ABSTRACT
We present a patient with a Philadelphia chromosome positive (Ph+) acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL) refractory to standard induction chemotherapy. Treatment with the ABL-specific tyrosine kinase inhibitor STI571 (Glivec, Gleevec, imatinib mesylate) resulted in a complete haematologic and cytogenetic remission. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation from an unrelated donor could be undertaken while the patient was in STI571-induced complete remission from the leukaemia. At present, the patient has a 15-month post-transplantation follow-up and is in stable molecular remission as evaluated by quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) for the BCR/ABL fusion gene transcript. Our case demonstrates that STI571 can act as a bridge to potentially curative allogeneic stem cell transplant in otherwise poor prognosis Ph+ ALL.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use , Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use , Enzyme Inhibitors/therapeutic use , Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation , Piperazines/therapeutic use , Precursor B-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/therapy , Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/drug therapy , Pyrimidines/therapeutic use , Adult , Amsacrine/administration & dosage , Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/administration & dosage , Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/pharmacology , Benzamides , Betamethasone/administration & dosage , Biomarkers, Tumor/genetics , Combined Modality Therapy , Cyclophosphamide/administration & dosage , Cytarabine/administration & dosage , Daunorubicin/administration & dosage , Drug Resistance, Neoplasm , Etoposide/administration & dosage , Female , Fusion Proteins, bcr-abl/genetics , Graft vs Host Disease/drug therapy , Graft vs Host Disease/etiology , Humans , Imatinib Mesylate , Immunosuppressive Agents/therapeutic use , Mitoxantrone/administration & dosage , Neoplasm, Residual , Precursor B-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/drug therapy , Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/therapy , Remission Induction , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , Transplantation, Homologous , Vincristine/administration & dosageABSTRACT
Left ventricular (LV) dimensions and function and maximal oxygen uptake (VO(2)max) were measured in endurance-trained (10 male, m, 10 female, f), strength-trained athletes (8 m, 10 f) and untrained subjects (9 m, 10 f). LV dimensions were measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and echocardiography and the results were equal irrespective of method. Endurance-trained m and f had significantly higher LV volumes and mass than both strength-trained and controls. No VO(2)max or dimensional differences were seen between strength-trained and untrained subjects. In endurance-trained males, LV volumes and mass/kg bw were higher than in endurance-trained females. There was no significant gender difference for strength-trained or untrained subjects regarding body weight-related heart dimensions. It is concluded that LV dimensions and volumes are strongly dependent on oxygen transport capacity in normal subjects practising different modes of training, and that the gender differences, if LV dimensions are related to aerobic work capacity, are smaller than previously reported.
