Extracellular-to-Intracellular Fluid Volume Ratio as a Prognostic Factor for Survival in Patients With Metastatic Cancer.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate whether the extracellular-to-intracellular fluid volume (E/I) ratio can predict survival in patients with metastatic cancer.

Methods: Clinical data were collected from April 2016 to March 2018. Patients aged ≥19 years with metastatic solid tumor were eligible.

Micafungin prophylaxis for acute leukemia patients undergoing induction chemotherapy.

Background: Micafungin is a well-tolerated and effective prophylactic antifungal agent used in hematologic diseases. In this prospective trial, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of prophylactic micafungin during first induction chemotherapy in patients with acute leukemia. We also compared outcomes of prophylactic micafungin with those of prophylactic posaconazole in acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

ERK-dependent IL-6 positive feedback loop mediates resistance against a combined treatment using danusertib and BKM120 in Burkitt lymphoma cell lines.

This study was conducted to define the synergistic effect of the PI3K inhibitor BKM120 with the pan-Aurora kinase inhibitor danusertib and the potential mechanism of resistance to the combined inhibitor treatment in Burkitt lymphoma cell lines. The combination of danusertib and BKM120 showed a synergistic effect on Namalwa cells but not on BJAB cells. The combined treatment led to ERK hyperactivation and induced IL-6 secretion in BJAB cells but not in Namalwa cells.

Prognostic value of metabolic tumour volume on baseline F-FDG PET/CT in addition to NCCN-IPI in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: further stratification of the group with a high-risk NCCN-IPI.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the prognostic value of metabolic volumetric parameters as a quantitative index on pre-treatment F-FDG PET/CT in addition to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network International Prognostic Index (NCCN-IPI) in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

Methods: A total of 103 consecutive patients with DLBCL and baseline FDG PET/CT were retrospectively evaluated. Quantitative metabolic parameters, including total metabolic tumour volume (TMTV) using a standardized uptake value (SUV) of ≥2.

A Phase I/II, Open-Label, Prospective, Multicenter Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Lower Doses of Bortezomib Plus Busulfan and Melphalan as a Conditioning Regimen in Patients with Multiple Myeloma Undergoing Autologous Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation: The KMM103 Study.

A phase I/II trial was conducted to explore the safety and activity of the addition of bortezomib on days -6, -3, and +1 relative to the day of autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) to a conditioning regimen with busulfan and melphalan (BuMel; 3.2 mg/kg/day busulfan on days -5 to -3 and 140 mg/m/day melphalan on day -2) in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) following bortezomib-based induction chemotherapy. In phase I, doses of bortezomib (.

Interpretation of EBV infection in pan-cancer genome considering viral life cycle: LiEB (Life cycle of Epstein-Barr virus).

We report a novel transcriptomic analysis workflow called LiEB (Life cycle of Epstein-Barr virus) to characterize distributions of oncogenic virus, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection in human tumors. We analyzed 851 The Cancer Genome Atlas whole-transcriptome sequencing (WTS) data to investigate EBV infection by life cycle information using three-step LiEB workflow: 1) characterize virus infection generally; 2) align transcriptome sequences against a hybrid human-EBV genome, and 3) quantify EBV gene expression. Our results agreed with EBV infection status of public cell line data.

Replicative senescence of hematopoietic cells in patients with idiopathic cytopenia of undetermined significance.

We hypothesized that a subset of idiopathic cytopenia of undetermined significance (ICUS) is associated with an increased autonomous proliferation with exhaustion of hematopoiesis. The aim of this study was to investigate the cell turnover rate and replicative history of the bone marrow cells of ICUS patients. To this end, we examined telomere length (TL), proliferation, and apoptosis of the bone marrow cells of ICUS patients and healthy controls (HCs) using telomere quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical staining for Ki-67 and cleaved caspase-3.

Combination of Genetic Aberration With International Staging System Classification for Stratification of Asian Multiple Myeloma Patients Undergoing Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation.

Background/aim: The aim of the study was to contribute to the development of adaptive risk stratification methods specific to Asian multiple myeloma (MM) patients undergoing autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT).

Patients And Methods: We conducted this study to evaluate the prognostic impact of genetic abnormalities detected by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) on survival outcomes in combination with the International Staging System (ISS) classification in 161 MM patients. This was a single-center retrospective longitudinal cohort study of newly diagnosed MM patients undergoing ASCT within 12 months from initial diagnosis.

Body Cavity-Based Lymphoma in a Country with Low Human Immunodeficiency Virus Prevalence: A Series of 17 Cases from the Consortium for Improving Survival of Lymphoma.

Purpose: Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) is a type of body cavity-based lymphoma (BCBL). Most patients with PEL are severely immunocompromised and seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We investigated the distinctive clinicopathologic characteristics of BCBL in a country with low HIV burden.

Better treatment outcomes in patients with actively treated therapy-related myeloid neoplasms harboring a normal karyotype.

We analyzed treatment outcomes and prognostic factors in adult patients with therapy-related myeloid neoplasms (t-MNs) to select patients who would be benefited by active anticancer treatment. After excluding 18 patients who received palliative care only and 13 patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia, 72 t-MN patients (45 with acute myeloid leukemia and 27 with myelodysplastic syndrome) were retrospectively evaluated. Among them, 10 (13.

Pathologic Staging Inconsistency Between ypT4N0 (stage II) and ypT1-2N1 (stage III) After Preoperative Chemoradiotherapy and Total Mesorectal Excision in Rectal Cancer: A Multi-Institutional Study.

Background: In the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results population-based data, the survival curves reversed between T4N0 (stages IIB or IIC) and T1-2N1 (stage IIIA) in rectal cancer. However, T4N0 had a higher stage than T1-2N1 in the current colorectal staging system.

