BACKGROUND Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) mostly affects patients with comorbidities and limited therapeutic options. Obinutuzumab in combination with chlorambucil (GClb) is a new therapeutic option for previously untreated CLL patients who are unsuitable for full-dose fludarabine-based therapy. This combination delays disease progression but incurs additional costs; thus, an assessment of...

A case is described of a 73 year old male with Waldenström's macroglobulinaemia and hyperviscosity in association with neurological abnormalities, the Bing-Neel syndrome. The relationship of the clinical features to changes in serum viscosity and the response to therapy with plasmapheresis and chlorambucil are discussed.

Autoimmune diseases are treated with immunosuppressive drugs, including alkylating agents. Patients undergoing longterm therapy may develop myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) with chromosomal abnormalities.1-3 We describe a patient affected by Behçet’s disease (BD), undergoing chlorambucil therapy, whose clinical picture was complicated by visceral Leishmaniasis and MDS associated with chromosome ...

A 72-year-old man with celiac disease was doing well on gluten-free diet. Five years later, he developed dyspepsia, fever and weight loss. CT scan and laparoscopic biopsies of small mesenteric lymph nodes clinched the diagnosis of Castleman's disease. He was started on chlorambucil; unfortunately he died few months after the diagnosis was made.

The anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab has revolutionized the management of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Addition of rituximab to the frontline standard chemotherapy (fludarabine–cyclophosphamide, FC) within the rituximab fludarabine cyclophosphamide regimen has recently shown to statistically increase both progression-free survival (PFS) and overal...

BACKGROUND/AIM Bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (BALT) lymphoma is a rare subtype of low grade marginal zone B cell lymphoma representing 10% of all MALT lymphomas. The purpose of this study was to analyze the outcome of this group of patients comparing prognostic parameters and therapy modalities. METHODS A total of eight patients with BALT lymphoma had diagnosed between January 1998-Apri...

Ligation of the cell-surface Fas molecule by its ligand (Fas-L) or agonistic anti-Fas monoclonal antibodies results in the cleavage and activation of the cysteine protease procaspase 8 followed by the activation of procaspase 3 and by apoptosis. In some leukemia cell lines, cytotoxic drugs induce expression of Fas-L, which may contribute to cell killing through the ligation of Fas. The involvem...