Claudia U Walter

Publications (2)4.72 Total impact

• Article: Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Adolescent and Adult Patients with High-Risk T Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

  Mohammad Bakr, Walid Rasheed, Said Y Mohamed, Fahad Al-Mohareb, Naeem Chaudhri, Fahad Al-Sharif, Hazza Al-Zahrani, Ghuzayel Al-Dawsari, Abu Jafar Saleh, Amr Nassar, [......], Syed O Ahmed, Khalid Ibrahim, Wahiba Chebbo, Ghada M El Gohary, Muhamad H Al Mahayni, Fazal Hussain, Zubeir Nurgat, Tusneem Ahmed Elhassan, Claudia U Walter, Mahmoud Aljurf
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  ABSTRACT: Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) is often recommended for patients with T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) in second or later complete remission (≥CR2) and sometimes in high-risk (HR) patients in first complete remission (CR1). Between January 1995 and July 2009, 53 patients with HR T-ALL underwent allo-SCT at our institution. Median age was 18 years (range, 14-51). Thirty-two patients (60.3%) were in CR1, 18 (34%) were in ≥CR2, and 3 (5.7%) were in relapse. The cumulative incidence of nonrelapse mortality at 5 years was 22.5%. The cumulative incidence of grade II-IV acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) was 40.2%, and that of chronic GVHD was 43.7%. The majority of relapses (88.9%) occurred within 1 year after SCT. The cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) at 5 years was 35.6%. CIR was 29.8% in patients in CR1, 35.3% in patients in ≥CR2 and all patients transplanted in relapse had disease recurrence post-allo-SCT (P = .000). Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) at 5 years were 43.5% and 41.8%, respectively. The 5-year OS was 53.5% (95% CI 34.5%-72.5%) and 5-year DFS was 52% (95% CI 33%-71%) in patients who underwent allo-SCT in CR1, compared with 31.9% (95% CI, 9%-54.8%) and 29.4% (95% CI 7.6%-51.2%) in those who underwent allo-SCT in ≥CR2. On multivariate analysis, disease status at SCT remained significantly associated with OS (P = .007), DFS (P = .002), and CIR (P = .000). The presence of extramedullary disease at diagnosis had no effect on the different outcomes. Grade II-IV acute GVHD was significantly associated with a lower OS (P = .006) and DFS (P = .01). Our data indicate that allo-SCT represents an effective treatment for HR T-ALL, particularly when performed in CR1.
  Biology of blood and marrow transplantation: journal of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation 07/2012; · 3.15 Impact Factor
• Article: Terminal 4q deletion and 8q duplication in a patient with CHARGE-like features.

  Ola A Khalifa, Claudia U Walter, Z A Rahbeeni, A Verloes
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  ABSTRACT: The CHARGE syndrome is a multiple congenital malformation syndrome that usually results from deletion or heterozygous loss of function mutations of the chromodomain helicase DNA-binding protein 7 (CHD7) gene at 8q12.1. Besides CHD7-related cases, some patients with CHARGE-like phenotype have been reported with chromosomal imbalances. We describe a patient with a pattern of malformations reminiscent of CHARGE syndrome: choanal atresia, facial dysmorphism (micrognathia, hypertelorism, epicanthic folds, and depressed, broad nasal bridge), cardiovascular malformations, cryptorchidism, and developmental delay. He had duplication 8q and deletion 4q derived from paternal translocation t(4;8)(q34;q22.1). CHD7 mutation or deletion was excluded. The present report to the best of our knowledge is the only one describing an unbalanced translocation t(4;8) and CHARGE-like phenotype.
  European journal of medical genetics 11/2010; 54(2):173-6. · 1.57 Impact Factor