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Carles Besses

Publications and source records attributed to Carles Besses.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Darbepoetin-alpha for the anaemia of myelofibrosis with myeloid metaplasia.

Darbepoetin-alpha, a novel hyperglycosylated erythropoiesis-stimulating protein, was administered to 20 patients with myelofibrosis with myeloid metaplasia and anaemia. The initial weekly dose, 150 mug, was increased to 300 mug when no response was observed after 4-8 weeks. Eight patients (40%) responded to treatment, including six complete and two partial responses, and five maintained their response at a median follow-up of 12 months (range 4-22). Univariate analysis indicated that older age was the only factor associated with a favourable response to treatment (P = 0.006). None of the patients with appropriate serum erythropoietin levels responded. Treatment was usually well tolerated.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Detection of abnormalities of PRV-1, TPO, and c-MPL genes detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization in essential thrombocythemia.

No specific diagnostic markers have been described in essential thrombocythemia (ET). PRV-1 (polycythemia rubra vera-1), TPO (thrombopoietin), and c-MPL (myeloproliferative leukemia virus oncogene) genes are candidate ET molecular markers because of their implication in the pathogenesis of ET. We have studied the status of PRV-1, TPO, and c-MPL genes in 30 ET patients by a fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique using three noncommercial, locus-specific probes for PRV-1 (BAC RP11-160A19, located at 19q13.2), TPO (BAC RP11-45NP16, located at 3q27), and c-MPL (BAC RP11-297L5, located at 1p34). FISH study showed no PRV-1, TPO, and c-MPL cytogenetic abnormalities in any of the analyzed cases. Our results suggest a lack of structural and numerical rearrangements (deletions, translocations, or amplifications) of PRV-1, TPO, and c-MPL genes in ET patients.

Autoantigens↗
PubMed2005

Clonality analysis by HUMARA assay in Spanish females with essential thrombocythemia and polycythemia vera.

Analysis of the human androgen receptor gene (HUMARA) allows clonality to be assessed in essential thrombocythemia (ET) and polycythemia vera (PV). We studied clonality in 44 patients with ET, 18 with PV and in 64 healthy controls. The X-chromosome inactivation pattern was analyzed by HUMARA-polymerase chain reaction on DNA from purified granulocytes, T lymphocytes and the CD3- fraction of mononuclear cells.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Cytogenetic and fluorescence in situ hybridization studies in 60 patients with multiple myeloma and plasma cell leukemia.

We report cytogenetic results in a series of 60 patients affected with multiple myeloma (MM) and plasma cell leukemia (PCL) and compare the results with those previously reported. In our series, a total of 41% of MM patients and 71% of PCL patients displayed chromosome abnormalities. To evaluate the clinical value of monosomy 18, we obtained fluorescence in situ hybridization results (using centromeric probe for chromosome 18) of 22 MM patients who displayed a normal karyotype. Monosomy 18 was present in 3 of 22 patients (14%). Using conventional cytogenetics, we detected monosomy 18 in one patient affected with PCL. Two of four cases with monosomy 18 followed an aggressive course, with overall survival of 1 and 9 months. The remaining two are in follow-up and remain stable. The association of monosomy 18 with IgA subtype predominance and poor prognosis was not observed in this series of MMs and PCLs. Although these results do not confirm our previous hypothesis, further observations of this group of patients (with monosomy 18) regarding malignant transformation is warranted.

Chromosome Aberrations↗
PubMed2004

Is fluorescence in situ hybridization a useful method in diagnosis of polycythemia vera patients?

Polycythemia vera (PV) is a clonal stem cell disease with trilineage myeloid involvement, characterized by a growth factor-independent erythroid proliferation. At the time of diagnosis, the percentage of cytogenetic abnormalities using conventional cytogenetic techniques is less than 20% of all PV patients. In the present study, we compare the results between conventional cytogenetic methods and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) probes in 31 untreated PV patients. The karyotypes of all 31 cases were obtained from 24-hour bone marrow cell cultures. The fixed material, proceeding from conventional cytogenetics cultures, was analyzed with FISH, using centromeric probes for chromosomes 8 and 9 and locus-specific probes for 13q14 and 20q12 regions. Five cases (17.8%) showed an abnormal karyotype with conventional cytogenetics. When FISH probes were used, three alterations not detected with conventional cytogenetics, were found: two cases with D20S108 deletions and one with a D13S319 deletion, increasing the percentage of abnormal karyotypes to 19.3%. We conclude that, probably, the application of FISH with the mentioned probes, is not very useful to detect cytogenetic aberrations in untreated PV patients.

