Cancer stem cell assay-guided chemotherapy improves survival of patients with recurrent glioblastoma in a randomized trial.

Therapy-resistant cancer stem cells (CSCs) contribute to the poor clinical outcomes of patients with recurrent glioblastoma (rGBM) who fail standard of care (SOC) therapy. ChemoID is a clinically validated assay for identifying CSC-targeted cytotoxic therapies in solid tumors. In a randomized clinical trial (NCT03632135), the ChemoID assay, a personalized approach for selecting the most effective treatment from FDA-approved chemotherapies, improves the survival of patients with rGBM (2016 WHO classification) over physician-chosen chemotherapy.

A Retrospective Study of Brain Metastases From Solid Malignancies: The Effect of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.

Introduction: Brain metastases (BM) are associated with dismal prognosis, and there is a dearth of effective systemic therapy. In this study, patients with BM from multiple solid tumors were identified from TriNetX databases, their clinicopathological features were evaluated, and the effects of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy were assessed.

Methods: Variables, including median overall survival (OS), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, primary diagnosis, and date of diagnosis, were retrieved from TriNetX, a real-world database.

Bone marrow involvement with Merkel cell carcinoma.

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare but highly aggressive cutaneous tumour. Most tumours occur in the head and neck, extremities or torso and 36% of them involve the face. Bone marrow involvement in MCC is rare and to our knowledge only nine cases reported in the English literature.

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) following coronary artery bypass: case series and review of the literature.

We reviewed 10 cases of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) following cardiac surgery since November 1998. The object of the study was to define the natural history of post-CABG-TTP and to assess response to therapy. All patients underwent CABG; four also underwent aortic valve replacement and six mitral valve replacement.