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Post-transplantation cyclophosphamide (PTCy) and antithymocyte-globulin (ATG) are the most commonly used regimens for prophylaxis of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). We compared these 2 regimens in human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched unrelated donor hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) patients with hematological malignancies. We retrospectively analyzed consecutive adult patients with hematological malignancies who underwent HLA-matched unrelated donor-HSCT at Chungnam National University Hospital (Daejeon, South Korea) between January 2013 and January 2019. Patients who received a second transplantation or who had refractory disease were excluded. We included 34 patients (12 and 22 in the PTCy and ATG groups respectively). All graft sources were peripheral blood stem cells. The estimated 20-month overall survival rates were 75.0% for PTCy and 81.6% for ATG patients ( P = .792), and the 20-month relapse rates were 41.7% and 34.3% ( P = .491), respectively. The cumulative incidences of grade 2 to 4 acute GVHD were 16.7% and 30.6% ( P = .551), respectively; the estimated 20-month limited and extensive chronic GVHD rates were 59.1% and 78.8% ( P = .718), respectively; and the estimated 20-month extensive chronic GVHD rates were 12.5% and 16.7% ( P = .718), respectively. The neutrophil engraftment time was similar in both groups [median (range), 15.0 (12.0–17.0) and 14.0 (12.0–19.0) days, respectively; P = .961]. However, ATG was more expensive than PTCy [median (range), US$4,062 (US$2,215–6,647) for ATG vs US$51.80 (US$43.20–69.20) for PTCy; P < .001]. In conclusion, PTCy and ATG afforded similar clinical outcomes after HLA-matched unrelated donor transplantation but PTCy was less expensive.

Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is one of common causes of cancer-related death in Korea where the majority of HCC patients were Hepaitc B virus(HBV)carriers and have cirrhosis. Transarterial chemoembolization(TACE)is commonly applied to the treatment of multinodular HCC in Korea and careful selection of candidate is important for the risk of various side effects. Besides common side effects as fever, nausea, abdominal pain and elevation of liver enzyme, TACE may predispose to hepatic failure, ischemic cholecystitis, pulmonary embolism, cerebral embolism and pneumonitis. In previous studies, some cases of pulmonary and cerebral embolism cases were reported but lipiodol pneumonitis after TACE was rarely reported. A 65-year-old woman with a multinodular HCC associated with HBV infection, was treated with TACE. Seven days after the procedure, nonspecific respiratory symptoms such as dyspnea and dry cough developed. Chest X-ray and chest computed tomography showed diffuse ground glass opacities in whole lung fields, suggestive of lipiodol pneumonitis. After several days of supportive care with steroid administration, radiologic abnormalities and subjective symptoms were much improved, considered that the disease was compatible with lipiodol pneumonitis.

This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.pISSN 1598 -2998 , eISSN 2005 http://dx. Original ArticlePurpose The aim of this study is to determine the diagnostic and prognostic role of baseline spinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with multiple myeloma. Materials and MethodsWe enrolled patients newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma from 2004-2011 at a single center. Abnormal MRI findings that were not detected in radiographs have been analyzed and categorized as malignant compression fractures or extramedullary plasmacytoma. The bone marrow (BM) infiltration patterns on MRI have been classified into five categories. ResultsA total of 113 patients with a median age of 65 years (range, 40 to 89 years) were enrolled in the study. Malignant compression fractures not detected in the bone survey were found in 26 patients (23.0%), including three patients (2.6%) with no related symptoms or signs. Extramedullary plasmacytoma was detected in 22 patients (19.5%), including 15 (13.3%) with epidural extension of the tumor. Of these 22 patients, 11 (50.0%) had no relevant symptoms or signs. The presence of malignant compression fractures did not influence overall survival; whereas non-epidural extramedullary plasmacytoma was associated with poor overall survival in the multivariate analysis (hazard ratio, 3.205; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.430 to 9.845; p=0.042). During the follow-up for a median of 21 months (range, 1 to 91 months), overall survival with the mixed BM infiltrative pattern (median, 24.0 months; 95% CI, 22.9 to 25.1 months) was shorter than those with other patterns (median 56 months; 95% CI, 48.9 to 63.1 months; p=0.030). ConclusionThese results indicate that spine MRI at the time of diagnosis is useful for detecting skeletal lesions and predicting the prognosis in patients with multiple myeloma.

Fluoropyrimidine (FP) and oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy is the standard rst-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC); however, oxaliplatin-induced neuropathy critically affects the quality of life of patients. Maintenance strategies with FP plus bevacizumab have been well established; nonetheless, the real-world outcomes of maintenance therapy with FP and cetuximab are unclear. We investigated the clinical outcomes of patients who underwent maintenance therapy with cetuximab. MethodsWe retrospectively identi ed and analyzed patients with mCRC who were treated between 2012 and 2021 with rst-line oxaliplatin-based induction chemotherapy (IC) and patients treated with maintenance therapy after IC. ResultsA total of 112 patients were treated with IC. Among them, 48 patients underwent maintenance therapy (same IC regimen without oxaliplatin). The most common reason for the discontinuation of IC was peripheral neuropathy (n = 40, 83%). For the IC of the maintenance group, 3, 26, and 19 patients were treated with CAPOX (capecitabine/oxaliplatin), mFOLFOX6 (FP/leucovorin/oxaliplatin) plus bevacizumab, and mFOLFOX6 plus cetuximab. The best overall response of maintenance therapy was a partial response in 7 patients and stable disease in 30 patients The median progression-free survival (PFS) of maintenance therapy and overall survival (OS) was 4.83 months and 25.6 months in the bevacizumab group, and 5.98 months and 32.4 months in the cetuximab group, respectively. ConclusionsMaintenance therapy with FP and cetuximab is a feasible strategy for appropriate mCRC patients. Further large-scale randomized studies are needed to validate the e cacy of anti-epidermal growth factor receptor-based maintenance therapy.