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Biomedical subjects

G Morgenstern

Publications and source records attributed to G Morgenstern.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Performing bone marrow biopsies with or without sedation: a comparison.

Although intravenous sedation (ISED) in addition to a local anaesthetic (LA) is commonly used in the performance of a bone marrow aspirate and trephine (BMAT), it is not clear under what circumstances and in which way sedation may be most beneficial. In this study, information was gathered using a questionnaire, from 112 patients shortly after undergoing BMAT; the duration of the procedures and the length of the biopsy cores were measured and any complications noted. Most patients (68%) chose to receive LA only, and almost all (74/76) were happy with their decision. Patients who received sedation gave lower pain scores than patients receiving LA only (1 vs. 3) and were found to have lower levels of apprehension at the thought of having a repeat procedure. Patients having a repeat BMAT showed a slightly increased preference for having sedation compared with patients who were undergoing it for the first time. There is some concern that guidelines regarding the use of ISED for procedures other than BMAT are not always adhered to, and current practice may be best revealed by a large-scale audit of sedation practice for the performance of BMAT. Patients should be given the choice of having ISED if the appropriate resources are available, but in most cases the additional small risk of receiving sedation can be avoided.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Favourable outcome for patients with myeloid disorders treated with fludarabine-melphalan reduced-intensity conditioning and allogeneic bone marrow stem cell transplantation without the use of T-lymphocyte-depleting antibodies.

We report the use of reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC)-matched sibling allogeneic bone marrow stem cell transplantation as a method of establishing a graft-vs.-leukaemia (GvL) effect against myeloid disorders using a fludarabine-melphalan protocol without the use of T-lymphocyte-depleting antibodies. The 16 patients in this group had predominantly poor-risk acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) (n=10), AML/myelodysplasia (MDS) (n=2) and MDS (n=4). All but one patient achieved full haematopoietic engraftment. Thirteen of 16 patients are alive and in continued complete remission on completion of this study with a median follow-up of 426 d (range 83-1524). The actuarial 4 yr disease-free and overall survival is 79% for both. Only one patient relapsed following transplant, giving a relapse rate of 6% during the study period. The treatment-related mortality was 13% (n= 2). Overall, acute graft-vs.-host disease (GvHD) occurred in 53% (8/15), with acute GvHD grade II or above occurring in 47% (7/15). In the 13 evaluable patients, chronic GvHD occurred in 46% (6/13), with this being extensive in three patients. These results suggest that a GvL effect can be delivered against poor-risk myeloid disorders with a low non-relapse mortality using this fludarabine-melphalan RIC protocol.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2001

Chemotherapy for leukaemia following previous pelvic radiotherapy is associated with severe enteritis and haemorrhagic cystitis.

We describe two patients who developed extensive ulceration, haemorrhage and necrosis of bladder or bowel following treatment with intensive chemotherapy for acute leukaemia. Major surgical intervention was required in both cases. Both patients had previously undergone pelvic radiotherapy for gynaecologic malignancy and had suffered symptoms of chronic radiation-induced cystitis and enteritis. Bowel and bladder histology showed evidence of chronic radiation cystitis or enteritis. We postulate that combined mucosal toxicity secondary to cytotoxic therapy and chronic radiation-induced damage to bowel or bladder mucosa resulted in critical ischaemia, ulceration and necrosis of bowel and bladder. Caution must be exercised in the treatment of patients receiving intensive chemotherapy if there is a history of chronic radiation enteritis or cystitis, and dosage reductions may be justified.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Molecular quantitation of minimal residual disease in acute myeloid leukemia with t(8;21) can identify patients in durable remission and predict clinical relapse.

One of the most common translocations in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the t(8;21), which produces the fusion gene AML1-MTG8. We have developed a sensitive competitive reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay for AML1-MTG8 transcripts, coupled with a competitive RT-PCR for the ABL transcript as a control to accurately estimate the level of amplifiable RNA. We have shown that AML1-MTG8 and ABL transcripts have equal degradation rates. Thus, this method is useful for multicenter studies. We studied 25 patients with t(8;21) AML by means of serial analysis done on bone marrow (BM) and peripheral blood (PB) samples from 21 patients. Our analysis showed that, in general, a successful induction chemotherapy produces a reduction of 2 to 3 log in the level of AML1-MTG8, followed by a further 2 to 3 log after consolidation/intensification chemotherapy. Levels up to 1 x 10(3) and 1 x 10(2) molecules/microg of RNA in BM and PB, respectively, were compatible with durable remission. On the other hand, 5 patients with levels of 0.71 x 10(5) to 2.27 x 10(5) molecules/microg of RNA in BM and 2.27 x 10(3) to 2.27 x 10(4) molecules/microg of RNA in PB had hematologic relapse within 3 to 6 months. Our data indicate that serial quantitation of AML1-MTG8 transcripts is useful in identifying patients at high risk of relapse and may offer an opportunity for clinical intervention to prevent hematologic relapse. This approach was applied successfully in a patient who had an allogeneic BM transplantation. We also suggest that PB may be used an alternative to BM for quantitating AML1-MTG8 transcripts.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMed1994

