Gemcitabine-induced posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome: a case report.

Gemcitabine is a commonly used chemotherapeutic agent for a variety of tumors. Although this nucleoside analog antineoplastic agent is similar in structure to cytarabine, central nervous system toxicities have rarely been attributed to gemcitabine. The posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is a condition characterized by reversible neurological and radiological findings that has been associated with use of chemotherapeutic and more recently novel targeted therapies. We describe one case of a 41-year-old woman with PRES under treatment for leiomyosarcoma because of the probable association with gemcitabine. Our case, to our knowledge, represents the seventh published report of this particular toxicity. Naranjo algorithm, efficacious method for assessing the causality of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) from a case report, suggests a direct casual relationship. PRES is probably a rare complication of gemcitabine, but the oncologist should take it into careful consideration, because PRES is reversible with treatment of current hypertension or removal of the causative agent. However, failure to quickly recognize the syndrome and discontinue the offending agent may result in profound and permanent central nervous system dysfunction or death.

Paralytic ileus associated with capecitabine.

Paralytic ileus is a temporary arrest of intestinal peristalsis. We report on two patients with breast cancer who developed paralytic ileus following treatment with capecitabine. The pathophysiology of this disorder and its possible connection to capecitabine are described with the aim of promoting the early recognition of the clinical picture so that unnecessary surgery can be avoided.

Interleukin-2 and 13-cis retinoic acid as maintenance therapy in advanced ovarian cancer.

The primary objective was to assess whether low-dose Interleukin-2 (IL-2) and 13-cis-retinoic acid (RA) could decrease serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and improve the immune function of patients with advanced ovarian cancer (AOC) responsive to chemotherapy. The secondary end-point was to compare the response of these patients with that of a group of control patients, treated with standard care. Forty-four patients with AOC, responding to chemotherapy and with elevated serum levels of VEGF, were entered into the study from 04/98 to 12/02. After chemotherapy, patients received self-administered subcutaneous IL-2, 1.8x10(6) IU and oral RA, 0.5 mg/kg for 5 days/week for 2 consecutive cycles of 3 weeks, with a 1-week rest, for 1 year and with intermittent schedules for up to 5 years. Eighty-two well-matched controls were selected from a large cohort of patients of similar disease status, treated with standard therapies. A statistically significant decrease of VEGF was observed amongst the 44 evaluable patients. Lymphocyte NK counts and CD4+/CD8+ ratio improved with respect to both baseline values and controls. The progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) curves showed a statistically significant improvement in IL-2/RA-treated patients. These preliminary data show that, after chemotherapy for AOC, the administration of low-dose subcutaneous IL-2 and oral RA is feasible, has low toxicity, is cost-effective and improves both PFS and OS.

Identification of subgroups of early breast cancer patients at high risk of nonadherence to adjuvant hormone therapy: results of an Italian survey.

BACKGROUND: Adherence to adjuvant endocrine therapy (HT) is suboptimal among breast cancer patients. A high rate of nonadherence might explain differences in survival between clinical trial and clinical practice. Tailored interventions aimed at improving adherence can only be implemented if subgroups of patients at higher risk of poor adherence are identified. Because no data are available for Italy, we undertook a large survey on adherence among women taking adjuvant HT for breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients were recruited from 10 cancer clinics in central Italy. All patients taking HT for at least 1 year were invited, during one of their follow-up visit, to fill a confidential questionnaire. The association of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of participants with adherence was assessed using logistic regression. The RECPAM method was used to evaluate interactions among variables and to identify subgroups of patients at different risk of nonadherence. RESULTS: A total of 939 patients joined the study and 18.6% of them were classified as nonadherers. Among possible predictors, only age, working status, and switching from tamoxifen to an aromatase inhibitor were predictive of nonadherence in multivariate analysis. RECPAM analysis led to the identification of 4 classes of patients with a different likelihood of nonadherence to therapy, the lowest being observed in retired women with a low level of education, the highest in the group of unmarried, employed women, or housewives. CONCLUSION: The identification of these subgroups of "real life" patients with a high prevalence of nonadherers might be functional in designing intervention studies aimed at improving adherence.

