Persistence of bcr-able gene expression following bone marrow transplantation for chronic myelogenous leukemia in chronic phase.

The bcr-abl RNA transcript is the molecular counterpart of the Philadelphia chromosome and is detectable by an extremely sensitive polymerase chain reaction assay in most patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia. To determine the effectiveness of ablative radiochemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation in eradicating molecular evidence of the malignant clone, we assayed for bcr-abl RNA expression in specimens from 19 patients with CML in chronic phase (CP) who have survived for at least one year post-BMT. We correlated these results with the patients' remission status based on cytogenetic analysis and BM morphology, and with evidence of mixed hematopoietic chimerism by analysis of RBC antigen and DNA restriction fragment length polymorphism patterns. Thirteen of the 19 patients had detectable bcr-abl RNA at some time following BMT. Twelve of these patients have remained in remission by morphologic and karyotypic criteria from 16.6 to 63.7 months following BMT. One of these 13 patients relapsed both by cytogenetic and clinical criteria at 28.1 months after BMT. Six of these 13 patients are still positive at the time of their most recent analysis. Only two patients have evidence for mixed chimerism of normal hematopoietic elements by either RBC antigen or DNA RFLP patterns. These results suggest that, in some patients transplanted for CML in CP, small numbers of residual leukemic cells may persist or reappear transiently without leading to clinical relapse. The definition of complete remission in CML may need to be revised in light of the enhanced ability to detect minimal residual disease by PCR technology.

Fractionated total body irradiation and high dose cyclophosphamide: a preparative regimen for bone marrow transplantation for patients with hematologic malignancies in first complete remission.

We treated 73 patients with hematologic malignancies in first complete remission (acute lymphoblastic leukemia = 23 patients; acute non-lymphoblastic leukemia = 25 patients; chronic myelogenous leukemia in first chronic phase = 20 patients, and high grade lymphoma = five patients) with a uniform preparative regimen consisting of fractionated total body irradiation (1,320 cGy) and high dose cyclophosphamide (100 mg/kg), followed by allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. By radiation dosimetry we demonstrated that the calculated doses were delivered accurately and reproducibly. Actuarial survival rates (+/- SEM) in complete remission were as follows: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia = 74 +/- 9%; acute nonlymphoblastic leukemia = 50 +/- 11%; and chronic myelogenous leukemia = 55 +/- 11%. Actuarial relapse rates for these three diagnoses were 19 +/- 9%, 17 +/- 11%, and 0% respectively. Three of the five lymphoma patients are alive in complete remission at 22+, 28+, and 54+ months. Overall probability of survival for the 73 patients was 59 +/- 7%. Interstitial pneumonia, usually associated with cytomegalovirus infection and graft-versus-host disease, and relapse of the underlying malignancy were the major causes of death.

An artificial lymph gland: a new approach to cancer therapy.

We are witnessing the initial stages of an era of extracorporeal blood cell manipulation aimed at amplifying, modifying, modulating, and regulating immune function. In some respects, this manipulation reproduces lymph organ functions. The basic technology is blood cell separation by continuous flow centrifugation resulting in isolation of mononuclear cells. These cells are activated in-vivo and ex-vivo with biological response modifiers. These modifiers appear to have applicability in the adoptive immunotherapy of cancer as shown in preliminary data obtained with lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells used in the treatment of advanced cancer in humans. The potential utilization of lymphokines as activators of tumoricidal activity by immunologic effector cells harvested from the cancer patient by cytapheresis is the subject of active research.

Immunohematologic consequences of major ABO-mismatched bone marrow transplantation.

Twelve of 58 (21%) evaluable patients of blood group 0 who received a bone marrow transplant (BMT) from an HLA-matched sibling of a donor of group A or B developed significant immunohematologic problems in the posttransplant period. Anti-A or anti-B isohemagglutinins persisted for longer than 120 days post-BMT in nine patients and are still present in three patients at days +162 to +605. Red cell production as indicated by a reticulocyte count of greater than 0.5% was delayed to 40 days or more in nine patients, and in five of these was markedly delayed to 170 days or longer. One patient does not as yet have red cell production on day +605 in spite of having had 13 plasma exchanges performed to reduce the anti-B titer. Five patients experienced overt hemolysis, manifested by a sudden drop in hemoglobin of 1.5 to 4 gm/dl (median = 2.5 mg/dl), starting on day +37 to +105 (median = +65), persisting for 10 to 94 days (median = 36 days). Hemolysis and a delay in the onset of erythropoiesis beyond 170 days were more frequent in 30 patients treated with cyclosporine/prednisone than in 28 patients treated with methotrexate/prednisone for graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis. Our data indicate that ABO major mismatched BMT can be associated with significant immunohematologic consequences, some of which occur more frequently in association with cyclosporine administration.

Safety of apheresis donation.

