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Erythropoietin and Granulocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor Improve Anemia in Patients with MDS.

Researchers affiliated with the Nordic Myelodysplastic Syndrome Group have reported that approximately 40% of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome(MDS) treated with Procrit® (epoetin alfa) and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF, Neupogen®) have partial or complete correction of anemia without an increase in the incidence of leukemic transformation or a decrease in survival. The details of this study appeared in the August 2005 issue of Blood .

There is little effective therapy for patients with anemia complicating MDS, although small series have reported improvement in anemia after treatment with growth factors. These researchers reported long term outcomes of 129 patients treated with Procrit plus Neupogen between 1990 and 1999. The majority had low risk MDS: 30 refractory anemia, 41 refractory anemia with ringed sideroblasts and 58 refractory anemia with excess blasts, mostly International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) low or low/intermediate.

With a median follow up of 45 months, the overall erythroid response rate was 39% with 22% complete remission and 17% partial remission. The median duration of response was 23 months. Responses were more durable in the RA/RARS group (28 months) compared to RAEB (12 months) (p=0.04). There was no increased progression to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) when the treated group was compared to an untreated group of patients matched for IPSS. Only one of 20 longterm responders developed AML. Compared to a historical control group not receiving growth factors, there was no difference in overall survival in recipients of growth factors. Effective maintenance doses of Procrit ranged from 5,000 to 50,000 units (median 30,000 units) weekly. These authors suggest that patients with high/intermediate probability of response and with a Low/Int=1 IPSS score show frequent and durable responses to Procrit and Neupogen and should be treated.

Comments: These long-term results are important and allow for selecting patients for treatment with Procrit and Neupogen. The long follow-up is reassuring that growth factor administration does not increase the incidence of leukemia.

Reference: Jadersten M, Montgomery SM, Dybedal I, et al. Long-term treatment of anemia in Myelodysplastic Syndrome with erythropoietin and G-CSF. Blood . 2005;106:803-811.

Related news: Anemia Effectively Treated with Procrit

Leukemia survivors meet NY firefighters who donated bone marrow

By TIM McCAHILL
Associated Press Writer

January 19, 2006 - NEW YORK -- John Jensen has fought a lot of fires, but he admitted to being a little nervous on Thursday _ when he met for the first time with the 27-year-old woman whose life he helped save by donating his bone marrow.

"Whatever she needed to do I would've done," said Jensen, a Brooklyn firefighter who lives on Staten Island.

Jensen's marrow recipient, Brooke Williams, of Gouverneur, N.Y., was diagnosed with acute leukemia in October 2002 and after a period of remission suffered a relapse. Jensen was identified as a bone marrow match in 2003; the transplant took place in January 2004.

Jensen was honored Thursday alongside Joe Kazlauskas, a former New York City firefighter who also got to meet face-to-face with the recipient of his bone marrow, Arizona retiree Glenn Hale, who was diagnosed with chronic leukemia in 1991.

Hale, 66, received his bone marrow from Kazlauskas, now a Nassau County police officer, around the same time Williams received hers from Jensen.

During a ceremony at Fire Department of New York headquarters, Jensen and Kazlauskas' names were added to the Honor Roll of Life, a plaque listing the now 71 city firefighters who have donated bone marrow.

The New York Blood Center, the regional arm of the National Marrow Donor Program, helped arrange Thursday's meetings.

Sitting next to Jensen after the ceremony, Williams said the experience of meeting the 30-year-old firefighter was "overwhelming."

"I'm happy to be here," she said. "I couldn't explain it."

Jensen and Kazlauskas, 32, had signed up on the national bone marrow donor registry while training to become firefighters.

Hale said after the ceremony that it was "exciting to know that there are people in this world who are willing to take that extra step to help someone."

Like Jensen, Kazlauskas said he had no doubts about donating his bone marrow.

"You have to do it," he said.

