Adjuvant Capecitabine after Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Triple Negative Breast Cancer with Lymph Node Metastasis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of complete pathological response (pCR) on prognosis in patients with axillary lymph node-positive triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and the efficiency of adjuvant capecitabine. STUDY DESIGN: Analytical study. Place and Duration of the Study: University of Health Sciences, Dr Abdurrahman Yurtaslan Ankara Oncology Training and Research Hospital, between March 2015 and December 2021. METHODOLOGY: The study included 92 patients with TNBC with enlarged axillary lymph nodes and treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The patients were classified as those with and without postoperative pCR and compared in terms of survival. Subsequently, the patients who did not achieve pCR were classified as receiving and not receiving adjuvant capecitabine and were compared for DFS (disease-free survival) and OS (overall survival). Parameters that showed statistical significance were re-evaluated with Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: The 5-year DFS rate was 84.3% in those who achieved pCR, while it was 55.1% in those who did not (p=0.026). The 5-year OS rate was 82.8% in the pCR arm, while it was 51.0% in the non-pCR arm (p=0.070). The 5-year DFS rate was 66.3% in adjuvant capecitabine-receiving patients, while it was 40.8% in the non-capecitabine arm (HR=0.40, p=0.031). The 5-year OS rate was 68.9% in adjuvant capecitabine-receiving patients, while it was 29.6% in the non-capecitabine arm (HR= 0.40, p=0.062).  Conclusion: Obtaining pCR following NAC in a locally advanced TNBC is an independent prognostic marker for DFS and OS. In the presence of residual disease, improvement in DFS and OS with adjuvant capecitabine was demonstrated by the real-life data. KEY WORDS: Triple-negative breast cancer, Neoadjuvant chemotherapy, Capecitabine, Survival.

Clinicopathological Features and First-Line Treatment Outcomes of Geriatric Patients With Extensive-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Multicenter Study.

Introduction The geriatric patient population diagnosed with extensive stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is underrepresented in clinical studies. We aimed to evaluate the clinicopathological characteristics, first-line treatment patterns and treatment outcomes of patients aged 65 years or older with extensive stage SCLC. Material and methods In this multicenter, retrospective cohort study, patients aged 65 years or older, diagnosed with extensive-stage SCLC, between January 2009 and December 2021 were included. Patients who were under 65 years of age at the time of diagnosis and did not develop progression after curative treatment and patients with a second malignancy were excluded from the study. The clinicopathological characteristics, first-line treatment patterns and treatment outcomes were analyzed. Results A total of 132 patients were included in the study. The median age was 70 years (range:65-91), and 118 (89.4%) patients were male. There were 77 (58.3%) patients with eastern cooperative oncology group (ECOG) performance status (PS) of 0-1. There were 26 (19.7%) patients in the limited stage disease and 106 (80.3%) patients in the extensive stage disease at the time of diagnosis. First-line chemotherapy was given to 86 (65.2%) patients. Of the patients who could not receive treatment, 18 patients (13.6%) due to patient refusal, and 28 patients (21.2%) due to comorbid diseases and poor performance status with organ dysfunctions. The most common treatment regimen used as first-line treatment was cisplatin+etoposide (n=47, 54.7%), and followed by carboplatin+etoposide (n=39, 45.3%). First-line chemotherapy responses were complete response in 4 (4.7%) patients, partial response in 35 (40.7%) patients, stable disease in 13 (15.1%) patients, and progressive disease in 34 (39.5%) patients. The most common grade 3-4 adverse events was neutropenia in 33 (38.4%) patients. Forty nine patients (57.0%) completed the planned first-line treatment. The mPFS was 6.1 months and the mOS was 8.2 months with first-line treatment. We found that ECOG PS status was the most important negative prognostic factor for both PFS and OS. There was no difference between carboplatin+etoposide and cisplatin+etoposide regimens in terms of PFS, OS, adverse events and treatment compliance. Conclusion Thus, it may be an appropriate approach not to give up chemotherapy treatment easily in elderly patients with a diagnosis of extensive stage SCLC. It should be kept in mind that finding factors that might affect the prognosis and tailoring the tretment precisely on case-by-case basis in geriatric cancer patients have an impact on survival.

