Louise Eisenhardt (1891-1967): World Renowned Neuropathologist, Brain Tumor Registry Director, First Editor-In-Chief of Journal of Neurosurgery, and President of Harvey Cushing Society.

BACKGROUND: This historical account reviews the course and lasting impact of Dr. Louise Eisenhardt (1891-1967) in neurosurgery. METHOD: The writing of this project was sparked by the discovery of original scientific and bibliographical information about Eisenhardt, testimony on personal relationships, and viewpoints after comprehensive compilation of information. It is a thorough review of literature on Eisenhardt and reflects the scope and depth of these prior works. RESULTS: It begins with the decisive influence of Harvey Cushing's mentorship and academic; follows Eisenhardt's impact on the development of modern neuropathology; discusses the Eisenhardt-Percival-Bailey-Cushing collaboration on gross brain specimens and histological classification of brain tumors; recounts Cushing's creation of a neuropathologist team for the Brain Tumor Registry working asynchronously with the Pathology Department at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital; Eisenhardt's aid in the development of intraoperative analysis of brain tumors; her career as a neuropathologist; her contributions as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Neurosurgery; and her preservation of the Brain Tumor Registry at Yale University School of Medicine estimated the largest and most valuable databank of information in the history of medicine. Eisenhardt served as President, Historian, and Secretary-Treasurer of the Harvey Cushing Society, the professional organization now known as the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, and was senior lecturer for members of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, constituents of NEUROSURGERY Publications. CONCLUSIONS: Our article provides glimpses into the personality of Dr. Louise Eisenhardt and her marked impact on neurosurgery and allied neurosciences.

Tailoring Immunotherapy Treatment of Synchronous Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) and Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC).

Synchronous tumors are defined as two tumors arising concurrently or within six months of each other. Reports of synchronous RCC and breast cancer are limited to nonmetastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and hormone receptor-positive infiltrative ductal carcinoma. We present the first case of synchronous metastatic renal cell carcinoma and metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, managed with a novel combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy.

Tocilizumab for steroid refractory acute graft-versus-host disease.

Acute graft-versus-host-disease (aGVHD) is a frequent and often lethal complication of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant despite prophylaxis. Tocilizumab is a humanized anti-IL-6 receptor monoclonal antibody that has evidence of activity in patients with steroid refractory (SR) GVHD. We retrospectively report on nine patients with grade 3 or 4 SR aGVHD who received tocilizumab. Eight mg/kg of tocilizumab was administered intravenously every 3-4 weeks. aGVHD grading and responses were based on consensus criteria. Median age at transplant was 48 years. Five patients had alternate donor sources. Median time from aGVHD onset to tocilizumab administration was 44 days. Two patients had complete responses and two had partial responses. Median survival from start of tocilizumab was 26 days (range 13-1054). Our limited experience demonstrated an overall response rate of 44% (CR + PR); however, this response was not durable. Further studies are needed to determine the optimal time for tocilizumab initiation.