Unusual relapse of primary central nervous system lymphoma at site of lumbar puncture.

Primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL) is a rare non-Hodgkin's lymphoma confined to the CNS. Local relapse of this disease is common, but extracranial or subcutaneous metastasis is rare with only a few cases being reported in literature. We report a 63-year-old male patient, who responded well to treatment for PCNSL but relapsed two and half years later with a lumbosacral nodule at the site of a previous lumbar puncture due to microscopic tumor seeding. Clinicians treating patients with PCNSL must remain alert to the possibility of extracranial solitary relapse even after the resolution of initial disease because prompt treatment can result in a good outcome.

Molecular characterization of interdigitating dendritic cell sarcoma.

Interdigitating dendritic cell sarcoma is an extremely rare cancer that lacks a standard treatment approach. We report on a patient who was surgically resected and remains disease- free. The tumor was assessed for druggable targets using immunohistochemical staining to identify potential agents that could be used in the event of disease recurrence.

Phase I pharmacokinetic studies evaluating single and multiple doses of oral GW572016, a dual EGFR-ErbB2 inhibitor, in healthy subjects.

GW572016 is a dual EGFR-ErbB2 inhibitor that has promise as an anticancer agent. Two phase I studies were conducted to determine the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of single and multiple doses given to healthy subjects. The single dose study evaluated two groups of eight subjects in an ascending dose, 4-way cross-over, while the multiple dose study evaluated twenty-seven healthy volunteers in an ascending dose, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, staggered parallel design. No serious adverse events were seen in either study. The most common adverse events for subjects receiving GW572016 were headache, diarrhea, rash, cold symptoms, gastrointestinal symptoms, and elevated LFTs, which were similar between treatment and placebo groups. Absorption of single doses of GW572016 was slightly delayed, with median t(lag) of 15 minutes (range 0-90 minutes) and achieved peak serum concentrations at a median of three hours (range 1.5-6 hours) post-dose. Serum concentrations after multiple doses of GW572016 demonstrated no significant accumulation at the 25 mg dose, and approximately 50% accumulation at the 100 mg and 175 mg doses, achieving steady state in six to seven days. A modest time-dependent increase in serum concentrations also was detected with multiple doses of GW572016. Single and multiple oral doses of GW572016 were well tolerated in healthy subjects, and resulted in dose-related systemic exposure of GW572016.