Publications by authors named "Giuseppe Auteri"

The efficacy and safety of fostamatinib in adult patients with persistent/chronic immune thrombocytopenia (p/c ITP) were demonstrated in the FIT-1/FIT-2 trials. This retrospective, multicentre observational study evaluated real-world outcomes in consecutive p/c ITP patients treated with fostamatinib in Italy. The primary end-point, serving as a surrogate for both efficacy and safety, was the proportion of patients receiving fostamatinib for at least 6 months.

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: Splenectomy leads to a high rate of remission in chronic primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), but its unpredictable long-term positive outcomes and that it is a irreversible surgical approach discourage clinicians and patients. The identification of predictors of response may redefine the timing of splenectomy. In this retrospective, multicentric study we aimed to investigate clinical-histological predictors of splenectomy response in ITP patients and provide an easy-to-use score to predict splenectomy response in ITP.

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Aims: Spleen and liver stiffness, investigated by VCTE (Vibration-Controlled Transient Elastography), have been associated with marrow fibrosis in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). Tissue stiffness can be assessed by shear wave point (pSWE) and bidimensional elastography (2DSWE). Spleen stiffness (SS) values were higher in Myelofibrosis (MF) and Polycythemia Vera (PV) compared to Essential Thrombocythemia (ET).

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Article Synopsis
  • Anemia is common in patients with myelofibrosis (MF) and is worsened by the treatment drug ruxolitinib (RUX), with new cases of blast phase (BP) emerging in anemic patients not previously on this treatment.
  • A study of 886 MF patients treated with RUX found a BP incidence rate of 3.74 per 100 patient-years, with higher rates in patients who had varying levels of anemia; the most severe cases were in those dependent on transfusions.
  • The findings suggest that both pre-existing and treatment-induced anemia significantly increase the risk of BP development, indicating a need for better anemia treatments alongside MF therapies.
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  • A significant number of myelofibrosis patients stop using ruxolitinib within the first 5 years due to treatment failure, highlighting the need for early identification of those at risk.* -
  • A study analyzed data from 889 patients and found that factors like low platelet count, low hemoglobin, and certain disease types increase the likelihood of stopping ruxolitinib treatment early.* -
  • A new prognostic model called STR-PM was developed to categorize patients into low, intermediate, and high-risk groups for early treatment failure, suggesting that those in higher risk categories might benefit from alternative treatments.*
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  • * Factors linked to achieving a complete response included the absence of splenomegaly, experiencing pruritus, and having a higher hydroxyurea dosage; however, higher doses also led to more side effects.
  • * Despite many patients having a partial or no response, a significant portion continued on hydroxyurea rather than switching to ruxolitinib, with symptoms like splenomegaly motivating the switch; the study suggests improvements in hydroxy
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Background And Objectives: Several infections and vaccinations can provoke immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) onset or relapse. Information on ITP epidemiology and management during the Covid-19 pandemic is scarce. In a large monocenter ITP cohort, we assessed the incidence and risk factors for: 1) ITP onset/relapse after Covid19 vaccination/infection; 2) Covid19 infection.

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  • Patients with cytopenic myelofibrosis (MF) face more challenges in treatment options and prognosis compared to those with a myeloproliferative phenotype, with common definitions for cytopenia including low leukocyte, hemoglobin, or platelet counts.
  • In a study of 886 patients treated with ruxolitinib, 45.9% had cytopenic MF and factors like high molecular risk mutations and high prognostic scores were linked to this phenotype.
  • Patients with cytopenia received lower doses of ruxolitinib and had poorer response rates for symptoms and spleen size, along with a higher likelihood of treatment discontinuation over five years compared to those
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Fostamatinib is a SYK-inhibitor drug recently approved by the FDA and EMA for treating chronic immune thrombocytopenia. This drug induces a response in about 40% of patients and has a good toxicity profile. It is known that discontinuing thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TRAs) with the maintenance of sustained response off therapy is possible.

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Patients with Philadelphia-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms are at high risk of thrombotic events (TEs). Predisposing factors have been identified in essential thrombocythemia (ET), polycythemia vera (PV) and primary myelofibrosis (primary MF, PMF), while yet not recognized in post PV/ET-MF (known as secondary MF, SMF). Within the 1258 SMF of the MYSEC (MYelofibrosis SECondary to PV and ET) dataset, 135 (10.

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Thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TPO-RA) are a valid therapy for immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), due to megakaryocyte stimulation and (poorly characterised) immune-modulatory effects. The spleen is pivotal in the pathogenesis of ITP, yet little is known on its immune microenvironment and on effects of TPO-RA on this organ. To address these topics, we analysed 35 spleens removed for primary refractory ITP.

