Assessment of the Association between Entropy in PET/CT and Response to Anti-PD-1/PD-L1 Monotherapy in Stage III or IV NSCLC.

Anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy indications are broadened in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) although immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) do not provide benefits for the entire population. Texture features based on positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), especially entropy (based on a gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM)), could be interesting as predictors in NSCLC. The aim of our retrospective study was to evaluate the association between GLCM-entropy and response to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 monotherapy at the first evaluation in stage III or IV NSCLC, comparing patients with progressive disease (PD) and non-progressive disease (non-PD). In total, 47 patients were included. Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST 1.1) were used to evaluate the response to ICI treatment (nivolumab, pembrolizumab, or atezolizumab). At the first evaluation, 25 patients were PD and 22 were non-PD. GLCM-entropy was not predictive of response at the first evaluation. Furthermore, GLCM-entropy was not associated with progression-free survival (PFS) (p = 0.393) or overall survival (OS) (p = 0.220). Finally, GLCM-entropy measured in PET/CT performed before ICI initiation in stage III or IV NSCLC was not predictive of response at the first evaluation. However, this study demonstrates the feasibility of using texture parameters in routine clinical practice. The interest of measuring PET/CT texture parameters in NSCLC remains to be evaluated in larger prospective studies.

Assessment of TNF-α inhibitors in airway involvement of relapsing polychondritis: A systematic review.

Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is a rare immune-mediated disease affecting cartilaginous structures. Respiratory tract manifestations are frequent and constitute a major cause of morbidity and mortality. The present review of the literature was designed to assess the efficacy of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) inhibitors in respiratory tract involvement of RP.A MEDLINE literature search was performed from January 2000 to December 2016 to identify all studies and case reports of anti-TNF-α therapy in RP. Articles published in English or French concerning patients with respiratory tract involvement were eligible. Two authors (JB, FL) independently reviewed and extracted data concerning each patient and 2 personal cases were added. Treatment efficacy was assessed according to systemic and/or respiratory criteria.A total of 28 patients (mean age: 41.6 years; 16 females/12 males) were included in the final analysis. Anti-TNF-α therapy was associated with improved health status and respiratory symptoms in 67.8% and 60.1% of cases, respectively.These results suggest that TNF-α inhibitors could be considered for the treatment of respiratory tract involvement of RP.