D-TERMINED, a phase 1 trial in newly diagnosed high-grade glioma with temozolomide, radiation, and minocycline followed by adjuvant minocycline/temozolomide.

Background: Standard treatment for newly diagnosed high-grade gliomas remains suboptimal. Preclinical data indicate that mesenchymal transition and radiation resistance in glioblastoma are driven by NF-κB and microglia activation, which can be inhibited by minocycline. We assessed the safety and efficacy of minocycline combined with standard radiation and temozolomide in newly diagnosed high-grade gliomas.

Transformative Peer Connections: Early Experiences From the ASCO Palliative Care Community of Practice.

The integration of palliative care into routine oncology practice is the standard of care by most leading cancer organizations. Palliative medicine helps to deliver higher quality of care at a lower cost. However, there are barriers to implementing palliative oncology at many institutions for myriad reasons.

Salivary, lacrimal and nasal (SALANS) measure to assess side effects following radioactive iodine treatment: development, psychometric properties, and factor structure.

Purpose: This study aimed to develop and psychometrically evaluate a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM), SAlivary, LAcrimal, NaSal (SALANS), to document patients' symptoms after radioactive iodine (RAI) treatment for differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC).

Methods: We generated and iteratively revised SALANS items based on expert input, focus group discussions and feedback from cognitive testing (n = 17). We administered an initial SALANS measure with 39 items to patients diagnosed with DTC in the past two years (n = 105).

Hypofractionated Radiotherapy-Related Lymphopenia Is Associated With Worse Survival in Unresectable Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of radiotherapy (RT)-related lymphopenia, its predictors, and association with survival in unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) treated with hypofractionated-RT (HF-RT).

Methods: Retrospective analysis of 96 patients with unresectable ICC who underwent HF-RT (median 58.05 Gy in 15 fractions) between 2009 and 2022 was performed.

Breast cancer incidence and mortality by metabolic syndrome and obesity: The Women's Health Initiative.

Background: In the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) randomized trial, dietary intervention significantly reduced breast cancer mortality, especially in women with more metabolic syndrome (MetS) components. Therefore, this study investigated the associations of MetS and obesity with postmenopausal breast cancer after long-term follow-up in the WHI clinical trials.

Methods: A total of 68,132 postmenopausal women, without prior breast cancer and with normal mammogram, were entered into WHI randomized clinical trials; 63,330 women with an entry MetS score comprised the study population.

Comparison of intermittent intravenous tacrolimus to continuous tacrolimus in adult allogeneic stem cell transplant recipients.

Initial continuous intravenous (CIV) tacrolimus (0.03 mg/kg/day based on ideal body weight [IBW]) has been favored for graft versus host disease (GVHD) prevention in allogeneic stem cell transplant patients due to the consistent, steady-state degree of immunosuppression; however, this method poses many logistical challenges. We implemented intermittent (IIV) tacrolimus at a starting dose of 0.

A Practical Review of Encorafenib and Binimetinib Therapy Management in Patients with BRAF V600E-Mutant Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

According to current guidelines, targeted therapy with a combination of BRAF plus MEK inhibitors is the preferred first-line treatment for patients with BRAF V600E-mutant metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In the open-label, single-arm, phase 2 PHAROS trial (NCT03915951), the combination of encorafenib, a potent BRAF inhibitor, and binimetinib, a potent MEK inhibitor, demonstrated durable antitumor activity with a manageable safety profile in this patient population. On the basis of the results of this study, the combination of encorafenib plus binimetinib was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration on October 11, 2023, for patients with BRAF V600E-mutant metastatic NSCLC.

Feasibility of patient-specific quality assurance (PSQA) for real-time robotic stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) based on tumor motion traces.

Purpose: To design a patient specific quality assurance (PSQA) process for the CyberKnife Synchrony system and quantify its dosimetric accuracy using a motion platform driven by patient tumor traces with rotation.

Methods: The CyberKnife Synchrony system was evaluated using a motion platform (MODUSQA) and a SRS MapCHECK phantom. The platform was programed to move in the superior-inferior (SI) direction based on tumor traces.

A phase I study to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of PF-06939999 (PRMT5 inhibitor) in patients with selected advanced or metastatic tumors with high incidence of splicing factor gene mutations.

Background: Protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) methylates multiple substrates dysregulated in cancer, including spliceosome machinery components. PF-06939999 is a selective small-molecule PRMT5 inhibitor.

Patients And Methods: This phase I dose-escalation and -expansion trial (NCT03854227) enrolled patients with selected solid tumors.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: exploring clinicopathological trends and racial disparities in a comprehensive U.S. population-based study.

Introduction: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly aggressive malignancy about 50% of PDAC are metastatic at presentation. In this study, we evaluated PDAC demographics, annual trend analysis, racial disparities, survival rate, and the role of different treatment modalities in localized and metastatic disease.

Methods: A total of 144,824 cases of PDAC were obtained from the SEER database from 2000 to 2018.

Biochemically recurrent prostate cancer in the era of EMBARK and PSMA PET imaging: everything has changed, except the patients.

Purpose Of Review: Patients with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer (BCR) after unsuccessful curative therapies frequently have an indolent and asymptomatic disease course for years. There are no prospective data showing that treating BCR improves overall survival despite new imaging strategies and emerging therapeutic data. Managing BCR requires a unique perspective in oncology that balances toxicities and disease kinetics.

Exceptional synergistic response of PARP inhibitor and immune checkpoint inhibitor in esophageal adenocarcinoma with a germline BRCA2 mutation: a case report.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors have shown efficacy in various tumors. A significant therapeutic challenge with either ICIs or PARP inhibitors as monotherapy is treatment failure from intrinsic primary resistance or the development of secondarily acquired resistance after a period of responsiveness. The combination of PARP inhibitors and ICIs could mitigate this by potentiating treatment response.

Non-Invasive Predictive Biomarkers for Immune-Related Adverse Events Due to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.

Immune-related adverse events (irAEs) are the most common complication of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy. With the widespread use of ICIs in patients with solid tumors, up to 40% of the patients develop irAEs within five months of treatment, and 11% develop severe irAEs requiring interventions. A predictive test for irAEs would be a crucial tool for monitoring for complications during and after ICI therapy.

Quantitative proteomic analysis of HER2 protein expression in PDAC tumors.

Metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States, with a 5-year survival rate of only 11%, necessitating identification of novel treatment paradigms. Tumor tissue specimens from patients with PDAC, breast cancer, and other solid tumor malignancies were collected and tumor cells were enriched using laser microdissection (LMD). Reverse phase protein array (RPPA) analysis was performed on enriched tumor cell lysates to quantify a 32-protein/phosphoprotein biomarker panel comprising known anticancer drug targets and/or cancer-related total and phosphorylated proteins, including HER2, HER2, and HER3.

Extended Safety and Tolerability of Darolutamide for Nonmetastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer and Adverse Event Time Course in ARAMIS.

Background: Patients with nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (nmCRPC) are usually asymptomatic and seek treatments that improve survival but have a low risk of adverse events. Darolutamide, a structurally distinct androgen receptor inhibitor (ARi), significantly reduced the risk of metastasis and death versus placebo in ARAMIS. We assessed the extended safety and tolerability of darolutamide and the time-course profile of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) related to ARis and androgen-suppressive treatment.

Psychologists as Pivotal Members of the Pediatric Palliative Care Team.

Context: Pediatric psychologists possess unique expertise to positively impact the care provided to children with serious illness and their families. Despite increasing recognition regarding the value of psychology in palliative care, psychologists are not yet routinely integrated into pediatric palliative care (PPC) teams.

Objectives: This special paper seeks to demonstrate distinctive contributions psychologists can offer to PPC teams, patients, and families, as well as highlight how psychologists enhance the work of their interdisciplinary PPC colleagues.