BackgroundThe search for immunological markers with ability of predicting clinical outcome is a priority in lymphomas, and in cancer in general. It is well known that some immunomodulatory cells, such as myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) or regulatory T cells (Tregs), are recruited by tumors, jeopardizing antitumor immunosurveillance. In this work, we have studied blood levels of these immunosuppressive cells in patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (R/R DLBCL), prior to and along the course of the experimental rituximab, gemcitabine, dexamethasone, and cisplatin (R2-GDP) schedule, as a translational substudy of the R2-GDP-GOTEL trial (EudraCT Number: 2014-001620-29), which included lenalidomide as an immunomodulator.MethodsBlood samples were taken before treatment, at cycle 3 and end of induction. Samples were analyzed by flow cytometry. Non-parametric tests were used. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare basal cells distributions, and Wilcoxon test was considered to compare cells distribution at different times. Spearman test was performed to measure the degree of association between cell populations.ResultsIn this study, MDSC and Treg circulating concentration was found increased in all patients compared with a healthy control group and decreased after treatment only in patients with longest overall survival (>24 months), reaching the levels of the healthy group. Likewise, the number of inhibited T lymphocytes expressing Programmed Death-1 (PD-1) were increased in peripheral blood from patients and decreased on the treatment, whereas activated T lymphocytes increased after therapy in those with better overall survival.ConclusionsIn conclusion, blood concentration of MDSCs and Treg cells may be good prognostic markers for overall survival after 2 years in R/R DLBCL. These results point to a possible role of these elements in the immunosuppression of these patients, as assessed by the circulating activated and inhibited T lymphocytes, and therefore, they may be considered as therapeutic targets in DLBCL.

Background: Lung cancer causes approximately 25% of all cancer deaths. Despite its relevance, few studies have analyzed differences by sex at the time of diagnosis in terms of symptoms, stage, age or smoking status.We aim to assess if there are differences between men and women on these characteristics at diagnosis. Methods:We analyzed the Thoracic Tumour Registry (TTR), sponsored by the Spanish Lung Cancer Group using a case-series design. This is a nationwide registry of lung cancer cases which started recruitment in 2016. For each case included, clinicians fulfilled an electronic record registering demographic data, symptoms, exposure to lung cancer risk factors, and treatment received in detail. We compared men and women using descriptive statistics.Results: A total of 13,590 participants took part in this study, 25.6% women. Women were 4 years younger than men (64 vs. 69), and men had smoked more frequently. Adenocarcinoma was the most frequent histological type in both sexes. Stage IV at diagnosis was 50.8% in women compared to 43.6% in men.Weight loss/anorexia/asthenia was the most frequent symptom in both sexes and there were no differences in the number of symptoms at diagnosis. There were no relevant differences in the frequency or number of symptoms by sex when non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) were analyzed separately. Smoking status did not appear to cause different lung cancer presentation in men compared to women. 2 Ruano-Ravina et al. Sex differences at lung cancer diagnosis

Neurological paraneoplastic syndromes (NPS) affect only 0.01% of cancer patients, chiefly those affected by lung, breast, ovarian and stomach cancer. They frequently cause major disability and produce limitations in patients' daily activities; the character of the disease is irreversible. Clinical suspicion is fundamental for an early diagnosis and it must be backed up by the specification of certain antibodies both present in blood and in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Conventional treatments are very inefficient at the time of treating these disorders; at present, the administration of immunoglobulins, immunosuppressors, chemotherapy agents and corticoids are under study, but so far results are not promising. The aim of this review is to analyze the variety of NPS and describe the findings concerning autoimmunity and treatments used at present.

INTRODUCCIÓNLa mastocitosis sistémica (MS) es una enfermedad clonal de los progenitores mastocíticos de la médula ósea. El cuadro clínico en la MS varía desde una forma asintomática (indolente) a una forma altamente agresiva con una supervivencia muy corta (leucemia de mastocitos) (1).En 1869, Nettleship describió la urticaria pigmentosa (UP) y en 1887, Unna describió un amento en el número de mastocitos en la UP. Fue ya en 1949, cuando Ellis describió una enfermedad sistémica asociada a hiperplasia de mastocitos.La mayoría de los pacientes afectos son adultos, aunque la enfermedad puede ocurrir a cualquier edad. En función del momento de aparición de los síntomas, en especial, de las [0212-7199 (2008) RESUMENLa mastocitosis es una enfermedad definida por un crecimiento anormal y por la acumulación de mastocitos. En la clasificación de consenso de la OMS del 2001, se distinguió entre procesos bien limitados a piel (mastocitosis cutánea) o bien acumulados a nivel de otros tejidos: médula ósea y/u otros órganos extracutáneos (mastocitosis sistémica) como huesos, hígado, bazo o ganglios linfáticos (70% afectación ósea, con patrón osteolítico u osteoblástico, seguida de 50% de hepatoesplenomegalia).La sintomatología más común en estos enfermos es la afectación de la piel por urticaria pigmentosa (más frecuente en la infancia) o telangiectasia macularis pertans (más frecuente en adultos) donde los mastocitos pueden estar recluidos mucho tiempo, con clínica que proviene de sus mediadores, siendo los niveles de triptasa el reflejo de la carga tumoral. El manejo de esta enfermedad se basa en la administración de tratamiento sintomático con antagonistas de histaminas H1 y H2, así como cromoglicato disódico, necesitando terapia citorreductora sólo en las variantes agresivas de mastocitos sistémica (asociadas a mutación del receptor de tirosin kinasa c-kit D816V) o asociadas a SMP (proliferación de mastocitos e hipereosinofilias asociado a la expresión del gen de fusión FIP1L1-PDGFRA).El interferón tiene un efecto beneficioso sobre los síntomas dermatológicos, hematológicos, gastrointestinales y sistémicos, así como en los esqueléticos, debido a su capacidad de aumentar la densidad ósea y reducir los episodios dolorosos, siendo beneficioso el tratamiento inicial con prednisona.

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