116,407 research outputs found
GIMEMA LCH 2001 STUDY: a prospective diagnostic and therapeutic protocol for adults with Langerhans’ Cell Histiocytosis.
No full textLangerhans Cell Histiocytosis in adults: The retrospective GIMEMA experience and the prospective protocol.
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Flow cytometric monitoring of minimal residual disease (MRD) in adult T-ALL: a GIMEMA multicenter study
No full textIncidence of thrombotic complications in adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia receiving L-asparaginase during induction therapy: a retrospective study. The GIMEMA Group.
No full textThe incidence of thrombotic complications chronologically related to L-asparaginase administration is retrospectively analyzed in 238 adult ALL patients treated according to the GIMEMA protocol ALL 0288. The patients (126 males and 112 females, aged 12-68 years, median 29) received E. coli L-asparaginase (L-ase) in the induction phase at a dosage of 6000 U/m2/day x 7 d starting on d 15, as well as vincristine, prednisone, daunorubicin and cyclophosphamide, the last-named by random 1:1. Ten patients (4.2%) developed thrombotic complications 5-15 d (median 11 d) after the start of L-ase treatment. The thrombotic events, which were lethal in 5 patients, involved the cerebral sinus (5 cases), the cerebral arteria (2 cases), the portal vein (1 case), the pulmonary district (1 case), and a deep vein in the lower extremity (1 case). The occurrence of these complications was not related to the general thrombotic risk factors, nor to the main clinical and laboratory data registered at diagnosis and immediately before the start of L-asparaginase treatment. The present study documents for the first time in a sufficiently large series of adult ALL patients that the incidence and the severity of thrombotic events related to L-ase administration are relevant and need further consideration
Treatment of elderly patients (> or =60 years) with newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia. Results of the Italian multicenter group GIMEMA with ATRA and idarubicin (AIDA) protocols.
No full textIn all, 134 elderly patients (median age 66 years, range 60-75 years) with newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) were enrolled in two successive protocols of the Italian multicenter group GIMEMA. All patients received an identical induction with all-trans retinoic acid and idarubicin; 116 (86%) entered complete remission (CR), two (2%) were resistant and 16 (12%) died during induction. After CR, 106 patients received further therapy whereas 10 did not, because of refusal (n=5) or toxicity (n = 5). Consolidation consisted of three chemotherapy courses in the AIDA protocol (AIDA, 67 patients) or, since 1997, of an amended protocol including only the first cycle (amended AIDA, aAIDA, 39 patients). In the AIDA group, 43 patients (64%) completed consolidation, while seven (11%) and 17 (25%) patients were withdrawn after first and second courses, respectively; nine patients (13%) died in CR and 12 (18%) relapsed. In the aAIDA group, all patients received the assigned treatment; two patients (5%) died in CR and six (15%) relapsed. In the AIDA and aAIDA series, the 3-year overall and discase-free survival rates were 81 and 83% (P= NS), 73 and 72% (P=NS), respectively. We highlight here the frequency and severity of complications linked to intensive chemotherapy in this clinical setting and suggest that, in APL of the elderly, less intensive postremission therapy allows significant reduction of severe treatment-related toxicity and may be equally effective
Clinico-biologic features and treatment outcome of adult pro-B ALL enrolled in the GIMEMA 0496 study: absence of the ALL/AF4 and BCR/ABL fusion genes correlates with a significanntly better clinical outcome.
No full textTo elucidate the biologic and clinical heterogeneity of adult pro-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (ie, terminal deoxynucletidyl-transferase-positive[TdT+], CD19+, CD10-, surface immunoglobulin-negative [SIg-]), we evaluated 66 patients enrolled in the Italian multicentric Gruppo Italiano Malattie Ematologiche dell'Adulto (GIMEMA) 0496 study between October 1996 and December 1999. The ALL1/AF4 fusion transcript, originating from the t(4;11) translocation, was detected in 24 patients (36.4%), and the BCR/ABL chimeric product was found in 6 patients (9%), while the remaining 36 cases (54.6%) were ALL1/AF4-BCR/ABL-negative. A white blood cell (WBC) count higher than 50 x 109/L was found in 13 of 24, 2 of 6, and 6 of 36 of the ALL1/AF4-positive, BCR/ABL-positive, and ALL1/AF4-BCR/AB-negative patients, respectively (P =.007). None of the 24 ALL1/AF4-positive patients coexpressed the CD13 and/or CD33 myeloid antigens. By contrast, CD13 and CD33 molecules were detected, respectively, in 3 of 6 and in 14 of 33 cases of the BCR/ABL-positive patient group, and in 2 of 6 and 9 of 35 cases of the ALL1/AF4-BCR/ABL-negative patient group. These differences still remained statistically significant even if the BCR/ABL-positive patients were excluded from the analysis. A complete remission (CR) was achieved in 52 (83.4%) of the 62 patients with ALL evaluable for response to treatment. CR rates were similar in the 3 genotypic groups. By contrast, comparing patients with or without the ALL1/AF4 gene the probability of remaining in continuous complete remission (CCR) at 3.5 years was 16% and 49.8%, respectively (P =.005). Our data demonstrate that in adult pro-B-ALL a distinction should be made between pro-B-ALL cases with and without the ALL1/AF4 or the BCR/ABL chimeric genes, since the absence of both of these fusion genes correlates with a significantly better clinical outcome after intensive polychemotherapy treatment without hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
Acute megakaryoblastic leukemia: experience of GIMEMA trials
No full textThe objective of the study was to evaluate the incidence, characteristics, treatment and outcome of acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (AMeL) in patients enrolled In GIMEMA trials. Between 1982 and 1999, 3603 new consecutive cases of AML aged over 15 years were admitted to GIMEMA trials. Of them, 24 were AMeL. The incidence of AMeL among AML patients enrolled in GIMEMA trials was 0.6% (24/3603). Diagnosis was based on morphological criteria. Out of 11 cytogenetic studies performed two presented chromosome 3 abnormalities. Twelve patients (50%) reached a CR, five (21%) died in induction and seven (27%) were unresponsive. The median duration of was 35 weeks (range 10-441). Seven patients underwent transplantation procedures (1 BMT, 4 aBMT, 2 aPBSCT). Four patients died in CR due to chemotherapy-related complications. Comparing the CR rate between AWL and the other cases of AML enrolled in GIMEMA trials, no differences were observed. These results were mirrored for different age groups. The median survival was 40 weeks. At present, after a followup of a minimum of 2 years, only two patients are alive in CR, all the others having died. A 5-year Kaplan-Meier curve shows a disease-free survival of 17% and an actuarial overall survival of 10%. AMeL is a rare form of AML. The CR duration and the overall survival in this group of patients are very poor, even if similar to those observed in other AML. Furthermore, a high number of deaths in CR were observed. On the basis of these data, a specific therapeutic approach, possibly with innovative treatments, should be evaluated
Validation of a new prognostic index in patients with early chronic lymphocytic leukemia : the GIMEMA experience
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