Carcinomatous meningitis in patients with breast cancer. An aggressive disease variant.

BACKGROUND: Carcinomatous meningitis is a rare and often devastating complication in patients with breast cancer, and the treatment is controversial. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 35 patients with carcinomatous meningitis from breast cancer was performed to define the biology of the disease and to guide treatment. RESULTS: An aggressive variant of breast cancer was revealed: meningeal metastasis complicates less than 3.5% of cases of metastatic breast carcinoma. Sixty-seven percent of these patients had tumors that were lobular or combined lobular/ductal histology; the median intervals from primary treatment to disease recurrence and from recurrence to death were 10.9 and 15 months, respectively. The median survival after diagnosis of carcinomatous meningitis was 77 days. The most significant prognostic factor was the Karnofsky performance status (KP) at presentation of meningeal disease. Patients with a KP greater or equal to 70 survived a median of 313 days, whereas those with a KP of 60 or less survived for a median of 36 days (P = 0.0002). In addition, there was a trend suggesting that the response 2 weeks after treatment was initiated, correlated with survival. CONCLUSIONS: Carcinomatous meningitis from breast carcinoma is an aggressive metastatic complication with a poor prognosis. The authors suggest that patients with a poor KP (< 70) should be treated symptomatically and those with a good KP (> or = 70) should receive more aggressive treatment. The patients' survival in this study compared well with other reports, and yet, only one patient was treated with intraventricular chemotherapy. Therefore, these data question the superiority of intraventricular treatment versus other modalities.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Randomised vehicle-controlled dose-finding study of glycosylated recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor after bone marrow transplantation.

A multicentre, randomised vehicle-controlled single-blind dose ranging trial of intravenous recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhuG-CSF) administration after BMT has been performed in 121 patients with non-myeloid malignancies. All the doses of rhuG-CSF used (2-20 micrograms/kg/day) resulted in significant acceleration of neutrophil recovery, and a dose-response effect was apparent (p < 0.05). At the 20 micrograms/kg/day dose of rhuG-CSF the median time taken to achieve a neutrophil count of > 0.5 x 10(9)/1 was reduced from 19 to 13 days (p < 0.001) and the time to achieve a neutrophil count > 1.0 x 10(9)/1 on the first of 3 consecutive days, from 26 to 14 days (p < 0.001). There was a trend to less antibiotic use in the rhuG-CSF recipients and the median time in hospital was markedly reduced by 11-15 days (p < 0.01). There was no toxicity in this study attributable to rhuG-CSF.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Second transplants for patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia in relapse after original transplant with T-depleted donor marrow: feasibility of using busulphan alone for re-conditioning.

Between July 1986 and March 1991, 16 patients who had relapsed after T-lymphocyte depleted bone marrow transplantation (BMT) for chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) received a second transplant using unmanipulated marrow cells from the same HLA-identical sibling donor. The median numbers of days from first BMT to haematological relapse and to second BMT were 557 (range 273-1543) and 1211 (range 476-2310) respectively. 11 patients were in uncomplicated chronic phase at time of second BMT, and five had more advanced disease. As conditioning for second BMT, eight patients received various combinations of cytotoxic drugs, and eight received high-dose busulphan alone. Eight (50%) patients survive at a median of 424 d post-second BMT (range 158-1789) and all are free of leukaemia by conventional criteria: five had been conditioned with high-dose busulphan alone. Causes of death in the eight patients who died included relapse (n = 2), graft-versus-host disease (n = 2), interstitial pneumonitis (n = 2), and infection (n = 2). We conclude that patients relapsing into chronic phase after BMT with T-lymphocyte depleted donor marrow may be offered the option of second BMT with unmanipulated marrow from the original donor. Conditioning with high-dose busulphan alone may be safer than use of more intensive schedules.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

The use of cultured bone marrow cells in autologous transplantation.

