methods Referred to literature and benchwork experience , a modified capillary immunotyping technique was set up for cryoglobulin identification . Seventy-eight cryoglobulin positive specimens were collected by a standard method in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from November 2016 to July 2017.Thirty-nine samples were identified the type of the cryoglobulin simultaneously by modified capillary immunotyping ( CI ) and immunofixation electrophoresis ( IFE ) .Results Using the modified capillary immunotyping method , the types of cryoglobulin in seventy-eight specimens were identified.The number of cases decreased in the order of Ⅲ, Ⅱ and Ⅰ type of cryoglobulin .The clinical characteristics coincidence with previous reports .The modified CI method had a dramatic advantage in the speed, clarity, and accuracy of results compared with IFE .The ratio of reportable cases between these two methods was 1:0.87.Conclusion The modified capillary immunotyping was an accurate and easy method for cryoglobulin qualification , and feasible for clinical application .

Bing-Neel syndrome: 3 cases report and a review of the literature / 中华血液学杂志

Objective@#To evaluate the clinical characteristics, diagnosis criteria, treatment and prognosis in patients with Bing-Neel Syndrome (BNS) .@*Methods@#The clinical characteristics, lab data, treatment and outcomes of 3 Bing-Neel syndrome patients diagnosed at Peking Union Medical College Hospital were collected.@*Results@#The clinical presentation was heterogeneous without any specific common signs or symptoms. One patient was diagnosed with BNS 42 months after diagnosis of Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytology and flow cytometry, but dead of infection during the first course of chemotherapy. BNS was the first manifestation of WM in the other 2 cases. They were diagnosed by flow cytometry and cytology of CSF. The detection of MYD88L265P mutation in CSF contributed to diagnosis and to sequential monitoring of minimal residual disease. They received systemic chemotherapy of FC (fludarabine + cyclophosphamide) ± rituximab and intrathecal therapy, followed by maintenance therapy of chlorambucil or R2 (rituximab + lenalidomide) . They were followed 17 and 20 months respectively without progression of disease.@*Conclusion@#The diagnosis approach of BNS should be based on a combination of CSF cytology, flow cytometry and detection of the MYD88L265P mutation. The detection of MYD88L265P mutation may be useful in the monitoring of minimal residual disease.

A retrospective study of the BiRd regimen in the treatment of relapsed/ refractory multiple myeloma / 中华血液学杂志

Objective@#To evaluate efficacy of the BiRd regimen, a combination of clarithromycin, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone, in the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) .@*Methods@#Patients with RRMM treated with BiRd between September 11, 2013 and August 1, 2016 at six centers were included to evaluate overall survival rate (ORR) , clinical benefit rate (CBR) , progression-free survival (PFS) , overall survival (OS) , as well as adverse events.@*Results@#Of 30 patients with RRMM, 27 patients were evaluable, and ORR and CBR were 51.9% (14/27) and 66.7% (18/27) respectively, including 1 sCR (3.7%) , 3 CR (11.1%) , 3 VGPR (11.1%) , and 7 PR (25.6%) . In 13 patients with prior Rd, ORR and CBR were 38.5% (5/13) and 61.5% (8/13) respectively, of which 5 patients with ≥MR carried high-risk cytogenetic[ (e.g.17p- or t (4;14) ] together with at least one of other adverse-prognostic cytogenetic (e.g.13q- and/or 1q21+) . In 24 patients with prior bortezomib-based therapy, ORR and CBR were 45.8 and 62.5%, respectively. With a median follow-up time of 14.9 (range 1.0-33.8) months, the median PFS and OS were 12.0 (95%CI 11.6-12.4) and 27.6 (95%CI 15.1-40.1) months, respectively. The BiRd regimen was well tolerated.@*Conclusion@#The BiRd regimen is an effective and safety protocol for RRMM, including those carrying high-risk cytogenetic markers.

