Introduction Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a rare malignancy with unique geographical distribution. It is prevalent in East and Southeast Asia and rare in non-endemic countries like the USA. P16 is a tumor suppressor gene and there are limited studies with inconsistent results describing the association of its positivity in immunohistochemistry and clinical outcomes. In this retrospective study, we compared progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) based on p16 positivity in 60 patients with NPC. Materials and methods Patients aged above 18 years and followed between July 2015 and December 2020 were included in the study. P16 positivity was based on the immunohistochemistry of the biopsy sample. We compared PFS and OS among all p16-positive and negative patients, and then among patients with advanced disease (stage III or IV), and between p16-positive, negative, and unknown status patients. Results There were 15 p16-positive, and 28 p16-negative, with a median age of 54.3 years and 55.7 years respectively. Most patients in both groups were male, Caucasian, and had advanced disease (stage III or stage IV). Both median PFS (p=0.838) and OS (p=0.776) were 84 months in the p16-negative group but were not reached during the study period in the p16-positive group. Among advanced-stage patients, the PFS (p=0.873), and OS (p=0.773) of both groups were not statistically significant. P16 status was unknown for 17 patients, and PFS (p=0.785) and OS (p=0.901), when compared among patients with p16-positive, negative, and unknown status, were also statistically non-significant. Discussion and conclusion Our analysis suggests that p16 status does not predict clinical outcomes in NPC patients. Our sample size was limited but is larger than most studies describing this association. With different studies in the literature reporting disparate findings, we recommend larger prospective studies to better illustrate the impact of p16 positivity on clinical outcomes in NPC.
Introduction: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the predominant type of leukemia diagnosed in children and accounts for approximately 20% of all cases of acute leukemia in adults. In pediatric cases, ALL generally exhibits a favorable prognosis and outcome. Unfortunately, this optimistic scenario does not extend to adults, as the majority of deaths related to ALL occur in this age group. The outcomes observed in children with ALL are linked to the favorable cytogenetic profile of their leukemia. However, as individuals age, the cytogenetic profile progressively shifts towards high-risk groups. Furthermore, several epidemiologic studies have identified ethnicity, specifically Hispanic and African American backgrounds, as independent factors associated with worse outcomes. The factors contributing to these outcomes are diverse and include limited healthcare access, insurance coverage, immigration status, treatment adherence, socioeconomic status, and timeliness of treatment initiation, among others. Additionally, individuals of Hispanic ethnicity are more prone to complex cytogenetics and Central Nervous System involvement, both of which are commonly associated with a poor prognosis. Our study aimed to assess the differences in treatment outcomes among adults diagnosed with ALL by conducting a specific comparison between non-Hispanic and Hispanic individuals. Methods: In this retrospective observational study, we collected data from the electronic medical records (EMR) of patients aged 18 years and older who received a diagnosis of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia between February 1, 2011, and February 28, 2020 at Ascension Seton Hospitals in Texas. The collected data included sociodemographic factors such as gender, ethnicity, and age at diagnosis, as well as clinical characteristics such as cytogenetics, immunophenotype, treatment, and overall survival. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted using a chi-squared test. Statistical significance was defined as a P-value less than 0.05. Results: A total of 56 patients with ALL were identified, with 45% being non-Hispanic and 55% being Hispanic. The incidence of ALL did not show significant variation based on gender or age, but it exhibited a significant difference depending on insurance status. The analysis revealed that Hispanic patients had a significantly higher likelihood of lacking insurance coverage (75%) compared to non-Hispanic patients (25%), with a statistically significant p-value of 0.001. With the exception of one non-Hispanic patient diagnosed with T-cell ALL, almost all participants in the study had B-cell ALL. Among the patients who received chemotherapy, 44% were non-Hispanic, while 56% were Hispanic. Among patients with t(9;22)/BCR-ABL1 positive ALL, non-Hispanics represented 76% and Hispanics represented 23%. Other cytogenetic abnormalities, including CRLF2-IGH fusion, IgH rearrangement, CRLF2 rearrangement, PBX1/TCF3 fusion, t(1;19) with PBX1/TCF3 fusion, ETV6 deletion, near haploidy, and 9p deletion, were more prevalent in Hispanic patients (79%) compared to non-Hispanic patients (21%). The overall survival rates at 1 year were 64% for non-Hispanic patients and 67.7% for Hispanic patients. However, at 3 years, the overall survival rates decreased to 32% for non-Hispanic patients and 25.8% for Hispanic patients. Conclusions: Our study provides important insights into the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with ALL and highlights notable disparities between non-Hispanic and Hispanic patients. A higher proportion of Hispanic patients lacked any form of health insurance coverage at the time of diagnosis. Interestingly, the incidence of Philadelphia-positive ALL was found to be higher among non-Hispanic patients, whereas other cytogenetic abnormalities were more prevalent among Hispanic patients. Additionally, Hispanic patients experienced lower rates of overall survival at 3 years, suggesting potential disparities in outcomes. The differences observed between Hispanic and non-Hispanic patients highlight the necessity for additional investigation and tailored interventions to address the specific challenges faced by Hispanic patients, including access to healthcare, insurance coverage, and the prevalence of unfavorable cytogenetic abnormalities.
