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Introduction: Carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma (CXPA) of the salivary glands has often a salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) component, which resembles ductal carcinoma of the breast and frequently overexpresses human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2). We report a case of metastatic CXPA with SDC component who was treated with trastuzumab-based chemotherapy and has had a durable complete response. Case Report: A 74-year-old man was diagnosed with CXPA of the right parotid gland. The resected tumor was histologically diagnosed as CXPA with a predominant SDC component that showed strong positivity for HER2 protein and HER2 gene amplification. Multiple pulmonary metastatic lesions were detected after surgery, and combination chemotherapy with paclitaxel and trastuzumab was initiated. A complete response was confirmed after 7 treatment cycles, and no evidence of disease progression has been observed after 13 months of initiation of therapy. Conclusions: This report suggests a potential utility of trastuzumab-based chemotherapy for HER2-positive CXPA.

Acute hyperammonemic encephalopathy induced by fluoropyrimidines (FPs) is a rare complication. Its pathophysiology remains unclear, especially given the currently used regimens, including intermediate-doses of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) or oral FP agents. We aimed to characterize the clinical manifestations in cancer patients who developed hyperammonemic encephalopathy after receiving FP-based chemotherapy.We retrospectively reviewed 1786 patients with gastrointestinal or primary-unknown cancer who received FP-based regimens between 2007 and 2012. Eleven patients (0.6%) developed acute hyperammonemic encephalopathy. The incidence according to the administered anticancer drugs were as follows: 5-FU (8 of 1176, 0.7%), S-1 (1 of 679, 0.1%), capecitabine (2 of 225, 0.9%), and tegafur-uracil (UFT) (0 of 39, 0%). Ten patients (90.9%) had at least 1 aggravating factor, including infection, dehydration, constipation, renal dysfunction, and muscle loss. All the 10 patients met the definition of sarcopenia. Median time to the onset of hyperammonemic encephalopathy in the cycle was 3 days (range: 2–21). Three patients (27.3%) developed encephalopathy during the first cycle of the regimen and the remaining 8 patients during the second or more cycles. Seven patients (63.6%) had received at least 1 other FP-containing regimen before without episodes of encephalopathy.All patients recovered soon after immediate discontinuation of chemotherapy and supportive therapies, such as hydration, infusion of branched-chain amino acids, and oral lactulose intake, with a median time to recovery of 2 days (range: <1–7). Four patients (36.4%) received FP-based regimens after improvement of symptoms; 3 patients were successfully managed with dose reduction, and 1 patient, who had developed encephalopathy due to S-1 monotherapy, received modified FOLFOX-6 therapy without encephalopathy later.FP-associated acute hyperammonemic encephalopathy is extremely rare, but a possible event at any time and even during the administration of oral FP agents. Particular attention is warranted when giving FP-based therapy for patients with aggravating factors, such as sarcopenia. This complication can be properly managed with early detection.

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Among patients with resectable disease, survival outcomes in the S group were favored over those of the CRT group. These results indicate that different therapeutic strategies should be used for stage III esophageal cancer than for other stages.

Background: Both bevacizumab and anti-epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) agents (e.g. cetuximab and panitumumab) are sequentially used for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Their coadministration as a first-line treatment does not improve outcome, indicating that there are negative interactions between these agents. A long-term pharmacokinetics study demonstrated serum persistence of bevacizumab following termination of bevacizumab 6 months after the last administration. This prompted us to investigate the impact of short intervals between bevacizumab and anti-EGFR antibody on the efficacy of subsequent anti-EGFR therapy. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed consecutive patients with KRAS exon 2 wild-type mCRC who underwent anti-EGFR therapy after the failure of fluoropyrimidines, oxaliplatin and irinotecan. We divided patients into two groups (Group A: the interval between bevacizumab and anti-EGFR agent< 6 months; Group B: the interval >6 months). Results: Of the 114 included patients (median age, 63 years), 78 (68%) were male. Most patients (88%) were treated with cetuximab plus irinotecan. Groups A and B consisted of 74 and 40 patients, respectively. There were no significant differences in patient characteristics. Group B patients had significantly longer progression-free survival (4.2 vs. 6.6 months; HR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.43-0.98; P = 0.038) and longer overall survival (11.6 vs. 14.3 months; HR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.41-0.98, P = 0.039). The response rate was 24.3% in Group A and 47.5% in Group B (P = 0.012). Conclusion: A short interval between bevacizumab and anti-EGFR antibody treatment may interfere with the efficacy of subsequent anti-EGFR therapy.