Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia during first and second-line chemotherapy for solid tumours.

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e18330-e18330
Author(s):  
Emma Shaughnessy ◽  
Kevin Armstrong ◽  
Madeline Rogers-Seeley ◽  
Adarsh Das ◽  
Domenic Higgs ◽  
...  

e18330 Background: Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (PJP) is an opportunistic fungal infection, historically associated with individuals with advanced immunodeficiency, sustained temozolamide chemotherapy and in those who have undergone multiple lines of chemotherapy. PJP is now increasingly being recognised in patients undergoing first-line chemotherapy. This is a retrospective study of ten cases of PJP at our institution amongst patients undergoing first or second-line chemotherapy for solid tumours. Methods: An electronic database search was conducted, looking at cases of PJP diagnosed in our institution over a five year period. Ten patients with a history of PJP were identified. These patients’ pharmacy records, pathology, imaging and laboratory results were examined. Results: All identified patients developed PJP whilst undergoing first-line (70%) or second-line (30%) chemotherapy for solid tumours. These included metastatic cancers such as: pancreatic adenocarcinoma (50%), lung cancer (20%), prostate adenocarcinoma (10%), gastric adenocarcinoma (10%); and colon adenocarcinoma (10%). Eight of ten patients were lymphopenic, with lymphocytes counts of 0.1 - 0.5 (reference range 1.0 - 4.0 x 109/L). One patient had a recorded CD4 count of 114 (reference range 500-1500). On the basis of clinical context, ground-glass changes on CT and/or a positive sputum PCR for PJP, each patient was treated with intravenous high-dose trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole until they were clinically stable. Patients were then switched on to a life-long prophylactic dose. Four patients required intensive care for management of respiratory failure. Nine out of ten patients recovered well without any long-term sequelae and one patient died. Conclusions: PJP is being diagnosed more frequently than previously thought in those receiving first and second-line chemotherapy. Limited research has been conducted into the potential benefit of prescribing trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole prophylaxis to patients commencing chemotherapy. Monitoring of CD4 count prior to each chemotherapy cycle could provide guidance to oncologists regarding when to commence prophylactic treatment as a means to reducing patients diagnosed with PJP.

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmad E. Habib ◽  
Amr T. El-Kashef ◽  
Ezzat S. Fahmy

Neuroblastoma is a high-grade malignancy of childhood. It is chemo- and radio-sensitive but prone to relapse after initial remission. The aim of the current study was to study the results of the first- and second-line chemotherapy on the short-term response and long-term survival of children, and to further describe the side effects of treatment. Ninety-five children with advanced neuroblastoma were included in the study, divided into two groups according to the treatment strategy: 65 were treated by first-line chemotherapy alone, and 30 children who were not responding or relapsed after first-line chemotherapy were treated by second-line chemotherapy. External beam radiotherapy was given to bone and brain secondary cancers when detected. Staging workup was performed before, during and after management. Response was documented after surgery for the primary tumor. Median follow up was 32 months (range 24-60 months). Chemothe rapy was continued until toxicity or disease progression occurred, indicating interruption of chemotherapy. Patients received a maximum of 8 cycles. Toxicity was mainly myelo-suppression, with grade II-III severity in 60% of the firstline and 70% of the second-line chemotherapy patients. Median total actuarial survival was nearly 51 months for the first-line chemotherapy group and 30 months for the second-line line group, with a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P<0.01).


Oncology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 140-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dai Inoue ◽  
Shuhei Sekiguchi ◽  
Wataru Yamagata ◽  
Gen Maeda ◽  
Daiki Yamada ◽  
...  

2007 ◽  
Vol 25 (18_suppl) ◽  
pp. 15113-15113
Author(s):  
M. Ohashi ◽  
T. Kanda ◽  
K. Yajima ◽  
H. Honma ◽  
S. Kosugi ◽  
...  

15113 Background: First-line chemotherapy for advanced/recurrent gastric cancer has limited efficacy, achieving a median survival time (MST) of about 7 months, while addition of second-line and subsequent chemotherapy may prolong MST to about 11.5 months. In practice, however, about half of patients failing with first-line chemotherapy are unable to receive second-line chemotherapy because of worsening of their performance status (PS), disease progression, or toxicities during protracted first-line chemotherapy. We studied the feasibility of a sequential fixed regimen devised to ensure prompt initiation of second-line chemotherapy after first-line failure. Methods: Between December 2002 and December 2006, patients with advanced or recurrent gastric cancer were enrolled who met the following requirements: 1) major organ function preserved; 2) PS 0–2; 3) presence of at least one evaluable lesion; and 4) written informed consent. The treatment regimen consisted of 3 courses of single-agent S-1 or S-1/cisplatin combination followed by weekly paclitaxel (wPTX). The endpoints of the study were entry to the second-line treatment, time to failure (TTF), and MST. Results: Of 39 patients enrolled, 37 completed first- line S-1. Twenty-eight patients (76%) then received wPTX, 2 non-wPTX chemotherapy, and 6 surgery; only 1 received no additional treatments. Second-line wPTX was followed by a third-line treatment in 23/28 patients (82%). The TTF with the sequential fixed regimen was 7 months. The MST and the 1- and 2-year survival rates in the 37 completing first-line treatment were 14.6 months, 61% and 25%, while those in the 28 switched over to wPTX were 12.5 months, 51% and 17%. Conclusions: Patients with advanced/recurrent gastric cancer treated sequentially with a fixed number of courses of S-1 followed by wPTX may have a good chance of treatment continuation. A sequential fixed regimen may further improve survival of patients with advanced/recurrent gastric cancer only with combinations of currently available drugs. No significant financial relationships to disclose.


