Pembrolizumab monotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): can patient stratification be improved in the UK Tayside population? A retrospective cohort study.

Objective: Pembrolizumab is a programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) inhibitor used to treat advanced patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with a programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) tumour proportion score (TPS) ≥50. Further sub-division of TPS-based stratification has not been evaluated in the UK, although smoking-induced tumour mutational burden and the immunogenic effects of prior radiotherapy are suggested to improve response.

Aims: To investigate if PD-L1 TPS ≥80%, smoking status or radiotherapy before or within 2 months of treatment influenced progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with NSCLC treated with pembrolizumab monotherapy.

Sacral ependymoma presents 20 years after initial posterior fossa lesion.

Posterior fossa ependymomas (PFEs) are designated histologically as low-grade neoplasms. Despite being characterised as benign, cases of metastasis have been reported only a few times with the patients concurrently diagnosed with the primary tumour. Interval drop metastasis or spontaneous second distal tumours are extremely rare and, in most cases, are diagnosed within a few months of primary tumour resection.

Xenopus laevis FGF16 activates the expression of genes coding for the transcription factors Sp5 and Sp5l.

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) comprise a family of signalling molecules with essential roles in early embryonic development across animal species. The role of FGFs in mesoderm formation and patterning in Xenopus has been particularly well studied. However, little is known about FGF16 in Xenopus.

Integrating palliative care in lung cancer: an early feasibility study.

Aim: The aim of this preliminary study was to evaluate the feasibility of conducting an effectiveness trial of early access to palliative care services for people with lung cancer through use of an integrated outpatient model.

Methods: Newly diagnosed patients with lung cancer receiving palliative-intent treatment or best supportive care treatment were recruited over a 5-month period from one out-patient clinic in Scotland. Patients were offered a clinical review appointment with a palliative medicine consultant at two time points: baseline and 12 weeks later.

Perineal and colonic metastases in two cases of malignant mesothelioma.

Two patients with rare sites of metastatic pleural mesothelioma are presented and the literature on similar cases is examined. One patient developed colonic metastases from a sarcomatoid mesothelioma. Another patient with epithelioid mesothelioma developed perineal metastases.

Image-guided radiotherapy of bladder cancer: bladder volume variation and its relation to margins.

Background And Purpose: To control and account for bladder motion is a major challenge in radiotherapy (RT) of bladder cancer. This study investigates the relation between bladder volume variation and margins in conformal and image-guided RT (IGRT) for this disease.

Materials And Methods: The correlation between the relative bladder volume (RBV, defined as repeat scan volume/planning scan volume) and the margins required to account for internal motion was first studied using a series of 20 bladder cancer patients with weekly repeat CT scanning during treatment.

Planning organ at risk volume margins for organ motion of the intestine.

Background And Purpose: To account for internal organ motion and set-up uncertainties around organs at risk (OR) in radiotherapy (RT), the ICRU report no 62 introduced the planning organ at risk volume (PRV). In the present study, we have quantified PRV margins for the intestine, which is an important OR in pelvic RT.

Materials And Methods: The present study was based on intestine contours outlined in a total of 149 CT scans of 20 male bladder cancer patients (20 planning scans, 129 during treatment).