Female↗
PubMed2004

Acute pseudobulbar palsy as the initial presentation of intravascular lymphomatosis.

We describe the case of a 76-year-old male patient who developed acute manifestations of pseudobulbar palsy without a history of stroke or vascular risk factors as the first manifestation of intravascular lymphomatosis. Neurological symptoms of acute pseudobulbar palsy appeared on the second postoperative day after transurethral prostatectomy for the treatment of prostatic hypertrophy. Intravascular lymphomatosis was diagnosed from microscopic findings and immunohistochemical staining of the surgical specimen. Chemotherapy was started, but the patient died due to sepsis secondary to bone marrow aplasia. Intravascular lymphomatosis should be considered a rare potential cause of acute pseudobulbar palsy.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Polyethylene glycol interferon-alpha2b alone or in combination with low-dose Ara-C in patients newly diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia.

Thirty-five patients newly diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia received pegylated interferon alpha-2b (PEG-IFN) alone or combined with intermittent Ara-C for a median of 6.5 months (range: 1.4-19.2). The median weekly PEG-IFN dose was 4.0 microg/kg. Complete hematologic, major and complete cytogenetic responses were observed in 73%, 32% and 14%, respectively. Extra-hematologic side-effects were frequent and 20% of patients had grade III-IV hematologic toxicity.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Chimeric BCR/ABL gene detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization in three new cases of Philadelphia chromosome-negative chronic myelocytic leukemia.

Three new cases are reported of cytogenetically Philadelphia-negative (Ph-) chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML), with positive BCR/ABL gene rearrangement according to a reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction technique. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) studies using different probes showed three different situations involving chromosomes 9 and 22 for the masked BCR/ABL fusion gene. With the use of BCR/ABL-extra signal and CEP 9 probes (Vysis, Downers Grove, IL, USA), FISH studies detected the BCR/ABL fusion gene at the end of chromosome 9 in patient 1, a BCR/ABL fusion gene on both chromosomes 22 in patient 2 (who was in an accelerated phase of CML), and a BCR/ABL fusion signal on chromosome 22 in patient 3. Interestingly, FISH interphase signals showed the same pattern in patients 1 and 3, but the BCR/ABL fusion gene was located on different chromosomes. Careful interpretation of the results and a simultaneous study of nuclei and metaphases are therefore recommended in each case. In conclusion, in cases of Ph- CML, FISH studies are of paramount importance since they can detect chromosomal reorganization and its location, and can also provide quantitative follow-up of these patients.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Primary epidural lymphoma. Case report.

A case of follicular center cell lymphoma arising in the spinal dura mater is presented. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first case of primary epidural lymphoma in which immunohistochemical and molecular investigations demonstrated a follicular center cell origin.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Contribution of cytogenetics and in situ hybridization to the study of monoclonal gammopathies of undetermined significance.

Monoclonal gammopathies of undetermined significance (MGUS) are characterized by the presence of a monoclonal protein in serum in quite asymptomatic patients. Ten to 33% of MGUS patients eventually will develop overt multiple myeloma, but no single laboratory test exists that can predict changes toward a malignant evolution. The aim of the present study was to apply conventional cytogenetics, the MAC (morphology, antibody, chromosome) method and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) techniques in a series of 50 MGUS patients and 4 "smoldering" multiple myeloma patients to test the usefulness of their approaches as predictive methodologies. All patients studied by conventional cytogenetics presented a normal karyotype independent of the culture conditions used. The MAC method revealed that all mitotic cells showing a normal karyotype were positive for anti-MOP7 or anti-CD3 in 12 patients studied. In addition, two of them presented a numerical abnormality detected by FISH. Using a FISH technique with direct labeled centromeric probes for chromosomes 3, 7, 11, and 18 we showed a numerical abnormality in eight of 35 patients (23%) with a normal karyotype. The common occurrence of MGUS and the fact that they may evolve toward lymphoproliferative disorders displays the importance of being able to identify laboratory results that are capable of predicting the evolution of these patients. In the literature, patients who presented an IgA peak of immunoglobulin type have been associated with a higher risk of evolving to a malignant condition. Our study shows the correlation of MGUS patients who presented monosomy 18 with the presence of an immunoglobulin peak of the IgA type. Prospective follow-up is needed to evaluate the clinical value of monosomy 18 as a predictive factor for defining a high risk of malignant transformation in MGUS patients.

Adult↗