IMPORTANCE Programmed cell death (PD-1) and programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors have been increasingly used in cancer therapy. Understanding the treatment-related adverse events of these drugs is critical for clinical practice. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the incidences of treatment-related adverse events of PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors and the differences between different drugs and cancer types.

This selection from the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) for Bladder Cancer focuses on the clinical presentation and workup of suspected bladder cancer, treatment of non–muscle-invasive urothelial bladder cancer, and treatment of metastatic urothelial bladder cancer because important updates have recently been made to these sections. Some important updates include recommendations for optimal treatment of non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer in the event of a bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) shortage and details about biomarker testing for advanced or metastatic disease. The systemic therapy recommendations for second-line or subsequent therapies have also been revised. Treatment and management of muscle-invasive, nonmetastatic disease is covered in the complete version of the NCCN Guidelines for Bladder Cancer available at NCCN.org. Additional topics covered in the complete version include treatment of nonurothelial histologies and recommendations for nonbladder urinary tract cancers such as upper tract urothelial carcinoma, urothelial carcinoma of the prostate, and primary carcinoma of the urethra.

Purpose Clinical features characteristic of small-cell prostate carcinoma (SCPC), (““anaplastic””) often emerge during the progression of prostate cancer. We sought to determine the efficacy of platinum-based chemotherapy in patients meeting at least one of seven prospectively defined “anaplastic” clinical criteria, including exclusive visceral or predominantly lytic bone metastases, bulky tumor masses, low PSA levels relative to tumor burden or short response to androgen deprivation therapy. Experimental Design A 120-patient phase II trial of frontline carboplatin and docetaxel (CD) and second-line etoposide and cisplatin (EP) was designed to provide reliable clinical response estimates under a Bayesian probability model with early stopping rules in place for futility and toxicity. Results Seventy-four of 113 (65.4%) and 24 of 71 (33.8%) were progression free after 4 cycles of CD and EP, respectively. Median overall survival (OS) was 16 months (95% CI, 13.6-19.0 months). Of the 7 “anaplastic” criteria, bulky tumor mass was significantly associated with poor outcome. Lactic acid dehydrogenase (LDH) strongly predicted for OS and rapid progression. Serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) concentration strongly predicted OS but not rapid progression. Neuroendocrine markers did not predict outcome or response to therapy. Conclusion Our findings support the hypothesis that patients with “anaplastic” prostate cancer are a recognizable subset characterized by a high response rate of short duration to platinum-containing chemotherapies, similar to SCPC. Our results suggest that CEA is useful for selecting therapy in men with CRPC and consolidative therapies to bulky high-grade tumor masses should be considered in this patient population.

The maximum-tolerated dose and recommended phase II dose of bortezomib in this schedule is 1.6 mg/m(2). Biologic activity (inhibition of nuclear factor-kappa B-related markers) and antitumor activity is seen in AIPCa at tolerated doses of bortezomib. This agent should be further explored with chemotherapy agents in advanced prostate cancer.

Bladder cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the United States. Urothelial carcinoma that originates from the urinary bladder is the most common subtype. These NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) provide recommendations on the diagnosis and management of non-muscle-invasive and muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder. This version of the guidelines provides extensive reorganization and updates on the principles of chemotherapy management.

Objective Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare malignancy with a poor prognosis. Herein, we describe the clinical features and outcomes for a large series of ACC patients. Design and Methods Retrospective review of ACC patients seen at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center from 1998 through 2011. Results 330 patients with median age at diagnosis of 48.5 years; 12 (3.6%) patients were under 18 years. Hormonally functioning tumors represented 41.8% (n=138) of all cases. Surgical resection for the primary tumor was done in 275 (83.3%) patients [45 at MD Anderson (16.4%)]. For those who had surgical resection, the median local-recurrence-free time was 1.04 years. Factors associated with local recurrence included positive surgical margins (P= 0.007) and advanced disease stage (P=0.026). Median overall survival time for all patients was 3.21 years. Median survival times were 24.1, 6.08, 3.47, and 0.89 years for stages I, II, III, and IV, respectively. In multivariable analysis, older age, functioning tumors, and higher disease stage remained significant prognostic factors associated with poor survival. Conclusion ACC prognosis remains poor with the use of currently available treatments. Older age, functioning tumors, and incomplete resections are clinical factors associated with poor survival. Surgical expertise is important to achieve complete resections and to improve outcome.

The neoadjuvant regimen of paclitaxel, ifosfamide, and cisplatin induced clinically meaningful responses in patients with bulky regional lymph node metastases from penile cancer.

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