Oxaliplatin fractionated over two days with bimonthly leucovorin and 5-fluorouracil in metastatic colorectal cancer.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of oxaliplatin (L-OHP) fractionated over two days with bimonthly 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and leucovorin (LV), as first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (MCC) patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty-four patients with inoperable MCC (median age, 60 years) were entered into the study. Outpatient treatment consisted of L-OHP 50 mg/m2 and LV 200 mg/m2 administered in a 2-hour i.v. infusion, followed by 5-FU 400 mg/m2 bolus and 5-FU 600 mg/m2 in a 22-hour continuous infusion, on days 1 and 2 every 2 weeks. RESULTS: A total of 488 courses of chemotherapy were administered. Responses were as follows: 3 complete responses (5.6%) and 24 partial responses (44.4%) giving an overall response rate of 50% (95% CI: 36% to 64%). Median time to progression and overall survival were 10.3 and 19.2 months, respectively. Grade 3-4 neutropoenia, leucopoenia, thrombocythopoenia and anaemia occurred in 33%, 9%, 2% and 2% of patients, respectively, while peripheral neuropathy occurred in 10% of patients. CONCLUSION: The fractionated bimonthly schedule of L-OHP plus de Gramont gave a less than anticipated neurological toxicity profile, while maintaining expected efficacy.

Breast cancer "tailored follow-up" in Italian oncology units: a web-based survey.

PURPOSE: Breast cancer follow-up procedures after primary treatment are still a controversial issue. Aim of this study was to investigate, through a web-based survey, surveillance methodologies selected by Italian oncologists in everyday clinical practice. METHODS: Referents of Italian medical oncology units were invited to participate to the study via e-mail through the SurveyMonkey website. Participants were asked how, in their institution, exams of disease staging and follow-up are planned in asymptomatic women and if surveillance continues beyond the 5th year. RESULTS: Between February and May 2013, 125 out of 233 (53.6%) invited referents of Italian medical oncology units agreed to participate in the survey. Ninety-seven (77.6%) referents state that modalities of breast cancer follow-up are planned according to the risk of disease progression at diagnosis and only 12 (9.6%) oncology units apply the minimal follow-up procedures according to international guidelines. Minimal follow-up is never applied in high risk asymptomatic women. Ninety-eight (78.4%) oncology units continue follow-up in all patients beyond 5 years. CONCLUSIONS: Our survey shows that 90.4% of participating Italian oncology units declare they do not apply the minimal breast cancer follow-up procedures after primary treatment in asymptomatic women, as suggested by national and international guidelines. Interestingly, about 80.0% of interviewed referents performs the so called "tailored follow-up", high intensity for high risk, low intensity for low risk patients. There is an urgent need of randomized clinical trials able to determine the effectiveness of risk-based follow-up modalities, their ideal frequency and persistence in time.

Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in Italian cancer centers: results of CINVDAY, a prospective, multicenter study.

PURPOSE: Guideline consistency in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) remains low (29% in the Pan European Emesis Registry study) and very low (11%) in regimens with a high emetogenic risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate the guideline consistency of CINV prophylaxis for acute emesis in daily clinical practice in Italy. METHODS: This was a prospective, observational, multicenter study. Patients scheduled to receive antitumor treatment on a single prespecified day were included. Data on patient characteristics (demographic and clinical), type of anticancer therapy, and type of antiemetic therapy prescribed for acute emesis were collected on electronic data capture forms. Chemotherapy regimens and antiemetic prophylaxis were categorized according to the MASCC 2011 guidelines. The study was approved by the local ethics committees. RESULTS: From July 2013 to February 2014, a total of 502 patients were enrolled at 26 study sites. Median age was 62 years (range 27-87 years). Colorectal cancer and breast cancer were the most common malignancies. The emetogenic potential of the chemotherapy regimens used was high (HEC) (23.7%), moderate (MEC) (40.6%), low (31.3%) or minimal (4.4%). Overall, guideline consistency was 19.3%. Consistency reached 45% when the various 5HT3 receptor antagonists were considered equivalent and interchangeable in MEC regimens. Adherence to guidelines was lowest for MEC and Minimal risk groups. Ten percent of patients in HEC and MEC regimens did not receive any 5HT3 receptor antagonists. NK1 receptor antagonists were used in 8% of all regimens. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates that antiemetic guideline inconsistency remains an issue in daily clinical oncology practice in Italy.

Developing a decision-making model based on an interdisciplinary oncological care group for the management of colorectal cancer.