Platelet and granulocyte collections have been done for the past 15 years, and studies on the safety of these procedures have been carried out in many institutions in the USA and abroad. In general, no long-term harmful effects have been observed in donors who had undergone frequent cytapheresis. Significant decreases in donor platelet count were noted following repeated platelet apheresis. However, only a few donors became thrombocytopenic (platelet count less than 150,000/microliter). Interestingly enough, if the donor was allowed time to recover a normal platelet count, subsequent repeated platelet collection did not induce thrombocytopenia. Rebound of platelets has also been a common finding. Intensive granulocyte collections have not reduced the number of circulating granulocytes, nor has there been any report of leukopenia in donors who had undergone frequent leukocytapheresis. The limiting factor has been the need for hydroxyethyl starch as a sedimenting agent and corticosteroids to stimulate the granulocyte release from the marrow, which have known adverse effects of their own. No significant changes in plasma proteins and other biochemical and hematological parameters have been reported in cytapheresis donors. There is widely-held concern that because the collections of platelets and granulocytes are not selective to the exclusion of lymphocytes, the repeated cytapheresis may deplete the circulating lymphocytes with theoretical risk associated with long-term alterations of the immune response. In addition, if a significant number of red blood cells are removed, the frequent apheresis donations may render the donor anemic. Because of these theoretical risks, recommendations have been formulated in the USA in an attempt to ensure the safety of apheresis donors.

Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for acute lymphoblastic leukemia during first complete remission.

Patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who have poor prognostic features at diagnosis usually have a short disease-free survival in spite of successful remission induction. Those poor risk features are: age over 30 years, a white blood cell count over 25,000/microliter, certain translocations of chromosomes, and requirement for more than six weeks of induction chemotherapy to attain a complete remission. We have used high-dose radiochemotherapy to prepare 39 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in first complete remission (1 infant and 38 adults; median age 23 years) for bone marrow transplantation from histocompatible sibling donors. Thirty-one of the 39 patients in this study had one (n = 23) or more (n = 8) poor risk features: age (n = 7); high white blood cell count (n = 19); translocations (n = 4), or resistance to initial induction therapy (n = 11). Currently, 26 patients are surviving for 4-72 months (median 18 months) following marrow grafting and are in complete remission. One of the surviving patients had two marrow transplant procedures because of recurrent leukemia. Actuarial survival in complete remission is 63% for the entire group of 39 patients and is 60% if the eight patients who had no poor risk features are excluded from analysis. The following causes for failure were observed: leukemic relapse was encountered in four patients between 3 and 17 months after BMT for an actuarial relapse rate of 16%; bacterial sepsis was the cause of death in two patients; graft-versus-host disease and/or interstitial pneumonia led to the demise of seven patients, and one patient died with leukoencephalopathy. It appears that high-dose radiochemotherapy followed by bone marrow transplantation from a histocompatible sibling donor during first complete remission can result in a high disease-free survival rate for younger adults with poor-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia. This concept needs to be tested in prospective trials comparing bone marrow transplantation with chemotherapy.

Bone marrow transplantation for hematologic malignancies in patients aged 30 years or older.

During the past 10 years, 86 patients 30 to 54 years of age with hematologic malignancies were prepared with high-dose radiochemotherapy and received histocompatible bone marrow grafts. Thirty-four of these patients are surviving for 4 months to 9 years (median, 26 months) following marrow transplantation and 32 of them are in continuing complete remission (CR). Disease-free survival is 44% for 37 patients who were in first remission of acute leukemia or in the chronic phase of chronic granulocytic leukemia (CGL), 23% for 39 patients whose leukemia had relapsed at least once before transplantation or who had advanced stages of CGL, and 60% for ten patients who had hematologic malignancies other than leukemia. The median age of the surviving 34 patients is 36 years (range, 30 to 43 years). The incidence of moderate to severe acute graft-v-host disease (GVHD) was 48% and of chronic GVHD, 26%. The major causes of failure were interstitial pneumonia in 31 patients (24 of whom had antecedent acute GVHD) and recurrent leukemia in 12 patients (11 of whom had either never entered a CR or had relapsed at least once with acute leukemia or had progressive CGL before transplantation). Our data warrant further prospective studies in patients with hematologic malignancies who are older than 30 years.

Immunohistochemical demonstration of blood group antigens in neoplastic and normal human urothelium: a comparison with standard red cell adherence.

The specific red cell adherence test as a method to detect blood group antigen deletion in urothelial malignancy has been reported to yield approximately 40 per cent false negative results in 0 blood group patients. Our study of multiple sections of 8 normal ureters from blood group 0 patients and more than 220 specimens of transitional cell cancer taken from 48 patients reveals that the immunoperoxidase technique is more specific than the specific red cell adherence method in predicting subsequent invasion in blood group O(H) patients presenting with superficial transitional cell carcinomas (71 compared to 29 per cent) but is no more specific for tumors containing A or B antigens. However, immunoperoxidase staining does improve discernment of underlying histologic detail and, thereby, facilitates recognition of false positive antigen testing associated with squamous and adenomatous metaplasia. Areas of squamous and adenomatous metaplasia in specimens we tested were frequently antigen positive in invasive tumors. Therefore, we believe that these areas must be disregarded in determining antigen deletion in transitional cell carcinomas.