Nuno Bonito

Bone metastases: an overview

Bone is a frequent site of metastases and typically indicates a short-term prognosis in cancer patients. Once cancer has spread to the bones it can rarely be cured, but often it can still be treated to slow its growth. The majority of skeletal metastases are due to breast and prostate cancer. Bone metastasis is actually much more common than primary bone cancers, especially in adults. The diagnosis is based on signs, symptoms and imaging. New classes of drugs and new interventions are given a better quality of life to these patients and improved the expectancy of life. It is necessary a multidisciplinary approach to treat patients with bone metastasis. In this paper we review the types, clinical approach and treatment of bone metastases.

Primary non-Hodgkin lymphoma and invasive ductal carcinoma in the same breast: a rare case report

Primary lymphoma of the breast is an unusual clinical entity. The coexistence in the same breast of an invasive ductal carcinoma is even rarer. We report a 69-year-old woman referred for further evaluation of a palpable mass in her right breast. She was diagnosed and treated for simultaneous primary lymphoma and invasive ductal carcinoma. Primary breast lymphoma should always be considered in the differential diagnosis of breast masses. The presence of both malignancies presents a challenge in treatment decisions.

Association between bevacizumab-related hypertension and response to treatment in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Background Bevacizumab has become standard of care as first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), after proving increased response rates and improvement in survival outcomes. Hypertension (HTN) is a common complication of the treatment with bevacizumab and, owing to its close relation with antiangiogenic mechanism, may represent a clinical biomarker to predict the efficacy of the treatment. The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate if HTN grades 2 to 3 were correlated with response to treatment with bevacizumab in first line, as well as with improved progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), in a series of patients with mCRC. Methods Retrospective evaluation of clinical records of patients with histologically proven mCRC, treated with bevacizumab as first-line treatment, between January 2008 and December 2013. Results 79 patients were evaluated. 51.9% of patients developed HTN G2-G3 during chemotherapy-bevacizumab treatment. In the group of patients who developed bevacizumab-related HTN, 73.2% showed response to treatment (complete response (CR)+ partial response (PR)) and 97.6% achieved disease control (CR, PR or stable disease) compared to 18.4% of patients with response and 63.2% with disease control in the group that did not (OR 12.08; 95% CI 4.13 to 35.29; p<0.001 responders vs non-responders; OR 20.8; 95% CI 2.56 to 168.91; p 0.005 controlled vs non controlled disease). The median OS was 28 months (22.7–33.3). Significant statistical difference was obtained in PFS between the two groups (p<0.001). In the group that developed bevacizumab-related HTN, the median OS was 33 months (25.7–40.3), and in the group that did not, it was 21 months (16.5–25.5) with no significant statistical difference between the two groups (p 0.114). Conclusions In this subset of patients, HTN G2-3 was predictive of response to treatment with bevacizumab and of PFS but not of OS.

Antimicrobial therapy in palliative care: an overview

In the advanced stages of illness, patients often face challenging decisions regarding their treatment and overall medical care. Terminal ill patients are commonly affected by infections. However, in palliative care, the use of antimicrobials can be an ethical dilemma. Deciding whether to treat, withhold, or withdraw the antimicrobial treatment for an infection can be difficult. Antimicrobial administration can lead to adverse outcomes but the two main benefits, longer survival and symptom relief, are the main reasons why physicians prescribe antimicrobial when treating terminally ill patients. For the patient who has an irreversible advanced heart or lung disease, or an advanced dementia, or a metastatic cancer, it is easier the decision of withholding mechanical ventilation, tube feeding, and dialysis than antibiotherapy. To characterize infections, agents, and their treatments in palliative care, we conducted a review of the literature. We also included some tips to help health professionals to guide their clinical approach.