MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study of testicular cancer patients treated between January 2001 and February 2011. Their epidemiological data, clinical presentation, pathologic diagnosis, stage of disease and treatment were gathered and the overall survival rate of this cohort was analyzed.
RESULTS: Thirty-one patients were included in this study. The majority of them were of Malay ethnicity. The average age at presentation was 33.7 years. The commonest testicular cancer was non-seminomatous germ cell tumour, followed by seminoma, lymphoma and rhabdomyosarcoma. More than half of all testicular germ cell tumour (GCT) patients had some form of metastasis at diagnosis. All the patients were treated with radical orchidectomy. Adjuvant chemotherapy was given to those with metastatic disease. Four seminoma patients received radiotherapy to the para-aortic lymph nodes. The 5-year survival rate for all testicular cancers in this cohort was 83.9%. The survival rate was 88.9% in 5 years when GCT were analyzed separately.
CONCLUSION: GCT affects patients in their third and fourth decades of life while lymphoma patients are generally older. Most of the patients treated for GCT are of Malay ethnicity. The majority have late presentation for treatment. The survival rate of GCT patients treated here is comparable to other published series in other parts of the world.
AIM AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical significance of serum CD26 in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia patients in the post remission induction phase, as well as the relationship between CD26 activity and the oxidative stress status.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: CD26, total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS), and oxidative stress index (OSI), in addition to activity of related enzymes myeloperoxidase, glutathione- s-transferase and xanthine oxidase, were analysed in sixty children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in the post remission induction phase.
RESULTS: The study showed significant elevation in CD26, TOS and OSI levels in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in the post remission induction phase in comparison to healthy control samples. In contrast, myeloperoxidase, glutathione-s-transferase and xanthine oxidase activities were decreased significantly. A significant correlation between CD26 concentration and some oxidative stress parameters was evident in ALL patients.
CONCLUSIONS: Serum levels of CD26 appear to be useful as a new biomarker of oxidative stress in children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in the post remission induction phase, and levels of antioxidants must be regularly estimated during the treatment of children with ALL.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Selected cases diagnosed as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) during the period of 1980 to 2012 were retrieved from the archives of the Oral Pathology Diagnostic Laboratory, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya. The sections from the formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissue blocks were stained with H and E as well as with LCA, CD20, and CD3.
RESULTS: The mean age was 41.6 years with a male: female ratio of 1.3:1. Out of the forty two cases, nineteen were Malays, eighteen were Chinese, followed by Indians (3) and Indonesians (2). The most common site of involvement was the mandible (22.2%), followed by the maxilla and palate (19.4% each). Most of the lesions presented as a painless progressive swelling. Only thirty six cases were further subdivided into B or T cell types. The majority were B-cell type (26 cases), of these 6 cases were Burkitt's lymphomas. Only ten cases were T-cell lymphoma, with three cases of NK/T-cell lymphoma.
CONCLUSIONS: In this series of 42 patients diagnosed as extranodal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, the lesions appeared as painless swellings, mostly in men with the mandible as the most frequent site of involvement. Majority were B-cell lymphomas with Malays and Chinese being equally affected whereas lymphomas were rare in the Indian ethnicity. T-cell lymphomas were found to be common in the Chinese ethnic group.
METHODOLOGY: Cytokines and transcription factors in haematopoiesis and leukaemic mechanisms are described. Genetic features and clinical implications due to the encoded chimeric neoproteins causing malignant haematopoietic disorders are reviewed.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Multiple translocation partner genes are well known for leukaemia such as MYC, MLL, RARA, ALK, and RUNX1. With the advent of more sophisticated diagnostic tools and bioinformatics algorithms, an exponential growth in fusion genes discoveries is likely to increase.
CONCLUSION: Demonstration of fusion genes and their specific translocation breakpoints in malignant haematological disorders are crucial for understanding the molecular pathogenesis and clinical phenotype of cancer, determining prognostic indexes and therapeutic responses, and monitoring residual disease and relapse status.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: We analysed 1748 admissions for fever in 315 Singapore children with non-HR acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) (MS2003, n = 183; MS2010, n = 132), comprising 76% of the total cohort (n = 413), to study the impact of these changes.
RESULTS: The new 2010-PVa which has no doxorubicin, was associated with significantly fewer hospitalisations due to fever (0.08 versus 0.30 admissions per block [A/blk], p
METHODS: We randomised 429 children with newly diagnosed ALL to 15-minute vs 3-hour infusion for the first dose of VCR to study if prolonging the first dose of VCR infusion improved response. In a subgroup of 115 B-ALL and 20 T-ALL patients, we performed VCR plasma (n = 135 patients) and intracellular (n = 66 patients) pharmacokinetic studies. The correlations between pharmacokinetic parameters and intracellular VCR levels with early treatment response, final outcome and ABCB1 genotypes were analysed.
RESULTS: There was no significant difference between 15-minute and 3-hour infusion schedules in median Day 8 peripheral or bone marrow blast response. Plasma VCR pharmacokinetic parameters did not predict outcome. However, in B-ALL, Day 33 minimal residual disease (MRD) negative patients and patients in continuous complete remission had significantly higher median intracellular VCR24h levels (P = .03 and P = .04, respectively). The median VCR24h intracellular levels were similar among the common genetic subtypes of ALL (P = .4). Patients homozygous for wild-type ABCB1 2677GG had significantly higher median intracellular VCR24h (P = .04) than 2677TT.
CONCLUSION: We showed that in childhood B-ALL, the intracellular VCR24h levels in lymphoblasts affected treatment outcomes. The intracellular VCR24h level was independent of leukaemia subtype but dependent on host ABCB1 G2677T genotype.