[De novo or secondary metastatic prostate cancer management in France: Observational study from "sentinel multidisciplinary meeting" of the French Association of Urology]. / Prise en charge des cancers de la prostate métastatiques synchrones et métachrones en France : étude observationnelle à partir des « RCP sentinelles ¼ de l'AFU.

INTRODUCTION: Metastatic prostate cancer (mPCa) is an heterogeneous disease. Metachronous mPCa (MM) seems to have a better prognosis than synchronous mPCa (SM). However, it is difficult to analyze their specificities from national registries. Data from the so-called "sentinel multidisciplinary meeting" (SMDM) would represent a "real life" data collection. The objective of this national pilot study was to evaluate the concept of SMDM through the description and comparison of the diagnosis, management and follow-up of patients with synchronous or metachronous mPCa in 2018. METHODS: A survey covering clinical, biological, radiological data as well as treatment initiated and follow-up at 3 and 6 months was sent to the SMDM. All patients diagnosed with metastatic disease (SM or MM) between 01/01/2018 and 11/30/2018 were included. RESULTS: In total, 780 patients from 39 centers were included, 408 SM and 372 MM. SM were more symptomatic and had a higher metastatic burden than MM. PET were mostly performed in MM without a prior standard staging. SM patients received more chemotherapy than MM patients whereas new generation androgen deprivation therapy was mostly given to MM patients. At 6 months, there were no more significant difference in clinical presentation between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Specificities of SM and MM patients in terms of clinical presentation, metastatic burden and management were described, validating the concept of SMDM as a source of reliable informations.

Thalidomide in patients with advanced multiple myeloma.

INTRODUCTION: Recently, a report has suggested the efficacy and safety of thalidomide in refractory multiple myeloma. In an attempt to assess the efficacy and tolerance of thalidomide in advanced multiple myeloma (on behalf of the Intergroupe Franchophone dy Myelome (IFM)), we report the preliminary experience of the IFM with this drug. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with advanced multiple myeloma (n=27) were treated with an oral dose of thalidomide (median 400 mg/day). At the start of treatment, all patients had active disease and 20 patients had received at least one autologous transplantation. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 105 days from the first administration. The serum and/or urine levels of the M-component were reduced by at least 75% in four patients including one patient with a >90% reduction, by at least 50% in five patients and by at least 25% in three patients, giving a total response rate of 45% (12 out of 27 patients). Nine patients had stable disease and six patients had progressed disease. Short-term side-effects of thalidomide were generally moderate. CONCLUSION: This study confirms that thalidomide is an effective agent in patients with advanced myeloma.

Randomised comparison of thalidomide versus placebo in toxic epidermal necrolysis.

BACKGROUND: Toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) is associated with a 30% death rate. Tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of TEN. Thalidomide is a potent inhibitor of TNF-alpha action. We did a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study of thalidomide in TEN. METHODS: The patients received a 5-day course of thalidomide 400 mg daily or placebo. The main endpoint was the progression of skin detachment after day 7. Secondary endpoints were the severity of the disease, evaluated with the simplified acute physiology score (SAPS), and the mortality. TNF-alpha and interleukin 6 were measured. FINDINGS: The study was stopped because there was excess mortality in the thalidomide group--ten of 12 patients died compared with three of ten in the placebo group (Fisher's exact test with Katz's approximation, relative risk=2.78, p=0.03). After adjustment for SAPS, mortality remained significantly higher in the thalidomide group than in the placebo group (exact logistic regression mid-p=0.007; 95% CI for odds ratio 2.7 to infinity). Plasma TNF-alpha concentration was higher in the thalidomide group than the placebo group on day 2, though the difference was not significant (Wilcoxon rank-sum test p=0.07). INTERPRETATION: Even though few patients were included, our data suggest that thalidomide is detrimental in TEN, possibly because of a paradoxical enhancement of TNF-alpha production.