Williams and Hale still are recovering from their disease, but they said their prospects are good. Asked of her plans for the future, Williams said she wanted to "live as normally as I can."

Hockey tourney aids Dana-Farber

By Paul Harber

April 16, 2006 - The Robert F. Campbell Jr. Memorial Hockey Tournament will be at the Quincy Youth Arena April 28 and 29. The event already has raised $114,282 to fund leukemia research and patient care at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Sign up for: Globe Headlines e-mail | Breaking News Alerts ''When we first started this event back in 2000, I never dreamed it would go on for as long as it has," said Jeff Campbell. ''At that time, we simply felt we wanted to do something meaningful and significant to honor Rob, my older brother. I looked up to him and admired his dedication to the sport and commitment to the game. My family and I decided a hockey tournament would not only be a fitting tribute, but a great way to raise money to help find a cure for leukemia."

Rob Campbell lost his battle with acute myelogenous leukemia in 1985. He was 21. Campbell participated in the Pembroke Youth Hockey Program from the time he was 10. He played goalie for Whitman-Hanson High School and, later, with the South Shore Braves, a team in the old New England Junior Hockey League.

Campbell was a diehard Boston sports fan. He was also a car lover -- he was proud of his 1973 red Chevy Nova -- and a fan of the ''Three Stooges." The tournament has two divisions named after his favorite comics, Curly and Shemp.

''While hockey fans will appreciate the competitive nature of the event, we try to make it family-friendly as well by including a family and fan skate before the championship game on Saturday. Bagpipers from the Boston Gaelic Fire Brigade open up the final game, which is always an impressive site," Jeff Campbell said.

The tournament will feature eight teams with former collegiate and junior hockey friends of Campbell. But the winner is cancer research.

'Survivor' winner pushes donor program
By Corazon Riley

Corazon Riley
Jung Sonoon Jang and Richard Cho recently registered as donors at Western Hills Church in San Mateo.
Asian Americans with life-threatening blood diseases have a better chance at finding a match for a marrow or blood stem cell donation through the work of the Asian American Donor Program.

Yul Kwon, winner of Survivor: Cook Islands in 2006, is a strong advocate of the AADP since his college roommate and best friend was diagnosed with and died from leukemia nearly 12 years ago.

I have been passionate about the cause since then. The AADP is a fantastic organization. I have never met a more committed group of people, said Kwon. There is a critical need for more minority donors. I want to publicize this cause and encourage more Asians to register.

Kwon recently was honored in Concord, where he grew up, with Yul Kwon Day. He used the opportunity to garner support and raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society that conducts research to find a cure.

I am promoting this while I can. I want to raise money to fund research so I am using the position that I am in to bring attention to something that I really care about, said Kwon.

In 1990, only 123 Asian Americans were on the international registry that numbered 500 million. Since the program began, the AADP has recruited nearly 80,000 donors.

Jonathan Leong founded the program in 1990 to ease the transplant process for Asians with various blood diseases.

We encourage people to register through basic education. People think it hurts but it doesnt hurt, said Leong.

The registration process requires filling out a consent form and providing a swab of your cheek cells for matching purposes. If you are a potential match, the donation methods depend on the age of the patient and a doctors evaluation.

The donation method is either an anesthetic procedure drawing marrow from your hip bone with a needle and syringe. Another way is a blood donation where the desired blood cells are taken.

Kyung Lee, a leukemia survivor, received a half-match from her mom. She volunteers with the organization to encourage other Asian Americans to register.

Caucasians with leukemia can find a match easily. But for Asians, it is much harder to find a good match, said Lee.

Kwons fame since Survivor has given him the opportunity to promote the AADP.

Survivor has given me a stronger platform to talk about issues like this. I want to use the megaphone that I have right now to encourage support, said Kwon.

Leong said that Asians are the most difficult race to match because there are so many different Asian cultures. Increasing the registry will allow for the matching process to go less like a game of Keno, said Leong.

We need to educate people now, said Leong. We cant wait for an emotional need.

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