Timing of Initiation of Calcineurin Inhibitors in Pediatric Haploidentical Transplantation with Post-Transplantation Cyclophosphamide: Effects on Survival, Relapse, and Cytokine Release Syndrome

Background: The use of unmanipulated haploidentical stem cell transplantations (haplo-HSCT) with post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCY) in children has emerged as an acceptable alternative to the patients without a matched donor. However, the timing of calcineurin inhibitors (CNI) used in combination with PTCY is increasingly becoming a topic of controversy. Method: We evaluated 49 children with acute leukemia who underwent unmanipulated haplo-HSCT with PTCY according to the initiation day of CNIs (pre- or post-CY). Results: There were no significant differences in the overall survival analysis between the two groups. The cumulative incidence of relapse at 2 years was 21.2% in the pre-CY group and 38.9% in the post-CY group (p=0.33). Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) was observed more frequently in the post-CY group (p=0.04). The OS and EFS at 2 years in patients with and without CRS in the pre-Cy group were 42.9% vs 87.5% (p=0.04) and 38.1% vs 87.5% (p=0.04), respectively. Conclusion: Our study shows that the argument for starting CNI administration after CY is tenuous, and the rationale for not starting CNI before CY needs to be reconsidered.

Cytoplasmic LXR expression is an independent marker of poor prognosis for patients with early stage primary breast cancer

Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of liver X receptors α/β (LXR) in primary breast cancer (BC) tissues and to analyze its correlations with clinicopathological parameters including patient survival. Methods In a well-characterized cohort of 305 primary BC, subcellular distribution of LXR was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Correlations with clinicopathological characteristics as well as with patient outcome were analyzed. Results LXR was frequently localized in both nuclei and cytoplasms of BC cells, with stronger staining in nuclei. Total and nuclear LXR expression was positively correlated with ER and PR status. Overall survival analysis demonstrated that cytoplasmic LXR was significantly correlated with poor survival and appeared as an independent marker of poor prognosis, in stage I but not in stage II–III tumors Conclusion Altogether, these data suggest that cytoplasmic LXR could be defined as a prognostic marker in early stage primary BC.