Efficacy and Safety of Ceritinib 450 mg/day with Food and 750 mg/day in Fasted State in Treatment-Naïve Patients with ALK+ Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer: Results from the ASCEND-8 Asian Subgroup Analysis / Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 대한암학회지

Purpose@#Previous report from the ASCEND-8 trial showed consistent efficacy with less gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity in patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase-rearranged (ALK+) advanced/metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with ceritinib 450-mg with food compared with 750-mg fasted. In this subgroup analysis, we report outcomes in Asian patients of the ASCEND-8 trial. @*Materials and Methods@#Key efficacy endpoints were blinded independent review committee (BIRC)–assessed overall response rate (ORR) and duration of response (DOR) evaluated per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors v1.1. Other efficacy endpoints were investigator-assessed ORR and DOR; BIRC- and investigator-assessed progression-free survival (PFS) and disease control rate; overall survival (OS). Safety was evaluated by frequency and severity of adverse events. @*Results@#At final data cutoff (6 March 2020), 198 treatment-naïve patients were included in efficacy analysis, of which 74 (37%) comprised the Asian subset; 450-mg fed (n=29), 600-mg fed (n=19), and 750-mg fasted (n=26). Baseline characteristics were mostly comparable across study arms. At baseline, more patients in 450-mg fed arm (44.8%) had brain metastases than in 750-mg fasted arm (26.9%). Per BIRC, patients in the 450-mg fed arm had a numerically higher ORR, 24-month DOR rate and 24-month PFS rate than the 750-mg fasted arm. The 36-month OS rate was 93.1% in 450-mg fed arm and 70.9% in 750-mg fasted arm. Any-grade GI toxicity occurred in 82.8% and 96.2% of patients in the 450-mg fed and 750-mg fasted arms, respectively. @*Conclusion@#Asian patients with ALK+ advanced/metastatic NSCLC treated with ceritinib 450-mg fed showed numerically higher efficacy and lower GI toxicity than 750-mg fasted patients.

Acute pyelonephritis associated with transudative pleural effusion in a middle-aged women without urinary tract obstruction

To describe a case of acute pyelonephritis associated with pleural effusion. A 39-year-old female non-smoker who had Escherichia coli bacteremia due to acute pyelonephritis, developed bilateral transudative pleural effusions during hospitalization. She was successfully treated with intravenous antibiotic therapy. Follow-up chest radiographs revealed complete resolution of the bilateral pleural effusions. Though quite rare, pleural effusion is a potential complication of acute pyelonephritis. The exact pathogenesis of transudative pleural effusion is unknown, but the effusion may resolve spontaneously when infection is adequately controlled