American Society of Clinical Oncology educational book
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Am Soc Clin Oncol Educ Book · Jan 2015
ReviewManaging immune checkpoint-blocking antibody side effects.
Immune checkpoint-blocking antibodies that enhance the immune system's ability to fight cancer are becoming important components of treatment for patients with a variety of malignancies. Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) was the first immune checkpoint to be clinically targeted, and ipilimumab, an inhibitor of CTLA-4, was approved by the U. S. ⋯ Immune-related adverse events affect the dermatologic, gastrointestinal, hepatic, endocrine, and other organ systems. Temporary immunosuppression with corticosteroids, tumor necrosis factor-alpha antagonists, mycophenolate mofetil, or other agents can be effective treatment. This article describes the side-effect profile of the checkpoint-blocking antibodies that target CTLA-4 and PD-1/PD-L1 and provides suggestions on how to manage specific irAEs.
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Am Soc Clin Oncol Educ Book · Jan 2015
ReviewChemotherapy-induced peripheral neurotoxicity in cancer survivors: an underdiagnosed clinical entity?
Systemic chemotherapy is a cornerstone of the modern medical management of cancer, although its use is limited by toxicity on normal tissues and organs, including the nervous system. Long-surviving or cured people strongly require a high level of wellness in addition to prolongation of life (the concept of the quality of survival), but neurologic dysfunction can severely affect daily life activities. Chemotherapy-related peripheral neurotoxicity is becoming one of the most worrisome long-term side effects in patients affected by a neoplasm. ⋯ However, the peripheral nervous system also can be permanently damaged by anticancer treatments despite its better regeneration capacities, and the effect on patients' daily life activities might be extremely severe. However, only recently, the paradigms of peripheral neurotoxicity reversibility have been scientifically challenged, and studies have been performed to capture the patients' perspectives on this issue and to measure the effect of peripheral neurotoxicity on their daily life activities. Despite these efforts, knowledge about this problem is still largely incomplete, and further studies are necessary to clarify the several still-unsettled aspects of long-term peripheral neurotoxicity of conventional and targeted anticancer chemotherapy.
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Am Soc Clin Oncol Educ Book · Jan 2015
ReviewABC, GCB, and Double-Hit Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma: Does Subtype Make a Difference in Therapy Selection?
Personalized therapy for the treatment of patients with cancer is rapidly approaching and is an achievable goal in the near future. A substantial number of novel targets have been developed into therapeutic agents. There is a substantial variability to antitumor activity by novel therapeutics because of the unique heterogeneity and biology that exists both between and within lymphoma subtypes. ⋯ Advances in molecular characterization techniques and the development of novel agents targeting specific subtypes of DLBCL have provided a foundation for personalized therapy of DLBCL based on molecular subtype. A number of early clinical trials evaluating combinations of novel targeted agents with standard chemotherapy (R-CHOP) have been completed and have demonstrated the feasibility of this approach with encouraging efficacy. As such, molecular classification of DLBCL is not only important for prognostication, but moves to center stage for personalization of therapy for DLBCL.
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Curative therapy for both osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma requires the combination of effective systemic therapy and local control of all macroscopic tumors. Systemic therapy for osteosarcoma consists of multiagent chemotherapy. The most common regimen uses cisplatin, doxorubicin, and high-dose methotrexate. ⋯ Regimens such as irinotecan/temozolomide or cyclophosphamide/topotecan have shown activity in metastatic recurrent Ewing sarcoma. Trials are ongoing to evaluate the addition of these drugs to existing multiagent regimens in order to test their ability to improve outcome. High-dose systemic therapy with autologous stem cell reconstitution is being tested for patients at high risk for recurrence; definitive results await completion of a prospective randomized trial.
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Am Soc Clin Oncol Educ Book · Jan 2015
Radium 223: how can we optimize this new tool for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer?
Radium 223 is an alpha-emitting intravenous radiotherapy approved for the treatment of men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). The approved indication covers men with pain from bony metastatic disease and no visceral involvement; however, questions remain as to optimal patient selection and timing of this treatment relative to other life-extending therapies for mCRPC. Limited data exist to guide clinicians on how to position radium 223 in the therapeutic sequence, however, some theoretical considerations and data derived from the ALSYMPCA trial populations pre- and postdocetaxel will be outlined. Subgroup analyses may provide some insight into patient selection.