Phase I / II trial of metformin as a chemo-radiosensitizer in a head and neck cancer patient population.

Objectives: Retrospective studies have shown that head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients taking metformin demonstrate superior survival compared to their counterparts. We sought to determine whether metformin combined with chemoradiation would improve HNSCC patient survival compared to historical controls.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a Phase I/II prospective, single arm clinical trial in patients with newly diagnosed HNSCC (NCT02949700).

Persistent ethnicity-associated disparity in anti-tumor effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors despite equal access.

We reviewed response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) of 207 patients with diagnoses of lung or head and neck cancer treated with chemotherapy/ICI combination therapy and ICI monotherapy between 2015 and 2020 at one of three clinical pavilions associated with the Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine. Two of these pavilions (Harris Health System and the Michael E.

Non-small cell lung cancer in the era of immunotherapy.

Immunotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has revolutionized treatment for those with advanced disease, and recent data have emerged providing evidence for its benefits in earlier stages of the disease. Several pivotal clinical trials provide compelling data that adaptive immune cells may be highly effective and possibly even curative for NSCLC. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can unleash highly reactive memory immune responses to tumor antigens with durable effects against advanced or recurrent disease.

Hepatitis B Virus Screening and Management for Patients With Cancer Prior to Therapy: ASCO Provisional Clinical Opinion Update.

Purpose: This Provisional Clinical Opinion update presents a clinically pragmatic approach to hepatitis B virus (HBV) screening and management.

Provisional Clinical Opinion: All patients anticipating systemic anticancer therapy should be tested for HBV by 3 tests-hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc) total immunoglobulin (Ig) or IgG, and antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen-but anticancer therapy should not be delayed. Findings of chronic HBV (HBsAg-positive) or past HBV (HBsAg-negative and anti-HBc-positive) infection require HBV reactivation risk assessment.

Predictors of benefits from frontline chemoimmunotherapy in stage IV non-small-cell lung cancer: a meta-analysis.

: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have dramatically expanded the therapeutic landscape of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In a previous study, gender, smoking history, and PD-L1 status were found to influence the efficacy of single-agent ICI in NSCLC. This meta-analysis evaluated the clinical and molecular factors that could predict a benefit from adding ICIs to first-line chemotherapy in metastatic NSCLC.

Treatment Patterns in Veterans with Laryngeal and Oropharyngeal Cancer and Impact on Survival.

Objectives: Veterans with laryngeal and oropharyngeal cancer remain an understudied patient population despite a high incidence of disease and decreased survival compared to the general population. Our objective was to evaluate treatment patterns for laryngeal and oropharyngeal cancer in patients treated at one of the Veterans Health Administration's busiest cancer centers in order to generate some basic benchmarks for treatment delivery in the veteran population.

Methods: We reviewed 338 patients treated at the Michael E.

Nivolumab Treatment for Cancers in the HIV-infected Population.

Nivolumab is a standard treatment option in several advanced malignancies, but safety and efficacy are still unknown in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. We describe a case series of people living with HIV (PLWH) receiving nivolumab in the Veterans Health Administration (VA) and report responses and toxicities. We identified all PLWH who received nivolumab at any VA facility since 2000 in the Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW), which provides nationwide research access to VA electronic medical records.

Myasthenia Gravis After Nivolumab Therapy for Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Bladder.

Checkpoint inhibitors have become standard therapy for multiple cancers, and their use will increase in the next year as regulatory approvals for additional indications are expected. It is essential for clinicians to be aware of the potential for rare immune-related adverse effects. Here, we report the case of a new diagnosis of myasthenia gravis (MG) after the use of nivolumab for squamous cell carcinoma of the bladder.

Hepatitis B Virus Screening for Patients With Cancer Before Therapy: American Society of Clinical Oncology Provisional Clinical Opinion Update.

Purpose: This updated provisional clinical opinion presents a revised opinion based on American Society of Clinical Oncology panel consensus in the context of an evolving database.

Context: Despite the 2010 provisional clinical opinion recommendation, there is still evidence of suboptimal hepatitis B virus (HBV) screening among patients at high risk for HBV infection or HBV reactivation after chemotherapy. This updated provisional clinical opinion introduces a risk-adaptive strategy to identify and treat patients with HBV infection to reduce their risk of HBV reactivation.

HuR Suppresses Fas Expression and Correlates with Patient Outcome in Liver Cancer.

