The inflammatory response of human pancreatic cancer samples compared to normal controls.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a poor prognosis cancer with an aggressive growth profile that is often diagnosed at late stage and that has few curative or therapeutic options. PDAC growth has been linked to alterations in the pancreas microbiome, which could include the presence of the fungus Malassezia. We used RNA-sequencing to compare 14 matched tumor and normal (tumor adjacent) pancreatic cancer samples and found Malassezia RNA in both the PDAC and normal tissues.

The Equipoise Between the Treatment of Glioblastoma and the Risk of Secondary Acute Myelogenous Leukemia: An Illustrative Case Report.

We present a case report of a 56-year-old woman who was diagnosed with biopsy-proven left thalamic glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). She was treated with standard concurrent chemotherapy and radiation, as well as a 2-year period of adjuvant temozolomide. She relapsed 2 ½ years after starting her initial therapy and was treated with bevacizumab and lomustine, but she relapsed.

Genomic landscape of lymphatic malformations: a case series and response to the PI3Kα inhibitor alpelisib in an -of-1 clinical trial.

Background: Lymphatic malformations (LMs) often pose treatment challenges due to a large size or a critical location that could lead to disfigurement, and there are no standardized treatment approaches for either refractory or unresectable cases.

Methods: We examined the genomic landscape of a patient cohort of LMs ( = 30 cases) that underwent comprehensive genomic profiling using a large-panel next-generation sequencing assay. Immunohistochemical analyses were completed in parallel.

Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer with BRAF and P53 Mutations: Case Report of Therapeutic Response to Doublet Targeted Therapy.

We report on the clinical history of a 49-year-old female with metastatic pancreatic cancer. She was initially treated with standard chemotherapy as per current guidelines. She was found to have both a BRAF and P53 mutation, and received dabrafenib and trametinib with deep responses, both radiographically and biochemically (CA19-9).

First-Line Nivolumab Plus Ipilimumab in Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (CheckMate 568): Outcomes by Programmed Death Ligand 1 and Tumor Mutational Burden as Biomarkers.

Purpose: CheckMate 568 is an open-label phase II trial that evaluated the efficacy and safety of nivolumab plus low-dose ipilimumab as first-line treatment of advanced/metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We assessed the association of efficacy with programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression and tumor mutational burden (TMB).

Patients And Methods: Two hundred eighty-eight patients with previously untreated, recurrent stage IIIB/IV NSCLC received nivolumab 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks plus ipilimumab 1 mg/kg every 6 weeks.

Transient monoclonal gammopathy induced by Candida fungemia.

A 41-year-old woman was admitted for Candida fungemia. On hospital day 4, a routine complete blood count and peripheral smear showed circulating plasma cells. Initial workup showed an M-component on serum protein electrophoresis with 6% λ-predominate plasma cells by flow cytometry.

Antioxidants Abrogate Alpha-Tocopherylquinone-Mediated Down-Regulation of the Androgen Receptor in Androgen-Responsive Prostate Cancer Cells.

Tocopherylquinone (TQ), the oxidation product of alpha-tocopherol (AT), is a bioactive molecule with distinct properties from AT. In this study, AT and TQ are investigated for their comparative effects on growth and androgenic activity in prostate cancer cells. TQ potently inhibited the growth of androgen-responsive prostate cancer cell lines (e.

A Phase I Protocol of Hydralazine and Valproic Acid in Advanced, Previously Treated Solid Cancers.

Smokers experience aberrant gene promoter methylation in their bronchial cells, which may predispose to the development of neoplasia. Hydralazine is a DNA demethylating agent, and valproic acid is a histone deacetylase inhibitor, and both have modest but synergistic anticancer activity in vitro. We conducted a phase I trial combining valproic acid and hydralazine to determine the maximally tolerated dose (MTD) of hydralazine in combination with a therapeutic dose of valproic acid in patients with advanced, unresectable, and previously treated solid cancers.

Disease-specific survival for patients with multiple myeloma: significant improvements over time in all age groups.

This study analyzed the survival of patients with multiple myeloma. Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) databases were queried to calculate myeloma cause-specific survival curves by the Kaplan and Meier product-limit method. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to assess univariate and multivariate predictors of myeloma cause-specific survival.

Sorafenib-Induced Grade Four Hepatotoxicity in a Patient with Recurrent Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST): A Case Report and Review of Literature.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumor is a rare mesenchymal tumor. Sorafenib is an effective medication in these tumors based on two phase II clinical trials and a retrospective analysis. We report a rare case of a 57-year-old male with acute hepatotoxicity from sorafenib.

Anaplastic large cell lymphoma associated with breast implants.

