ABSTRACT Introduction: Carriers of oncohematological diseases are at high risk for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Objective and method: To investigate the epidemiology of HBV infection in Goiânia, Central Brazil, 322 individuals with oncohematological diseases (leukemias, Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma) were interviewed and blood samples were collected for the detection of serological markers of HBV-DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Medical records of participants were also reviewed. Results: Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (n = 99) and chronic myeloid leukemia (n = 108) were the most frequent oncohematological diseases. The overall prevalence of HBV was 13.97% (45/322). Of the total participants, 8.69% (28/322) presented isolated positivity for anti-HBs, suggesting low vaccine coverage. HBV-DNA was detected in 25% (1/4) of HBsAg positive samples and in 25% (3/12) of anti-HBc isolated, suggesting HBV occult infection. All samples were identified as subgenotype A1. Entries in patient records and the findings of this investigation suggest anti-HBc seroconversion during oncologic treatment. Age 50 years or over and use of a central catheter during therapy were associated with HBV exposure. Conclusion: The low frequency of hepatitis B immunized individuals, detection of HBV DNA in HBsAg negative samples, and the suggestion of HBV exposure during treatment evidenced the potential for health-related viral dissemination in people with oncohematological diseases in our region, reinforcing the importance of serological monitoring, vaccination against hepatitis B, and adoption of strict infection control measures in these individuals.

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) are an important complication in immunocompromised individuals, particularly neutropenic patients with hematological malignancies. In this study, we aimed to verify the epidemiology and diagnosis of IFIs in patients with hematologic problems at a tertiary hospital in Goiânia-GO, Brazil. METHODS: Data from 117 patients, involving 19 cases of IFIs, were collected. The collected data included diagnosis methods, demographics, clinical characteristics, and in vitro susceptibility to different antifungal agents. Among the 19 cases, 12 were classified as proven IFI and 7 as probable invasive aspergillosis with detection of galactomannan in blood and presence of lung infiltrates in radiographic images. Logistic regression analysis showed that the proven and probable IFIs were associated with increased risk of death. Statistical analysis demonstrated that age, sex, and underlying disease were not independently associated with risk of death in IFI patients. RESULTS: Most bloodstream isolates of Candida spp. exhibited low minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) to all antifungal agents tested. Voriconazole and amphotericin had the lowest MICs for Aspergillus spp. and Fusarium spp., but Fusarium spp. showed the least susceptibility to all antifungals tested. Amphotericin B, fluconazole, and itraconazole were found to be inactive in vitro against Acremonium kiliense; but this fungus was sensitive to voriconazole. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the high number of IFI cases, with crude mortality rate of 6%, we could conclude that IFIs remain a common infection in patients with hematological malignancies and underdiagnosed ante mortem. Thus, IFIs should be monitored closely.

Aplastic anemia is an uncommon complication of thymoma and is extremely infrequent after the surgical removal of a thymic tumor. Aplastic anemia is a result of marrow failure and is characterized by peripheral pancytopenia and severely depressed marrow cellularity; it may be an autoimmune manifestation of thymoma. As thymoma-associated hematological dyscrasias, which include pure red cell aplasia, aplastic anemia and myasthenia gravis, are supposed to be of immunologic origin, two cases of very severe aplastic anemia following the resection of lymphocytic thymomas treated with immunosuppression are herein presented.

Objetivo: Relatar a evolução dos pacientes com linfoma de Hodgkin tratados com transplante autólogo após falha ou recidiva do tratamento de primeira escolha com quimioterapia e/ou radioterapia. Métodos: Foram analisados os resultados de uma análise retrospectiva em 31 pacientes submetidos a transplante autólogo como terapia de segunda escolha, entre abril de 2000 e dezembro de 2008. Quatorze homens e dezessete mulheres, com idade mediana de 27 anos, foram submetidos a transplante autólogo por linfoma de Hodgkin após recidiva (n = 21) ou por refratariedade (n = 10). Resultados: A mortalidade relacionada ao tratamento nos primeiros 100 dias póstransplante foi de 3,2%. Com um acompanhamento médio de 18 meses (variação: 1 a 88), a probabilidade de sobrevida global e sobrevida livre de progressão em 18 meses foi de 84 e 80%, respectivamente. A probabilidade de sobrevida global e sobrevida livre de progressão aos 18 meses para pacientes com recidivas quimiossensíveis (n = 21) foi de 95 e 90%, respectivamente, versus 60 e 45% para os pacientes com recidiva resistente à quimioterapia (n = 10) (p = 0,001 para sobrevida global; p= 0,003 para sobrevida livre de progressão). Na análise multivariada, a ausência de doença ou doença pré-transplante < 5 cm foi um fator favorável para a sobrevida global (p= 0,02; RR: 0,072; IC95%: 0,01-0,85) e sobrevida livre de progressão (p= 0,01; RR: 0,040; IC95%: 0,007-0,78). Conclusão: O transplante autólogo de célulastronco constitui uma opção terapêutica para pacientes com linfoma de Hodgkin após uma primeira recaída. Resultados promissores foram observados em pacientes com baixa carga tumoral ao transplante. Abordagens inovadoras devem ser buscadas para pacientes com fatores de risco para recidiva.

