Procalcitonin and C-Reactive Protein/Procalcitonin Ratio as Markers of Infection in Patients With Solid Tumors.

The roles of procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in febrile cancer patients is currently unclear. Our aim was to assess these in febrile patients with solid tumors and to identify cut-off values for ruling out infection. We retrospectively evaluated patients with solid tumors admitted to hospital due to fever.

Association of Oncogenic Mutations in Patients With Advanced Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinomas Treated With Cetuximab.

Importance: Cetuximab was recently proposed for advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (cSCC); however, its efficacy is inconsistent and identification of predictive biomarkers for response is necessary.

Objective: To search for somatic mutations of the HRAS, KRAS, NRAS, BRAF, and EGFR genes in patients with advanced cSCC treated with cetuximab; and to investigate the efficacy and tolerance of cetuximab according to these mutations.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A multicentric and retrospective study of 31 patients (22 men, 9 women) with histologically confirmed advanced cSCC carried out in 1 department of dermatology and 2 departments of medical oncology in France between January 2008 and December 2014.

Short-course daptomycin lock and systemic therapy for catheter-related bloodstream infections: a retrospective cohort study in cancer patients with surgically implanted devices.

Purpose: Few in vivo studies have been reported describing efficacy and duration of antibiotic lock therapy (ALT) with daptomycin (DPT) for long-term catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI) due to coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS). We retrospectively analysed the efficacy of short-course ALT with DPT in combination with systemic treatment (ST) for CoNS-associated CRBSI in our hospital.

Methods: Patients admitted for CoNS-associated CRBSI and treated with DPT as ALT and ST were retrospectively analysed.

High-dose chemotherapy with carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine and melphalan followed by autologous stem cell transplant is an effective treatment for elderly patients with poor-prognosis lymphoma.

Autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) after high-dose chemotherapy (HDT) increases overall survival when used in relapsed non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in patients under 65 years old. Limited experience is available for older patients. We present a retrospective analysis of 73 consecutive patients aged over 65 years treated for aggressive or relapsed lymphoma by HDT with carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine and melphalan (BEAM) at full dosage followed by ASCT.

Visceral leishmaniasis due to Leishmania infantum with renal involvement in HIV-infected patients.

Background: We describe histological, clinical findings and outcomes of renal involvement during Leishmania infantum infection in four HIV-infected patients in South France and North Italy hospital settings.

Cases Presentation: Four HIV-infected Caucasian patients (age 24-49) performed renal biopsy during episodes of visceral leishmaniasis. They presented severe immunosuppression, frequent relapses of visceral leishmaniasis during a follow-up period of several years and partial or complete recovery of renal function after anti-parasitic treatment.