AIM: To report our experience on implementation and preliminary results of a decision-making model based on the recommendations of an Interdisciplinary Oncological Care Group developed for the management of colorectal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The multidisciplinary team identified a reference guideline using appraisal of guidelines for research and evaluation (AGREE) tool based on a sequential assessment of the guideline quality. Thereafter, internal guidelines with diagnostic and therapeutic management for early, locally advanced and metastatic colonic and rectal cancer were drafted; organizational aspects, responsibility matrices, protocol actions for each area of specialty involved and indicators for performing audits were also defined. RESULTS: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) UK guideline was the reference for drafting the internal guideline document; from February to November 2013, 125 patients with colorectal cancer were discussed by and taken under the care of the Interdisciplinary Oncological Care Group. The first audit performed in December 2013 revealed optimal adherence to the internal guideline, mainly in terms of uniformity and accuracy of perioperative staging, coordination and timing of multi-modal therapies. To date, all patients under observation are within the diagnostic and therapeutic course, no patient came out from the multidisciplinary "path" and only in 14% of cases have the first recommendations proposed been changed. The selected indicators appear effective and reliable, while at the moment, it is not yet possible to assess the impact of the multidisciplinary team on clinical outcome. CONCLUSION: Although having a short observation period, our model seems capable of determining optimal uniformity of diagnostic and therapeutic management, to a high degree of patient satisfaction. A longer observation period is necessary in order to confirm these observations and for assessing the impact on clinical outcome.

Phase II study of interleukin-2 and 13-cis-retinoic acid as maintenance therapy in metastatic colorectal cancer.

PURPOSE: We have previously shown that low-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2) and 13-cis-retinoic acid (13-cis-RA) improved lymphocyte and natural killer (NK) cell count of patients with advanced tumors showing a clinical benefit from chemotherapy. The primary endpoint of this study was to ask whether IL-2 and 13-cis-RA improved (> or =30%) lymphocyte and NK cell count in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (MCRC) that had a clinical benefit from induction chemotherapy. Secondary endpoint was the evaluation of toxicity, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty patients with MCRC, showing a clinical benefit from chemotherapy, were treated with subcutaneous low-dose IL-2 (1.8 x 10(6) IU) and oral 13-cis-RA (0.5 mg/kg) in order to maintain responses and improve survival through the increase of lymphocyte and NK cells. The biological parameters and the clinical outcome of these patients were compared with those of a control group of patients (80) with a similar disease status, including clinical benefit from chemotherapy. RESULTS: The most common adverse events were mild cutaneous skin rash and fever. After 4 months and 2 years of biotherapy, a statistically significant improvement was observed in lymphocyte and number of NK cells with respect to baseline values and to controls. After a median follow-up of 36 months, median PFS was 27.8 months, while median OS was 52.9 months. CONCLUSION: These data show that maintenance immunotherapy with low-dose IL-2 and oral 13-cis-RA in patients with MCRC showing a clinical benefit from chemotherapy is feasible, has a low toxicity profile, improves lymphocyte and NK cell count. An improvement in the expected PFS and OS was also observed. A randomized trial is warranted.

Multicenter phase 2 study of interleukin-2 and 13-cis retinoic acid as maintenance therapy in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

High serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are a poor prognostic factor for patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We have previously shown that low-dose interleukin (IL)-2 and 13-cis retinoic acid (RA) decreased VEGF and improved the immune function of patients with advanced tumors treated with chemotherapy. The primary end point of this study was to verify whether IL-2 and RA decreased serum VEGF in NSCLC patients showing a clinical benefit from chemotherapy. The secondary end point was the evaluation of clinical outcome. We treated 38 patients with advanced NSCLC who had a complete or partial response or disease stability to chemotherapy and had a median serum VEGF level of 508 ng/mL; as maintenance therapy, they received subcutaneous IL-2 (1.8 x 10(6) IU) and oral RA. Matched controls (n = 87) were selected from a large cohort of patients with a similar disease status, including clinical benefit from chemotherapy. The most common adverse events were mild cutaneous skin rash and fever. Serum VEGF decreased to a mean level of 152 ng/mL (P = 0.0002). A statistically significant improvement in immune function was observed (lymphocyte and natural killer cell numbers and CD4+/CD8+ ratio) with respect to baseline values and controls. An improvement in the clinical outcome was also observed compared with controls. These data show that the administration of low-dose subcutaneous IL-2 and oral RA to patients with advanced NSCLC showing a clinical benefit from chemotherapy is feasible with a low-toxicity profile, decreases VEGF, and seems to improve progression-free and overall survival.