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Background: Patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) often respond to first-line chemoimmunotherapy. However, relapse is inevitable and is associated with a poor prognosis. Treatments for relapsed SCLC, such as lurbinectedin and topotecan, are limited bymodest efficacy and significant hematologic adverse events, leaving a need for newer therapeutic agents or regimens. The combination of gemcitabine and nabpaclitaxel is active and safe in other types of malignancies, such as pancreatic cancer. Patients and methods: We conducted a phase II trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel in patients with relapsed/refractory SCLC. The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR), defined as the proportion of patients with confirmed complete or partial response. Secondary endpoints included time to progression (TTP), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and safety. Results: Between October 2016 and May 2021, 32 patients were enrolled. Patients were followed for a median of 9.3months (range 1.8-65.2). Median age was 65 years (range 48-81). Fifty percent of patients were female. Fifty-three percent of patients had platinum-resistant/refractory relapsed SCLC. The ORR was 28.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 15.5-100%). Median PFS was 2.9 months (95% CI 2.4-3.6), and median OS was 9.3 months (95%CI 5.2-12.4). Seven patients (21.9%) developed grade 3 or 4 neutropenia. Conclusion: Our study showed that the combination of gemcitabine and nabpaclitaxel led to encouraging outcomes in relapsed/refractory SCLC. Further studies are needed to compare this combination with other treatments used for relapsed SCLC, including lurbinectedin, temozolomide, and topotecan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common cancer and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. However, HCC can be effectively treated in selected cases, with liver transplantation representing one of the limited options for potential cure. Unfortunately, many patients are ineligible for liver transplantation either due to an advanced tumor at initial diagnosis or due to disease progression while awaiting liver transplantation. Our review discusses the role of systemic therapies as a bridging treatment to liver transplantation, thereby enabling more HCC patients to undergo potentially curative liver transplantation. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths. Classically, liver transplantation (LT) can be curative for HCC tumors within the Milan criteria. Bridging strategies to reduce the dropouts from LT waiting lists and/or to downstage patients who are beyond the Milan criteria are widely utilized. We conducted a literature-based review to evaluate the role of systemic therapies as a bridging treatment to liver transplantation (LT) in HCC patients. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) can be used as a systemic bridging therapy to LT in patients with contraindications for locoregional liver-directed therapies. Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment can be utilized either as a monotherapy or as a combination therapy with bevacizumab or TKIs prior to LT. Acute rejection after liver transplantation is a concern in the context of ICI treatment. Thus, a safe ICI washout period before LT and cautious post-LT immunosuppression strategies are required to reduce post-LT rejections and to optimize clinical outcomes. Nevertheless, prospective clinical trials are needed to establish definitive conclusions about the utility of systemic therapy as a bridging modality prior to LT in HCC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate clinical outcomes and prognostic factors in non-metastatic oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC) patients who underwent surgery with or without adjuvant therapy., Methods: From 2007 and 2018, 116 patients were analyzed. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS), and secondary endpoints were disease-free survival (DFS), local failure (LF), regional failure (RF), and distant metastases (DM). Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test assessed survival outcomes, while Cox proportional hazard tests analyzed prognostic factors., Results: Median patient age was 53 years, most were smokers (93.5%) and males (62.9%). Predominant subsite was the oral tongue (58.6%). Treatment included surgery alone (16.4%), adjuvant radiotherapy (46.6%), or adjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) (37%). The median follow-up time was 45.9 months. There were significant differences between groups in terms of gender (P=0.028) and RT dose (P=0.01). The 3-year OS, DFS, LF, RF and DM for the entire cohort were 60.9%, 55.1%, 20.11%, 8.43%, and 17.13%, respectively. Surgery alone yielded higher 3-year OS (81.4%) than adjuvant RT (70%) or adjuvant CCRT (41.4%), (p=0.012). Adjuvant CCRT correlated with higher LF compared to adjuvant RT and surgery alone groups (p=0.029). Lymphovascular invasion (LVI) impacted OS (HR=2.034, p=0.0498) and DM (HR=3.380, p=0.0132), while higher tumor grade increased DM likelihood (HR=8.477, p=0.0379)., Conclusions: This study reports OCSCC patient outcomes in Jordan across different treatment modalities. Adjuvant CCRT correlated with higher LF rates, and LVI impacted OS and DM, aligning with existing OCSCC treatment literature., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Abu Taha, Abu Hejleh, Wahbeh, Alzibdeh, Berawi, Qambar, Mukahal, Abuhijla, Abu-Hijlih, Taqash, Hussein, Alrousan, Saraireh, Al-Gargaz, Al-Ibraheem, Ghatasheh, Hosni and Mohamad.)

Background: Adolescents and young adults with cancer have special characteristics and needs., Aims: This study highlighted psychosocial challenges, fertility issues and secondary diseases encountered in adolescents and young adults with cancer. This work is meant to be a platform for future interventions for cancer in this demographic., Methods: We investigated the latest edition of the Jordan Cancer Registry (JCR) and our more comprehensive institutional database during 2000-2012. Smoking, obesity and fertility preservation were addressed briefly as important issues among AYA patients., Results: Cancer among adolescents and young adults represents 16.3% of all new cancer cases and has increased by 25% over the past 12 years. Women are more likely to be involved (female: male ratio of 1.44: 1) because of thyroid and breast cancers. Five-year survival rate for the AYA group was 72.4%, which was significantly better than for adults aged ≥ 40 years (59.8%) but worse than for paediatric patients aged < 15 years (79.2%) (P < 0.0001)., Conclusions: Cancer in adolescents and young adults represents a substantial and growing proportion of oncological diagnoses. Due to their special needs and treatment complications, a dedicated service is urgently needed., (Copyright © World Health Organization (WHO) 2018. Some rights reserved. This work is available under the CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo).)

Lung cancer in multiple first degree relatives had previously been attributed to smoking and to inherited enzymes associated with increased activation of carcinogens in smoke. There was not clear agreement on the significance of the testing methods for lung cancer susceptibility. More recent studies have identified germline mutations associated with lung cancer even in the absence of smoking and other mutations with plausible explanations for their association with lung cancer caused by smoking. At this time, the clinical significance of the various germline mutations for screening and the implications for therapy are not certain. This review summarizes the currently identified germline mutations associated with lung cancer, but this growing area of research will very likely identify further significant mutations as well.