Patients And Methods: We analyzed 1804 patients with rectal cancer who were treated with preoperative chemoradiotherapy and curative surgery.

Stretchable, Bifacial Si-Organic Hybrid Solar Cells by Vertical Array of Si Micropillars Embedded into Elastomeric Substrates.

Stretchable electronics has enabled many unforeseen applications in a variety of fields. Mechanical design concepts to achieve the stretchability without affecting the device functionality, however, are limited to few known practices, such as mechanical buckling, serpentine shape, or simple elastomeric composites. In this paper, we propose another mechanics design principle for high stretchability (>100%) based on the composite of vertical array of Si micropillars embedded into elastomer poly(dimethylsiloxane).

Discovery of donor genotype associated with long-term survival of patients with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in refractory acute myeloid leukemia.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) has been the only treatment option for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) refractory to induction chemotherapy, with only 10-20% of patients achieving long-term survival. Certain donor genotypes may confer leukemia-clearing effects after allo-HSCT. We performed whole-exome sequencing of five pairs of the germ lines in AML patients who achieved long-term remission after allo-HSCT and in their donors, and found two significant variants: c.

FDG PET for Evaluation of Bone Marrow Status in T-Cell Lymphoma.

Purpose: In T-cell lymphoma, the role of FDG PET for bone marrow (BM) evaluation is not established yet. We investigated diagnostic performance and prognostic implication of FDG PET for BM evaluation in peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) and extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL).

Patients And Methods: Patients with PTCL or NKTCL, who underwent initial staging with FDG PET and BM biopsy, were retrospectively enrolled and analyzed.

Plasma-based protein biomarkers can predict the risk of acute graft-versus-host disease and non-relapse mortality in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Predictive biomarkers for acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) is currently lacking. In this study, we employed an unbiased proteome profiling method to prospectively collected plasma samples from allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT) recipients to identify protein biomarkers that predict the risk of aGVHD and non-relapse mortality (NRM). In the discovery set, including five aGVHD patients and five controls, we identified seven candidate proteins.

ASXL1 is a molecular predictor in idiopathic cytopenia of undetermined significance.

We analyzed the mutational profile of idiopathic cytopenia of undetermined significance (ICUS) compared with that of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Targeted sequencing of 88 genes associated with myeloid malignancies was performed using samples of bone marrow mononuclear cells from ICUS and MDS patients. Forty patients with ICUS and 128 patients with MDS were included in this study.

Venous thromboembolism in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma patients treated with lenalidomide plus dexamethasone.

Lenalidomide plus dexamethasone (LD) is currently the mainstay of treatment for both untreated and relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). Although lenalidomide-associated venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a major clinical concern, its incidence and prognostic impact have not been delineated. In this nationwide retrospective cohort study, we aimed to determine the cumulative incidence of VTE and its prognostic value using two consecutive cohorts of LD-treated RRMM patients: the KMM151 cohort (N = 542) and the HIRA cohort (N = 1559).

The Derived Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio Is an Independent Prognostic Factor in Transplantation Ineligible Patients with Multiple Myeloma.

Background: The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is an independent prognostic marker in solid and hematological cancers. While the derived NLR (dNLR) was shown to be non-inferior to the NLR in large cohorts of patients with different cancer types, it has not been validated as a prognostic marker for multiple myeloma (MM) to date.

Methods: Between May 22, 2011 and May 29, 2014, 176 patients with MM from 38 centers who were ineligible for autologous stem cell transplantation were analyzed.

Effect of dose rate on pulmonary toxicity in patients with hematolymphoid malignancies undergoing total body irradiation.

Background: This study evaluated the effect of radiation dose rate in patients with hematolymphoid malignancies undergoing myeloablative conditioning with total body irradiation (TBI), for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Methods: The incidence of pulmonary toxicity (PT) and treatment efficacy were compared between the conventional (≥ 6 cGy/min) and reduced dose rate (< 6 cGy/min). Seventy-seven patients receiving once-daily TBI between 2000 and 2016 were reviewed.

Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation for Patients with Natural Killer/T Cell Lymphoid Malignancy: A Multicenter Analysis Comparing Upfront and Salvage Transplantation.

Natural killer (NK)/T cell lymphoid malignancy comprises extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma (ENKTL) and aggressive NK cell leukemia (ANKL), and the outcomes for advanced or relapsed/refractory ENKTL and ANKL remain poor. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) can be used as a frontline consolidation treatment to prevent the relapse of advanced disease or as salvage treatment after chemotherapy for relapsed sensitive disease. We retrospectively analyzed 36 patients (ENKTL, n = 26; ANKL, n = 10) who underwent upfront (n = 19) and salvage allogeneic SCT (n = 17) at 6 hospitals.

Association of FOXP3 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms With Clinical Outcomes After Allogenic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.

Background: Forkhead box P3 (FOXP3) is an important marker of regulatory T cells. FOXP3 polymorphisms are associated with autoimmune diseases, cancers, and allograft outcomes. We examined whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the FOXP3 locus are associated with clinical outcomes after allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).

Busulfan plus melphalan versus high-dose melphalan as conditioning regimens in autologous stem cell transplantation for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.

Background: High-dose melphalan (HDMEL) represents the standard conditioning regimen before autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) in multiple myeloma (MM), but recent updates have suggested combination of melphalan with bulsulfan (BUMEL) is also associated with favorable outcomes. We performed the current study to address the lack of comparative studies between the two conditioning regimens in Asian populations.

Methods: Using the Korean National Health Insurance and Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service databases, 1,304 patients newly diagnosed with MM undergoing ASCT between January 2010 and December 2014 were identified.