De Novo Colitis Associated With Rituximab in 21 Patients at a Tertiary Center.

Rituximab, a monoclonal antibody directed against the CD20 antigen on B lymphocytes, is commonly used in the treatment of hematologic malignancies and rheumatologic disorders.1,2 It acts to rapidly deplete the B lymphocyte population through multiple mechanisms, leading to dysregulation of the immune system.3 Rituximab has been associated with numerous adverse gastrointestinal effects including diarrhea and bowel perforation, and recent reports have associated rituximab with the development of de novo inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).4,5 To our knowledge, there have been no reports of microscopic colitis (MC) associated with rituximab therapy. We aimed to identify patients with rituximab-associated colitis, and to better characterize the clinical features and disease course of these patients.

Risk Factors for Readmission in Patients With Cancer Comanaged by Hospitalists.

Little is known about which variables put patients with cancer at risk for 30-day hospital readmission. Comanagement of this often complex patient population by specialists and hospitalists has become increasingly common. This retrospective study examined inpatients with cancer comanaged by hospitalists, hematologists, and oncologists to determine the rate of readmission and factors associated with readmission. Patients in this cohort had a readmission rate of 23%. Patients who were discharged to a skilled nursing facility (odds ratio [OR] = 0.34) or hospice (OR = 0.11) were less likely to have 30-day readmissions, whereas patients who had surgery (OR = 3.16) during their index admission were more likely. Other factors, including patient demographics, cancer types, and hospitalization interventions and events, did not differ between patients who were readmitted and those who were not. These findings contribute to a growing body of literature identifying risk factors for readmission in medical oncology and hematology patients.

Breast cancer survival of Hispanic women in the USA is influenced by country of origin.

AIM: People of Hispanic origin comprise nearly 16 percent of the (US) population. With the growing population of Hispanics in the USA, an important epidemiological question is whether their country of origin affects survival in Hispanic women living in the USA at the time of diagnosis of breast cancer. METHODS: We searched the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database for Hispanic women with a single primary breast cancer with known country of origin diagnosed between 1973 and 2008. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate whether the country of origin was an independent predictor of survival. RESULTS: In total, 48,849 female breast cancer patients of Hispanic origin were included in the SEER database. Nearly 23 percent of them had an origin in Mexico, 9 percent in South or Central America 3 percent in Puerto Rico, 2 percent in Cuba, 0.3 percent in the Dominical Republic and 3 percent in other countries, including Europe. About 60 percent of patients were identified as Hispanic by their surname or classified as Spanish/Hispanic not otherwise specified. Median survival of patients in these groups was 204, 240, 142, 169, 82.4, 115.5 and 210 months, respectively (P < 0.0001 by log-rank test). Univariate and multivariate analysis showed that the country of origin was an independent predictor of survival in Hispanic women with breast cancer. CONCLUSION: The country of origin is an independent predictor of overall survival among Hispanic women diagnosed with breast cancer.

Increased incidence of a second lymphoproliferative malignancy in patients with multiple myeloma--a SEER based study.

BACKGROUND: Improving therapies means longer survival for multiple myeloma (MM) patients. We hypothesized that these patients are at an increased risk for a secondary malignancy. OBJECTIVES: (i) To investigate the epidemiology and site-specific risk of second primary cancers (SPCs) in patients with MM (ii) To investigate the factors affecting survival in MM patients with SPCs. DESIGN: This was a retrospective cohort study employing data available in the US Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. SUBJECTS: Adult patients (>18 years) where MM was the first of two, or more primary cancers, such that the diagnosis of MM and the SPC was separated by at least 1 month. RESULTS: The age-adjusted rate SPCs in MM was 0.22 per 100,000 (95% CI=0.05-2.1). The incidence of SPCs was higher in patients aged ≥70 years, men and blacks. Age, gender and race were significant predictors for the occurrence of SPCs in MM. The risk of solid malignancies was significantly decreased (SIR: 0.94, 95% CI=0.89-0.99), while that of lymphohematopoieitc (LAHM) malignancies increased in MM (SIR: 1.68, 95% CI= 1.46-1.92). 5-year relative survival among MM patients with SPCs was higher in blacks (54.6%, 95% CI=49.5-59.4) than whites (53.8%, 95% CI=51.3-56.3) or other races (49.9%, 95% CI=39.8-59.3). Multivariate analysis revealed that race, site of SPC and year of diagnosis were independent predictors of survival among MM patients with SPCs. CONCLUSION: MM patients are at a higher risk of a second LAHM.