The feasibility of ex vivo purging with long-term bone marrow cultures (LTBMC) for autologous transplantation in leukemia has been established. The procedure has been applied to patients with acute myeloid leukemia (in relapse or remission) and recently in one patient with chronic myeloid leukemia. The results in first remission AML are very encouraging with 4 out of 6 patients well and apparently disease free greater than 1 to 4 years post autograft. In patients transplanted with active disease, remissions of 6 to 8 months duration were seen in two patients transplanted in florid relapse. In a CML patient with 87% of his bone marrow cells Ph1 positive, there was a marked decline of karyotypically abnormal cells in culture. Reinfusion of the cultured cells into the patient resulted in engraftment with exclusively Ph1 negative cells. The therapeutic implications of LTBMC purging require further evaluation.

Bone Marrow Cells↗
PubMed1989

High-dose, double alkylating agent chemotherapy with DTIC, melphalan, or ifosfamide and marrow rescue for metastatic malignant melanoma.

Thirty-seven patients with widely metastatic malignant melanoma were treated with one of three chemotherapy regimens, incorporating high-dose dacarbazine (DTIC). The chemotherapy was followed by autologous bone marrow rescue which was harvested under local anesthesia in 25 of the patients. The three regimens comprised a 24-hour infusion of DTIC (Regimen A for patients less than 45 years of age, 4.3 to 10.5 g/m2; B, if greater than 45 years of age 2.7 to 4.0 g/m2; and later C, if greater than 45 years of age 7.0 to 8.0 g/m2). The second alkylating agent was given at +8 and +16 hours from the start of DTIC. The total doses of the melphalan ranged from 60 to 130 mg/m2 for Regimen A and 30 to 40 mg/m2 for Regimen B. Ifosfamide 5.0 to 8.0 g/m2 was given instead of melphalan in Regimen C. The response rates for the regimens were 81% (25% CR) for A, 27% (11% CR) for B, and 20% (with no complete responders) for Regimen C. There was no statistically significant difference between the three regimens for survival with a median value of 6 months. One of the 16 patients treated with the very high dose Regimen A died of septicemia and three of ten patients in Regimen C died within the first 2 weeks of treatment. There was statistically significant greater myelosuppression, stomatitis, and diarrhea in the very high dosage DTIC and melphalan (Regimen A) compared with the other two regimens. No significant difference in response rate or toxicity was observed for the different dosages escalated within each of the three regimens. Although hematologic and gastrointestinal toxicity were very severe, no unusual side effects were noted except for one episode of severe acute renal failure in the high-dose DTIC and melphalan, Regimen A. Responses occurred mainly in nonvisceral, nodal, and cutaneous sites and occasionally in pulmonary metastases. The Karnofsky performance improved 4 to 6 months after treatment notably with the high-dose DTIC and melphalan therapy. No survival benefit for the combination chemotherapy despite the high dosages was detected and such an approach currently cannot be recommended.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Recombinant human granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (rhGM-CSF) given as daily short infusions--a phase I dose-toxicity study.

Twenty patients with progressive metastatic solid tumours were entered into a study to evaluate the biological effects and toxicity of recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). GM-CSF was given as half-hour intravenous infusions during two 10-day phases of daily treatments (separated by 10 days without GM-CSF) and over a final phase of 20 days of alternate day infusions. Doses were escalated in steps from 0.3 to 60 micrograms kg-1 day-1 between successive patient groups. Significant increases (P less than 0.005) of total leucocyte, neutrophil and eosinophil polymorph counts were seen over the periods of daily infusions (up to four-fold rises of total white count) at dose levels of 10 micrograms kg-1 and above. Counts produced at 30 micrograms kg-1 were significantly higher than at 10 micrograms kg-1 (P less than 0.025). Toxic side effects of GM-CSF included mild transient pyrexias, bone pain and pruritus. The maximum tolerated dose was 60 micrograms kg-1, which produced severe toxicity in 80% of patients. The toxicity at this dose included pericarditis and dyspnoea ascribed to a 'capillary-leak' syndrome. One patient receiving 60 micrograms kg-1 died as a result of a pulmonary embolus. Seven patients with previously rapidly progressive metastatic tumours experienced stabilisation of disease while receiving GM-CSF and one patient with a previously heavily pretreated metastatic soft tissue sarcoma underwent a greater than 50% reduction of tumour volume. Patients undergoing chemotherapy may benefit both from a reduction of the myelosuppressive effects of cytotoxic agents and from an antitumour effect if GM-CSF is incorporated into future regimens.

