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ALL Cases (all + case)
Selected AbstractsPlacenta growth factor stimulates the growth of Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells by both autocrine and paracrine pathwaysEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF HAEMATOLOGY, Issue 4 2005Toshiko Ikai Abstract:, Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its associated molecule, placenta growth factor (PlGF) are now known to support normal hematopoiesis, and leukemia cell growth. In this study, expression of VEGF and PlGF in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells was examined by real time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction in 20 patient samples. Expression of PlGF was more intense in Philadelphia chromosome positive (Ph+) ALL than in Ph, ALL cases. On the other hand, expression level of VEGF was not different between Ph+ and Ph, cases. Then, PlGF was added to the two ALL cell lines, CRL1929 (Ph+), and Nalm6 (Ph,). The PlGF stimulated the growth of CRL1929 in time- and dose-dependent manners, although the growth of Nalm6 was not affected by PlGF. The growth stimulation of CRL1929 by PlGF was confirmed by the increase of S phase cells. And the growth promoting effect of PlGF on CRL1929 was cancelled by simultaneous addition of VEGFR1/Fc (which binds to PlGF and abrogates its function), but was not cancelled by VEGFR2/Fc (which does not bind to PlGF). Then, addition of VEGFR1/Fc to the simple culture of CRL1929 demonstrated growth inhibitory effect. These observations demonstrated that PlGF stimulates the growth of Ph+ ALL cells by both autocrine and paracrine pathways. Finally, PlGF-VEGFR1 loop might be a therapeutic target to improve the prognosis of Ph+ ALL. [source] Vitamin supplement use among children with Down's syndrome and risk of leukaemia: a Children's Oncology Group (COG) studyPAEDIATRIC & PERINATAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, Issue 3 2008Cindy K. Blair Summary Vitamin supplements have been proposed for children with Down's syndrome (DS) with claims of improving cognitive abilities, or immune or thyroid function. Several studies have shown decreased levels of zinc in this population. Because children with DS have a 50-fold increased risk of developing acute leukaemia during the first 5 years of life, we explored the relation between child vitamin and herbal supplement use and the risk of leukaemia in a case-control study. During the period 1997,2002, we enrolled 158 children with DS aged 0,18 years that were diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) (n = 97) or acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) (n = 61) at participating Children's Oncology Group institutions. We enrolled 173 DS children without leukaemia (controls), selected from the cases' primary care clinic and frequency-matched on age. Data were collected via telephone interviews with mothers of the index child regarding use of multivitamins, zinc, vitamin C, iron and herbal supplements, including age at first use, frequency and duration. Among controls, 57% reported regular multivitamin use (,3 times/week for ,3 months) compared with 48% of ALL cases and 61% of AML cases. We found no evidence of an association between children's regular multivitamin use and ALL or AML (adjusted odds ratios [OR] = 0.94 [95% CI 0.52, 1.70] and 1.90 [0.73, 4.91] respectively). There was a suggestion of an increased risk for AML associated with regular multivitamin use during the first year of life or for an extended duration (ORs = 2.38 [0.94, 5.76] and 2.59 [1.02, 6.59] respectively). Despite being the largest study of DS-leukaemia, our sample size was small, resulting in imprecise effect estimates. Future research should include larger sample sizes as well as a full assessment of diet including vitamin supplementation to adequately examine the relation between nutritional status and childhood leukaemia. [source] Prevalence and clinical correlates of JAK2 mutations in Down syndrome acute lymphoblastic leukaemiaBRITISH JOURNAL OF HAEMATOLOGY, Issue 6 2009Amos Gaikwad Summary Recurrent, prognostically significant chromosomal abnormalities occur in approximately 75% of paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), but only infrequently in children with Down syndrome (DS) and ALL. Recently, novel somatic activating mutations in the gene Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) were reported in 18% of DS ALL. Here we report identification and clinical correlates of JAK2 mutations in an independent cohort. JAK2 activating mutations occurred in 10/53 DS ALL cases (18·9%). Mutations were overrepresented in males (P < 0·03), occurred once in association with high hyperdiploidy and were not significantly correlated with age, initial white blood count, or event-free survival. Our results confirm the significance of JAK,STAT pathway activation in DS ALL. [source] Prospective application of a multiplex reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assay for the detection of balanced translocations in leukaemia: a single-laboratory study of 390 paediatric and adult patientsBRITISH JOURNAL OF HAEMATOLOGY, Issue 1 2004Lene Hyldahl Olesen Summary The upfront application of molecular methods for identifying the fusion transcripts arising from balanced translocations in haematopoietic malignancies has several advantages: sensitivity is independent of its frequency, i.e. rare ones are not missed, cytogenetically cryptic aberrations are identified and it provides a platform for minimal residual disease (MRD) detection. Employing a multiplex reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay identifying 27 fusion transcripts we prospectively analysed blood and/or bone marrow samples from 390 patients referred for diagnosis and treatment for acute leukaemia and chronic myeloproliferative disorders (CMPD) from a geographically well-defined region in Denmark. A total of 233 patients were diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), 95 with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) origin and 62 patients were recorded as CMPD. Twenty-three percent AML, 32% ALL and 55% CMPD patients exhibited chromosomal aberrations detected by the multiplex RT-PCR. Cytogenetically cryptic translocations were seen in 15% of the cases. Conversely, the cytogenetic analysis identified chromosomal aberrations other than translocations in 45% of AML cases and 63% of ALL cases. We conclude that, while the fraction of translocation positive leukaemia patients in an unselected cohort is lower than hitherto believed, a molecular approach to their diagnosis is worthwhile, partly for identifying cryptic and rare translocations, partly for monitoring MRD. [source] A Case Series of Pulsed Radiofrequency Treatment of Myofascial Trigger Points and Scar NeuromasPAIN MEDICINE, Issue 6 2009FIPP, Mazin Al Tamimi MD ABSTRACT Introduction., Pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) current applied to nerve tissue to treat intractable pain has recently been proposed as a less neurodestructive alternative to continuous radiofrequency lesioning. Clinical reports using PRF have shown promise in the treatment of a variety of focal, neuropathic conditions. To date, scant data exist on the use of PRF to treat myofascial and neuromatous pain. Methods., All cases in which PRF was used to treat myofascial (trigger point) and neuromatous pain within our practice were evaluated retrospectively for technique, efficacy, and complications. Trigger points were defined as localized, extremely tender areas in skeletal muscle that contained palpable, taut bands of muscle. Results., Nine patients were treated over an 18-month period. All patients had longstanding myofascial or neuromatous pain that was refractory to previous medical management, physical therapy, and trigger point injections. Eight out of nine patients experienced 75,100% reduction in their pain following PRF treatment at initial evaluation 4 weeks following treatment. Six out of nine (67%) patients experienced 6 months to greater than 1 year of pain relief. One patient experienced no better relief in terms of degree of pain reduction or duration of benefit when compared with previous trigger point injections. No complications were noted. Discussion., Our review suggests that PRF could be a minimally invasive, less neurodestructive treatment modality for these painful conditions and that further systematic evaluation of this treatment approach is warranted. [source] | ||||||||||