Hyperuricemic renal failure in nonhematologic solid tumors: a case report and review of the literature.

Tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) is an oncologic emergency that is caused by massive tumor cell lysis. It is commonly associated with hematological cancers like leukemia and lymphoma and uncommonly with solid nonhematologic tumors as well. However, spontaneous tumor lysis syndrome (STLS) without any cytotoxic chemotherapy rarely occurs in solid tumors. We describe a case of STLS in a metastatic adenocarcinoma of unknown primary and review the literature of STLS in solid non-hematologic tumors to identify various risk factors for pathogenesis of this entity.

Role of mucins in the skin during benign and malignant conditions.

Skin-related diseases comprise a major health challenge to the practicing physician, and constitute a significant psychological, social and financial burden to the society. Further, skin cancer, especially non-melanoma skin cancer is currently the leading type of malignancy in the Western world. Given the huge burden of skin diseases, there is growing emphasis on understanding their pathophysiology, and towards their early detection. Mucins are high-molecular weight O- and N-linked glycoproteins that have emerged in recent years as important molecules in maintaining health and in promoting or protecting against inflammation and cancer. They have also begun to emerge as highly specific diagnostic and prognostic markers and novel therapeutic targets in several malignant disorders. However, their role in cutaneous pathologies has remained largely obscured. The present review provides the expression patterns and proposed role of mucins in the healthy skin and various benign and malignant skin diseases. The review has immense clinical significance as the availability of highly specific reagents including monoclonal antibodies against mucins makes them extremely attractive targets for specific diagnosis and/or immunotherapy of benign and malignant cutaneous diseases.

Aberrant upregulation of MUC4 mucin expression in cutaneous condyloma acuminatum and squamous cell carcinoma suggests a potential role in the diagnosis and therapy of skin diseases.

AIM: Mucins comprise a family of high-molecular-weight glycoproteins. MUC4, a large transmembrane mucin, has recently emerged as a novel marker for diagnosis, prognosis and therapy in several malignancies. However, its role in skin pathologies remains unknown. The aim of this study was to analyse the expression of MUC4 in cutaneous pathologies by immunohistochemistry for potential diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic applications. METHODS: A total of 330 tissue spots representing the normal skin, and benign and malignant cutaneous diseases, were analysed after staining with the monoclonal antibody to human MUC4 (clone 8G7). RESULTS: While the normal epidermis showed a negative to weak-positive expression of MUC4, its expression was significantly upregulated in squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) where the intensity of staining correlated negatively with tumour grade and positively with age. A moderately strong MUC4 expression was also noted in 2/20 cancer adjacent normal skin and 2/21 chronically inflamed skin tissues, while 10/19 cases of vulval condyloma acuminate, 3/12 of vulval hyperplasia and 2 cases of verruca vulgaris also showed strong MUC4 positivity. Malignant melanoma, basal cell carcinoma and cutaneous cysts were negative. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that MUC4 expression is aberrantly upregulated in cutaneous SCCs, vulval condylomas and verruca vulgaris. Further, it appears that MUC4 expression in the skin may be modulated by chronic inflammation and the presence of an adjacent cutaneous malignancy in certain cases. These observations suggest a novel role for MUC4 mucin in the pathogenesis of cutaneous SCC and a possible application as a diagnostic and/or prognostic marker in cutaneous pathologies.