Early Local Therapy for the Primary Site in De Novo Stage IV Breast Cancer: Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial (EA2108).

Purpose: Distant metastases are present in 6% or more of patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer. In this context, locoregional therapy for the intact primary tumor has been hypothesized to improve overall survival (OS), but clinical trials have reported conflicting results.

Methods: Women presenting with metastatic breast cancer and an intact primary tumor received systemic therapy for 4-8 months; if no disease progression occurred, they were randomly assigned to locoregional therapy for the primary site (surgery and radiotherapy per standards for nonmetastatic disease) or continuing sysmetic therapy.

Effect of Selumetinib and MK-2206 vs Oxaliplatin and Fluorouracil in Patients With Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer After Prior Therapy: SWOG S1115 Study Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: KRAS mutations are common in pancreatic cancer, but directly targeting the KRAS protein has thus far been unsuccessful. The aim of this trial was to block the MEK and PI3K/AKT pathways downstream of the KRAS protein as an alternate treatment strategy to slow cancer growth and prolong survival. This was the first cooperative group trial to evaluate this strategy using molecularly targeted oral combination therapy for the treatment of chemotherapy-refractory pancreatic cancer.

Treatment of cancer-associated retinopathy with rituximab.

Cancer-associated retinopathy (CAR) is a rare autoimmune condition associated with various cancers, causing significant visual impairment. Visual symptoms in CAR may or may not correlate with the extent of systemic disease or its response to chemotherapy, and must be addressed separately from the management of systemic malignancy. Steroids have been the mainstay of CAR therapy.

Cocaine-levamisole thrombotic vasculopathy.

The syndrome of cocaine-levamisole thrombotic vasculopathy is a tetrad of cutaneous manifestations, arthralgia, leukopenia, and positive antineutrophil cytoplasmic antigen (ANCA). Cocaine is cut with levamisole to potentiate its euphoric effects. However, along with this are the adverse reactions of levamisole such as fatal agranulocytosis, flu-like symptoms, and cutaneous thrombotic vasculopathy.

Leptomeningeal carcinomatosis from ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer is the most common cause of mortality among women with gynecologic malignancies and the fifth leading cause of death in all women. It usually spreads locally; hematogenous dissemination is rare, most often involving the liver and lungs. Cerebral metastases are reported in less than 2% of cases and tend to localize to the parenchyma, usually in the cerebrum.