Articles

Highlights in urologic cancer

BJMO - volume 13, issue 8, december 2019

D. De Maeseneer MD, E. Werbrouck MD, S. De Keukeleire MSc, S. Rottey MD, PhD

In recent years, innovations in renal, bladder and prostate cancer treatments have been introduced at a rapid pace. Every year, oncological societies had to update treatment guidelines according to new insights and results of large phase III trials. This article focuses on practice changing data from the 2019 ESMO congress in Barcelona, Spain.

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Merkel cell carcinoma and immune Checkpoint inhibition: where do we stand now?

BJMO - , issue ,

S. De Keukeleire MSc, V. Kruse MD, PhD, S. Rottey MD, PhD

Immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI) has been acknowledged as a breakthrough treatment in multiple advanced cancer types. This is also the case in metastatic Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC), a disease that is historically associated with a poor prognosis. Recently, several randomized trials demonstrated superior results of ICI compared to chemotherapeutic agents in patients with metastatic MCC, with less toxicity, an increased overall survival (OS), and more durable responses. Therefore, ICI is now generally considered as a new standard treatment option in this setting.

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Four case reports of arterial thromboembolism and cisplatin administration

BJMO - volume 12, issue 3, may 2018

S. De Keukeleire MSc, T. De Beule , H. Denys MD, PhD, S. De Waele MA, Wim Duthoy MD, V. Renard MD

Cisplatin is one of the frequently used chemotherapeutic agents. Common side effects such as vomiting, nephrotoxicity, ototoxicity and neurotoxicity are well known, though Cisplatin is also thought to activate destructive processes in blood vessels, including all types of arteries. Not only can it cause long-term cardiovascular complications (myocardial infarction, hypertension, and stroke), but also such complications during or shortly after its systemic administration. In a significant portion of patients, with up to 9% in some studies, thromboembolic events are encountered.1,2 In most of the cases, this concerns a venous thromboembolic event, though arterial thromboembolic events should not be neglected as it predicts a bad prognosis and significantly increased mortality risk, especially in cancer patients receiving other prothrombotic chemotherapies or when certain comorbidities are present that enhance the risk of thromboembolism.3 During a short period, we encountered four patients with arterial thromboembolic events while receiving Cisplatin-based therapy, of which three patients had a renal infarction. It should be noted that each patient had a different type of malignancy and Cisplatin was administered in combination with other therapeutic agents.

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2018:12(3):125–129)

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Merkel cell carcinoma and immune Checkpoint inhibition: where do we stand now?

BJMO - volume 12, issue 9, february 2018

S. De Keukeleire MSc, V. Kruse MD, PhD, S. Rottey MD, PhD

Immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI) has been acknowledged as a breakthrough treatment in multiple advanced cancer types. This is also the case in metastatic Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC), a disease that is historically associated with a poor prognosis. Recently, several randomized trials demonstrated superior results of ICI compared to chemotherapeutic agents in patients with metastatic MCC, with less toxicity, an increased overall survival (OS), and more durable responses. Therefore, ICI is now generally considered as a new standard treatment option in this setting.

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