RESUMO
Background: Lung cancer is one of the tumor types with highest incidence of thromboembolic events (TE), especially adenocarcinoma subtype. ROS1 rearrangements confer higher risk of TE. Non-bacterial thrombotic endocarditis (NBTE) is a rare event, frequently diagnosed on autopsy. Clinical suspicion is key to reach the diagnosis and start early treatment of the underlying cause and anticoagulation in order to improve patients' outcomes. Case Description: Here we present two cases of NBTE in patients with ROS1-rearranged lung cancer with different clinical debuts. A 42-year-old woman presented initial tetraplegia and impaired level of consciousness, and the other patient, a 54-year-old man, was diagnosed of stroke with sensitive loss of left body. Both were diagnosed of NBTE, confirmed by the finding of cardiac vegetation on echocardiogram and no microorganisms found on blood cultures. Both responded well to targeted therapy with lorlatinib and crizotinib and anticoagulation with heparin. Conclusions: NBTE is an infrequent disease which can cause severe neurological symptoms that impair quality of life, performance status and survival. Early clinical suspicion in patients with higher risk of TEs such as patients with rearrangements of ROS1 gene is of essence. Adequate management of underlying disease and anticoagulation may impact in the recovery of symptoms.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: The S-REAL study aimed to assess the effectiveness of durvalumab as consolidation therapy after definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in a real-world cohort of patients with locally advanced, unresectable stage III non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC) included in a Spanish early access program (EAP). METHODS: In this multicentre, observational, retrospective study we analysed data from patients treated in 39 Spanish hospitals, who started intravenous durvalumab (10 mg/kg every 2 weeks) between September 2017 and December 2018. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary endpoints included patient characterization and adverse events of special interest (AESI). RESULTS: A total of 244 patients were followed up for a median of 21.9 months [range 1.2-34.7]. Median duration of durvalumab was 45.5 weeks (11.4 months) [0-145]. Median PFS was 16.7 months (95% CI 12.2-25). No remarkable differences in PFS were observed between patients with programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression ≥ 1% or < 1% (16.7 versus 15.6 months, respectively). However, PFS was higher in patients who had received prior concurrent CRT (cCRT) versus sequential CRT (sCRT) (20.6 versus 9.4 months). AESIs leading to durvalumab discontinuation were registered in 11.1% of patients. CONCLUSIONS: These results are in line with prior published evidence and confirm the benefits of durvalumab in the treatment of LA-NSCLC patients in a real-world setting. We also observed a lower incidence of important treatment-associated toxicities, such as pneumonitis, compared with the pivotal phase III PACIFIC clinical study.