Nuclear carcinoma of the testis (NUT) midline carcinoma are rare, poorly differentiated tumors resulting from t(15; 19) rearrangement, clinically characterized by aggressive and rapid progression to death. No optimal treatment regimen has been established for this rare malignancy. Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation have been used for treatment alone or in combination, depending on location and staging of the disease, and may confer short periods of remission; however, re-emergence of the disease inevitably occurs. Targeted therapies such as bromodomain and extra-terminal domain protein (BET) inhibitors are currently in early phases of clinical trials. Here we describe a 49-year-old-male with no comorbidities who presented with acute worsening of chronic cough, new onset hemoptysis and left sided chest pain for 2 weeks. Workup revealed stage IIIB NUT midline carcinoma (NMC) of the lung with next-generation sequencing confirming the presence of a NUTM1-BRD4 fusion. The tumor was unresectable, and he began concurrent chemoradiation with weekly carboplatin and paclitaxel for 5 weeks. The follow-up CT scan showed partial response, so maintenance was continued with durvalumab. Two months later, he presented with metastasis to the posterior muscle compartment of the left arm, which was treated with local radiotherapy. Four months later he developed progression of lung disease with multiple pulmonary nodules. Durvalumab was discontinued and he was prescribed the BET inhibitor molibresib, 120 mg daily. After nearly 3 months of treatment with molibresib, he presented with brain metastasis for which he had a craniotomy with tumor resection and gamma knife radiation to solitary metastatic lesions. He was then prescribed chemo-immunotherapy with carboplatin plus pemetrexed and pembrolizumab. After two cycles of treatment his disease progressed, and he succumbed to it. Total survival was 18 months. In conclusion, NUT midline lung carcinoma is a rare but aggressive malignancy and patients have limited treatment options especially in advanced stages. Few targeted therapies have shown promising results in early clinical trials but more treatment options are awaited.
Introduction Sickle trait (Hb SA) or sickle disease (Hb SS) carries increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Hb SS patients are young and lack common comorbid conditions that qualify them for VTE prophylaxis (VTEP). Methods Retrospective, multicenter analysis of Hb SS/Hb SA adult patients between January 2013 and December 2018. Results There were 803 Hb SA (525 patients) and 1020 Hb SS admissions (262 patients). VTEP use was similar between Hb SA and controls (42% vs. 46%; p-value = .06) and Hb SS and controls (45% vs. 42%; p-value = .13). Hb SS/Hb SA patients more frequently received more than half of prescribed doses of VTEP. In multivariate analysis, increasing age and longer hospitalizations were positive predictors. Odds of VTEP use varied with treatment site for Hb SS patients, whereas comorbid conditions, admission hemoglobin and platelet count were not predictive. By contrast, in Hb SA patients, comorbid conditions, higher admission hemoglobin, and higher admission platelet counts raised the odds of VTEP being offered. Conclusions VTEP is underused in Hb SS/Hb SA patients. There may be a trend toward offering more VTEP in Hb SS disease, but not in Hb SA patients, where VTEP prescribing is driven by comorbid conditions rather than genotype. Patient compliance does not appear to play a major role, but intercenter variability suggests provider education may improve VTEP use.
