Chemotherapy-free innovations in locally advanced head and neck cancer: a comprehensive review.

The treatment of locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (LA-HNSCC) has traditionally relied on a multimodal approach, combining surgery, radiation therapy (RT), and chemotherapy. While chemotherapy plays a critical role in improving cure rates and functional outcomes, its substantial toxicity remains a major concern, particularly in older patients. These challenges are especially relevant for those who are unfit for chemotherapy or decline conventional concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT), highlighting the need for alternative therapeutic options.

Determinants of 5-year survival in patients with advanced NSCLC with PD-L1≥50% treated with first-line pembrolizumab outside of clinical trials: results from the Pembro-real 5Y global registry.

Background: Pembrolizumab monotherapy is an established front-line treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) tumor proportion score (TPS)≥50%. However, real-world data on its long-term efficacy remains sparse.

Methods: This study assessed 5-year outcomes of first-line pembrolizumab monotherapy in a large, multicenter, real-world cohort of patients with advanced NSCLC and PD-L1 TPS≥50%, referred to as Pembro-real 5Y.

Clinical outcomes and impact of prognostic factors in resectable oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma.

Purpose: To evaluate clinical outcomes and prognostic factors in non-metastatic oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC) patients who underwent surgery with or without adjuvant therapy.

Methods: From 2007 and 2018, 116 patients were analyzed. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS), and secondary endpoints were disease-free survival (DFS), local failure (LF), regional failure (RF), and distant metastases (DM).

Phase II study of nab-paclitaxel with gemcitabine for relapsed/refractory small cell lung cancer.

Background: Patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) often respond to first-line chemoimmunotherapy. However, relapse is inevitable and is associated with a poor prognosis. Treatments for relapsed SCLC, such as lurbinectedin and topotecan, are limited by modest efficacy and significant hematologic adverse events, leaving a need for newer therapeutic agents or regimens.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma: The Evolving Role of Systemic Therapies as a Bridging Treatment to Liver Transplantation.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths. Classically, liver transplantation (LT) can be curative for HCC tumors within the Milan criteria. Bridging strategies to reduce the dropouts from LT waiting lists and/or to downstage patients who are beyond the Milan criteria are widely utilized.

Beyond clinical trials: real-world impact of immunotherapy on NSCLC in Jordan.

Background: This study aims to evaluate real-world (rw) outcomes of immunotherapy (IO) for advanced stage NSCLC at King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC) in Jordan.

Methods: Advanced stage NSCLC patients who received IO at KHCC between 2017 and 2022 were included. The data were retrospectively collected.

Gallium-68-Labeled Fibroblast Activation Protein Inhibitor as an Alternative Radiotracer to Fluorine 18-Fluorodeoxyglucose: A Case Report of Rare Pulmonary Colloid Adenocarcinoma Diagnosed by PET/CT.

Colloid pulmonary adenocarcinoma represents a seldom encountered neoplasm in clinical practice. The diagnostic process for this rare neoplasm is complicated by its infrequency and the limited understanding of its specific molecular imaging characteristics. We report a 65-year-old male who was diagnosed with pulmonary colloid mucinous cystadenocarcinoma.

Concordance between head and neck MRI and histopathology in detecting laryngeal subsite invasion among patients with laryngeal cancer.

Background: Accuracy of head and neck MRI (HN-MRI) in predicting tumor invasion of laryngeal site/subsites in patients with laryngeal cancer prior to laryngectomy is poorly evaluated in the literature. Therefore, we aim to evaluate the diagnostic value of HN-MRI in accurate pre-operative estimation of tumor invasion to laryngeal subsites in patients with laryngeal cancer.

Methods: Patients with laryngeal cancer who underwent HN-MRI for cancer staging and underwent total laryngectomy between 2008 and 2021 were included.

The Prognostic and Diagnostic Value of [F]FDG PET/CT in Untreated Laryngeal Carcinoma.

This study aims to determine the diagnostic accuracy of staging PET/CT and neck MRI in patients with laryngeal carcinoma and to assess the value of PET/CT in predicting progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Sixty-eight patients who had both modalities performed before treatment between 2014 and 2021 were included in this study. The sensitivity and specificity of PET/CT and MRI were evaluated.

Activity of osimertinib in a patient with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer harboring exon 19, p.L755P mutation: case report.

Background: Recurrent in-frame insertions within exon 20 causing duplication of amino acids Tyrosine-Valine-Methionine-Alanine (YVMA) represent 80% of all alterations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). HER2 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI), anti-HER2 monoclonal antibodies and HER2 directed antibody-drug conjugates have been evaluated in patients with mutated NSCLC. Limited data are available regarding the activity of these agents in exon 19 alterations.

Re-Irradiation for Recurrent Head and Neck Cancer: Freedom from Cancer Recurrence Rate.

Salvage re-irradiation (rRT) for patients with locoregionally recurrent head and neck cancer (rHNC) remains challenging. A retrospective analysis was performed on 49 patients who received rRT between 2011 and 2018. The co-primary endpoint of the study was 2-year freedom from cancer recurrence rate (FCRR) and overall survival (OS), and secondary endpoints were 2-year disease-free survival (DFS), local failure (LF), regional failure (RF), distant metastases (DM), and RTOG grade 3 ≥ late toxicities.

Impact of the Immediate Release of Clinical Information Rules on Health Care Delivery to Patients With Cancer.

