1.Clinical features and outcomes of 139 Japanese patients with Hodgkin lymphoma.
Makita S1,2, Maruyama D3, Maeshima AM4, Taniguchi H4, Miyamoto KI1, Kitahara H1, Fukuhara S1, Munakata W1, Kobayashi Y1, Itami J5, Tobinai K1,2. Int J Hematol. 2016 Apr 16. [Epub ahead of print]
Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a rare subtype of malignant lymphoma in Japan, and there are few reports of HL in Japan in recent years. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical features of 139 patients with HL who were diagnosed and treated at our institution between 1997 and 2011. The median age at diagnosis was 34 years with 83 male. Of these patients, 83 (60 %) were early stage and 56 (40 %) were advanced-stage. Seventy-three patients (88 %) with early stage disease received ABVd followed by irradiation. All of the 56 advanced-stage patients received chemotherapy, mainly ABVd. The 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) rates and overall survival rates were 90 and 94 % in patients with early stage disease, and 71 and 90 % in those with advanced-stage disease. The PFS of patients with advanced-stage disease was significantly lower than those with early stage (p = 0.014). In conclusion, the outcomes of Japanese patients with HL in recent years were not improved as compared with the results of previous reports.
2.The roles of Polycomb group proteins in hematopoietic stem cells and hematological malignancies.
Takamatsu-Ichihara E1, Kitabayashi I2. Int J Hematol. 2016 Apr 16. [Epub ahead of print]
Polycomb group (PcG) proteins are epigenetic regulatory factors that maintain the repression of target gene expression through histone modification. PcG proteins control the repression of genes that regulate differentiation and the cell cycle in the maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC). Moreover, abnormalities in expression level and mutations in PcG genes have been reported in various types of cancer, including hematological malignancies. In this review, we present an overview of the roles of PcG proteins in HSC and various types of hematological malignancies.
3.Clinical and socioeconomic impact of moderate-to-severe versus mild influenza in children.
Heikkinen T1,2, Silvennoinen H3, Heinonen S3,4, Vuorinen T5,6. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2016 Apr 16. [Epub ahead of print]
Some studies have assessed the efficacy of influenza vaccination in children separately for moderate-to-severe and any influenza, but the definition used for identifying children with moderate-to-severe illness has not been validated. We analyzed clinical and socioeconomic data from two prospective cohort studies of respiratory infections among children aged ≤13 years (four influenza seasons, 3,416 child-seasons of follow-up). We categorized children with laboratory-confirmed influenza into two mutually exclusive groups of moderate-to-severe and mild influenza using the previously proposed criteria. We obtained the data for the analyses from structured medical records filled out by the study physicians and from daily symptom cards filled out by the parents. Of 434 cases of influenza, 217 (50 %) were classified as moderate-to-severe and 217 (50 %) as mild. The mean duration of fever was 4.0 days in children with moderate-to-severe influenza and 3.
4.An estimate of the burden of serious fungal diseases in Greece.
Gamaletsou MN1,2, Drogari-Apiranthitou M3, Denning DW1, Sipsas NV4. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2016 Apr 16. [Epub ahead of print]
Data on the epidemiology of serious fungal infections in Greece are scarce. Our aim was to calculate the burden of serious fungal diseases in Greece. A thorough literature search for papers reporting epidemiological data on serious fungal diseases in Greece was performed. Where no Greek data existed, we used a structured set of assumptions to estimate fungal disease burden, based on specific high-risk populations. Of the 10.8 million population, 85.5 % are adults and 27 % are over 60 years of age. The annual fungal disease estimates are as follows: 142,337 Greek women get recurrent vaginal thrush (2,632 cases/100,000 females); there are 889 cases of esophageal candidiasis (8.2 cases/100,000); annual incidence of Pneumocystis pneumonia is 112 cases; chronic pulmonary aspergillosis prevalence is 386 cases; there are 20,843 patients with allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis and 27,744 with severe asthma with fungal sensitization; candidaemia incidence is 541 cases (5.
