High-Grade Pleomorphic Sarcomas Treated with Immune Checkpoint Blockade: The MD Anderson Cancer Center Experience.

Background: Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcomas (UPSs) are amongst the most common subtypes of soft-tissue sarcomas. Few real-world data on the use of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) in UPS patients and other high-grade pleomorphic STS patients are available.

Purpose: The purpose of our study is to describe the efficacy and toxicity of ICB in patients with advanced UPSs and other high-grade pleomorphic sarcomas treated at our institution.

Association between Prior Malignancy Exclusion Criteria and Age Disparities in Cancer Clinical Trials.

Prior malignancy exclusion criteria (PMEC) are often utilized in cancer clinical trials; however, the incidence of PMEC and the association of PMEC with trial participant age disparities remain poorly understood. This study aimed to identify age disparities in oncologic randomized clinical trials as a result of PMEC. Using a comprehensive collection of modern phase III cancer clinical trials obtained via ClinicalTrials.

National Patterns of Care in the Management of World Health Organization Grade II and III Spinal Ependymomas.

Background: Spinal ependymomas are rare, with an incidence of 1 per 100,000. Given the paucity of data for higher grade II and III disease, the management and patterns of care require further investigation.

Methods: Our study of 1345 patients with higher-grade spinal ependymoma used χ tests and simple and multivariable logistic regression models to assess demographic and clinical factors associated with therapy.

Long-term stabilization of leptomeningeal disease with whole-brain radiation therapy in a patient with metastatic melanoma treated with vemurafenib: a case report.

We present a patient with metastatic BRAF-mutated melanoma who achieved long-term stabilization of leptomeningeal disease (LMD) with sequential whole-brain radiation therapy and vemurafenib. A 53-year-old woman with melanoma that harbored the BRAF V600E mutation and had that metastasized to multiple lymph nodes, lungs, breast, and subcutaneous tissue had developed symptomatic LMD 16 months after starting vemurafenib treatment despite achieving a substantial response at the existing metastatic sites. Vemurafenib was discontinued for 7 days, she received whole-brain radiation therapy (30 Gy in 10 fractions), and 7 days after completing the radiation therapy, she resumed vemurafenib therapy.