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Background: Anti‐HER2 therapy‐related cardiotoxicity is well described in the context of clinical trials, particularly in the setting of early stage disease, but there is more limited data in advanced breast cancer and in the real world setting. Material and methods: A prospectively‐maintained registry database with 312 consecutive patients diagnosed with HER2 positive advanced breast cancer in Australia was analysed. Results: 287 patients (92%) received anti‐HER2 therapy, 17 (6%) experienced anti‐HER2 therapy‐related cardiotoxicity. Patients who experienced cardiotoxicity were more likely to have ≥2 risk factors for cardiotoxicity (OR 3.9 95% CI 1.4‐11.3 p = 0.01). A prior diagnosis of cardiovascular disease was significantly associated with cardiotoxicity (OR 7.1 95% CI 1.3‐39.5). Cardiotoxicity resolved on imaging in 65% of patients; there was no association between severity and resolution. 11 patients (65%) received cardiologist input. Of the patients who developed cardiotoxicity, 12 patients (71%) received further anti‐HER2 therapy in the first‐ or second‐line setting without recurrent cardiotoxicity. Discussion and Conclusion: Therapy‐related cardiotoxicity is an uncommon complication of anti‐HER2 therapy in the real world setting. Cardiac toxicity resolved in the majority of affected patients, and further anti‐HER2 therapy was administered without recurrence of cardiac issues. Our data suggests anti‐HER2 therapy can be safely given in routine care, even in patients with risk factors for toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Prior studies have suggested improved outcomes for cancer patients managed in private centres, despite universal healthcare within Australia. Aims To compare patient, disease, treatment and survival data for metastatic colorectal cancer ( mCRC) managed in private versus public centres. Methods Analysis of prospectively collected registry data for consecutive patients with mCRC managed at 16 participating centres from July 2009. Results Data for 1065 patients were examined. Age, gender and Charlson comorbidity score were similar for public and private patients. Private patients were more commonly Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance score 0-1 (85% vs 78%, P = 0.008), in the highest Index of Relative Socioeconomic Advantage and Disadvantage quintile (57% vs 18%, P < 0.001) or had a single metastatic site (62% vs 54%, P = 0.009). Patients treated in private were more likely to receive chemotherapy (84% vs 70%, P < 0.001), bevacizumab (59% vs 50%, P = 0.008), be treated with curative intent (37% vs 26%, P < 0.001) and undergo metastasectomy (30% vs 22%, P = 0.001). These management differences remained statistically significant after adjusting for baseline characteristics. Management in the private setting was associated with superior overall survival (median 27.9 vs 20 months, hazard ratio 0.7, 95% confidence interval: 0.57 to 0.86, P = 0.001), significant in multivariate analysis adjusting for all baseline covariates. Conclusions Significant differences in baseline characteristics were noted for private versus public patients. However, these do not explain the higher rates of treatment delivery in the private setting, which likely contributed towards the observed survival difference. Further studies are required to determine if the increased likelihood of intervention in the private setting is driven by patient, clinician and/or institutional factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The changing treatment landscape for metastatic colorectal cancer creates multiple potential treatment strategies. An Australian-centric database capturing comprehensive information across a range of treatment locations would create a valuable resource enabling multiple important research questions to be addressed. Aims To establish a collection of a consensus dataset capturing treatment and outcomes at multiple public and private hospitals across Australia. Methods An electronic database was developed by a panel of clinicians, to capture an agreed dataset for patients with newly diagnosed metastatic colorectal cancer. Of particular interest were clinician decision-making, the impact of comorbidities and the frequency of major adverse events. Results Since July 2009, data collection has been established at six public and eight private hospitals across three Australian states and territories. Successful linkage and analysis, with support from Bio Grid Australia, of selected data on the initial 864 patients demonstrates that data can be captured from diverse sites, including public and private practice, that multiple factors impact on treatment delivered and outcomes achieved and that comprehensive data on rare but important adverse events can be captured. As a clinical research tool, the project has been highly successful, generating multiple presentations at national and international conferences related to a diverse range of research questions. Conclusions Multistate, project-specific data collection involving large numbers of patients is achievable. Providing invaluable insight into the routine clinical management of metastatic colorectal cancer in the era of targeted therapies, this also creates a significant resource for research, including many questions not being addressed by clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperammonaemic encephalopathy has been infrequently reported after both standard and high-dose chemotherapy for solid and haematological malignancies. It is important to consider this diagnosis for patients with unexplained behaviour changes or encephalopathy and this case report emphasizes this condition and the importance of early diagnosis and is the first reported in association with rituximab-containing chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the unusual hair changes with prolonged erlotinib exposure. It is said that erlotinib is a small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The article also describes the case of an Asian woman presented with metastatic lung cancer.