Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in the older.

The incidence of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLCL) in the older is growing to the point of becoming a health priority in the next decades. Prognostic factors and the biology of the tumor are not very different between younger and older populations. Furthermore, it seems that the response rate is basically similar in both populations, provided an appropriate dose of chemotherapy is administered. However, there seem to be differences with regard to a lower tolerance to treatment and a higher relapse rate in responsive older patients. To analyze these problems we review the most important differences between young and older DLCL patients in terms of immunologic status, treatment toxicity and the presence of other concomitant diseases or organ dysfunctions. We also consider the most relevant clinical studies that may allow us to make the appropriate decisions regarding DLCL therapy in this older population.

Capecitabine in combination with irinotecan (XELIRI), administered as a 2-weekly schedule, as first-line chemotherapy for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer: a phase II study of the Spanish GOTI group.

BACKGROUND: Combination chemotherapy is standard treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer (MCRC). The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy and safety of capecitabine+irinotecan (2-weekly schedule), as first-line therapy of MCRC. METHODS: Patients received irinotecan 175 mg m(-2) on day 1 and oral capecitabine 1000 mg m(-2) twice daily on days 2-8 every 2 weeks. For patients aged > or =65 years, the starting doses of irinotecan and capecitabine were reduced to 140 and 750 mg m(-2), respectively. RESULTS: A total of 53 patients were enrolled: 29 (55%) were > or =65 years old. In an intention-to-treat analysis, complete response was achieved in three patients for an overall response rate (ORR) of 32%. The disease control rate (ORR + stable disease) was 66% and the median duration of response was 7.3 months. Median time to progression and overall survival were 9.0 and 19.2 months, respectively. Grade 4 neutropenia was reported in one patient: no other grade 4 toxicities were recorded. Grade 3 diarrhoea occurred in 8 (15%) patients and grade 1-2 hand-foot syndrome in 7 (13%) patients. CONCLUSION: Capecitabine and irinotecan, given every 2 weeks, as first-line treatment of MCRC is an active regimen with a manageable toxicity profile, even in older patients.

Tumoral angiogenesis and breast cancer.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common neoplasm in women in Western countries. Tumoral angiogenesis (TA) is essential for the growth and spread of BC cells. There are at least 6 different angiogenic growth factors associated with TA in BC. The major mediator of TA is vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a homodimeric heparin-binding glycoprotein. VEGF signals through VEGF receptor-2 (VEGFR-2), the major VEGF signalling receptor that mediates sprouting angiogenesis. Recently, different antiangiogenic agents have shown efficacy in the treatment of advanced BC. Bevacizumab, a humanised monoclonal antibody against VEGF, in combination with taxanes improves progression-free survival and overall response rate in first-line therapy. Other new antiangiogenic agents, called multi-kinase inhibitors (sunitinib and pazopanib), are under investigation. Finally, a schedule of treatment called metronomic chemotherapy, with antiangiogenic activity, has also demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of advanced BC.

Current and future aggressive peripheral T-cell lymphoma treatment paradigms, biological features and therapeutic molecular targets.

Prognosis of PTCL is generally poor when treated with conventional chemotherapy regimens used in B-cell aggressive lymphomas. Recent advances in genomic and molecular profiling of PTCL have allowed to further insight this heterogeneous group of neoplasias and their main prognostic factors. This review will try to summarize the main clinical problems related to standard frontline and salvage therapy, including the use of conventional chemotherapy and high-dose, dose-dense and immunotherapeutic strategies, as well as new approaches based on biological knowledge and the use of new drugs or immunotherapy.

Hematopoietic SCT for peripheral T-cell lymphoma.

