Durable remission induced by rituximab-containing chemotherapy in a patient with primary refractory Burkitt's lymphoma

We describe a 65-year-old man diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma arising from the intestine. The tumor cells had a mature B-cell immunophenotype and rearrangement of the c-myc gene. The patient was treated with intensive multiagent chemotherapy. After four courses of chemotherapy, an ileus developed due to a residual abdominal disease. We administered rituximab in combination with the same chemotherapy regimen. A dramatic clinical improvement was observed and abnormal uptake by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography disappeared. The patient experienced complete remission for 1 year. This encouraging result indicates that rituximab might be an important treatment choice in management of Burkitt's lymphoma.

Successful treatment of patients with rheumatic disorders and acquired factor VIII inhibitors with cyclophosphamide and prednisolone combination therapy: two case reports

Acquired haemophilia associated with autoimmune disorders can be fatal and has been reported to be refractory to steroid therapy alone. We report two cases of female patients, aged 24 years and 54 years, with acquired haemophilia caused by factor VIII inhibitors. Underlying diseases were systemic lupus erythematosus in the 24-year-old patient and rheumatoid arthritis in the 54-year-old patient. Both conditions were nearly quiescent when the patients manifested haemorrhagic diathesis. In response to combination therapy with prednisolone and cyclophosphamide, coagulation abnormalities were resolved together with complete elimination of factor VIII inhibitors in both patients. Thus, combination therapy with alkylating agents may be recommended as initial therapy for the management of autoimmune patients with factor VIII inhibitors.

Acquired hemophilia A in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus

A patient with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) developed acquired hemophilia A. The patient, a 24-year-old Japanese woman, was referred to our hospital because of uncontrollable bleeding following a tooth extraction. Laboratory examination revealed prolonged APTT (116 seconds), reduced factor VIII activity (2.8 %) and the presence of factor VIII inhibitor at a titer of 46.5 Bethesda units/ml. Transfusion of prothrombin complex concentrate and activated prothrombin complex concentrate followed by administration of prednisolone and cyclophosphamide successfully arrested bleeding and reduced the factor VIII inhibitor level. Acquired hemophilia A is a rare but lethal condition. Rapid diagnosis and introduction of adequate therapies are critical.

Factor VII R110C: a novel missense mutation (Arg110Cys) in the second epidermal growth factor-like domain causing factor VII deficiency in members of a Japanese family

This report describes the findings of a genetic analysis of the factor VII (FVII) gene in a Japanese, male patient with FVII deficiency. The proband showed FVII activity level of 25% and FVII antigen level of 28% of the normal value, but he had no severe bleeding episodes. We identified the mutation by direct sequencing of polymerase chain reaction products representing all exons except 1b and their flanking intronic regions of his FVII gene. We detected a single point mutation, a C-->T substitution at nucleotide position 7863 in exon 5, which results in an amino acid replacement of Arg (CGC) to Cys (TGC) at codon 110 in the second epidermal growth factor-like domain. Homozygosity was confirmed in the propositus by loss of a site for the restriction endonuclease Eco47III. Furthermore, his parents, who had moderately reduced levels of factor VII activity and antigen, carried this mutation site as a heterozygote. Although the Arg11O residue is located distal to the tissue factor (TF) in the soluble TF-FVIIa crystal structure, we infer that the replacement of the positively charged and larger Arg residue with a neutral Cys residue may be likely to impair proper folding, resulting in destabilization of the protein structure.

Gallbladder hematoma in a patient with hemophilia B, report of a case

The authors report the case of a 49-year-old man, hematoma of the gallbladder associated with hemophilia B. The patient was diagnosed incidentally by abdominal computed tomography with a gallbladder tumor. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography revealed negative gallbladder and angiography showed no obvious abnormality in the cystic artery. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a mass of mixed intensity on T2-weighted image and a mass of mixed intensity on the lining of the gallbladder wall. Hemorrhage in the gallbladder was thought to be most likely, however, the gallbladder tumor could not to be neglected. Cholecystectomy was performed on the patient and the pathological diagnosis was of a hemorrhage in the gallbladder. Hematoma of the gallbladder is a rare complication in patients with hemophilia B, however, it leads sometimes to a fatal course and magnetic resonance imaging is very useful to diagnose hemorrhage in the gallbladder.

Multiple myeloma presenting high fever and high serum levels of lactic dehydrogenase, CRP, and interleukin-6

Two myeloma patients presented high fever with no signs or data indicating infection at diagnosis or relapse. Both patients had plasmablastic myeloma, and serum levels of lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) and CRP were extremely high. Plasmablastic morphology, high LDH, and CRP were recognized as poor prognostic factors, indicating a fulminant phase of multiple myeloma. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) was only high in measured cytokines. We proposed that IL-6 caused high fever and induced the fulminant phase in these 2 cases.

