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.

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.

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.

Variables altering the impact of respiratory gated CT simulation on planning target volume in radiotherapy for lung cancer.

Background: Respiratory gated CT simulation (4D-simulation) has been evolved to estimate the internal body motion. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of tumor volume and location on the planning target volume (PTV) for primary lung tumor when 4D simulation is used.

Methods: Patients who underwent CT simulation for primary lung cancer radiotherapy between 2012 and 2016 using a 3D- (free breathing) and 4D- (respiratory gated) technique were reviewed.

Variation in geographic access to chemotherapy by definitions of providers and service locations: a population-based observational study.

Background: An aging population, with its associated rise in cancer incidence and strain on the oncology workforce, will continue to motivate patients, healthcare providers and policy makers to better understand the existing and growing challenges of access to chemotherapy. Administrative data, and SEER-Medicare data in particular, have been used to assess patterns of healthcare utilization because of its rich information regarding patients, their treatments, and their providers. To create measures of geographic access to chemotherapy, patients and oncologists must first be identified.

Geographic variation in the use of adjuvant therapy among elderly patients with resected non-small cell lung cancer.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess to what extent geographic variation in adjuvant treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients would remain, after controlling for patient and area-level characteristics.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective cohort of 18,410 Medicare beneficiaries with resected, stage I-IIIA NSCLC was identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare linked database. Adjuvant therapies were classified as adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT), postoperative radiation therapy (PORT), or no adjuvant therapy.

Chemotherapy use and surgical treatment by receptor subtype in node-negative T1a and T1b female breast cancers, Iowa SEER Registry, 2010 to 2012.

Background: Patients with small node-negative breast tumors who are younger or who have human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive (HER2(+)) or triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtypes are at increased risk of recurrence. Concurrently, systemic treatment recommendations have evolved. Less is known about how frequently cytotoxic chemotherapy is given to these patients.

The Effect of Receiving Treatment Within a Clinical Trial Setting on Survival and Quality of Care Perception in Advanced Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Objectives: Treatment outcomes of advanced stage (IIIB and IV) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are poor. In this study, we explore the survival outcomes and the perception of the quality of care delivered in stage IIIB and IV NSCLC patients treated within versus outside a clinical trial.

Materials And Methods: Data were obtained from the Cancer Care Outcomes Research and Surveillance Consortium (CanCORS).

Incidence and management of gastrointestinal perforation from bevacizumab in advanced cancers.

Bevacizumab (Avastin™, Genentech) is a monoclonal antibody that deactivates the vascular endothelial growth factor leading to disruption of vital cancer signaling pathways and inhibition of angiogenesis which results in its anti-tumor activity. The use of bevacizumab in treating cancers has steadily increased since it was initially approved by the Food and Drug Administration for metastatic colorectal cancer. Clinical trials have revealed that bevacizumab has serious side effects, including spontaneous bowel perforation, which can occur in patients who have no involvement of the gastrointestinal tract by cancer.