Approach to Pancytopenia in a Deployed Service Member.

Background: Pancytopenia is a result of increased destruction or decreased production of bone marrow cells and has a broad differential. Pernicious anemia commonly presents as a macrocytic anemia and is typically autoimmune in nature and the result of vitamin B12 deficiency. Pancytopenia is a rare presentation of this disorder especially in the setting of hemolysis. Testing in the deployed setting may be limited and/or challenging. Case Presentation: A 24-year-old female patient with a history of Hashimoto thyroiditis presented during an overseas deployment with a witnessed syncopal episode and was found to be pancytopenic with a mild transaminitis and laboratory tests demonstrating hemolysis. Though initially she was hypotensive, tachycardic, and febrile, her vitals improved after multiple transfusions, but she had persistent cytopenia with transfusion dependence, concerning for aplastic anemia or acute leukemia. Conclusions: Testing for B12 deficiency is crucial in symptomatic, patients with pancytopenic to either diagnose or exclude pernicious anemia and conserve resources by preventing costly workup and transfer/escalation of medical care, especially in the deployed setting. A predeployment screening in those with history of autoimmune disorders may be warranted.

RRx-001 followed by platinum plus etoposide in patients with previously treated small-cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: This exploratory single-arm phase II study evaluated the efficacy and safety of RRx-001 followed by reintroduction of platinum plus etoposide in patients with previously treated small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). METHODS: Patients were treated with RRx-001 4 mg IV on day 1 of each week of a 21-day cycle followed at progression by re-challenge with etoposide 80-100 IV mg/m2 on days 1, 2 and 3 and cisplatin 60-80 mg/m2 IV on day 1 or carboplatin AUC 5-6 IV on day 1, every 21 days. The primary end points were overall survival (OS) and overall response rate to platinum regimen. RESULTS: Twenty-six patients were enroled and received at least one dose of RRx-001. The median number of prior lines of therapy was 2 (range 1-9) and 19 (73.1%) patients had platinum-resistant disease. In the intention-to-treat population, one patient (3.8%) had complete response and six (23.1%) had partial response on platinum plus etoposide. The estimated median and 12-month OS from enrolment were 8.6 months and 44.1%, respectively. The most common treatment-emergent adverse event from RRx-001 was mild discomfort at the infusion site (23%). CONCLUSIONS: RRx-001 followed by re-challenge with platinum plus etoposide chemotherapy is feasible and associated with promising results. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02489903.