Myelodysplastic syndromes with nephrotic syndrome

It is sometimes reported that the immunological abnormalities in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) induce autoimmune disease (i.e., acute systemic vasculitic syndrome, chronic cutaneous vasculitis, polyneuropathy, relapsing polychondritis, and steroid-responsive pulmonary disorders). We investigated the clinical features of patients with MDS accompanied by nephrotic syndrome. We enrolled 125 patients with MDS who were admitted between January 1979 and May 1996 in this study. The renal function was assessed based on the laboratory data and the findings at the physical examination. The diagnoses of nephrotic syndrome and glomerular disease were established when 24-hr urinary excretion was more than 3.5 g and serum total protein was less than 6.0 g/dl, and when the 24-hr protein excretion was more than 1.5 g. Five patients (4%) had glomerular disease, and three (2.4%) had nephrotic syndrome. Of the five patients with glomerular disease, two had refractory anemia (RA), and three had chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMMOL). Three of the total 11 patients with CMMOL were diagnosed as having nephrotic syndrome. Among the CMMOL patients, those with nephrotic syndrome showed higher absolute monocyte numbers than did those without nephrotic syndrome (8830 +/- 4677/microl vs. 3061 +/- 2887/microl, P = 0.03). One CMMOL patient was treated with VP-16 and hydroxyurea. As the white blood cell count in this patient decreased, the 24-hr urine protein excretion and the serum tumor necrosis factor alpha level decreased. The relationship between nephrotic syndrome and CMMOL was not clear. High monocyte count and the serum cytokines in MDS patients may play a partial role in the evolution of glomerulonephritis, and CMMOL may be closely related to nephrotic syndrome.

A staging system for multiple myeloma based on the morphology of myeloma cells

The morphology of myeloma cells is reported to be one of the prognostic factors in multiple myeloma (MM) patients. We analyzed the prognostic factors, including morphological classification, in 292 patients with MM in order to select poor-risk patients who should be considered candidates for early intensive chemotherapy, including stem cell transplantation. Multivariate analysis was applied to 90 patients diagnosed between 1989 and 1996, because serum beta-2-microglobulin (beta2M) has been measured regularly since 1989, and showed that serum albumin, serum beta2M, and the morphology of myeloma cells predicted survival. According to these factors, patients were divided into 3 risk groups; a high-risk group (14%), a intermediate-risk group (46%) and a low-risk group (40%). There were significant differences between survival times in these 3 groups (median survival: high-risk, 16; intermediate-risk, 22; and low-risk, 44 months).

Acute myeloid leukemia accompanied by multiple thrombophlebitis

A 66-year-old woman suffering from fever and thrombophlebitis was referred to our hospital. A peripheral blood examination revealed hyperleukocytosis with 96% blast cells and thrombocytopenia. The patient was diagnosed as having acute myeloid leukemia (AML) accompanied by disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). A marked decrease in protein C (PC) antigen and activity were observed. In this case, PC levels were lower than those observed in AML with DIC. Induction therapy for leukemia and treatment of DIC were started on the first day of hospitalization. The patient achieved complete remission, with PC antigen and activity levels normalized.

Steroid-responsive pulmonary disorders associated with myelodysplastic syndromes with der(1q;7p) chromosomal abnormality

We report three patients with pulmonary disorders associated with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). All three patients had symptoms of pyrexia and respiratory discomfort. One patient had pulmonary eosinophilia with bilateral pleural effusion, one had interstitial pneumonia, and one had bilateral pleural effusion caused by systemic vasculitis. Elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia, and morphological abnormalities in peripheral blood were observed in all three patients. The bone marrow of these patients revealed trilineage dysplasia and eosinophilia. Cytogenetic analysis showed [46,XY,-7,+der(1q;7p)]. Antibiotic treatment was not effective. However, improvement was dramatic after corticosteroid treatment; CRP levels were reduced and the hypergammaglobulinemia was improved. These cases suggest that MDS with [-7,+der(1q;7p)] may be correlated with bone marrow eosinophilia and that an immunologic abnormality may be involved in the pulmonary disorders.

Naloxone-reversible effect of spantide on the spinally mediated behavioural response induced by neurokinin-2 and -3 receptor agonists

[D-Arg1, D-Trp7,9, Leu11]-substance P (spantide) was tested for antagonism against the licking, biting and scratching response induced by various neurokinin (NK) receptor agonists and bombesin (Bom) in mice. When co-administered with substance P (SP) intrathecally, spantide reduced the SP-induced behavioural responses in a dose-dependent manner. The duration of this antagonistic effect was approximately 30 min. Behavioural responses induced by physalaemin (Phy), [pGlu6, L-Pro9]-SP (6-11) (septide), [pGlu6, D-Pro7]-SP (6-11) (D-septide) and eledoisin (Ele) were also dose-dependently decreased by relatively small doses of spantide. Higher doses of spantide were needed to reduce the behavioural responses induced by [Sar9, Met (O2)11]-SP, neurokinin A (NK A) and neurokinin B (NK B). No significant effect of spantide was observed against the behavioural responses elicited by Bom. Pretreatment with naloxone, an opioid antagonist, resulted in a reversible effect on the behavioural reduction of NK-2 and NK-3 receptor agonists produced by spantide. However, the effect of spantide on the NK-1 receptor agonist-induced response was unchanged by naloxone. In homogenates of mouse spinal cord, competition studies confirmed that the binding of the opioid ligand [3H]naloxone was displaced by spantide with a low but measurable affinity. These results suggest that the behavioural response to NK-2 and NK-3 receptor agonists may be partially inhibited by spantide through the activation of opioid system in the mouse spinal cord.