Predictors and Long-Term Outcomes for Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) Patients Undergoing Surgery Prior to Systemic Therapy: A Nationwide Analysis.

Background: A minority of patients diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) undergo surgery before the initiation of systemic therapy. The aim of this study is to explore the characteristics of patients undergoing surgery prior to systemic therapy (surgfirst), the predictors for surgfirst, and the survival outcomes.

Methods: The National Cancer Database was queried for patients with DLBCL diagnosed between 2006 and 2015, and we performed a subgroup analysis of patients that received surgfirst.

The antibody-drug conjugate loncastuximab tesirine for the treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a heterogenous subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Relapsed/refractory disease represents remains an unmet medical need, despite the introduction of novel cellular and targeted therapies. Loncastuximab tesirine is a cluster of differentiation19-targeting antibody-drug conjugate approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for relapsed DLBCL after 2 lines of systemic therapy based on a trial showing a 48.

Avelumab First-Line Maintenance Treatment in Advanced Bladder Cancer: Practical Implementation Steps for Infusion Nurses.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors, such as programmed cell death ligand 1 inhibitors pembrolizumab, nivolumab, atezolizumab, and avelumab, are used to treat patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma (UC). Based on data from the phase 3 JAVELIN Bladder 100 trial, avelumab first-line (1L) maintenance is now considered the standard-of-care treatment for patients with locally advanced or metastatic UC who responded or experienced disease stabilization after 1L platinum-containing chemotherapy, and it is the only category 1 preferred checkpoint inhibitor maintenance option in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology for patients with cisplatin-eligible and cisplatin-ineligible locally advanced or metastatic UC. This article reviews key considerations related to avelumab 1L maintenance therapy that infusion nurses should be familiar with, including dosing, administration, and immune-related adverse event recognition and management, to ensure safe and appropriate use of this important and impactful therapy.

Photon versus proton whole ventricular radiotherapy for non-germinomatous germ cell tumors: A report from the Children's Oncology Group.

Purpose: To determine if proton therapy reduces doses to cranial organs at risk (OARs) as compared to photon therapy in children with non-germinomatous germ cell tumors (NGGCT) receiving whole ventricular radiotherapy (WVRT).

Methods And Materials: Dosimetric data for patients with NGGCT prospectively enrolled in stratum 1 of the Children's Oncology Group study ACNS1123 who received 30.6 Gy WVRT were compared.

Care Considerations for the LGBTQ+ Patient With Cancer.

The LGBTQ+ community is considered a sexual and gender minority and is a medically underserved patient population because of healthcare disparities and specific health risks. Oncology clinical teams can provide skilled, respectful care to LGBTQ+ communities through the collection of sexual orientation and gender identity information, provision of a welcoming care environment, and appropriate use of inclusive language. Healthcare providers can play a role in prevention and detection of cancer and quality of life post-treatment through the understanding of the unique needs of the LGBTQ+ patient population as they navigate the healthcare system.

An isolated cavernous malformation of the sixth cranial nerve: A case report and review of literature.

Background: Isolated cavernous malformation (CM) of the abducens nerve has not been reported in the literature. Herein, the authors address the clinical importance of these lesions and review the reported cases of CM from 2014 to 2020.

Case Description: A 21-year-old man presented with binocular diplopia and headache from 2 months before his admission.

Special Considerations for Supportive Care and Management of Complications in Elderly Patients With Multiple Myeloma.

Multiple myeloma is a progressive and incurable hematologic malignancy. It is predominantly a disease of older individuals, with a third of these patients considered to be elderly. In recent years, there has been a focus and emphasis on identifying and stratifying patients based on their functional status and frailty.

Management of Relapsed Hairy Cell Leukemia: A Systematic Review of Novel Agents and Targeted Therapies.

Background: Hairy cell leukemia (HCL) responds well to purine analogs with an overall median relapse free survival of 11-16 years. Most patients can be retreated with the same or a different purine analog however a subset of patients will become resistant or develop cumulative toxicities. Novel agents such as Vemurafenib (BRAF kinase inhibitor), Bendamustine/Rituximab (BR), Moxetumomab pasudotox (anti CD-22 recombinant immunotoxin) and Ibrutinib have emerging roles in patients with relapsed HCL.

NRG-HN003: Phase I and Expansion Cohort Study of Adjuvant Pembrolizumab, Cisplatin and Radiation Therapy in Pathologically High-Risk Head and Neck Cancer.

The anti-PD1 monoclonal antibody pembrolizumab improves survival in recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Patients with locoregional, pathologically high-risk HNSCC recur frequently despite adjuvant cisplatin-radiation therapy (CRT). Targeting PD1 may reverse immunosuppression induced by HNSCC and CRT.

Pituitary Apoplexy Attributed to COVID-19 Infection in the Absence of an Underlying Macroadenoma or Other Identifiable Cause.

The novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is responsible for an array of extrapulmonary manifestations, including direct and indirect neurological complications. Currently, all published cases noting pituitary apoplexy in patients with COVID-19 have discovered underlying pituitary macroadenomas. Herein, we describe the first documented case, to our knowledge, of pituitary apoplexy attributed solely to COVID-19 in the absence of other identifiable causes.

Intracranial Plasmacytoma Mimicking a Cavernous Sinus Meningioma.

Extramedullary plasmacytomas involving the cavernous sinus are rare manifestations of multiple myeloma, and management strategies for such a pathology are not extensively discussed in the literature. In this case report, we describe the case of a patient presenting with a cavernous sinus syndrome secondary to a presumed meningioma. Surgical intervention was avoided as a computed tomography-guided biopsy was performed yielding the diagnosis of a cavernous sinus plasmacytoma.

Modernizing Clinical Trial Eligibility Criteria: Recommendations of the ASCO-Friends of Cancer Research Laboratory Reference Ranges and Testing Intervals Work Group.

Purpose: In clinical research, eligibility criteria promote patient safety and optimize the evidence generated from clinical trials. However, overly stringent eligibility criteria, including laboratory requirements, may limit enrollment, resulting in delayed trial completion and potentially limiting applicability of trial results to a general practice population.

Experimental Design: Starting in 2018, a working group consisting of experts in direct patient care, the FDA, industry, and patient advocacy developed recommendations to guide the optimal use of laboratory reference ranges and testing intervals in clinical trial eligibility criteria and study procedures.

Moving Beyond the Momentum: Innovative Approaches to Clinical Trial Implementation.

Despite efforts to enhance enrollment and the merger of national cooperative groups, < 5% of patients with cancer will enroll into a clinical trial. Additionally, clinical trials are affected by a lack of diversity inclusive of minority patients, rural residents, or low-income individuals. COVID-19 further exacerbated known barriers of reduced physician-patient interaction, physician availability, trial activation and enrollment, financial resources, and capacity for conducting research.

Pre-Transplant Marital Status and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Outcomes.

Background: Evidence about the impact of marital status before hematopoietic cell transplantation (hct) on outcomes after hct is conflicting.

Methods: We identified patients 40 years of age and older within the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research registry who underwent hct between January 2008 and December 2015. Marital status before hct was declared as one of: married or living with a partner, single (never married), separated or divorced, and widowed.

The Nexus of Endocrine Signaling and Cancer: How Steroid Hormones Influence Genomic Stability.

Endocrine-driven malignancies, including breast and prostate cancer, are among the most common human cancers. The relationship between sex steroid hormones (eg, androgen, estrogen, and progesterone), their cognate receptors, and genomic stability lie at the center of endocrine-driven cancer development, progression, and therapeutic resistance. A variety of direct and indirect mechanisms have been described that link steroid hormone signaling to the loss of genomic integrity that drives early carcinogenesis.

PleThora: Pleural effusion and thoracic cavity segmentations in diseased lungs for benchmarking chest CT processing pipelines.

This manuscript describes a dataset of thoracic cavity segmentations and discrete pleural effusion segmentations we have annotated on 402 computed tomography (CT) scans acquired from patients with non-small cell lung cancer. The segmentation of these anatomic regions precedes fundamental tasks in image analysis pipelines such as lung structure segmentation, lesion detection, and radiomics feature extraction. Bilateral thoracic cavity volumes and pleural effusion volumes were manually segmented on CT scans acquired from The Cancer Imaging Archive "NSCLC Radiomics" data collection.

Author Correction: Safety and feasibility of anti-CD19 CAR T cells with fully human binding domains in patients with B-cell lymphoma.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Patient-Reported Outcomes in Myelodysplastic Syndromes: the Move from Life Span to Health Span.

Purpose Of Review: The lack of fully effective therapies to alter the natural course of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) leads to chronic morbidity, mortality and affects quality of life (QoL). Since existing therapies outside of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) are not curative, there is a growing interest in incorporating patient-reported outcomes (PROs) as meaningful endpoints for these patients in research and clinical practice.

Recent Findings: Currently, there are limited numbers of studies reporting the impact of MDS therapeutics on PROs to guide clinical decision-making and increase patient satisfaction.

Toxicity Management of Front-Line Pembrolizumab Combined With Axitinib in Clear Cell Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Case Study Approach.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors have improved clinical outcomes in many malignancies, including renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Awareness of potential adverse events and effective management of these toxicities is critical to maximizing clinical outcomes. Pembrolizumab plus axitinib is approved as front-line treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma (aRCC), making it the first checkpoint inhibitor and tyrosine kinase inhibitor combination approved for any malignancy.

Safety and feasibility of anti-CD19 CAR T cells with fully human binding domains in patients with B-cell lymphoma.

Anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-expressing T cells are an effective treatment for B-cell lymphoma, but often cause neurologic toxicity. We treated 20 patients with B-cell lymphoma on a phase I, first-in-human clinical trial of T cells expressing the new anti-CD19 CAR Hu19-CD828Z (NCT02659943). The primary objective was to assess safety and feasibility of Hu19-CD828Z T-cell therapy.