Abstract

Although many studies have shown that supplementation with iron and erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESA) is frequently used for managing chemotherapy-induced anemia (CIA), optimal combination therapy using these agents together to ameliorate anemia is not well characterized. To assess the effects of ESA combined with oral or intravenous (IV) iron on relieving CIA, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were searched for articles. Data collected in the articles were meta-analyzed using RevMan 5.3 software with a random-effects model. Our comprehensive search yielded 1666 potentially relevant trials. A total of 41 trials randomizing 4200 patients with CIA fulfilled inclusion criteria, including 34 Chinese articles and 7 English articles. Meta-analysis showed that treatment with both ESA and iron more effectively improved CIA relative to iron supplementation alone, with increased hemoglobin, hematocrit, red blood cell count and haematopoietic response rate. Subgroup analyses revealed iron administration, both oral and IV iron, improved anemia in ESA-treated cancer patients with CIA. Our analysis demonstrates that iron supplementation combined with ESA more effectively ameliorates CIA relative to iron supplementation alone, without regard to whether IV or oral iron was used. Together, our findings may contribute to the clinical treatment of CIA using iron therapy with or without ESA. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Abstract

BACKGROUND Chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia (CIT) is common during treatment with antineoplastic therapies and may adversely impact chemotherapy dose intensity. There is no approved therapy for CIT. In our recent phase II randomized study, romiplostim led to correction of platelet counts in 85% of treated patients and allowed resumption of chemotherapy, with low rates of recurrent CIT in the first two cycles or 8 weeks of chemotherapy. However, there is a lack of long-term data on the efficacy and safety of romiplostim in CIT. OBJECTIVES To analyze efficacy and safety of romiplostim in the patients in the phase 2 study, who received romiplostim for ≥1 year. PATIENTS/METHODS Twenty-one patients remained on romiplostim for ≥1 year. We analyzed the effect of romiplostim on platelet counts, absolute neutrophil counts, and hemoglobin, as well as impact on ongoing chemotherapy. We also tracked venous or arterial thrombotic events. RESULTS During the study period, romiplostim was effective in preventing reduction of chemotherapy dose intensity due to CIT. Fourteen of the 20 (70%) analyzable patients experienced no episode of CIT, 4 subjects experienced a single chemotherapy dose delay due CIT, and 2 patients required a chemotherapy dose reduction. Platelet counts were preserved throughout the duration of the extension analysis. One patient experienced a proximal deep vein thrombosis, and one patient experienced multiple tumor-related ischemic events. CONCLUSIONS Long-term use of romiplostim for treatment of CIT was effective and safe, with no evidence of resistance or increased risk of thrombosis.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Packed red blood cell (RBC) transfusion is frequently used in patients undergoing radiotherapy (RT) because retrospective data suggest that anemic patients may respond sub-optimally to RT. No high-quality evidence currently exists to guide transfusion practices and establish hemoglobin (Hb) transfusion thresholds for this patient population, and practice varies significantly across centers. This systematic review investigated whether maintaining higher Hb via transfusion in radiation oncology patients leads to improved outcomes. METHODS We performed a literature search of studies comparing RBC transfusion thresholds in radiation oncology patients. Included studies assessed patients receiving RT for malignancy of any diagnosis or stage. Excluded studies did not evaluate Hb or transfusion as an intervention or outcome. The primary outcome was overall survival. Secondary outcomes included locoregional control, number of transfusions and adverse events. RESULTS One study met inclusion criteria. The study pooled results from two randomized controlled trials that stratified anemic patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma to RBC transfusion versus no transfusion. The study found no significant differences in overall survival or locoregional control after five years, despite increased Hb levels in the transfused group. We conducted a narrative review by extracting data from 10 non-comparative studies involving transfusion in patients receiving RT. Results demonstrated no consistent conclusions regarding whether transfusions improve or worsen outcomes. CONCLUSIONS There is a lack of data on the effects of RBC transfusion on outcomes in patients undergoing RT. Well-designed prospective studies are needed in this area.