Clinical features and prognosis of 17 patients with primary cold agglutinin disease / 中华血液学杂志

Objective@#To explore the clinical characteristics, treatment and prognosis in 17 patients with primary cold agglutinin disease (CAD) .@*Methods@#Clinical data, treatment and survival status of 17 patients diagnosed with primary cold agglutinin disease in Peking Union Medical College Hospital during April 2007 to October 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. The MYD88L265P mutation was tested in 4 patients.@*Results@#The median age of 17 patients was 67 years (range, 51-86 years) , and male- to female ratio was 1.1∶1. Seven patients were diagnosed with indolent lymphoma, including 3 Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia/lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (WM/LPL) , 2 small lymphocytic lymphoma/chronic lymphocytic leukemia (SLL/CLL) , and 2 splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) . 15 patients experienced anemia. The median HGB level was 67 (35-127) g/L. 11 patients had cold agglutinin (CA) titers ≥1∶64, with median CA of 1∶1 024. MYD88L265P mutation was detected in 1 patient. 12 patients received drug therapy: 7 were treated with glucocorticoid-based therapy and 1 patient responded to treatment; 5 received rituximab-based therapy and 3 patients responded to treatment. With a median follow-up of 14 (0.5-96) months, the median overall survival was not reached.@*Conclusion@#Clinical manifestations of CAD are various, and diagnosis is dependent on CA testing. The efficacy of glucocorticoid-based therapy is limited, and rituximab is recommended for CAD treatment.

Evaluation of clinical characteristics, MYD88L265P mutation, CXCR4WHIM mutation and prognosis in Waldenström macroglobulinemia: A single center retrospective study of 93 patients / 中华血液学杂志

Objective@#To evaluate the clinical characteristics, MYD88L265P mutation, CXCR4WHIM mutation and prognosis in patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM).@*Methods@#The clinical characteristics, International Prognostic Scoring System for symptomatic WM (WPSS) , and overall survival (OS) were retrospectively assayed in 93 patients with newly diagnosed WM at Peking Union Medical College Hospital during January 2000 to August 2016. The MYD88L265P mutation and CXCR4WHIM mutation were tested among 34 patients.@*Results@#The median age of the 93 patients was 64 years (range, 33-85 years) with a male-to-female ratio of 2.44. According to WPSS, we included 16 (17.2%) low-risk, 44 (47.3%) intermediate-risk and 33 (35.5%) high-risk patients. Eight patients had secondary amyloidosis. With a median follow-up of 44 (1-201) months, the median OS was 84 months. Cox regression multifactor analysis showed WPSS risk group (HR=2.342, 95% CI 1.111-4.950, P=0.025) , whether patients had secondary amyloidosis (HR=5.538, 95% CI 1.958-15.662, P=0.001) and whether patients received new drugs (HR=3.392, 95% CI 1.531-7.513, P=0.003) were independent factors associated with OS. We have investigated the presence of the MYD88L265P and CXCR4WHIM mutation in 34 patients and found that MYD88L265P mutation was occurred in 32 patients (94.1%) and CXCR4WHIM mutation was occurred in 8 patients (23.5%). Seven of 8 patients who harbored CXCR4WHIM-mutated also exhibited the MYD88L265P mutation. Patients with MYD88L265PCXCR4WHIM vs MYD88L265PCXCR4WT presented with more severe anemia, lower platelet level, higher M protein level and more hyper-viscosity syndrome.@*Conclusion@#WPSS risk group, whether patients had secondary amyloidosis or received new drugs are independent factors for OS in WM. MYD88L265P and CXCR4WHIM mutation, the most common somatic variants in WM, often occur together and impact the clinical presentation.