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  • The 2016 WHO classification officially identified pre-fibrotic primary myelofibrosis (pre-PMF) as a separate condition, highlighting the need for specific prognostic models.
  • The study analyzed data from 378 pre-PMF patients, finding that the International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) and the Dynamic IPSS (DIPSS) were significantly associated with patient mortality.
  • Additional factors like diabetes and second neoplasia emerged as important risks that could enhance prognostic assessments when considered alongside IPSS and DIPSS in pre-PMF patients.
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  • Peripheral blasts (PB) in myelofibrosis patients are linked to worse outcomes, with PB levels of 4% or higher significantly impacting prognosis.
  • A study of 794 chronic-phase myelofibrosis patients treated with ruxolitinib (RUX) found that those with higher PB percentages had poorer responses in spleen size reduction and overall survival compared to those without PB.
  • The findings suggest that patients with higher PB levels may benefit from treatment strategies that go beyond standard RUX therapy.
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Chronic primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) can today benefit from multiple therapeutic approaches with proven clinical efficacy, including rituximab, thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TPO-RA), and splenectomy. However, some ITP patients are unresponsive to multiple lines of therapy with prolonged and severe thrombocytopenia. The diagnosis of refractory ITP is mainly performed by exclusion of other disorders and is based on the clinician's expertise.

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  • - Deferasirox (DFX) is used to treat iron overload in myelofibrosis (MF) patients receiving ruxolitinib (RUX), and a study evaluated the safety and efficacy of the RUX-DFX combination in 69 MF patients.
  • - Results showed that 47.8% of patients achieved iron chelation response (ICR) and 46.4% had an erythroid response (ER), with 18.9% becoming transfusion-independent; no unexpected toxicities were reported.
  • - Factors predicting improved survival included the absence of leukocytosis and achieving ICR, indicating that the RUX-DFX regimen may benefit MF patients and warrants further research.
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Recently, treatment of immune-mediated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITTP) has changed with the advent of caplacizumab in clinical practice. The International Working Group (IWG) has recently integrated the ADAMTS-13 activity/autoantibody monitoring in consensus outcome definitions. We report three ITTP cases during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, that received a systematic evaluation of ADAMTS-13 activity and autoantibodies.

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Polycythemia Vera (PV) is a myeloproliferative neoplasm with increased risk of thrombosis and progression to myelofibrosis. Chronic inflammation is commonly observed in myeloproliferative neoplasms including PV. The inflammatory network includes the extracellular vesicles (EVs), which play a role in cell-cell communication.

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Polycythemia vera is a myeloproliferative neoplasm with increased risk of thrombosis and progression to myelofibrosis. However, no disease-specific risk factors have been identified so far. Circulating extracellular vesicles (EVs) are mostly of megakaryocyte (MK-EVs) and platelet (PLT-EVs) origin and, along with phosphatidylethanolamine (PE)-EVs, play a role in cancer and thrombosis.

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Many diseases can induce splenomegaly, however, about 5% of splenomegalies are idiopathic. When there is no underlying treatable cause, and the splenomegaly significantly affects the quality of life, splenectomy is the best therapeutic choice. A 67-year-old woman had idiopathic and asymptomatic splenomegaly.

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The efficacy and safety of thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TRAs) in older patients with primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) are unknown. We investigated TRA response and switch, thrombotic/hemorrhagic risk, and sustained responses off-treatment (SROTs) in 384 patients with ITP aged ≥60 years. After 3 months, 82.

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Background: After ruxolitinib discontinuation, the outcome of patients with myelofibrosis (MF) is poor with scarce therapeutic possibilities.

Methods: The authors performed a subanalysis of an observational, retrospective study (RUX-MF) that included 703 MF patients treated with ruxolitinib to investigate 1) the frequency and reasons for ruxolitinib rechallenge, 2) its therapeutic effects, and 3) its impact on overall survival.

Results: A total of 219 patients (31.

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Up to 30% immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) patients achieve a sustained remission off-treatment (SROT) after discontinuation of thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TPO-RAs). Factors predictive of response are lacking. Patients aged ≥18 years with newly diagnosed or persistent ITP were treated with eltrombopag for 24 weeks.

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In 816 patients with 2016 World Health Organization-defined polycythemia vera (PV) enrolled in a multicenter retrospective study, we investigated the predictive value of Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) and body mass index (BMI) on thrombosis, progression to post-PV myelofibrosis (PPV-MF) and survival. Patients were subgrouped according to CCI = 0 (58.1%, no comorbidities) or CCI ≥ 1 (41.

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