FOLFIRI in advanced platinum-resistant/refractory small-cell lung cancer: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for approximately 15% of lung cancer and is associated with poor prognosis. In platinum-refractory or -resistant SCLC patients, few treatment options are available. Topotecan is one of the standards of care for these patients, however, due to its high toxicity, several different approaches are employed. FOLFIRI (folinate, 5-fluorouracil and irinotecan) is a chemotherapy regimen used in digestive neuroendocrine carcinoma, which shares pathological similarities with SCLC. In this retrospective study, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of FOLFIRI in patients with platinum-resistant/refractory SCLC. METHODS: Medical records from all consecutive SCLC patients treated with FOLFIRI in a French University Hospital from 2013 to 2021 were analyzed retrospectively. The primary endpoint was the objective response rate according to RECIST v1.1 or EORTC criteria (ORR); secondary endpoints included duration of response, disease control rate, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and safety profile. RESULTS: Thirty-four patients with metastatic platinum-resistant (n = 14) or -refractory (n = 20) SCLC were included. Twenty-eight were evaluable for response, with a partial response observed in 5 patients for an overall ORR in the evaluable population of 17.9% (5/28) and 14.7% (5/34) in the overall population. The disease control rate was 50% (14/28) in the evaluable population. The median PFS and OS were 2.8 months (95%CI, 2.0-5.2 months) and 5.3 months (95%CI, 3.5-8.9 months), respectively. All patients were included in the safety analysis. Grade 3 or 4 adverse events occurred in 13 (38.2%) patients. The most common grade 3 or 4 adverse events were asthenia, neutropenia, thrombopenia and diarrhea. There was no adverse event leading to discontinuation or death. CONCLUSION: FOLFIRI showed some activity for platinum-resistant/refractory SCLC in terms of overall response and had an acceptable safety profile. However, caution is needed in interpreting this result. FOLFIRI could represent a potential new treatment for platinum-resistant/refractory SCLC patients. Further prospective studies are needed to assess the benefits of this chemotherapy regimen.HIGHLIGHTSFOLFIRI showed some activity for platinum-resistant/refractory SCLC in terms of overall response.FOLFIRI was well-tolerated in platinum resistant/refractory SLCL patients.FOLFIRI could represent a potential new treatment for SCLC, prospective studies are needed.

Bortezomib improved the joint manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis in three patients.

The proteasome inhibitor bortezomib has been proven effective in the treatment of multiple myeloma. We report on 3 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and multiple myeloma in whom bortezomib therapy was associated with improvements in the joint manifestations. The contribution to this effect of the concomitant glucocorticoid therapy is discussed.

Guideline sheets on the side effects of anticancer drugs are useful for general practitioners.

PURPOSE: General practitioners (GPs) are more and more involved in the treatment of cancer patients but feel not informed enough about anticancer treatments and associated side effects. Better communication with treatment centers is needed. We hypothesized that information sheets could improve communication. METHODS: This prospective, multicentric, and interventionist study aimed at implementing and assessing therapeutic sheets describing the side effects of anticancer drugs used for digestive and gynecological cancers and their recommended management. GPs' phone interviews were done through three successive phases and two independent cohorts. The first phase (T1; 242 GPs with one patient recently treated) listed their expectations, the second (T2; 158 GPs with one patient beginning treatment) assessed the GPs' opinion regarding the sheets, and the third (T3; responder GPs 4 months after the start of T2) assessed their usefulness in practice. RESULTS: In T1, 94% of GPs declared their need of having information sheets, notably for the management of side effects. Thirty-one one-page sheets were created. In T2, 83.5% gave a favorable opinion about sheets and 80% envisaged their use in the case of side effect. In T3, 56% of GPs whose patient had experienced a side effect had used successfully the sheets for its management, and 21% of patients with side effect were hospitalized. A strong correlation existed between the use of the sheet by GPs and the hospitalization (OR 7.35 in the case of no use vs use). CONCLUSION: The guideline sheets represent a simple and low-cost solution to help GPs managing drugs' side effects and perhaps decrease the rate of unplanned hospitalizations.

Active Monitoring of a Humeral Osteoblastoma in a 52-Year-Old Male: A Case Report.

An osteoblastoma is an uncommon benign but painful tumor, typically found on the axial skeleton or on long bones in the case of young patients. Some cases of humeral osteoblastomas have been described in literature but not in men older than 30. We report the case of a painless bone tumor on the humerus of a 52-year-old patient. The CT scan shows a 30 mm hypodense lacunar formation, surrounded by thickened cortical bone resembling an osteoid osteoma. The anatomopathological and immunohistological analyses support the thesis of an osteoblastoma. A course of radiological monitoring without surgical resection was adopted. This unusual case introduces the possibility of carrying out a differential diagnosis with an osteosarcoma and raises the question of the treatment that should be adopted.