Analysis of clinical characteristics and outcome of patients with very high risk primary immunoglobulin light-chain amyloidosis / 中华血液学杂志

Objective@#To evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of very high risk patients with primary immunoglobulin light-chain amyloidosis (pAL) at a single center in China.@*Method@#Clinical data, treatment and outcome of 205 pAL patients in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 2009 to February 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. A 'very high risk’ group includes patients with Mayo 2004 stage Ⅲb and Mayo 2012 stage 4.@*Results@#Of 205 patients, 34 (16.6%) were defined as very high risk pAL patients. The median age at diagnosis was 57 (20-84) years, and 22 patients (64.7%) were male. All 34 patients were diagnosed with cardiac involvement, multi-organ involvement was observed in 15 patients (44.1%) , and 27 (81.8%) had New York Heart Association Class Ⅲ or Ⅳ. Median values of serum cTnI, NT-proBNP, and free light chains difference were 0.25 μg/L, 11 733 ng/L, and 403 mg/L, respectively. Eight (24.2%) had more than 10% plasma cell on the bone marrow aspirate. Sixteen (47.1%) patients received bortezomib based chemotherapy and overall hematologic response rate was 58.3%. Median overall survival (OS) was 4 months. The estimated OS at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months was 51.3%, 44.0%, 35.2%, and 29.6%, respectively. Fourteen (41.2%) patients died within 3 months after the diagnosis. The estimated 1-year survival rate for the patients who got hematologic response, without hematologic response, and palliative treatment was 90.9%, 11.1%, and 0, respectively (P<0.001) .@*Conclusion@#Patients with very high risk pAL had very poor prognosis and the early death rate remained high. Those patients who obtained hematologic remission would have significantly better outcomes.

The usage of Mayo staging system in Chinese patients with primary light chain amyloidosis / 中华血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the usage of Mayo staging system in Chinese patients with primary light chain (LC) amyloidosis.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Clinical data, treatment and outcome of 162 primary LC amyloidosis patients with Mayo Clinic staging in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 2009 to June 2015 were retrospectively analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The median age of 162 patients with Mayo Clinic 2004 stage was 57 (20-81) y, of them 62.3% were male. The number of patients with stage I to III were 44 (27.2%), 69 (42.6%), and 49 (30.2%), respectively. The median overall survival was not reached, 23 months and 12 months in patients with Mayo Clinic 2004 stage I, II, and III, respectively (P<0.001). Among 128 patients with Mayo Clinic 2012 stage, 48 patients (37.5%), 32 patients (25.0%), 32 patients (25.0%) and 16 patients (12.5%) were staged as Mayo Clinic 2012 stage 1 to 4, and the median OS was not reached, not reached, 13 months and 3 months, respectively (P<0.001).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Mayo Clinic staging systems had important prognostic value in patients with primary LC amyloidosis.</p>

Classification of amyloidosis by laser micro-dissection and mass spectrometry based proteomic analysis / 中华血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To establish a novel method to determine specific type of amyloidosis through laser microdissection and mass spectrometry (LMD/MS) based proteomic analysis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>There were 138 formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) biopsy samples of patients who were diagnosed as systemic amyloidosis used in this study. For each case, a 10 μm section stained with congo-red and positive amyloid deposits were identified under fluorescent light, followed by micro-dissection and mass spectrometry analysis. The amyloidosis subtype was confirmed based on the most abundant amyloid protein.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The tissue types of 138 specimens were as following: subcutaneous abdominal fat accounted for 26%, tongue for 19%, gingiva for 11%, kidney for 9%, intestine for 9%, heart for 6% and others for 20%. Specific types of amyloid were accurately detected in 121 cases, including 106 (87.6%) amyloid light chain (AL) type, 7 (5.8%) amyloid trans-thy-retin (ATTR), 2 (1.7%) amyloidogenic protein A (AA), 2 (1.7%) amyloid heavy chain (AH)/AL+AH, 2 (1.7%) fibrinogen alpha chain (AFib), 1(0.8%) amyloid apolipoprotein A-type II (AApoA-II) and one (0.8%) amyloid lysozyme (ALys). Diagnosis of amyloidosis was excluded in 5 cases. The types of twelve cases were indeterminate by LMD/MS. On the whole, LMD/MS reached 91.3% accuracy rate in amyloid typing. Commonly involved organs (for example, heart, kidney and liver) turned out to be suitable sources of FFPE samples with typing success rate of almost 100%. In contrast, MS analysis was successful in only 83.3% of subcutaneous abdominal fat samples.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>LMD/MS method provided a more direct technique for accurate typing of amyloidosis in a single procedure.</p>