Sickle cell disease is one of the most common inherited hemoglobinopathies diagnosed in the United States. Patients often present with severe anemia, pain crises, infections, and vaso-occlusive phenomena. Complications of these disorders can lead to significant debilitating morbidity and mortality. Fat embolism syndrome (FES) is a rare and devastating complication of sickle cell disease. It usually presents with a rapidly deteriorating clinical course, and the prognosis is dismal. We report a case of FES in a 19-year-old African American male with a history of sickle cell disease who presented with tonic-clonic seizures and was found to have multi-organ failure. FES was diagnosed 20 days from a presentation based on blood cytopenias and magnetic resonance imaging findings that were obscured at the initial presentation. We describe in this report, the patient's course from presentation until diagnosis and resolution. Our case is peculiar as the patient had a very good outcome without the need for red blood cell (RBC) exchange; instead, supportive treatment and simple RBC transfusions were enough to change the clinical course of this almost fatal syndrome.
Introduction Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have significant advantages over vitamin K antagonists in the treatment of venous thromboembolism and as prophylaxis against recurrence. However, there is inadequate data to support the safety and efficacy of DOACs in the morbidly obese, and warfarin treatment is currently recommended by the International Society of Hemostasis and Thrombosis for this population. Materials and Methods We performed a retrospective review of outcomes in 499 patients with BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2 admitted from January 2013 to January 2020 with acute venous thromboembolism (VTE) and treated with either rivaroxaban (n=296) or apixaban (n=203). Results There were 38 (7.6%) bleeding and clotting events within 60 days of the initiation of DOACs, of which 35 (7.0%) were bleeding events and 3 (0.6%) were clotting events. Patients treated with rivaroxaban had more bleeding episodes (23, 7.8% vs. 12, 5.9%) and higher mortality (21, 7.1% vs. 13, 6.4%) compared with those treated with apixaban; however, these differences were not statistically significant (p=.427 and p=.764, respectively). Most of the bleeding occurred in the genitourinary and gastrointestinal tracts. Conclusions Our study indicates that apixaban and rivaroxaban are not associated with an increase in VTE recurrence in the morbidly obese; however, bleeding rates were slightly higher in the rivaroxaban group compared to the apixaban group.
We present a case of a woman in her early 60s with multiple myeloma who, while undergoing treatment with cyclophosphamide, bortezomib and dexamethasone (CyBorD), noticed a whitish nodular swelling on the eyelid. This occurred after one cycle of CyBorD and on subsequent treatment, it also involved the contralateral eyelid. The lesions were initially managed with conservative measures by applying warm compresses, but the lesions progressively increased in size. CyBorD was discontinued and topical antibiotics and anti-inflammatories were initiated, resulting in a decrease in size of the lesions. On resolution of symptoms, she was rechallenged with CyBorD, and symptoms did not recur. The temporal relationship between bortezomib and the development of chalazion is based on connection and no association has been proven.