A forty two years old woman with a history of bilateral breast augmentation for cosmetic reasons was presented for poor healing of the surgical site. Tissue and periprosthetic fluid were removed from the wound site revealing an atypical lymphoid infiltrate. Subsequently the patient developed axillary lymph adenopathy.

Tumor MET expression may not predict the risk of venous thromboembolism in cancer patients.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) occurs at an increased incidence in cancer patients. A cancer-related hypercoagulable state has been considered to play role in this phenomenon. Preclinical data suggest an association between tumor expression of MET proto-oncogene (MET) and a hypercoagulable state, resulting in VTE.

Phase I dose finding study of carboplatin, paclitaxel, and temozolomide in advanced solid tumors.

This phase I study was carried out to evaluate the optimal dose of temozolomide in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel in patients with advanced solid tumors. Patients with advanced melanoma or small cell lung cancer that could benefit from the combination of carboplatin and paclitaxel were eligible. A standard 3+3 patient cohort dose escalation design was used.

Phase II, randomized trial to compare anastrozole combined with gefitinib or placebo in postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer.

Purpose: This phase II randomized trial evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of anastrozole combined with gefitinib or anastrozole with placebo in women with hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC).

Experimental Design: Postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive measurable or evaluable MBC who had not received prior endocrine therapy for this disease stage or who developed metastatic disease during/after adjuvant tamoxifen were eligible. The primary response variable was progression-free survival (PFS) and secondary response variables included clinical benefit rate, objective response rate, overall survival, safety and tolerability, and pharmacokinetics.

Clinicopathologic features of agranulocytosis in the setting of levamisole-tainted cocaine.

Levamisole is a known contaminant of cocaine and, via this route, has been associated with otherwise unexplained agranulocytosis. Levamisole is currently present in the majority of cocaine samples seized by the US Drug Enforcement Agency. We identified 20 cases of unexplained agranulocytosis in our practice locations of Albuquerque, NM, and Vancouver, Canada.

A phase I study of flavopiridol in combination with gemcitabine and irinotecan in patients with metastatic cancer.

Background: Flavopiridol (HMR 1275) is a synthetic flavone with antineoplastic properties through inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor. Flavopiridol synergizes in a sequence-dependent fashion with chemotherapy. Major adverse events of flavopiridol in single agent phase I studies are secretory diarrhea, neutropenia, thrombosis, and fatigue.

Enhanced leukemia cell detection using a novel magnetic needle and nanoparticles.

Acute leukemia is a hematopoietic malignancy for which the accurate measurement of minimal residual disease is critical to determining prognosis and treatment. Although bone marrow aspiration and light microscopy remain the current standard of care for detecting residual disease, these approaches cannot reliably discriminate less than 5% lymphoblast cells. To improve the detection of leukemia cells in the marrow, we developed a novel apparatus that utilizes antibodies conjugated to superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION) and directed against the acute leukemia antigen CD34, coupled with a "magnetic needle" biopsy.

Epstein-Barr virus-associated inflammatory pseudotumor of the spleen: report of two cases and review of the literature.

We report two rare examples of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated inflammatory pseudotumor of the spleen. One patient presented with night sweats, abdominal pain, and weight loss and was found to have a splenic mass on CT scan suspected of lymphoma. The splenic mass in second patient was found incidentally at the time of work up for kidney stones.

A phase I and pharmacokinetic study of paclitaxel poliglumex and cisplatin in patients with advanced solid tumors.

Purpose: Determine the toxicity, maximum tolerated dose (MTD), and pharmacokinetics of paclitaxel poliglumex (PPX; CT-2103) in combination with cisplatin administered every 3 weeks.

Patients And Methods: Forty-three patients with advanced solid tumors were treated at escalating doses of PPX with a fixed dose of cisplatin at 75 mg/m(2). Conjugated and unconjugated paclitaxel were measured in plasma and urine.

Phase II studies of antiangiogenic four drug regimens for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma: FUNIL-retinoid and the FUNIL-thalidomide protocols.

Background And Purpose: The objective of these studies was to determine the activity of two alternative 4- drug combinations using cis-retinoic acid or thalidomide administered with a previously developed combination of 5 fluorouracil, interferon-alpha, and interleukin 2 (FUNIL), for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RRC).

Methods: Patients enrolled in these studies had progressive measurable metastatic renal cell cancer and signed an informed consent. Treatments included continuous infusions of 5-fluorouracil, interferon-alpha, 6 MIU/m2 given subcutaneous on days 1, 3, and 5 every week, interleukin-2 6 MIU/m2/day given by continuous infusion days 2 to 5 every week, and either cis-retinoic acid at a dose of 1 mg/kg/day orally in two divided doses or thalidomide given at an initial dose of 200 mg per day.