0000000000018110

AUTHOR

H.-h. Wolf

Antimicrobial prophylaxis in allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. Guidelines of the Infectious Diseases Working Party (AGIHO) of the German Society of Haematology and Oncology

Patients undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation are at high risk for infection with a variety of pathogens during different phases of the procedure. Bacteria and fungi predominate the first phase until engraftment. During the second phase, from engraftment to about day 100, major infectious problems are caused by fungi and cytomegalovirus. Both pathogens remain important under continued immunosuppression, however, in the late post-transplantation period infections with encapsulated bacteria may become a problem. In this review the Infectious Diseases Working Party of the DGHO gives recommendations for prophylaxis of infections under allogeneic stem cell transplantation with drugs a…

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Rituximab combined with DexaBEAM followed by high dose therapy as salvage therapy in patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell lymphoma: mature results of a phase II multicentre study.

Summary Salvage therapy followed by high-dose therapy (HDT) remains a mainstay for patients with relapsed lymphoma, however no optimal regimen has been defined. Here we report on the results of R-DexaBEAM (rituximab, dexamethasone, carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine, melphalan) followed by HDT. Patients aged 18–65 years, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance score 0–2, with relapsed/refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) were eligible. R-Dexa-BEAM was given for two cycles followed by stem cell mobilization and HDT. Primary endpoint of the trial was progression-free-survival (PFS). One hundred and three patients were included: aggressive NHL (aNHL): diffuse large B-cell lymphom…

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Efficacy of Rituximab Combined in Salvage- and High Dose-Therapy (HDT) for Patients with Relapsed NHL; Interim Analysis of a Multicenter Phase II Study.

Abstract The introduction of Rituximab (R) in the treatment of B-NHL resulted in improvement in first line therapies for indolent (ind.) and aggressive (agg.) B-NHL. However, the value of R in intensive chemotherapy relapse strategies has not definitely been demonstrated. In a phase I/II clinical trial we have demonstrated safety of R as an in vivo purging agens in salvage and high dose therapy for relapsed/refractory B-NHL. This led, with promising response rates, to the initiation of a multicenter phase II trial to further prove therapeutic efficacy. Inclusion criteria were: Pt < 65 years, ECOG < 3, relapse or progression for patients with ind. NHL and induction failure or relapse f…

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