Publications by authors named "Jae-Sook Ahn"

The immunological mechanism of treatment-free remission is not clearly understood. We aimed to identify immune-related genetic differences that predict molecular relapse after tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) discontinuation in patients with chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). In this prospective multicenter study, patients who were treated with TKI for at least 3 years discontinued TKI and were monitored for loss of major molecular response.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Adoptive immunotherapy represents a promising treatment for multiple myeloma (MM), relying on the availability of sustainable tumor-specific cytotoxic T cells. This study generated potent ex vivo expanded and activated marrow-infiltrating lymphocytes (eMILs) from MM patients and evaluated their immunologic characteristics and cytotoxic potential. MILs were expanded using anti-CD3/CD28 beads in the presence of IL-2, IL-7, and IL-15.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Processing methods for hematopoietic stem cells vary significantly across institutions, with no standardized guidelines currently in place. This lack of standardization presents challenges in ensuring consistent quality and outcomes of stem cell transplantation procedures. This study investigated current practices in peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) processing and storage among transplant centers in Korea to establish a foundation for the development of standardized guidelines.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background/objectives: Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has emerged as a promising biomarker for non-invasive tumor monitoring in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

Methods: In this study, 52 patients with newly diagnosed advanced-stage DLBCL treated with R-CHOP underwent serial ctDNA analysis at baseline, interim (after three cycles), and end of treatment. The prognostic significance of ctDNA dynamics was evaluated, and its predictive value was compared with the PET/CT response.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Chromosomal alterations serve as diagnostic and prognostic markers in acute leukemia. Given the evolving landscape of chromosomal abnormalities in acute leukemia, we previously studied these over two periods. In this study, we investigated the frequency of these abnormalities and clinical trends in acute leukemia in Korea across three time periods.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose Of The Report: The usefulness of brain 18 F-FDG PET/CT in primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) remains underexplored. This study investigated whether early metabolic responses in interim brain FDG PET/CT serve as a prognostic indicator of PCNSL treatment outcomes.

Patients And Methods: This prospective study included 53 patients with PCNSL who underwent a high-dose methotrexate-based treatment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study aimed to validate the 2022 European LeukemiaNet (ELN) risk stratification for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). A total of 624 newly diagnosed AML patients from 1998 to 2014 were included in the analysis. Genetic profiling was conducted using targeted deep sequencing of 45 genes based on recurrent driver mutations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Despite major advances in therapeutic platforms, most patients with multiple myeloma (MM) eventually relapse and succumb to the disease. Among the novel therapeutic options developed over the past decade, genetically engineered T cells have a great deal of potential. Cellular immunotherapies, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, are rapidly becoming an effective therapeutic modality for MM.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic significance of the revised European LeukemiaNet (ELN)-2022 risk stratification model for 123 elderly acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients treated with decitabine chemotherapy.

Results: Based on the ELN-2022 risk stratification, 15 (12.2%), 51 (41.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Despite the current effective treatments for acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), early mortality (EM), defined as death within 30 days of presentation, is a major hurdle to long-term survival.

Methods: We performed a multicenter retrospective study to evaluate the incidence and clinical characteristics of EM in patients with newly diagnosed APL and to develop a risk stratification model to predict EM.

Results: We identified 313 eligible patients diagnosed between 2000 and 2021 from five academic hospitals.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background/aims: The prognostic significance of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) in peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs) are controversial. We explored the prognostic impact of sequential 18F-FDG PET/CT during frontline chemotherapy of patients with PTCLs.

Methods: In total, 143 patients with newly diagnosed PTCLs were included.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) is an exact method of measurement.

Objectives: We conducted this study to identify the prognostic factors for successful treatment-free remission in patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia who discontinued tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). We also aimed to validate ddPCR for predicting molecular relapse.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a complex disease with unique genetic mutations in each patient, leading to varied cell compositions and a high risk of relapse even after achieving complete remission through chemotherapy.
  • Researchers used single-cell RNA sequencing on bone marrow cells from patients at different AML stages to identify abnormalities in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and track the presence of specific mutations over time.
  • The study revealed that certain progenitor cells (GMPs and LMPPs) persist through treatment and are linked to relapse, highlighting the importance of understanding these cell types for better predicting outcomes in AML.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study assessed the effectiveness and safety of adding rituximab to chemotherapy for treating CD20-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in patients aged 15 and older.
  • Among 41 patients with Philadelphia (Ph)-negative ALL, 95.1% achieved complete remission, with notable two- and four-year relapse-free and overall survival rates; similarly, all 32 patients with Ph-positive ALL achieved complete remission and had better survival outcomes.
  • Higher CD20 positivity was linked to improved survival rates, and patients receiving two or more cycles of rituximab after transplantation showed significantly better relapse-free and overall survival than those receiving fewer cycles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background/aims: We evaluated the role of next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based disease monitoring for elderly patients diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who received decitabine therapy.

