No abstract

DLBCL is an aggressive lymphoma treated with R-CHOP. Recently, attempts have been made to improve the outcome by increasing both dose-density and intensity but there have been no benefits in terms of survival. When treating malignancies RDI is important to consider but there is little published information on DLBCL. The purpose of this study was to analyze the differential prognostic impact of RDI in two cohorts of DLBCL patients treated with R-CHOP21 or R-CHOP14. From January 2001 to August 2013 we included DLBCL patients homogenously treated with R-CHOP21 or R-CHOP14, with or without radiotherapy, at University Hospital Son Espases, Hospital Son Llatzer of Palma and Hospital del Mar of Barcelona (N = 157). In order to avoid selection bias the patients were retrospectively identified from the Pathology Department and Pharmacy registries. Median follow-up was 68 months. There was no difference in the response or survival between the two cohorts. In the R-CHOP21 group, both a reduction higher than 15% in RDI (RR 7.41) and R-IPI (RR 2.99) were independently associated with OS. However, a reduction higher than 15% in RDI (RR 4.41) was only noted for PFS. In the R-CHOP14 group, NCCN-IPI (RR 7.09) and B-symptoms (RR 5.37) for OS; AA stage III-IV (RR 6.26) and bulky disease (RR 4.05) for PFS. There was a trend towards a higher rate of RDI reduction observed in the R-CHOP14 group but it only made an impact in the R-CHOP21 group. We conclude that R-CHOP21 and R-CHOP14 are equivalent regimens in terms of response and survival, but only if RDI reductions are avoided. For patients receiving R-CHOP21 we recommend using clinical and support measures in order to avoid RDI reductions.

Infection by human papillomavirus (HPV) alters the microenvironment of keratinocytes as a mechanism to evade the immune system. A-to-I editing by ADAR1 has been reported to regulate innate immunity in response to viral infections. Here, we evaluated the role of ADAR1 in HPV infection in vitro and in vivo. Innate immune activation was characterized in human keratinocyte cell lines constitutively infected or not with HPV. ADAR1 knockdown induced an innate immune response through enhanced expression of RIG-I-like receptors (RLR) signaling cascade, over-production of type-I IFNs and pro-inflammatory cytokines. ADAR1 knockdown enhanced expression of HPV proteins, a process dependent on innate immune function as no A-to-I editing could be identified in HPV transcripts. A genetic association studywas performed in a cohort of HPV/HIV infected individuals followed for a median of 6 years (range 0.1-24). We identified the low frequency haplotype AACCAT significantly associated with recurrent HPV dysplasia, suggesting a role of ADAR1 in the outcome of HPV infection in HIV+ individuals. In summary, our results suggest that ADAR1-mediated innate immune activation may influence HPV disease outcome, therefore indicating that modification of innate immune effectors regulated by ADAR1 could be a therapeutic strategy against HPV infection.HPV is a small non-enveloped double-stranded DNA virus that infects keratinocytes. Most HPV infections clear spontaneously, however, persistent HPV infection is strongly associated with risk of several cancers including cervical, laryngeal, esophageal and anal cancer 1 . In immunosuppressed individuals there is a higher rate of cervical and anal HPV infections 2 . HPV infection favors HIV acquisition, and HIV-infected individuals encompass a heavier burden of HPV-induced dysplasia and cancer due to progressive immune suppression and impaired cell-mediated immunity. Persistent HPV infections are strong determinants of anal high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) 3 .Innate immune responses are characterized by production of a complex network of cytokines that effectively activate cellular immune cells 4 . Pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) include the RNA-binding helicase family of RIG-I-like receptors (RLR: RIG-I and MDA5), and the family of Toll-like receptors (TLR). In response to viral infections, produced type I interferons (IFN) activate the Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK-STAT) signaling pathway, which, in turn, induces the expression of additional interferon signaling

Summary:Between February 1995 and July 1999 25 pediatric patients (8 months to 14 years old) underwent peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) from an HLA-identical sibling donor. Diagnoses included ALL (17), non-ALL (6), and non-malignant disease (2). GVHD prophylaxis consisted of cyclosporine plus methotrexate (15), only cyclosporine (8), cyclosporine plus prednisone (1), or nothing (1). All donors (6 months to 41 years old) received G-CSF at 10 g/kg/day subcutaneously for 4-5 days and on day 5 underwent large volume leukapheresis. Median number of CD34 + and CD3 + cells collected and infused was 6.9 × 10 6 (range 2.5-32.8) and 4.5 × 10 8 (0.5-22.1) per kg of recipient body weight respectively. Median time to achieve ANC Ͼ0.5 × 10 9 /l and platelets Ͼ20 × 10 9 /l was 10 and 12 days, respectively. Acute GVHD grade уII developed in 10 of 24 evaluable patients (42%). Probability of acute GVHD was 62%. Median time to discharge was 25 days (range 14-52). Among 20 evaluable patients, five (25%) developed chronic GVHD at day 100. Probability of chronic GVHD was 29% after 1 year post PBSC. At a median follow-up of 558 (9-2071) days, overall survival for the whole group is 68%. Probabilities of event-free survival, overall survival and relapse for patients with malignant hematological diseases are 53%, 59% and 24% at 5 years, respectively. This study has confirmed the feasibility and safety of mobilization and collection of PBSC products and the applicability of this procedure to the pediatric population, both donors and recipients. Studies including larger numbers of pediatric patients undergoing allogeneic PBSCT are warranted to determine the long-term outcomes of such procedures. Bone Marrow Transplantation (2001) 28, 537-543.

