Gastrointestinal stromal tumour-induced hypercalcaemia.

Hypercalcaemia is recognised as the most common oncological metabolic emergency, with several proposed underlying mechanisms. Nevertheless, hypercalcaemia has been rarely reported as a complication in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs). GISTs are uncommon mesenchymal tumours of the gastrointestinal tract. There are only nine previous cases of hypercalcaemia occurring in patients with GIST reported in the literature. We report a case of a man in his 70s with a background of metastatic GIST on fourth-line treatment. The patient presented with new hypercalcaemia and acute kidney injury. Despite medical management, his calcium remained elevated and he deteriorated secondary to significant disease progression.

Pembrolizumab for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): Impact of autoimmune comorbidity and outcomes following treatment completion.

INTRODUCTION: Pembrolizumab, an immune-checkpoint inhibitor, is approved for first-line treatment of metastatic NSCLC in patients with tumours expressing programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) with tumour proportion score (TPS) of ≥50%. We aimed to clarify some uncertainties regarding use of immunotherapy in patients with previous autoimmune (AI) disorders and assess real-world outcomes following treatment completion. METHODS: We performed a retrospective case record review of 82 patients with tumours expressing PD-L1 at TPS ≥ 50% and receiving first-line Pembrolizumab. Survival was estimated using the Kaplan Meier method. RESULTS: After 36.93 months (IQR: 34.37-40.20) median follow-up, median OS was 13.6 months (95% CI 8.9-19.3). There were 10 patients (12%) with AI co-morbidities and there was a trend toward improved median OS for this group versus those without AI comorbidity, 42 months (14.87-NR) versus 10.7 months (7.3-17.8), p = 0.073. Sixteen patients (20%) with nonprogressive disease at 2 years had significantly better median OS compared to those who did not complete 2 years of treatment, NR (42- NR) and 8.7 (5.8-14.1), p < 0.001.Immune related adverse events (irAE) of any grade occurred in 90% of the AI cohort compared with 70.8% of patients without AI comorbidity. Low grade adrenal insufficiency was the only irAE which occurred at a significantly higher rate in the AI group, p = 0.02. CONCLUSION: Patients with previous AI diseases tolerate treatment well, and there is a non-significant trend for improved outcomes in this group. Patients who complete the course of pembrolizumab have significantly better survival outcomes than those who do not.

Improving the recognition of post-operative acute kidney injury.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) state that acute kidney injury (AKI) is seen in 13-18% of all people being admitted to hospital and that other patients will further go on to develop AKI during their time in hospital, with around 30-40% being in the operative setting. AKI has an estimated inpatient mortality of 20-30% in the UK and can lead to long-term morbidities like chronic kidney disease.[2] AKI is under-recognised and badly managed despite its prevalence and seriousness, with NCEPOD report stating that only 50% of patients with AKI received good care, that there was poor assessment of risk factors for AKI, and there was an unacceptable delay in recognising post-admission AKI in 43% of patients.[4] Baseline data collected on the urology ward in Ninewells Hospital, showed that only five of 22 (23%) patients undergoing urological surgery had post-operative creatinine measured on the ward within 48 hours (the primary method for detecting AKI). Excluding patients who were discharged the same day 5/16 (31%) received the blood test. The aim of the project was to increase the number of patients returning to ward 9 post-surgery who receive a serum creatinine measurement within two days of their urological surgery, excluding daycases. Specifically, we wanted the reliability of this measurement to be 95% or over in ward 9 by 30 July 2014. This was to be done by raising awareness around AKI on ward 9 and changing protocol so that every patient staying on ward 9 beyond their day of surgery should receive a post-operative creatinine. This would be tested for a set amount of time to see if patients with AKI were being missed. Despite not being able to implement a set protocol, the percentage of patients receiving post-operative creatinine measurements on ward 9 after a urological surgery still increased significantly. By interacting with the urology team and presenting our data, the knowledge and comprehension of the problem was altered. This lead to a change in culture and a significant increase in the number of post-operative creatinine measurements being taken. Through building relationships on the ward and sharing our data and knowledge there was an increase from 27% of patients receiving post-op creatinine in our first week of collecting data, to 87% in our last week on ward 9. However, without a set tool or change in protocol this change appears to have not been sustainable as the percentage dropped to 42% two weeks later.