Association of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio with the occurrence of venous thromboembolism and arterial thrombosis.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the association of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) with the occurrence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and arterial thrombosis (AT). METHODS: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study including 585 medical records obtained from all consecutive patients who were suspected of having thrombosis. RESULTS: The AT group had a higher neutrophil count and NLR and a lower lymphocyte count than the non-thrombosis group. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed the ability of the NLR to predict the presence of AT. The cut-off value for the NLR was 4.44. No distinction was found in the NLR between the VTE and non-thrombosis groups. Regression analysis showed that a high NLR was an independent factor related to the presence of AT. Patients with an NLR ≥ 4.44 had a higher risk of AT than those with an NLR < 4.44 (odds ratio = 2.015, 95% confidence interval: 1.180-3.443). CONCLUSION: A high NLR may be considered a predictive factor for the occurrence of AT, but an association with the presence of VTE was not found.

Consolidation and maintenance therapy with bortezomib for Vietnamese patients with multiple myeloma after autologous transplantation.

Thirty patients with newly diagnosed symtomatic MM (multiple myeloma) received ASCT (autologous stem cell transplantation) and two cycles of bortezomib-cyclophosphamide-dexamethasone as consolidation treatment followed by maintenance of bortezomib for 24 months. 16 patients achieved complete response (CR) after ASCT, and two more patients achieved CR after consolidation therapy. At 92 months of follow-up, the median OS was 69.5 months, the median PFS was 38.5 months. OS and PFS in the high-risk group were shorter than in the standard-risk group with a statistically significant difference (p = 0.028, 0.049; respectively). Post-ASCT consolidation and maintenance therapy using bortezomib were effective in patients with MM.

Association between FLT3-ITD and additional chromosomal abnormalities in the prognosis of acute promyelocytic leukemia.

OBJECTIVES: Internal tandem duplications of the Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 gene (FLT3-ITD) and additional chromosomal abnormalities (ACA) are prognostic factors in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). This study aimed to determine the effect of the association between FLT3-ITD and ACA in the prognosis of APL. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study including 60 patients with APL treated with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and chemotherapy. Five-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were analyzed in patient groups according to the presence of FLT3-ITD and ACA. RESULTS: FLT3-ITD was an independent adverse factor for 5-year PFS, and ACA was an independent adverse factor for 5-year OS. There were significant differences in OS and PFS among the groups: FLT3-ITD-negative without ACA, FLT3-ITD-positive without ACA, FLT3-ITD-negative with ACA, and FLT3-ITD-positive with ACA. The OS times were 52.917, 45.813, 25.375, and 23.417 months, and the PFS times were 48.833, 38.563, 23.250, and 17.333 months, respectively. CONCLUSION: FLT3-ITD and ACA are associated with the poorest OS and PFS outcomes in patients with APL treated with chemotherapy plus ATRA.

Cytogenetic characteristics in Vietnamese patients diagnosed with primary myelodysplastic syndromes.

Background: The karyotype is the important factor for the diagnosis and prognosis of primary myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Some previous studies have suggested that the incidence of chromosomal variations in MDS was related to race. We analyze the chromosomal characteristics in Vietnamese patients with MDS to find differences compared to other races and the association with subtypes by WHO classification. Methods: Sixty patients with new primary MDS diagnoses underwent cytogenetic analysis and FISH for del(5q). Results: Twenty-five patients (41.67%) had an abnormal karyotype at the time of diagnosis, in which 18 patients with a complex karyotype (≥3 chromosomal abnormality) represented the highest percentage (30%). The most frequent chromosomal abnormalities were +8 found in 10/60 patients (16.7%), del (5q) in 9/60 patients (15%), -18 in 5/60 patients (8.3%), only one patient had isolated del(5q) with 1.67%. Patients with abnormal karyotype had higher odds of being MDS-EB (MDS with excess blast) compared to those with normal karyotype (OR = 3.407, 95% CI = 1.164 - 9.976). Patients with complex karyotypes had a higher probability of having MDS-EB compared to those without complex karyotype (OR = 3.25, 95% CI = 1.018 - 10.379). Conclusions: The complex karyotype was the most frequent chromosomal abnormality. Patients with an abnormal or complex karyotype had a higher probability of having MDS with excess blast. The isolated del (5q) ratio is very low compared to Europe and North Africa, but similar to China and Japan as they are the same countries in East Asia.

Cytogenetic Influence on Prognosis in Acute Promyelocytic Leukaemia: A Cohort Study in Vietnam.

OBJECTIVE/BACKGROUND: To analyse the influence of chromosomal aberrations in addition to t(15;17)(q22;q21) in acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) on clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes. METHODS: Fifty-seven patients with new APL diagnoses underwent conventional cytogenetic analysis; fluorescence in situ hybridization for t(15;17)(q22;q21) and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction detected PML/RARα in two forms: L (length) and S (short) and accepted treatment with all-trans retinoic acid and chemotherapy. Patients with additional chromosome aberrations were designated as the complex karyotype group and were compared with patients with only t(15;17), who were designated as the simple karyotype group. RESULTS: Additional chromosome aberrations was observed in 18/57 patients (31.6%) at initial diagnosis. Outcome was significantly different between the simple karyotype group and the complex karyotype group for complete remission (92.3% vs. 66.7% respectively, p = .025), overall survival at 3 years (92.3% vs. 65.0%, respectively, p = .017), and progression-free survival at 3 years (81.4% vs. 44.4%, respectively, p = .024). CONCLUSIONS: Additional chromosome aberrations had adverse effects on the prognosis in APL.