Results of conventional chemotherapy for high-risk peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) are poor compared with those for their aggressive B-cell counterparts. We aim to review the current data on the use of hematopoietic SCT in these patients in both frontline and salvage settings. With respect to autologous SCT (ASCT), conclusions from retrospective studies are that ASCT in the salvage setting is as useful in PTCL as in aggressive B-cell lymphomas and also that consolidation in first complete response of high-risk patients has very good results when compared with conventional chemotherapy (with long-term PFS higher than 50%). From first frontline prospective clinical trials, it appears that ASCT is feasible and has a low TRM (<5%); consolidation in first complete response is associated with a very good outcome; around 25% of patients do not undergo ASCT due mainly to disease progression; new approaches aimed at increasing the number of chemosensitive patients should be found. Furthermore, 25-30% of patients deemed complete responders post transplant still relapse afterward. For all these mainly chemoresistant patients, there is preliminary evidence that allogeneic SCT (Allo-SCT) may produce a plateau in survival curves (with long-term PFS around 50%), which indicates a graft-versus-PTCL effect. For this reason, Allo-SCT procedures are the object of ongoing clinical trials.

[Mediastinal germ-cell tumours]. / Tumores germinales mediastínicos.

Germ-cell tumours of male ussually arise from the testis. However, in 2-5% of the cases, they also occur outside of the testis as a primary site without evidence of testicular primary tumour. This infrequent entity often appears in the body midline, predominantly in mediastinum and retroperitoneum. Mediastinal germ-cell tumours (MGCT) shall be included in the differential diagnosis of any mediastinic tumour of unknown origin. An accurate diagnosis is essential, due to the fact that these tumours are curable with chemotherapy. The histopathologic and clinical features, and its differences with germ-cell tumours from testicular origin are revised in this article.

[Adrenal failure caused by primary adrenal non-Hodgkin lymphoma: a case report and review of the literature]. / Insuficiencia suprarrenal causada por un linfoma no-Hodgkin B primario suprarrenal: presentación de un caso y revisión de la literatura.

We report a case of 78-year old man who presented with symptoms of adrenal insufficiency. The computed tomography (CT) scan showed the presence of bilateral adrenal masses. A CT-scan guided needle biopsy revealed diffuse large- B cell lymphoma. The absence of pathological findings in clinical, bone marrow and CT scan examinations supported the diagnosis of primary non-Hodgkin Lymphoma of the adrenal glands. The patient was treated with four cycles of R-CHOP chemotherapy with Rituximab, liposomal Doxorubicin, Cyclophosphamide, Vincristine and Prednisolone. At the end of fourth cycle there was radiological improvement but the chemotherapy was stopped because of IV grade toxicity. He completed treatment with radiotherapy of right adrenal mass. Few days after finishing radiation therapy the patient died due to a disseminated infection. No progressive disease was founded.

[Adjuvant treatment of operable breast cancer]. / Tratamiento adyuvante en el cáncer de mama operable.

Breast cancer(BC) is the most frequent neoplasm in women of the west countries. The treatment of BC is very complex, and include the combination of surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormone therapy and immunotherapy. Surgery is the gold standard in the radical treatment of BC. Anthracyclines and taxanes are very important in the adjuvant treatment of BC. These drugs have shown an increased disease-free-survival and overall survival in several studies. Tamoxifen has been the gold standard adjuvant hormone therapy for the treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone-receptor-positive early BC for many years, but the third-generation aromatase inhibitors (letrozole, anastrozole, and exemestane) are now recommended as the preferred therapy. Trastuzumab in combination with adjuvant chemotherapy has changed the natural history of early Her-2 positive BC. New drugs are under investigation in the treatment of BC.

[Efficiency of bortezomib and dexamethasone in relapsed multiple myeloma treatment: retrospective study in consecutive cases]. / Efectividad de bortezomib y dexametasona en el tratamiento de mieloma múltiple refractario: estudio retrospectivo de una serie de casos consecutivos.

INTRODUCTION: Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasm-cell neoplasm, that is characterized by a monoclonal protein in the serum or urine. Bortezomib is an efficacy drug for the second line treatment of MM. PATIENTS AND METHOD: We conducted a retrospective study of 21 consecutive cases with refractory MM treated with bortezomib and dexamethasone as second line therapy, with the objective of analyzing the overall response rate (primary end point), the progression-free survival (PFS), the overall survival (OS), the duration of response (DR) and toxicity profile (second end points). RESULTS: In our study we found an overall response rate of 70%. With a median follow-up of 15 months, we had a median PFS of 12 months (95% CI: 2-21 months), with a median OS of 17 months (95% CI: 2-32 months), and a median DR of 9 months (95% CI: 5-13 months). Fourty-seven percent of patients had neuropathy, the 33% thrombocytopenia, 13.33% anemia and 26.66% diarrhea. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of bortezomib and dexamethasone is an effective and safe treatment in second line of refractory MM, with a manageable toxicity.

