Topical heparin as an effective and safe treatment for patients with capecitabine-induced hand-foot syndrome: results of a phase IIA trial supported by proteomic profiling of skin biopsies.

Background: Hand-foot syndrome (HFS) is a common adverse reaction associated with capecitabine chemotherapy that significantly affects the quality of life of patients. This study evaluates the safety and effectiveness of a topical heparin (TH) treatment on the clinical manifestations and anatomopathological alterations of capecitabine-induced HFS. In addition, we performed proteome profiling of skin biopsies obtained from patients with HFS at baseline and after heparin treatment.

Durable Response to Vemurafenib and Cobimetinib for the Treatment of BRAF-Mutated Metastatic Melanoma in Routine Clinical Practice.

Background: The combination of and inhibitors delays the onset of resistance and provides more sustained and dramatic responses in comparison with a inhibitor in monotherapy. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the combination therapy with vemurafenib/cobimetinib in terms of durability, and to describe differential characteristics in patients associated to durable responses in real-world settings.

Patients And Methods: Retrospective, observational, cross-sectional, multicenter study involving 41 patients with advanced melanoma harboring a mutation who initiated a combination therapy with vemurafenib/cobimetinib between May 2018 and March 2019.

Blood-based biomarkers for monitoring antiangiogenic therapy in non-small cell lung cancer.

Tumor angiogenesis pathways have been identified as important therapeutic targets in non-small cell lung cancer. However, no biomarkers have been described as predictors of response to antiangiogenic therapy in these patients. In this study, plasma levels of VEGF, bFGF, E-selectin, and S-ICAM and gene expression profiles of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with chemotherapy plus bevacizumab were analyzed before and after treatment.

Risk factors associated with Clostridium difficile infection in adult oncology patients.

Purpose: Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) prevention is particularly important for cancer patients, because diarrhea often results in dose reductions or delays of chemotherapy or radiotherapy. We conducted this study to better ascertain the incidence, susceptibility, and risk factors for CDI in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy at our hospital.

Methods: We performed a retrospective study among adult cancer patients admitted at "12 de Octubre" University Hospital between January 2009 through April 2013 who were diagnosed with diarrhea.

Prognostic value of dual-specificity phosphatase 6 expression in non-small cell lung cancer.

Dual-specificity phosphatase 6 (DUSP6/MKP-3) is a mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase that regulates extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) activity via feedback mechanisms, with an increasingly recognized role in tumour biology. The aim of this study was to explore the role of DUSP6 expression in the prognosis of human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). DUSP6 expression levels were evaluated by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 60 NSCLC samples from patients who underwent pulmonary resection at 12 de Octubre University Hospital.

Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced anemia: comparisons from real-world clinical experience.

Background: The purpose of this paper is to report real-world data on the relative effectiveness of a biosimilar erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA; Binocrit(®)), and other available ESAs for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced anemia.

Methods: Data were collected retrospectively from single centers in Spain (n=284) and Germany (n=145). Hemoglobin outcomes, transfusion requirements, and serious drug-related adverse events were assessed for each ESA.