Abstract

BACKGROUND Patients with colorectal cancer have a high risk of iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) due to chronic tumour induced blood loss, a reduced dietary iron intake from poor nutrition or gastrointestinal malabsorption. This pilot, double blinded, randomised controlled trial (RCT) examined the effect and feasibility of using preoperative iron isomaltoside for treating iron deficiency anaemia. METHODS Forty eligible adults with IDA were randomised to receive either intravenous iron isomaltoside (20 mg.kg-1 up to 1000 mg over 30 minutes) or usual preoperative care (control) three weeks before scheduled colorectal surgery. The primary outcomes were perioperative changes in haemoglobin and ferritin concentrations. RESULTS The recruitment rate was 78% of all eligible referred patients (1.9 patients/month). The haemoglobin and ferritin concentrations were higher in the iron isomaltoside group than the control group over the perioperative period (group*time interaction P = 0.042 and P < 0.001 respectively). Mean haemoglobin change from baseline to before surgery was higher in the iron isomaltoside group (7.8, 95% CI: 3.2 to 12.3 g.l-1) than the control group (1.7, 95% CI: -1.9 to 5.3 g.l-1) [mean difference 6.1, 95% CI: 0.3 to 11.8 g.l-1; P = 0.040]. The ferritin change from baseline to before surgery between groups was large in favour of the iron isomaltoside group (mean difference 296.9, 95% CI: 200.6 to 393.2 μg.l-1; P < 0.001]. There were no differences between groups in packed red blood cell transfusions needed, surgical complications, quality of recovery and days (alive and) at home within 30 days after surgery. CONCLUSION Iron isomaltoside therapy was safe and had a minimal effect on perioperative changes in haemoglobin concentration. Given the slow recruitment and new evidence emerging during the conduct of this study, conducting a multi-centre RCT based on the current pilot trial protocol is unlikely to be feasible. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03565354.

Abstract

BACKGROUND Iron supplementation improves the erythropoiesis-stimulating agents' (ESAs) response in chemotherapy-related anemia. The primary aim of our study is to assess the efficacy of sucrosomial iron, a new oral iron formulation, in cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced anemia treated with ESAs. The secondary objectives included the efficacy into two subgroups of patients (iron replete and functional iron deficiency) between the two study arms, safety and the effect on transfusion need. METHODS In this randomized, multicentre, open-label, phase III clinical trial, 60 cancer patients were enrolled. Each patient was randomly assigned (1:1) to receive 12 weeks of oral sucrosomial iron at the dose of 30 mg daily in combination with ESAs or no supplementation to ESA treatment. The endpoint considered for efficacy was the proportion of patients achieving complete hematological response at 12 weeks (increase in Hb > 2 g/dL from baseline, without RBC transfusions in the previous 28 days or achieving Hb ≥ 12 g/dL). RESULTS There was a statistically significant association between oral sucrosomial iron supplementation in combination with ESAs and the achievement of a complete hematological response. This response was achieved within 12 weeks by 31% of patients in the control group and by 52% of patients supplemented with oral sucrosomial iron. A trend of greater response in sucrosomial iron arm was found in both subgroups. No difference was observed about safety and transfusion need. CONCLUSIONS Sucrosomial iron is well tolerated and its combination with ESAs improves the hematological response in cancer patients with chemotherapy-related anemia. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER AND DATE OF REGISTRATION This study has been reviewed by the Institutional Ethics Committee of the IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo Foundation, Pavia, Italy (28/04/2015; prot. N. 20,150,002,059), and by the Institutional Ethics Committee of the other Italian oncological centers involved in this study.

