18-FDG PET/CT assessment of basal cell carcinoma with vismodegib.

The use of 18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography with computed tomography (PET/CT) in subjects with advanced basal cell carcinoma (BCC) has not been fully explored due to the rarity of disease presentation. This study evaluated PET/CTs from subjects with advanced BCC participating in a phase I dose-escalation clinical trial of vismodegib. Fourteen subjects with BCC were imaged with 18-FDG PET/CT for lesion identification and response categorizing (European Organisation for Research and Treatment for Cancer [EORTC] and PET response criteria in solid tumors [PERCIST] 1.

Determinants of patient screen failures in Phase 1 clinical trials.

Objective: Certain eligibility criteria for Phase 1 cancer clinical trials may impede successful patient enrollment onto a study. We evaluated patient-specific or study-specific reasons for screen failures on Phase 1 oncology clinical trials and discuss factors which may inhibit subject enrollment.

Methods: Thirty-eight Phase 1 clinical trials for solid tumors meeting eligibility criteria and opened for enrollment between February 2006 and February 2011 at one oncology Phase 1 program were examined.

Long-term safety, tolerability, and efficacy of vismodegib in two patients with metastatic basal cell carcinoma and basal cell nevus syndrome.

Tumor responses in advanced basal cell carcinoma (BCC) have been observed in clinical trials with vismodegib, a SMO antagonist. The result of SMO antagonism is inhibition Hedgehog Signaling Pathway (HHSP) downstream target genes. HHSP inhibition has been shown to affect stem cells responsible for blood, mammary, and neural development.

Marantic Endocarditis Associated with Pancreatic Cancer: A Case Series.

Marantic endocarditis, otherwise known as nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis (NBTE), is a well-documented phenomenon due to hypercoagulability from an underlying cause. It has been associated with a variety of inflammatory states including malignancy. Surprisingly, although hypercoagulability is often seen in patients with pancreatic cancer, marantic endocarditis has rarely been reported antemortem in this population.