Primary NK/T-cell lymphoma of the larynx.

Laryngeal extranodal non-Hodgkin lymphoma is uncommon, accounting for less than 1% of all laryngeal neoplasms; the B-cell phenotype is predominant. Lymphomas outside the nasal cavity are rare and highly aggressive. We present a case of primary natural killer T-cell (NK/T-cell) lymphoma of the larynx that arose in a 45-year-old man. Because only a limited amount of data is available on laryngeal NK/T-cell lymphoma, the mainstay of treatment remains unclear, although some data suggest that radiotherapy alone is the best option. Our patient was treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and he remained in remission 2 years later.

Platelet function recovery after cessation of aspirin: preliminary study of volunteers and surgical patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Recent evidence indicates that platelet function may recover more rapidly after cessation of aspirin therapy than previously thought. The present study evaluated the effect of aspirin on platelet function using platelet aggregometry in healthy individuals and in aspirin-treated patients scheduled for surgery. METHODS: Platelet aggregation in response to arachidonic acid, epinephrine, and adenosine diphosphate was determined in 14 male volunteers during and after 10 days' aspirin administration (100 mg) and in 58 aspirin-treated patients during intake, on days 3, 4 or 6 after drug cessation, and on day 10 after drug cessation, prior to elective surgery. Urine thromboxane (11-dehydro-thromboxane B2) concentrations were also measured. RESULTS: Platelet aggregation in response to arachidonic acid and epinephrine was significantly decreased in both volunteers and patients during aspirin administration. The aggregation normalized within 3 days of aspirin cessation in the volunteers and within 4-6 days in the patients. Urine concentration of 11-dehydro-thromboxane B2 was about three times lower with aspirin treatment than without, although in two patients concentrations were higher with aspirin. CONCLUSION: Platelet aggregometry with arachidonic acid is a sensitive test for the evaluation of the effects of aspirin on platelet function. In most aspirin-treated patients, platelet function recovers 4 days after drug cessation, although the process is sometimes prolonged. Therefore, the time of aspirin cessation before scheduled surgery should be determined individually.

Telomere capture in hepatitis C infection.

Broken chromosomes can acquire new telomeres by "telomere capture" (TC), and it has become possible to investigate the terminus in cytogenetically visible telomere rearrangements. The TC phenomenon was observed in malignant conditions. We evaluated the TC rate in hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients compared to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients, as well as relative to a control group. For this purpose, we used two Cytocell probes, 15qter and 13qter. Higher TC rates were found in the three study groups relative to the control group. Our results showed that HCV patients have some of the components that can initiate the cascade of events leading to malignancies.

Peripheral lymphadenopathy as the initial manifestation of pericardial mesothelioma: a case report.

Lymphadenopathy is an unusual initial presentation of malignant mesothelioma. We describe a case of extrathoracic lymphadenopathy as the only initial manifestation of primary pericardial malignant mesothelioma. The diagnosis of metastatic malignant mesothelioma was made by excisional biopsy of the supraclavicular lymph node and later confirmed by cytologic examination of pericardial fluid. The clinical and pathological features of this case, including positron-emission tomography (PET), immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy, are discussed.

Autonomous growth of committed hematopoietic progenitors from peripheral blood of workers exposed to low levels of benzene.

We investigated whether exposure to low levels of benzene (geometric mean of exposures = 0.28-0.41 parts per million) results in perturbations of the hemopoietic system found in patients with myeloproliferative diseases. Erythroid (BFU-E) and granulocyte-monocyte (CFU-GM) colonies from peripheral blood were grown in methylcellulose with and without the addition of cytokines (erythropoietin and granulocyte-stimulating factor). Colony growth from 17 workers exposed to low levels of benzene was compared with 20 healthy control subjects. Exposed workers had significantly increased growth of autonomous BFU-E and unstimulated CFU-GM when compared with the control subjects. Unexposed smokers had increased colony growth without the addition of cytokines. Colony growth was not significantly different between the groups after the addition of cytokines. Workers exposed to low concentrations of benzene and unexposed smokers have increased cytokine-independent hematopoiesis.

Clodronate in myelofibrosis: a case report.

A 59-year-old man had well-documented agnogenic myeloid metaplasia (AMM) with pancytopenia. Frequent blood transfusions were required over a 10-month period. Androgen therapy was not beneficial and treatment with interferon resulted in severe thrombocytopenia with no decrease in transfusion requirements. Treatment with clodronate at a daily oral dose of 30 mg/kg resulted in a marked decrease in bone marrow fibrosis, and gradual normalization of blood counts over an 8-month period. He has been transfusion independent for the last 33 months. We support the findings of a previous case report that oral bisphosphonate therapy may be of value in patients with AMM.