Carboplatin has established an important role in many different cancers. As its use increased, the documented cases of hypersensitivity also picked up. Although the mechanism of these reactions remains unknown, the immediate type of hypersensitivity reaction mediated by IgE may be involved. It takes a while for the reaction to develop, but cases are reported even after 1st cycle. The incidence of hypersensitivity is highest at about 8th cycle of therapy with decline after that. These reactions themselves ranged from facial flushing or itching to seizures, dyspnea, and anaphylaxis. Many physicians currently do not use skin testing prior to 8th cycle of carboplatin therapy and retreat their patients with carboplatin after the first hypersensitivity reaction. Therefore, it is suggested that skin test should be conducted prior to the 8th cycle, preferably before the 6th cycle, as hypersensitivity tends to increase on the 6th cycle-treatment. Methods published so far involve: desensitization, skin testing, switching therapy to another platinum analogue, and premedication. Despite all the process, the most effective drug toxicity prevention method remains skin testing prior to 8th cycle. It can accurately predict patients who will develop hypersensitivity reactions. Other methods so far have not shown consistent results.

Background Hormonal and reproductive factors contribute to the development of ovarian cancer, but few studies have examined associations between circulating estrogens and estrogen metabolites and ovarian cancer risk. We evaluated whether serum estrogens and estrogen metabolite levels are associated with ovarian cancer risk among postmenopausal women in a nested case-control study in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) Observational Study (OS). Methods We selected all 169 eligible epithelial ovarian cancer cases and 412 matched controls from women enrolled in WHI-OS who were not using menopausal hormones at baseline. Baseline levels of 15 estrogens and estrogen metabolites were measured via LC-MS/MS. Associations with ovarian cancer risk overall and stratified by histologic subtype (serous/non-serous) were analyzed using logistic regression. The mean time from serum collection to cancer diagnosis was 6.9 years. Results Overall we observed modest ovarian cancer risk associations among women with higher levels of estrone [Odds Ratio (95% Confidence Interval) quintile (Q)5 vs. Q1: 1.54 (0.82–2.90), p-trend=0.05], as well as 2- and 4-methoxyestrone metabolites [2.03 (1.06–3.88), p-trend=0.02; 1.86 (0.98–3.56), p-trend=0.01, respectively]. Associations of estrogens and estrogen metabolites varied substantially by histologic subtype. Associations with serous tumors were universally null, while estrone (2.65 (1.09–6.45), p-trend=0.01, p-heterogeneity=0.04), unconjugated estradiol (2.72 (1.04–7.14), p-trend=0.03, p-heterogeneity=0.02) and many of the 2-, 4-, and 16-pathway metabolites were positively associated with non-serous tumors. Conclusions Our study provides novel molecular data showing an association of the parent estrogens and several estrogen metabolites with non-serous ovarian cancers. Impact These findings further support the heterogeneous etiology of ovarian cancer.

Introduction Our goal was to characterize comorbidities among adults receiving intensive therapy for AML, and investigate their association with outcomes. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 277 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed AML treated intensively at the Comprehensive Cancer Center of Wake Forest University from 2002–2009. Pretreatment comorbidities were identified by ICD-9 codes and chart review. Comorbidity burden (modified Charlson Comorbidity Index [CCI]) and specific conditions were analyzed individually. Outcomes were overall survival (OS), remission, and 30-day mortality. Covariates included age, gender, cytogenetic characteristics, hemoglobin, white cell count, lactate dehydrogenase, body mass index, and insurance type. Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate OS; logistic regression was used for remission and 30-day mortality. Results In this series, 144 patients were ≥60 years old (median age 70 years, median survival 8.7 months) and 133 were <60 years (median age 47 years, median survival 23.1 months). Older patients had a higher comorbidity burden (CCI≥1 58% versus 26%, p<0.001). Prevalent comorbid conditions differed by age (diabetes 19.2% versus 7.5%; cardiovascular disease 12.5% versus 4.5%, for older versus younger patients, respectively). The CCI was not independently associated with OS or 30-day mortality in either age group. Among older patients, diabetes was associated with higher 30-day mortality (33.3% vs. 12.0% in diabetic vs. non diabetic patients, p =0.006). Controlling for age, cytogenetic characteristics and other comorbidities, the presence of diabetes increased the odds of 30-day mortality by 4.9 (CI 1.6–15.2) times. Discussion Diabetes is adversely associated with 30-day survival in older AML patients receiving intensive therapy.

Background The hypomethylating agents (HA), azacitidine and decitabine, have emerged as an alternative to initial and salvage therapy in patients with AML. Little is known about how AML responds to hypomethylating agents after standard therapy and the activity of these agents in a real world setting is not well studied. Methods We retrospectively examined data for 75 consecutive AML patients at Wake Forest from 2002–2011 treated with HAs either as 1st line (n=34), salvage (n=28) or consolidation (n=13). We collected data on age, gender, race, Charlson Comorbidity index (CCI), cytogenetics, type of treatment, Complete Remission (CR), Complete Remission with incomplete count recovery (CRi), and survival. Statistical analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier estimates and cox proportional hazards models. Results Frontline response rate (CR+CRi) was 26.5%, median overall survival (OS) was 3.4 (95% CI 1.3–7.4) months, with 18% alive at one year. In the salvage cohort, the response rate was significantly lower compared to frontline (3.6% versus 26.5%, p=0.017). Despite the reduced response, OS from time of HA treatment was longer than frontline at 8.2 (CI 4.8–10.3) months. In the consolidation cohort OS was 13.8 (CI 8.0 – 21.6) months with one patient in remission more than 30 months from diagnosis. Conclusion These data suggest prior cytotoxic therapy decrease marrow response rates to HAs but not survival. Furthermore, use of hypomethylating agents for consolidation resulted in a median overall survival over one year in a cohort of older patients. This suggests that hypomethylating agents have activity in all phases of AML treatment.

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma remains the fourth leading cause of cancer mortality in the U.S. Despite advances in surgical technique, radiotherapy technologies, and chemotherapeutics, the 5-year survival rate remains approximately 20% for the 15% of patients who are eligible for surgical resection. The majority of this group suffers metastatic recurrence. However, despite advances in therapies for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, only surgery has consistently proven to improve long-term survival. Various combinations of chemotherapy, biologic-targeted therapy, and radiotherapy have been evaluated in different settings to improve outcomes. In this context, a neoadjuvant (preoperative) treatment strategy offers numerous potential benefits: (1) ensuring delivery of early, systemic therapy, (2) improving selection of patients for surgical therapy with truly localized disease, (3) potential downstaging of the neoplasm facilitating a negative margin resection in patients with locally advanced disease, and (4) providing a superior clinical trial mechanism capable of rapid assessment of the efficacy of novel therapeutics. This article reviews the recent trends in the management of pancreatic adenocarcinoma, with a particular emphasis on a multidisciplinary neoadjuvant approach to treatment.