Introduction: DLBCL is the more common non Hodgkin lymphoma. This is an aggressive lymphoma that is treated with a standard chemotherapy regimen: R-CHOP. In the last years attempts have been done to improve the outcome both increasing dose-density (CHOP14) or intensity (CHOEP, ACVBP, autologous stem cell transplantation) without obtaining benefit in terms of survival. This has allowed setting R-CHOP administered every 21 days (R-CHOP21) as the standard treatment for DLBCL patients. RDI is an important issue to consider when treating malignancies. Although this a well-known prognostic factor in Hodgkin lymphoma, scarce information has been published in DLBCL. Objective: The purpose of this study is further analyzing the prognostic impact of RDI in two cohorts of DLBCL patients treated with R-CHOP21 or R-CHOP14, to evaluate its differential impact when increasing dose density. Material and methods: All patients diagnosed of DLBCL from January-1999 to June-2013 at University Hospital Son Espases were retrospectively identified from Pathology Department registry to avoid selection bias. Only patients treated with R-CHOP21 or R-CHOP14 +/- radiotherapy were included (N=115). To increase the R-CHOP14 cohort we added also all patients treated with R-CHOP14 in the same time period in two additional hospitals (Hospital Son Llatzer of Palma and Hospital del Mar of Barcelona) identified from their Pharmacy registries to avoid selection bias (N=42). Other regimes, consolidations or maintenance were excluded. Table 1 shows main characteristics of the global series (N=157). RDI represents the ratio of the amount of a drug actually administered to the amount planned for a fixed time period. RDI was calculated as previously described. Briefly, RDI of each drug was obtained followed by an average of RDI in CHOP consisting in the sume of RDI of the 3 drugs divided by 3. Main prognostic factors at diagnosis in DLBCL were obtained, including international prognostic index (IPI) factors. Evaluations were carried out following standard guidelines. Results: Overall response and complete response rates were similar in both groups:86% and 76% for R-CHOP21 and 94% and 74% for R-CHOP14(p=0.17 and p=0.85, respectively). Median follow-up for alive patients was 68 months (4-156). There were no differences between the two cohorts in terms of either OS or PFS (Figure 1). In the R-CHOP21, both a reduction higher than 15% in RDI [RR 7.41 (2.51-21.83); (p<0.001)] and an unfavorable R-IPI [RR 2.99 (1.1-8.16); (p=0.032) were independently associated with a worse OS. For PFS only a reduction higher than 15% in RDI [RR 4.41 (1.77-10.99) (p=0.001) was independently associated to worse PFS. By contrast, in the R-CHOP14 group an unfavourable NCCN-IPI [RR 8.74 (2.23-34.25); (p=0.002)] and the presence of B-symptoms [RR 5.13 (1.98-13.3); p=0.001)] was independently associated to worse OS and having a AA stage III-IV [RR 5.09 (1.14-22.62); p=0.032)] and bulky disease [RR 3.95 (1.46-10.7); p=0.007)] were independently related to worse PFS. RDI reductions did not show any significant impact in OS or PFS in patients treated with R-CHOP14 (Figure 2). Conclusions: Overall in our series there were no differences in terms of response or survival between patients treated with R-CHOP21 or R-CHOP14. A higher rate of RDI reduction was observed in the R-CHOP14 group. However, the impact of RDI reductions on response and survival was only observed in the R-CHOP21 group but not in patients treated with R-CHOP14. We can conclude that R-CHOP21 and R-CHOP14 are equivalent regimens in terms of response and survival only if RDI reductions are avoided. For patients receiving R-CHOP21 we recommend using clinical and support measures in order to avoid RDI reductions. Table 1. Main clinical characteristics of the patients. R-CHOP21 group(n=74) R-CHOP14 group(n=83) P Age (median & range) 65 (25-88) 55 (15-79) 0.005 Sex (M/F) 34 (46%) / 40 (54%) 51 (61%) / 32 (39%) 0.056 ECOG PS > 1 17 (23%) 18 (22%) 0.85 Ann Arbor stage III-IV 40 (54%) 48 (58%) 0.75 B-symptoms 25 (34%) 26 (31%) 0.86 Elevated LDH 33 (46%) 40 (49%) 0.75 > 1 extranodal site 8 (11%) 19 (23%) 0.057 Bulky disease 23 (31%) 34 (41%) 0.24 R-IPI unfavorable 24 (32%) 26 (32%) 1 NCCN-IPI: - Low - Low-intermediate - High-intermediate - High 9 (13%) 27 (39%) 26 (38%) 7 (10%) 17 (21%) 35 (44%) 24 (30%) 4 (5%) 0.31 Elevated Beta-2-microglobulin 32 (49%) 31 (39%) 0.24 Radiotherapy 27 (36%) 27 (32%) 0.62 Figure 1. Figure 1. Figure 2. Figure 2. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.