In sickle cell disease (SCD), kidney related morbidity and mortality are significant, with ~80% of patients displaying signs of chronic kidney disease (CKD) by age 401 and kidney related mortality being the third leading cause of death (16.4%)2. Children with SCD are also prone to kidney disease with 20% of 12 years-old displaying microalbuminuria4 and enuresis and hyposthenuria commonly observed in infants4. Current clinical guidelines are insufficient as they ignore pediatric disease until the development of late signs like proteinuria or large drops in eGFR have occurred5. A major limitation in the assessment of kidney disease in children with SCD is the incomplete understanding of disease progression and the lack of suitable biomarkers to discriminate health and disease. Serum creatinine based eGFR is the most common biomarker of kidney function but is poorly validated and relatively insensitive in SCD patients due low muscle mass and hyperfiltration6. Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) offers a non-invasive alternative to blood based biomarkers. POCUS has proven clinical utility in decreasing primary and secondary stroke7. Additionally, POCUS technology now offers compact, cartless systems, with tablet and smartphone compatibility, multiprobe functionality in a single probe and an economical price point (<3000$)8. Therefore, the goals of this study were two-fold. 1) Determine the feasibility of renal assessment using compact POCUS in children with SCD in a clinical setting. 2) Establish normative values for possible compact POCUS biomarkers that could supplement existing biomarkers of kidney disease in SCD. Methods: Studies were performed with informed consent under an IRB approved protocol. 18 patients with SCD were recruited during their routine clinical visit to undergo a 10-20 minute ultrasound examination. All POCUS exams were performed in supine position, on the right kidney by an experienced imaging researcher (AB, +10 years). Images were acquired with a Butterfly IQ+ (Burlington, MA, USA) system and an Apple Smartphone (Cupertino, CA, USA). The abdominal preset and B-mode imaging was used to determine the long axis renal length and echogenicity of the renal/liver parenchyma. The cardiac preset, pulsed Doppler mode was used to determine the peak systolic velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV) and resistive index (RI = (PSV-EDV)/PSV) of the main right renal artery. Images were saved to a cloud based, HIPPA protected database, downloaded to a local workstation and processed using custom MATLAB scripts. An angle correction of 1/cos(60°) was applied to the uncorrected velocity values. Results: Renal length and serum creatinine was measured in 18 patients with SCD (3 HbSC, 15 HbSS) and pulsed Doppler estimates were obtained in 14 of 18 subjects (hemoglobin 9.9±2.3,12 male). The average renal length was 8.7±1.3 cms and serum creatinine was 0.69±0.16 and showed a statistically significant increase with respect to age (Figure 1). The average angle corrected main renal artery PSV was 74.5±64.4 cm/s and RI was 0.49±0.33 and both decreased with respect to age (Figure 1). The average echogenicity ratio between kidney and liver parenchyma was 0.64±0.14 and was uncorrelated with age. Discussion: This work demonstrates that high quality structural and hemodynamic images can be acquired with low cost, compact POCUS in a clinical setting. The age dependent increase in serum creatinine9 and kidney length10 were in good agreement with prior cart-based sonography work in healthy children. Conversely, the age dependent drop in main renal artery PSV and RI was in opposition to work in healthy children that showed no change11 or an increase with age12. The clinical significance of abnormally elevated velocity in young children with SCD and its impact on the development of sickle nephropathy should be studied in more detail. Future work comparing cross-sectional and longitudinal variability in compact POCUS and physiologic biomarkers of kidney function in both pediatric and adult subjects with and without SCD is ongoing. References: 1) Guasch et al. 2006 2) Powars et al. 2005 3) Aygun et al. 2011 4) Mcpherson et al. 2011 5)Liem et al. 2019 6) Asnani et al. 2013 7) Adams et al. 2005 8) Lee et al. 2020 9) Liu et al 2019 10) Rosenbaum et al. 1984 11) Grunert et al. 1990 12) Deeg et al. 2003 13) Cutajar et al. 2010 Figure 1View largeDownload PPTFigure 1View largeDownload PPT Close modal
Sarcomatoid differentiation is a rare and aggressive histologic subtype with poor prognosis, seen in several malignancies. In sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma (RCC), the degree of sarcomatoid differentiation and the stage at presentation determines the prognosis. Despite resection, chemotherapy and targeted therapy response is modest, with relapse usually occurring within a few months. We present a case of a gentleman with sarcomatoid RCC managed with pembrolizumab, who has had no evidence of recurrence for over 4 years since the last dose of immunotherapy. RCCs with sarcomatoid differentiation have a high presence of programmed cell death protein 1 and programmed cell death ligand 1 in T cells and tumor cells, respectively, making immunotherapy an attractive option in this setting. Clinical trials are ongoing to further define the benefit of immunotherapy in sarcomatoid RCC.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2021 The Authors. eJHaem published by British Society for Haematology and JohnWiley & Sons Ltd. exertion and at rest. His symptoms had progressively worsened for the past 3 months with associated right-sided headaches relieved with NSAIDS, epigastric pain and an episode of black stool. He drinks alcohol socially and denied use of nitrous oxide. His vital signs were stable, and examination was benign with no rash, hepatosplenomegaly
