Lenvatinib - A multikinase inhibitor for radioiodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer.

Lenvatinib, an oral multikinase inhibitor, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in February 2015. In a pivotal phase III study of 392 patients with progressive radioiodine-refractory thyroid cancer, the overall response rate of patients receiving lenvatinib was 64.8%, with complete response in four patients. The median progression-free survival was 18.3 months in the lenvatinib arm versus 3.6 months in patients receiving placebo. Median overall survival was not reached in either arm. Lenvatinib is a promising new treatment for patients with radioiodine (iodine-131)-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer.

Second Primary Malignancies in Adults with Gastric Cancer - A US Population-Based Study.

BACKGROUND: Multiple studies have examined the incidence of secondary primary malignancies (SPMs) in gastric cancer patients in Europe and Asia. This retrospective review was conducted to analyze risk of SPM in patients with gastric cancer diagnosed in the United States. METHODS: We included adult patients diagnosed with gastric cancer from the surveillance, epidemiology, and end result (SEER) 13 database. We calculated the risk of SPMs in these patients using the multiple primary standardized incidence ratio session of SEER*stat software and performed subset analyses of SPM with regard to age, sex, radiotherapy used, and latency period. RESULTS: Among 33,720 patients, 1838 (5.45%) developed 2019 SPMs with an observed/expected (O/E) ratio of 1.11 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.06-1.16, p < 0.001] and an absolute excess risk of 18.16 per 10,000 population. The median time to first SPM from the time of diagnosis of gastric cancer was 46.9 months (range 6-239 months). Significant excess risk was observed for gastrointestinal malignancies [O/E ratio 1.71 (CI = 1.59-1.84, p < 0.001)], thyroid [O/E ratio 2.00 (CI = 1.37-2.8, p < 0.001)], and pancreatic cancer [O/E ratio 1.60 (CI = 1.29-21.96, p < 0.001)]. Risk of secondary melanoma, breast cancer, and prostate cancer was lower than in the general population. CONCLUSION: The risk for SPMs is significantly increased in adults with gastric cancer compared to the general population.

Idelalisib- a PI3Kδ targeting agent for B-cell malignancies.

Idelalisib, the first in-class phosphotidlyinositol 3-kinase delta (PI3Kδ) inhibitor, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in July 2014. It simultaneously received breakthrough therapy designation in combination with rituximab for the treatment of relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) as well as accelerated approval as monotherapy for the treatment of relapsed follicular lymphoma and relapsed small lymphocytic lymphoma. In a pivotal phase III study of 220 patients with relapsed CLL, the overall response rate of patients who received rituximab plus idelalisib was 81%. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 5 months with rituximab plus placebo group, but was not reached in the idelalisib arm. At 24 weeks, the PFS in patients receiving idelalisib was 93%. In a phase II trial of 125 patients with relapsed or refractory indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma who received idelalisib 150 mg twice daily, the response rate was 57%. Complete response was seen in 6% of patients. The median duration of response was 12.5 months, and median PFS was 11 months. Idelalisib is a promising new therapy for relapsed indolent B-cell malignancies.

Vincristine-induced blindness: a case report and review of literature.

BACKGROUND: Neurotoxicity is a dose-limiting side-effect of vincristine therapy. Blindness is a rare central neurotoxicity of vincristine with few case reports. CASE REPORT: In the present article, we report a rare case of vincristine-induced blindness in a patient with diffuse large B cell lymphoma. Literature search identified eleven published cases of vincristine-induced blindness. We reviewed patient characteristics, chemotherapy used and type of blindness. CONCLUSION: Vincristine-induced blindness is rare and unpredictable. Prompt recognition and discontinuation of vincristine may lead to recovery of vision.