Prevalence and Outcomes of COVID-19 among Hematology/Oncology Patients and Providers of a Community-Facing Health System during the B1.1.529 ("Omicron") SARS-CoV-2 Variant Wave.

(1) Background: the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic continues, and patients actively receiving chemotherapy are known to be at enhanced risk for developing symptomatic disease with poorer outcomes. Our study evaluated the prevalence of COVID-19 among patients and providers of our community-facing county health system during the B1.1.529 ("Omicron") COVID-19 variant wave. (2) Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients that received care and clinical providers whom worked at the Jackson Memorial Hospital Hematology/Oncology clinic in Miami, Florida, USA, from 1 December 2021 through 30 April 2022. We assessed demographic variables and quality outcomes among patients. (3) Results: 1031 patients and 18 providers were retrospectively analyzed. 90 patients tested positive for COVID-19 (8.73%), while 6 providers tested positive (33.3%) (p = 0.038). There were 4 (10.3%) COVID-19-related deaths (and another outside our study timeframe) and 39 non-COVID-19-related deaths (89.7%) in the patient population (p = 0.77). COVID-19 accounted for 4.44% of our clinic's total mortality, and delayed care in 64.4% of patients. (4) Conclusions: The prevalence of COVID-19 positivity in our patient cohort mirrored local, state, and national trends, however a statistically significant greater proportion of our providers tested positive. Almost two-thirds of patients experienced a cancer treatment delay, significantly impacting oncologic care.

Profile of Glasdegib for the Treatment of Newly Diagnosed Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML): Evidence to Date.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive hematologic malignancy primarily affecting older adults. Historically, the highest rates of response have been achieved with intensive induction chemotherapy; however, a significant portion of older or unfit adults with AML are unable to tolerate intensive therapy or have chemotherapy-resistant disease, creating a large need for active and less intensive treatment strategies. Glasdegib, an oral inhibitor of the transmembrane protein Smoothened (SMO) involved in the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway, was approved in 2018 for older or unfit adults with AML and attained a role in clinical practice after showing an overall survival (OS) advantage when combined with the established agent low-dose cytarabine (LDAC). Since that time, however, several other highly active lower intensity therapies such as venetoclax plus a hypomethylating agent (HMA) have garnered a dominant role in the treatment of this patient population. In this review, we summarize the role of glasdegib in the current treatment landscape of newly diagnosed AML and discuss ongoing investigations into its role in novel combination therapies.

The treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia in 2023: Paradigm, advances, and future directions.

The transformation of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) from an often fatal to highly curable cancer with long-term survival exceeding 90% is one of the greatest and most inspiring successes in oncology. A deeper understanding of the pathogenesis of APL heralded the introduction of highly effective therapies targeting the mutant protein that drives the disease, leading to the chemotherapy-free approach to cure almost all patients. In this review, we discuss the paradigm of treatment of APL in 2023, reinforce the high risk of early death without prompt initiation of treatment at first clinical suspicion, and dedicate a special focus to novel agents and future directions to improve cure rates and quality of life in patients affected by APL.

Marginal zone lymphoma of the colon: case series from a single center and SEER data review.

Colon extranodal marginal zone lymphoma (EMZL) is poorly characterized in the literature. We performed a retrospective review of patients with colon EMZL at our institution and from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. Eight patients were identified in our institution with majority (88%) presenting with stage-I disease. Initial management included active surveillance, polypectomy followed by surveillance, and surgical resection followed by chemotherapy. One patient with concurrent prostate carcinoma received radiation to the rectum. Initial therapy led to complete remission in five out of six treated patients with four of them maintaining remission at 88 months. SEER database identified 361 patients with stage-I colon EMZL. Overall survival for this cohort was 73.9% at 10 years with no significant difference in outcomes between treatment groups. Our single institution experience and the SEER data analysis emphasize indolent nature of colon EMZL and need for non-aggressive therapeutic approaches.

A single-center analysis of patients with extranodal marginal zone lymphoma of the breast.

Breast extranodal marginal zone lymphoma (EMZL) is a rare malignancy. We performed the largest published to date single-center retrospective analysis of 13 patients with breast EMZL focusing on clinical characteristics and treatment-related outcomes. The rarity of this disease at our center was concordant with the prevalence reported in the literature, with breast EMZL comprising 2% of 654 MZL cases. Most patients presented with stage I-II disease however four (30.8%) patients had stage IV disease mostly due to occult bone marrow (BM) involvement. Interestingly, EMZL was frequently non-FDG avid (66.7%) on staging PET/CT. With a median follow-up of 3.1 years (range 5 months to 10.2 years), the 3-year progression free survival was 68.7% (95%CI 30.2%-88.9%) and overall survival 80.2% (95%CI 40.3%-94.8%). No patient experienced higher-grade transformation. Herein we show that localized breast EMZL can be effectively treated with radiation therapy providing long term disease control.

Case of anti-Zic4 antibody-mediated cerebellar toxicity induced by dual checkpoint inhibition in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Combined checkpoint inhibition therapy targeting the programmed cell death 1 (PD-L1) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein 4 pathways has been a successful approach in the treatment of metastatic melanoma, leading to its investigation in the treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) with PD-L1 expression. Despite the potential for excellent responses, an increased rate of autoimmune neurological toxicity and paraneoplastic conditions has been observed when using these treatment modalities. We present the case of a patient with metastatic HNSCC treated with combination ipilimumab/nivolumab who experienced severe cerebellar ataxia with a positive screen for the anti-Zic4 antibody. This is the first case, to our knowledge, of anti-Zic4 antibody-mediated cerebellar toxicity reported in association with HNSCC. Although the patient experienced an impressive partial response with dual checkpoint inhibition, he suffered grade 4 neurotoxicity. Despite exciting advances in cancer immunotherapy, clinicians must be aware of the rare, debilitating and possibly previously undescribed paraneoplastic and autoimmune toxicities that may occur.

Clinical and radiological characteristics of patients with pulmonary marginal zone lymphoma: A single center analysis.

Pulmonary marginal zone lymphoma (PMZL) is the most common non-Hodgkin lymphoma affecting the lung. PMZL is usually an indolent disease. Clinical and radiological variables associated with shorter survival are largely unknown and no consensus exists on preferred treatment strategy in PMZL. Herein we aimed to identify clinical and radiological features associated with shorter survival and inferior treatment outcomes. Forty patients with PMZL were analyzed. FDG-avid disease was evident in most patients (93%) with staging PET/CT (n = 15). With a median follow-up in treated patients (n = 38) of 8.4 years (range 0.07-18.44), the median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 7.5 years (95% CI 1.8-9.5) and 15.7 years (95% CI 9.3-NE) respectively. Shorter PFS was observed in patients who presented at diagnosis with elevated LDH, B symptoms, advanced stage and failed to achieve complete response (CR) after initial treatment. Patients with multifocal lung disease, extrapulmonary MZL and cavitary lesions on CT scans exhibited shorter PFS. Nevertheless, no clinical or radiologic findings were associated with shorter OS. All patients treated with surgery (n = 4) and radiation therapy (n = 3) achieved and remained in CR. No higher grade transformations occurred during the follow-up period. PMZL exhibited excellent outcomes with a 15-year PMZL-related OS of 94.9% (95% CI: 81.25%-98.7%). Radiation therapy and surgery are potentially curative strategies in localized PMZL.