The oncologist
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On September 2, 2017, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration approved gemtuzumab ozogamicin (GO; Mylotarg; Pfizer, New York City, NY) for treatment of relapsed or refractory (R/R) CD33-positive acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in patients 2 years of age and older. ⋯ Common adverse reactions were fever, infections, nausea, vomiting, constipation, bleeding, increased liver enzymes, and mucositis. There were no cases of VOD. These results supported the approval of GO as monotherapy for R/R CD33-positive AML using the lower-dose fractionated regimen.
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Deficiencies in the DNA mismatch repair system cause errors during DNA replication, which in turn give rise to microsatellite instability (MSI). The impact of MSI on survival in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) is unclear. This cohort study aims to investigate the prognostic and predictive value of MSI in mCRC prior to the immune therapy era. ⋯ This study clearly demonstrated the survival benefits that aggressive metastasectomy provides in selected microsatellite instability-high metastatic colorectal cancer patients. This could be meaningful practice-changing information that has been long awaited.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
CheckMate 141: 1-Year Update and Subgroup Analysis of Nivolumab as First-Line Therapy in Patients with Recurrent/Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer.
Nivolumab significantly improved overall survival (OS) vs investigator's choice (IC) of chemotherapy at the primary analysis of randomized, open-label, phase 3 CheckMate 141 in patients with recurrent or metastatic (R/M) squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). Here, we report that OS benefit with nivolumab was maintained at a minimum follow-up of 11.4 months. Further, OS benefit with nivolumab vs IC was also noted among patients who received first-line treatment for R/M SCCHN after progressing on platinum therapy for locally advanced disease in the adjuvant or primary (i.e., with radiation) setting.
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Terminally ill patients with cancer and their families may have a sense of abandonment when they are referred to hospice. This study aimed to clarify the prevalence of families' sense of abandonment, explore the association between the sense of abandonment and the oncologists' behaviors, and investigate the association between the sense of abandonment and the families' depression and complicated grief. ⋯ This self-reported questionnaire study investigated the prevalence of families' feelings of abandonment when they were referred to hospice care, focusing on the association of sense of abandonment and the behavior of their physicians. Nearly a quarter of families felt abandoned by the referral to hospice, and the behavior of some oncologists was associated with the sense of abandonment.