| 1. |
- Hellstrom-Lindberg, E., et al.
(author)
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A validated decision model for treating the anaemia of myelodysplastic syndromes with erythropoietin + granulocyte colony-stimulating factor : Significant effects on quality of life
- 2003
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In: British Journal of Haematology. - : Wiley. - 0007-1048 .- 1365-2141. ; 120, s. 1037-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We have published previously a prototype of a decision model for anaemic patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), in which transfusion need and serum erythropoietin (S-Epo) were used to define three groups with different probabilities of erythroid response to treatment with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) + Epo. S-Epo = 500 U/l and a transfusion need of < 2 units/month predicted a high probability of response to treatment, S-Epo > 500 U/l and =2 units/month for a poor response, whereas the presence of only one negative prognostic marker predicted an intermediate response. A total of 53 patients from a prospective study were included in our evaluation sample. Patients with good or intermediate probability of response were treated with G-CSF + Epo. The overall response rate was 42% with 28.3% achieving a complete and 13.2% a partial response to treatment. The response rates were 61% and 14% in the good and intermediate predictive groups respectively. The model retained a significant predictive value in the evaluation sample (P < 0.001). Median duration of response was 23 months. Scores for global health and quality of life (QOL) were significantly lower in MDS patients than in a reference population, and fatigue and dyspnoea was significantly more prominent. Global QOL improved in patients responding to treatment (P = 0.01). The validated decision model defined a subgroup of patients with a response rate of 61% (95% confidence interval 48-74%) to treatment with G-CSF + Epo. The majority of these patients have shown complete and durable responses.
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| 2. |
- Scherer, SW, et al.
(author)
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Human chromosome 7: DNA sequence and biology
- 2003
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In: Science (New York, N.Y.). - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 1095-9203 .- 0036-8075. ; 300:5620, s. 767-772
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- DNA sequence and annotation of the entire human chromosome 7, encompassing nearly 158 million nucleotides of DNA and 1917 gene structures, are presented. To generate a higher order description, additional structural features such as imprinted genes, fragile sites, and segmental duplications were integrated at the level of the DNA sequence with medical genetic data, including 440 chromosome rearrangement breakpoints associated with disease. This approach enabled the discovery of candidate genes for developmental diseases including autism.
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| 3. |
- Walsh, SH, et al.
(author)
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Mutated V-H genes and preferential V(H)3-21 use define new subsets of mantle cell lymphoma
- 2003
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In: Blood. - : American Society of Hematology. - 1528-0020 .- 0006-4971. ; 101:10, s. 4047-4054
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is believed to originate from a naive B cell. However, we recently demonstrated that a subset of MCL displayed mutated V-H genes. We also reported restricted use of certain V-H genes. To assess the prognostic impact of these new findings, we performed V-H gene analysis of 110 patients, revealing that 18 (16%) patients had mutated and 92 (84%) patients had unmutated V-H genes. Because the mutation rate was low in the mutated group (2.2%-6.7%), further investigation of the germline V-H gene in T cells from 5 patients with mutated V-H genes was carried out; results showed that the unrearranged V-H gene was identical to the published sequence. These data confirm that the base pair substitutions within the rearranged V-H genes represent hyper-mutations, and indicate germinal center exposure. However, V-H gene mutation status did not correlate with prognosis because there was no difference in clinical outcome between the unmutated and mutated groups. The most frequently used V-H genes were V(H)3-21 (21 patients) and V(H)4-34 (19 patients). A novel finding was that V(H)3-21(+) MCL almost exclusively ex-pressed X light chains and displayed highly restricted use of the V(lambda)3-19 gene. V(H)3-21(+) patients had longer median survival than the remaining patients (53 vs 34 months; P = .03), but they tended to be younger at diagnosis. The combined use Of V(H)3-21/V(lambda)3-19 suggests a possible role for antigen(s) in the pathogenesis of these tumors and indicates that V(H)3-21(+) patients constitute a new MCL entity. (C) 2003 by The American Society of Hematology.
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