EUROPEAN ONCOLOGY & HAEMATOLOGY – VOLUME 11 ISSUE 1 – SUMMER 2015

Areader of 20 years ago could have hardly imagined many of the contents of this issue of European Oncology & Haematology. Twenty years ago, chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) was still treated with hydroxyurea, interferon and allogeneic stem cell transplantation, and multiple myeloma with oral low-dose melphalan and prednisone, and autologous stem cell transplantation. Veno-occlusive disease […]

Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has become the standard of care for many haematological malignancies, selected solid tumours and some non-malignant disorders.1 However, it can be associated with serious complications, in particular, veno-occlusive disease (VOD). Approximately 14 % of HSCT patients develop VOD, although incidences of up to 60 % have been reported.2,3 Incidence is […]

Gaucher disease (OMIM #230800) is an inherited deficiency of lysosomal enzyme acid ß-glucosidase (glucocerbrosidase, GBA1; EC 3.2.1.45) due to mutations in the glucocerebrosidase gene, GBA1.1 Genetic mutations affect the enzyme’s catalytic function, intracellular stability or subcellulartrafficking.2–4 Such enzyme deficiency results in the accumulation of glucocerebroside in lysosomes of macrophages (known as Gaucher cells, Figure 1), […]

Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) is a highly curable haematological malignancy with an overall survival (OS) in the early stages of around 90 % with modern first-line therapies.1 In patients being diagnosed in advanced stages, the survival rate for 10-year OS is only above 50 %.2 Despite advances in the treatment of HL, patients having refractory or […]

The overwhelming majority of patients diagnosed with chronic phase chronic myeloid leukaemia (CP-CML) can achieve long-term survival with a good quality of life. In a recent review, it has been suggested that CML patients responsive to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) might become a chronic disease, such as diabetes or hypertension, requiring maintenance treatment.1 If we […]

As the development of BCR-ABL1 targeting treatments has continued, patients with chronic phase chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML‑CP) were shown to have similar survival rates in all age groups to that of general population in the era of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs).1 First, imatinib and subsequently the second-generation TKIs (2GTKIs) (nilotinib and dasatinib) revolutionised the treatment […]

Genomic sequencing has been compared to piecing together a giant biological jigsaw puzzle. It is an arduous, slow process, somewhat prone to error and fraught with technical, practical and ethical complications that make its widespread implementation very challenging for the time being, even in the most advanced healthcare systems. Yet genomic sequencing is simple compared […]

Breast cancer brain metastases (BCBM) represent a devastating event with limited survival upon diagnosis of approximately 6 months. Incidence of symptomatic BCBM ranges from 10 to 46 % during metastatic BC course and in 3–6 % of patients who are treated for early BC.1–7 Although BM cannot be predicted, risk varies according to BC molecular […]

Every year, we receive nearly 12,000 calls to Breast Cancer Care’s Helpline from people affected by breast cancer. Their reasons for calling encompass a broad range of topics, including concerns about symptoms or treatment side effects, making decisions about treatment and how to tell their children about their diagnosis. But one noticeable theme is how […]

Epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs), such as gefitinib, erlotinib or afatinib, are standard of care as first-line treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harbouring EGFR-activating mutations.1 Adverse events associated with gefitinib are well known and include rash, pruritus, diarrhoea, nausea, anorexia, fatigue, derangement of liver function tests and, rarely, interstitial […]

Over the past several decades, two paradigms have emerged in the preoperative treatment of rectal cancer: a short course of radiation therapy (RT) often utilized in centers across Northern Europe and longcourse chemoradiation (CRT) in other parts of Europe and the US. The short-course technique was validated by randomized trials comparing this technique to surgery […]

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable plasma cell disease that comprises 1 % of all cancers and 10 % of hematologic malignancies. It primarily affects older individuals—the median age at the moment of diagnosis is 70 years—and two-thirds of multiple myeloma patients are over 65 years of age when they are first diagnosed. The outcome […]

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are the most common mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Although they have been recognized as a distinct entity for several decades, it has only been over the past 10–15 years that these tumors have been truly studied and further defined by rigorous diagnostic and molecular criteria. Indeed, one might […]