EUROPEAN ONCOLOGY & HAEMATOLOGY – VOLUME 13 ISSUE 1 – SUMMER 2017

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Welcome to the Summer 2017 edition of European Oncology and Haematology. We hope you enjoy our latest publication, which is introduced by Prof Michele Baccarani from our European Editorial Board, who provides an expert overview of some of the content.

We begin this issue with an editorial exploring the current state of cancer care in developing countries; a very important topic at present. This is followed by a consensus paper from Dr Hughes and Dr Saglio, on the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia, and an accompanying editorial from Eskazan. A research paper from Salcedo et al. investigates different biopsy methods for cervical adenocarcinoma in situ. This edition also covers immunotherapy and management of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), adoptive T cell therapy, breast cancer diagnosis, and finally, a case report from Hanousek et al. on plasmacytic post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder.

We hope you find this edition interesting and useful, and we look forward to continuing to provide you with topical content throughout the year.

Ovarian Cancer

Foreword – European Oncology & Haematology, 2017;13(1):

Michele Baccarani

It is not by chance that this issue of European Oncology & Haematology is opened by an editorial from Suhag, dedicated to the oncological scenario in developing countries, warning that there is “little light at the end of the tunnel”. It is not by chance, because almost all the following papers report, and focus, on […]

Editorials

Supportive Cancer Care

Oncological Scenario in Developing Countries – Little Light at the End of Tunnel

Lt Col Virender Suhag, Lt Col Sunita BS, Lt Col Manu Chopra

The incidence and prevalence of most cancers is increasing worldwide because of the aging population, increased prevalence of established risk factors with urbanisation and economic development and changing social and demographic trends including late marriage and fewer child-births. Based on GLOBOCAN and International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) estimates, about 14.1 million new cancer […]

Haematological Malignancies, Leukaemia

The Management of Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML) Patients with Refractory Disease – Focusing on the Opinions of CML-treating Physicians

Ahmet Emre Eskazan

Imatinib (Gleevec®, Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation, New Jersey, US) is a BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that has dramatically improved the outcome of patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia in chronic phase (CML-CP).1 Although most of the patients with CML-CP do well under imatinib, approximately 40% of them stop receiving imatinib due to lack of efficacy and/or […]

Original Research

Haematological Malignancies, Leukaemia

Expert Opinion on the Treatment of Refractory Chronic Phase Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia

Tim Hughes, Giuseppe Saglio

The treatment of patients with chronic phase chronic myeloid leukaemia (CP-CML) has changed dramatically with the advent of the first BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) imatinib (Gleevec®, Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation, New Jersey, US) in the 1990s.1,2 Multiple studies demonstrated the efficacy and acceptable tolerability of imatinib 400 mg daily.3,4 Despite the good cytogenetic and molecular […]

Gynaecological Oncology

Adenocarcinoma in situ of the Cervix – is Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure an Acceptable Alternative to Cold Knife Cone Biopsy?

Mila Pontremoli Salcedo, Anthony Costales, Mark F Munsell

Cervical adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) is recognised as a premalignant glandular condition and is a precursor to invasive cervical adenocarcinoma.1 It usually affects women of childbearing age in which a more conservative approach is preferred.1–3 The incidence of both AIS and adenocarcinoma of the cervix has been increasing, especially among young women.4,5 Cervical conisation, or […]

Review

Immunotherapy

Clinical Development and Manufacture of Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cells and the Role of Leukapheresis

Andrew Fesnak, Una O’Doherty

Advances have been made in the use of genetically enhanced T cell therapy, in particular, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells. Such CAR T cells have been shown to be efficacious in erradicating a number of haematologic malignancies.1–3 CARs are tailored fusion receptors that can combine the specificity of an antigen-specific antibody with numerous downstream […]

Lung Cancer

Immunotherapy and Targeted Therapies in the Treatment of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Tu Nguyen-Ngoc, Martin Reck, Daniel SW Tan

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide1 and remains one of the major therapeutic challenges in oncology. Traditionally, lung cancer is subdivided based on histology: small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have completely different molecular and therapeutic profiles. The most common class is NSCLC, accounting for 85% […]

Lung Cancer

Advancing the Management of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

David F Heigener

In 2015, more than 430,000 people in the US were living with lung cancer and there were around 221,200 new cases of lung cancer. Deaths from lung cancer are estimated to be in the region of 158,040.1 Lung cancer is the most frequent cause of cancer deaths in men globally and, in women, lung cancer […]

Melanoma, Immunotherapy

Combined BRAF and MEK Inhibition with Vemurafenib and Cobimetinib for Patients with Advanced Melanoma

Antonio M Grimaldi, Ester Simeone, Lucia Festino

Metastatic melanoma management has been transformed in the past few years, with the development of new therapeutic options that provide significant survival benefits replacing palliative chemotherapy. One aspect of this advance has been an increased understanding of molecular aberrations in melanoma, in particular, those associated with the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. This has resulted […]

Immunotherapy

Enabling T Cell Recruitment to Tumours as a Strategy for Improving Adoptive T Cell Therapy

Bruno Cadilha, Klara Dorman, Felicitas Rataj

Cancer immunotherapy has come of age and has successfully been implemented as the standard of care in a number of oncologic indications.1 Antibodies targeting cancer-associated antigens on the tumour cell, such as CD20, constituted the first wave of immunotherapies leading to the first approval of an antibody for cancer therapy. In 1997, rituximab, an anti-CD20 […]

Breast Cancer, Diagnostics and Screening

Molecular Diagnostics in Breast Cancer Routine Practice

Natalie D ter Hoeve, Cathy B Moelans, Willemijne AME Schrijver

Adjuvant systemic treatment of breast cancer is moving away from the limited portfolio of traditional hormonal drugs and chemotherapy, towards a gamma of novel anti-hormonal and chemotherapeutic drugs, immunotherapeutic approaches and small molecules. All these therapeutic approaches are unfortunately effective in a limited number of patients and are often associated with high costs and significant […]

Case Report

Haematological Malignancies, Lymphoma

Plasmacytic Post-transplant Lymphoproliferative Disorder – Case Report

Jiri Hanousek, Jakub Radocha, Ondrej Soucek

Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) is a severe complication of haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Most of the PTLDs originate from B-cells. Overall, 60–80% of PTLDs are associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV); this can vary depending on PTLD type and time of onset after HSCT.1,2 The majority of the general population is infected by EBV during their […]