[Neoplastic angiogenesis]. / Angiogénesis neoplásica.

Neoplastic angiogenesis is an essential process in the progressive growth of neoplasms and the production of metastasis. Angiogenesis consists of a series of linked and sequential steps that ultimately leads to the development of a neovascular blood supply to the tumor mass. VEGF has got an essential role in neoplastic angiogenesis, therefore it is an important target in the treatment of neoplasms. Bevacizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody, inhibits VEGF, and may also improve the delivery of chemotherapy to the tumor mass. Multi-kinase ihibitors (sorafenib and sunitinib) are orally administered small-molecules, that inhibit different receptors (essentials in the neoplastic angiogenesis), such as the VEGFR or PDGFR. These agents are useful in the treatment of advanced renal-cell carcinoma, and are under investigation in several tumors.

Management of gastric adenocarcinoma.

Gastric adenocarcinoma is the second most common cause of cancer death worldwide. The prognosis for patients with gastric adenocarcinoma depends on the stage of the disease at the time of diagnosis and treatment. Early gastric cancer, limited to the mucosa and submucosa, is best treated surgically and has a five-year survival rate of 70-95%. Surgical resection remains the primary curative treatment for localised disease. Despite this, the overall survival remains poor. The management of localised gastric adenocarcinoma is complex, and at present there is proven benefit of both preoperative chemotherapy and postoperative chemoradiotherapy. There is no standard regimen of chemotherapy for metastatic disease, although the regimen of ECF (epirubicin, cisplatin and fluorouracil) is the most used regimen, with a median survival of 7-9 months. With new regimens of chemotherapy, such as DCF (docetaxel, cisplatin and fluorouracil) or the combination of irinotecan, cisplatin and bevacizumab, the median survival has increased. Other new agents are under investigation.

[Mantle cell lymphoma]. / Linfoma del manto.

Mantle cell lymphoma accounts for approximately 7% of adult Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas. It is a neoplasm of monomorphous small to medium-sized B cells with irregular nuclei. The tumor cells express strong IgM and IgD, and B-cell-associated antigens. Nuclear cyclin D1 protein is present in all cases and is the gold standard for the diagnosis. The t(11;14) (q13;q32) in the majority of the cases results in rearrangement of the BCL-1 locus and overexpression of the cyclin D1 gene. Most patients present with disseminated disease. Mantle cell lymphoma is an incurable neoplasm, but it may be treated with different chemotherapy regimen (R-Hyper-CVAD, R-CHOP, bortezomib) and young patients should be considered for high-dose therapy and autologous or allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.

[Management of cancer pain]. / Manejo del dolor oncológico.

Pain is a very frequent problem in patients with cancer, with a prevalence of 90% in advanced disease. The management of cancer pain is complex, and a multidimensional approach is necessary for its optimal treatment. Three types of pain have been described based on the neurophysiology of pain pathways (somatic, visceral and neuropathic pain). Numerous guidelines for the management of cancer pain have been issued by various organizations and researchers. The WHO guideline is the most used in the management of pain cancer. The opioids analgesics, of which morphine is the prototype, are the most important drugs in the treatment of cancer pain. Adjuvant drugs are used in the treatment of cancer pain, in order to enhance opioid analgesia, and provide analgesia for certain specific types of pain (neuropathic pain, and bone pain).

[Primary effusion lymphoma]. / Linfoma primario de cavidades.

Primary effusion lymphoma is a rare high-grade B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma associated with human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) infection, and is mostly observed in the course of HIV infection (AIDS). The prognosis is poor, with reported median survival time shorter than 6 months. We present a case of a 65-year-old man, with prior unknown origin chronic hepatopathy, chronic hemolytic anaemia, and ascites. Biopsy of peritoneum showed a primary effusion lymphoma. The patient died two months later.