Bone Marrow Transplantation in Patients With Acute Leukemia In Cuba: Results From the Last 30 Years and New Opportunities Through International Collaboration.

Blood and marrow transplantation (BMT) has been performed in Cuba for over 30 years with limited resources and without international relationships. Researchers from University of Illinois at Chicago and Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital (HAH) in Havana collaborated on retrospectively analyzing 101 consecutive patients with adult acute leukemia who received BMT at HAH from June 1986 to January 2016. Of these, 82 had acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and 19 had acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). BMT eligibility criteria included prior morphologic complete remission, no severe comorbidities, and age between 16 and 60 years. Patients with an HLA-matched donor received an allogeneic BMT, whereas the others received an autologous BMT. All patients received fresh stem cells from marrow (80%) or mobilized peripheral blood (19%). Of 82 patients with AML, 35 received an allogeneic (AML-allo) and 47 an autologous (AML-auto) BMT. Both groups had comparable median age (37 years) and follow-up of survivors. Overall survival (OS) was 34% in AML-allo and 38% in AML-auto. The transplant-related mortality rate was 40% in AML-allo and 17% in AML-auto, whereas the relapse-related mortality rates were 25% and 40%, respectively. Of the 19 patients with ALL, six received an allogeneic transplant. Of these, transplant-related mortality occurred in one patient and three died after disease relapse (OS, 33%). Of 13 patients who received autologous transplants, transplant-related mortality occurred in three and six died after disease relapse (OS, 31%). To our knowledge, this is the first scientific report on BMT performed in patients with acute leukemia in Cuba. The collaboration between University of Illinois at Chicago and HAH will further develop capacity building in research and implementation of new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in Cuba.

Metástasis coroidea de un carcinoma de mama / Choroidal metastasis of a breast carcinoma

Se presenta una paciente de 55 años de edad con diagnóstico de carcinoma ductal infiltrante grado II multicéntrico de mama izquierda. Esta refiere pérdida del hemicampo temporal del ojo izquierdo. A través de la oftalmoscopia binocular indirecta se le diagnosticó una lesión metastásica coroidea y se corroboró por ultrasonido ocular. Se le realizó tratamiento quirúrgico del tumor primario, además de poliquimioterapia, terapia hormonal y radioterapia local externa a la lesión coroidea. A los seis meses de tratamiento hubo regresión total de la lesión con recuperación de la visión a 20/20, valor inicial al diagnóstico de la enfermedad.

The case of a 55-year-old woman with diagnosis of multinodular Grade II ductal infiltrating carcinoma in left breast was presented in this article. She presented with temporal visual field defect in her left eye. A choroidal metastatic tumor was diagnosed by indirect binocular ophthalmoscopy, confirmed by ocular echography. The primary tumor was removed by surgery and the choroidal lesion was treated with systemic chemotherapy, hormonal therapy and external beam radiation therapy. Six months after the treatment, the choroidal metastasis showed complete regression, and the best visual acuity of 20/20 was recovered, which was the initial value at the diagnosis of disease.

Phase II randomized controlled trial of an epidermal growth factor vaccine in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

PURPOSE: We show the result of a randomized phase II clinical trial with an epidermal growth factor (EGF)-based cancer vaccine in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, evaluating immunogenicity, safety, and effect on survival. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Eighty patients with stage IIIB/IV NSCLC after finishing first-line chemotherapy were randomly assigned to receive best supportive care or EGF vaccinations. RESULTS: Vaccination was safe. Adverse events were observed in less than 25% of cases and were grade 1 or 2 according to National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria. Good anti-EGF antibody response (GAR) was obtained in 51.3% of vaccinated patients and in none of the control group. Serum EGF concentration showed a major decrease in 64.3% of vaccinated patients. GAR patients survived significantly more than those with poor antibody response (PAR). Also, patients whose serum EGF dropped below 168 pg/mL survived significantly more than the rest. There was a trend to an increased survival for vaccinated patients compared with controls. The survival advantage for vaccinated patients compared with controls was statistically significant in the subgroup of patients with age younger than 60 years. CONCLUSION: Vaccination with EGF was safe and provoked an increase in anti-EGF antibody titers and a decrease in serum EGF. There was a direct correlation between antibody response and survival. There was a direct correlation between decrease in serum EGF and survival. In patients younger than 60 years, vaccination was associated with increased survival.