High-dose etoposide is used in conditioning regimens for allogeneic stem cell transplantation. The limited stability of the drug induces barriers for its use for pharmacists, nurses and patients. When using a concentration of 10 mg/mL etoposide in physiologic saline, limitations can be overcome. This study provides stability data for etoposide in a high concentration that can be used in conditioning regimens. The solution was stable for 48h at 5°C, for 48h at 5°C followed by 8h at 25°C and for 24 h at 25°C.

Cancer involves so rarely the eye that it may be recognized late. The most frequent primary intra-ocular tumours are retinoblastoma in small children and uveal melanoma in adults. Vision loss in systemic cancer has a varied differential diagnosis. Uveal metastases are most often associated with breast cancer, but can herald lung carcinoma. Masquerade syndrome looks like inflammation but represents the ocular involvement of primary CNS non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Systemic cancer drugs, as well as radiotherapy, can cause ocular toxicity, mostly at the retina. In the rare paraneoplastic syndromes, patient's cancer antibodies cross-react with retinal antigens, leading to severe vision loss. When cancer involves the eye, a fast referral into specialized care can significantly improve visual and vital prognosis.

Multiple myeloma is a malignant plasma cells dyscrasia that mainly affects patients older than 65 years. These patients are at a higher risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE) because of cancer status, intrinsic risk factors, and exposure to prothrombotic therapies. The risk for VTE appears higher during the first months of myeloma treatment and decreases over time. Exposure to immunomodulatory drugs (IMIDs) such as thalidomide or lenalidomide in association with high doses of dexamethasone or anthracyclin-based chemotherapy is associated with a four-fold increased risk for VTE. Low-dose aspirin, preventive-dose of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) or vitamin K antagonists were tested for primary prevention of VTE in myeloma patients receiving chemotherapy. The International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) suggests stratifying VTE risk to decide which patients should receive VTE prevention. Then, the IMWG suggests giving low-dose aspirin to low VTE risk patients and LMWH or vitamin K antagonists to patients at high risk for VTE. For daily practice, it seems reasonable to start preventive doses of LMWH for 3 to 6 months in ambulatory myeloma patients receiving combined therapy with IMID and in all myeloma patients admitted to hospital.

Angiogenesis inhibition is a major antitumor strategy that has emerged during the last decade. Oral tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) targeting the VEGF receptor, including sunitinib, sorafenib, axitinib, regorafenib, pazopanib, and vandetanib reduce tumor growth and metastasis. These agents are approved for the treatment of metastatic diseases in first or second-line. They display a narrow therapeutic index. However, data in the elderly and/or in patients with multiple illnesses remain scarce. This population is classically excluded from clinical trials. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of existing literature regarding antiangiogenic TKI tolerance in the elderly (>70 years old). We also highlight key points of the pre-therapeutic evaluation and summarize the management of common toxicities.

If acute leukemia is the most frequent cancer in childhood (33%), it remains a very rare diagnosis in infants less than one year old, e.g. less than 5% of cases. At this age, the frequency of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (almost all of B-lineage) is quite similar to the one of myeloblastic forms (AML). Infant leukemia frequently presents with high hyperleucocytosis, major tumoral burden and numerous extra-hematological features, especially in central nervous system and skin. Whatever the lineage, the leukemic cell is often very immature cytologically and immunologically. Rearrangements of the Mixed Lineage Leukemia (MLL) gene, located on band 11q23, are the hallmark of these immature leukemias and confer a particular resistance to conventional approaches, corticosteroids and chemotherapy. The immaturity of infants less than 1-year-old is associated to a decrease of the tolerable dose-intensity of some drugs (anthracyclines, alkylating agents) or asks questions about some procedures like radiotherapy or high dose conditioning regimen, responsible of inacceptable acute and late toxicities. The high level of severe infectious diseases and other high-grade side effects limits also the capacity to cure these infants. The survival of infants less than 1-year-old with AML is only 50% but similar to older children. On the other hand, survival of those with ALL is the same, then quite limited comparing the 80% survival in children over one year. Allogeneic stem cell transplantations are indicated in high-risk subgroups of infant ALL (age below 6 months, high hyperleucocytosis >300.10(9)/L, MLL-rearrangement, initial poor prednisone response). However, morbidity and mortality remain very important and these approaches cannot be extended to all cases. During the neonatal period, the dismal prognosis linked to the high number of primary failures or very early relapses and uncertainties about the late toxicities question physicians about ethics. It is an emergency to propose different strategies (targeted therapies) to these infants with acute leukemia as conventional trials failed to improve outcome.

