The inciting factor for bradycardia in COVID-19 patients: a potential harm of steroid treatment.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a condition caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Although several papers have reported the presence bradycardia in patients with COVID-19, the pathophysiology behind this remains unclear. Therefore, we investigated the presence of bradycardia in patients with COVID-19.

Early change in the clearance of pembrolizumab reflects the survival and therapeutic response: A population pharmacokinetic analysis in real-world non-small cell lung cancer patients.

Objectives: The dosing pattern of pembrolizumab is based on population pharmacokinetic (Pop-PK) analysis of clinical trials. Data for Japanese patients or patient populations with poor conditions such as cachexia are scarce. In this study, we performed a Pop-PK analysis of Japanese non-small cell lung cancer patients and analyzed the relationship between exposure, treatment effect, and survival.

Correlation between body mass index and efficacy of anti-PD-1 inhibitor in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: High body mass index (BMI) has been reported to be associated with the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but the association between BMI and efficacy of anti-PD-1 inhibitors remains controversial. The present study investigated this association in patients with advanced NSCLC.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients with advanced NSCLC who received PD-1 inhibitors at the National Cancer Center Hospital between January 2016 and December 2018.

Comparative Study on the Efficacy and Exposure of Molecular Target Agents in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer PDX Models with Driver Genetic Alterations.

Patient-derived xenografts (PDX) can adequately reflect clinical drug efficacy. However, the methods for evaluating drug efficacy are not fully established. We selected five non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) PDXs with genetic alterations from established PDXs and the corresponding molecular targeted therapy was administered orally for 21 consecutive days.

Smoking History Predicts High Presence of TILs and Efficacy of PD-1 Blockade in PD-L1 Expression-negative Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Patients.

Background/aim: Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression on tumor cells is a predictive biomarker of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) blockade therapy. This study sought to clarify predictors of the efficacy of nivolumab in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with PD-L1 expression-negative tumors.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of advanced NSCLC patients between January 2016 and April 2019, and investigated the predictive marker of nivolumab including the status of CD8 tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs).

Prognostic significance of cachexia in advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with pembrolizumab.

Background: Cancer cachexia is a multifactorial syndrome characterized by weight loss leading to immune dysfunction that is commonly observed in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We examined the impact of cachexia on the prognosis of patients with advanced NSCLC receiving pembrolizumab and evaluated whether the pathogenesis of cancer cachexia affects the clinical outcome.

Patients And Methods: Consecutive patients with advanced NSCLC treated with pembrolizumab were retrospectively enrolled in the study.

Clinical outcomes of pembrolizumab therapy in advanced-NSCLC patients with poor performance status (≥3) and high PD-L1 expression (TPS ≥50%): A case series.

Pembrolizumab is the standard first-line treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression tumor proportion score (TPS) ≥50%. The benefit of pembrolizumab in patients with advanced NSCLC and poor performance status (PS ≥3) is limited, even when the tumor is PD-L1-expression-positive. We retrospectively reviewed a total of four NSCLC cases with high PD-L1 expression (TPS ≥50%) and poor PS.

Eltrombopag olamine for refractory immune-related thrombocytopenia induced by pembrolizumab in a non-small cell lung cancer patient.

Objectives: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have shown antitumor activity against a wide variety of malignancies. ICI-induced immune-related thrombocytopenia is a rare immune-related adverse event (irAE). Little is known about the treatment of refractory immune-related thrombocytopenia in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with pembrolizumab.

Loxoprofen-induced interstitial pneumonia: a case report.

Background: Loxoprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug used in the treatment of many diseases. However, there are no case reports about loxoprofen-induced pneumonia. We have encountered a rare case of loxoprofen-induced pneumonia.