Articles

Acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) in the elderly patient

BJH - volume 12, issue 8, december 2021

A. Salaroli MD, C. Spilleboudt MD, P. Lewalle MD, PhD, S. Wittnebel MD, PhD

SUMMARY

The prognosis of acute promyelocytic leukaemia has passed from nearly desperate to highly curative over the last 40 years due to better understanding of the biology of the disease, the introduction of anthracyclines, all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA), arsenic trioxide (ATO) and the implementation of better supportive care during the treatment. If this also holds true for older patients will be discussed in this review.

(BELG J HEMATOL 2021;12(8):332–7)

Read more

Long-term treatment-free molecular remission in a FIP1L1-PDGFRA positive myeloid/lymphoid neoplasm with eosinophilia after Imatinib discontinuation

BJH - volume 11, issue 7, november 2020

D. Papazoglou MD, A. Salaroli MD, P. Heimann MD, PhD, P. Lewalle MD, PhD, D. Bron MD, PhD

SUMMARY

A 47-year-old patient was diagnosed with FIP1L1-PDGFRA-positive myeloid/lymphoid neoplasm with eosinophilia (F/P+ MLN-eo) and was successfully treated with Imatinib, achieving a sustained molecular treatment free remission (TFR) persisting three years after discontinuation.

(BELG J HEMATOL 2020;11(7):320-4)

Read more

Chimeric antigen receptor T-cells: a new therapeutic option for relapsed/refractory B-cell malignancies and beyond

BJH - volume 10, issue 8, december 2019

T. Feys MBA, MSc, G. Roex , Y. Beguin MD, PhD, T. Kerre MD, PhD, X. Poiré MD, PhD, P. Lewalle MD, PhD, P. Vandenberghe MD, PhD, D. Bron MD, PhD, S. Anguille MD, PhD

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a new cancer immunotherapy targeting specific cell surface antigens. This type of adoptive cell immunotherapy has been a breakthrough in the treatment of aggressive B-cell lymphoma and B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and is currently also being studied in other cancer types, including multiple myeloma and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. This review will discuss the recent clinical developments and future perspectives of CAR T-cell therapy, with a focus on the clinical trials that led to the FDA and EMA approval of tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah®, Novartis) and axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta®, Gilead) for the treatment of childhood/adult relapsed/refractory (r/r) B-cell precursor ALL and aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

(BELG J HEMATOL 2019;10(8):301–10)

Read more

Extracorporeal photochemotherapy for graft-versus-host disease: Where we are now and where we are going!

BJH - volume 9, issue 7, december 2018

P. Lewalle MD, PhD, Y. Beguin MD, PhD

SUMMARY

Graft-versus-host disease remains the leading cause of morbidity, non-relapse mortality and treatment failure after allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. So far, steroids are the first line treatment, but around 40% of patients become steroid-resistant or fail to respond at a safe dose. Patients who fail to respond to the initial therapy have a dismal prognosis, and no standard treatment is well established for them to date. Treatments that modulate the immune system rather than directly suppressing its function, although not dampening a potential graft-versus-malignancy effect, would therefore be highly desirable, and extracorporeal photopheresis appeared as being a good candidate to fill in these criteria. Multiple reports of treatments in both paediatric and adult patients with graft-versus-host disease have been published, and the overall favourable profile compared with other available immunosuppressive therapies continues to make extracorporeal photopheresis appealing despite all of the unknowns. In this article, we review the use of extracorporeal photopheresis for the treatment of graft-versus-host disease, including technical aspects, mechanism of action, safety profile and clinical efficacy data.

(BELG J HEMATOL 2018;9(7):254–65)

Read more

PP03 Amsacrine combined with high dose cytarabine in relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (rraml)

BJH - 2018, issue Abstract Book BHS, february 2018

A. Salaroli MD, D. Bron MD, PhD, M. Paesmans , B. Cantinieaux , P. Heimann MD, PhD, P. Lewalle MD, PhD, S. Wittnebel MD, PhD

Read more

PP40 Anti-Pd1 inhibitor follow by Allo Stem cell transplantation in 3 heavily pretreated lymphoma’s patients: Experience from Institut Jules Bordet

BJH - 2018, issue Abstract Book BHS, february 2018

M. Maerevoet MD, P. Lewalle MD, PhD, N. Meuleman MD, PhD, C. Spilleboudt MD, A. Salaroli MD, S. Wittnebel MD, PhD

Read more

O.5 Sequential administration of 5-azacytidine (AZA) and donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) in relapse after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT): an interim analysis from the Belgian Hematology Society (BHS)

BJH - volume 8, issue Abstract Book BHS, february 2017

X. Poiré MD, PhD, C. Graux MD, PhD, A. Ory , J. Jamart , F. Frédéric , H. Schoemans MD, PhD, P. Lewalle MD, PhD, A. De Becker MD, D. Deeren MD, Z. Berneman MD, PhD, T. Kerre MD, PhD, P. Zachée MD, PhD, D. Selleslag MD, Y. Beguin MD, PhD

Read more