We used regimens containing rituximab in the treatment of five hepatitis B virus surface antibody (HBsAb)-positive patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Serum levels of HBsAb were obtained and analyzed in four of these patients. Two patients were HBs antigen (HBsAg) positive. One of these HBsAg-positive patients was treated with lamivudine because the patient developed fulminant hepatitis from hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection prior to chemotherapy. However, none of the other patients were administered lamivudine. An HBsAg-positive patient who did not receive lamivudine treatment later developed fulminant hepatitis. Another HBsAg-positive patient receiving lamivudine prophylaxis did not develop severe hepatitis arising from HBV. In the three patients not receiving lamivudine treatment, serum HBsAb titers decreased soon after the administration of rituximab. These results suggest that rituximab reduced the antibody titer for HBV, thus inducing an immunological environment leading to easy reactivation of HBV. Lamivudine prophylaxis was effective, at least when rituximab was given to an HBsAg-positive patient with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

.0%) and relapse-free survival (RFS) rate (40.0%) at 2 years in CR patients with MRD level 10 -3 (n=12) were significantly lower than those in CR patients with MRD level <10 -3 (n=15) (OS rate: 79.0%, RFS rate: 79.4%) (log-rank test, P=0.017 and 0.0007). We also applied multicolor flow cytometry for comparison with MRD results analyzed by PCR methods. The comparison of results obtained in 27 follow-up samples showed consistency in 17 samples (63.0%) (P=0.057). MRD analysis on day 100 is important for treatment decision in adult ALL.

We evaluate whether molecular monitoring of minimal residual disease (MRD) using TCR d (TCRD), TCR g (TCRG), and immunoglobulin H (IgH) gene rearrangements in the bone marrow (BM) is correlated with clinical events in ALL patients. The 14 patients enrolled in this study included 6 males and 8 females with a median age of 53 years (range, 25-79 years), and the median duration of follow-up was 417 days (range, 57-617 days). The median WBC count was 11.3 · 10 9 /L at diagnosis. All patients had L2 type ALL. Eleven patients had a monoclonal pattern of IgH (7), TCRD (3) and TCRG (1), and 3 patients had two clonal patterns. Eleven of the 14 patients achieved the first complete remission (CR) after the first induction chemotherapy. We analyzed 9 of 11 CR patients who could be examined immediately after induction chemotherapy (including re-induction therapy). Event-free survival (EFS, 0%) and disease-free survival (DFS, 0%) at 1 year in CR patients with MRD level ‡10 -3 (n = 3) were significantly lower than those in CR patients with MRD level <10-3 (n = 6) (log-rank test, P = 0.013, 0.013). A lower MRD in BM value after induction chemotherapy was associated significantly with longer survival in the logrank test. Our data provide evidence that molecular MRD status of BM is a strong predictor of outcome in adult ALL. Am.

Summary. This pilot study evaluated the efficacy of a new combination chemotherapy with a newly developed nitrosourea derivative ranimustine and evaluated the efficacy of interferon a (IFN-a) maintenance in previously untreated patients with multiple myeloma (MM). The induction therapy (ROAD-IN) was a 6-week regimen consisting of chemotherapy with ranimustine, vincristine (Oncovin), melphalan (Alkeran) and dexamethasone starting on day 1 and IFN-a, which was administered three times weekly for 3 weeks starting on day 22. This was repeated for three cycles. The responders were subsequently randomized into two groups that received or did not receive IFN-a as maintenance therapy. Of the 164 patients registered, 161 were evaluated. An objective response to induction therapy was seen in 75% of patients; complete remission (CR) in 38 (24%) and partial remission (PR) in 82 (51%). The median survival for all patients was 3´6 years from registration. The survival of responders (CR 1 PR) was significantly better than that of non-responders (median survival 4´3 years vs. 1´4 years; 7-year survival rate 32% vs. 9%; P , 0´0001). The IFN-a maintenance did not show any advantage for either response duration or survival. This pilot study demonstrated that a comparatively short period of induction therapy with the ROAD-IN regimen produced a rather high response rate and a similar survival rate to those achieved with other longer induction regimens, and that good responders to the initial therapy survived significantly longer than non-responders.

Antigenic expression of 3-methylcholanthrene-induced transplantable fibrosarcoma KMT-17 cells was investigated in relation to days after ip transplantation. Cytotoxicity tests with antiserum against tumor-associated surface antigen of KMT-17 cells revealed that cytotoxic sensitivity and absorbing capacity decreased after transplantation, but they increased when other normal rats were given transplants of tumor cells. A decrease in the sensitivity was observed when immunosuppressively irradiated rats were given tumor transplants. Tumor cell density in the abdominal cavities of rats directly and absorbing capacity of KMT-17 cells to antiserum against the histocompatibility antigen did not change after transplantation. The possible mechanisms of antigenic change of KMT-17 cells were discussed.