Background Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited disorder of red blood cell (RBC) caused by a mutation in the beta-globin gene resulting in abnormal hemoglobin known as hemoglobin S (HbS) or the sickle hemoglobin. Several clinical variants of SCD have been elucidated, all driven by two fundamental pathophysiologic processes: RBC hemolysis and intermittent vaso-occlusive vasculopathy resulting in tissue ischemia/infarction. These two processes underscore the many complications and eventual multi-organ damage that may develop in patients with the most severe types of SCD. Cardiopulmonary complications including heart failure, pulmonary hypertension and acute chest syndrome (ACS) are major drivers of morbidity and mortality among patients with SCD. With regards to ACS, patients often present with fever, cough and shortness of breath caused by vaso-occlusive crisis affecting the lungs. This is particular concerning in view of its similar features to symptomatic COVID-19 infection. Methods We retrospectively identified SCD patients with COVID-19 infection admitted to Beaumont hospitals in Michigan between March 1st 2020 and July 1st 2020. Data was abstracted using the ICD 10 code of U07. 1 for COVID-19, ICD 9 and 10 codes of 282.60 and D57 for sickle cell disease. We excluded patients with sickle cell trait. Data regarding the demographics, presentation, management and outcomes were abstracted. Results A total of eleven patients with sickle cell disease were identified as having a positive SARS-Cov19 polymerase chain reaction test (Table I). All were African American and predominantly female (64%) with a mean age of 44 (22-60) years and mean BMI of 30.2 kg/m2. Genotypes identified were HbSS in 5 (45%) patients, HbSC in 4 (36%), HbS/beta-thalassemia in 1 (9%) and HbS/alpha-thalassemia in 1 (9%). All of the patients had seen a haematologist since their diagnosis but none of the patients were on hydroxyurea, voxeloter, L-glutamine or crizanlizumab at admission. The predominant clinical presentation was fever, chest pain, chills, exertional shortness of breath and cough but this was not consistent across all patients. All the patients were managed with intravenous hydration, pain management as well as hydroxychloroquine/azithromycin per institutional guideline at that time. Three patients (cases 1-3) had recurrent visits to the hospital for similar symptoms and new bone pain crises. Case 1 had a pulmonary embolus which was evident on re-admission. Two patients (cases 3 and 10) succumbed to COVID-19. Two patients (cases 5 and 7) presented with bone pain crisis and no respiratory symptoms, but chest imaging was suggestive of COVID-19 infection necessitating treatment with antibiotics, possibly indicating that the virus can trigger vaso-occlusive crises without respiratory symptoms. Case 8 had a high Charlson comorbidity index and age over 60, had the lengthiest hospital stay complicated by renal failure and polyneuropathy, and was discharged to a long-term acute care facility: an outcome which is consistent with current data showing that the elderly and unfit patients are more likely to have a higher morbidity and mortality with COVID-19. Conclusion To date, there no compelling evidence to provide guidelines for the management of SCD patients with COVID-19. However, following existing recommendations in managing acute chest syndrome and those for COVID-19 symptomatic infection, is a good place to start. We continue to seek to improve management of these patients as new evidence of successful treatment emerges, and also encourage patients to participate in clinical trials. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
We report a case of extranodal mantle cell lymphoma of the testis in a 72-year-old Caucasian man who presented to his physician’s office with rapidly enlarging left testicular mass and skin lesions which were subsequently biopsy-proven to be mantle cell lymphoma. We discuss the clinicopathological features and current management in relapsed and refractory settings of this rare presentation of mantle cell lymphoma.
Plasma cell leukemia is rare and could be life-threatening. Even rarer and equally life-threatening is cryoglobulinemia. Both of them occurring together paints a grim clinical picture. We present the case of a 63-year-old male with plasma cell leukemia complicated by cryoglobulinemia with skin lesions. The report briefly reviews the clinical and diagnostic characteristics of plasma cell leukemia and well as available treatment options. It also highlights the need to consider non-chemotherapy-based regimens and clinical trials in the care of plasma cell leukemia patients.
Haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rare condition of uncontrolled immune activation as a result of an inherited genetic defect or in response to malignancy, autoimmune disease, rheumatological disease, AIDS infection or post-transplant immunosuppression. Described here is the case of a 19-year-old Caucasian man who presented with complaints of worsening fever, new-onset jaundice and lethargy after failing treatment for suspected infectious mononucleosis. Physical examination was significant for fever and splenomegaly while laboratory results revealed transaminitis, cytopaenia, indirect hyperbilirubinaemia and elevated ferritin, raising the likelihood of both autoimmune haemolytic anaemia and HLH. He tested positive for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and bone marrow biopsy revealed hypercellular marrow with haemophagocytosis and no evidence of malignancy. High dose steroids were initiated with significant improvement in haemoglobin, resulting in a final diagnosis of HLH secondary to acute EBV infection. The patient was discharged on continued high-dose prednisone with planned taper and consideration of outpatient rituximab therapy for 4 weeks. High clinical suspicion and prompt evaluation were critical to early treatment and decreased morbidity.
Background: Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer mortality in the US. The use of precision medicine in the past 10 years has significantly changed the therapeutic landscape of lung cancer. Management of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has transitioned from a chemotherapeutic approach to targeted treatments and immunotherapeutic agents. Several tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have been approved for patients with targeted mutations while patients who do not have driver mutations; immunotherapy has been recently approved as frontline therapy, which has resulted in marked improvement in overall survival and added a new tool in our armamentarium. Aims: The purpose of this review is to highlight recent advancements in diagnostic approach and management strategies in patients with metastatic NSCLC. Materials and methods: Published studies included in Medline (via PubMed) and National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines were reviewed for data gathering. Conclusion: The use of next generation sequencing has significantly changed our understanding of molecular oncogenic mechanisms of lung cancer. These advancements have created a paradigm shift in the treatment strategies of metastatic lung cancer from primarily chemotherapeutic approach to increasing use of targeted therapies and immune check point inhibitors (ICI) leading to better survival rates and lesser toxicity.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. While patients with COVID-19 most frequently present with pneumonia, respiratory failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome, increasing cases of immune-mediated disorders such as autoimmune thrombocytopenia, haemolytic anaemia and antiphospholipid syndrome have been reported. In this article we describe a rare case of cold agglutinin syndrome (CAS) in a patient with COVID-19. The patient was a 77-year-old man with a history of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency who presented with COVID-19 infection and acute respiratory failure. Initially he was started on intravenous steroids, antibiotics and hydroxychloroquine. Laboratory analysis revealed haemolytic anaemia with a positive direct anti-globulin test (DAT) and high titres of cold agglutinins. Hydroxychloroquine was stopped due to suspicion of haemolysis due to G6PD deficiency but the haemolysis persisted. Unfortunately, the respiratory failure progressed and the patient died. In summary, this article describes a rare case of CAS associated with COVID-19. CAS is a heterogenous group of cold autoimmune haemolytic anaemias occurring secondary to infections or malignancies. No definite treatment for CAS in COVID-19 patients has been approved so far.LEARNING POINTS:Autoimmune haemolytic anaemia has been reported in COVID-19 patients.Cold agglutinin syndrome (CAS) can occur in patients with COVID-19.Efforts to determine the optimal management of CAS in COVID-19 patients must continue.
