Ranjit R Nair Md

Immunotherapy-Associated Hemolytic Anemia with Pure Red-Cell Aplasia

The authors report a case of immunotherapy-associated autoimmune hemolytic anemia with pure red-cell aplasia in a patient receiving the anti–PD-1 antibody pembrolizumab for therapy of mucosal malig...

Lactic Acidosis: A Rare Oncological Emergency in Solid Tumors at Presentation.

Lactic acidosis is a potentially life-threatening complication characterized by accumulation of blood lactate resulting in low arterial pH. The majority of lactic acidosis in malignancies are reported in association with hematologic malignancies. It may result from an imbalance between lactate production and hepatic lactate utilization, but the exact pathophysiology is far more complex than what we can fathom from current micromolecular studies. We report a case of a 71-year-old male with metastatic lung cancer presenting with fatal lactic acidosis in the absence of liver involvement. Review of the literature reveals only 27 reported cases of solid tumors presenting with lactic acidosis, of which nearly all of them had extensive liver metastasis. Patients were treated with aggressive fluid resuscitation, bicarbonate administration and hemodialysis, but the only effective treatment modality was early aggressive chemotherapy initiation.

Flame Cell in IgA Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance.

![Figure][1] A 56-year-old diabetic woman presented with significant proteinuria. Serum protein electrophoresis demonstrated an elevated α2 region. Immunofixation confirmed immunoglobulin A-λ (IgA-λ) monoclonal protein (unquantifiable). The serum IgA level was 763 mg/dL (normal range, 83-

Dramatic Response to Concurrent Anti-PD-1 Therapy and Radiation in Resistant Tumors with Sarcomatoid Differentiation.

A substantial fraction of patients demonstrate resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors, which limits their use. Use of radiation concurrently with checkpoint inhibitors has been shown to boost immune responsiveness, resulting in significant tumor regression in patients with metastatic melanoma. However, it is unknown whether radiation could play a role in reversing the inherent resistance to checkpoint inhibition in certain tumor types. Most trials testing this concurrent approach exclude such modestly responsive tumors and pursue checkpoint inhibition using anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 antibody (anti-CTLA-4, ipilimumab). The efficacy of anti-programmed-death-1 (anti-PD-1) therapy when used concurrently with radiation is less known but remains an attractive option due to less autoimmune toxicity compared with CTLA-4 inhibition. In this first reported experience, we have safely and effectively combined anti-PD-1 therapy (nivolumab) concurrently with radiation to treat two patients with relapsed sarcomatoid renal carcinoma and heavily pretreated pleomorphic sarcoma. Both patients experienced a dramatic response that was durable.

Rituximab-Induced Splenic Rupture and Cytokine Release.

Patient: Female, 55 Final Diagnosis: Mantle cell lymphoma Symptoms: Cytokine release syndrome • hypoglycemia • hypotension • splenic rupture • splenomegaly • vision loss Medication: — Clinical Procedure: Case Report Specialty: Oncology Objective: Unusual clinical course Background: Rituximab is a therapeutic monoclonal antibody that is used for many different lymphomas. Post-marketing surveillance has revealed that the risk of fatal reaction with rituximab use is extremely low. Splenic rupture and cytokine release syndrome are rare fatal adverse events related to the use of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, especially in aggressive malignancies with high tumor burden. Case Report: A 55-year-old woman presented with abdominal pain and type B symptoms and was diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma. Initial peripheral blood flow cytometry showed findings that mimicked features of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Further treatment with rituximab led to catastrophic treatment complications that proved to be fatal for the patient. Conclusions: Severe cytokine release syndrome associated with biologics carries a very high morbidity and case fatality rate. With this case report we aim to present the diagnostic challenge with small B-cell neoplasms, especially mantle cell lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic lymphomas, and underscore the importance of thorough risk assessment for reactions prior to treatment initiation.