Small cell bladder cancer: should we consider prophylactic cranial irradiation?

ABSTRACT Purpose: To describe the clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, and outcomes in patients with small cell bladder cancer at our institution, including those who received prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) for the prevention of intracranial recurrence. Materials and Methods: Patients with small cell bladder cancer treated at a single institution between January 1990 and August 2015 were identified and analyzed retrospectively for demographics, tumor stage, treatment, and overall survival. Results: Of 44 patients diagnosed with small cell bladder cancer, 11 (25%) had metastatic disease at the time of presentation. Treatment included systemic chemotherapy (70%), radical surgery (59%), and local radiation (39%). Six patients (14%) received PCI. Median overall survival was 10 months (IQR 4 - 41). Patients with extensive disease had worse overall survival than those with organ confined disease (8 months vs. 36 months, respectively, p = 0.04). Among those who received PCI, 33% achieved 5 - year survival. Conclusion: Outcomes for patients with small cell bladder cancer remain poor. Further research is indicated to determine if PCI increases overall survival in small call bladder cancer patients, especially those with extensive disease who respond to chemotherapy.

Evaluation of curative and palliative radiotherapy efficacy in extensive stage small cell lung cancer

To evaluate the efficacy of curative and palliative radiotherapy in the treatment of extensive stage small cell lung cancer [E-SCLC], and compare therapy effect on survival with or without metastatic disease. From January 1998 through December 2004, 128 patients with E-SCLC were treated with radiotherapy and concomitants combined chemotherapy. Radical radiotherapy, consisting of approximately 60 Gy given in up to 30 fractions was performed in 53 [41.4%] of these patients. Others [58.6%] were treated with palliative dose radiotherapy. In all patients, chemotherapy was planned with cisplatin [80 mg/m2] intravenously [i.v.] on day 1, and etoposide [120 mg/m2] i.v. on days 1, 2 and 3, every 3 weeks for 3-6 cycles. Conventional follow-up of patients was conducted at Izmir Oncology Center, Izmir, Turkey. All results were evaluated statistically. One hundred and twenty-four patients [96.9%] were males. The mean age was 58.49 [ +/- 9.01], ranging from 37-78 years. Metastases were initially determined in 64 patients [50%]. The median follow up of patients was 287.41 days and median survival was 354.87 days. One year survival rate was 35.8%, and 2-year survival rates was 16.9% in the radical radiotherapy group, while these rates were 26.6% and 8% in the others. According to the statistical findings; the gains in duration of median survival with the curative thoracic irradiation are 151.97 days in all 128 patients. This study shows that curative radiotherapy at the primary tumor provides an additional survival benefit in patients with metastatic disease compared with palliative radiotherapy. This finding raises the question of whether treatment with radical thoracic radiotherapy with concomitant chemotherapy, consisting of first-line drugs, might be more beneficial and cost-effective as well as a less toxic treatment of E-SCLC

Four cases of therapy-related leukemia

Combination chemotherapy and radiation therapy have contributed to the successful treatment of various cancer patients. But the development of second malignancies is an inevitable complication of long-term cytotoxic treatment. The most serious and frequent of such complications is acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Therapy-related leukemia is generally fatal. Since the number of patients exposed to chemotherapy is increasing each year, the clinical significance of this entity cannot be underestimated. There have been many investigations of therapy-related leukemia, but in Korea published reports are rare. We describe four such cases, involving one older female with lung cancer and three children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and malignant lymphoma. Alkylating agents were used for chemotherapy, and in one case, topoisomerase II inhibitor. Irrespective of the causative agents, the latency periods were relatively short, and despite induction chemotherapy in two, all survived for only a few months. During the follow-up of patients treated for primary malignancies, the possibility of therapy-related leukemia should always be borne in mind.

Quimio-radioterapia em carcinoma tipo "oat cell" do esôfago / Chemoradiotherapy in oat cell carcinoma of esophagus

É relatado um caso de um paciente com carcinoma indiferenciado de pequenas células originário no esôfago que foi tratado com quimio-radioterapia. Durante a quimioterapia de induçäo com Ciclofosfamida, Epirrubicina e Etoposide houve desaparecimento completo da neoplasia. A radioterapia foi utilizada para consolidaçäo da resposta. Dois anos e meio após diagnóstico o paciente foi a óbito após desenvolvimento de múltiplas metástases.