Cerebrospinal fluid asparagine concentrations after Escherichia coli asparaginase in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. (1/487)

PURPOSE: The CNS is an important sanctuary site in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). CSF asparagine concentration reflects asparaginase systemic pharmacodynamics. We evaluated the time course of CSF asparagine depletion in children with ALL during and after a course of Escherichia coli asparaginase. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-one children (24 newly diagnosed and seven at relapse) received E coli asparaginase 10,000 IU/m2 intramuscularly three times weekly for six and nine doses, respectively, as part of multiagent induction chemotherapy. CSF asparagine levels were measured before, during, and after asparaginase dosing. RESULTS: The percentage of patients with undetectable (< 0.04 micromol/L) CSF asparagine was 3.2% (one of 31 patients) at baseline, 73.9% (17 of 23) during asparaginase therapy, and 56.3% (nine of 16) 1 to 5 days, 43.8% (seven of 16) 6 to 10 days, 20.0% (two of 10) 11 to 30 days and 0% (zero of 21) more than 30 days after asparaginase therapy. The proportion of patients with depleted CSF asparagine was higher during asparaginase therapy than at baseline (P < .001), 11 to 30 days (P = .003), and more than 30 days after asparaginase therapy (P < .001). Median CSF asparagine concentrations were 4.42 micromol/L before, less than 0.04 micromol/L during, and less than 0.04 micromol/L at 1 to 5 days, 1.63 micromol/L at 6 to 10 days, 1.70 micromol/L at 11 to 30 days, and 5.70 micromol/L at more than 30 days after asparaginase therapy, respectively. CSF depletion was more common in patients with low baseline CSF asparagine concentrations (P = .003). CONCLUSION: CSF asparagine concentrations are depleted by conventional doses of E coli asparaginase in the majority of patients, but they rebound once asparaginase therapy is completed.  (+info)

Long-term follow-up results of adult patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma treated with short-term, alternating non-cross-resistant chemotherapy: Japan Clinical Oncology Group Study 8702. Lymphoma Study Group. (2/487)

BACKGROUND: Patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) and those with lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL) have overlapping clinical and immunophenotypic features and they have been treated with the same or very similar chemotherapy regimens. The goal of this multi-institutional phase II trial was to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of a short-term, six-drug chemotherapy regimen for adult patients with untreated ALL or LBL. METHODS: Forty-six eligible patients, 41 with ALL and five with LBL, were treated with a short-term (planned total therapy duration; 36-38 weeks), simplified chemotherapy program; two courses of VEPA-L (vincristine, cyclophosphamide, prednisolone, doxorubicin, I-asparaginase plus intrathecal methotrexate and prednisolone) followed by four courses of M-VEPA (methotrexate plus VEPA), without the traditional maintenance therapy using daily 6-mercaptopurine and weekly methotrexate. RESULTS: Thirty-six (78%; 95% confidence interval 64-89%) of the 46 eligible patients achieved complete remission (CR). Among the 36 patients who achieved CR, four (11%) died of treatment complications, 26 (72%) relapsed and six (17%) remain alive in continuous CR. The median survival for all 46 eligible patients is 14 months and the median disease-free survival (DFS) for the 36 patients who achieved CR is 11 months. The estimate of the proportion of survival at 7 years of all 46 eligible patients is 15% at a median follow-up time of 96 months and that of DFS of the 36 patients achieving CR is 17% at a median follow-up time of 93 months. Subgroup analysis showed that an elevated serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level, age of 30 years or older, the presence of B-symptom and T-cell phenotype were likely to be associated with shortened survival. Although the observed CR rate (78%) is within the range of satisfaction, the long-term survival rate (15%) is inferior to those of published programs incorporating maintenance therapy. CONCLUSIONS: A fraction of adult patients with ALL or LBL are curable with a short-term, six-drug chemotherapy regimen. However, this simplified therapy of shorter duration cannot be recommended.  (+info)

Fractionated cyclophosphamide added to the IVAP regimen (idarubicin-vincristine-L-asparaginase-prednisone) could lower the risk of primary refractory disease in T-lineage but not B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia: first results from a phase II clinical study. (3/487)

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: In a prior study, primary resistant acute lymphoblastic leukemia (RES-ALL) was observed in 11 of 176 (6%) adult patients treated with a four drug regimen (IVAP), its incidence being higher in T-cell or Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome/BCR-ABL rearrangement positive ALL cases with a blast cell count >25x10(9)/L (RES-ALL rate 19%, p=0.04). Aiming to minimize this percentage of resistant disease, fractionated cyclophosphamide (f-CY) was then added to the IVAP regimen. DESIGN AND METHODS: Study 08-96 was a prospective, collaborative phase II trial carried out at eight general hospital centers specialized in the care of hematologic malignancies. Historical IVAP-treated patients served as a retrospective control group. All consecutive, untreated patients (>15 years) with a diagnosis of ALL or advanced-stage lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL) were eligible. RES-ALL was defined as the persistence of >5% ALL cells in the bone marrow 28-40 days after the start of the IVAP regimen (idarubicin 10 mg/m(2)/d on days 1 and 2; vincristine 2 mg on days 1, 8 and 15; L-asparaginase 6,000 U/m(2) on alternate days 3 6 from day 8; prednisone 60 mg/m(2)/d on days 1-21). In the new study, two f-CY schedules were sequentially adopted: CY 150 or 75 mg/m(2)/bd, given for 4 consecutive days before IVAP (f-CY 1200 or 600, expressing total CY dose in mg/m(2)). RESULTS: Eighty-eight patients were evaluable (age range 15-74 years, blast count 0-240x10(9)/L, 14 T-lineage, 74 B-lineage, 13 Ph/BCR-ABL+). The first 39 patients received the f-CY 1200 schedule, 22 patients received f-CY 600, and the last 27 patients were not given any f-CY. These changes were dictated by the results of interim analyses of the f-CY groups (RES-ALL rate not reduced, myelotoxicity increased). Altogether, compared with the historical IVAP and no f-CY groups, the incidence of RES-ALL was not decreased by the addition of f-CY 1200/600 in B-lineage ALL, regardless of Ph/BCR-ABL expression and blast count. However, none of 14 T-ALL cases in the new study had RES-ALL (8 in f-CY groups, 5 of whom with >25x10(9)/L blast cells), compared to 5/39 (13%, overall) or 4/21 (19%, with >25x10(9)/L blast cells) among the control cases. Owing to small sample size, this difference was not statistically significant. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary experience suggests that T-ALL may be more sensitive than B-lineage ALL to an early therapy including f-CY. The hypothesis could be tested in a larger clinical trial.  (+info)