Abstract Background: Male breast cancer is rare accounting for less than 0.5% of all cancer diagnoses in men. Previous epidemiological studies reported conflicting results regarding the prognosis of male breast cancer in comparison to female breast cancer. As treatment for breast cancer has improved significantly, we conducted this study to evaluate male breast cancer characteristics and mortality. Methods: All patients diagnosed with breast cancer between 2010 and 2015 from the population-based cancer registries of the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results program (SEER) were analyzed. Descriptive statistics, Kaplan-Meier analysis and COX regression model were used to examine the data. Results: A total of 380,116 cases of breast cancer were found including 2,978 cases of male breast cancer. The age-adjusted incidence rate for male breast cancer during the study period was 1.2 per 100,000 individuals per year which is slightly higher than the rate during the 10 years period preceding our study date (1.1 per 100,000 per year). Out of all male breast cancer patients, 80.7% of them were white, 14.6% black and 4.7% from other races. The median age of diagnosis was 68. 34% of male breast cancer patients were diagnosed with stage I, 41.6% with stage II, 16.2% with stage III and 8.2% with stage IV. 97% of male breast cancer cases were ER/PR positive and 11.9% were HER2 positive. 5-year survival rate for male breast cancer patients was 90% for stage I, 86% for stage II, 78% for stage III and 28% for stage IV. Cox proportional-hazards model revealed a slight increase in mortality associated with male breast cancer in comparison to female breast cancer (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.15; 95% confidence interval, 1.06 to 1.24; P<0.01). Conclusions: Male breast cancer represents less than 1% of breast cancer cases. Its age-adjusted incidence rate has slightly increased. It is mostly diagnosed as early stage with positive hormone receptors status. After controlling for other risk factors, male breast cancer patients have a worse survival outcome than female patients. Citation Format: John Khoury, Nwabundo Anusim, David Macari, Ishmael Jaiyesimi. Demographics and survival in male breast cancer: An updated analysis of SEER database [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2019 Dec 10-14; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-17-07.
A 28-year-old primigravida was evaluated for complaints of difficulty urinating and pelvic pain of 6-weeks duration. She denied fever, night sweats, weight loss or fatigue. Pelvic ultrasonography revealed a single fetal pole with cardiac activity and a 7 cm mass in the anterior vagina which encased the urethra. The diagnosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma germinal centre type was made on analysis of biopsied pelvic mass. Whole body MRI revealed the disease was limited to the vagina. The patient received six cycles of Rituximab-cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone with significant improvement in her symptoms. Serial ultrasounds over the subsequent months showed appropriate development of the fetus. Whole body MRI after treatment showed decreased size and decreased signal of the primary pelvic mass compatible with favourable treatment response. Challenges in the management of this rare presentation of lymphoma are discussed.
Introduction COVID-19 in patients with hematologic malignancies are poorly characterized. Theoretically, it is believed that patients with malignancies having a significant chance of succumbing to COVID-19 due to the immunosuppression from the disease and myelosuppression from the cancer therapy compared to their counterparts without malignancies. However, there is scant evidence to support this claim. Here we analyze the outcomes of patients with hematologic malignancies and COVID-19. Methods This is a retrospective review of all patients with hematologic malignancies with confirmed COVID-19 admitted to any one of the Beaumont hospitals in Michigan between March 1st,2020 and July 1st ,2020. Data regarding the demographics, cancer diagnosis and management, covid-19 management and outcomes were abstracted. Results A total of 32 patients with hematologic malignancies were identified. Of these 32 patients, five patients also had solid malignancies. Median age was 70.5 years (22-91 years) with patients being predominantly female 18 (56 %) and Caucasians 16 (50%). Median BMI was 26.5 kg/m2 (15-79 kg/m2). The most prevalent hematologic malignancies were Chronic/Small Lymphocytic lymphoma 7(25%) and Multiple Myeloma 6(19%). The median length of stay in the hospital was 9 days (2-61days). Twelve patients were on active therapy prior to COVID-19 diagnosis. Therapies administered include radiation, surgery, anti-CD30 antibody drug conjugate, immunomodulatory agents, proteasome inhibitors, Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors, steroids and chemotherapy. These agents were held at the time of diagnosis of COVID-19 Twenty two patients (69%) patients received a combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin which were standard of care at that time. A total of 31 (97%) patients were on anticoagulation of which 14 (45%) were on therapeutic doses while 17 (55%) were on prophylactic dose. Four (13%) of the patients were admitted in the ICU. A total of 6 deaths were reported and the median age was 83 years (66-91 years). Four deaths were attributed to COVID-19. Two non-COVID-19 deaths were as a result of aspiration pneumonia and hospital acquired pneumonia. Only one patient with COVID-19 received treatment for malignancy (surgical cytoreduction) but succumbed to COVID-19 four days later. All patients who died received a combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin. Conclusion Our study, though limited by sample size, shows that about a third of patients received treatment for their hematologic malignancies around the time of COVID-19 diagnosis and only one death was reported. Patients are currently being advised to participate in clinical trials to better evaluate outcomes while on treatment for hematologic malignancies. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.