Memo

Compared to individuals without cancer, patients with a diagnosis of malignancy bear a higher risk of becoming infected with SARS-CoV‑2, suffer more frequently from disease-related complications, and are more likely to die due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Depending on the type of cancer and the treatment received, the immune response to vaccination may also be affected in patients with certain types of malignancy. Therefore, there is a need for more specific COVID-19 vaccination recommendations in individuals with a diagnosis of cancer...

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No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Numerous kinases act as central nodes of cellular signaling networks. As such, many of these enzymes function as molecular switches for coordinating spatiotemporal signal transmission. Typically, it is the compartmentalized phosphorylation of protein substrates which relays the transient input signal to determine decisive physiological cell responses. Genomic alterations affect kinase abundance and/or their activities which contribute to the malignant transformation, progression, and metastasis of human cancers...

This short review reflects on a personal selection of three abstracts on colorectal cancer (CRC) presented at the 2021 ESMO Congress: (1) KRASG12C as a new therapeutic target in metastatic CRC, supported by data from the KRYSTAL‑1 and CodeBreaK101 trials, (2) positive phase 3 data on the possible role of selective internal radiotherapy (SIRT) in the second-line treatment of liver-limited metastatic CRC, and (3) the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on CRC screening, management and mortality, now and in the upcoming years ...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

The congress of the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) that recently took place virtually was marked by highlights in many different cancer types. New therapeutic options especially in metastatic breast cancer will hopefully bring a longer life to thousands of patients all over the world. These include new antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and checkpoint inhibitors as well as cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)4/6 inhibitors prolonging overall survival. In Her2-positive advanced breast cancer trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) compared to trastuzumab emtansine showed a superior benefit in progression-free survival (PFS) in patients who received at least one prior therapy line in the metastatic setting...

The treatment landscape of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has undergone profound change in recent years. Targeted therapies have outnumbered chemotherapy-based treatment approaches demonstrating superior efficacy and tolerability profiles across nearly all CLL patient subgroups in the frontline and relapsed disease treatment setting. Individual selection of these novel agents is rather driven by patients' comorbidities and personal preferences than fitness and age. Given the high amount of currently licensed novel agents in both treatment-naïve as well as relapsed CLL patients and currently limited evidence from comparative clinical trials, clinicians sometimes appear spoilt for choice when selecting optimal therapy...

Introduction: Systemic capillary leak syndrome (SCLS) is a rare and often fatal clinical entity used to describe a generalized increase in vascular permeability leading to fluid extravasation toward the interstitial compartment. SCLS could be an idiopathic disease or secondary to infections, malignancies or drugs. Case: We present a case of presumably granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF)-induced SCLS in a 21-year-old man diagnosed with T‑lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma...

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has put health systems worldwide under great pressure on numerous levels. COVID-19 is a heterogeneous situation where some people experience mild symptoms for which no serious intervention is needed, while others may experience serious situations ranging from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) or even respiratory failure and end organ damage. Serious COVID-19 cases may be complicated with a cytokine storm caused by hemophagocytic lymphohistocytosis, which is a life-threatening situation...

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the malignancy-related clinical course and overall survival, and to determine the factors affecting mortality. Methods: This retrospective study included 77 patients with hematological cancer and COVID-19. Patients were sub-grouped for analysis as survivors and non-survivors. Results: COVID-19 was seen more frequently in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and multiple myeloma (MM) patients...

In the last few years, treatment of patients exhibiting chronic lymphocytic leukaemia has changed extensively due to advances in the development of targeted therapies. The role of immunochemotherapy has been for the most part replace and the guidelines have been modified accordingly. Herein, we give an overview on updated onkopedia guidelines, studded with updates of the landmark studies of the latest American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting. In addition, since still crucial, recommendations concerning coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia patients will be covered...

Despite the ongoing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, results of several pertinent studies in the field of breast cancer (BC) were presented in a virtual format at the 2020 European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress. Early results of the MonarchE trial investigating the addition of the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibitor abemaciclib to standard adjuvant endocrine therapy indicated a lower recurrence rate in the combination group in a high-risk population of patients with early stage hormone receptor (HR)-positive/HER2-negative BC...

In this article we summarize our personal non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) highlights of the virtual ASCO 2020 meeting, covering developments in early and advanced-stage NSCLC. Until recently early stage NSCLC patients were treated independently of their genetic profile. Now the ADAURA study proved that postoperative osimertinib significantly prolongs disease-free survival compared to standard chemotherapy in EGFR-mutated NSCLC , underlining the high efficacy of targeted therapies in early stages. In advanced-stage disease, of course immunotherapy (IO) was at the center of attention...

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has been established in the treatment of hematological malignancies. However, in solid tumors its efficacy remains limited. The aim of this article is to give an overview of the field of cell therapy itself, to introduce the underlying concepts of CAR T cell-based treatment approaches and to address its limitations in advancing the treatment for solid malignancies.

Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is a rare hematological disorder with an autoimmune-mediated, often dramatic reduction of platelets in peripheral blood. Thrombocytopenia results from a reduced life span of thrombocytes and an additionally decreased production in bone marrow. For decades, the first-line therapy for ITP has been corticosteroids. As significant thrombocytopenic bleedings occur, the use of additional medication may be needed. Recent updates on therapy guidelines recommend the shortest possible use of corticosteroids...

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