Colony-Stimulating Factors↗
PubMed1988

In vitro and in vivo analysis of the effects of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in patients.

Twelve patients with small cell lung cancer were treated with recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, rhG-CSF, given by continuous infusion at doses ranging from 1 to 40 micrograms kg-1 day-1. Patients received the rhG-CSF before the start of intensive chemotherapy and after alternate cycles of chemotherapy. Several in vitro assays were performed using peripheral blood neutrophils and marrow progenitor cells collected from patients prior to and after infusion of the growth factor. Peripheral blood neutrophils were tested for mobility and phagocytic activity. In addition, in vitro clonogenic assays of marrow haemopoietic progenitor cells and analysis of bone marrow trephines and aspirates were carried out. We found that rhG-CSF in vivo has at least two main effects: (a) an early fall in peripheral neutrophils, within the first hour, followed by a rapid influx of mature neutrophils into the circulatory pool; (b) stimulation of proliferation and differentiation of neutrophil precursors in the bone marrow. Neutrophils released into the circulation were normal in tests of their mobility and phagocytic activity.

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMed1986

Reconstitution of haemopoietic system with autologous marrow taken during relapse of acute myeloblastic leukaemia and grown in long-term culture.

In long-term cultures of bone marrow from a patient with acute myeloblastic leukaemia (AML) the leukaemic chromosome marker, which was present in a proportion of the marrow cells even during morphological remission, was not detectable after seven days of culture. After florid relapse of AML, large-scale bone marrow cultures were established while the patient received conditioning with cyclophosphamide and total body irradiation as for an allogeneic bone marrow transplant. Marrow cultured for ten days was reinfused and three and six months later the patient was in clinical remission with a normal karyotype.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

The place of bone-marrow transplantation in acute myelogenous leukaemia.

28 patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in first remission were maintained on chemotherapy, consisting of courses of cytosine arabinoside and daunorubicin, and immunotherapy with irradiated AML cells and BCG. The relapse rate and survival rate of these patients were compared with those of a simultaneously treated group of 22 patients in first remission who received sibling bone-marrow transplants after cyclophosphamide (60 mg/kg) given for 2 days and followed by a single dose of 1000 rads total body irradiation. Substantially fewer transplanted patients (4 out of 22) than chemo-immunotherapy patients (19 out of 28) relapsed (p less than 0.005) and 14 (64%) transplanted patients remain alive, well, and disease-free. Survival curves of the two groups of patients show that the transplanted patients never fared worse than the chemo-immunotherapy patients. We suggest that when possible young AML patients in remission should be offered transplantation as an alternative form of treatment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Cyclosporin A to prevent graft-versus-host disease in man after allogeneic bone-marrow transplantation.

Cyclosporin A has been used in conjunction with allogeneic bone-marrow transplantation in the treatment of 23 patients--21 with acute leukaemia, 1 with chronic granulocytic leukaemia, and 1 with aplastic anaemia. The drug was given twice daily from the day before transplant. At the start of the study cyclosporin prophylaxis was stopped in 3 patients within 44 days of transplantation because of non-specific rashes and/or deteriorating renal function. All 3 patients had acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and died. Thereafter the drug was not stopped because of possible toxic manifestations, and 20 patients have been studied (median follow-up 7 months; maximum 13 months). 2 patients have acquired GVHD; 1 patient died of acute GVHD and 1 has chronic mild disease. 3 other patients have died, 2 of recurrent leukaemia and a third of staphylococcal pneumonia with renal failure. Of the remaining patients, 1 has recurrent leukaemia and 1 has moderately severe renal failure. Several toxic effects of cyclosporin A have been observed but they are mostly reversible and no second malignant neoplasm has developed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Parenteral acyclovir therapy for herpesvirus infections in man.

Acyclovir is a new antiviral agent which is highly active against herpesviruses in vitro and in laboratory animals. Twenty-three cancer patients with cutaneous and/or systemic herpes zoster or herpes simplex infections were treated with parenteral acyclovir. All had received previous specific treatment for their malignant disease and ten had undergone bone-marrow transplantation. The drug seemed to arrest the progress of the infections and was most effective when given early. Although two patients showed transient increases in blood-urea, possibly the result of acyclovir, the drug was remarkably non-toxic in the doses used.

Adolescent↗