Abstract

BACKGROUND Chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia is common and causes chemotherapy dose reductions or treatment delays, bleeding, and suboptimal oncological outcomes. We aimed to evaluate avatrombopag, a thrombopoietin receptor agonist that increases platelet counts, in patients with non-haematological cancer and platelet counts lower than 50 ×10(9) cells per L. METHODS In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 study, patients aged 18 years or older at 71 hospitals or cancer treatment centres in China, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine, and the USA and with ovarian, bladder, or lung cancer receiving chemotherapy who had severe thrombocytopenia were randomly assigned (2:1) to oral avatrombopag 60 mg or oral placebo once daily given 5 days before and after chemotherapy, with randomisation stratified by number of chemotherapy drugs used. Patients, investigators, and data collectors were masked to group allocation. Eligibility required two previous lines of chemotherapy or fewer, an ECOG performance status of 2 or less, and no previous history of chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia. The composite primary endpoint was the proportion of responders not requiring platelet transfusion or either a 15% or more chemotherapy dose reduction or a 4-day or more chemotherapy delay due to thrombocytopenia following study treatment until the start of the subsequent cycle. Analyses were done on the intention-to-treat and per protocol populations. Safety was analysed in all patients who received at least one dose of avatrombopag. The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03471078, and has been completed. FINDINGS Between Oct 12, 2018, and June 28, 2020, 122 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive avatrombopag (n=82) or placebo (n=40). Median follow-up was 31 days (IQR 22-61). Similar proportions of patients reached the primary endpoint in the avatrombopag and placebo groups (intention-to-treat: 57 [70%, 95% CI 58-79] of 82 vs 29 [73%, 95% CI 56-85] of 40; difference -3·0% (95% CI -21·6 to 15·6); p=0·72; per protocol: 51 [85%, 95% CI 73-93] of 60 vs 27 [84%, 95% CI 67-95] of 32; 0·6% (95% CI -20·8 to 22·1); p=0·96). 15 (18%) of 82 patients had serious adverse events in the avatrombopag group and eight (20%) of 40 in the placebo group, of which thrombocytopenia was most common (4 [5%] of 82 and 4 [10%] of 40 patients). Common grade 3-4 treatment-emergent adverse events were neutropenia (22 [27%] of 82 and 16 [40%] of 40 patients), leukopenia (19 [23%] of 82 and 5 [13%] of 40), anaemia (16 [20%] of 82 and 9 [23%] of 40), and thrombocytopenia (16 [20%] of 82 and 14 [35%] of 40). Most adverse events were considered unrelated to study drug. No treatment-related deaths were reported. INTERPRETATION In this population of patients with non-haematological malignancies who are relatively chemotherapy naive, chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia treatment outcomes were similar between the avatrombopag and placebo groups. Given its safety and ability to augment platelet counts in patients with chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia, evaluation of avatrombopag in populations with more persistent chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia is warranted. FUNDING Dova Pharmaceuticals, a Sobi company.

Abstract

Background: Nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-PTX) has exhibited clinical efficacy in breast cancer treatment, but toxicities can be yielded more at the same time. We did this meta-analysis aiming to unambiguously compare nab-PTX with conventional solvent-based paclitaxel (sb-PTX) in breast cancer patients of all stages. Method: Pubmed, Embase and Cochrane Library were searched for head-to-head randomized controlled trials of nab-PTX and sb-PTX in breast cancer. Risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence interval was used for dichotomous variables while Hazard ratio (HR) was used for time-to-event outcomes. Results: Our review finally included 9 studies with 3508 patients. Nab-PTX showed a benefit on objective response rate (ORR) (RR=1.22 [1.04-1.43], P=0.01) as well as non-inferiority compared with sb-PTX in disease control rate (DCR) (RR=1.01 [0.98-1.04], P=0.44), overall survival (OS) (HR=0.99 [0.93-1.05], P=0.81) and disease free survival/progression free survival (DFS/PFS) (HR=0.92 [0.81-1.05], P=0.21). However, when it comes to toxicities (fatigue, nausea or vomiting, peripheral sensory neuropathy and adverse event related discontinuation), results favored sb-PTX (RR=2.89 [1.07-7.8], 3.15 [1.78-5.59], 2.11 [1.32-3.37], 2.02 [1.61-2.53]; P<0.05). Patients with metastatic tumors or undergoing conventional schedule responses better to nab-PTX than the compared groups (RR of ORR in metastatic vs early or locally advanced patients: 1.46 [1.09-1.96] vs 1.01 [0.94-1.08]; conventional vs dose dense group: 1.59 [1.23-2.06] vs 1.01 [0.91-1.12]). Conclusions: Nab-PTX can improve ORR compared with paclitaxel and should be given priority to when aiming to reduce tumor load in breast cancer. Sb-PTX of dose dense schedule is recommended when toxicity of nab-PTX is hard to bear for breast cancer patients.

