In the tyrosine kinase inhibitor era, the blast phase of chronic myeloid leukaemia (BP-CML) renders an uncommon presentation and has a poor prognosis with an estimated overall survival below 20%. Mixed-phenotype blast phase is even more infrequent, presenting in 3.3% of these patients. Blast phase manifests along haematological sarcomas, with extramedullary activity in lymph nodes, skin and bone. We report the case of a patient with an ovarian sarcoma as an extramedullary presentation of mixed-phenotype BP-CML refractory to conventional treatment which responded to immunotherapy against CD33 and CD19.

Introduction: Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection is characterised by a viral phase and a severe pro-inflammatory phase. The inhibition of the JAK/STAT pathway limits the pro-inflammatory state in moderate to severe COVID-19. Methodology: We analysed the data obtained by an observational cohort of patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia treated with ruxolitinib in 22 hospitals of Mexico. The applied dose was determined based on physician’s criteria. The benefit of ruxolitinib was evaluated using the 8-points ordinal scale developed by the NIH in the ACTT1 trial. Duration of hospital stay, changes in pro-inflammatory laboratory values, mortality, and toxicity were also measured. Results: A total of 287 patients were reported at 22 sites in Mexico from March to June 2020; 80.8% received ruxolitinib 5 mg BID and 19.16% received ruxolitinib 10 mg BID plus standard of care. At beginning of treatment, 223 patients were on oxygen support and 59 on invasive ventilation. The percentage of patients on invasive ventilation was 53% in the 10 mg and 13% in the 5 mg cohort. A statistically significant improvement measured as a reduction by 2 points on the 8-point ordinal scale was described (baseline 5.39 ± 0.93, final 3.67± 2.98, p = 0.0001). There were 74 deaths. Serious adverse events were presented in 6.9% of the patients. Conclusions: Ruxolitinib appears to be safe in COVID-19 patients, with clinical benefits observed in terms of decrease in the 8-point ordinal scale and pro-inflammatory state. Further studies must be done to ensure efficacy against mortality.

Purpose: To describe the response rates and time to treatment failure in patients with chronic refractory ITP treated with Rituximab. Methods: Fourteen consecutive patients with chronic refractory ITP, who didn’t achieve a response to first- and second-line treatments (including splenectomy), were recruited between November 2001 and May 2004. Rituximab was administered at 375 mg/m2 iv weekly’ 4 and all patients were pre-medicated with Diphenhydramine (30 mg single dose) and Hydrocortisone (100 mg IV single dose). The first response assessment was performed at week 4, using the following criteria: complete response, platelet count > 100 x 109/L; partial response, platelet count > 50 x 109/L; minimal response, platelet count persisted below 50 x 109/L but without bleeding or need for platelet transfusion; and no response if the platelet count did not change, or the patients required platelet transfusion or remained symptomatic. The response was considered sustained if it persisted for at least 6 months. Results: The age range was 17–70 years; the baseline platelet count range was 3–37 x 109/L. Five patients achieved a complete response, four patients a partial response, four a minimal response and one no response. The time to response was from 4–32 weeks and 10 patients showed a sustained response. No patients with a response showed bleeding and no patients required the use of other drugs. Conclusions: These results suggest that Rituximab should have a significant therapeutic effect and an acceptable safety profile in patients with refractory chronic ITP. However, there is a lack of randomized, prospective studies to demonstrate the therapeutic benefit of this treatment.

Introduction: Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection is characterised by a viral phase and a severe pro-inflammatory phase. The inhibition of the JAK/STAT pathway limits the pro-inflammatory state in moderate to severe COVID-19 cases. Methods: We analysed the data obtained for an observational cohort of patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia treated with ruxolitinib in 22 hospitals of Mexico. The dose used was determined based on physician’s criteria. The benefit of ruxolitinib was evaluated using the 8-points ordinal scale developed by the NIH in the ACTT1 trial. Duration of hospital stay, changes in pro-inflammatory laboratory values, mortality, and toxicity were also measured. Results: A total of 287 patients administered ruxolitinib were reported at 22 sites in Mexico from March to June 2020; 80.8% received 5 mg BID and 19.16% received 10 mg BID ruxolitinib. At the beginning of treatment, 223 patients were on oxygen support, 59 on invasive ventilation. The percentage of patients on invasive ventilation was 53% in the 10 mg and 13% in the 5 mg cohort. There was a statistically significant improvement measured as a reduction by 2 points (initial 5.39 ± 0.93, final 3.67± 2.98, P value = 0.0001) on the 8-point ordinal scale. There were a total of 74 deaths. Serious adverse events were presented in 6.9% of the patients. Conclusion: Ruxolitinib appears to be safe in COVID-19 patients, with clinical benefits observed in terms of decrease in the 8-point ordinal scale and pro-inflammatory state. Further studies must be done to ensure efficacy against mortality.