Safety of polyethylene glycol conjugated L-asparaginase in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and T cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma / 中华血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the safety of polyethylene glycol conjugated L-asparaginase (PEG-Asp) for patients with adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and T cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (T-NHL).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 101 young patients (≤40 years old) with ALL and T-NHL, diagnosed at Peking Union Medical College Hospital between January 2012 and June 2014.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 480 doses of PEG-Asp were administered in 44 cases with ALL and 57 patients with T-NHL. Only one patient (0.2%) experienced mild allergic reaction. Other grade 3 or 4 toxicities of non-hematologic effects included low level of fibrogen (6.4%), elevated ALT (4.4%), blood glucose (2.3%), and triglyceridemia (2.3%), decreased albumin (0.8%) and elevated amylase (0.2%). Furthermore, 5 cases (1.0%) developed venous thrombosis, 9 cases (1.9%) hemorrage, 1 patient (0.2%) non-necrosis pancretitis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The risk of allergic reaction incurred by PEG-Asp is very low. It can be used safely in ALL and T-NHL. Coagulation status should be monitored during the treatment.</p>

Diagnostic value of three evaluation methods of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT in detecting bone marrow infiltration in patients with newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma / 中华血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate three methods of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT in detecting bone marrow infiltration in patients with newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Seventy-seven patients with newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma from July 2012 to June 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients received both ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT scan and bone marrow biopsy in the region of the posterior iliac crests. There were three evaluation methods of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT to detect bone marrow infiltration, including visual comparison (the FDG uptake in bone marrow of iliac crests was higher than the normal liver tissue), the maximal standardized uptake values (SUV(max)) in bone marrow of iliac crests (more than or equal to 2.5), the ratio of maximal standardized uptake values of iliac crests bone marrow to liver parenchyma intensity (more than 1). All results were compared with the bone marrow biopsy.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Visual comparison of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT could be used to diagnose bone marrow infiltration, with the sensitivity of 100.00%, specificity of 80.00%, positive predictive value of 48.00%, and negative predictive value of 100.00%. When the SUV(max) of iliac crests was used as the diagnostic threshold, the sensitivity was 75.00%, with 92.31% specificity, 64.29% positive predictive value, and 95.24% negative predictive value. The ratio of SUV(max) had the best diagnostic efficiency, with sensitivity of 100.00%, specificity of 90.77%, positive predictive value of 66.67%, and negative predictive value of 100.00%.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The ratio of SUV(max) is a valuable diagnostic method in detecting diffuse large B-cell lymphoatic bone marrow involvement.</p>

Clinical characteristics and outcome of patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma / 中华血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the characteristics, treatment and outcome of patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma （PCNSL）.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 37 patients with PCNSL treated in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from June 1999 to June 2012 were enrolled into this retrospective study. The clinical characteristics, results of treatment and prognostic factors were analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The median age of 37 patients with PCNSL at diagnosis was 57 years（range 17 to 78 years） with a male to female ratio of 2.7:1. The symptoms or signs of elevated intracranial pressure and cognitive dysfunction were the most common initial manifestations. The median time period between onset of symptoms and diagnosis was 1.5 months. The majority of lesions were located in the cerebral hemisphere. At a median follow-up of 50 months, the median overall survival for all treated patients was 36.0 months （95% CI 21.7-50.3 months）, with a progression-free survival of 18.0 months（95% CI 9.1-26.9 months）. The 3-year cumulative survival rate was 46.9%. Compared to chemotherapy alone, combined-modality regimens which did not improve outcome were associated with a greater risk of neurotoxicity.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The prognosis of PCNSL was still poor, and the optimal treatment strategy for these patients should be explored in the future clinical trials.</p>