Efficacy of nimotuzumab plus gemcitabine usage as first-line treatment in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

Advanced pancreatic cancer patients have poor prognosis and scarcely respond to conventional therapies. Clinical trials support the use of molecular-targeted therapy against epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the contribution of a monoclonal antibody against EGFR, nimotuzumab, to standard gemcitabine therapy. Patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma were assigned to receive gemcitabine plus nimotuzumab. The primary end point was overall survival, whereas the secondary end points included progression-free survival, objective response, and adverse side effects. A total of 18 eligible patients were accrued between December 2007 and July 2010. The disease control rate, calculated as the sum of complete response, partial response, and stable disease, was 55.6%. The median overall survival time was 9.29 months (95% CI, 5.499 to 13.072). The median progression-free survival was 3.71 months (95% CI, 2.526 to 4.902), and the 1-year survival rate was 38.9%. Of all the patients, 88.8% had at least one adverse side effect; however, no grade 4 adverse side effect was reported. Nimotuzumab as a high-purity humanized monoclonal antibody with favorable safety profile, its value in the treatment of pancreatic cancer along with gemcitabine, particularly in the comprehensive treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer, is appealing for further prospective randomized large-scale clinical trials.

Long-term survival with a combination of immunotherapy, anti-angiogenesis, and traditional radiotherapy in brain metastatic small cell lung cancer: a case report.

Purpose: Brain metastases (BMs) are common in Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC), but the prognosis is very poor. Currently, there is no standard of care on what constitutes optimal treatment, and there is no consensus regarding maintenance therapy in SCLC. Case description: We report the case of a 55-year-old man with advanced SCLC. After the initial diagnosis, he received routine chemotherapy and chest radiotherapy but developed brain metastases with 2 lesions seven months later. We used an effective combination therapy consisting of the antiangiogenic inhibitor, Anlotinib and whole-brain radiotherapy. We then administered anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy Atezolizumab in combination with Anlotinib as long-term maintenance therapy. Twelve months later, there was a progression in one of the brain metastases. The patient underwent further stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) for the lesion. However, after four months of treatment with SRT, the lesion began to gradually grow in size. The patient underwent surgical resection of the lesion, which confirmed radioactive brain necrosis. After a full 3-year course of anti-PD-L1 therapy, the patient discontinued immunotherapy and was administered only Anlotinib as maintenance. At the time of writing up this report, the patient was alive and the overall survival reached 41 months after the onset of BM. Conclusion: This indicated a potential synergistic effect of combined immunotherapy and antiangiogenic targeted therapy with local radiotherapy in patients with BM-SCLC and can provide directions for future clinical decisions.

Three new species of Conlarium from sugarcane rhizosphere in southern China.

Three new species isolated from sugarcane rhizosphere in China, namely Conlariumbaiseense sp. nov., C.nanningense sp. nov., and C.sacchari sp. nov., are described and illustrated. Molecular evidence (phylogenetic analysis of combined LSU, SSU, ITS and RPB2 sequence data) and phenotypical characters support their independent status from related and similar species. The new species, as dark spetate endophytes, inhabit sugarcane rhizosphere and can form a symbiosis with sugarcane.

Measurement of serum antibodies against NY-ESO-1 by ELISA: A guide for the treatment of specific immunotherapy for patients with advanced colorectal cancer.

NY-ESO-1 has been identified as one of the most immunogenic antigens; thus, is a highly attractive target for cancer immunotherapy. The present study analyzed the expression of serum antibodies (Abs) against NY-ESO-1 in patients with advanced colorectal cancer (CRC), with the aim of guiding the treatment of NY-ESO-1-based specific-immunotherapy for these patients. Furthermore, the present study was the first to evaluate the kinetic expression of anti-NY-ESO-1 Abs and investigate the possible influencing factors. A total of 239 serum samples from 155 pathologically confirmed patients with advanced CRC (stages III and IV) were collected. The presence of spontaneous Abs against NY-ESO-1 was analyzed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results demonstrated that 24.5% (38/155) of the investigated patients were positive for NY-ESO-1-specific Abs. No statistically significant correlations were identified between the expression of anti-NY-ESO-1 Abs and clinicopathological parameters, including age and gender, location, grading, local infiltration, lymph node status, metastatic status and K-ras mutation status (P>0.05). In 59 patients, the kinetic expression of anti-NY-ESO-1 Abs was analyzed, of which 14 patients were initially positive and 45 patients were initially negative. Notably, 16/59 (27.1%) patients changed their expression status during the study period, and the initially positive patients were more likely to change compared with the initially negative patients (85.7 vs. 8.8%; P<0.001). Therefore, monitoring serum Abs against NY-ESO-1 by ELISA is an easy and feasible method. The high expression rate of NY-ESO-1-specific Abs in CRC patients indicates that measuring the levels of serum Abs against NY-ESO-1 may guide the treatment of NY-ESO-1-based specific immunotherapy for patients with advanced CRC.