Hepatitis due to hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation can be severe and potentially fatal, but is preventable. HBV reactivation is most commonly reported in patients receiving cancer chemotherapy, especially rituximab-containing therapy for hematological malignancies and those receiving stem cell transplantation. All patients with hematological malignancies receiving anticancer therapy should be screened for active or resolved HBV infection by blood tests for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc). Patients found to be positive for HBsAg should be given prophylactic antiviral therapy to prevent HBV reactivation. For patients with resolved HBV infection, no standard strategy has yet been established to prevent HBV reactivation. There are usually two options. One is pre-emptive therapy guided by serial HBV DNA monitoring, whereby antiviral therapy is given as soon as HBV DNA becomes detectable. However, there is little evidence regarding the optimal interval and period of monitoring. An alternative approach is prophylactic antiviral therapy, especially for patients receiving high-risk therapy such as rituximab, newer generation of anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, obinutuzumab or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. This strategy may effectively prevent HBV reactivation and avoid the inconvenience of repeated HBV DNA monitoring. Entecavir or tenofovir are preferred over lamivudine as prophylactic therapy. Although there is no well-defined guideline on the optimal duration of prophylactic therapy, there is growing evidence to recommend continuing prophylactic antiviral therapy for at least 12 mo after cessation of chemotherapy, and even longer for those who receive rituximab or who had high serum HBV DNA levels before the start of immunosuppressive therapy. Many novel agents have recently become available for the treatment of hematological malignancies, and these agents may be associated with HBV reactivation. Although there is currently limited evidence to guide the optimal preventive measures, we recommend antiviral prophylaxis in HBsAg-positive patients receiving novel treatments, especially the Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors and the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitors, which are B-cell receptor signaling modulators and reduce proliferation of malignant B-cells. Further studies are needed to clarify the risk of HBV reactivation with these agents and the best prophylactic strategy in the era of targeted therapy for hematological malignancies.

In a population-based study, Chinese patients with CD are at an increased risk of anorectal cancers and hematological cancers compared with the general population. A higher risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer was also observed in CD and UC. Cancer surveillance should be considered.

Four women and three men after allogeneic (n ¼ 4) and autologous (n ¼ 3) haematopoietic SCT (HSCT) were observed to have an increase in T-cell large granular lymphocytes (T-LGLs) of CD3 þ CD8 þ phenotype for a median of 41 (15 --118) months. Clonal rearrangement of the T-cell receptor gene was verified by two PCR techniques and direct DNA sequencing, confirming that the cases were neoplastic and therefore classifiable as T-LGL leukaemia. In the allogeneic HSCT cases, T-LGL leukaemia was derived from donor T cells in three patients, as shown by DNA chimerism analysis, and recipient T cells in one patient who had graft failure previously. None of the patients showed cytopenia, autoimmune phenomenon or organ infiltration, which were features typical of de novo T-LGL leukaemia. Six patients had remained asymptomatic with stable large granular lymphocyte counts. One patient died from cerebral relapse of the original lymphoma. T-LGL leukaemias occurring post-HSCT are distinct from de novo T-LGL leukaemia and may have a different pathogenesis and clinical course. Patients did not require specific treatment, and the disease remained stable for long periods.Bone Marrow Transplantation (2012) 47, 952 --956;

Objective Anti-melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5 (MDA5) positive dermatomyositis (DM) is associated with rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (RP-ILD) and high mortality. This multicentre retrospective study aimed to identify predictors for mortality and RP-ILD. Methods Anti-MDA5 positive DM patients were identified from the Hong Kong Myositis Registry and the Clinical Data Analysis and Reporting System. Clinical characteristics were reviewed. Risk factors for mortality and RP-ILD were identified. Results Among the 116 recruited patients, 100 (86.2%) had ILD, 47 (40.5%) had RP-ILD and 44 (37.9%) patients died. Cox regression analysis revealed that RP-ILD (HR 9.735, 95%CI 3.905–24.272), age >52 (HR 4.750, 95%CI 1.692–13.333), ferritin level >2800pmol/l (HR 3.042, 95%CI 1.323–6.997) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) >400 IU/l (HR 2.290, 95% CI 1.009–5.198) were independent predictors of mortality. With regard to RP-ILD, analyses showed that potential predictors at baseline included age >50 years old (HR 2.640, 95%CI 1.277–5.455), LDH >300IU/l (HR3.189, 95%CI 1.469–6.918), fever (HR 1.903, 95% CI: 0.956–3.790) and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) >7.0 (HR 1.967, 95%CI 0.942–4.107). We proposed a prediction model, based on Fever, LDH, Age and White cell count (“FLAW”), to stratify risk of development of RP-ILD. The probability of RP-ILD in a patient with a score of 4 was 100%. A small internal validation cohort showed the odds of RP-ILD with FLAW scores of 0, 1, 2 and 3 were 0%, 0%, 42.9% and 75% respectively. Conclusions Anti-MDA5-associated RP-ILD is significantly associated with poor survival rates. The “FLAW” model maybe useful to predict the development of RP-ILD.

Objectives Patients with rheumatologic diseases might be more susceptible to COVID-19 and carry a poorer prognosis. The aim of this study is to examine the incidence and outcomes of all COVID-19 patients with rheumatologic conditions in Hong Kong. Methods This is a population-based retrospective study. All patients tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by PCR with a previous diagnosis of rheumatologic diseases were reviewed. The incidence of COVID-19 in patients with rheumatologic conditions was calculated and compared to the general population in Hong Kong. Descriptive data of those rheumatologic patients with COVID-19 and the clinical course of the index infection were presented. Results Up till 27 May 2020, there were 1067 cases of COVID-19 diagnosed in Hong Kong which had a population of 7.5 million. Out of the 39,835 patients with underlying rheumatologic diseases, we identified 5 PCR confirmed COVID-19 cases. The estimated incidence of COVID-19 was 0.0126% patients with rheumatologic diseases, compared to 0.0142% in the general population. All 5 patients had inflammatory arthropathies. One patient was on hydroxychloroquine and sulphasalazine, and one was on methotrexate. None of the 3534 patients on b/tsDMARDs was infected. Four patients had leucopenia/lymphopenia and stool viral PCR was positive in 3 patients. All patients made uneventful recovery without complications or flare of underlying diseases. Conclusions We found no alarming signals of increased frequency or severity of COVID-19 in patients with rheumatologic diseases, although extrapolation of the results to other populations with different infection control strategies should be made with caution.