Hematol. Rep., Volume 8, Issue 1 (March 2016) – 6 articles

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a rare acquired disorder characterized by intravascular hemolysis. Real-world experience of PNH management is largely unreported. A retrospective analysis was undertaken based on medical records from six patients with PNH [two with aplastic anemia (AA)] treated at our center, Dicle University, Turkey. Diagnosis was based on granulocyte PNH clones, ranging from 93% to 66%. All patients had symptoms consistent with PNH. One patient was managed adequately with supportive measures only. Five were treated with the complement inhibitor eculizumab. Follow-up data (<1 year) were available in four cases (the fifth had received only three infusions by final follow-up). Hemoglobin level in these four patients increased from 4.1–7.2 g/dL to 8.3–13.0 g/dL. Lactate dehydrogenase, a marker for hemolysis, decreased profoundly in the two non-AA patients, with more minor improvements in the two AA patients. Weakness and fatigue improved in all eculizumab-treated patients. Four of the five treated patients became transfusion independent, including the patient given only three infusions. In the remaining case, a patient with AA, transfusion requirement decreased, and abdominal pain and dysphagia resolved. No adverse events occurred. PNH can be successfully managed in routine practice. Full article

In hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), frequent episodes of nasal and gastrointestinal bleeding commonly lead to irondeficiency with or without anemia. In the retrospective study presented here we assessed the iron stores, as determined by analysis of plasma ferritin, during oral and intravenous iron supplementation, respectively, in a population of iron-deficient non-anemic HHT patients who were inadequately iron-repleted by oral supplementation. A switch from oral to intravenous iron supplementation was associated with a significant increase in ferritin in this patient population. Full article

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-HSCT) provides hematopoietic support after high-dose chemotherapy and is the standard of care for patients with multiple myeloma (MM), chemo sensitive relapsed high or intermediate grade non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) and Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL). However, yields of hematopoietic stem cells vary greatly between patients, and the optimal strategy to mobilize hematopoietic stem cells into peripheral blood for collection has not been defined yet. We investigated the efficacy and safety of chemo mobilization with an intermediate dose etoposide (VP-16; 200 mg/m² on days 1–3) and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF)(5 μg/kg twice daily from day 4 through the final day of collection). We reviewed our institutional experience with 91 patients (71 MM, 12 HL, 8 NHL) mobilized with this regimen. VP-16 + G-CSF resulted in successful mobilization in 95.55% of the patients (on one patient stem cell collection with plerixafor was applied), including 76 patients (83.52%) whose stem cells were collected successfully in a single day. Collection was managed between min. D8 and max. D17. Patient age, gender, exposure to previous irradiation and chemotherapy, previous mobilization attempts, and disease characteristics were not considered during selection. Adverse effects of the regimen included supportive transfusions and fevers requiring hospitalization or intravenous antibiotics. VP-16 and GCSF appears to be a safe and effective mobilization regimen for patients with multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Hodgkin’s lymphoma undergoing autologous stem cell transplantation, producing excellent stem cell yield with the majority of patients requiring 1 day of apheresis. Full article

Essential thrombocythemia (ET) is a Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-negative myeloproliferative neoplasm. It is characterized by thrombocytosis and megakaryocytic hyperplasia of the bone marrow with JAK2V617F mutation. Iron-refractory iron deficiency anemia (IRIDA) is an autosomal recessive disorder, which is mainly characterized by iron deficiency anemia not responding to oral iron intake, but partially responding to parenteral iron therapy. Recently, it has been shown that IRIDA has stemmed from mutations in the gene TMPRSS6, which encodes a transmembrane serine protease (matriptase- 2) expressed by the liver. Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for 2–3% of all cancers. As the most common solid lesion in the kidneys, it represents approximately 90% of all renal malignancies. Approximately 30% of patients with symptomatic RCCs seem to display paraneoplastic syndromes. The symptom that may result from erythrocytosis is the most wellknown paraneoplastic hematological event. Here, we report a patient who presents with coexistence of RCC and thrombocytosis, which hasn’t been caused by hormonal factors that are produced in tumor cells. This patient has been therefore diagnosed with ET. The patient who was expected to display RCC with polycythemia, conversely present with IRIDA. Full article

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a neoplastic lymphoproliferative disorder characterized by uncontrolled monoclonal plasma cell proliferation. Among different isotypes of MM, immunoglobulin D (IgD) MM is very rare, representing only 1 to 2% of all isotypes. Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a neoplastic myeloproliferative disorder of pluripotent hematopoietic stem cell, which is characterized by the uncontrolled proliferation of myeloid cells. An 88-year-old male was diagnosed simultaneously with IgD kappa MM and CML. A distinctive feature in this patient was the progression to plasma cell leukemia without any symptomatic myeloma stage. He was treated simultaneously with lenalidomide, bortezomib and imatinib. Synchronous occurrence of these rare hematological malignancies in a single patient is an exceedingly rare event. Multiple hypotheses to explain co-occurrence of CML and MM have been proposed; however, the exact etiological molecular pathophysiology remains elusive. Full article

Endocan is an endotelial cell specific molecule; previous studies have shown that serum endocan levels increased in cancer and sepsis and are also related to the severity of sepsis. There are no clinical study about serum endocan levels in children with febrile neutropenia. The aim of this study was to evaluate serum endocan levels in pediatric leukemia patients with febrile neutropenia (n = 33) and compare them with children with leukemia without fever (n = 33) and also with healthy children (n = 24). The median serum endocan level in the first group (children with febrile neutropenia) was statistically significantly higher compared to the leukemic children without febrile neutropenia and also control group (p < 0.01 for both). No difference was determined between the serum endocan levels of the leukaemia patients without febrile neutropenia and the healthy control group (p > 0.05). Serum endocan levels were also similar with febrile neutropenia due to bacterial causes comparing with the idiopathic febril neutropenia. The results of this study showed increased serum endocan in children with leukemia during the febrile neutropenia episode, and no changes of serum endocan levels in children without leukemia without infection/fever. The monitoring of a series of serum endocan levels would be helpful for the course of febrile neutropenia. Full article