Principles of Treatment for Borderline, Micropapillary Serous, and Low-Grade Ovarian Cancer

Borderline ovarian tumors (BOTs) are less common than epithelial ovarian cancers (EOCs). Low-grade EOCs (LG-EOCs) occur even less frequently than BOTs. After primary therapy, recurrence rates of BOTs and LG-EOCs are significantly lower and the stage-adjusted survival is higher than for high-grade EOCs. Thus, determining the best management in terms of traditional ovarian cancer staging and debulking procedures is more challenging and has been recently brought to question. This article reviews the particulars of BOTs and LG-EOCs, their similarities and differences, and how they are best managed and treated, and emphasizes the major role of surgery and the controversial role of chemotherapy. Because these tumors disproportionately affect younger women, this review addresses ovarian preservation in circumstances when fertility or hormonal preservation is desired.

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Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation for AML--A Missed Opportunity!

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Current Status of Distress Screening in Designated Cancer Hospitals: A Cross-Sectional Nationwide Survey in Japan

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the current status of distress screening implementation in Japanese designated cancer hospitals. Subjects and Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study. Palliative care team representatives in all designated cancer hospitals in Japan completed an ad hoc questionnaire. Demographic data in 2014 were obtained from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in Japan. Results: Of 422 institutions, 389 responded (92%) and data were obtained from 379 (90%). Approximately 90% of institutions had implemented a distress screening program at some level, and approximately 60% had just started screening. Among those institutions that screened, 77% provided individualized triage to specialized services within the institutions, whereas 60% did not routinely follow-up with patients who had positive screening results. The estimated median percentage of screened patients referred to palliative care teams was 0.4% in outpatient settings and 6.3% in inpatient settings. Although 68% of respondents perceived that screening was useful overall, they also reported difficulties when conducting screening with patients, reporting "no established effective treatment for problems screened" (66%), "patients complain it is difficult to express their distress using scales" (58%), and that it was "difficult to manage screened problems because of lack of time" (49%). Eight perceived barriers to implementing distress screening programs in hospitals were identified; a lack of human resources ranked highest. Conclusions: Implementation of distress screening in designated cancer hospitals in Japan has just begun. Policymakers should acknowledge that screening can be beneficial for patients when it is implemented with appropriate resources and established methods.

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Characterization of Prostate Cancer in a Functional Eunuch

Background: Eunuchs rarely, if ever, develop prostate cancer (CaP). This article reports on a 62-year-old functional eunuch from prepubertal mumps orchitis who developed clinically localized CaP. Methods: Serum and CaP and benign prostate tissue androgen levels were measured using a validated liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry assay. The assay measures testosterone; dihydrotestosterone (DHT); the adrenal androgens, androstenedione and dehydroepiandrosterone; and the androgen metabolites, androsterone and androstanedione. Gene and protein expression levels of androgen metabolism enzymes, and androgen receptor and androgen-regulated genes were measured using quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Results: Intracrine androgen metabolism produced tissue DHT when serum and tissue testosterone levels were castrate and undetectable, respectively. Androgen receptor, androgen-regulated, and androgen metabolism enzyme genes were expressed but at lower levels in CaP than benign tissues. Conclusions: DHT was synthesized using the primary backdoor androgen metabolism pathway and not using androstenedione or dehydroepiandrosterone via the frontdoor or secondary backdoor pathways.

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Risk Factors for Early Death After Rituximab-Based Immunochemotherapy in Older Patients With Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma

Background: Older patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) are at risk of severe chemotherapy-related morbidity and mortality. Our objective was to quantify the risk and identify factors associated with death during the first cycle of immunochemotherapy in this population. Patients and Methods: Using Medicare claims linked to the population-based SEER registry (SEER-Medicare), we studied patients with DLBCL aged 65 years and older who received immunochemotherapy containing rituximab, cyclophosphamide, and vincristine, in combination with doxorubicin, mitoxantrone, or etoposide in 2003–2012. Risk factors for death and hospitalization within the first 30 days of treatment were studied in multivariable logistic regression models. Results: We identified 5,530 patients with a median age of 76 years, of whom 94% received doxorubicin-containing immunochemotherapy. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) was administered to 66% of patients during the first treatment cycle. Cumulative incidence of death at day 30 was 2.2%. The risk was significantly higher in patients aged 75 years and older and those who had B symptoms, chronic kidney disease, poor functional status, use of walking aids or wheelchairs, and prior hospitalization or upper endoscopy. The group with 0 to 1 risk factors (56% of patients) had a very low (0.6%) risk of early death, whereas the group with 4 or more risk factors (6% of patients) had a risk of 8.3%. Receipt of G-CSF was associated with a lower probability of early death in the high-risk group. The incidence of hospitalization within the first 30 days was 23.5%, peaking at day 8 of the cycle. Conclusions: Among older patients with DLBCL who receive contemporary immunochemotherapy, 1 in 45 die during the first month of treatment, and 1 in 4 are hospitalized. Factors identifiable from administrative/electronic records can stratify this risk and could be incorporated into decision support tools. Prophylactic G-CSF is not administered to more than one-third of patients, indicating an opportunity for improved preventive interventions.

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NCCN Guidelines Insights: Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas, Version 3.2016

Peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs) represent a relatively uncommon heterogeneous group of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHLs) with an aggressive clinical course and poor prognosis. Anthracycline-based multiagent chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy followed by first-line consolidation with high-dose therapy followed by autologous stem cell rescue (HDT/ASCR) is the standard approach to most of the patients with newly diagnosed PTCL. Relapsed or refractory disease is managed with second-line systemic therapy followed by HDT/ASCR or allogeneic stem cell transplant, based on the patient's eligibility for transplant. In recent years, several newer agents have shown significant activity in patients with relapsed or refractory disease across all 4 subtypes of PTCL. These NCCN Guideline Insights highlight the important updates to the NCCN Guidelines for NHL, specific to the management of patients with relapsed or refractory PTCL.

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Next-Generation Sequencing: Role in Gynecologic Cancers

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has risen to the forefront of tumor analysis and has enabled unprecedented advances in the molecular profiling of solid tumors. Through massively parallel sequencing, previously unrecognized genomic alterations have been unveiled in many malignancies, including gynecologic cancers, thus expanding the potential repertoire for the use of targeted therapies. NGS has expanded the understanding of the genomic foundation of gynecologic malignancies and has allowed identification of germline and somatic mutations associated with cancer development, enabled tumor reclassification, and helped determine mechanisms of treatment resistance. NGS has also facilitated rationale therapeutic strategies based on actionable molecular aberrations. However, issues remain regarding cost and clinical utility. This review covers NGS analysis of and its impact thus far on gynecologic cancers, specifically ovarian, endometrial, cervical, and vulvar cancers.

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