A Review of the Current Approach and Treatment Landscape for Stage III Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

The therapeutic landscape of the management of stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has drastically evolved with the incorporation of immunotherapy and targeted therapy. Stage III NSCLC accounts for one-third of the cases and the treatment strategy of these locally advanced presentations are diverse, ranging from surgical to non-surgical options; with the incorporation of chemo-immunotherapy, radiation, and targeted therapies wherever applicable. The staging of this disease has also changed, and it is essential to have a strong multidisciplinary approach to do justice to patient care. In this article, we aim to navigate the nuanced approaches in the diagnosis and treatment of stage III NSCLC and expand on the evolution of the management of this disease.

Major Stressful Life Events and the Risk of Pancreatic, Head and Neck Cancers: A Case-Control Study.

BACKGROUND: Major stressful life events have been shown to be associated with an increased risk of lung cancer, breast cancer and the development of various chronic illnesses. The stress response generated by our body results in a variety of physiological and metabolic changes which can affect the immune system and have been shown to be associated with tumor progression. In this study, we aim to determine if major stressful life events are associated with the incidence of head and neck or pancreatic cancer (HNPC). METHODS: This is a matched case-control study. Cases (CAs) were HNPC patients diagnosed within the previous 12 months. Controls (COs) were patients without a prior history of malignancy. Basic demographic data information on major stressful life events was collected using the modified Holmes-Rahe stress scale. A total sample of 280 was needed (79 cases, 201 controls) to achieve at least 80% power to detect odds ratios (ORs) of 2.00 or higher at the 5% level of significance. RESULTS: From 1 January 2018 to 31 August 2021, 280 patients were enrolled (CA = 79, CO = 201) in this study. In a multivariable logistic regression analysis after controlling for potential confounding variables (including sex, age, race, education, marital status, smoking history), there was no difference between the lifetime prevalence of major stressful event in cases and controls. However, patients with HNPC were significantly more likely to report a major stressful life event within the preceding 5 years when compared to COs (p = 0.01, OR = 2.32, 95% CI, 1.18-4.54). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with head, neck and pancreatic cancers are significantly associated with having a major stressful life event within 5 years of their diagnosis. This study highlights the potential need to recognize stressful life events as risk factors for developing malignancies.

Pembrolizumab-Induced Acral Vasculitis.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have emerged as groundbreaking new therapies for a variety of solid tumors. ICIs stimulate the host immune system to attack cancer cells. However, this nonspecific immune activation can cause autoimmunity across multiple organ systems-this is referred to as an immune-related adverse event. Vasculitis secondary to ICI administration is an extremely rare event seen in <1% of cases. We identified 2 cases of pembrolizumab-induced acral vasculitis at our institution. The first patient, with stage IV adenocarcinoma of the lung, developed antinuclear antibody-positive vasculitis 4 months after initiation of treatment with pembrolizumab. The second patient had stage IV oropharyngeal cancer and presented with acral vasculitis 7 months after starting pembrolizumab. Unfortunately, both cases resulted in dry gangrene and poor outcomes. Here, we discuss the incidence, pathophysiology, clinical features, treatment, and prognosis of patients with ICI-induced vasculitis with the intention of raising awareness about this rare and potentially fatal immune-related adverse event. Early diagnosis and discontinuation of ICIs are critical for improving clinical outcomes in this situation.

Cachexia Index in Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Patients.

INTRODUCTION: Cancer cachexia affects many advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Cachexia index (CXI) was developed to assess the degree of cachexia in these patients. METHODS: Patients with metastatic NSCLC diagnosed between January 1, 2000, and June 30, 2011, at our institution were retrospectively studied. Abdominal computed tomography scans done within 1 month of diagnosis were reviewed to estimate skeletal muscle area (SMA) and skeletal muscle index (SMI) at the L3 level. CXI was developed as follows: [Formula: see text] where SMI is the skeletal muscle index, Alb is the serum albumin, and NLR is the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Survival among various factors was calculated using the log-rank test. Multivariate Cox regression was used to perform survival analysis in order to estimate the effects of various factors. RESULTS: Patients were divided into two groups around the median into stage I cachexia (CXI ≥35, n = 56) and stage II cachexia (CXI <35, n = 56). Groups did not differ in age, gender, ethnicity, or histology of cancer. Patients with stage II cachexia had significantly worse PFS (2.45 vs 5.43 months, P < 0.0001) and OS (3.45 vs 8.8 months, P = 0.0001) than those with stage I cachexia. On multivariate analysis adjusting for gender, race, and histology, patients with stage II cachexia were found to have worse PFS (hazard ratio [HR] 1.94, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.27-2.95) and OS (HR 1.53, 95% CI 1.0009-2.34). CONCLUSION: The CXI is a novel index for estimating cachexia that also correlates with prognosis in both men and women with advanced NSCLC.