Correction to: Predictive and prognostic clinical and pathological factors of nivolumab efficacy in non-small-cell lung cancer patients.

Clinical and Translational Oncology.

Predictive and prognostic clinical and pathological factors of nivolumab efficacy in non-small-cell lung cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Immunotherapy increases overall response rate (ORR) and overall survival (OS) in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Prognostic and predictive factors are a high need. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospective review of NSCLC patients treated with nivolumab was performed. Analyzed variables included age, sex, stage, performance status (PS), location of metastases, presence of tumour-related symptoms and comorbidities, number of metastasis locations, previous chemotherapy, anti-angiogenic and radiotherapy treatments, and analytical data from the standard blood count and biochemistry. RESULTS: A total of 175 patients were included. Median age was 61.5 years, 73.1% were men, 77.7% were ECOG-PS 0-1, and 86.7% were included with stage IV disease. Histology was non-squamous in 77.1%. Sixty-five received nivolumab in second line (37.1%). Thirty-eight patients had brain metastasis (22%), and 39 (22.3%) liver metastasis and 126 (72%) had more than one metastatic location. The ORR was 15.7% with median Progression free survival (PFS) 2.8 months and median OS 5.81 months. Stage III vs IV and time since the beginning of the previous line of treatment ≥ 6 vs < 6 months were associated with better response. PS 2, time since the previous line of treatment < 6 vs ≥ 6 months, and more than one metastatic location were independently associated with shorter OS in multivariable analysis (7.8 vs 2.7 months, 11.2 vs 4.6 months, and 9.4 vs 5.1 month). Finally, time since the previous treatment < 6 vs ≥ 6 months and more than one metastatic location were independently associated with shorter PFS in multivariable analysis (4.3 vs 2.3 months and 4.7 vs 2.3 months). CONCLUSION: Poor PS, short period of time since the previous treatment, and more than one metastatic location were associated with poorer prognostic.

Complete atrioventricular block induced by rituximab in monotherapy in an aged patient with non-Hodgkin's diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Rituximab is a treatment option to non-Hodg kin's diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (NHDLBCL) in advanced stage and comorbility. It is known the cardiotoxicity effect of this drug, but there is no previous report describing a complete atrioventricular block (CAVB) secundary to treatment with Rituximab. We present an elderly woman treated with monotherapy with Rituximab who experienced a CAVB after administration of the fifth dose of this drug.

Patient with resected anaplastic astrocytoma and an image suggestive of relapse.

The main treatment of asctrocytomas is surgery, which serves a double purpose: diagnosis and treatment. Surgery can be complemented with radiotherapy. With respect to chemotherapy, there continues to be a controversy as to whether it has the capacity to overcome the blood-brain barrier. An interesting option has been the implantation of biodegradable polymers of carmustine that are placed in the cavity left by the surgical procedure. With respect to the cerebral edema that can be associated with the carmustine implants, there can appear images in follow-up that are suggestive of relapse.

Dysphagia and dysphonia in a woman with a previous breast cancer.

Metastasis to the thyroid occur infrequently. The overall incidence in autopsy series vary from 0-5% in unselected cases to 24% in patients with a known malignancy. They usually occur when there are another metastases, sometimes many years after diagnosis of the original primary tumour. We present the case of a woman with dysphagia and dysphonia due to a thyroid mass as first manifestation of a metastatic breast cancer.

Primary hormone treatment in postmenopausal women with breast cancer.

Clinical benefits of hormone therapy in patients with hormone-sensitive tumors have been clearly established. Postmenopausal women with positive hormone receptors represent the largest group of patients in whom early stage breast cancer is diagnosed. Third-generation aromatase inhibitors (letrozole, anastrozole, and exemestane) are active and well tolerated in postmenopausal women with hormone-sensitive metastasic or locally advanced breast cancer as first or second line treatment. These are also valuable agents in the neoadjuvant setting in postmenopausal women, and even as single treatment in localized breast tumors in women not amenable to surgery.

[Tuberculosis and cancer. Experience of a general hospital]. / Tuberculosis y cáncer. Experiencia de un hospital general.

Tuberculosis and cancer are two processes in relationship. The relation between both are studied. We analyzed retrospectively the culture-positive tuberculosis cases in from 1999 to 2002. We described the six cases with tuberculosis and cancer. One hundred and five cases of tuberculosis were observed, 6 cases (5.7%) had cancer. Four cases were pulmonary tuberculosis, one tuberculous pleurisy and other urinary tuberculosis urinary. The two cases with bronchogenic neoplasm had a diagnosis of tuberculosis at same time than cancer. The diagnosis of neoplasm was previous than tuberculosis in two cases (breast neoplasm and hypernephroma), and posterior in others two cases (breast and colon neoplasm). Half of theses patients died. In patients with neoplasm, the possibility of coexist tuberculosis is not depreciable, previous, concomitant or after the diagnosis of neoplasm.