The immunohistochemical DHS defined a large subset of DLBCLs with double-hit biology and was strongly associated with poor outcome in patients treated with R-CHOP.

SummaryThe impact of first-line treatment with the anti-CD 20 chimeric monoclonal antibody rituximab in patients with warm-antibody reactive autoimmune haemolytic anaemia (WAIHA) is unknown. We report the first randomized study of 64 patients with newly diagnosed WAIHA who received prednisolone and rituximab combined (N = 32) or prednisolone monotherapy (N = 32). After 12 months, a satisfactory response was observed in 75% of the patients treated with rituximab and prednisolone but in a significantly smaller proportion (36%) of those given prednisolone alone (P = 0Á003). Furthermore, relapse-free survival was significantly better after the combined therapy than after prednisolone monotherapy (P = 0Á02). After 36 months, about 70% of the patients were still in remission in the rituximab-prednisolone group, whereas only about 45% were still in complete or partial remission in the prednisolone group. There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding adverse reactions to the studied medications. Likewise, serious adverse events were equally distributed, and no allergic reactions to rituximab were recorded. In conclusion, our data show that using rituximab and prednisolone combined rather than prednisolone alone as first-line treatment in WAIHA increases both the rate and the duration of the response.

Glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) was measured in 10 patients with iron deficiency anaemia, 10 patients with vitamin B12 deficiency anaemia and 10 healthy controls. Initially there were no significant differences between the groups (P greater than 0.4), but after treatment with iron and vitamin B12 for 3 and 6 weeks, the glycosylated haemoglobin concentration decreased significantly (P less than 0.01). It was concluded that glycosylated haemoglobin is a sensitive marker of the changes in the erythrocyte population that are observed when predominantly immature erythrocytes are being produced.

SummaryInhibition of histone deacetylases may be an important target in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms. This investigator-initiated, nonrandomized, open-label phase II multi-centre study included 63 patients (19 essential thrombocythaemia, 44 polycythaemia vera) from 15 centres. The primary objective was to evaluate if vorinostat was followed by a decline in clonal myeloproliferation as defined by European Leukaemia Net. Thirty patients (48%) completed the intervention period (24 weeks of therapy). An intention-to-treat response rate of 35% was identified. Pruritus was resolved [19% to 0% (P = 0Á06)] and the prevalence of splenomegaly was lowered from 50% to 27% (P = 0Á03). Sixty-five per cent of the patients experienced a decrease in JAK2 V617F allele burden (P = 0Á006). Thirty-three patients (52% of patients) discontinued study drug before end of intervention due to adverse events (28 patients) or lack of response (5 patients). In conclusion, vorinostat showed effectiveness by normalizing elevated leucocyte and platelet counts, resolving pruritus and significantly reducing splenomegaly. However, vorinostat was associated with significant side effects resulting in a high discontinuation rate. A lower dose of vorinostat in combination with conventional and/or novel targeted therapies may be warranted in future studies.

Background Although somatic mutations influence the pathogenesis, phenotype, and outcome of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), little is known about their impact on molecular response to cytoreductive treatment. Methods We performed targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) on 202 pre-treatment samples obtained from patients with MPN enrolled in the DALIAH trial (randomized controlled phase III clinical trial, NCT01387763) and 135 samples obtained after 24 months of therapy with recombinant interferon-alpha (IFNα) or hydroxyurea (HU). The primary aim was to evaluate the association between complete clinicohematologic response (CHR) at 24 months and molecular response through sequential assessment of 120 genes using NGS. Results Among JAK2-mutated patients treated with IFNα, those with CHR had a greater reduction in the JAK2 variant allele frequency (VAF) (median 0.29 to 0.07; p<0.0001) compared with those not achieving CHR (median 0.27 to 0.14; p<0.0001). In contrast, the CALR VAF did not significantly decline in neither those achieving CHR nor those not achieving CHR. Treatment-emergent mutations in DNMT3A were observed more commonly in patients treated with IFNα compared with HU, p=0.04. Furthermore, treatment-emergent DNMT3A-mutations were significantly enriched in IFNα treated patients not attaining CHR, p=0.02. A mutation in TET2, DNMT3A, or ASXL1 was significantly associated with prior stroke (age-adjusted OR=5.29 [95% CI, 1.59-17.54]; p=0.007) as was a mutation in TET2 alone (age-adjusted OR=3.03 [95% CI, 1.03-9.01]; p=0.044). Conclusion At 24 months, we found mutation-specific response patterns to IFNα: (1) JAK2- and CALR-mutated MPN demonstrated distinct molecular responses and (2) DNMT3A-mutated clones/subclones emerged on treatment.