Radioligand therapy is a targeted cancer treatment modality in which radioisotopes are utilized in the delivery of radiation at targeted cancer cells, with the goal of sparing normal cells. Prostate cancer is a well-known radiosensitive disease, historically treated with radioisotopes such as Strontium-89, Samarium-153, and Radium-223 for palliation of bone metastases. Recently, prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) has recently been employed as a radioligand target due to its unique properties of high expression on the surface of prostate cancer cells, limited expression in normal tissue, function as an internalizing cell surface receptor, and increased expression with androgen deprivation therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The expression of T-cell-associated antigens on diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is uncommon. The coexpression of ≥2 T-cell-associated antigens on DLBCL is even rarer. This has been reported in the literature only a few times, most commonly coexpression of either CD5 or CD8 and a second, different T-cell marker.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLocally advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma can erode into blood vessels, leading to vascular blowout, requiring emergent surgical intervention. We describe a first case of this disease complication which was effectively managed with endovascular stenting as a bridge to effective systemic and regional therapy. We discuss the efficacy of this staged approach which is novel and timely in a clinical environment of increasingly effective systemic therapies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Treatment options have been historically limited for cisplatin-ineligible patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma (UC). Given the need for alternatives to platinum-based chemotherapy, including non-chemotherapy regimens for patients with both impaired renal function and borderline functional status, in 2010 (prior to the immune checkpoint blockade era in metastatic UC), we initiated a phase II trial to test the activity of everolimus or everolimus plus paclitaxel in the cisplatin-ineligible setting.
Methods: This was an open-label phase II trial conducted within the US-based Hoosier Cancer Research Network (ClinicalTrials.
Urothelial carcinoma therapy is a rapidly evolving and expanding field. Traditional cytotoxic chemotherapy regimens have not produced optimal long-term outcomes, and many urothelial cancer patients have comorbidities that disqualify them as chemotherapy candidates. In recent years, a plethora of novel therapeutic agents that target diverse molecular pathways has emerged as alternative treatment modalities for not only metastatic urothelial carcinoma, but also for muscle-invasive bladder cancer and non-muscle invasive bladder cancer in adjuvant and definitive settings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a syndrome involving uncontrolled inflammation due to widespread activation of immune response. HLH can be inherited or acquired secondary to infection, autoimmune, or oncologic processes such as small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) or chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). There has been minimal documentation of HLH secondary to SLL/CLL, and results of treatment have been largely unsuccessful.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCausative factors of HUS due to infection are not limited to classic EHEC and Shigella infection. Understanding the effects of EPEC-related HUS and its complications is imperative for early diagnosis and treatment to mitigate long-term sequelae.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNivolumab, an antiprogrammed death-1 checkpoint inhibitor, has been approved for use in unresectable/metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Nivolumab-induced pneumonitis, a rare, but often severe and potentially life-threatening immune-related adverse event, has been reported, typically, early during the treatment. Due to its low incidence, more studies are needed to better elucidate this condition and its possible effects on cancer progression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (NBCCS), also known as Gorlin-Goltz syndrome or Gorlin syndrome, is a rare multisystem disorder with an estimated prevalence of around 1 in 100,000 on average. Vismodegib, an oral smoothened (SMO) inhibitor that blocks the activation of the sonic hedgehog (SHH) pathway, is used in patients with NBCCS. We present an interesting case of a 38-year-old female with Gorlin-Goltz syndrome and her response to vismodegib therapy over two and a half years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is underutilized in bladder cancer patients who undergo radical cystectomy. However, the quality of regimens used in this setting remains largely unknown.
Objective: To determine utilization treatment patterns and survival outcomes according to regimens administered.
Background: Chronic neutrophilic leukemia (CNL) is an extremely rare myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN). Due to the difficulty in its diagnosis, the diagnostic criterion was just recently revised in 2016. CNL is defined as: A clonal disorder with sustained primary neutrophilia, with normal neutrophil maturation, that does not meet other MPN criteria, as well as no identifiable mutations of the PDGFRA, PDGFRB or FGFR1 or PCM1-JAK2 genes, and, either, the presence of a CSF3R mutation, or if absent, the presence of sustained neutrophilia (> 3 months), splenomegaly and no other identifiable cause of reactive neutrophilia including the absence of a plasma cell neoplasm, or, if present, demonstration of myeloid cell clonality by cytogenetics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHereditary hemochromatosis (HH) is an autosomal recessive disorder of iron metabolism characterized by increased iron absorption and tissue deposition. Three loss-of-function mutations in the hemochromatosis gene (HFE), namely, C282Y (c.845G>A), H63D (c.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFirst-line platinum-based chemotherapy combinations are considered standard-of-care in locally advanced and metastatic urothelial cancer. However, long-term outcomes, including disease-specific and overall survival, remain poor. In addition, a number of patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma have co-existing medical issues that preclude the use of conventional chemotherapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rapidly fatal condition characterized by excessive immune activation. HLH can occur as a familial or sporadic acquired disorder. Acquired HLH is more frequently found in adults and is commonly secondary to infections, malignancies, or autoimmune diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMyelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a clonal bone marrow disorder characterized by ineffective hematopoiesis. It is characterized by peripheral blood cytopenia and significant risk of progression to acute myeloid leukemia result. Deletion of the long arm of chromosome 20 (20q deletion) is present in 3-7% of patients with MDS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMyeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are traditionally separated into BCR-ABL-positive chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), and BCR-ABL-negative MPNs including primary myelofibrosis (PMF), essential thrombocythemia (ET), and so forth. One of the diagnostic requirements for PMF and ET is the absence of the Philadelphia chromosome, while its presence is almost universally indicative of CML. However, a diagnostic dilemma arises when Philadelphia chromosome-positive MPNs lack the majority of the typical features seen in CML.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAngioedema is a recurrent, non-pitting, non-pruritic, transitory swelling due to transient increase of endothelial permeability in the capillaries of the deep cutaneous and mucosal layers. Angioedema is generally categorized based on etiology, and characteristic lab findings are associated with each category. Cases of acquired angioedema associated with myeloproliferative disorders have been described in the literature, but these have been associated with a characteristic low C1q, a defining laboratory finding in acquired angioedema.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: First-line platinum-based combinations are active in locally advanced and metastatic urothelial carcinoma; however, long-term outcomes including disease-specific and overall survival remain suboptimal. In addition, approximately 40 - 50% of patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma have coexisting medical issues that preclude the use of cisplatin-based therapy. Improvements in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of urothelial tumorigenesis have led to first-generation clinical trials evaluating novel agents targeting molecular pathways.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF