Current treatment options in oncology
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Curr Treat Options Oncol · Nov 2017
ReviewCombined Vertebral Augmentation and Radiofrequency Ablation in the Management of Spinal Metastases: an Update.
Spinal metastases are the most commonly encountered tumour of the spine, occurring in up to 40% of patients with cancer. Each year, approximately 5% of cancer patients will develop spinal metastases. This number is expected to increase as the life expectancy of cancer patients increases. ⋯ While combined RFA and vertebral augmentation have theoretical benefits, comparative trials have not been performed to establish superiority of combined therapy. We believe that a multidisciplinary approach as well as careful pre-procedure evaluation and imaging will be necessary for effective and safe management of spinal metastases. RFA and vertebral augmentation should be considered during early stages of the disease so as to maintain the remaining quality of life in this patient population group.
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Curr Treat Options Oncol · Aug 2017
ReviewTreatment of Lung Carcinosarcoma and Other Rare Histologic Subtypes of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.
Lung carcinosarcoma (PCS) and other histological subtypes of non-small cell lung cancer, such as primary pulmonary lymphoma (PPL), pulmonary carcinoid (PC), and primary pulmonary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC), are rare. For their low incidence, the diagnosis and treatment are still controversial. Some patients only need surgery, while others may need chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or targeted therapy. In this paper, we retrospectively reviewed the literature of some rare histological subtype of NSCLC for the recent 20 years, and try to get some conclusions.
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Curr Treat Options Oncol · Aug 2017
ReviewClinical Trials Investigating Immune Checkpoint Blockade in Glioblastoma.
Immune checkpoint inhibitors have changed the landscape of cancer immunotherapy and are being integrated into the standard of care for a variety of solid and hematologic malignancies. Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common primary malignant brain tumor in adults and carries a grave prognosis despite advances in surgical resection, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. ⋯ Nevertheless, strong data from preclinical studies have driven clinical trials of immune checkpoint blockade for newly diagnosed and recurrent GBM. The focus of this review is to discuss the ongoing clinical trials of checkpoint inhibitors in GBM and review the immunologic rationale for ongoing and future trial designs.
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Curr Treat Options Oncol · Jun 2017
ReviewImmune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy: What Line of Therapy and How to Choose?
Immunotherapy is now an established part of the treatment paradigm for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but the line of therapy and the sequence of agents are still in flux. In this time when much is to be learned, the optimal therapy for most patients in both the first-line and previously treated settings is in the context of a clinical trial. For standard therapy, however, there are good data to support the practice of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) testing in the front-line advanced setting and to use pembrolizumab as first-line therapy for those with ≥50% PD-L1 expression. ⋯ There are no data to suggest that one agent is more efficacious than the others, but pembrolizumab should be reserved for patients with PD-L1 expression ≥1%. Prescribers and patients must be cognizant of the toxicity profile of these agents, as severe immune-related adverse events can occur with therapy. At this time, this practice pattern for immunotherapy in the first- and second-line can be considered the standard of care, but new data are likely to impact the role of immunotherapy as monotherapy or in combination in the near future.
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Curr Treat Options Oncol · Mar 2017
ReviewCabozantinib for Renal Cell Carcinoma: Current and Future Paradigms.
Cabozantinib was approved by the FDA in April 2016 for the treatment of advanced renal cancer, pretreated with at least one prior antiangiogenic therapy. This is the first agent in the therapy of kidney cancer to show a statistically significant improvement in all three endpoints of clinical efficacy, response rate, progression free survival, and overall survival (OS), in a phase III randomized trial. The reporting of METEOR coincided with that of the Checkmate 025 study which randomized similarly eligible patients to receive nivolumab or everolimus 10 mg daily. ⋯ Immune-based regimens such as the combinations of nivolumab + ipilimumab and bevacizumab + atezolizumab have completed phase III trials, comparing to sunitinib, and results are awaited. In the future, a similar clinical dilemma will be shifted to the front-line therapy and the nuances of trial eligibility, and patient comorbidities will remain important factors. Optimal sequencing and predictive biomarkers are the questions that need to be incorporated in future clinical trials within RCC.