Unlabelled: Hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) show resistance to chemotherapy and have blunt response to apoptotic stimuli. HCC cell lines express low levels of the Fas death receptor and are resistant to FasL stimulation, whereas immortalized hepatocytes are sensitive. The variable Fas transcript levels and consistently low Fas protein in HCC cells suggest posttranscriptional regulation of Fas expression.

Nucleolin inhibits Fas ligand binding and suppresses Fas-mediated apoptosis in vivo via a surface nucleolin-Fas complex.

Resistance to Fas-mediated apoptosis is associated with poor cancer outcomes and chemoresistance. To elucidate potential mechanisms of defective Fas signaling, we screened primary lymphoma cell extracts for Fas-associated proteins that would have the potential to regulate Fas signaling. An activation-resistant Fas complex selectively included nucleolin.

Benefits and harms of CT screening for lung cancer: a systematic review.

Context: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death. Most patients are diagnosed with advanced disease, resulting in a very low 5-year survival. Screening may reduce the risk of death from lung cancer.

A randomized controlled trial of celecoxib to prevent recurrence of nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer.

Significant morbidity and expense result from frequent recurrences of nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) after standard treatment, and carcinoma in situ (Tis) is a poor prognostic factor. Predicated on observational and preclinical data strongly supporting cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in the pathogenesis, and the activity of COX-2 inhibitors, in bladder cancer, we conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to determine whether celecoxib could reduce the time-to-recurrence (TTR) in NMIBC patients at high risk for recurrence. A total of 146 patients were randomized to celecoxib (200 mg) or placebo orally twice daily for at least 12 months.

Effects of mTOR inhibitor everolimus (RAD001) on bladder cancer cells.

Purpose: We investigated the effect of the mTOR inhibitor RAD001 (everolimus) on human bladder cancer (BC) cells in vitro and in vivo.

Experimental Design: The effect of RAD001 on the growth of UM-UC-3, UM-UC-6, UM-UC-9, and UM-UC-14 BC cells were assessed by crystal violet and [(3)H]thymidine incorporation assays. Flow cytometric cell-cycle analyses were done to measure the apoptotic cell fraction.

American Society of Clinical Oncology provisional clinical opinion: chronic hepatitis B virus infection screening in patients receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy for treatment of malignant diseases.

Unlabelled: PURPOSE An American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) provisional clinical opinion (PCO) offers timely clinical direction to ASCO's membership following publication or presentation of potentially practice-changing information. This PCO addresses recommendations for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection screening in patients receiving cytotoxic or immunosuppressive chemotherapy for treatment of malignant diseases.

Clinical Context: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued Recommendations for Identification and Public Health Management of Persons with Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection, recommending screening for hepatitis B infection (hepatitis B surface antigen [HBsAg], antihepatitis B core antigen [anti-HBc], and antibodies to HBsAg [anti-HBs]) for "persons receiving cytotoxic or immunosuppressive therapy (eg, chemotherapy for malignant diseases.

Identification of genes correlated with early-stage bladder cancer progression.

Transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder ranks fourth in incidence of all cancers in the developed world, yet the mechanisms of its origin and progression remain poorly understood. There are also few useful diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers for this disease. We have combined a transgenic mouse model for invasive bladder cancer (UPII-SV40Tag mice) with DNA microarray technology to determine molecular mechanisms involved in early TCC development and to identify new biomarkers for detection, diagnosis, and prognosis of TCC.

Mortality in the randomized, controlled lung intergroup trial of isotretinoin.

In 2001, we reported that mortality may have been higher with isotretinoin (30 mg/d for 3 years) than with placebo in the subgroup of current smokers among the 1,166 patients with definitively resected early-stage non-small cell lung cancer who participated in the randomized, controlled Lung Intergroup Trial. We report the overall and cause (cancer, cardiovascular disease, or other)-specific mortality associated with long-term isotretinoin after an extended median follow-up of 6.2 years that included the capture of cause-of-death data from 428 deceased patients.

Three synchronous HPV-associated squamous cell carcinomas of Waldeyer's ring: case report and comparison with Slaughter's model of field cancerization.

Background: Patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the oropharynx have an 8% to 20% risk of a synchronous or metachronous second malignancy. The rate of synchronous lesions in human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal cancers is unknown.

Methods: We report the case of a 46-year-old man with 3 simultaneous primary malignancies of Waldeyer's ring: HPV-positive SCC of both tonsils and the nasopharynx, with bilateral neck metastases.