Abstract

Allogenic red blood cell transfusions exert a potential detrimental effect on the survival when delivered to cancer patients undergoing surgery with curative intent. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the association between perioperative allogenic red blood cell transfusions and risk of death as well as relapse after surgery for localized solid tumors. PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and EMBASE were searched from inception to March 2019 for studies reporting the outcome of patients receiving transfusions during radical surgery for non-metastatic cancer. Risk of death and relapse were pooled to provide an adjusted hazard ratio with a 95% confidence interval [hazard ratio (HR) (95% confidence interval {CI})]. Mortality and relapse associated with perioperative transfusion due to cancer surgery were evaluated among participants (n = 123 studies). Overall, RBC transfusions were associated with an increased risk of death [HR = 1.50 (95% CI 1.42-1.57), p < 0.01] and relapse [HR = 1.36 (95% CI 1.26-1.46), p < 0.01]. The survival was reduced even in cancer at early stages [HR = 1.45 (1.36-1.55), p < 0.01]. In cancer patients undergoing surgery, red blood cell transfusions reduced the survival and increased the risk of relapse. Transfusions based on patients' blood management policy should be performed by applying a more restrictive policy, and the planned preoperative administration of iron, if necessary, should be pursued.

Abstract

Fanconi anemia, the most frequent genetic cause of bone marrow failure, is characterized by an extreme predilection towards multiple malignancies, including a greater than 500-fold incidence of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) relative to the general population. Fanconi anemia-associated HNSCC and esophageal SCC (FA-HNSCC) often present at advanced stages with poor survival. Surgical resection remains the primary treatment for FA-HNSCC, and there is often great reluctance to administer systemic agents and/or radiation therapy (RT) to these patients given their susceptibility to DNA damage. The paucity of FA-HNSCC case reports limits evidence-based management, and such cases have not been analyzed collectively in detail. We present a systematic review of FA-HNSCC treatments reported from 1966 to 2020, defining a cohort of 119 FA-HNSCC patients including 16 esophageal SCCs (131 total primary tumors), who were treated with surgery, RT, systemic therapy (including cytotoxic agents, EGFR inhibitors, or immune checkpoint inhibitors), or a combination of modalities. We summarize the clinical responses and regimen-associated toxicities by treatment modality. The collective evidence suggests that when possible, surgical resection with curative intent should remain the primary treatment modality for FA-HNSCC. Radiation can be administered with acceptable toxicity in the majority of cases, including patients who have undergone stem cell transplantation (SCT). While there is little justification for cytotoxic chemotherapy, EGFR inhibitors and tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) may be both safe and effective. Immunotherapy may also be considered. Most oncologists have little personal experience with FA-HNSCC. This review is intended as a comprehensive resource for clinicians.

Abstract

BACKGROUND Gastrointestinal bleeding is the most common clinical manifestation of gastrointestinal stromal tumor. It is of great significance to the prognosis of patients. But the results are controversial. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between gastrointestinal bleeding and clinical prognosis in patients with GIST. METHODS A systematic literature search was performed in Pumbed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, ClinicalTrials.gov, CNKI, VIP and wanfang databases with the pattern of unlimited languages. 12 studies with 2781 individuals were included in the final analysis. The overall survival (OS), recurrence-free survival/disease-free survival (RFS/DFS) and related factors affecting bleeding in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) were extracted. Hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used for in the meta-analysis. RESULTS A total of 12 articles were included in the study, including 2781 patients with GIST, including 845 patients with gastrointestinal bleeding. The OS of GIST patients with gastrointestinal bleeding was significantly worse (HR = 2.54, 95% CI = 1.13-5.73, P = 0.025). But there was no significant difference in RFS between gastrointestinal bleeding patients and non-bleeding patients (HR = 1.35, 95% CI = 0.70-2.61, P = 0.371). Further analysis of the related factors of GI bleeding in GIST patients was observed, besides the aging factor (HR = 1.02, 95% CI = 0.69-1.50, P = 0.929), Small intestinal stromal tumor (HR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.41-0.76, P < 0.001), tumor diameter ≥ 5 cm (HR = 2.09, 95% CI = 1.20-3.63, P = 0.009), Mitotic index ≥ 5/50 HPF (HR = 1.66, 95% CI = 1.11-2.49, P = 0.014) and tumor rupture (HR = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.0-3.82, P = 0.026) all increased the risk of GI bleeding in patients with GIST. CONCLUSIONS The OS of GIST patients with GI bleeding was worse than non-GI bleeding, but had no significant effect on RFS. Nevertheless the aging factor, the location of GIST in the small intestine, tumor diameter ≥ 5 cm, Mitotic index ≥ 5/50 HPF and tumor rupture all increased the risk of GI bleeding in patients with GIST.