Respiratory syncytial virus infection in patients with haematological diseases: a retrospective multicentre study.

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections in patients with haematological diseases. It seeks to analyse the relevance of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of RSV infections.

Methods: A multi-centre, retrospective study was conducted across University Hospitals in Cologne, Düsseldorf, Bonn, and the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf between Jan 2016 and Aug 2023.

Case report: Ipilimumab and nivolumab in metastatic adrenocortical cancer with high tumor mutational burden.

In the setting of metastatic adrenocortical cancer, there are limited therapy options such as mitotane and platinum-based chemotherapy with only low response rates. Ipilimumab and nivolumab are approved for several solid cancer types. Tumor mutational burden is one established marker to predict treatment success of immunotherapy and has been associated with improved response rates to immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Early combination therapy of COVID-19 in high-risk patients.

Purpose: Prolonged shedding of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been observed in immunocompromised hosts. Early monotherapy with direct-acting antivirals or monoclonal antibodies, as recommended by the international guidelines, does not prevent this with certainty. Dual therapies may therefore have a synergistic effect.

Safety and efficacy of helical tomotherapy following lung-sparing surgery in locally advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Purpose: To assess the value of radiation therapy (RT) with helical tomotherapy (HT) in the management of locally advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) receiving no or lung-sparing surgery.

Methods: Consecutive MPM cases not undergoing extrapleural pneumonectomy and receiving intensity-modulated (IM) HT were retrospectively evaluated for local control, distant control, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Impact of age, systemic treatment, RT dose, and recurrence patterns was analyzed by univariate and multivariate analysis.

Enabling CAR T-cell therapies for HIV-positive lymphoma patients - A call for action.

People living with HIV have a higher risk of developing lymphoma. Outcomes for people living with HIV with relapsed or refractory (r/r) lymphoma remain poor. For this group of patients, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy represents a new successful treatment strategy.

Baseline immune signature score of Tregs × HLA-DRCD4 T cells × PD1CD8 T cells predicts outcome to immunotherapy in cancer patients.

Background: The use of immunotherapy (IT) is rapidly increasing across different tumor entities. PD-L1 expression is primarily used for therapy evaluation. The disadvantages of PD-L1 status are spatial and temporal heterogeneity as well as tumor type-dependent variation of predictive value.

Red blood cell transfusions impact response rates to immunotherapy in patients with solid malignant tumors.

Red blood cell (RBC) transfusions have been shown to exert immunosuppressive effects in different diseases. In consequence, RBC transfusions might also negatively influence the response to immunotherapeutic treatment approaches. To address how RBC transfusions impact response rates of antitumor immunotherapy (IT), we conducted a retrolective clinical study of patients with different solid tumors treated with IT (atezolizumab, pembrolizumab, nivolumab and/or ipilimumab).