Is flow cytometry useful in determining central nervous system involvement in patients with hematological malignancy? Analysis with a prospective cohort.

Central nervous system (CNS) involvement occurs in approximately 5-15% of patients in hematological malignancies. Early diagnosis and treatment is essential for a successful approach to CNS involvement. The gold standard method for diagnosis is cytological evaluation, but its sensitivity is low. Flow cytometry (FCM) from cerebrospinal fluid(CSF) is another method used to identify small groups of cells with abnormal phenotype. In our study, we compared FCM and cytological findings in the evaluation of CNS involvement in our patients with hematological malignancies. 90 patients [58 males, 32 females] were included in the study. CNS involvement was positive in 35(%38.9) patients, negative in 48(%53.3) patients, and suspicious (atypical) in 7(%7.8) patients by flow cytometry and it was positive in 24(%26.7) patients, negative in 63(%70) patients, and atypical in 3(%3.3) patients by cytology. While the sensitivity and specificity were found to be respectively 68.5% and 100% by cytology, it was found to be 94.2% and 85.4% by flow cytometry. Flow cytometry, cytology and MR findings were significantly correlated with each other in both prophylaxis (p < 0.001) and patients with prediagnosis of CNS involvement. Although the gold standard diagnostic method in the diagnosis of CNS involvement is cytological, its sensitivity is low and it can give false negative results at a rate of 20-60%. Flow cytometry is an ideal objective and quantitative method for identifying small groups of cells with abnormal phenotype. Flow cytometry can be used routinely in the diagnosis of CNS involvement in patients with hematological malignancies with cytology, since it can detect fewer malignant cells, has a higher sensitivity, and provides easy and faster results.

Is comprehensive geriatric testing guiding in the identification of multiple myeloma patients who are candidates for autologous stem cell transplantation? A prospective analysis.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematological malignancy of older adults. This study aimed to investigate the differences in performance, comorbidity scores, and comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) before and after induction therapy in newly diagnosed MM patients, as well as the factors that may be associated with improved performance status after induction therapy. Thirty-seven consecutive patients aged 50 years and older, who were newly diagnosed with MM, were included in the study. The patients underwent performance status evaluation and CGA when first diagnosed and after 4 cycles of induction chemotherapy. The performance status of 11 patients (40.7%) changed after induction therapy. Improvement in performance status was significantly lower in patients who were frail according to the Fried frailty criteria and IMWG scores (60% vs. 25%, p = 0.04), (30.0% vs. 6.2%, p = 0.02), taking more than 2 medications due to comorbidities (p = 0.01, confidence interval 0.06-0.09) and those with renal involvement (80.0% vs. 18.7%, p = 0.002). Those with bone involvement were more prevalent among the patients whose performance status improved (87.5% and 50.0%, p = 0.03). This study demonstrated that performance status might improve after induction therapy. Results suggest that CGA before induction therapy can predict performance status change. These results might have implications for predicting at the time of diagnosis, whether an MM patient can be a transplant candidate after induction therapy.

Comparison of daily oral iron replacement therapy with every other day treatment in female reproductive age patients with iron-deficiency anemia.

Iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) is accepted as the most common cause of anemia in the world. The main goals of iron replacement therapy are to normalize the hemoglobin level and to replace iron stores. Current guidelines for treating iron deficiency recommend daily divided doses of iron to increase absorption. Hepcidin is a key regulator of systemic iron balance and acts in harmony with intracellular iron metabolism. Daily dosing and divided doses may increase serum hepcidin and decrease iron absorption. In this study, it was aimed to compare the effectiveness of daily and every other day oral iron replacement therapy in women of reproductive age with iron-deficiency anemia. We included premenopausal female patients aged between 18 and 50 years with iron-deficiency anemia. Forty patients were given oral iron therapy at a daily dose of 2*80 mg (iron sulfate). Forty-three patients were given iron treatment at a dose of 2*80 mg (iron sulfate) every other day. After 2 months of oral iron therapy, there was a significant improvement in hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume, serum iron, total iron-binding capacity, and transferrin saturation in both groups. The values of hemoglobin, serum iron, transferrin saturation, and ferritin significantly increased at the end of the treatment for both groups. Although the median hepcidin level on the 15th-day measurement in the every other day treatment group was higher than that in the daily treatment group, there was no significant difference. As a result, the patients' compliance with the treatment can be increased by offering treatment every other day instead of daily, since it provides similar treatment effectiveness.

Hematopoietic Cell Transplant-Composite Risk (HCT-CR): A Novel Predictor of Prognosis in Acute Leukemia Patients Undergoing Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HCT) is a curable treatment modality for hematologic disorders. Transplant-related mortality remains high despite prominent scientific and technologic improvements. In consideration with the potential impact of patient- and disease-related factors on transplant outcome, this retrospective study was performed to investigate the predictive role of pretransplant HCT-composite risk (HCT-CR) score in allo-HCT recipients. METHODS: A total of 313 patients with acute leukemia (male/female: 192/121; median age, 36 [18-71] years) were included in this study. The study cohort was divided into 2 subgroups based on pretransplant HCT-CR categories. The HCT-CRlo group included low-risk patients, and the HCT-CRint-hi group consisted of intermediate-, high-, and very high-risk patients. RESULTS: In the whole cohort, overall survival (OS) and 5-year OS were found to be 32.2% and 45.1%, respectively. Probability of OS was significantly better in the HCT-CRlo group compared with the HCT-CRint-hi group (P < .001). Leukemia-free survival (LFS) and 3-year LFS were 59.5% and 65.1%, respectively. Probability of LFS was better in the HCT-CRlo group compared with the HCT-CRint-hi group (P = .001). Nonrelapse mortality (NRM) and 3-year NRM were estimated to be 38.1% and 27.5%, respectively. Probability of NRM was significantly higher in the HCT-CRint-hi group compared with the HCT-CRlo group (P = .012). In multivariate analysis, HCT-CR was shown to have significant prognostic impact in acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients (P = .023; hazard ratio, 2.613; 95% CI, 1.142-5.982). CONCLUSION: Pretransplant evaluation of patient- and disease-related factors is essential for the accurate prediction of posttransplant survival. Further efforts to evolve current criteria for pretransplant risk assessment would eventuate in better transplant outcomes.

Efficacy of manual lymph drainage plus exercise on range of motion and flexibility in refractory chronic cutaneous graft-versus-host disease: A case report.

Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) is a common complication of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) with high morbidity and mortality rates. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the efficacy of Manual Lymph Drainage (MLD) and a home-based exercise programme on range of motion (ROM) and flexibility in a patient diagnosed with chronic cutaneous GvHD. A 29-year-old male who was diagnosed as acute lymphoblastic leukemia underwent allo-HSCT after induction chemotherapy. He developed extended chronic cutaneous skin GvHD. He received systemic immunosuppressive treatment and Psoralen and ultraviolet radiation (PUVA) for 20 sessions. He was then consulted to physiotherapy department for the limitation of multiple ROM due to severe GvHD. The range of motions of shoulder, elbow, hip, knee and ankle joints were evaluated with universal goniometer. The chair sit, reach and back scratch tests were performed. MLD was applied for 2 weeks. Additionally, exercise recommendations were maintained as a home-programme. After the therapy, ROM values were better in wrist extension and hip abduction/adduction and the back scratch test result improved. According to chair sit and reach tests, the results decreased from 25 to 22cm distance after 2 weeks. With MLD treatment with exercise, ROM has been preserved and even improved in this refractory case. In addition, the flexibility test results were found to be increased. The efficacy of MLD and exercise in chronic cutaneous GvHD should be investigated in further studies.