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in children: results of treatment with LSA2-L2 protocol. (4/487)

The results obtained with very intensive treatment in previously untreated patients early in the disease are encouraging, and we hope will change the philosophy of most investigators that even in far advanced disease such as those with marrow metastases or multiple primary sites, one can still obtain complete regression at all tumour sites within 1 to 1 1/2 months from onset of therapy by combined treatment with multiple chemotherapeutic agents and radiation therapy to one or more sites.  (+info)

Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: cyclical chemotherapy with three combinations of four drugs (COAP-POMP-CART regimen). (5/487)

Forty-two adults and children with previously untreated acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) were entered into a programme of chemotherapy in which three combinations, each of four drugs were administered in a predetermined cyclical rotation together with cranial irradiation and intrathecal injections of methotrexate. Forty-one patients (98%) entered remission and no patient developed neuroleukaemia. Relapse of ALL occurred in 10 patients, and three patients died during remission, while eight patients stopped treatment after two and a half years and have remained in remission for two to 26 months. Comparison of remission and survival experience in this mixed group of children and adults with the experience of children treated at Memphis and in the Medical Research Council's UKALL-I trial showed no significant differences. On the other hand, analysis by prognostic factors showed that neither age nor blast cell count at presentation had any adverse effect in patients treated in this study. No relapses occurred in nine patients with blast cell counts greater than 20 x 109/1 at presentation. This regimen is effective treatment for ALL and may be of special value in patients with poor prognoses. The regiment has not as yet proved superior for the treatment of children with ALL who do not have adverse prognostic features.  (+info)

Applications of synchrotron radiation to protein crystallography: preliminary results. (6/487)

X-ray diffraction photographs of protein single crystals have been obtained using synchrotron radiation produced by an electron-positron storage ring. The diffracted intensities observed with this unconventional source are a factor of at least 60 greater than those obtained with a sealed x-ray tube using the same crystal and instrumental parameters. Diffraction data have been collected by the precession method to higher resolution and using smaller protein crystals than would have been possible with a conventional source. The crystal decay rate in the synchrotron beam for several proteins appears to be substantially less than that observed with Ni-filtered Cu radiation. The tunable nature of the source (which allows selective optimization of anomalous contributions to the scattering factors) and the low angular divergence of the beam make the source very useful for single crystal protein diffraction studies.  (+info)

Hypersensitivity to tobacco antigen. (7/487)

A glycoprotein of molecular weight 18,000 was purified from saline extracts of cured tobacco leaves by ammonium sulfate fractionation, chromatography on Sephadex G-25 and continuous-flow preparative electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gel. Twelve of 31 volunteers (6/15 smokers and 6/16 nonsmokers) exhibited immediate cutaneous hypersensitivity (wheal and flare reactions) when injected intracutaneously with 2 mug of this material. Immunochemically similar material was demonstrated in, and purified from, cigarette smoke condensate and cigarette smoke. The concentration in cigarette smoke condensate ("tar") was determined to be 1.8-3.6 mg/g. Antigenically crossreactive material was also demonstrated in eggplants, green peppers, potatoes, and tomatoes, which, like tobacco, are members of the family Solanaceae.  (+info)

Binding of Clostridium botulinum C2 toxin to asparagine-linked complex and hybrid carbohydrates. (8/487)

Clostridium botulinum C2 toxin is a binary toxin composed of an enzymatic subunit (C2I) capable of ADP-ribosylating actin and a binding subunit (C2II) that is responsible for interaction with receptors on eukaryotic cells. Here we show that binding of C2 toxin depends on the presence of asparagine-linked carbohydrates. A recently identified Chinese hamster ovary cell mutant (Fritz, G., Schroeder, P., and Aktories, K. (1995) Infect. Immun. 63, 2334-2340) was found to be deficient in N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase I. C2 sensitivity of this mutant was restored by transfection of an N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase I cDNA. C2 toxin sensitivity was reduced after inhibition of alpha-mannosidase II. In contrast, Chinese hamster ovary cell mutants deficient in sialylated (Lec2) or galactosylated (Lec8) glycoconjugates showed an increase in toxin sensitivity compared with wild-type cells. Our results show that the GlcNAc residue linked beta-1,2 to the alpha-1,3-mannose of the asparagine-linked core structure is essential for C2II binding to Chinese hamster ovary cells.  (+info)

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