Impact of tumour histological subtype on chemotherapy outcome in advanced oesophageal cancer

To investigate the impact of histology on outcome in advanced oesophageal cancer treated with first-line fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy. METHODSIndividual patient data were pooled from three randomised phase III trials of fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy ± platinum/anthracycline in patients with advanced, untreated gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) randomised between 1994 and 2005. The primary endpoint was overall survival of oesophageal cancer patients according to histology. Secondary endpoints were response rates and a toxicity composite endpoint. RESULTSOf the total 1836 randomised patients, 973 patients (53%) were eligible (707 patients with gastric cancer were excluded), 841 (86%) had adenocarcinoma and 132 (14%) had SCC. There was no significant difference in survival between patients with adenocarcinoma and SCC, with median overall survivals of 9.5 mo vs 7.6 mo (HR = 0.85, 95%CI: 0.70-1.03, P = 0.09) and one-year survivals of 38.8% vs 28.2% respectively. The overall response rate to chemotherapy was 44% for adenocarcinoma vs 33% for SCC (P = 0.01). There was no difference in the frequency of the toxicity composite endpoint between the two groups. CONCLUSIONThere was no significant difference in survival between adenocarcinoma and SCC in patients with advanced oesophageal cancer treated with fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy despite a trend for worse survival and less chemo-sensitivity in SCC. Tolerance to treatment was similar in both groups. This analysis highlights the unmet need for SCC-specific studies in advanced oesophageal cancer and will aid in the design of future trials of targeted agents.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy as a complementary treatment for radiation proctitis:Useless or useful?-A literature review

Radiotherapy(RT)is the backbone of multimodality treatment of more than half of cancer cases.Despite new modern RT techniques,late complications may occur such as radiation proctitis(RP).The natural history of RP is unpredictable.Minor symptoms may resolve spontaneously or require conservative treatment.On the other hand,for similar and uncomplicated clinical contexts,symptoms may persist and can even be refractory to the progressive increase in treatment measures.Over the last decades,an enormous therapeutic armamentarium has been considered in RP,including hyperbaric oxygen therapy(HBOT).Currently,the evidence regarding the impact of HBOT on RP and its benefits is conflicting.Additional prospective and randomised studies are necessary to validate HBOT’s effectiveness in the‘real world’clinical practice.This article reviewed the relevant literature on pathophysiology,clinical presentation,different classifications and discuss RP management including a proposal for a therapeutic algorithm with a focus on HBOT.

CLAG-M chemotherapy followed by umbilical cord blood stem cell transplantation for primary refractory acute myeloid leukaemia in a child:A case report

BACKGROUND The prognosis of paediatric primary refractory/relapsed acute myeloid leukaemia(R/R AML)remains poor.Intensive therapy is typically used as salvage treatment for those with R/R AML.No data are currently available about the use of the CLAG-M protocol as salvage therapy in paediatric patients with R/R AML.CASE SUMMARY An 8-year-old patient was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia by bone marrow morphology and immunophenotype.The patient showed poor response to two cycles of induction therapy with 60%blast cells in the bone marrow after the second induction cycle.The patient achieved complete remission after being treated with the CLAG-M protocol as salvage therapy before undergoing umbilical cord blood stem cell transplantation.Morphological complete remission with haematological recovery has hitherto been maintained over 4 mo.Abnormal gene mutations detected at diagnosis were undetectable after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation.CONCLUSION Here we present a paediatric patient with primary refractory acute myeloid leukaemia who was successfully treated with the CLAG-M protocol.Given the positive results of the presented patient,large-scale clinical studies are required to assess the role of the CLAG-M protocol in the salvage treatment of refractory or relapsed AML in childhood.

Live-cell single-molecule imaging of the cytokine receptor MPL for analysis of dynamic dimerization

Dear Editor,MPL is a cytokine receptor that regulates the production of myeloid cells,in particular megakaryocytes and platelets(Kaushansky,2005).Dimerization of MPL is important not only for the initiation of signalling(Kaushansky,2005)but also for the resistance to a recent therapy for myeloproliferative neoplasms(Koppikar et al.,2012).In the current model,cytokine receptors exist as a mixture of monomers and dimers without ligand stimulation,while ligand binding induces additional receptor dimerization(Kaushansky,2005).