Thymic carcinoid with multiple bone metastases:A case report

BACKGROUND Thymic carcinoid(TC)is a rare entity among anterior mediastinal malignancies.TCs are neuroendocrine carcinomas that constitute approximately 2%–5%of all thymic epithelial tumors.CASE SUMMARY The study reported a rare TC with multiple bone metastases.A 77-year-old man presented with a 2-month history of lower back pain and weight loss of 5 kg.Magnetic resonance imaging scans revealed damage to the lumbar spine,sacrocaudal vertebrae and iliac crest,suggesting bone metastasis;computed tomography(CT)scan of the thorax showed a calcified anterior mediastinal mass;positron emission tomography-CT demonstrated multiple abnormal bone signals;and laboratory work-up showed no endocrine abnormalities.Fine-needle aspiration biopsy revealed predominantly single small,round to oval cells with scant cytoplasm and some loose clusters,suggesting endocrine manifestations.The pathological diagnosis was atypical carcinoid,which tend to originate from the thymus and was classified as intermediate-highly invasive.The patient underwent anlotinib-targeted therapy.Anlotinib(12 mg)was administered daily for 2 wk,after which the patient was allowed to rest for 21 d.Follow-up CT after one year demonstrated that the tumor had shrunk by approximately 29%after therapy.Treatment has a long stable disease benefit of more than 2.5 years.CONCLUSION These findings demonstrated that anlotinib is a promising treatment regimen for patients with TC and multiple bone metastases.

The current situation of Sunitinib in treating non-small cell lung cancer

Sunitinib malate is one of the multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor,which are being used in clinic.It can inhibit more than 80 kinds of receptor`s tyrosine kinase,including epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR),platelet-derived growth factor receptors,vascular endothelial growth factor receptors (VEGFR),etc.And tyrosine kinase inhibitor is involved in connection with the generation and progression of many kinds of cancer including lung cancer.Several studies have evaluated the effect of Sunitinib on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC),by single agent,continuous daily dosing or in combination with chemotherapeutics (with docetaxel or gemcitabine plus cisplatin),which all showed certain effect.The test of Sunitinib in combination with gemcitabine plus cisplatin for advanced NSCLC shown that at the maximum tolerated dose:oral Sunitinib 37.5 mg/day intermittently (Schedule 2/1:2 weeks on treatment,1 week off treatment) schedule with intravenous infusions of gemcitabine (1000 mg/m2 days 1,8) and cisplatin (80 mg/m2 day 1),administered in 3-week cycles,66.7% patients achieved partial responses.And adverse effects were mild to moderate in severity (grades 1 to 2).Therapy was generally well tolerated.In summary,all the evidence above suggests that Sunitinib may play an important role in the treating of NSCLC.