Extending up to the submucosa, superficial bladder tumours (pTis, pTa et pTi) are initially treated by transurethral resection. According to their risk of recurrence and progression, this frequent cancer subsequently benefits from intra-vesical instillations of cytotoxic agents and immunomodulators. Several new treatments are currently being evaluated, namely new genetically modified BCG strains, so as novel means to administrate intravesical chemotherapy, which seam to improve prognosis. Owing to the significant prevalence of superficial bladder cancer and its morbidity, these new therapeutic means will probably be increasingly used.

Endocrine complications (particularly gonadal, hypothalamic-pituitary and metabolic) of childhood cancer treatments are common in young adults. Gonadal damage may be the result of chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Fertility preservation must be systematically proposed before initiation of gonadotoxic treatment if only the child is eligible. Hypothalamic-pituitary deficiency is common after brain or total-body irradiation, the somatotropic axis is the most sensitive to irradiation. Pituitary deficiency screening must be repeated since this endocrine consequence can occur many years after treatment. Hormone replacement must be prudent particularly in case of treatment with growth hormone or steroids. Metabolic syndrome, diabetes and cardiovascular damage resulting from cancer treatments contribute to the increase of morbidity and mortality in this population and should be screened routinely even if the patient is asymptomatic. The multidisciplinary management of these adults must be organized and the role of the endocrinologist is now well established.

New targeted treatments are being used for patients affected by certain types of cancers with specific gene dysregulation. These new treatments transform the prognosis for the patients but the exact way in which they work is often incompletely known. This can prove to be problematic with regard to potential side effects. Ophthalmologic side effects are particularly difficult to detect in animal models. MEK inhibitors are among these new targeted treatments for which the indications are broad. One of the reported side effects of MEK inhibitors is the appearance of atypical multifocal serous chorioretinopathies which, when present, occur rapidly after starting the treatment and disappear soon after stopping it. We report two documented cases of serous chorioretinopathies secondary to the use of selumetinib, an MEK inhibitor. Both patients were followed for several months after initiating the treatment, using angiography, OCT, and filtered photographs. Only a very few cases have been reported, and the detailed description of two clear-cut cases and their management, as well as a review of the current literature, seems a good way to approach the management of this complication.

This CORCAN study is concerned with the way patients hospitalised for peritoneal carcinosis perceive surgical treatment and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC).

The efficacy of intravesical instillation of mitomycin C (MMC) requires alkalinisation and concentration of urine before each instillation. The objective of the study was to assess compliance and effectiveness of urine alkalinazation and fluid restriction protocols in patients treated with intravesical instillations of MMC for TVNIM.

The potential prognostic value of hypertension and proteinuria of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drugs has not been assessed in routine clinical practice so far in breast cancer. The objectives of the MARS study were to assess the prevalence of proteinuria and hypertension at baseline, their incidence under anti-VEGF treatment, and to evaluate a possible link with overall survival.

Lung cancer accounts for 10% of cancer cases, but leads to 20% of cancer-specific mortality. Therapeutic options are limited, especially in tumors, which do not harbour druggable oncogenic alterations, and overall survival falls short of twoyears in the metastatic setting. The arrival of immunotherapy is a new hope for the achievement of an improved and sustainable survival in lung cancer patients. The approval of Nivolumab in this setting will lead to drastic changes in clinical practice. For optimal patient care, it will be essential to integrate the benefits and risks of such treatment. This review aims at discussing the role of nivolumab in lung cancer, in consideration of updated clinical data for safety and efficacy.

Hematologic toxicity is a severe complication of chemotherapy. The objective of our study is to evaluate the impact of early lymphopenia on the risk of occurrence of febrile neutropenia and hematological toxicity after aggressive chemotherapy for Hodgkin lymphoma or high grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

The bacterial transfusion risk is currently the greatest infectious risk of blood transfusion. We report the case of a child with postchemotherapy febrile neutropenia who presented septic shock following platelet transfusion contaminated with Citrobacter koseri. The life-threatening development could have been avoided by strict compliance with good clinical practice. The stability of mortality rates due to adverse effects of bacterial proliferation during platelet transfusions in France since 1994 calls for optimization of all preventive measures throughout the transfusion chain and perfect knowledge of transfusion rules by medical staff and care givers.