Objective: To report the clinical progress of patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma treated with autologous transplantation after failure or relapse of first-line treatment with chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. Methods: The results of a retrospective analysis of 31 patients submitted to autologous transplantation as second-line treatment, between April 2000 and December 2008, were analyzed. Fourteen men and seventeen women, with a median age of 27 years, were submitted to autologous transplantation for relapsed (n = 21) or refractory (n = 10) Hodgkin's lymphoma. Results: Mortality related to treatment in the first 100 days after transplant was 3.2%. With a mean follow-up period of 18 months (range: 1 to 88 months), the probability of global survival and progression-free survival in 18 months was 84 and 80%, respectively. The probability of global survival and progression-free survival at 18 months for patients with chemosensitive relapses (n = 21) was 95 and 90%, respectively, versus 60 and 45% for patients with relapses resistant to chemotherapy (n = 10) (p = 0.001 for global survival; p = 0.003 for progression-free survival). In the multivariate analysis, absence of disease or pretransplant disease < 5 cm were favorable factors for global survival (p= 0.02; RR: 0.072; 95%CI: 0.01-0.85) and progression-free survival (p= 0.01; RR: 0.040; 95%CI: 0.007-0.78). Conclusion: Autologous transplantation of stem-cells is a therapeutic option for Hodgkin's lymphoma patients after the first relapse. Promising results were observed in patients with a low tumor burden at transplant.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi definir diretrizes para a indicação do transplante de células-tronco hematopoéticas (TCTH) no tratamento da leucemia mieloide aguda (LMA) no Brasil. O papel do TCTH no tratamento da LMA foi discutido pelosautores e apresentado para a Sociedade Brasileira de Transplante de Medula Óssea na reunião sobre Diretrizes Brasileiras para o TCTH, que o ratificou. Este consenso foi baseado na revisão da literatura internacional e na experiência brasileira em TCTH para o tratamento da LMA. O tratamento ideal para leucemia mieloide aguda em primeira remissão completa (1RC) ainda não está definido. Há consenso na indicação do TCTH alogênico, com condicionamento mieloablativo, para pacientes que apresentem alterações citogenéticas consideradas de alto risco. O TCTH alogênico não está indicado na 1RC para pacientes de baixo risco citogenético e, aparentemente, o TCTH alogênico, autólogo ou a quimioterapia de consolidação são equivalentes para os pacientes de risco intermediário.

The objective of this work was to define guidelines for the indication of hematopoietic stem cells transplantation (HSCT) in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in Brazil. The role of HSCT in the treatment of AML was discussed by the authors and presented to the Brazilian Society of Bone Marrow Transplantation in a meeting to formulate and ratify the Brazilian Guidelines on HSCT. This consensus was based on a review of international publications and on the Brazilian experience in HSCT for the treatment of AML. The optimal treatment for AML in first complete remission (1CR) has not been defined yet. There is consensus on the indication of allogeneic HSCT with myeloablative conditioning for patients who present high risk cytogenetic changes. Allogeneic HSCT is not indicated for low cytogenetic risk 1RC patients and, apparently, allogeneic and autologous HSCT and consolidation chemotherapy are similar for intermediate risk patients.

A amiloidose é uma síndrome caracterizada pela deposição no meio extracelular de material protéico altamente insolúvel e que pode afetar vários órgãos. Pode ocorrer como doença generalizada e pode ser idiopática (amiloidose primária). Descrevemos o caso de mulher de 48 anos com neuropatia axonal associada a proteinúria na qual a investigação final resultou no diagnóstico de amiloidose primária (AL). Foi submetida a transplante autólogo de medula óssea sem complicações. Discutiremos aspectos relacionados ao diagnóstico da neuropatia e do tratamento atual da AL.

Amyloidosis is a syndrome characterized by deposition of a highly insoluble protein material in the extracellular space that may affect several organs. It may be generalized and idiopathic (primary amyloidosis). We describe the case of a 48 years-old woman with axonal neuropathy associated with proteinuria, whose final investigation resulted in diagnosis of primary amyloidosis (AL). She was submitted to autologous bone marrow transplantation. We discuss some aspects related to diagnosis of neuropathy and current treatment of AL.

Search operations in large sets of complex objects usually rely on similarity-based criteria, due to the lack of other general properties that could be used to compare the objects, such as the total order relationship, or even the equality relationship between pairs of objects, commonly used with data in numeric or short texts domains. Therefore, similarity between objects is the core criterion to compare complex objects. There are two basic operators for similarity queries: Range Query and k-Nearest Neighbors Query. Much research has been done to develop effective algorithms to implement them as standalone operations. However, algorithms to support these operators as parts of more complex expressions involving their composition were not developed yet. This paper presents two new algorithms specially designed to answer conjunctive and disjunctive operations involving the basic similarity criteria, providing also support for the manipulation of tie lists when the k-Nearest Neighbor query is involved. The new proposed algorithms were compared with the combinations of the basic algorithms, both in the sequential scan and in the Slim-tree metric access methods, measuring the number of disk accesses, the number of distance calculations, and wall-clock time. The experimental results show that the new algorithms have better performance than the composition of the two basic operators to answer complex similarity queries in all measured aspects, being up to 40 times faster than the composition of the basic algorithms. This is an essential point to enable the practical use of similarity operators in Relational Database Management Systems.