Methods: A total of 123 patients aged > 65 years with AML who received decitabine were eligible. We analyzed the dynamics of variant allele frequency (VAF) in 49 available follow-up samples after the fourth cycle of decitabine.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Donor clonal hematopoiesis may be transferred to the recipient through allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), but the potential for adverse long-term impact on transplant outcomes remains unknown. A total of 744 samples from 372 recipients who received HSCT and the corresponding donors were included. Bar-coded error-corrected sequencing using a modified molecular inversion probe capture protocol was performed, which targeted 33 genes covering mutations involved in clonal hematopoiesis with indeterminate potential (CHIP) and other acute myeloid leukemia-related mutations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to share our outcomes and experiences on allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in elderly patients aged 60 years and older with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) or acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in South Korea, and to compare them with other studies.

Materials And Methods: We analyzed the clinical outcomes of 116 patients with AML or MDS aged 60 years and older who underwent allogeneic HSCT. We also analyzed which pretreatment factors affect the overall survival (OS) after allogeneic HSCT.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: We evaluated the characteristics of CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α (CEBPA) mutations and the significance of a basic leucine zipper in-frame mutation (bZIPin-f) of CEBPA in patients with acute myeloid leukemia with a normal karyotype.

Materials And Methods: Based on updated knowledge of CEBPA mutations, we conducted next-generation sequencing analyses in a previously established real-world cohort.

Results: Among 78 of a total of 395 patients (19.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In this study, we performed serial monitoring using targeted DNA sequencing to identify genetic alterations in adults with Philadelphia-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph-ALL). Deep sequencing was performed by targeting the coding regions of 45 genes with recurrent driver mutations and 1129 single nucleotide polymorphism sites. Of the 43 patients that we examined, at least one case of genetic alterations was detected in 38 (88%) of the 43 patients at diagnosis (somatic mutations in 10 patients [23%] and copy number aberrations [CNA] in 36 patients [84%]).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The development of new treatment agents in recent decades has significantly improved the survival of patients with multiple myeloma (MM). Nonetheless, MM remains an incurable disease; therefore, novel combination therapies are required. Natural killer (NK) cells are one of the safest immunotherapeutic options.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Secondary-type mutations (STMs), namely SRSF2, SF3B1, U2AF1, ZRSR2, ASXL1, EZH2, BCOR, and STAG2, are more frequently detected in secondary acute myeloid leukemia (AML) than in de novo AML. Whether de novo AML with STMs should be differently managed is, however, unclear. In 394 patients diagnosed with de novo AML who had a normal karyotype, the genetic profiling via targeted deep sequencing of 45 genes revealed 59 patients carrying STMs (STM).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In this multicenter phase II study, we evaluated the safety and efficacy of imatinib in patients with steroid-resistant chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) and evaluated the quality of life (QOL) of the enrolled patients using the Short Form 36 (SF-36) health survey questionnaire. Thirty-six patients who were diagnosed with steroid-refractory cGVHD and treated with imatinib between March 2013 and February 2019 received 100 mg/day of imatinib for 2 weeks. Depending on the patient's condition and investigator's decision, the imatinib dose was allowed to be increased by 100 mg every 2 weeks up to 400 mg/day.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Leukemic transformation (LT) is the leading cause of death in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), prompting a study of genetic changes in 26 patients, 21 of whom had paired samples.
  • Researchers found frequent mutations in the genes IDH2 (19%) and ASXL1 (14%) at the MPN diagnosis, alongside three known driver genes.
  • The study noted that while certain mutation levels remained stable in non-progressing patients, those with LT showed significant expansion in mutation levels over time, indicating important genetic dynamics that could aid in prognosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF