Vitamin D metabolite-mediated hypercalcemia and hypercalciuria patients with AIDS- and non-AIDS-associated lymphoma

Fifteen patients with lymphoma and hypercalcemia (greater than or equal to 11.0 mg/dL) were identified by screening the serum chemistry profile obtained from patients upon admission to the Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center. Seven of the 15 (47%) possessed a frankly elevated serum concentration of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25-(OH)2-D]. An additional patient with severe hypercalcemia (16.2 mg/dL) had a serum 1,25-(OH)2-D concentration in the midnormal range, not a suppressed value. To examine the potential existence of hypercalciuria in absence of overt hypercalcemia, prospective screening of 23 normocalcemic patients with lymphoma was undertaken. Four of the 23 patients (17%) had increased fractional urinary calcium excretion rates (0.35 +/- 0.3 mg calcium/100 mL glomerular filtrate [GF], mean +/- SE; normal, less than 0.16 mg/100 mL GF); two of the hypercalciuric patients had a frankly elevated serum 1,25-(OH)2-D concentration. Of the 19 hypercalcemic/hypercalciuric lymphoma patients identified, none had an elevated serum immunoreactive parathyroid hormone concentration. Fourteen of the 19 hypercalcemic/hypercalciuric patients (74%) suffered from B-cell neoplasms, three had Hodgkin's lymphoma, and two had adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma. All hypercalcemic/hypercalciuric patients had widespread disease (stage III or IV). Six patients, four with hypercalcemia and two with hypercalciuria, had acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). These data suggest that the deregulated synthesis of a 1,25-(OH)2-D-like metabolite is a common cause of hypercalcemia and hypercalciuria in patients with lymphoma including patients with AIDS-associated tumors.     

Marrow transplantation for chronic myelocytic leukemia: a controlled trial of cyclosporine versus methotrexate for prophylaxis of graft- versus-host disease

Forty-eight patients with chronic myelocytic leukemia, aged 11 to 47, were treated with high-dose cyclophosphamide and fractionated total body irradiation, followed by infusion of marrow from HLA-identical siblings. They were randomized to receive either methotrexate (MTX) (n = 23) or cyclosporine (CSP) (n = 25) as postgrafting prophylaxis for graft-v-host disease (GVHD). All patients had evidence of sustained hematopoietic engraftment. Seventeen of the 25 patients receiving CSP and 17 of the 23 patients receiving MTX are alive between one and almost four (median, 1.7) years, with an actuarial survival rate at three years of 62% and 66%, respectively (P = .60). Also, with respect to most other parameters studied, the two drugs were identical. The probability of acute GVHD was .42 and .46, respectively (P = .70), that of chronic GVHD, .50 and .63 (P = .44), and that of death from transplant-related causes, .30 and .24 (P = .51). There were no differences in the speed of granulocyte and platelet engraftment (P = .82 and .94, respectively), and the duration of hospitalization was comparable (P = .58). Patients receiving MTX required red cell transfusions for a shorter period of time (P = .02), but had a slightly increased morbidity from early oral mucositis. The leukemia recurrence rates were comparable (P = .60). With the regimens used in this study, we conclude that CSP failed to reduce the incidence of GVHD and improve the survival of patients with chronic myelocytic leukemia when compared to results with standard MTX.     

Growth and development following marrow transplantation for leukemia

One hundred forty-two patients between the ages of 1 and 17 years who survived disease-free more than 1 year after marrow transplantation for hematologic malignancy had growth and development evaluations from one to 14 years posttransplant (median 4 years). Prior to transplant all children received multiagent chemotherapy and 55 also received central nervous system irradiation, but none had growth and development evaluations. Marrow transplant preparation included high-dose chemotherapy and total body irradiation (TBI) given as a single dose of 9.2 to 10.0 Gy (79 patients) or as fractionated doses of 2.0 to 2.25 Gy/d for six to seven days (63 patients). After transplant abnormal thyroid function was present in 39%. Stimulated 11-desoxycortisol levels were subnormal in 24% of patients evaluated. Growth hormone (GH) deficiency was present in 17 of 25 children who received previous cranial irradiation. Partial GH deficiency was present in 4 of 25 who received previous cranial irradiation and in 6 of 18 who had not received cranial irradiation. Height velocity was decreased in all patients. After transplant, height was significantly influenced by chronic graft-v-host disease and single-dose TBI. Sixty-eight percent had delayed development of secondary sexual characteristics. Gonadal failure occurred in nearly all who were postpubertal at transplant. While it is not possible to determine how many of these endocrine abnormalities occurred as a result of treatment administered prior to transplantation, these data do demonstrate that children who become long-term survivors after marrow transplantation for hematologic malignancy have endocrine abnormalities that adversely affect growth and development.