Vitiligo-like lesions associated with ribociclib in a woman with metastatic breast cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors are new generation drugs that have recently been used in patients with hormone receptor-positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negativenegative metastatic breast cancer. Recent studies have shown that the use of cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors significantly improves the outcomes of these patients. The most common side effects of cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors are hematological toxicity, gastrointestinal side effects, and fatigue. We aimed to present a case of metastatic breast cancer who was treated with ribociclib and developed vitiligo-like lesions after treatment. CASE REPORT: A 56-year-old female patient was diagnosed with locally advanced hormone receptor (+)/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (-) breast cancer in May 2000. She was followed up with hormonal therapy after adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The patient progressed with lung metastases in 2012. Ribociclib, anastrozole, and leuprolide acetate were started in November 2021 after multiple-line chemotherapy. After six cycles of ribociclib, vitiligo-like lesions that developed in the last 1 month were detected on the upper extremities, both hands, neck, chest, and upper back. MANAGEMENT AND OUTCOME: The patient was referred to dermatology. Topical immunosuppressive therapy and oral corticosteroids were recommended. At the first and third-month follow-up examinations, vitiligo-like lesions were observed to persist. DISCUSSION: Vitiligo-like lesions are not a life-threatening side effect. However, it significantly affects the quality of life and disrupts the patient's compliance with treatment. Cyclin-dependent kinase  4/6 inhibitors can inhibit cell division or cause premature cell death by acting on the melanocyte cell cycle.

Vortex keratopathy associated with ribociclib.

INTRODUCTION: Cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 (CDK4/6) inhibitors are the new generation drugs that have been started to be used in our clinical practice recently. These drugs have been shown to have better progression-free survival compared to standard therapy in patients with hormone receptor-positive (HR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2)-negative breast cancer. The most common side effects of CDK 4-6 inhibitors are neutropenia, nausea, leukopenia, fatigue, and diarrhea. This case demonstrated vortex keratopathy in both eyes, a rare condition in patients with breast cancer treated with ribociclib. CASE REPORT: A 68-year-old female patient was diagnosed with locally advanced HR (+)/HER2 (-) breast cancer in March 2015. In June 2021, bone metastases were detected. The patient was started on ribociclib and fulvestrant. After three cycles of ribociclib and fulvestrant treatment, she was admitted with the complaint of blurred vision in her left eye. Slit-lamp biomicroscopy examination revealed subepithelial haze with central subepithelial whorls in both corneas, more in the left eye, and also a mild punctate epithelial staining was observed with the application of fluorescein dye. MANAGEMENT AND OUTCOME: Ribociclib treatment was immediately discontinued and no changes were observed in the cornea and vision levels during the one-month follow-up. DISCUSSION: Routine and regular follow-up eye examinations in breast cancer patients treated with ribociclib may benefit patients in our daily clinical practice and may help us to detect side effects at an early stage and to manage them more effectively.

Predictive and prognostic effect of ABO blood group on immune checkpoint inhibitors.

BACKGROUND: The relationship of the ABO blood group system with the immune response is known, but its relationship with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has not been clearly investigated until now. OBJECTIVE: In this study, the relationship between different blood groups and nivolumab treatment response in patients with advanced malignant melanoma was investigated. METHODS: The data of patients who used nivolumab for advanced malignant melanoma between April 2018 and April 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: A total of 73 patients were included in the study. In the progression-free survival (PFS) analysis according to blood groups, it was 3.9 months, 16.1 months, 20.0 months and 3.0 months for A, B, AB and O, respectively (p= 0.1). Overall survival (OS) analysis according to blood groups was 5.1 months, 25.0 months, 20.0 months and 9.3 months for A, B, AB and O, respectively (p= 0.1). The B antigen group (B or AB) had significantly longer PFS and OS than the non-B antigen group (A or O) (16.1 vs. 3.5 months for PFS, respectively, p= 0.03; 20.0 vs. 7.4 months for OS, respectively, p= 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: The presence of B antigen provides a significant advantage in terms of survival in patients using ICIs for advanced melanoma.