Purpose: The 21st Century Cures Act mandates the immediate release of clinical information (IRCI) to patients. Immediate sharing of sensitive test results to patients with cancer might have serious unintended consequences for patients and providers.

Methods: A 22-question REDCap survey was designed by the Association of American Cancer Institutes Physician Clinical Leadership Initiative Steering Committee to explore oncology providers' opinions on IRCI policy implementation.

Comparison of Two Standard Treatment Approaches in Locoregionally Advanced Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.

Issa Mohamad  To compare outcomes and toxicity of two standard treatment approaches of advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).  Between 2010 and 2016, patients with NPC, stage II-IVa, treated with induction chemotherapy (IC) (TPF), followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) (induction group), or CCRT, followed by adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) (PF) (no-induction group), were retrospectively reviewed. CCRT included platinum-based chemotherapy with intensity-modulated radiotherapy.

A Phase II Trial of Atezolizumab Plus Carboplatin Plus Pemetrexed Plus Bevacizumab in the Treatment of Patients with Stage IV Non-Squamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium (BTCRC)- LUN 17-139.

Introduction: LUN17-139 evaluated the safety and efficacy of Atezolizumab (A) plus Carboplatin (C) plus Pemetrexed (Pem) plus Bevacizumab (B) (ACBPem) in treatment naïve patients with stage IV non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (Ns-NSCLC).

Patients And Methods: In this multicenter, single-arm phase II trial, all patients received A (1200-mg, D1) + C (AUC 5, D1) + Pem (500-mg/m2, D1) + B (15-mg/kg D1) q3 week x4. If no PD (progressive disease), patients received maintenance ABPem until PD or intolerable side effects.

The Predictive Value of Peripheral Immune Cell Counts for the Presence of Brain Metastases in Stage IV Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC).

 High neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is associated with poor survival in lung cancer. This study evaluates whether NLR is associated with baseline brain metastasis in stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).  Medical records of stage IV NSCLC patients treated at King Hussein Cancer Center (Amman-Jordan) between 2006 and 2016 were reviewed.

Pharmacological ascorbate improves the response to platinum-based chemotherapy in advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer.

Purpose: Platinum-based chemotherapy with or without immunotherapy is the mainstay of treatment for advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) lacking a molecular driver alteration. Pre-clinical studies have reported that pharmacological ascorbate (P-AscH-) enhances NSCLC response to platinum-based therapy. We conducted a phase II clinical trial combining P-AscH- with carboplatin-paclitaxel chemotherapy.

Successful response to first-line treatment with osimertinib for choroidal metastasis from EGFR-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer.

Purpose: Describe the use of osimertinib, a third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor, as the first-line treatment in a patient with choroidal and central nervous system metastases from EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer.

Observations: A 68-year-old man presented with an amelanotic choroidal lesion in the left eye concerning for choroidal metastasis. Systemic evaluation identified widely metastatic adenocarcinoma of the lung with EGFR exon 19 mutation.

Outcomes of patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that harbor a mutation.

Background: mutation ( ) in patients (pts) with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is associated with inferior survival and poor response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI). The significance of in stage III NSCLC pts treated with concurrent chemoradiation (CCRT) with or without consolidation ICI is unknown.

Methods: Stage III NSCLC patients who received CCRT and had known mutational status were included in this retrospective study.

Prospective correlation between the patient microbiome with response to and development of immune-mediated adverse effects to immunotherapy in lung cancer.

Background: Though the gut microbiome has been associated with efficacy of immunotherapy (ICI) in certain cancers, similar findings have not been identified for microbiomes from other body sites and their correlation to treatment response and immune related adverse events (irAEs) in lung cancer (LC) patients receiving ICIs.

Methods: We designed a prospective cohort study conducted from 2018 to 2020 at a single-center academic institution to assess for correlations between the microbiome in various body sites with treatment response and development of irAEs in LC patients treated with ICIs. Patients must have had measurable disease, ECOG 0-2, and good organ function to be included.

Narrative review: mesenchymal-epithelial transition inhibitors-meeting their target.

Genetic alterations in mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) are commonly found in solid tumors, especially in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, agents targeting MET have not progressed until recently. Advancements in our understanding of the role of various aberrations in carcinogenesis have allowed MET-directed therapy to find its way to clinic use.

The clinical significance of soluble PD-1 and PD-L1 in lung cancer.

Soluble PD-1 and PD-L1 are detected in the serum and plasma of lung cancer patients. The significance of these soluble proteins as prognostic or predictive markers in lung cancer is uncertain. The testing methods used to detect soluble PD1/PD-L1 are variable with no agreement on a common definition of a positive test.

Cancer care for adolescents and young adults in Jordan.

Background: Adolescents and young adults with cancer have special characteristics and needs.

Aims: This study highlighted psychosocial challenges, fertility issues and secondary diseases encountered in adolescents and young adults with cancer. This work is meant to be a platform for future interventions for cancer in this demographic.

Screening Patients with Esophageal Cancer to Determine Eligibility for Adjuvant Treatment Trials.

Background: The tolerability of adjuvant chemotherapy in esophageal cancer is unclear.

Patients And Methods: This was a phase II trial of adjuvant paclitaxel in patients with esophageal cancer after trimodality treatment. Patients with residual viable tumor after resection were eligible for study inclusion.