2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (4_suppl) ◽  
pp. 149-149
Author(s):  
Yoshihito Ohhara ◽  
Keisho Chin ◽  
Mariko Ogura ◽  
Mitsukuni Suenaga ◽  
Eiji Shinozaki ◽  
...  

149 Background: Recently, it is suggested that second-line chemotherapy improved survival in advanced gastric cancer (AGC) and it is commonly performed in Japanese daily practice in these several years. We investigated the limiting factor not to be able to receive second-line chemotherapy in Japanese patients with AGC. Methods: Between 2007 and 2009, 155 patients received S-1 plus cisplatin (SP) treatment as first-line chemotherapy in Cancer Institute Hospital of JFCR, Japan. Among them, 148 patients could not continue SP treatment because of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. 109 patients could receive second-line chemotherapy (Group A), while 39 patients could not (Group B). We evaluated the clinicopathologic factors that affected not to receive second-line chemotherapy, retrospectively. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed on the baseline factors before starting first-line chemotherapy. Results: Characteristics of patients were below (Group A vs B): median age, 60 vs 66 (years); gender (male), 71.6 % vs 66.7 %. Median progression-free survival were not different in both Group statistically (6.5 vs 7.2 months; log-rank, p=0.861). Median overall survival were 16.5 vs 10.3 months (log-rank, p<0.001), respectively. Univariate analyses found 4 limiting factors not to initiate second-line chemotherapy: age over 65 years old (p=0.025), performance status>1 (p=0.017), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) >400 IU/l (p<0.001), C-reactive protein (CRP) >1.0 mg/dl (p=0.004). Multivariate analyses showed ALP elevation was a limiting factor (HR 4.122, p=0.003). Conclusions: Alkaline phosphatase can be an uncomplicated and potent limiting factor of discontinuance of chemotherapy after failure of the first line S-1 plus CDDP in Japanese patients with AGC.


2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e15613-e15613
Author(s):  
Young Saing Kim ◽  
Moon Ki Choi ◽  
Jung Yong Hong ◽  
Chi Hoon Maeng ◽  
Soonil Lee ◽  
...  

e15613 Background: Despite high response rates (RRs) with first-line platinum-based chemotherapy in advanced urothelial carcinoma (UCC), treatment after first-line failure remains unclear. The present multi-center phase II trial evaluated the tolerability and efficacy of weekly docetaxel as second-line chemotherapy for UCC. Methods: Between Aug 2010 and Sep 2012, 31 patients with measurable UCC, progressive after one prior platinum-based chemotherapy for advanced disease, were treated with docetaxel 30 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8. Treatment was repeated every 21 days until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoints were the RR, progression-free survival (PFS), and safety. To detect a 20% difference in RR (6% vs. 26%), 28 eligible patients were required. Results: All 31 patients were previously treated with gemcitabine/platinum and had Bellmunt risk of one or more. The patients’ median age was 64 years (range, 40 to 79) and 31 (100%) patients had an ECOG performance status of 1. A total of 106 (median, 2; range, 1 to 16) chemotherapy cycles were delivered. Although fatigue (13%) and anorexia (6%) were the most frequently observed grade 3 or 4 toxicities, safety profiles were generally mild and manageable. One patient developed prolonged thrombocytopenia which led to treatment discontinuation but was resolved thereafter. In an intent-to-treat analysis, two (6%) patients achieved objective response, which maintained for 3.0 to 7.8 months. Eight patients experienced disease stabilization, resulting in a disease control rate of 32%. The median PFS and overall survival were 1.4 (95% CI, 1.3 to 1.6) and 9.6 (95% CI, 7.8 to 11.4) months, respectively. Conclusions: Second-line chemotherapy with weekly docetaxel was well tolerated but demonstrated modest antitumor activity in patient with advanced UCC who had progression after first-line platinum-containing regimen and poor prognostic factors. Clinical trial information: NCT01711112.


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